[JPRT 113-21, Volume I]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]







113th Congress   }                                     {   S. Prt.
                           JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT
2d Session       }                                     {    113-21
                                                        
_______________________________________________________________________


                    COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
                           PRACTICES FOR 2011

                           VOLUME I--AFRICA,
                       EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

                               ----------                              

                              R E P O R T

                            SUBMITTED TO THE

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
                              U.S. SENATE

                                AND THE

                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                 BY THE

                          DEPARTMENT OF STATE

     IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 116(d) AND 502B(b) OF THE FOREIGN 
                   ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961, AS AMENDED

                                     
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]





113th Congress   }                                     {   S. Prt.
                           JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT
2d Session       }                                     {    113-21
                                                        
_______________________________________________________________________

 
                    COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
                           PRACTICES FOR 2011

                           VOLUME I--AFRICA,
                       EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                            SUBMITTED TO THE

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

                              U.S. SENATE

                                AND THE

                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                 BY THE

                          DEPARTMENT OF STATE

     IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 116(d) AND 502B(b) OF THE FOREIGN 
                   ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961, AS AMENDED

                                     
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]












                COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS          

                 ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman
BARBARA BOXER, California            BOB CORKER, Tennessee
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        MARCO RUBIO, Florida
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware       RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois          JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
TOM UDALL, New Mexico                JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut      JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
TIM KAINE, Virginia                  RAND PAUL, Kentucky
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
                   Daniel E. O'Brien, Staff Director
            Lester E. Munson III, Republican Staff Director


                 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS          

                 EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey     ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida         ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 
DANA ROHRABACHER, California             Samoa
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio                   BRAD SHERMAN, California
JOE WILSON, South Carolina           GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas             ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
TED POE, Texas                       GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MATT SALMON, Arizona                 THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania             BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina          KAREN BASS, California
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois             WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
MO BROOKS, Alabama                   DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
TOM COTTON, Arkansas                 ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
PAUL COOK, California                JUAN VARGAS, California
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina       BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas            JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, 
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania                Massachusetts
STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas                AMI BERA, California
RON DESANTIS, Florida                ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
TREY RADEL, Florida                  GRACE MENG, New York
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia                LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina         TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
TED S. YOHO, Florida                 JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
LUKE MESSER, Indiana
     Amy Porter, Chief of Staff      Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
               Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director

                             (ii)          



















                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

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

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

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

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

                                Volume I

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

    Benin........................................................    18

    Botswana.....................................................    28

    Burkina Faso.................................................    39

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

    Cameroon.....................................................    66

    Cape Verde...................................................    85

    Central African Republic.....................................    92

    Chad.........................................................   110

    Comoros......................................................   123

    Congo, Democratic Republic of the............................   129

    Congo, Republic of the.......................................   151

    Cote d'Ivoire................................................   163

    Djibouti.....................................................   181

    Equatorial Guinea............................................   193

    Eritrea......................................................   204

    Ethiopia.....................................................   218

    Gabon........................................................   237

    Gambia, The..................................................   246

    Ghana........................................................   259

    Guinea.......................................................   273

    Guinea-Bissau................................................   286

    Kenya........................................................   294

    Lesotho......................................................   318

    Liberia......................................................   328

    Madagascar...................................................   340

    Malawi.......................................................   354

    Mali.........................................................   367

    Mauritania...................................................   377

    Mauritius....................................................   391

    Mozambique...................................................   399

    Namibia......................................................   412

    Niger........................................................   425

    Nigeria......................................................   437

    Rwanda.......................................................   466

    Sao Tome and Principe........................................   486

    Senegal......................................................   491

    Seychelles...................................................   505

    Sierra Leone.................................................   512

    Somalia......................................................   530

    South Africa.................................................   550

    South Sudan..................................................   570

    Sudan........................................................   583

    Swaziland....................................................   604

    Tanzania.....................................................   620

    Togo.........................................................   639

    Uganda.......................................................   650

    Zambia.......................................................   665

    Zimbabwe.....................................................   678


East Asia and the Pacific

    Australia....................................................   705

    Brunei Darussalam............................................   716

    Burma........................................................   724

    Cambodia.....................................................   741

    China (Including Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)................   756

      Tibet......................................................   794

      Hong Kong..................................................   803

      Macau......................................................   816

    Fiji.........................................................   824

    Indonesia....................................................   837

    Japan........................................................   857

    Kiribati.....................................................   869

    Korea, Democratic People's Republic of.......................   874

    Korea, Republic of...........................................   884

    Laos.........................................................   895

    Malaysia.....................................................   906

    Marshall Islands.............................................   934

    Micronesia, Federated States of..............................   940

    Mongolia.....................................................   945

    Nauru........................................................   956

    New Zealand..................................................   961

    Palau........................................................   968

    Papua New Guinea.............................................   973

    Philippines..................................................   982

    Samoa........................................................  1001

    Singapore....................................................  1008

    Solomon Islands..............................................  1022

    Taiwan.......................................................  1029

    Thailand.....................................................  1038

    Timor-Leste..................................................  1064

    Tonga........................................................  1072

    Tuvalu.......................................................  1077

    Vanuatu......................................................  1082

    Vietnam......................................................  1089

                               Volume II

Europe and Eurasia

    Albania......................................................  1113

    Andorra......................................................  1123


    Armenia......................................................  1127

    Austria......................................................  1143

    Azerbaijan...................................................  1151

    Belarus......................................................  1169

    Belgium......................................................  1196

    Bosnia and Herzegovina.......................................  1203

    Bulgaria.....................................................  1219

    Croatia......................................................  1231

    Cyprus.......................................................  1247

      Area Administered by Turkish Cypriots (Turkish Republic of 
      Northern Cyprus)...........................................  1261
    Czech Republic...............................................  1270

    Denmark......................................................  1281

    Estonia......................................................  1288

    Finland......................................................  1296

    France.......................................................  1305

    Georgia......................................................  1319

    Germany......................................................  1345

    Greece.......................................................  1357

    Hungary......................................................  1371

    Iceland......................................................  1391

    Ireland......................................................  1399

    Italy........................................................  1406

    Kosovo.......................................................  1417

    Latvia.......................................................  1432

    Liechtenstein................................................  1442

    Lithuania....................................................  1448

    Luxembourg...................................................  1457

    Macedonia....................................................  1462

    Malta........................................................  1478

    Moldova......................................................  1486

    Monaco.......................................................  1505

    Montenegro...................................................  1509

    Netherlands..................................................  1531

    Norway.......................................................  1541

    Poland.......................................................  1550

    Portugal.....................................................  1563

    Romania......................................................  1569

    Russia.......................................................  1585

    San Marino...................................................  1614

    Serbia.......................................................  1618

    Slovakia.....................................................  1630

    Slovenia.....................................................  1644

    Spain........................................................  1655

    Sweden.......................................................  1665

    Switzerland..................................................  1673

    Turkey.......................................................  1682

    Ukraine......................................................  1704

    United Kingdom...............................................  1724
Near East and North Africa

    Algeria......................................................  1735

    Bahrain......................................................  1749

    Egypt........................................................  1767

    Iran.........................................................  1784

    Iraq.........................................................  1823

    Israel and the Occupied Territories..........................  1845

      The Occupied Territories...................................  1858

    Jordan.......................................................  1884

    Kuwait.......................................................  1898

    Lebanon......................................................  1909

    Libya........................................................  1924

    Morocco......................................................  1940

    Oman.........................................................  1956

    Qatar........................................................  1965

    Saudi Arabia.................................................  1975

    Syria........................................................  1992

    Tunisia......................................................  2008

    United Arab Emirates.........................................  2018

    Western Sahara...............................................  2031

    Yemen........................................................  2037


                               Volume III

South and Central Asia

    Afghanistan..................................................  2057

    Bangladesh...................................................  2079

    Bhutan.......................................................  2100

    India........................................................  2107

    Kazakhstan...................................................  2139

    Kyrgyz Republic..............................................  2157

    Maldives.....................................................  2176

    Nepal........................................................  2188

    Pakistan.....................................................  2204

    Sri Lanka....................................................  2233

    Tajikistan...................................................  2254

    Turkmenistan.................................................  2265

    Uzbekistan...................................................  2277


Western Hemisphere

    Antigua and Barbuda..........................................  2295

    Argentina....................................................  2301

    Bahamas, The.................................................  2314

    Barbados.....................................................  2323

    Belize.......................................................  2330

    Bolivia......................................................  2338

    Brazil.......................................................  2349

    Canada.......................................................  2364

    Chile........................................................  2373

    Colombia.....................................................  2384

    Costa Rica...................................................  2411

    Cuba.........................................................  2421

    Dominica.....................................................  2434

    Dominican Republic...........................................  2440

    Ecuador......................................................  2458

    El Salvador..................................................  2473
Western Hemisphere--Continued

    Grenada......................................................  2487

    Guatemala....................................................  2492

    Guyana.......................................................  2507

    Haiti........................................................  2516

    Honduras.....................................................  2534

    Jamaica......................................................  2546

    Mexico.......................................................  2559

    Nicaragua....................................................  2576

    Panama.......................................................  2592

    Paraguay.....................................................  2605

    Peru.........................................................  2615

    Saint Kitts and Nevis........................................  2631

    Saint Lucia..................................................  2636

    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.............................  2642

    Suriname.....................................................  2648

    Trinidad and Tobago..........................................  2656

    Uruguay......................................................  2665

    Venezuela....................................................  2672


Appendixes

    Appendix A: Notes on preparation of Report...................  2697

    Appendix B: Reporting on Worker Rights.......................  2705

    Appendix C: Selected International Human Rights Conventions..  2707

    Appendix D: Description of International Human Rights 
      Conventions in Appendix C..................................  2715

    Appendix E: FY 2010 Foreign Assistance Actuals...............  2717

    Appendix F: United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee 
      Country Resolution Votes 2010..............................  2737

    Appendix G: United Nations Universal Declaration of Human 
      Rights.....................................................  2743









                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                     Washington, DC, April 8, 2012.
Hon. John F. Kerry,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the Secretary of State, I 
am transmitting to you the Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices for 2011, prepared in compliance with sections 
116(d)(1) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 
amended, and section 505(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended.
    We hope this report is helpful. Please let us know if we 
can provide any further information.
            Sincerely,
                                 Michael H. Posner,
                         Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, 
                                           Human Rights, and Labor.
    Enclosure.

                                  (ix)

                                     


                          SECRETARY'S PREFACE

                              ----------                              

    The world changed immeasurably over the course of 2011. 
Across the Middle East, North Africa, and far beyond, citizens 
stood up to demand respect for human dignity, more promising 
economic opportunities, greater political liberties, and a say 
in their own future. Often they faced tremendous odds and 
endured violent responses from their governments. The resulting 
upheavals are still unfolding today in places like Syria, where 
the regime has brutalized its own people. In Burma, after years 
of repression, the government has taken preliminary steps to 
allow reforms to begin. This year's Country Reports on Human 
Rights Practices chronicle these dramatic changes and the 
stories of the people defending human rights in almost 200 
countries around the world.
    Congress mandated these country reports more than three 
decades ago to help guide lawmakers' decisions on foreign 
military and economic aid, but they have evolved into something 
more. Today, governments, intergovernmental organizations, 
scholars, journalists, activists, and others around the world 
rely on these reports as an essential update on human rights 
conditions around the world--where we have seen progress, where 
progress has come too slowly or at great cost, and all too 
often, where it has been rolled back.
    Our reports are founded on the simple truth at the heart of 
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights--that all people are 
born free and equal in dignity and rights. Respect for human 
rights is not a western construct or a uniquely American ideal; 
it is the foundation for peace and stability everywhere. 
Universal human rights include the right of citizens to 
assemble peacefully and to seek to reform or change their 
governments, a central theme around the world in 2011. As 
President Obama has said, ``History offers a clear verdict: 
Governments that respect the will of their own people, that 
govern by consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they 
are more stable, and more successful than governments that do 
not.''
    In my travels around the world as Secretary of State, I 
have met many individuals who put their lives on the line to 
advance the cause of human rights and justice. In ways small 
and large, they hold their governments accountable for 
upholding universal human rights. Their courage and commitment 
to peaceful reform are an inspiration. This report recognizes 
their bravery and should serve as a reminder: The United States 
stands with all those who seek to advance human dignity, and we 
will continue to shine the light of international attention on 
their efforts.
    These reports are part of our broad commitment to promote 
human rights. Every day, officials from the State Department, 
the U.S. Agency for International Development, and many other 
government agencies devote themselves to advancing human rights 
as a priority of U.S. foreign policy. They champion our values 
in every country of the world and stand up for the inherent 
rights and freedoms of all people. I am honored to work 
alongside them, and I thank them for their contributions to 
this report.
    On behalf of all of them, and everyone around the world 
working to protect human rights, I hereby transmit the 
Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
for 2011 to the United States Congress.
                             Hillary Rodham Clinton
                                                 Secretary of State


                      OVERVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

                              ----------                              


                      WHY THE REPORTS ARE PREPARED

    This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department 
of State in compliance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended. The law 
provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate by February 25 ``a full and 
complete report regarding the status of internationally 
recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) 
in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) 
in all other foreign countries which are members of the United 
Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human 
rights report under this Act.'' We have also included reports 
on several countries that do not fall into the categories 
established by these statutes and thus are not covered by the 
congressional requirement.
    In the early 1970s the United States formalized its 
responsibility to speak out on behalf of international human 
rights standards. In 1976 Congress enacted legislation creating 
a Coordinator of Human Rights in the Department of State, a 
position later upgraded to Assistant Secretary. Legislation 
also requires that U.S. foreign and trade policy take into 
account countries' human rights and worker rights performance 
and that country reports be submitted to the Congress on an 
annual basis.
How the Reports Are Prepared
    The Department of State prepared this report using 
information from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, foreign 
government officials, nongovernmental and international 
organizations, and published reports. U.S. diplomatic missions 
abroad prepared the initial drafts of the individual country 
reports, using information they gathered throughout the year 
from a variety of sources, including government officials, 
jurists, the armed forces, journalists, human rights monitors, 
academics, and labor activists. This information gathering can 
be hazardous, and U.S. Foreign Service personnel regularly go 
to great lengths, under trying and sometimes dangerous 
conditions, to investigate reports of human rights abuse.
    Once the initial drafts of the individual country reports 
were completed, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 
(DRL), in cooperation with other Department of State offices, 
worked to corroborate, analyze, and edit the reports, drawing 
on their own sources of information. These sources included 
reports provided by U.S. and other human rights groups, foreign 
government officials, representatives from the United Nations 
and other international and regional organizations and 
institutions, experts from academia, and the media. Bureau 
officers also consulted experts on worker rights, refugee 
issues, military and police topics, women's issues, and legal 
matters, among many others. The guiding principle was that all 
information be reported objectively, thoroughly, and fairly.
    As has proven the case in the past, we anticipate that the 
reports will be used as a resource for shaping policy; 
conducting diplomacy; and making assistance, training, and 
other resource allocations. They will serve also as a basis for 
the U.S. government's cooperation with private groups to 
promote the observance of internationally recognized human 
rights.
    The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover 
internationally recognized civil, political, and worker rights, 
as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
These rights include freedom from torture or other cruel, 
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; from prolonged 
detention without charges; from disappearance or clandestine 
detention; and from other flagrant violations of the right to 
life, liberty, and the security of the person.
    Universal human rights seek to incorporate respect for 
human dignity into the processes of government and law. All 
individuals have the right to nationality; the inalienable 
right to change their government by peaceful means; and the 
right to enjoy basic freedoms, such as freedom of expression, 
association, assembly, movement, and religion without 
discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, 
or gender. The right to join a free trade union is a necessary 
condition of a free society and economy. Thus the reports 
assess key internationally recognized worker rights, including 
the right of association, the right to organize and bargain 
collectively, the prohibition of forced or compulsory labor, 
the status of child labor practices, the minimum age for 
employment of children, and acceptable work conditions.
    As was begun with the 2010 reports, DRL has continued to 
use hyperlinks to other key human rights documents produced by 
the Department of State. Specifically, readers are asked to 
follow hyperlinks for complete information on religious freedom 
issues by consulting the International Religious Freedom Report 
and the Trafficking in Persons Report. Additionally, the 
Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor report is linked, as well as the several current 
publications produced by the Department's Consular Affairs 
Bureau on international child abductions, if applicable to the 
country in question.
    Within DRL, the editorial staff of the Country Reports Team 
consists of the following: Editor in Chief Stephen Eisenbraun; 
Office Directors Eric Falls, Randy Fleitman, Francisco 
Gonzalez, Jeffrey Hawkins, John Kincannon, Mark Mittelhauser, 
Susan O'Sullivan, and Brian Walch; Senior Editors Jonathan 
Bemis, Sarah Buckley-Moore, Douglas B. Dearborn, Daniel Dolan, 
Jerome L. Hoganson, Victor Huser, Patricia Meeks Schnell, Marc 
J. Susser, and Julie Turner; Editors Naim Ahmed, Mitch Alva, 
Pauline W. Anderson, Cory Andrews, Mary Angelini, Bob Bailey, 
Chase Ballinger, Harold Bonacquist, Sarah Brooks, Laura Carey, 
Elise Carlson-Rainer, Cornelius Cremin, Frank Crump, Sarah 
D'Ambrisi, Randall Doyle, Mort Dworken, Rob Ehrmann, Ryan 
Fiorsi, Karen Gilbride, Joan Garner, Carrie George, Jeffrey 
Glassman, Jamie Gusack, Maxwell Harrington, Patrick Harvey, 
Lauren Hayes, Caitlin Helfrich, Matthew Hickey, Brandon Hines, 
Alexandra Hoey, Stan Ifshin, Simone Joseph, Mancharee Junk, 
Gina Kassem, Yelda Kazimi, Katharine Kendrick, Orly Keiner, 
Stephen Kopanos, Sheri Labenski, Kevin Martin, Stacey May, Cari 
McCachren, Amelia Mitchell, David Moo, Sarah Morgan, Amal 
Moussaoui Haynes, Sandra Murphy, Daniel L. Nadel, Aislyn 
Namanga, Oyinkansola Oshodi, Doug Padgett, Blake Peterson, 
Brianna Powers, Jessica Rodgers, Peter Sawchyn, Lisa Sherman, 
Wendy Silverman, Magda Socha, Rachel Spring, Jason Starr, 
Leslie Taylor, James C. Todd, Nadia Tongour, David Wagner, 
Micah Watson, Andrew White, Helen Wong and Mareham Youssef; 
Associate Editor Regina Waugh; Technical Assistant Corey 
Martin.


                              INTRODUCTION

                              ----------                              

    On January 14, Tunisian president Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali 
boarded a plane in Tunis with his family and departed for Saudi 
Arabia. Twenty-seven days later, Egyptian President Hosni 
Mubarak resigned. After eight months of brutal attacks on 
Libyans seeking peaceful change, Moammar Qadhafi was 
overthrown. For the first time in history, the Yemeni President 
transferred power through the ballot box. Forces loyal to 
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad have committed heinous and 
widespread human rights abuses against their own people since 
March 2011, and yet the protesters have not been cowed.
    These still unfolding citizen uprisings in the Middle East 
and North Africa have sent aftershocks rumbling around the 
world. Millions of citizens in many other countries have also 
expressed their dissatisfaction with governments that fail to 
deliver results to their people. Whether in grand movements or 
small acts, people in countries around the world are standing 
up and demanding their universal rights, dignity, greater 
economic opportunity, and participation in their countries' 
political future.
    The yearning for change we have witnessed in Tunisia, 
Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria is inspirational, and yet change 
often creates instability before it leads to greater respect 
for democracy and human rights. After decades of repression, 
during which open political participation was not allowed, it 
will take time to create diverse political parties, a robust 
civil society, a climate conducive to freedom of expression, 
and a transparent political culture. Transitions are times of 
uncertainty. They can be chaotic, unstable, and at times 
violent. And even when they succeed, they are rarely linear, 
quick, or easy. The challenge during these transitions is to 
keep societies open to political debate. Protecting human 
rights and fundamental freedoms ensures that negotiations over 
a country's future can take place without fear or intimidation, 
and that anti-democratic forces do not snuff out genuine 
political participation. As Secretary Clinton said, ``All 
political parties, religious and secular alike, have to abide 
by basic ground rules: reject violence; uphold the rule of law; 
respect the freedoms of speech, religion, association, and 
assembly; protect the rights of women and minorities; give up 
power if you are defeated at the polls; and especially in a 
region with deep divisions within and between religions, avoid 
inciting sectarian conflicts that pull societies apart.'' If 
these fundamental rules are violated, she warned, ``The victors 
of revolutions can become their victims.''
    In the turmoil of 2011, thousands of citizens were killed 
across Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria. Many 
others were abused by security forces that used excessive 
force. But the images of demonstrators who had seemingly lost 
all fear, risking their lives to oppose governments they deemed 
illegitimate, inspired people around the world. Even in the 
most isolated places, the desire for greater freedom and 
political and economic opportunity began to flicker.
    The year 2011 brought remarkable changes in Burma, long 
isolated because of the government's poor treatment of its own 
people. In dramatic fashion, the Burmese government took a 
number of bold steps to begin the long and difficult process of 
political reform and reconciliation with those who have 
struggled peacefully for freedom for decades. In last year's 
report, we wrote about the dire situation of hundreds of 
political prisoners who remained in jail in Burma, some of whom 
had been imprisoned for decades for taking part in protests or 
simply for reading ``subversive'' poetry. In October 2011, the 
government released more than 200 of these prisoners. As next 
year's country report will cover, in January 2012 the Burmese 
government released 300 more, including some who had been 
detained for many years, and allowed the National League for 
Democracy to register and field candidates for parliamentary 
elections, including party leader Aung Sun Syu Kyi.
    Burma offers an example of a government moving towards a 
model of greater openness, democracy, and liberty, attributes 
that can lead to greater innovation, prosperity, and inclusion. 
Much remains to be done to implement reforms and especially to 
address the legacy of decades of violence against ethnic 
minorities. But the size of the task ahead does not diminish 
the excitement of these first steps, or the sense of 
possibility they may inspire in other closed societies, such as 
Iran, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Eritrea, or Sudan.
    Several other countries also took important steps in 2011 
toward improving their human rights records, although more work 
remains to be done. In Colombia, the government worked to 
address the climate of impunity with respect to harassment, 
intimidation, and killings of human rights workers, 
journalists, teachers, and trade unionists. Extrajudicial 
killings declined in large measure due to efforts by the 
government to stop such crimes. In Zambia, presidential, 
parliamentary, and local elections held in September were free, 
credible, and orderly. The incumbent president relinquished 
power and accepted the will of the Zambian people. In Tunisia, 
citizens held transparent and credible elections for a 
Constituent Assembly, which in turn elected a former political 
prisoner as the country's interim president. The country is now 
rewriting its constitution.
    Along with such hopeful developments, this report documents 
a range of negative developments in 2011. A number of countries 
became less free as a result of flawed elections; the 
imposition by powerful leaders of less democratic 
constitutional provisions; restrictions on the universal rights 
to freedom of expression, assembly, or association, including 
on the Internet; moves to censor or intimidate the media; or 
attempts to control or curtail the activities of 
nongovernmental groups. In Nicaragua, extensive irregularities 
in the electoral process marked a setback to democracy and 
undermined the ability of Nicaraguans to hold their government 
accountable.
    Other disturbing trends in 2011 include continued 
persecution of religious minorities, including, but not limited 
to, Ahmadis, Bahais, Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and 
others. In many countries there was an uptick in discrimination 
against members of racial and ethnic minorities; people with 
disabilities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) 
people, all of whom were frequent targets of abuse, 
discrimination, and violence. In some countries medical 
personnel were harassed, intimidated, and arrested. Both 
governments and opposition forces tried to prevent humanitarian 
assistance from reaching civilians in dire circumstances.
    Egypt and Kyrgyzstan held historic elections that were 
deemed to be generally free and fair. Yet the elections in 
these countries, as well as the standoff following the 2010 
presidential election in Cote d'Ivoire, provided a poignant 
reminder that elections are a critical but insufficient element 
in genuine transitions to democracy and the rule of law. 
Committed citizens in each of these countries continued to work 
toward building the habits and institutions of democratic 
governance, including a political culture in which electoral 
losers understand they must cede power, and elected 
representatives wield power fairly.
    Overall human rights conditions remained extremely poor in 
many of the countries that were spotlighted in our 2010 country 
reports, including, but not limited to, Iran, North Korea, 
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Syria, Belarus, and China.
    Several broader trends were prominent in 2011. New 
connective technologies spread news of citizen activism, and 
political change, around the world. People continued to find 
innovative ways to use technology to break down the walls of 
fear and isolation that undemocratic governments erected to try 
to keep their populations quiescent. They used these 
technologies to speak out against societal discrimination, 
corruption, and restrictions on civil and political liberties 
that are keeping them from enjoying equal rights, dignity, or 
respect. Yet repressive regimes also used those same 
technologies to spy on their own citizens for the purposes of 
silencing dissent.
    As we consider the implications of connective technologies 
on human rights and democracy, we realize that technology 
itself does not usher in progress on human rights. People do. 
Technology can help people exercise their universal human 
rights, connect with others across borders, and transcend time 
zones and even language barriers. But technology is a platform, 
not a substitute for political organizing, advocacy, or 
persuasion. The Internet does not bring people into the street. 
Grievances do. The Internet did not spark the Arab Spring. 
Injustice did.
    Because the story of how people express themselves, 
associate with one another, and share ideas and opinions is 
increasingly unfolding online, protecting and promoting 
Internet freedom is a core priority of the United States. We 
report on its status in the pages that follow.
    We also report on the status of media freedom, which 
remained poor in many countries and declined in others. The 
year 2011 brought an increase in the number of journalists and 
bloggers silenced to death or jail as they attempted to bring 
news to the public. These reports also chronicle the many ways 
in which some governments attempted to censor the media through 
regulations or laws that are contrary to the universal right to 
freedom of expression and opinion, and through harassment, 
intimidation, or violence. In Ecuador and Venezuela, government 
actions against independent media outlets had a chilling effect 
on media freedom.
    This year's reports highlight the treatment of marginalized 
people, including LGBT people and people with disabilities. Too 
many countries still criminalize consensual same-sex sexual 
activity, and LGBT people face discrimination and violence in 
many more countries. We continue to focus on other vulnerable 
populations, including women and children. Domestic and 
societal violence and discrimination against women continue to 
be serious problems in many countries. Women and children are 
often the first to suffer during conflicts.
    In addition, we continue to monitor challenges to civil 
society organizations promoting respect for human rights and 
democratic transitions in their own countries. In last year's 
Human Rights Reports, we noted a surge in efforts by repressive 
governments to control and stifle independent non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs). Over the last several years, more than 90 
governments have sought to pass laws that hampered the ability 
of NGOs to register, operate freely, or receive foreign 
funding. In a number of countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia, 
Malaysia, Algeria, Cambodia, and Russia, governments have 
imposed or threatened greater restrictions on foreign funding 
of these organizations, taken other measures that severely 
hamper their operations, or sought to intimidate them or shut 
them down completely. In many other places, the work of these 
organizations is misunderstood, or actively misrepresented by 
insecure governments that fear independent scrutiny of their 
actions. These trends intensified in 2011, when we saw a sharp 
escalation of official restrictions on the work of human rights 
and democracy advocates.
    As President Obama has said, societies change from within. 
Civil society organizations lead that change by engaging 
citizens in conversations about how people want to be governed. 
These organizations spotlight human rights abuses, fight 
discrimination, and monitor whether authorities are upholding 
the rule of law. They speak out against the exclusion, 
persecution, or hatred of vulnerable minorities, and document 
where their societies fall short. By holding up a mirror to 
society, they ask their governments and their citizens to do 
better and to be better. In all of these ways, civil society 
groups are the lifeblood of free and open societies, and they 
are most vital in countries where democratic traditions and 
institutions are just beginning to take root.
    The events of 2011, as documented in these pages, remind us 
once again that human rights and global security are 
inextricably linked. From Tunis to Tehran, from Cairo to 
California, from Moscow to Rangoon, citizens were ever more 
interconnected and so were the interrelationships between their 
freedoms, economic opportunity, and the security and prosperity 
of their societies.
    Around the world, we see that where human rights are 
consistently abused or threatened, by authorities or by 
criminal, sectarian, or other undemocratic groups that enjoy 
impunity, the result is frequently political strife, economic 
contraction, and destabilization that too often spills across 
borders. In contrast, where human rights are respected, the 
rule of law is enforced, and government actions are 
transparent, societies are more stable and secure. People who 
feel empowered to engage in the political process and who see 
their rights respected are less likely to join extremist groups 
that threaten domestic tranquility and international stability.
    They gradually develop a greater trust of their government 
and feel a greater stake in the success of the system. In this 
way, respect for human rights builds political stability and 
lays the foundations for democratization, economic growth, 
shared prosperity, and enhanced global security.
    This critical connection between human rights and national 
security plays out repeatedly in the pages that follow. It will 
continue to play out in the transitions to democracy occurring 
in the Arab world and beyond. The people who took to the 
streets to demonstrate in Tunis, Cairo, Tripoli, and Sanaa have 
proven that change can come without turning to extremism. In 
2011 we saw too many governments crack down in the name of 
restoring order when their citizens demanded universal human 
rights and a voice in how they were governed. These acts of 
repression triggered more confrontation, more chaos, and 
ultimately greater instability. The events of the year showed 
that the real choice is not between stability and security; it 
is between reform and unrest.
    I want to add a word about the production of these reports. 
Each year, they are prepared by human rights officers at U.S. 
embassies and other posts around the world, working with their 
counterparts in Washington, D.C. Each country team collects, 
analyzes, and synthesizes information from a variety of 
sources, including domestic and international human rights 
organizations, other governments, multilateral organizations, 
and members of civil society. Once the reports are drafted, 
they are rigorously edited, reviewed, and fact-checked to 
ensure accuracy and objectivity.
    This year, we made the human rights reports easier to read 
online. Readers can jump directly to topics of interest with a 
new table of contents, share reports on social media, and 
research topics across countries with the Build a Report tool. 
Our goal is to allow readers to gather information quickly 
across regions on the issues that most interest them.
    We have also attempted to make the reports more accessible 
to a broader spectrum of readers. Over the past 35 years, the 
length of the human rights reports had expanded, even as 
Congress mandated separate annual reports on the status of 
international religious freedom and human trafficking. This 
year, we have developed a streamlined format for each country 
report. As a result, we do not attempt to catalog every 
incidence, however egregious, of a particular type of human 
rights abuse in a country. Rather, we spotlight examples that 
typify and illuminate the types of problems frequently reported 
in 2011 in that country. The mention of fewer cases in a 
particular report should not be interpreted as a lessening of 
concern for the overall human rights situation in any 
particular country. Rather, our goal is to shed light on the 
nature, scope, and severity of the reported human rights 
abuses. For the first time, we have also added an executive 
summary at the top of each report. We hope readers will find 
these changes useful.

                        2011 Country Highlights

                                 AFRICA

    Internal conflicts in the East, particularly in the North 
and South Kivu and Orientale provinces, continued to plague the 
Democratic Republic of Congo. Human rights abuses were 
committed by all parties to the conflict. Reported human rights 
abuses included killings, disappearances, and torture. Rebel 
and militia groups and some army units engaged in the illegal 
exploitation and trade of natural resources in the east. 
Foreign rebel and militia groups and some local militias formed 
coalitions, battled government forces, and attacked civilian 
populations. State security forces arrested, illegally 
detained, raped, tortured, or summarily executed civilians and 
looted villages during military actions against rebels. 
Fighting in the East impeded humanitarian aid in some areas, 
exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis that affects 
some 1.7 million displaced persons. Impunity remained a 
significant problem. The deeply flawed election in November was 
accompanied by disappearances and restrictions on freedoms of 
assembly, expression and movement.
    Widespread human rights violations continued in Eritrea, 
where the government is under the control of authoritarian 
President Isaias Afwerki. The government forced men and women 
to participate in the national service program from which there 
were no clear criteria for demobilization, and persons worked 
indefinitely in any location or capacity chosen by the 
government. Security forces tortured and beat army deserters, 
draft evaders, persons attempting to flee the country, and 
members of certain religious groups. Harsh prison and detention 
center conditions, which included unventilated and underground 
cells with extreme temperatures, led to multiple deaths. The 
government controlled all media. It reportedly continued to 
detain more than 30 journalists, providing no information about 
their places of detention.
    In Ethiopia, the government continued to repress civil 
society, including the media. The government arrested more than 
100 opposition figures, activists, journalists, and bloggers, 
charging several of those arrested with terrorist or seditious 
activity. However, observers found the evidence presented at 
trials to be either open to interpretation or indicative of 
acts of a political nature rather than linked to terrorism. The 
Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law) continued to 
impose severe restrictions on civil society and NGO activities. 
As a result of the law, civil society activities have been 
severely curtailed. The government also restricted access to 
the Internet and blocked the websites of news organizations, 
opposition sites, and blogs.
    In Nigeria, a campaign of attacks by the radical Islamist 
sect known as Boko Haram intensified during the year and 
violence spread to more areas of the country. The group 
committed bombings and drive-by shootings, assassinated 
religious leaders, security personnel and politicians, attacked 
police stations and banks, and conducted suicide bombings. In 
Maiduguri, Borno State, shootings and bombings were a weekly 
and sometimes daily occurrence, with violence also occurring in 
neighboring states. In August, Boko Haram targeted an 
international organization for the first time, bombing the U.N. 
House headquarters in Abuja and killing 24 persons. The 
government deployed the Joint Task Force, which committed 
extrajudicial killings during attempts to apprehend Boko Haram 
members. The April 2011 general elections were Nigeria's most 
successful since its return to multiparty democracy in 1999. 
However, postelection violence erupted in the north and in the 
Middle Belt States, resulting in loss of lives, property 
damage, and restrictions of movement.
    The Government of Sudan continued to conduct aerial 
bombardment of civilian areas. In Darfur, fighting involved 
government forces, government-aligned militias, rebel groups, 
and ethnic groups. These groups killed, injured, and raped 
civilians, and used child soldiers. During the year violence 
broke-out in the disputed border area of Abyei, as well as in 
the Sudanese states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. The 
violence in these areas resulted in widespread civilian 
displacement and human rights abuses. Human rights abuses in 
Sudan went unpunished and impunity remained a serious problem. 
Parties to the conflicts obstructed the work of humanitarian 
organizations and the United Nations. In addition, the 
government also continued to crack down on journalists and 
restrict freedoms of speech, assembly, association, religion, 
and movement, and security forces continued to kill, torture, 
beat, and harass suspected political opponents and others.
    In Zimbabwe, the chronically bad human rights situation did 
not improve. Despite a fledgling Government of National Unity, 
the government remains mostly under the control of President 
Mugabe's political party, Zimbabwe African National Union-
Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), which retains authority over the 
military, police and intelligence services. These security 
services continued to arrest, abuse, and torture non-ZANU-PF 
party members and civil society activists with impunity. The 
government infringed on citizens' freedoms of speech, assembly, 
association, and movement. Executive influence and interference 
in the judiciary remained a serious problem, and NGOs reported 
that magistrates were promised farms and homes for providing 
rulings favorable to ZANU-PF. In rural areas ZANU-PF 
sympathizers used threats and intimidation against local 
magistrates to gain favorable rulings.

                         EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

    Burma took important steps to improve human rights 
conditions in 2011, including the release of hundreds of 
political prisoners and the adoption of a labor law that, when 
implemented, can provide workers the right to organize and 
strike. In November, following the adoption of a revised 
political party registration law, Aung San Suu Kyi's National 
League for Democracy and other opposition parties were allowed 
to re-register as legal political parties. However, significant 
human rights problems persisted, including military harassment 
and abuse of activists promoting human rights and democracy, 
and denial of the rights to freedom of expression, association, 
assembly, religion, and movement. The government detained 
activists indefinitely and without charges and regime-sponsored 
mass-member organizations harassed and abused them. Authorities 
arrested, detained, convicted, and imprisoned citizens for 
expressing political opinions critical of the government. The 
government took initial steps in 2011 toward lifting some of 
the longtime restrictions on the media. If implemented, these 
measures would lay the groundwork for meaningful freedom of 
expression in the country.
    In China, the human rights situation deteriorated, 
particularly the freedoms of expression, assembly, and 
association. The government exercised tight control over 
Internet access and content. Members of civil society, 
including human rights activists, journalists, writers, and 
dissidents, were harassed and detained. Public interest lawyers 
who took cases deemed sensitive by the government faced 
disbarment and the closure of their firms, and in some cases 
were subject to arrest and detention. Activists, dissidents, 
and members of religious minorities were denied the freedoms to 
assemble, practice their religions, or travel. The government 
stepped up efforts to silence political activists and resorted 
to extralegal measures, including enforced disappearance, 
``soft detention,'' and strict house arrest, including house 
arrest of family members, to prevent the public voicing of 
independent opinions. Abuses peaked around high-profile events, 
such as visits of foreign officials, sensitive anniversaries, 
and in response to calls for ``Jasmine revolution,'' protests. 
In Tibet, at least 12 monks and nuns immolated themselves to 
protest political restrictions and lack of religious freedom.
    Vietnam's May elections were neither free nor fair, since 
all candidates were required to pass vetting by the 
authorities. The government severely restricted political 
rights, including the freedoms of expression, assembly, 
movement, and association. It also restricted access to 
Internet content, and monitored bloggers. There were confirmed 
reports of attacks against websites critical of the Vietnamese 
government. Peaceful political activists were arbitrarily 
arrested, detained, and sentenced to prison; those alleged to 
have ties to foreign-based pro-democracy groups were particular 
targets. And 19 people reportedly died in police custody, 
including a man beaten while in detention for a traffic 
violation. At year's end, the government reportedly held more 
than 100 political detainees, although some international 
observers claimed there were more. Independent nongovernmental 
organizations were not permitted, and corruption was a problem 
in the judiciary as well as at various levels in the police. 
Prosecution of officials who committed abuses was inconsistent.

                                 EUROPE

    Conditions in Belarus remained poor following the flawed 
presidential election of December 2010. Security forces beat 
protestors and detainees, and there were credible reports of 
torture. Trials were conducted behind closed doors or in 
absentia with verdicts predetermined. Five of the nine 
candidates who opposed incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka in the 
presidential election were tried and convicted. Individuals 
were detained for civic activism. For example, during the June-
September ``silent'' demonstrations organized via Internet, 
police detained more than 2,000 people and sentenced many of 
them to large fines or up to 15 days of administrative 
detention. The government targeted for harassment 
representatives of nongovernmental organizations, journalists, 
and political activists following the presidential elections 
and further restricted freedom of association.
    In Russia, domestic and international monitors reported 
significant irregularities and fraud in many regions during the 
December elections to the State Duma, but also highlighted 
unprecedented civic involvement by Russians committed to trying 
to improve the process. There were large demonstrations in 
major cities protesting the conduct of the elections. While 
freedom of expression on the Internet and in some print media 
continued, self-censorship and the government's ownership of 
and pressure on some print and most broadcast media outlets 
limited political discourse. Attacks on and killings of 
journalists and activists continued. Individuals who challenged 
the government or well-connected business interests sometimes 
faced physical attack, harassment, increased scrutiny from 
government regulatory agencies, politically-motivated 
prosecutions, harsh detention conditions, and other forms of 
pressure. In the North Caucasus, the conflict among the 
government and insurgents, Islamist militants, and criminal 
elements led to numerous human rights abuses by security forces 
and insurgents.
    In Ukraine, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and 12 
other senior members of her government were charged with abuse 
of power and misuse of state funds during their tenure. Three 
have been convicted, including Tymoshenko and former interior 
minister Yuriy Lutsenko. Two others remain in custody, and the 
former minister of the economy, Bohdan Danylyshyn, fled the 
country and was granted political asylum in the Czech Republic. 
Many domestic and foreign observers considered the prosecutions 
to be politically motivated.

                               NEAR EAST

    In Bahrain, mass protests began in February calling for 
political reform and expanded civil rights for members the Shia 
majority. The government imposed a state of emergency, or 
``State of National Safety,'' from March 15 to June 1, during 
which time military and civilian security forces committed a 
number of human rights violations, including torture, arbitrary 
detentions, limitations on freedoms of speech and association, 
and lack of due process. Public employees were dismissed from 
their jobs for participating in protests, and individuals were 
prosecuted in both state security courts and civilian courts. 
In July, the king established the Bahrain Independent 
Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which determined that 13 Bahraini 
civilians died at the hands of security forces and an 
additional five as a result of torture. Individuals who 
expressed critical opinions, including through music and social 
media, faced arrest, were subjected to extended detention, or 
prosecution. In its November 23 report, the BICI described a 
``culture of impunity'' created by a lack of accountability of 
security officials during the unrest. Over the course of 2011, 
some political prisoners were released and some dismissed 
employees were reinstated, but other prosecutions of 
journalists, activists, and oppositions figures for their 
alleged anti-government activities continued. After the release 
of the report, the government began to take steps to implement 
the recommendations of the BICI, such as allowing access to 
prisons by the International Committee of the Red Cross, 
establishing a process to address worker reinstatements in 
collaboration with the trade union and employers, and 
restructuring oversight mechanisms in the Ministry of Interior 
and Bahrain National Security Agency.
    In Egypt, massive street demonstrations culminated in the 
February 11 resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the 
transfer of executive authority to the Supreme Council of the 
Armed Forces. A March 2011 referendum for a new constitution, 
and voting in parliamentary elections conducted from November 
2011 through February 2012, were considered the freest in 
decades. However, human rights abuses were rampant during the 
uprising and continued after Mubarak's resignation. Attacks on 
demonstrators by security forces and clashes among 
demonstrators killed more than 900 people; female protesters 
were subjected to harassment and so-called ``virginity tests,'' 
and journalists and bloggers were detained for criticizing the 
military. Sectarian violence escalated over the course of the 
year, with more than 90 people, primarily Coptic Christians, 
killed in religious clashes. Few perpetrators of abuses were 
held accountable.
    The government of Iran continued to deny its citizens human 
rights, including the freedoms of expression, assembly, 
association, movement, and religion. It sentenced hundreds of 
people to death and carried out hundreds of executions without 
due process. It cracked down on all forms of dissent, arresting 
and detaining activists, opposition leaders, lawyers, 
journalists, artists, and academics. It executed juveniles, 
tortured political prisoners, and detained more journalists 
than nearly any country in the world. It limited the rights of 
citizens to peacefully change their government through free and 
fair elections, and also placed under house arrest for most of 
the year the two leaders of the main opposition movement, 
arbitrarily arrested their supporters, closed their websites 
and newspapers, and harassed their families. The Iranian 
government arrested, tortured, and prosecuted many for dissent, 
including demonstrators who rallied in solidarity with 
protesters in Tunisia and Egypt. It continued to mistreat 
women, LGBT people, and members of ethnic and religious 
minorities. Government officials made anti-Semitic statements, 
and disproportionately targeted members of minority groups, 
including Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and Baluchis, for arbitrary 
arrest, prolonged detention, and physical abuse. The government 
also isolated its citizens by imposing severe restrictions on 
the Internet.
    Iraq's most significant human rights abuses included 
reports of unlawful killings and violence, torture, impunity, 
disappearances, and widespread corruption. Abuses were 
committed by sectarian and ethnic armed groups and government-
affiliated forces. Both terrorist groups, principally Sunni, 
such as al-Qaida in Iraq, and militant organizations, largely 
Shia, committed attacks against members of other sects or 
ethnic groups, security forces, places of worship, religious 
pilgrims, economic infrastructure, and government officials. 
Through suicide bombings, attacks with improvised explosive 
devices, drive-by shootings, and other acts of violence, the 
groups aimed to weaken the government and deepen sectarian 
divisions.
    In Libya, a revolution ended the Qadhafi regime, which 
perpetrated systematic human rights abuses throughout its four-
decade rule and was also responsible for the majority of 
civilian deaths and abuses during the seven-month conflict in 
2011. Abuses were committed by various actors in 2011, 
including after the conflict, and often with impunity. These 
included disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary 
arrests, abuse and lack of review in detention, and violence 
and widespread discrimination against migrants and members of 
some ethnic minorities. Following Qadhafi's death on October 20 
and the takeover of his last stronghold in Sirte, the 
Transitional National Council declared the country's 
``liberation'' on October 23 and remained an arm of the interim 
government engaged in transition planning. The interim 
Government of Libya expressed support for the protection of 
human rights for all people in Libya, but due to weak 
institutions, limited capacity, and a lack of control over the 
security environment, its ability to enforce the rule of law 
was limited. Continuing violence, organizational dysfunction, 
and corruption led to ongoing human rights abuses, particularly 
in the areas outside government control.
    In Syria, nonviolent antigovernment demonstrations began in 
mid-March and continued throughout 2011. The government of 
President al-Asad used indiscriminate and deadly force to quell 
peaceful protests throughout the country and launched military 
assaults on several of its own cities. Government forces 
deprived cities of electricity, water, and medical services, 
and restricted entry and exit for approximately 20 days while 
using military weaponry on buildings, mosques, and other 
civilian targets. Despite the regime's November 2 agreement to 
an Arab League plan to engage in reforms and cease killing 
civilians, it continued to use deadly force against peaceful 
protesters. At the year's end, activists reported ongoing 
arrests, torture, intimidation, rape, extra-judicial killings 
and the use of military force against civilians. The government 
attempted to stop the flow of information about state violence, 
including by banning smart phones that had been used to 
document state violence against civilians, including children. 
Nonetheless, images of protesters allegedly being beaten, 
arrested, and killed continued to be smuggled out of the 
country and to appear on social media sites such as YouTube and 
Facebook. As next year's Human Rights Reports will cover, the 
situation deteriorated sharply early this year, with the 
government waging massive military operations against cities 
and towns, and laying siege to Homs and other cities. As of 
March, the United Nations estimated that more than 9,000 
civilians had been killed since the beginning of the 
demonstrations. Efforts by the International Committee of the 
Red Cross to provide humanitarian assistance and medical care 
to besieged civilians were frequently thwarted by state forces.
    The Arab Spring began in Tunisia in December 2010, when a 
young vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in 
front of the headquarters of the provincial government to 
protest the confiscation of his goods by the police and the 
refusal of local officials to hear his complaint. That action, 
and the weeks of protests it sparked, ultimately toppled the 
Ben Ali regime. On October 23, a Constituent Assembly, the body 
that will draft a new constitution and appoint a new interim 
government, was elected. The proceedings were considered free 
and fair and marked the first open, inclusive, and truly 
democratic election in Tunisia's history. Overall, the January 
Revolution created an extraordinary opening for the protection 
of human rights in Tunisia. Under Ben Ali's 23-year 
dictatorship, human rights were systematically ignored. After 
the Revolution, restrictions on freedom of expression, 
assembly, and association diminished significantly. Exiled 
activists returned, political prisoners were released, and 
civil society and human rights activists pursued their work 
without disruption or intimidation by the state.
    South and Central AsiaAfghanistan experienced continuing 
human rights challenges in 2011, including armed insurgent 
groups' killings of persons affiliated with the government and 
indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Corruption was pervasive. 
International organizations documented cases of alleged torture 
and abuse of detainees by the National Directorate for Security 
and Afghan National Police. Violence and discrimination against 
Afghan women and girls remained widespread, and in many cases, 
the police did not respond to such abuses. Women active in 
public life faced threats and violence and were attacked by the 
Taliban and other insurgents. A political dispute continued 
during the year over President Karzai's appointment of a 
special tribunal, not envisioned in the constitution, to 
adjudicate the disputed 2010 election results, until it was 
resolved in accordance with Afghan law in August.
    In October, Kyrgyzstan experienced its first peaceful 
transfer of power in the republic's 20-year history. The 
elections, in which Almazbek Atambayev, the sitting prime 
minister, became president, were deemed generally transparent 
and competitive by independent observers. Ethnic tensions that 
had erupted in clashes in the south of Kyrgyzstan in 2010 
continued in 2011, as did pervasive discrimination against 
ethnic Uzbeks and members of other minority groups. Law 
enforcement officers in the south reportedly committed such 
violations as arbitrary arrest, mistreatment, torture, and 
extortion against all demographic groups, but particularly 
against ethnic Uzbeks. The central government's inability to 
hold human rights violators accountable allowed security forces 
to act arbitrarily, emboldening law enforcement to prey on 
vulnerable citizens. Further, the weakness of central authority 
empowered mobs to disrupt dozens of trials by attacking 
defendants, attorneys, witnesses, and judges.
    Pakistan continued to struggle with extrajudicial killings, 
torture, and forced disappearances committed by security forces 
and by extremist or separatist groups. These affected thousands 
of citizens in nearly all areas of the country. Both militant, 
terrorist, or extremist groups and security forces committed 
human rights abuses. Religious tensions remained high. On 
January 4, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was assassinated by 
his bodyguard because of his opposition to the blasphemy law, 
which was used to clamp down on freedoms of expression and 
religion. On March 2, Federal Minister for Minorities Shabbaz 
Bhatti, the only Christian in the Pakistani Cabinet, was shot 
to death. Bhatti also was an outspoken critic of the blasphemy 
law. The political, sectarian, and ethnic violence that has 
long plagued Karachi worsened during the year due in part to a 
large influx of Sindhi, Baloch, and Pashtun migrants following 
the 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods. Political parties and 
their affiliated gangs vied for political and economic control 
over these new populations. It was estimated that between 925 
and 1,400 persons were killed due to sectarian and political 
violence in Karachi between January and August.
    In Sri Lanka, disappearances and killings pro-government 
paramilitary groups continued, predominantly in Tamil areas. 
There were persistent reports of close, ground-level ties 
between paramilitary groups and government security forces. 
Civil society activists, persons viewed as Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam sympathizers, and journalists were attacked, 
intimidated or harassed by persons allegedly tied to the 
government. Torture and abuse of detainees and poor prison 
conditions remained a problem, and authorities arbitrarily 
arrested and detained citizens. A number of suspects died in 
detention under questionable circumstances. There was official 
impunity for a wide range of such human rights abuses. The 
president used his authority under the 18th Amendment, which 
passed in September 2010, to take greater control of 
appointments to previously independent public institutions that 
oversee compliance by the judiciary and the police, and with 
Sri Lanka's human rights obligations. A disproportionate number 
of victims of human rights abuses were Tamils.
    In Uzbekistan, the centralized executive branch dominated 
political life and exercised nearly complete control over the 
other branches of government. Security forces reportedly 
tortured and abused detainees. Criminal suspects were denied 
due process and fair trial. Religious freedom was restricted, 
and religious minority group members were harassed and 
imprisoned. Other continuing human rights problems included: 
incommunicado and prolonged detention; harsh and sometimes 
life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
detention; restrictions on freedoms of speech, assembly, and 
association; governmental restrictions on civil society 
activity; restrictions on freedom of movement; restrictions on 
the media; violence against women; and government-organized 
forced labor in cotton harvesting. Authorities subjected human 
rights activists, journalists, and others who criticized the 
government to harassment, arbitrary arrest, and politically 
motivated prosecution and detention. Government officials 
frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    Western HemisphereIn Cuba, the government continued its 
systemic repression of human rights and fundamental freedoms, 
including freedoms of speech, assembly, and association, and 
imposed severe restrictions on the media. The government 
strictly controlled all access to information. Human rights 
advocates were detained arbitrarily with increasing frequency; 
the number of short-term detentions doubled from 2010 to 2011. 
The government continued to organize mobs intended to 
intimidate opposition groups, particularly the Damas de Blanco 
(``Ladies in White''). These acts of repudiation (``actos de 
repudio'') were particularly aggressive in July and August, and 
in October the government belied its claim that the mobs were 
spontaneous by announcing that it would deploy them to prevent 
the Damas de Blanco from marching peacefully. Government 
officials and government-organized mobs detained, harassed, and 
assaulted dozens of peaceful human rights activists, 
journalists, and others to prevent them from marking Human 
Rights Day on December 10. Almost 800 detentions were recorded 
in December, a 30-year high.
    Honduras had an extremely high murder rate, and crime and 
human rights abuses continued at very high levels. As in much 
of Central America, violence was perpetrated by gangs and drug 
trafficking organizations, and was a significant problem. The 
Honduran police force had deep-seated and unaddressed 
corruption problems, and police officers targeted vulnerable 
persons, including LGBT people. Four journalists were murdered. 
On December 7, unknown gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed 
former senior government advisor on security Alfredo 
Landaverde. In the weeks preceding his death, Landaverde 
alleged that the National Police leadership was linked to 
organized crime and called for a clean-up. Police, vigilantes, 
and former members of the security forces carried out arbitrary 
and summary killings. The Honduran government established an 
independent internal affairs office and an outside police 
reform commission to address corruption in the National Police. 
In the Bajo Aguan region, there continued to be reports of 
killings of private security guards, agricultural workers, and 
security forces related to a land dispute.
    In Mexico, the most serious human rights challenges in 2011 
emanated from the country's fight against organized crime, 
which involved frequent clashes between security forces and 
drug cartels, which function as transnational criminal 
organizations (TCOs). Both TCOs and the gangs linked to them 
battled for control of drug trafficking routes and markets. 
TCOs remained the most significant perpetrator of violent 
crimes in Mexico. They engaged in human trafficking and used 
brutal tactics against citizens, including inhumane treatment, 
murder, and widespread intimidation. TCOs had a chilling effect 
on the media, executing bloggers who reported on their 
activities and threatening journalists who criticized them. In 
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, TCOs killed two bloggers in September 
and posted messages on their bodies warning of retaliation 
against anyone commenting about their activities on social 
media. A third Nuevo Laredo blogger was allegedly beaten and 
then killed in November, again in retaliation for posting 
comments on the Internet about local drug cartels. In the 
context of the fight against TCOs, but also at times unrelated 
to it, security forces reportedly engaged in unlawful killings, 
forced disappearances, and instances of physical abuse and 
torture.
    In Venezuela, there was an accelerating concentration of 
power in the executive branch. President Chavez used a December 
2010 law granting him broad authority to decree laws for a 
period of 18 months without consultation or approval by the 
elected National Assembly, to decree restrictions to 
fundamental economic and property rights. The government also 
took actions to impede freedom of expression and criminalize 
dissent. It harassed and intimidated privately owned television 
stations, other media outlets, and journalists throughout the 
year, using threats, fines, property seizures, targeted 
regulations, and criminal investigations and prosecutions. 
Anti-Semitism colored official media attacks on opponents. The 
government used the judiciary to intimidate and prosecute 
political, union, business, and civil society leaders who were 
critical of government policies or actions.


                                 AFRICA

                              ----------                              


                                 ANGOLA

                           executive summary
    Angola is a constitutional republic. The ruling Popular Movement 
for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by President Jose Eduardo dos 
Santos, has been in power since independence in 1975 and exercised 
tight, centralized control over government planning, policymaking, and 
media outlets. In 2008 the government held the first legislative 
elections since 1992. Domestic and international observers reported 
that polling throughout the country was peaceful and generally 
credible, despite a ruling party advantage due to state control of 
major media and other resources and serious logistical failures that 
marred polling in the capital, Luanda. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    The three most important human rights abuses were lack of judicial 
process and judicial inefficiency; limits on the freedom of assembly, 
association, speech, and press; and the abridgement of citizens' right 
to elect officials at all levels.
    Other human rights abuses included: cruel and excessive punishment, 
including torture and beatings as well as unlawful killings by police 
and military personnel; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
detention; lengthy pretrial detention; impunity for human rights 
abusers; infringements on citizens' privacy rights and forced evictions 
without compensation; official corruption; restrictions on 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); discrimination and violence 
against women; abuse of children; trafficking in persons; 
discrimination against persons with disabilities, indigenous people, 
and persons with HIV/AIDS; limits on workers' rights; and forced labor.
    The government took steps to prosecute or punish officials who 
committed abuses; however, accountability was limited due to a lack of 
checks and balances, lack of institutional capacity, a culture of 
impunity, and widespread government corruption.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Unlike in previous 
years, there were several reports that the government or its agents 
committed politically motivated killings. Opposition parties, human 
rights activists, and domestic media sources reported that security 
forces arbitrarily killed at least four persons during the year.
    In March the opposition party National Union for the Total 
Independence of Angola (UNITA) published a list of nine cases from 2010 
of killing or disappearance in Huambo Province that UNITA argued were 
politically motivated. A National Assembly commission investigated the 
claims during the year and concluded there was no political intolerance 
in Huambo. However, civil society criticized the report.
    In October Januario Armindo Sikaleta, the municipal secretary of 
UNITA in Bocoio, Benguela Province, was killed. UNITA representatives 
in Benguela suspected that Januario was one of nine persons killed for 
political motives in the province during the year.
    The government made some progress prosecuting police officers 
responsible for human rights violations. However, impunity remained a 
problem, and the results of investigations into security force abuses 
were seldom released.
    Domestic media and local human rights activists reported that 
police use of excessive force resulted in killings.
    There were no developments in the cases reported of arbitrary 
killings in 2010.
    In January 2010 FLEC claimed responsibility for an attack on a 
Togolese national soccer team, which was traveling through Cabinda to 
participate in the African Cup of Nations. Three persons were killed 
and nine injured. Two persons were arrested for direct involvement and 
six for tangential involvement. Of the first two, one person was 
sentenced to 24 years in prison, and the other was acquitted; the six 
arrested for tangential involvement were released in December 2010.
    Land mines placed during the civil war remained a threat. According 
to the National Commission for Demining and Humanitarian Assistance, 
land mine and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) accidents killed 10 
and injured at least 23 individuals during the first half of the year. 
A subsequent press report in November noted that there were 42 land 
mine victims. The government continued to strengthen and expand 
national demining capacity during the year, and it partnered 
extensively with international NGOs on demining operations and mine-
risk education.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances. There were some local media reports that persons 
``disappeared'' in police or military custody following a public 
demonstration on September 3. The detainees' location was reported 
within three days, and they were granted a timely trial according to 
the law.
    In 2009 the president of a local movement for autonomy and 
independence, Jota Malakito, was taken into police custody and held 
incommunicado. In October 2010 he was tried with 33 other persons 
accused of crimes against state security and instigating a rebellion. 
In January 2011 Malakito and the 33 were released after their lawyer 
successfully argued for habeas corpus relief because the law on crimes 
against state security had been repealed.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
government security forces tortured, beat, and otherwise abused 
persons. Unlike in previous years, reports of beatings and other abuses 
in police stations during interrogations were not common.
    Police and other security forces were not held accountable for 
torture committed in previous years. Although the government punished 
some violators administratively, no prosecutions occurred during the 
year.
    The government continued to conduct operations throughout the 
country to identify, detain, and expel undocumented immigrants from the 
provinces bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cabinda, 
Zaire, Uige, Lunda Norte, and Lunda Sul. In particular, in the diamond-
rich province of Lunda Norte, NGOs and the media reported acts of 
violence and degrading treatment, including rape and sexual abuse, 
associated with these operations. Police expelled approximately 38,000 
undocumented immigrants between April and October, according to an 
international NGO report. According to the same NGO, more than 2,000 
deportees reported suffering sexual violence, and 7,000 reported 
physical abuse. Based on an assessment mission among those returned to 
the DRC, a 2010 U.N. report cited 117 victims of sexual violence in 
that year. The victims, irregular immigrants from the DRC, reported 
being detained and raped by military or police officers before being 
forcibly expelled to the DRC. The government responded that the 
allegations were unfounded, but reported uncovering one case of rape. 
During the year the alleged perpetrator was found guilty and sentenced 
to an unknown prison term.
    Police and immigration officials at border checkpoints extorted 
money from travelers and harassed returnees and refugees.
    According to an NGO report published in August, a local authority 
in Lunda Norte reported that the border police forced people to undress 
and conducted cavity searches on men and women to detect diamonds. The 
same authority reported that police accepted bribes.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reported cases of abuse by 
the army.
    One political party reported abuses by private security companies 
in Lunda Norte. In previous years human rights activists reported that 
private security companies hired by diamond companies to protect their 
concessions from illegal exploitation committed abuses.
    Land mine and other ERW-related injuries continued as 
infrastructure improvements made possible increased movement of persons 
and goods in rural, war-affected areas. At least 10 persons were killed 
and 23 injured by unexploded ordnance (see section 1.a.) during the 
year. A subsequent press report in November noted that there were 42 
land mine victims.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions improved 
over the year, although NGOs continued to report corruption, 
overcrowding, and deaths from poor conditions.
    Overcrowding was a major problem. According to the Ministry of 
Interior and press reports, the 34 prisons had 11,692 available places 
for 19,898 prisoners in November. The Viana prison, for example, had 
space for 2,436 inmates, but held 3,689 as of September. The Benguela 
prison was built for 1,500 inmates, but held more than 1,800, according 
to an April press report.
    There were 9,234 men in pretrial detention and 10,113 men serving a 
sentence. There were 551 women, of whom 253 were in pretrial detention 
and 298 were sentenced. Most prisoners were between 16 and 35 years 
old.
    The Ministry of Interior was building five new prisons in Bengo, 
Luanda, Malange, Huambo, and Cunene provinces to create 10,000 new 
places and eliminate overcrowding by 2013. The government opened new 
prisons in Bengo Province in 2010 and in Luanda and Lunda Norte in 
2011. The new, expanded, or rehabilitated prisons are intended to 
alleviate the overcrowding that sparked riots in 2007 in which at least 
two persons were killed.
    Prison conditions varied widely between urban and rural areas. 
Every prison provided some medical care, sanitation, potable water, and 
food. Most prisoners were allowed visitors, and it was customary for 
families to bring food to prisoners, although food was provided. 
Prisoners are allowed to list five visitors for free entry, but 
individuals not on the list must pay 50 kwanza ($0.52) to enter. 
According to a press report, underpaid guards accepted bribes up to 
1,000 kwanzas ($10) for visitors to enter the prison expeditiously and 
deliver food. Prison guards continued to demand that prisoners pay for 
weekend passes to which they are entitled without charge.
    At least six prisoners died of unknown causes; it was unclear 
whether they died due to prison conditions or preexisting medical 
conditions.
    Authorities were taking steps to improve prison recordkeeping, and 
efforts were underway to move from a manual recordkeeping system to a 
computerized database including biometric data and a link to other 
agencies, such as police and justice. Adequate statistics were 
available in each facility, and authorities were able to locate every 
prisoner.
    The law provides for prisoners to practice freedom of religion. The 
government allows prisoners to submit complaints to judicial 
authorities and request investigation of conditions. The government 
investigated and monitored prison and detention center conditions.
    The government permitted visits to prisons by independent human 
rights observers, foreign diplomats, and international human rights 
observers. In September a foreign diplomatic delegation visited the new 
prison in Lunda Norte and noted it had sanitation, ventilation, 
lighting, medical care, food, and was not overcrowded. The 
International Committee of the Red Cross visits the Cabinda prison on a 
regular basis. In December a spokesperson for a local NGO reported 
having visited Luanda prisons during the year and described conditions 
as increasingly humane.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reported cases of prison 
rape. Guards were not allowed to have relationships with female 
detainees. There were unsubstantiated indications that male prisoners 
raped other male prisoners.
    Children under three years old may stay with their mothers in 
prison. There were 83 children of female detainees and prisoners, 16 of 
whom were in Viana prison. The children may leave the prison with 
family members. The Ministry of Interior worked with social assistants 
to ensure the children's well-being. The children were supposed to 
receive dietary supplements, milk, and diapers and could benefit from a 
day care center.
    Authorities at provincial prisons regularly housed juveniles, often 
incarcerated for petty theft, together with adults because separate 
juvenile detention centers did not exist outside Luanda. Authorities in 
Luanda prisons separated juveniles from the main prison population.
    Authorities frequently held pretrial detainees with sentenced 
inmates, and held short-term detainees with those serving long-term 
sentences for violent crimes, especially in provincial prisons.
    An independent Office of the Ombudsman exists to mediate between an 
aggrieved public and an offending public office or institution. The 
office has no decision-making or adjudicative powers, but it helps 
citizens access justice and advises government entities on citizen 
rights. The office also educates the public about the role of the 
ombudsman, human rights, and publishes reports.
    Prisoners were provided education and vocational training to 
prevent repeat offenders and help with social reintegration. In some 
prisons inmates grew food and made bread to feed other inmates and sell 
to police, as well as on the local market. Limited vocational training 
was done in a public-private partnership with local industry. The labor 
was voluntary, and the ministry was establishing a system to pay 
prisoners for their work. In some prisons inmates had access to sports 
and recreation facilities. In November the ministry inaugurated a 
prison hospital in Sao Paulo.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, police legally can detain an individual 
under reasonable suspicion for six hours without evidence of a crime. 
Security forces often did not respect these prohibitions in practice.
    According to a local NGO, police arbitrarily arrested individuals 
without due process. For example, in May a Somali national reported 
that he and 30 others had been in Caxito prison in Bengo Province since 
2009. According to the detainees, they were being held without knowing 
the charges against them and had never appeared in court. The Somalis 
entered Angola from Zambia and did not have passports.
    There was one report of citizens from the northern province of 
Cabinda being detained for crimes against the state. In November 2010 
the National Assembly approved a new law on state security, replacing 
the 1978 law. According to press reports, on July 26, police detained 
nine young persons in Cabinda under the new law on state security for 
``inciting social disorder'' when the youths attempted to deliver a 
letter requesting water, electricity, respect for human rights, and 
transparency to a visiting international delegation. All nine were 
acquitted the next day.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police, 
controlled by the Interior Ministry, are responsible for internal 
security and law enforcement. The Internal Intelligence Service reports 
to the presidency and investigates sensitive state security matters. 
The FAA is responsible for external security but also has domestic 
security responsibilities, including border security, expulsion of 
irregular immigrants, and small-scale actions against FLEC separatists 
in Cabinda.
    Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the FAA and 
National Police, and the government had mechanisms to investigate and 
punish abuse and corruption. However, there were reports of impunity 
involving security forces during the year. The security forces were 
generally effective, although sometimes brutal. Impunity existed, 
particularly at the highest levels of power. The National Police and 
FAA have internal mechanisms to investigate security force abuses, and 
the government provided some training to reform the security forces.
    Other than personnel assigned to elite units, police were poorly 
paid, and the practice of supplementing income through extortion of 
civilians was widespread. Corruption and impunity remained serious 
problems. Most complaints were handled within the National Police by 
internal disciplinary procedures, which sometimes led to formal 
punishment, including dismissal. However, the government did not 
establish mechanisms to expedite investigations and punish alleged 
offenders, and it rarely disclosed publicly the results of internal 
investigations.
    Police participated in professional training with foreign law 
enforcement officials from several countries in the region.
    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Prior to an 
arrest, the law requires a judge or magistrate to issue a warrant, 
although a person caught committing a crime may be arrested immediately 
without a warrant. However, security forces did not always procure 
arrest warrants before detaining persons. In 2010 a local NGO estimated 
that as many as 75 percent of searches were conducted without a 
warrant.
    The constitution provides the right to prompt judicial 
determination of the detention's legality, but authorities often did 
not respect this right in practice.
    The law mandates that detainees be informed of charges against them 
within five days or the prosecutor may permit the suspect to return 
home and provide a warrant of surveillance to local police. This 
generally occurred in practice.
    If the crime is a misdemeanor, the suspect may be detained for 30 
days before trial. If the crime is a felony, the prosecutor may prolong 
pretrial detention up to 45 days. Pretrial detention may be prolonged 
by court order while officials build their case. Requests to prolong 
pretrial detention are not made public, which made it difficult to 
determine whether authorities exceeded the limits.
    A functioning but ineffective bail system, widely used for minor 
crimes, existed. Prisoners and their families reported that prison 
officials demanded bribes to release prisoners. Prisoners are allowed 
access to a lawyer, although this did not always happen in practice.
    The law mandates access to legal counsel for detainees and states 
that indigent detainees should be provided a lawyer by the state. These 
rights often were not respected, in part due to the shortage of legal 
professionals. The law also allows family members prompt access to 
detainees; however, this occasionally was ignored or made conditional 
upon payment of a bribe.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Unlawful arrest and detention continued to be 
serious problems. NGOs continued efforts to secure the release of 
persons detained illegally. Security officials arbitrarily arrested 
members of the opposition. In 2010 the online independent news source 
Club-K reported that police in Bie Province detained one person for 
attending a UNITA meeting. UNITA member Alcides Sakala reported that 
police detained 11 persons more than two days for belonging to UNITA. 
In response to similar reports from Huambo Province in 2010 and 2011, a 
Parliamentary Inquiry Commission claimed there was no political 
intolerance.
    Between March and December, authorities in Balombo, Cubal, and 
Ganda municipalities, Benguela Province, detained and later released 22 
individuals for being members of UNITA, according to the opposition 
party. At least one person was detained for a week before being 
released. The lengths of the other detentions were not known.
    On October 10, authorities in Cambulo municipality, Lunda Norte 
Province, detained Alfonso Marcasso for being a member of the 
International Lunda Chokwe Protectorate Movement, according to the same 
civil society organization. He was transferred to Dundo and remained in 
prison until late December, when he was released. Authorities never 
filed charges against Marcasso.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of security forces 
detaining Cabinda residents suspected of FLEC activity or 
collaboration.
    The six individuals arrested in January 2010 in Cabinda for 
``crimes against state security'' by collaborating with FLEC were freed 
in December 2010.

    Pretrial Detention.--The law states detainees should not be held 
longer than 24 hours, but many were held for days. Excessively long 
pretrial detention continued to be a serious problem. An inadequate 
number of judges and poor communication among authorities contributed 
to the problem. Police beat and then released detainees rather than 
prepare a formal court case. In some cases authorities held inmates in 
the prison system for up to two years before their trials began. NGOs 
reported that more than 50 percent of inmates were pretrial detainees, 
most of whom had not been formally charged. The government did not 
release detainees who had been held beyond the legal time limit, 
claiming that previous releases of pretrial detainees had resulted in 
an increase in crime.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, the judiciary remained understaffed, 
inefficient, corrupt (see section 4), and subject to executive and 
political influence.
    Unlike in previous years, the Ministry of Defense did not try 
civilians in military courts.
    There were long trial delays at the Supreme Court level. Criminal 
courts also had a large backlog of cases, which resulted in major 
delays in hearings.
    Informal courts remained the principal institutions through which 
citizens resolved conflicts in rural areas. Traditional leaders also 
heard and decided local cases. These informal systems did not provide 
citizens with the same rights to a fair trial as the formal legal 
system. Instead, each community in which they were located established 
local rules.
    Most municipalities did not have prosecutors or judges. Local 
police often served as investigator, prosecutor, and judge. Both the 
National Police and the FAA have internal court systems that generally 
remained closed to outside scrutiny. Although members of these 
organizations can be tried under their internal regulations, cases that 
include violations of criminal or civil laws can also fall under the 
jurisdiction of provincial courts.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial; 
however, the government did not always respect this right. Suspects 
must be in the presence of a judge and defense attorney when charged. 
Defendants are presumed innocent until convicted. By law trials are 
usually public, although each court has the right to close proceedings. 
Juries are not used. Defendants have the right to be present and 
consult with an attorney in a timely manner. The law requires that an 
attorney be provided at public expense if an indigent defendant faces 
serious criminal charges. Outside of Luanda the public defender was 
generally not a trained attorney due to shortages in qualified 
personnel. Defendants do not have the right to confront their accusers. 
They may question witnesses against them and present witnesses and 
evidence on their own behalf. The government did not always respect 
these rights in practice.
    Defendants and their attorneys have the right to access government-
held evidence relevant to their cases. In addition defendants have the 
right to appeal. Lawyers and prosecutors can appeal if the sentence is 
unsatisfactory, but only a higher court can modify the sentence. These 
rights were not always respected in practice.
    The law extends to all citizens. A separate court under the 
Ministry of Justice is designated for children's affairs. It functions 
as part of Luanda's provincial court system. The Luanda juvenile court 
hears cases of youths under the age of 18 who are victims of a crime. 
The juvenile court also hears cases of minors between the ages of 12 
and 16 who are accused of committing a criminal offense. Minors over 
the age of 16 accused of committing a criminal offense are tried in the 
regular court system. In many rural provinces, there is no provision 
for juvenile courts, so offenders are tried as adults.
    The president appoints Supreme Court justices for life terms 
without confirmation by the National Assembly. The Supreme Court 
generally heard cases concerning alleged political and security crimes.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports of political 
prisoners. At year's end seven political activists from the Movement 
for Autonomy and Independence of the Lundas remained imprisoned for 
crimes against state security and instigating a rebellion. The seven 
remain imprisoned despite the fact that the state security law under 
which they were convicted has since been repealed. In October the seven 
prisoners went on a hunger strike. By year's end the provincial court 
of Lunda Norte had not disclosed why they should remain in prison.
    Political activist Antonio Txichicussula reportedly was detained in 
February in Lunda Norte's Lukapa district for having documents related 
to a local separatist group. Txichicussula was tried, sentenced, and 
released in September on two years' probation after posting bail of 
45,000 kwanzas ($473).

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--There was no additional 
information at year's end about the 2010 African Commission on Human 
and People's Rights decision against Angola, or recommendation that the 
government establish a commission of inquiry to investigate the 
deportation of 126,264 foreigners in 2004.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the law provides 
for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, the 
judiciary was subject to political interference. Civil courts 
functioned in some provinces but faced severe backlogs. In 2009 
Luanda's civil courts had more than 2,000 pending civil suits. Damages 
for human rights violations could be sought in court, but no cases were 
tried during the year.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, but 
the government did not always respect these prohibitions in practice. 
For example, citizens widely believed that the government maintained 
surveillance of certain groups, including government critics, 
opposition parties, and journalists. A National Assembly bill on 
cybersecurity was withdrawn from debate after civil society groups 
claimed it hampered freedom of expression and press.

    Property Restitution.--The law requires that citizens cannot be 
relocated without being provided a fair indemnification. In practice 
more than 6,000 persons were relocated during the year; most did not 
receive fair indemnification. Under the constitution, all land belongs 
to the state. The state claimed many of the former residents did not 
have clear title to their dwellings, which were constructed illegally.
    The government exercised eminent domain to destroy private homes, 
although less often than in the previous year. The homeowners were not 
compensated at fair market value for the loss of their residences or 
land.
    At year's end residents of the 1,557 homes destroyed in Lubango in 
September 2010 remained in resettlement camps in Tchimukua and 
Tchavola. A local NGO reported that the residents had insufficient 
access to water, shelter, health and education facilities, police, and 
jobs.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press; however, state dominance of most media outlets, minimal private 
media outside of Luanda, and self-censorship by journalists limited 
these rights in practice.
    For example, according to independent Web site Club-K, news about 
the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt was censored for fear that it might 
prompt comparisons to President dos Santos' 32-year rule. MPLA leaders 
Dino Matross and Rui Falcao spoke to private radio station LAC warning 
that the government would crack down if similar protests were to take 
place in the country.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individual citizens reported practicing self-
censorship but generally were able to criticize the government without 
fear of direct reprisals. The government engaged in subtle repression 
and economic coercion, often in the form of withdrawing business or job 
opportunities, to discourage criticism. An NGO reported that citizens 
often curtailed their support of an opposition political party because 
they would suffer reprisal from MPLA supporters.
    On September 1, a group of young people stated that they were asked 
by authorities to postpone their public protest against dos Santos 
scheduled for September 3. The group's leader, Carbono Casimiro, wrote 
an open letter in which he claimed that the government offered him 
$270,000 and eight cars if he would cancel the demonstration.

    Freedom of Press.--There were 12 privately owned weekly newspapers 
and four Luanda-based commercial radio stations. All but three of these 
publications, Folha 8, Angolense, and Agora, were rumored to be owned 
by groups or individuals tied to the government. Nongovernment radio 
stations could broadcast only in provinces where they physically 
established antennas. Only government-owned Radio Nacional was allowed 
to use repeaters to expand signal reach and was thus the only station 
broadcasting in much of the country. As a result most private radio 
stations could reach audiences only in Luanda. Radio Mais, whose 
ownership included individuals associated with the ruling party, also 
broadcast in Huambo and Benguela. Radio 2000, whose owners were also 
suspected to be connected to the ruling party, operated in Huila.
    Private radio and print media criticized the government openly and 
at times harshly, but at their peril. Local journalists were not able 
to criticize government officials, particularly the president, without 
fear of arrest or harassment.
    The government also restricted nationwide independent broadcasting 
through licensing laws. However, despite such restrictive laws, Radio 
Mais broadcast to three provinces outside Luanda. During the year Radio 
Ecclesia negotiated with the Ministry of Social Communication to expand 
its broadcast range to five provinces, but at year's end it still 
broadcast only in Luanda. State-owned Radio Nacional opened multiple 
community-based radio stations during the year, including the popular 
Radio Cazenga.
    Official news outlets, including Angolan Public Television, favored 
the ruling party. Opposition parties were given limited access to 
state-owned media and were asked to pay in exchange for coverage of 
their events and statements.

    Violence and Harassment.--During the year authorities arrested, 
harassed, and intimidated journalists. For example, on March 7, police 
detained three journalists from the independent weekly newspaper Novo 
Jornal, for attempting to cover a planned protest (see section on 
freedom of assembly). They were later released without being charged.
    In October Voice of America reporter Jose Manuel Gimbi was searched 
for by what were presumed to be plainclothes officials who went door to 
door in his neighborhood. He was not home or harmed, but he filed a 
complaint with local authorities. This case was erroneously reported by 
some local and international human rights groups as a threat on Gimbi's 
life.
    There was no new information at year's end on the six cases of 
journalists robbed, attacked, or killed in September and October 2010.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--There were reports security 
forces interfered with journalists' attempts to take pictures or video 
during the year. For example, during a September 3 demonstration, 
journalists reported plainclothes individuals believed to be linked to 
the police stole or destroyed cameras and media equipment.
    Visitors were warned during the year not to take photographs of any 
government-affiliated buildings or persons because security forces 
might seize their cameras or detain them.
    Human rights activists and journalists practiced self-censorship.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Defamation is a crime punishable by 
imprisonment or a fine. Accuracy is not an acceptable defense against 
defamation charges; the accused must provide evidence proving the 
validity of the allegedly damaging material.
    In 2009 journalist Armando Chicoca was accused of defaming the 
president of the provincial court of Namibe Province, Antonio 
Vissandule. On March 3, Chicoca was sentenced to one year in prison for 
criminal defamation. At year's end he was out of jail on bail.
    On October 10, William Tonet, editor of the private newspaper Folha 
8, was convicted of criminal libel against high-level officials by the 
Luanda provincial court. The case pertained to an article Folha 8 
published in 2008 alleging these officials had gained control of 
diamond mines in Lunda Norte Province without public, competitive 
bidding. Tonet appealed, but he was initially sentenced to one year in 
prison and a fine of $100,000.

    Publishing Restrictions.--The minister of social communication, the 
spokesperson of the presidency, and the national director of 
information maintained significant decision-making authority over the 
media.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. In November 
at least two independent online news sites suffered denial of service 
attacks simultaneously, leading some to allege government interference.

    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.--Although the constitution and law provide for the right of 
assembly, the government at times restricted this right. At least 10 
public demonstrations took place during the year, although police 
detained persons during at least five of these demonstrations.
    The law requires written notification to the local administrator 
and police three days before public assemblies are to be held, but it 
does not require government permission for such events. However, the 
government at times prohibited events based on perceived or claimed 
security considerations. Participants potentially were liable for 
``offenses against the honor and consideration due to persons and to 
organs of sovereignty.'' Police and administrators did not interfere 
with progovernment gatherings. However, groups intending to criticize 
the government or government leaders often met a heavy police presence 
and government excuses preventing them from carrying out the event. 
Usually authorities claimed that the timing or venue requested was 
problematic or that the proper authorities had not received 
notification.
    During the year activists suffered intimidation, including 
anonymous death threats, because of their involvement in public 
demonstrations.
    On March 7, an anonymous group planned a demonstration to protest 
the president's 32-year term in office. Fourteen persons were arrested, 
including three journalists from Novo Jornal. They were later released 
without being charged. Official statements indicated they were detained 
for their personal protection.
    In March members of the NGO Associacao Maos Livres reported 
receiving threats and having at least one car vandalized. The victims 
believed the incident was related to the March 7 demonstration and 
other human rights-related work.
    On May 25, the youth-led group Revolutionary Movement for Social 
Intervention (MRIS) planned a demonstration at Independence Square in 
Luanda to protest poor living conditions. Police detained several of 
the organizers: two musicians, a journalist from independent, UNITA-
linked Radio Despertar, and another citizen. All four detainees were 
released the same day without being charged. They then returned to 
Independence Square, and the demonstration continued without police 
interference.
    On September 3, MRIS and an estimated 200 persons demonstrated 
under the slogan, ``32 is enough,'' a reference to the number of years 
the president had been in office. Police arrested 24 individuals, 
including at least one of the organizers. According to multiple 
reports, police injured some demonstrators and journalists and 
destroyed media equipment. A Luanda court sentenced five persons to 
three months in prison and fines and damages totaling almost 10,000 
kwanzas ($105) for resisting arrest and allegedly causing bodily harm 
to four police officers during the demonstration. The court also 
sentenced 13 persons to 45 days in prison for disobedience. Two minors 
were sentenced to two years with suspended sentences. Three of the 
accused protesters were acquitted for lack of evidence. On October 14, 
the Supreme Court overturned the convictions for lack of evidence, and 
the imprisoned demonstrators were released.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for the 
right of association, and the government generally respected this right 
in practice. Nevertheless, extensive and unexplained delays in the NGO 
registration process continued to be a problem. According to a 2011 
survey, approximately 70 percent of the NGOs operating in the country 
were properly certified by the Ministry of Justice. The rest were 
unable to obtain certification, but were nevertheless allowed to 
operate.
    The government sometimes arbitrarily restricted the activities of 
associations it considered subversive by refusing to grant permits for 
organized activities. During the year opposition parties generally were 
permitted to organize and hold meetings; however, opposition officials 
continued to report obstructions to the free exercise of their parties' 
right to meet. For example, local authorities threatened members who 
attended such meetings.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/
irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, the government at times restricted these rights 
in practice. During the year the government improved the road network 
and decreased checkpoints between provinces. The government cooperated 
with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the 
International Organization for Migration, and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons 
of concern.

    In-country Movement.--Extortion and harassment at government 
checkpoints in rural areas and at provincial and international border 
checkpoints interfered with the right to travel. Extortion by police 
was routine in cities on major commercial routes. The government and 
private security companies restricted access to the areas around 
designated diamond concessions. Citizens living near concession areas 
regularly were denied access for any purpose, including obtaining 
water.
    Land mines and other ERW remaining from the civil war continued to 
impede freedom of movement in rural areas.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Officially there were no 
longer significant numbers of IDPs. The majority of Angolans previously 
considered IDPs either returned home or did not intend to return to 
their area of origin, as many now considered their new locations to be 
home. Some of those who may have wanted to return to their original 
homes stated that a lack of physical infrastructure and government 
services, such as medical care and the presence of land mines, were 
major deterrents to their return.
    The Ministry of Assistance and Social Reinsertion (MINARS) has 
primary responsibility for returnees and any remaining IDPs as well as 
housing and resettlement programs; however, its efforts remained 
inadequate. The ministry delegated primary responsibility to provincial 
governments for the safe, voluntary resettlement of IDPs in areas 
cleared of mines and with access to water, arable land, markets, and 
adequate state administration.
    The government did not restrict aid efforts by international 
humanitarian groups. Unlike in previous years, the government allowed 
international organizations access to refugee camps, returnee welcome 
centers, and border crossings to conduct assessment missions. 
Diplomatic missions were denied access to these facilities on one 
occasion.

    Protection of Refugees.--In 2010 all Angolan returnees who were 
forcibly returned from the DRC in late 2009 had been settled in 
communities, mostly in Uige and Zaire provinces. Government officials 
and returnees reported in 2011 that returnees had received some 
assistance from MINARS and international organizations, but continued 
to require legal assistance to regularize their status, supplies to 
restart their careers, education and language training, agricultural 
supplies, and housing materials.
    In 2009 the government and UNHCR resumed joint efforts to 
repatriate thousands of refugees remaining outside the country since 
the civil war. These efforts continued; during the year Angolan 
refugees returned voluntarily from Namibia, Zambia, the Republic of 
Congo, and the DRC. According to UNHCR statistics, more than 100,000 
Angolan refugees remained in neighboring countries at year's end. The 
government cooperated with the UNHCR on voluntary refugee repatriation 
and reintegration programs, but operations were significantly delayed 
due to funding constraints and lack of reintegration support to 
returnees.

    Access to Asylum.--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. The country hosted nearly 15,000 
refugees and more than 4,000 asylum seekers, the majority from the DRC.

    Nonrefoulement.--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.

    Employment.--There were no formal restrictions on refugees' ability 
to seek employment. Refugees sometimes faced difficulty obtaining 
employment due to a lack of legal documents required to work in the 
formal sector and difficulty in obtaining such documents.
    Access to Basic Services.--Persons with recognized refugee status 
could take advantage of public services. Refugees sometimes faced 
difficulty obtaining access to public services such as health care and 
education due to a lack of legal documents.
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. Citizens were able to exercise the right 
to elect legislative representatives in 2008. The constitution calls 
for the first ever elections at the municipal and provincial levels to 
happen according to the principle of ``gradualism'' where local 
elections are to be phased in provinces and municipalities based on a 
variable timeline. However, the right to elect local leaders remained 
restricted and elections did not occur at the provincial or municipal 
levels.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--After 
having postponed legislative elections for two years, the government 
held the first postwar elections in 2008. The ruling MPLA won 81.6 
percent of the vote. Domestic and international observers reported that 
polling throughout the country was peaceful and generally credible, 
although the ruling party enjoyed advantages due to state control of 
major media and other resources. Serious logistical failures marred 
polling in the capital, Luanda. Opposition parties criticized many 
aspects of the electoral process, including state control of the major 
media, late disbursement of public campaign funds, the National 
Electoral Commission's (CNE) failure to accredit some opposition and 
civil society electoral observers, and the CNE's last-minute decision 
to discard the legal requirement that a voter registry be used at 
polling stations to verify a voter's identity and residence. Despite 
these and other irregularities, more than 87 percent of registered 
voters participated. Opposition parties generally accepted the 
electoral results.
    Observers had expected a presidential election in 2009. However, 
elections did not occur due to a delay to accommodate constitutional 
reform. The new constitution calls for elections within five years of 
the previous elections and were scheduled for late 2012. Voters will 
elect candidates from a party list, with the presidential candidate at 
the head of the list.

    Political Parties.--The ruling MPLA party dominated all political 
institutions. Political power was concentrated in the presidency and 
the Council of Ministers, through which the president exercised 
executive power. The council can enact laws, decrees, and resolutions, 
assuming most functions normally associated with the legislative 
branch. The National Assembly consists of 220 deputies elected under a 
party list proportional representation system. This body has the 
authority to draft, debate, and pass legislation, but in practice laws 
generally were drafted and proposed by the executive branch for the 
assembly's approval. After the 2008 legislative elections, opposition 
deputies held fewer than 20 percent of the parliamentary seats.
    Opposition parties stated that their members were subject to 
harassment, intimidation, and assault by supporters of the MPLA. UNITA 
continued to argue that the MPLA had not lived up to the terms of the 
2002 peace accord, and former combatants lacked the social services and 
assistance needed to reintegrate into society. Former combatants also 
reported difficulties obtaining pensions due to bureaucratic delays or 
discrimination. UNITA headquarters buildings in at least three 
provinces were denied access to public utilities, including electricity 
and water. During the year UNITA reported that its members suffered 
intimidation and harassment.
    In February UNITA claimed that at least nine of its supporters were 
killed in Huambo Province for political reasons in the previous year. A 
parliamentary commission sent to investigate the claim found no 
political intolerance in Huambo Province. However, civil society 
criticized the report.
    Opposition party members and civil society leaders cited examples 
of political intolerance during the 2008 election process.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Of the 220 deputies in the 
National Assembly, 79 were women (36 percent), exceeding the U.N.-
recommended quota of 30 percent. Six women served as governors or vice 
governors, and 20 women were executive level officials (ministers, 
state secretaries, presidential appointees).
    The country has three dominant linguistic groups: the Ovimbundu, 
Mbundu, and Bakongo, which together constitute approximately 77 percent 
of the population. All were represented in government. Other groups 
also took part in governing at the national level. There were six 
members of smaller ethnic groups in the National Assembly and one 
minority member, a Chokwe, in the cabinet. Political parties must be 
represented in all 18 provinces; however, most political parties had 
limited national constituencies. By law no political party could limit 
party membership based on ethnicity, race, or gender.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption, the government did not implement these laws effectively, 
and local and international NGOs and media sources reported that 
officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    Despite the widespread perception that government corruption at all 
levels was endemic, public prosecutions were rare. By year's end no 
high-level official had been charged or prosecuted for corruption, 
which added to the popular belief that officials were unwilling to 
enforce the law. The Financial Court was the government agency 
responsible for combating government corruption; the National Criminal 
Investigation Department also investigated some cases.
    Government corruption was widespread, and accountability was 
limited due to a lack of checks and balances, lack of institutional 
capacity, and a culture of impunity. The judiciary was corrupt and 
subject to political influence and conflict of interest.
    In July the governor of Luanda, Jose Maria dos Santos, was 
dismissed after only eight months in office. Private media reported 
that he tried to extort $25 million from an Israeli developer that 
needed a building permit. He reportedly was fired not for attempting to 
extort the funds, but for invoking the name of one of the president's 
closest advisors in doing so. No charges were filed against the 
governor.
    Joaquim Ribeiro, former commander of the Luanda Provincial Police, 
was removed from his post and accused of ordering the homicide of a 
police officer. According to private media, Ribeiro was under 
investigation for embezzling public funds and ordered the murder 
because the victim had incriminating information against him. Ribeiro 
remained in prison charged with murder and embezzlement, and the trial 
was continued at year's end.
    On October 10, David Mendes from the Partido Popular (an opposition 
party) filed a criminal complaint with the attorney general against 
President dos Santos and Elisio Figueiredo (a Portuguese citizen and 
the financial advisor of President dos Santos), Pierre Falcone (a 
French citizen and arms dealer), and Manuel Vicente (the president of 
the state-owned oil company Sonangol) for their involvement in 
embezzling public funds of more than $775 million. By year's end the 
attorney general had not responded.
    In October 2010 the president fired both the minister of the 
interior and the vice minister for immigration for authorizing the 
illegal extradition of a Portuguese citizen from Sao Tome and Principe. 
The media reported that the Portuguese man was accused of embezzling 
funds from a local businessman, who also was a business partner of the 
interior minister. Despite a presidential statement declaring the 
extradition illegal, no charges were brought against any government 
officials involved in the case. Apart from the demotion, no other 
action was taken against the two ministers.
    In March 2010 the National Assembly approved a law on public 
probity, which requires most government officials to declare their 
assets to the attorney general. However, the information was not made 
available to the general public during the year, and the president, 
vice president, and president of the National Assembly are exempt from 
the law's requirements.
    The government made progress in improving transparency in its 
economic operations, in large part due to the measures implemented 
under a Stand-By Arrangement agreement reached with the International 
Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2009.
    As a condition of the loan, the state-owned oil company Sonangol 
published its 2009 and 2010 audited financial statements on its Web 
site. By year's end the government had not started to gradually phase 
out the quasi-fiscal activities of Sonangol and to concentrate such 
operations in the central government. The government published online a 
detailed block-by-block accounting of the monthly revenues it received 
from Sonangol's oil production, but critics noted that the figures on 
oil production and revenues published by the Ministries of Petroleum 
and Finance and by Sonangol were contradictory, undermining the goal of 
transparency. However, there continued to be a significant lack of 
transparency in the overall process of the government's procurement and 
use of loans, taken from both private banks and foreign governments.
    In December the IMF reported that $32 billion was unaccounted for 
in the government's fiscal accounts during the period 2007-10, most of 
which was believed to stem from misreporting of transfers from Sonangol 
to the national treasury.
    To monitor and control expenditures more effectively, the Ministry 
of Finance continued implementation of the Integrated Financial System, 
a system designed to record all central government expenditures.
    The financial statements of Endiama, the state diamond parastatal, 
were not made public. Serious transparency problems remained in the 
diamond industry, particularly regarding allocation of exploration, 
production, and purchasing rights and reporting of revenues.
    The business climate continued to favor those connected to the 
government. Government ministers and other high-level officials 
commonly and openly owned interests in companies regulated by or doing 
business with their respective ministries. There are laws and 
regulations regarding conflict of interest, but they were not widely 
enforced. Petty corruption among police, teachers, and other government 
employees was widespread. Police extorted money from citizens and 
refugees, and prison officials extorted money from family members of 
inmates (see sections 1.c., 1.d., and 2.d.).
    Like in the previous year, there were credible reports that high-
level officials received substantial bribes from private companies that 
were awarded government contracts. According to press reports, in 
October the president of the National Agency for Private Investment 
(ANIP), Aguinaldo Jaime, was fired for conflict of interest due to his 
involvement in a real estate contract project Bem Morar approved by 
ANIP.
    The law provides for public access to government information; 
however, the information posted on most government Web sites remained 
limited. Laws are made public by being published in the official 
gazette; this publication can be purchased for a small fee but is not 
available online.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
operated throughout the country. Some of those investigating government 
corruption and human rights abuses alleged government interference in 
their activities.
    Local NGOs actively promoted and defended human rights during the 
year by asserting constitutional rights, documenting prison conditions, 
protesting labor conditions, providing free legal counsel, lobbying 
government officials, and publishing investigative reports.
    The Law of Association requires NGOs to specify their mandate and 
areas of activity. The government used this provision to prevent or 
discourage established NGOs from engaging in certain activities, 
especially those that were politically sensitive or related to election 
issues. Government officials threatened to ban those NGOs it determined 
to be operating outside their mandate or not effectively working on the 
specific issues they were created to address; however, NGO leaders 
suspected the motive was to silence their criticism. No NGOs were 
banned during the year.
    The government allowed local NGOs to exist and carry out human 
rights-related work. However, many NGOs were forced to limit the scope 
of their work because they faced problems registering, were subject to 
subtle forms of intimidation, and risked more serious forms of 
harassment and closure.
    The government arrested and harassed NGO workers. For example, on 
March 8, unknown assailants threatened activists and members of the 
human rights defenders' NGO Associacao Maos Livres. The leader's car 
was vandalized.
    Unlike in the previous year, the government criticized domestic and 
international NGOs.
    There were reports of police or military presence at community 
meetings with international NGOs, especially in Cabinda.
    Mpalabanda, a civil society organization formerly based in Cabinda, 
remained banned. Its registration was rescinded in 2006 when it joined 
the Cabindan Forum for Dialogue, an umbrella organization that 
negotiated peace with the government. The government determined that 
Mpalabanda was acting as a political entity outside of its legal 
mandate as a civil society organization. Mpalabanda supporters 
continued to distribute statements through the Internet and attend 
public forums throughout the year. Former leaders experienced low-level 
harassment and intimidation throughout the year. For example, four of 
the seven individuals detained in Cabinda for links with the attack on 
the Togolese soccer team were former members of Mpalabanda. In December 
Mpalabanda petitioned the Supreme Court to reexamine the 2006 decision.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated 
with international governmental organizations and permitted visits by 
U.N. representatives. In 2008 the U.N. Human Rights Office (UNHRO) 
closed its office following a government decision not to grant a full 
mandate to the office. The decision to close the office directly 
contradicted government commitments to work more closely with the 
UNHRO, which were made when the country won a three-year term on the 
U.N. Human Rights Council in 2007. Authorities allowed U.N. officials 
to monitor human rights. In March Special Representative of the 
Secretary General Margot Wallstrom visited the country following 
allegations of abuse in Lunda Norte. A representative of the UNHRO also 
visited in November.
    The government restricted access of international NGO observers to 
the country. For example, in August immigration officials denied 17 
activists entry into the country to attend a civil society forum 
connected with the Southern African Development Community summit. 
According to the press, officials confiscated reports a Zimbabwean 
activist was carrying. Immigration authorities claimed that none of the 
activists had valid visas. In August two Mozambican journalists with 
valid visas were denied entry to attend a workshop.
    Some international NGOs reported long delays in obtaining visas, 
although the delays were not significantly longer than those 
experienced by other foreigners.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The National Assembly Committee on 
Human Rights ostensibly focused on human rights; however, it did not 
issue any reports. An interministerial commission for human rights 
meets regularly and prepares reports for the U.N. and other 
international organizations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, religion, disability, language, or social status; however, the 
government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions. Violence and 
discrimination against women, child abuse, child prostitution, 
trafficking in persons, and discrimination against persons with 
disabilities and indigenous persons were problems.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence: Rape, including spousal rape, 
is illegal and punishable by up to eight years' imprisonment; however, 
limited investigative resources, poor forensic capabilities, and an 
ineffective judicial system prevented prosecution of most cases. The 
Organization of Angolan Women operated a shelter in Luanda that offered 
special services for rape victims. In 2009 the police commissioner in 
Luanda estimated that 10 cases of rape occurred daily nationwide. 
However, the true incidence of rape was likely much higher. The 
Ministry of Justice worked with the Ministry of Interior to increase 
the number of female police officers and to improve police response to 
rape allegations.
    Domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse, was 
pervasive and reportedly occurred in both urban and rural areas. In 
June a law was passed prohibiting domestic abuse; the law does not 
distinguish between men and women. Penalties for violating the law had 
not been finalized by year's end.
    A 2007 preliminary study on domestic violence in Luanda indicated 
that 78 percent of women had experienced some form of violence since 
the age of 15. Twenty-seven percent of women reported abuse in the 12 
months preceding the study; among women living in the poor outskirts of 
Luanda, 62 percent reported abuse in the same time period. During 2010 
police recorded 831 cases of domestic violence. The Ministry of Family 
and Promotion of Women registered more than 6,000 cases of domestic 
violence in 2010. Of these cases, 80 percent were for minor offenses, 
and 99.5 percent of the victims were women, according to a press 
report. It is believed the police and ministry statistics seriously 
undercounted the number of domestic violence cases, since many if not 
most victims believed that authorities would not help them and they 
feared reprisal if they reported the abuse. Common-law husbands or 
boyfriends perpetrated the majority of violence. The ministry 
maintained a program with the Angolan Bar Association to give free 
legal assistance to abused women and established counseling centers to 
help families cope with domestic abuse. Statistics on prosecutions for 
violence against women were not available.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--FGM was not considered to be a 
widespread practice, although there were reports of instances in rural 
regions.

    Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--Religious leaders in Lunda 
Norte and Uige provinces reported that societal violence against 
elderly persons and rural and impoverished women and children occurred 
occasionally, with most cases stemming from accusations of witchcraft. 
Some women were killed, beaten, or expelled from their families, or 
died from mistreatment and malnourishment. The religious leaders, who 
offered church-run shelters to the victims, reported that police did 
not take action due to fears that the women might practice witchcraft 
against them. According to a 2009 newspaper article, priests killed 
more than 400 persons in ``faith-based'' cures that involved violent 
rituals, beatings, and poison.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment was common and not illegal. 
However, such cases may be prosecuted under assault and battery and 
defamation statutes.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals may decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and have 
access to the information and means to do so free from discrimination, 
coercion, and violence. Women have access to contraception. According 
to a 2011 study, 6 percent of women used contraception. A 2009 study 
found 47 percent of women who gave birth had four or more prenatal 
consultations. Approximately 67 percent of women saw a qualified person 
at least once, 49 percent of births were attended by a qualified 
person, and 42 percent gave birth in a medical center. According to 
U.N. estimates, the maternal mortality ratio in the country in 2008 was 
610 deaths per 100,000 live births. High maternal mortality was likely 
due to inadequate access to health facilities before, during, and after 
giving birth. A woman's lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 29. 
There were no reports of coercive family planning practices such as 
female infanticide or coercive sterilization. There were no legal, 
social, cultural, or other barriers that limit access to these 
services. Information on government provisions for reproductive health 
services or diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV, was not available.

    Discrimination.--Under the constitution and law, women enjoy the 
same rights as men; however, societal discrimination against women 
remained a serious problem, particularly in rural areas. There were no 
effective mechanisms to enforce child support laws, and women generally 
bore the major responsibility for raising children. In addition the 
Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Health published an executive 
decree that listed the types of jobs prohibited to women.
    The law provides for equal pay for equal work; however, women 
generally held low-level positions in state-run industries and in the 
private sector or worked in the informal sector. In an interministerial 
effort spearheaded by the Ministry of Family and Promotion of Women, 
the government undertook multiple information campaigns on women's 
rights and domestic abuse and hosted national, provincial, and 
municipal workshops and training sessions during the year.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country's territory or from one's parents. However, the 
government does not register all births immediately, and activists 
reported that many urban and rural children remained undocumented. As 
many as 30 percent of children under age five were undocumented, 
according to a 2009 study. The government did not permit undocumented 
children access to the educational system, and fees for birth 
certificates and identification cards remained prohibitive for 
impoverished families. Although the official registration drive ended 
in 2004, the government continued to partner with UNICEF to identify 
and assist undocumented children and provided limited subsidies to 
cover fees for families with proven financial need. The government 
implemented a previous plan to provide birth certificates in health 
clinics and maternity wards during the year.

    Education.--Education is tuition-free and compulsory for documented 
children until the sixth grade, but students often had significant 
additional expenses. The educational infrastructure remained in 
disrepair. There were insufficient schools and teachers to provide 
universal primary education. An independent study in 2010 reported 18 
percent of boys and 13 percent of girls enrolled in secondary or higher 
education. The same study reported that 25 percent of the school-age 
population did not attend school during the year. A 2009 survey 
reported the annual dropout rate was 1.3 percent per year.
    Children of any age in an urban area were more likely to attend 
school than children in a rural area. Children in rural areas generally 
lacked access to secondary education. Even in provincial capitals, 
there were not enough classroom spaces for all children. There were 
reports of families paying bribes to education officials to ensure 
their child got a place in a classroom. According to UNESCO enrollment 
rates were higher for boys than for girls, especially at the secondary 
level.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was widespread. Reports of physical abuse 
within the family were commonplace, and local officials largely 
tolerated abuse. Religion and superstitions played a role in child 
abuse. Abuse of children accused of witchcraft continued to be a 
problem. Children accused of witchcraft were subject to abuses such as 
isolation from their families, denial of food and water, ritualistic 
cuttings, and the placing of various caustic oils or peppers on their 
eyes or ears. Children were sometimes killed during ``exorcism'' 
rituals. Most cases of abuse relating to traditional beliefs occurred 
in Luanda, Uige, and Zaire provinces. Vulnerable children, such as 
orphans or those without access to health care or education, were more 
likely to be victims of practices involving witchcraft. Government and 
religious leaders called for an end to these practices, but the 
influence of these traditional beliefs remained strong.

    Child Marriage.--The legal age for marriage, with parental consent, 
is 15 years. The government did not enforce this restriction 
effectively, and the traditional age of marriage in lower income groups 
coincided with the onset of puberty. Common-law marriage was regularly 
practiced.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--In 2010 a total of 55 children in 
Sanza-Pombo, Uige Province, were accused of being witches. A Congolese 
priest chained and tortured 12 of the accused children for being 
witches and therefore dangerous to their families. No action was taken 
against the priest.
    Churches, many based in the DRC, convinced impoverished families 
living in rural areas and the outskirts towns that their children had 
supernatural powers, leading to allegations that these children were 
practicing witchcraft. According to the National Institution of Child 
Welfare (INAC), some religious sects were closed in 2010 because they 
endangered the health and welfare of citizens. Despite actions taken 
against these religious sects, sporadic information on children accused 
of practicing witchcraft continued, especially in the northern 
provinces. However, INAC reported that incidents involving witchcraft 
declined 70 percent between 2003 and 2010. INAC also reported that an 
unknown number of individuals had gone to jail for alleging children 
committed witchcraft.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--All forms of prostitution, 
including child prostitution, are illegal; however, local NGOs 
expressed concern over child prostitution, especially in Luanda, 
Benguela, and Cunene provinces.
    Sexual relations between an adult and a child under the age of 12 
are considered rape. Sexual relations with a child between the ages of 
12 and 15 may be considered sexual abuse, with convicted offenders 
liable for sentences of up to eight years in prison; however, limited 
investigative resources and an inadequate judicial system prevented 
prosecution of most cases. There were no known prosecutions during the 
year.
    In 2007 the government created the National Children's Council, an 
interministerial commission designed to define priorities and 
coordinate the government's policies to combat all forms of violence 
against children, including unlawful child labor, trafficking, and 
sexual exploitation.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There is a Jewish community of approximately 450-
500 persons, primarily Israelis. There were no reports of anti-Semitic 
acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, and access 
to health care or other state services, but the government did not 
effectively enforce these prohibitions. The constitution mentions 
persons with disabilities in articles 23 (principle of equality), 77 
(health and social protection), 80 (childhood), 83 (disabled citizens), 
and 84 (former combatants and veterans). Article 83 grants persons with 
disabilities full rights without restrictions. The constitution permits 
the state to adopt a national policy to prevent, treat, rehabilitate, 
and integrate persons with disabilities, provide support for their 
families, remove obstacles to mobility, raise awareness in society, and 
foster special education and training opportunities.
    Persons with disabilities included more than 80,000 land mine 
victims. The NGO Handicap International estimated that persons with 
disabilities constituted 10 percent of the population. However, a 2010 
study estimated that 2.6 percent of the population had a physical or 
mental disability. Only 30 percent of persons with disabilities were 
able to take advantage of state-provided services such as physical 
rehabilitation, schooling, training, or counseling. According to MINARS 
statistics published in December, there were an estimated 150,000 
persons with disabilities, most between the ages of 25 and 44, and 56 
percent male. Of those persons with disabilities, 62 percent had 
physical disabilities (of whom 75 percent were ERW victims and 22 
percent from polio), 28 percent had sensory disabilities, and 10 
percent had mental disabilities. MINARS assisted approximately 90,000 
persons with disabilities.
    Presidential decree number 14 protects persons with disabilities. 
However, persons with disabilities found it difficult to access public 
or private facilities, and it was difficult for such persons to find 
employment or participate in the education system. MINARS sought to 
address problems facing persons with disabilities, including veterans 
with disabilities, and several government entities supported programs 
to assist individuals disabled by land mine incidents. During the 2008 
election, the government provided voting assistance to persons with 
disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--An estimated 3,500 San persons lived in small 
dispersed communities in Huila, Cunene, and Kuando Kubango provinces. 
The San are traditional hunter-gatherers who are linguistically and 
ethnically distinct from their Bantu fellow citizens. Their very 
limited participation in political life has increased, and Ocadec, a 
local NGO advocate for the San people, worked with provincial 
governments to increase services to San communities and to improve 
communication between these communities and the government.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not criminalize 
same-sex activity, although discussing such topics in society is highly 
taboo. The constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman. 
NGOs reported a small but underground lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender community in Luanda. A 2011 health-related study on gay men 
in Luanda indicated that almost half of the interviewed men had 
confronted homophobia and reported suffering violence or discrimination 
based on sexual orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.Discrimination against 
those with HIV/AIDS is illegal, but lack of enforcement allowed 
employers to discriminate against persons with the condition or 
disease. Local NGOs reported cases of discrimination against 
professionals with HIV/AIDS. There were no reports of violence against 
persons with HIV/AIDS. The government's National Institute for the 
Fight Against HIV/AIDS conducted HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention 
campaigns. Local NGOs worked to combat stigmatization and 
discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS.
    Persons with albinism were common victims of discrimination, 
although church groups worked to eliminate the abuse.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law provide for the right of workers to form and 
join independent unions and specifies rights for trade unions. The law 
allows unions to conduct their activities without government 
interference and grants workers, except government workers, the right 
to strike. The law does not effectively prohibit employer retribution 
against strikers, and it permits the government to force workers back 
to work for ``breaches of worker discipline'' or participation in 
unauthorized strikes. The law protects the right to collective 
bargaining, and there are no legal restrictions on collective 
bargaining. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and stipulates 
that worker complaints be adjudicated in the labor court.
    Under the law employers are required to reinstate workers who have 
been dismissed for union activities. There were unions for journalists, 
teachers, and taxi drivers, among others.
    The constitution grants workers the right to engage in union 
activities, but the government may intervene in labor disputes that 
affect national security, particularly strikes in the oil sector. 
Strict bureaucratic procedures must be followed for a strike to be 
considered legal, and the government can deny the right to strike or 
obligate workers to return to work.
    In practice the government did not protect these rights, although 
the Ministry of Labor has a hotline for workers who believe their 
rights have been violated. Government approval is required to form a 
union, and the government admitted that unions were hampered by 
membership and legalization issues. Labor unions independent of the 
government-run unions worked to increase their influence, but the 
ruling MPLA continued to dominate the labor movement due to historical 
connections between the party and labor.
    There were several examples during the year of workers going on 
strike to demand a salary increase. The government routinely thwarted 
union efforts at collective bargaining with long delays in processing, 
and collective bargaining was restricted in practice. In addition the 
judicial system did not enforce these provisions.
    The government is the country's largest employer, and the Ministry 
of Public Administration, Employment, and Social Security (MAPESS) 
centrally mandated wages.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but such practices 
occurred. Child labor is punishable under the labor law, although no 
cases were punished during the year. The Ministry of Justice has 
effective enforcement mechanisms for the formal economic sector; 
however, most labor law violations occurred outside the formal economy 
and were not subject to legal sanctions. Forced labor occurred in the 
artisanal diamond mining sector. Additionally, men and boys were 
trafficked into the country for forced labor, especially in the 
construction sector. Children also reportedly worked in charcoal and in 
forced child labor in the production of rice. Migrant workers were 
employed under forced labor conditions in diamond mining areas, 
particularly in Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul. The government took steps to 
eliminate illegal immigration and illegal diamond mining activities 
during the year.
    Some Angolan boys were taken to Namibia for forced labor in cattle 
herding and forced to act as couriers in the illegal cross-border trade 
with Namibia. Adult criminals sometimes used children under the age of 
12 for forced criminal activity, since a loophole in the justice system 
prevents youth from being tried in court. Angolan women and children 
were subjected to domestic servitude in South Africa, the DRC, Namibia, 
and some European nations, primarily Portugal. See also the Department 
of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor in the formal sector was restricted under the law. Article 
282 of the labor law requires that the minor submit evidence that he/
she is over 14 years of age to obtain an employment contract. The law 
prohibits children under 14 from working. Although children could work 
from age 14 to 16 with parental permission, they could not do so if it 
interfered with schooling. The law was effectively enforced in the 
formal sector.Child labor, especially in the informal sector, remained 
a problem. MAPESS had oversight of formal work sites in all 18 
provinces, and inspectors are supposed to check on the age of workers 
at such sites. If it determined a business was using child labor, it 
transferred the case to the Ministry of Interior to investigate and 
possibly press charges. An unknown number of businesses were warned or 
fined for using child labor. Although MAPESS, other government 
agencies, and labor unions developed a national plan against child 
labor, MAPESS could not regulate the sizeable informal sector as it was 
not within its purview.In October 2010 the newspaper Agora published a 
study conducted in Benguela that found more than 70,000 children worked 
in Benguela Province. A living standards survey published in 2010 
reported that 20.4 percent of children between the ages of five and 14 
worked; more children worked in rural than in urban areas. The study 
also reported that boys and girls were equally likely to work.
    Most work done by children was in the informal sector. Children 
engaged in economic activities, such as agricultural labor on family 
farms and commercial plantations, fishing, charcoal production, 
domestic labor, and street vending. Exploitive labor practices included 
forced prostitution, involvement in the sale or transport of illegal 
drugs, and the offloading and transport of goods in ports and across 
border posts.
    Street children were common, especially in the provinces of Luanda, 
Benguela, Huambo, and Kwanza Sul. Investigators found children working 
in the streets of Luanda, but many returned to some form of dwelling 
during the evening. Most of these children shined shoes, washed cars, 
carried water, or engaged in other informal labor, but some resorted to 
petty crime, begging, and prostitution.
    The MAPESS inspector general is responsible for enforcing all labor 
laws, including complaints of child labor. The Ministry of Family and 
Promotion of Women and INAC play a significant role in coordinating the 
response to a case of child labor and protecting possible victims. 
Ultimately, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice are 
charged with investigating and prosecuting cases of child labor, 
although no such prosecutions were reported during the year.
    A separate court under the Ministry of Justice is designated for 
children's affairs. The Luanda juvenile court hears cases of youths 
under the age of 18 who are victims of a crime. The juvenile court also 
hears cases of minors between the ages of 12 and 16 accused of having 
committed criminal offenses. Regular courts hear the cases of minors 
between the ages of 16 and 18 who are accused of criminal offenses. 
There were no courts to hear cases involving children under the age of 
12. In many rural provinces, there was no separate structure to work 
with children's crimes. In these cases minors could be either tried as 
adults or have their cases dismissed.
    The government, through INAC, worked to create, train, and 
strengthen child protection networks at the provincial and municipal 
levels in all 18 provinces. The networks reported cases in which they 
successfully identified and removed children from exploitative work 
situations, but no mechanism existed to track cases or provide 
statistics. The government also dedicated resources to the expansion of 
educational and livelihood opportunities for children and their 
families. Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst 
Forms of Child Labor at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 11,044 
kwanza ($116) per month for all formal sectors. Workers in informal 
sectors, such as street vendors, subsistence agriculture, and domestic 
household, are not covered by the minimum wage law. The minimum wage 
law was effectively enforced in the formal sector.
    By law the standard workweek is 40 hours with at least one unbroken 
period of 24 hours of rest per week. There is a limit on work of 54 
hours per week. Required premium pay for overtime is time and a half 
for up to 30 hours of overtime and time and three-quarters from 30 to 
40 hours. In the formal sector, there is a prohibition on excessive 
compulsory overtime, defined as more than two hours a day, 40 hours a 
month, or 200 hours a year. The government sets occupational health and 
safety standards. Workers have the right to remove themselves from 
situations that endanger health or safety without jeopardy to their 
employment.
    Most wage earners held second jobs or depended on the agricultural 
or other informal sectors to augment their incomes. The majority of 
citizens derived their income from the informal sector or subsistence 
agriculture and therefore fell outside of government protection 
regarding working conditions.
    The workweek standards were not enforced effectively unless 
employees lodged a formal complaint with MAPESS.
    In September 2010 the MPLA-linked labor union, Uniao Nacional dos 
Trabalhadores Angolana, published a report on working conditions that 
highlighted high unemployment, poor living conditions, and inequality 
as continuing problems despite various economic measures and new laws. 
Workers found they did not have job stability, employers violated 
workers' rights, and workers unable to find employment in the formal 
sector had to seek work in the informal labor market.
    The Ministry of Labor's inspector general did not enforce these 
standards effectively. Inspections occurred, although rulings on labor 
violations found by inspectors were not effectively enforced. Despite 
the law providing for the right, workers were unable to remove 
themselves from unsafe working conditions without jeopardizing their 
employment.
    The secretary general of the General Centre of Independent and Free 
Unions of Angola (CGSILA), an independent labor union, stated that 
workers in the civil construction sector were subjected to hazardous 
working conditions that led to many accidents and even death. The 
problem was worse in Luanda, where construction activity is 
concentrated. There was inadequate monitoring of the construction 
sector, although MAPESS created commissions to oversee the occupational 
safety of this sector. Two officials in CGSILA noted that health 
workers also were subjected to unsafe and unsanitary conditions that 
led to their contracting various diseases or becoming sick.
                              ----------                              


                                 BENIN

                           executive summary
     Benin is a constitutional democracy. On March 13, President Boni 
Yayi won a second, and final, five-year term in multiparty elections. 
In the April 30 legislative elections, President Yayi's supporting 
coalition, Cowry Force for an Emerging Benin, won 41 of 83 seats in the 
National Assembly and formed a majority coalition with the Renaissance 
of Benin Party and other minor supporting parties for a total of 61 
seats. As a result the coalition controlled the Bureau of the National 
Assembly with six of the seven seats. International observers viewed 
both the presidential and legislative elections as free, fair, and 
transparent. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Three main human rights abuses reported during the year included 
police use of excessive force; violence and discrimination against 
women and girls, including female genital mutilation (FGM); and harsh 
prison conditions.
    Other major human rights problems included arbitrary arrest and 
detention with prolonged pretrial detention. Vigilante violence 
occurred, as did trafficking and abuse of children, including 
infanticide and child labor.
    Although the government made an effort to control corruption and 
abuses, including prosecuting and punishing public officials, officials 
sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings, including politically motivated killings. Elements 
of security forces occasionally shot and killed armed robbers and 
claimed self-defense to justify the shootings.
    For example, on January 18, police shot and killed a wanted 
criminal in Fidjrosse, in Cotonou. The criminal, who was reported to 
have ``challenged and made a fool of'' the police officers, refused to 
surrender despite their warnings.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were reports of such incidents. Beatings in custody reportedly 
were commonplace. The Constitutional Court received complaints from 
citizens who were brutalized by the police.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
continued to be harsh and life threatening. Overcrowding and lack of 
proper sanitation and medical facilities posed risks to prisoners' 
health. A July 2010 mediator of the republic's (ombudsman) report on 
the condition in the nine civil prisons indicated that prisons were 
overcrowded, and malnutrition and disease were common. Potable water 
was available. Some prisoners suffered from mental illness. There were 
deaths due to lack of medical care and neglect. Eight of the nine civil 
prisons were filled far beyond their capacity. The July 2010 
ombudsman's report, commissioned by the president, indicated the total 
prison population (including pretrial detainees and remand prisoners) 
was 6,908, in a system with an official capacity of 1,900; of that 
number, pretrial detainees and remand prisoners totaled 5,174. 
Statistics from 2008 indicated that female prisoners were 3.5 percent 
of the prison population and that juveniles were 2.1 percent.
    Women were not held together with men.
    Juveniles at times were housed with adults. Pretrial detainees were 
held with convicted prisoners, although not with the most violent 
convicts or those convicted of crimes subject to the death penalty.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. There was no formal system to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities without censorship, but prisoners could 
directly address the director of the prison or complain through the 
normal judicial processes.
    The government permitted prison visits by human rights monitors. 
Religious groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to 
visit prisons. Organizations that visited prisons during the year 
included the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty 
International, the local chapter of Prison Fellowship, Caritas, and 
Prisoners without Borders.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally 
observed these prohibitions in practice.
    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police, under the 
Ministry of Interior, have primary responsibility for enforcing law and 
maintaining order in urban areas; the gendarmerie, under the Ministry 
of Defense, performs the same function in rural areas.
    Military disciplinary councils deal with minor offenses by members 
of the military services; they have no jurisdiction over civilians. 
Civilian courts deal with crimes involving the military. The country 
has no military tribunal.
    There is an internal affairs division of the police, called the 
Inspector General, which investigates internal police matters.
    The police were inadequately equipped and poorly trained, but the 
government continued to respond to these problems by recruiting more 
officers, building more stations, and modernizing equipment during the 
year; however, problems remained, including impunity.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution requires arrest warrants based on sufficient evidence and 
issued by a duly authorized official, and requires a hearing before a 
magistrate within 48 hours, but this was not always observed in 
practice. Under exceptional circumstances the magistrate may authorize 
continued detention not to exceed eight days. Detainees have the right 
to prompt judicial determination; this was generally observed in 
practice. Detainees were promptly informed of charges against them. 
They have the right to prompt lawyer access after being brought before 
a judge, also generally observed. They are allowed to receive family 
visits, which were generally permitted in practice. After examining a 
detainee, the judge has 24 hours to decide whether to continue to 
detain or release the individual. Defendants awaiting judicial 
decisions may request release on bail; however, the attorney general 
must agree to the request. Warrants authorizing pretrial detention were 
effective for six months and could be renewed every six months until a 
suspect was brought to trial. The government provided counsel to 
indigents in criminal cases.
    There were credible reports that gendarmes and the police exceeded 
the legal limit of 48 hours of detention in many cases, sometimes by as 
much as a week. Authorities often used the practice of holding a person 
indefinitely ``at the disposal of'' the Public Prosecutor's Office 
before presenting the case to a magistrate.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary 
arrest. However, at times the authorities did not respect these 
prohibitions.

    Pretrial Detention.--Approximately 75 percent of persons in prison 
were pretrial detainees; length of pretrial detention varied from two 
to 11 years. Inadequate facilities, poorly trained staff, and 
overcrowded dockets delayed the administration of justice.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, but the government did not always respect 
this provision. Authorities respected court orders.

    Trial Procedures.--While the constitution provides for the right to 
a fair trial, judicial inefficiency and corruption impeded exercise of 
this right.
    The legal system is based on French civil law and local customary 
law. A defendant is presumed innocent. Jury trials are used in criminal 
cases. A defendant has the right to be present at trial and to 
representation by an attorney; the court provides indigent defendants 
with counsel upon request. A defendant has the right to confront 
witnesses and to have access to government-held evidence. Defendants 
are allowed to present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. 
Defendants can appeal criminal convictions to the court of appeals and 
the Supreme Court, after which they may appeal to the president for a 
pardon. Trials are open to the public, but in exceptional circumstances 
the president of the court may decide to restrict access to preserve 
public order or to protect the parties. The government extends the 
above rights to all citizens without discrimination.

    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. If administrative or informal remedies are 
unsuccessful, a citizen may file a complaint concerning an alleged 
human rights violation with the Constitutional Court. An individual can 
appeal to the Economic Community of West African States' Court of 
Justice.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. The 
law requires police to obtain a judicial warrant before entering a 
private home, and they generally observed this requirement.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of 
speech, the government did not always respect this right. There were 
radio and television broadcasts in which citizens openly criticized the 
president's policies without reprisal; however, the government 
occasionally inhibited freedom of the press.

    Freedom of Speech.--The law provides for prison sentences involving 
compulsory labor for certain actions related to abuse of the right of 
free expression; penalties are for threats to public order or calls to 
violence. There were no reports that the law was invoked during the 
year.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide variety of views without restriction. Publications criticized 
the government freely and frequently. A nongovernmental media ethics 
commission continued to censure some journalists during the year for 
unethical conduct, such as reporting falsehoods or inaccuracies or 
releasing information that was under embargo by the government.
    The government continued to own and operate the most influential 
media organizations by controlling broadcast range and infrastructure. 
The majority of citizens are illiterate, live in rural areas, and 
generally receive their news via radio. The Office de Radiodiffusion et 
Television du Benin (ORTB) broadcasts in French and local languages. 
There were an estimated 75 private, community, and commercial radio 
stations, and one government-owned and five private television 
stations. Rural community radio stations received support from the ORTB 
and broadcast several hours a day, exclusively in local languages. 
Radio France International and the BBC broadcast in Cotonou. The 
government granted 350 million CFA ($78,000) in financial assistance to 
the private media during the year.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists practiced self-
censorship.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The law criminalizes libel, and 
numerous journalists faced pending libel charges. The law prohibits 
private citizens and the press from declaring or predicting election 
results.
    An official from a nongovernmental media ethics commission 
indicated that the court continued to receive libel cases against 
journalists during the year, but judges generally refrained from 
prosecuting them. Journalists continued to fight for the 
decriminalization of press-related offenses.

    Publishing Restrictions.--The High Authority of Audiovisual and 
Communication (HAAC) oversaw media operations and required broadcasters 
to submit weekly lists of planned programs and publishers to submit 
copies of all publications; however, the media did not comply with 
these requirements in practice. The HAAC claimed the information was 
used for administrative purposes; however, some journalists complained 
it was a form of harassment.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, 
and the government generally respected this right.
    The government requires permits for use of public places for 
demonstrations and generally granted such permits; however, the 
authorities sometimes cited ``public order'' to deny requests for 
permits from opposition groups, civil society organizations, and labor 
unions.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right. The government requires associations to register and routinely 
granted registration.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a description of religious freedom, 
see the Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.

    In-Country Movement.--The presence of police, gendarmes, and 
illegal roadblocks impeded domestic movement. Although meant to enforce 
vehicle safety and customs regulations, many checkpoints served as 
means for police and gendarmes to exact bribes from travelers. The 
government maintained previously implemented measures to combat such 
corruption at roadblocks, but they were not always effective, and 
extortion commonly occurred.

    Foreign Travel.--The government maintained documentary requirements 
for minors traveling abroad as part of its continuing campaign against 
trafficking in persons. This was not always enforced, and trafficking 
of minors across borders continued.
    The government's policy toward the seasonal movement of livestock 
allowed migratory Fulani (Peul) herdsmen from other countries to enter 
and depart freely; the government did not enforce designated entry 
points.

    Protection of Refugees.--The government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees. As of November 1, there were 
approximately 2,700 Togolese refugees at the Agamey Refugee Camp and 
200 refugees of various nationalities at the Kpomasse Refugee Camp. 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 
provide temporary protection during the year. If individuals do not 
qualify as refugees under the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention, authorities 
direct them to the Immigration Office to apply for a residence permit.

    Access to Asylum.--The country's laws provide for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees.

    Employment.--The government continued to permit Togolese refugees 
residing in local communities and refugee camps to participate in most 
economic activities and enroll their children in local schools.

    Durable Solutions.--The government and the UNHCR continued to 
educate Togolese refugees on the 2007 voluntary repatriation 
initiative. Despite the government and UNHCR's July decision to close 
the Kpomasse camp, the 201 remaining refugees refused the government 
and UNHCR's assistance in resettling in Benin and refused to leave the 
camp.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 
country held presidential elections on March 13 and legislative 
elections on April 30. International observers viewed both the 
presidential and legislative elections as generally free and fair. Both 
elections were hampered by delays on the days of the vote, usually in 
receiving voting materials or due to polling staff arriving late. Even 
with delays, all polling stations remained open the full nine hours 
required by law. There were no reports of eligible voters unable to 
cast ballots.

    Political Parties.--Parties could freely run candidates for 
election. There were no government restrictions on the political 
opposition. No single party or group has recently dominated politics. 
For legislative elections, all candidates must be associated with a 
political party; there were no independent candidates.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were eight women out 
of 83 members in the National Assembly and eight female ministers in 
the 26-member cabinet. The Constitutional Court had two women among its 
seven justices.
    The country has no majority ethnic group. Various ethnic groups 
were well represented in government agencies, including the civil 
service, and the armed forces. Nine cabinet ministers were from the 
Bariba, Somba, and Dendi ethnic groups; eleven were from the Fon, Goun, 
and Adja ethnic groups; and six were from the Yoruba and Nago ethnic 
groups.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
President Yayi continued his 2006 anticorruption initiative.
    On August 30, the National Assembly approved the law to prevent 
corruption and related offenses that was pending since 2006.
    The government took a number of actions during the year to combat 
corruption, including appointment of internal auditors to public 
companies and creation of a hotline to the presidency to enable 
citizens to denounce incidents of corruption. To combat customs fraud, 
the government established the use of scanners to inspect imported 
cargo before clearance as part of its Imports Verification Program 
(PVI).
    Police corruption was widespread. Police continued to extort money 
from travelers at roadblocks. For example, on August 12, two police 
officers positioned at a roundabout called ``La gaite'' in Cotonou to 
regulate traffic were caught extorting money from travelers. The two 
police officers were arrested and jailed for disciplinary infraction.
    The Watchdog to Combat Corruption (OLC), a governmental agency, 
continued to address corruption. The OLC trained observers and polling 
agents on measures to prevent electoral fraud during the March and 
April presidential and legislative elections.
    It was commonly believed, and acknowledged by some judicial 
personnel, that the judicial system at all levels was susceptible to 
corruption.
    The World Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators 
reflected that corruption continued to be a serious problem.
    Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
    There are no laws providing for public access to government 
information, and it was unclear whether requests for such access were 
granted.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--In June 2010 an assessment 
team composed of two experts from the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Human Rights and the French Speaking Countries 
Association for Human Rights National Commissions came to the country 
to check whether the proposed amendments to the law on the Beninese 
Human Rights Commission were in line with the Principles relating to 
the Status of National Institutions (Paris Principles). The team 
provided recommendations for improvement and an implementation plan for 
priority action.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government met with domestic 
NGO monitors through the Advisory National Human Rights Council and the 
Ministry of Justice, Legislation, and Human Rights. The ministry 
coordinated awareness campaigns to educate the populace on human 
rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons

    The constitution and laws prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, disability, language, and social status, but societal 
discrimination against women continued. Persons with disabilities were 
disadvantaged. The government did not take concrete measures to address 
those problems.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape, but 
enforcement was weak due to police ineffectiveness, victims' 
unwillingness to take cases to the police for fear of social stigma, 
and corruption. The penal code does not make a distinction between rape 
in general and spousal rape. Prison sentences for rape convictions 
ranged from one to five years. From January to October 2010, civil 
society organizations reported 636 gender-based violence cases reported 
to courts and 1,316 cases to police stations and brigades in the 
framework of an international NGO's project to combat gender-based 
violence in the country. These statistics, however, did not cover 
gender violence in the whole country. Statistics were not available on 
prosecutions or convictions. Because of police lack of training in 
collecting evidence associated with sexual assaults and victims' 
ignorance of their rights and inability to present evidence in court, 
judges reduced most sexual offenses to misdemeanors.
    The penal code prohibits domestic violence, and penalties range 
from six to 36 months' imprisonment. However, domestic violence against 
women was common. Women remained reluctant to report cases. Judges and 
police were reluctant to intervene in domestic disputes; society 
generally considered such cases to be internal family matters. The 
local chapter of a regional NGO, Women in Law and Development-Benin; 
the Female Jurists Association of Benin (AFJB); and the Women's Justice 
and Empowerment Initiative through Care International's Empower Project 
offered social, legal, medical, and psychological assistance to victims 
of domestic violence. The Office of Women's Promotion under the 
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Family and Solidarity is responsible 
for protecting and advancing women's rights and welfare.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--The law prohibits FGM and 
provides for penalties for performing the procedure, including prison 
sentences of up to 10 years and fines of up to six million CFA 
($13,000); however, the government generally was unsuccessful in 
preventing the practice. Individuals who were aware of an incident of 
FGM but did not report it potentially faced fines ranging from 50,000 
to 100,000 CFA ($110 to $220). Enforcement was rare due to the code of 
silence associated with this crime. FGM was practiced on girls and 
women from infancy up to 30 years of age (although the majority of 
cases occurred before the age of 13, with half occurring before the age 
of five), and generally took the form of excision. Approximately 13 
percent of women and girls have been subjected to FGM; the figure was 
higher in some regions, especially the northern departments, including 
Alibori and Donga (48 percent) and Borgou (59 percent), and among 
certain ethnic groups; more than 70 percent of Bariba and Peul (Fulani) 
and 53 percent of Yoa-Lokpa women and girls had undergone FGM. Younger 
women were less likely to be excised than their older counterparts. 
Those who performed the procedure, usually older women, profited from 
it.
    NGOs continued to educate rural communities about the dangers of 
FGM and to retrain FGM practitioners in other activities. A prominent 
NGO, the local chapter of the Inter-African Committee, made progress in 
raising public awareness of the dangers of the practice, and the 
government cooperated with these efforts. The Ministry of Family 
continued an education campaign that included conferences in schools 
and villages, discussions with religious and traditional authorities, 
and the display of banners. NGOs also addressed this problem in local 
languages on local radio stations.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and offers 
protection for victims. Under the law persons convicted of sexual 
harassment face sentences of one to two years in prison and fines 
ranging from 100,000 to one million CFA ($220 to $2,200). The law also 
provides penalties for persons who are aware of sexual harassment and 
do not report it. Enforcement of these laws was lax due to law 
enforcement agents' and prosecutors' lack of legal knowledge and 
necessary skills to pursue such cases and victims' fear of social 
stigma. Although this specific law was not enforced, judges used other 
provisions in the penal code to deal with sexual abuses involving 
minors. Sexual harassment was common, especially of female students by 
their male teachers.

    Sex Tourism.--There is no specific law addressing sex tourism. It 
was not clear whether tourists who used the services of prostitutes 
came to the region specifically for sex tourism. There was no evidence 
of government involvement or complicity.

    Reproductive Rights.--The constitution provides that the government 
should protect the family, particularly the mother and the child. The 
law promotes responsible fertility to reduce early and/or late 
childbearing and promote family planning through the distribution of 
contraceptives. The law guarantees couples' and individuals' 
reproductive rights, including access to health care, freedom to give 
birth, freedom of marriage, rights to nondiscrimination, access to 
contraception, and equal access to health care for people living with 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The law provides 
penalties for the commission of all acts prejudicial to the enjoyment 
of sexual and reproductive health. The government generally respected 
these rights. An estimated 30 percent of women had an unmet need for 
family planning. According to the Benin Demographic and Health Survey, 
88 percent of women benefitted from prenatal care given by health 
personnel (80 percent by nurses and midwives, 4 percent by physicians, 
and 4 percent by others). The proportion of women who had access to 
prenatal care provided by physicians was higher in Cotonou (18 percent) 
and other cities (5 percent) than in rural areas (3 percent). The 
maternal mortality rate was 397 deaths per 100,000 live births; factors 
contributing to the high rate were delivering without adequate medical 
assistance and unhygienic conditions during birth.

    Discrimination.--Although the constitution provides for equality 
for women in the political, economic, and social spheres, women 
experienced extensive discrimination because of societal attitudes and 
resistance to behavioral change.
    Women are no longer subject to customary law (Coutumier du 
Dahomey). The code of persons and the family bans all discrimination 
against women regarding marriage and provides for the right to equal 
inheritance.
    In response to a complaint filed by a woman being prosecuted for 
adultery in 2009, the Constitutional Court ruled that adultery-related 
provisions contained in the penal code are unconstitutional on the 
grounds that these provisions discriminate against women.
    In rural areas women traditionally occupy a subordinate role and 
are responsible for much of the hard labor on subsistence farms. In 
urban areas women dominated the informal trading sector in the open-air 
markets. During the year the government and NGOs continued to educate 
the public on the sections of law that provide women with inheritance 
and property rights and significantly increase their rights in 
marriage, including prohibitions on forced marriage, child marriage, 
and polygamy.
    In practice women experienced discrimination in obtaining 
employment, credit, equal pay, and in owning or managing businesses. 
Women do not face legal restrictions but may face societal restrictions 
and discrimination. During the year the government granted microcredit 
to poor persons, especially to women in rural areas, to help them 
develop income-generating activities. An estimated 816,936 women 
benefited from these microcredit projects since they began in 2007.

    Children.--The Ministry of Family is responsible for the protection 
of children's rights, primarily in the areas of education and health. 
The National Commission for Children's Rights and the Ministry of 
Family have oversight roles in the promotion of human rights with 
regard to child welfare.

    Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the 
country's territory and/or from one's parents. Particularly in rural 
areas, parents often did not declare the birth of their children, 
either out of ignorance or because they could not afford the fees for 
birth certificates. This could result in denial of public services such 
as education and health care. The government issued birth certificates 
to children who did not have one through an Administrative Census for 
Birth Registration. Several donors operated programs to increase the 
number of registered children. For example, over the last three years, 
the NGO PLAN International has supported the free registration of 
children who need to take the primary school leaving exam (without a 
birth certificate, children may attend primary school but cannot take 
the exam). UNICEF and the NGOs Catholic Relief Services and World 
Education also supported the government's campaign to register every 
birth.

    Education.--Primary education was compulsory for all children 
between six and 11 years of age. Education became tuition-free for all 
children starting with the 2007-08 school year, but in some parts of 
the country girls received no formal education. Parents often 
voluntarily paid tuition for their children because many schools had 
insufficient funds. According to UNICEF, the net primary school 
enrollment rate in 2007 was approximately 93 percent for boys and 83 
percent for girls. The enrollment rate for secondary education was much 
lower for girls. Girls did not have the same educational opportunities 
as boys, and female literacy was approximately 18 percent, compared to 
50 percent male literacy.

    Child Abuse.--FGM was practiced on girls. This practice was largely 
limited to remote rural areas in the north (see section 6, Women).

    Child Marriage.--The law prohibits marriage under 18 years of age, 
but underage marriage (14 to 17 years of age) was permitted with 
parental consent. Child marriage included forced marriage, barter 
marriage, and marriage by abduction. A 2008 gender-based violence 
survey conducted in 13 communes indicated that 23 percent of the 594 
children interviewed were subjected to forced and precocious marriage. 
As part of forced marriage, there is a tradition in which a groom 
abducts and rapes his prospective child bride. The practice was 
widespread in rural areas, despite government and NGO efforts to end it 
through information sessions on the rights of women and children. Local 
NGOs reported that communities concealed the practice.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The penal code provides penalties 
for rape, sexual exploitation, corruption of minors, procuring, and 
facilitating prostitution, and it increases penalties for cases 
involving children under 15 years old. The child trafficking law 
provides penalties for people involved in sexual exploitation of 
children as a result of child trafficking. Under the penal code, 
individuals involved in child prostitution, including those who 
facilitate and solicit it, face imprisonment of two to five years and 
fines of 1,000,000 to 10,000,000 CFA ($2,000 to $20,000). The law does 
not specifically prohibit child pornography. The de facto minimum age 
for consensual sex is 18 years.
    Child prostitution continued in some areas. Some children, 
including street children, engaged in prostitution to support 
themselves without third-party involvement. The penal code prohibits 
child prostitution; however, enforcement was limited, and the 
commercial sexual exploitation of children occurred. A 2009 report on 
the commercial sexual exploitation of children in 11 communes indicated 
that 43.2 percent of surveyed children (ages 12-17) who engaged in 
prostitution were also subjected to commercial sexual exploitation.
    Through the traditional practice of vidomegon, which literally 
means ``placed child,'' poor, generally rural, families place a child 
in the home of a wealthier family. The child receives living 
accommodations but often faces long hours of work, inadequate food, and 
sexual exploitation. Sometimes the income generated by the child's 
activities is split between the child's parents and the urban family 
that raises the child. Vidomegon traditionally was intended to provide 
better educational opportunities and a higher standard of living for 
children of poor families; however, this practice has made children 
more vulnerable to labor exploitation and to trafficking. Up to 95 
percent of the children in vidomegon were young girls. Several local 
NGOs led public education and awareness campaigns to decrease the 
practice.
    Criminal courts meted out stiff sentences to criminals convicted of 
crimes against children, but many such cases never reached the courts 
due to lack of awareness about the law and children's rights, lack of 
access to the courts, or fear of police involvement.

    Infanticide.--Despite widespread NGO campaigns, the traditional 
practices of killing deformed babies, breech babies, babies whose 
mothers died in childbirth, and one of two newborn twins (because they 
were considered sorcerers) continued.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish community, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

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

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not explicitly prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or 
mental disabilities in education, access to health care, or provision 
of other state services; however, the law provides that the government 
should care for persons with disabilities. There were no legal 
requirements for the construction or alteration of buildings to permit 
access for persons with disabilities. The government operated few 
institutions to assist persons with disabilities. The Office for the 
Rehabilitation and the Insertion of Persons with Disabilities under the 
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Family coordinated assistance to 
disabled people through the Aid Fund for the Rehabilitation and 
Insertion of Persons with Disabilities (Fonds Ariph).
    The labor code includes provisions to protect the rights of workers 
with disabilities, which were enforced with limited effectiveness 
during the year. The Office of Labor under the Ministry of Labor and 
Civil Service and the Ministry of Family are responsible for protecting 
the rights of persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws explicitly 
criminalizing same-sex sexual activity. There were no reports of 
criminal cases involving homosexuality. There were no reports of 
societal discrimination or violence based on a person's sexual 
orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of discrimination or violence based on HIV/AIDS status. It is illegal 
to discriminate against persons, at any stage of hiring or employment, 
based on their HIV status.

    The police generally ignored vigilante attacks, and incidents of 
mob violence continued to occur, in part due to the perceived failure 
of local courts to punish criminals adequately. Such cases generally 
involved mobs killing or severely injuring suspected criminals, 
particularly thieves caught stealing. For example, on January 2, 
residents of Klogbome in the commune of Dangbo, in the southeast, 
chased, caught, and burned to death an individual riding a motorbike 
that he allegedly had just stolen from a nurse's aide in the 
neighboring village of Hetin Houedomey. The victim was reported to be a 
well-known and feared criminal who had been operating in the area for 
years. The police did not investigate the killing or arrest those 
involved.
Section 7. Worker Rights

    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The labor code allows workers, including government employees, to form 
and join independent unions of their choice without previous 
authorization or excessive requirements, and the government generally 
respected these rights. Worker organizations are independent of the 
government and political parties. New unions must register with the 
Ministry of Interior, a three-month process, or risk a fine. Although 
an estimated 75 percent of government workers belonged to labor unions, 
a much smaller percentage of workers in the private sector were union 
members.
    Workers have the right to strike, and they exercised this right 
during the year. Civil servants also enjoy the right to strike and went 
on strike throughout the year. The right to strike is enshrined in 
article 31 of the constitution.
    A 2002 law on the right to strike confirms this right for civil 
servants, employees of public companies, and parastatals. The act 
provides that civil servants, public and private entities' workers, and 
parastatal employees who provide essential services shall maintain 
minimum services during strikes. The act states that essential services 
refer to services pertaining to health, security, energy, water, air 
transport, and telecommunications. Workers must provide three days' 
notice before striking; however, authorities can declare strikes 
illegal for reasons such as threatening social peace and order and can 
requisition striking workers to maintain minimum services. The 
government may prohibit any strike on the grounds that it threatens the 
economy or the national interest. Laws prohibit employer retaliation 
against strikers, except that a company may withhold part of a worker's 
pay following a strike. The government enforced these laws effectively.
    The merchant marine code grants seafarers the right to organize, 
but they do not have the right to strike.
    The labor code allows unions to conduct their activities without 
interference, and the government generally protected this right. There 
are no restrictions on collective bargaining. The labor code provides 
for collective bargaining, and workers freely exercised this right with 
the exception of merchant shipping employees. The government sets wages 
in the public sector by law and regulation.
    In 2009 the government created a National Consultation and 
Collective Bargaining Commission to facilitate collective bargaining 
and enhance social dialogue. The commission held sessions during the 
year to discuss workers' claims and propose solutions.
    The labor code prohibits antiunion discrimination and provides for 
reinstatement of workers fired for union activity. Employers may not 
take union membership or activity into account in hiring, work 
distribution, professional or vocational training, or dismissal; 
however, the government did not always enforce these provisions, and 
there were reports that employers threatened individuals with dismissal 
for union activity.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The labor code 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, 
the government did not effectively enforce this aspect of the law, and 
such practices occurred in the agricultural, quarrying, fishing, 
commercial, and construction sectors. Forced labor mainly involved 
domestic servitude and bonded labor by children. Trafficking in persons 
was a problem. Perpetrators of forced labor were mostly Beninese 
involved in child trafficking. Many traffickers were relatives or 
acquaintances of their victims, exploiting the traditional system of 
vidomegon, in which parents allow their children to live with and work 
for richer relatives, usually in urban areas. The law provides for 
imprisonment with compulsory labor, and during the year judges 
sentenced convicts to forced labor for various crimes. Also see the 
Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at http://
state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor code prohibits the employment or apprenticeship of children under 
14 years of age in any enterprise; however, children between 12 and 14 
years may perform domestic work and temporary or seasonal light work if 
it does not interfere with their compulsory schooling. On January 31, 
President Yayi signed into law the list of types of hazardous work 
prohibited to children. The list includes 22 trades and 74 related 
hazardous activities that children under 18 are not allowed to engage 
in. Child labor remained a problem due in part to limited government 
enforcement of the law. To help support their families, children of 
both sexes--including those as young as seven--continued to work on 
family farms, in small businesses, on construction sites in urban 
areas, in public markets as street vendors, and as domestic servants 
under the practice of vidomegon. A majority of children working as 
apprentices were under the legal age for apprenticeship of 14, 
including children working in construction, car and motorcycle repair, 
hairdressing, and dressmaking. Children worked as laborers with adults 
in quarries in many areas. Forced child labor, including street 
children engaged in prostitution, street hawking, and begging, was a 
problem. Children under age 14 worked in either the formal or informal 
sectors in the following activities: agriculture, hunting and fishing, 
industry, construction and public works, trade/vending and food/
beverage, transportation, and communication and other services, 
including employment as household staff.
    Some parents indentured their children to ``agents'' recruiting 
farm hands or domestic workers, often on the understanding that the 
children's wages would be sent to the parents. In some cases these 
agents took the children to neighboring countries, including Nigeria, 
Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, and Ghana, for labor. Many rural parents sent 
their children to cities to live with relatives or family friends to 
perform domestic chores in return for receiving an education. Host 
families did not always honor their part of the arrangement, and abuse 
of child domestic servants was a problem. Also see the Department of 
Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at http://dol.gov/
ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
    The Labor Office under the Ministry of Labor and Civil Service 
enforced the labor code ineffectively and only in the formal sector due 
to a lack of inspectors. The government took steps to educate parents 
on the labor code and prevent compulsory labor by children, including 
through media campaigns, regional workshops, and public pronouncements 
on child labor problems. These initiatives were part of the Labor 
Office's traditional sensitization program. The government also worked 
with a network of NGOs and journalists to educate the population about 
child labor and child trafficking. The government began drafting a 
National Plan for the Elimination of Child Labor. On July 12, the 
government, in cooperation with an international organization, held a 
two-day workshop to examine the first draft of the National Plan for 
the Elimination of Child Labor. The government undertook a nationwide 
awareness campaign as a key activity for the 2011 World Day of Action 
Against Child Labor. On September 21, the government signed an accord 
with the Republic of Congo aimed at halting the trafficking of children 
between the two countries. An estimated 1,800 children from Benin, 
mostly ages 11 to 18, have been trafficked to neighboring Congo.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government set minimum wage 
scales for a number of occupations. The minimum wage was 30,000 CFA 
($66) per month. Many workers had to supplement their wages by 
subsistence farming or informal sector trade. Most workers in the wage 
sector earned more than the minimum wage; many domestics and other 
laborers in the informal sector earned less. The Office of Labor 
enforced the minimum wage; however, its efforts were impeded by the 
small number of labor inspectors. Significant parts of the work force 
and foreign workers were not covered by minimum wage scales.
    The labor code establishes a workweek of between 40 and 46 hours, 
depending on the type of work, and provides for at least one 24-hour 
rest period per week. Domestic and agricultural workers frequently 
worked 70 hours or more per week, above the maximum provided for under 
the labor code of 12 hours per day or 60 hours per week. The labor code 
also mandates premium pay for overtime and prohibits excessive 
compulsory overtime. The authorities generally enforced legal limits on 
workweeks in the formal sector.
    The code establishes health and safety standards, but the Ministry 
of Labor and Civil Service did not enforce them effectively. The law 
does not provide workers with the right to remove themselves from 
dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued employment. The 
ministry has the authority to require employers to remedy dangerous 
work conditions but did not effectively do so. The government did not 
effectively monitor or control foreign or migrant workers' conditions 
of work.

                               __________

                                BOTSWANA

                           executive summary
    Botswana has been a multiparty democracy since independence in 
1966. Its constitution provides for indirect election of a president 
and popular election of a National Assembly. In 2009 the ruling 
Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) won the majority of parliamentary seats 
in an election deemed generally free and fair. President Ian Khama, who 
has held the presidency since the resignation of President Festus Mogae 
in 2008, retained his position. The BDP has held the presidency and a 
majority of National Assembly seats since independence. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities.
    The main human rights concerns during the year included violence 
against women and children, child labor in the form of cattle herding, 
and discrimination against the San people.
    Other human rights problems included overcrowded prison conditions 
and lengthy delays in the judicial process. Societal problems included 
trafficking in persons.
    The government took steps to prosecute officials who committed 
abuses, including prosecuting and convicting military officers for 
murder. Impunity was generally not a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed politically 
motivated killings. However, unlawful killings by police or other 
security force members reportedly occurred during the year.
    For example, in June police officers shot and killed Jonathan Eliot 
while attempting to arrest him for smuggling tobacco into the country. 
The case was under investigation at year's end.
    In October police arrested and detained Pulaenele Sekate for 
various offences. The suspect reportedly committed suicide in custody. 
The case was under investigation at year's end.
    Robbery suspect Olebile Kefhitilwe disappeared while in police 
custody after being detained by police in September 2010. The 
investigation continued at year's end. The case of Moitaly 
Setlampoloka, who died in custody in 2009, was opened as a murder case 
in 2011 and was before the High Court at year's end.
    In 2009 a police officer mistakenly shot and killed Mothusinyana 
Moag, who fit the description of a man police were chasing. The victim 
ran from police when confronted and was shot during the chase. The 
inquest determined the police officer involved was negligent. He was 
charged with manslaughter, and his case was pending at year's end.
    Four government security officers who shot and killed John 
Kalafatis in 2009 were convicted in June of murder and sentenced to 
prison. Corporals Dzikamani Mothobi, Goitsemang Sechele, Ronny Matako, 
and Boitshoko Maifela appealed, and their cases were pending appeal at 
year's end. Attorneys for the Kalafitas family alleged he was killed by 
government agents while he sat in a parked car. The government 
contended that Kalafitas was a wanted criminal who was killed during a 
lawful arrest.

    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; there 
were no confirmed reports that security forces abused suspects during 
the year.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in the 
country's 22 prisons and two detention centers for irregular immigrants 
remained poor due to overcrowding. The prison system held approximately 
15-20 percent more inmates than its authorized capacity of 4,219. 
Overcrowding, which was worse in men's prisons, constituted a serious 
health threat due to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. 
Rape of inmates by inmates occurred. Mistreatment of prisoners is 
illegal. Unlike during the prior year, there were no reports of abuse 
by government agents in prison.
    There was adequate food, sanitation, ventilation, and lighting in 
prisons. Prisoners received access to basic medical care, and HIV-
positive citizen prisoners received access to antiretroviral drugs if 
needed. The government allowed access to noncitizen prisoners by 
international and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) but did 
not provide HIV-positive noncitizen prisoners with antiretroviral 
drugs.
    Mothers were allowed to bring their nursing babies under the age of 
two with them into the prison system, which lacked maternity 
facilities. In instances where a child is above two years in age, and 
no family is available to take care of the child, arrangements are made 
with NGOs to care for the child until the mother is released. Juveniles 
occasionally were held with adults but only for a few days while 
awaiting transport. Pretrial detainees and convicts were held together.
    Officers of the courts, including magistrates and judges, regularly 
conducted visits to prisons to check on prison conditions. Government-
appointed welfare and oversight committees also visited prisons during 
the year. Reports on such visits were not made public.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors, including foreign 
government representatives, and were permitted to observe religious 
practices. Prison authorities investigated allegations of inhumane 
conditions, which could be reported directly to authorities or through 
a prison ombudsman.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited prison 
facilities, and Representatives of the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) visited the Center for Illegal 
Immigrants in Francistown during the year.
    The prison commissioner had the authority to release terminally ill 
prisoners in the last 12 months of their sentences and to allow citizen 
prisoners with sentences of 12 months or less to complete their 
sentences outside the prison by completing an ``extramural'' work 
release program at government facilities. Eligible prisoners must have 
served short-term sentences with at least half of their sentences 
completed and must not have been previously incarcerated. Prisoners 
convicted of violent and other serious felonies were ineligible. A 
total of 170 male and five female prisoners were released during the 
year to complete their sentences through extramural labor.
    Prisons and overnight jails had access to potable water, and 
prisoners and detainees could register complaints about prison 
conditions with authorities. Prison record keeping was mostly by hard 
copy record, and there was no immediate plan to upgrade to computerized 
systems.
    Conditions for men and women prisoners were comparable.

    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 Botswana Police 
Service (BPS), under the Ministry of Defense, Justice, and Security in 
the Office of the President, has primary responsibility for internal 
security. The security forces are accountable to civilian leaders in 
the ministry. The army is responsible for external security and has 
some domestic security responsibilities.
    During the year 72 BPS officers received human rights training at 
the International Law Enforcement Academy located in the country.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police 
officers must produce an arrest warrant issued by a duly authorized 
magistrate upon the presentation of compelling evidence, except in 
certain cases, such as when an officer witnesses a crime being 
committed or discovers that a suspect is in possession of a controlled 
substance. Directorate on Intelligence and Security (DIS) personnel 
have the power to enter premises and make arrests without warrants if 
the agency suspects a person has committed or is about to commit a 
crime. Elements of civil society continued to criticize the DIS, 
claiming that it was not subject to sufficient independent oversight 
and posed a potential threat to civil liberties.
    Suspects must be informed of their rights upon arrest, including 
the right to remain silent, and must be charged before a magistrate 
within 48 hours. Authorities generally respected these rights in 
practice. Unlike in the past, there were no reports during the year 
that suspects' right to an attorney had been denied during the first 48 
hours after arrest, prior to a suspect being brought before a 
magistrate. A magistrate may order a suspect held for 14 days through a 
writ of detention, which he may renew every 14 days. The law provides 
for a prompt judicial determination of the legality of a person's 
detention. However, this determination occasionally was delayed in 
practice. Authorities generally informed detainees of the reason for 
their detention, although there were some complaints this did not 
always occur. There is a functioning bail system, and detention without 
bail was unusual except in murder cases, where it is mandatory. 
Detainees have the right to contact a family member and to hire 
attorneys of their choice; however, in practice most could not afford 
legal counsel. In capital cases the government provides counsel or 
private attorneys provide pro bono services for indigent clients.

    Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detainees waited from several weeks 
to several months between the filing of charges and the start of their 
trials. As of December 2010, 900 of the 5,063 persons in custody were 
pretrial detainees. Pretrial detention in murder cases sometimes lasted 
beyond one year. Such delays were largely due to judicial staffing 
shortages.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected 
judicial independence in practice. The civil courts remained unable to 
provide timely trials due to severe staffing shortages and a backlog of 
pending cases. Trials are open to the public.
    In addition to the civil court system, a customary or traditional 
court system also exists. According to traditional practice, a tribal 
chief presides over most small villages. Small claims courts were 
established in 2009 in Gaborone and some surrounding areas; there were 
some reports of heavy caseloads and new procedures impacting the 
courts' effectiveness. The courts reduced their backlog of cases during 
the year, but cases still were delayed for several months.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. 
Trials in the civil courts are public, although trials under the 
National Security Act may be held in secret. There is no jury system. 
Defendants have the right to be present and consult with an attorney in 
a timely manner, but the state provides an attorney only in capital 
cases. Those charged with noncapital crimes are tried without legal 
representation if they cannot afford an attorney. As a result many 
defendants were not informed of their procedural rights as they relate 
to pretrial or trial proceedings. Defendants can question witnesses 
against them and have access to government-held evidence relevant to 
their cases. Defendants can present witnesses and evidence on their own 
behalf. Defendants have the right to appeal. The constitution states 
these rights extend to all citizens.
    Some NGOs provided limited free legal assistance.
    While customary or traditional courts enjoy widespread citizen 
support and respect, they often did not afford the same due process 
protections as the formal court system. Defendants can confront, 
question, and present witnesses in customary court proceedings. They do 
not have legal counsel, and there are no standardized rules of 
evidence. Customary trials are open to the public, and defendants can 
present evidence on their own behalf. Tribal judges, appointed by the 
tribal leader or elected by the community, determine sentences, which 
may be appealed through the civil court system. Many judges were poorly 
trained. The quality of decisions reached in the customary courts 
varied considerably, and defendants often lacked a presumption of 
innocence. In some cases tribal judges may issue sentences that include 
corporal punishment such as lashings on the buttocks.
    There is a separate military court system, which does not try 
civilians. Military courts have separate procedures from civil courts. 
Defendants in military courts are able to retain private attorneys at 
their own expense and see evidence that will be used against them.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--In the formal judicial 
system, there is an independent and impartial judiciary in civil 
matters, including for human rights cases, which includes a separate 
industrial court for most labor-related cases. Administrative remedies 
were not widely available. By mutual agreements of the parties 
involved, most civil cases were tried in customary courts, which handle 
land, marital, and property disputes and often do not afford due 
process.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary 
interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. However, 
the government's continued narrow interpretation of a 2006 High Court 
ruling resulted in a few hundred indigenous San people being prohibited 
from living or hunting in their tribal homeland, the Central Kalahari 
Game Reserve. In 2002 the government forcibly resettled the remaining 
indigenous San and other minority members living in the Central 
Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) who had not voluntarily left to 
resettlement sites outside the reserve. Government officials maintained 
the resettlement program was voluntary and necessary to facilitate the 
delivery of public services, provide socioeconomic development 
opportunities to the San, and minimize human impact on wildlife (see 
section 6, Indigenous People).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press, and the government generally respected freedom of speech in 
practice. The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and other NGOs 
reported that the government attempted to limit press freedom and 
continued to dominate domestic broadcasting.

    Freedom of Press.--In 2008 Parliament passed the Media 
Practitioners Act, which established a Media Council to register and 
accredit journalists, promote ethical standards among the media, and 
receive public complaints. Some NGOs, including MISA, the independent 
media, and opposition members of parliament (MPs), continued to 
criticize the law, stating that it restricted press freedom and was 
passed without debate after consultations between the government and 
stakeholders collapsed.
    The government owned and operated the Botswana Press Agency, which 
dominated the print media through its free, nationally distributed 
newspaper, Daily News, and it operated two FM radio stations. State-
owned media generally featured reporting favorable to the government 
and were susceptible to political interference. Opposition political 
parties claimed state media coverage heavily favored the ruling party.
    The independent media were active and generally expressed a wide 
variety of views, which frequently included strong criticism of the 
government; however, members of the media stated they were sometimes 
subject to government pressure to portray the government and the 
country in a positive light. It was sometimes more difficult for 
private media organizations than for government-owned ones to obtain 
access to government-held information.
    Radio continued to be the most broadly accessible medium. 
Government-owned Radio Botswana and Radio Botswana 2 covered most of 
the country. Privately owned Yarona FM, Gabz FM, and Duma FM cover most 
of the major towns. They produced news and current affairs programs 
without government interference. State-owned Botswana Television was 
the primary source of televised news and current affairs programs. The 
privately owned Gaborone Broadcasting Corporation broadcast mostly 
foreign programs. International television channels were available 
through cable subscription and satellite.
    Some members of civil society organizations alleged that the 
government occasionally censored stories in the government-run media 
that it deemed undesirable, and government journalists sometimes 
practiced self-censorship.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.

    In-country Movement.--In January the Court of Appeals awarded the 
San the right to reopen or drill new boreholes to gain access to water 
for domestic use. Prior to the ruling, the government had banned the 
San from accessing wells, which had prevented them from returning home 
to the CKGR. Following the ruling, the government granted the 
appropriate permits for workers and machinery to enter the CKGR to 
drill the borehole. With funding from international advocacy groups and 
a local diamond mining company, the San were able to access water 
through a borehole in September.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The government's system for granting refugee status was 
accessible but slow. 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 also provided temporary protection to 
individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 U.N. refugee 
convention or the 1967 protocol. During the year fewer than 100 persons 
were granted refugee status. The government cooperated with the UNHCR 
and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum 
seekers. During the year, following the UNHCR's revocation of refugee 
status for 43 people, the government gave notice that it intended to 
deport those denied refugee status. As of year's end, the refugees had 
not been deported.
    The government held newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers, 
primarily from Zimbabwe, in the Center for Illegal Immigrants in 
Francistown, until the Refugee Advisory Committee (RAC), a governmental 
body whose chairperson is the district commissioner of Francistown, 
made a status recommendation; the UNHCR was present at RAC meetings in 
the status of observer and technical advisor. Once persons were granted 
refugee status, the government transferred them to the Dukwe Refugee 
Camp until their resettlement or voluntary repatriation. Refugee 
applicants who were unsuccessful in obtaining asylum were nonetheless 
allowed to remain at Dukwe if they wished while the government referred 
their cases to the UNHCR for possible resettlement. Refugees in Dukwe 
had access to education and health care.
    Although asylum seekers were housed separately from illegal 
immigrants, the UNHCR criticized the detention of asylum seekers at the 
Center for Illegal Immigrants on the grounds that asylum seekers should 
not be held in detention facilities. Conditions at the center generally 
were adequate, but children in the center did not have sufficient 
access to education during their detention, which in a few cases lasted 
many months. In 2009 the government changed its 1997 policy that 
allowed some registered refugees to obtain special residency permits 
allowing them to live and work outside the camp for one year with the 
possibility of renewal. As of December 2010, only 19 of the country's 
3,185 registered refugees were living and working outside Dukwe. The 
government stated that as a general policy all registered refugees must 
reside in the Dukwe camp, although it may permit residence outside the 
camp in a few exceptional cases, such as refugees enrolled at a 
university or with unique skills.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009 
the ruling BDP won the majority of National Assembly seats in a general 
election deemed by international and domestic observers to be generally 
free and fair. President Ian Khama retained the presidency, which he 
has held since 2008.

    Political Parties.--At year's end the BDP held 39 seats in 
parliament, the new Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD) party led the 
opposition with six seats, the BNF controlled six seats, the BCP had 
five seats, and there was one independent. The BMD, which split from 
the BDP in 2010, had two of its eight MPs return to the BDP in 2011.
    The House of Chiefs consists of eight paramount chiefs, five chiefs 
chosen by the president, and 22 elected chiefs from designated regions. 
It acts as an advisory upper chamber to the National Assembly on any 
legislation affecting tribal organization and property, customary law, 
and administration of the customary courts. The paramount chiefs are 
members of the House of Chiefs for life, while the chosen and elected 
chiefs serve five-year terms since 2009. The first election, based on 
amendments made to the constitution in 2006, was held the same year. In 
order to hold concurrent elections with Parliament, another election 
was held in 2009.
    Political parties operated without restriction or outside 
interference.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were five women in 
the 61-seat National Assembly, one of whom was the speaker; four in the 
24-member cabinet; and four in the expanded 35-seat House of Chiefs.
    While the constitution formally recognizes eight principal ethnic 
groups of the Tswana nation, amendments to the constitution also allow 
minority tribes to be represented in the expanded House of Chiefs. 
Under the law members from all groups enjoy equal rights, and minority 
tribes have representation that is at least equal to that of the eight 
principal tribes. There were members of minority tribes in the 
assembly, the cabinet, and on the High Court.
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 minister 
of defense, justice, and security resigned his cabinet position in 
August 2010 while charges of corruption were investigated. He was 
exonerated on all charges by the High Court in October 2011 and resumed 
his duties.
    There are no formal financial disclosure laws; however, in 2009 a 
presidential directive required all cabinet ministers to declare their 
interests, assets, and liabilities to the president. Critics contended 
the policy did not go far enough to promote transparency and that 
financial declarations by senior government officials should be 
available to the public. In 2010 the Directorate on Corruption and 
Economic Crime initiated investigations into 38 suspicious 
transactions.
    In April 2010 portions of an anti-money laundering law enacted in 
March 2009 came into effect. The act created a new Financial 
Intelligence Agency (FIA), but the agency was still being formed during 
the year. The minister of finance appointed a permanent director for 
the FIA in October, and the agency secured independent office space. At 
year's end the agency had not hired staff or begun processing 
suspicious transaction reports.
    The law does not provide public access to government information, 
and the government generally restricted such access. Information that 
is made public is available for a fee from the Government Printing 
Office.
    During the year police initiated investigations into 15 cases of 
police corruption; 10 officers were charged, and five officers were 
dismissed. Police officials acknowledged that corruption was a problem 
in the lower ranks; some officers took advantage of illegal immigrants 
and traffic violators. During the year 27 police officers were arrested 
for criminal offenses. Thirteen cases were before the courts at year's 
end, two were referred for prosecution, and seven cases remained under 
investigation.
    The security forces reported to civilian authorities, and the 
government had effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and 
corruption, including investigation by police and referral to the 
criminal court system.
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 domestic NGO views on most 
subjects but were considerably less open to the involvement of some 
international NGOs on the issue of the CKGR relocations. The government 
interacted with, and provided financial support to, some domestic 
organizations. Independent local human rights groups included 
Childline, a child welfare NGO; Emang Basadi, a women's rights group; 
the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law, and HIV/AIDS; and DITSHWANELO, a 
human rights organization.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government worked 
cooperatively with the ICRC and the U.N. during the year. The 
government allowed visits from U.N. representatives and representatives 
from human rights and humanitarian organizations such as the ICRC.
    The U.N. special rapporteur on indigenous persons visited the 
country in 2009, and the U.N. issued a report on his visit in February 
2011. The U.N. noted that although the government had undertaken many 
initiatives to address the conditions of disadvantaged and marginalized 
peoples and to celebrate their cultures, it needed to increase its 
efforts to tackle the challenges faced by indigenous groups, such as 
land rights. According to the U.N. report, ``Certain indigenous groups 
continue to suffer from a lack of secure land tenure, including access 
to and use of their ancestral lands and resources, in part due to the 
nonrecognition of these groups' customary land use practices.''

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--An autonomous ombudsman handled 
complaints of administrative wrongdoing in the public sector, and the 
government generally cooperated with the ombudsman. However, the office 
suffered from a shortage of staff, and public awareness of the office 
and its services was low.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit governmental discrimination on 
the basis of ethnicity, race, nationality, creed, sex, or social 
status, and the government generally respected these provisions in 
practice. As long as a government job applicant is able to perform the 
duties of the position, he or she may not be discriminated against due 
to disability or language. However, the law does not prohibit 
discrimination by private persons or entities, and there was societal 
discrimination against women; persons with disabilities; minority 
ethnic groups, particularly the San; persons with HIV/AIDS; persons 
with albinism; and gays and lesbians.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape but 
does not recognize spousal rape as a crime, which is difficult to track 
without reporting. Laws against rape were effectively enforced when 
victims pressed charges; however, police noted victims often declined 
to press charges against the perpetrators, and the extent of the 
problem was likely underreported. In some cases of domestic but 
nonspousal rape, victims were afraid of losing financial support if 
perpetrators were found guilty and imprisoned. The number of reported 
rape cases decreased during the year from 1,332 in 2010 to 1,173 in 
2011 between January and September in both years. NGOs continued 
efforts to improve awareness of the crime. By law the minimum sentence 
for rape is 10 years in prison, increasing to 15 years with corporal 
punishment if the offender is HIV-positive, and 20 years with corporal 
punishment if the offender was aware of having HIV-positive status. 
Corporal punishment was used more often in the customary than in the 
formal courts and typically consisted of strokes to the buttocks with a 
stick. Rape cases must be tried in formal courts. A person convicted of 
rape is required to undergo an HIV test before sentencing. The police 
do not have a specific unit dedicated to rape investigation, but the 
police have trained crime scene investigators and a forensics unit to 
respond to cases of rape and domestic violence.
    The law prohibits domestic and other violence, whether against 
women or men, but it remained a serious problem. Police reported the 
following statistics for the year related to domestic violence: four 
cases of incest; 393 of indecent assault on girls, although those 
sexual assault cases reported were thought to represent only a fraction 
of the actual number of such incidents; 60 reported cases of passion 
killings; and 663 of death threats. In 2010 police reported 12,367 
cases of common assault and 2,069 cases of assault causing bodily harm. 
Greater public awareness resulted in increased reporting of domestic 
violence and sexual assault.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment in both the 
private and public sectors. Sexual harassment committed by a public 
officer is considered misconduct and punishable by termination, 
potentially with forfeiture of all retirement benefits; suspension with 
loss of pay and benefits for up to three months; reduction in rank or 
pay; deferment or stoppage of a pay raise; or reprimand. Nonetheless 
sexual harassment continued to be a widespread problem, particularly by 
men in positions of authority, including teachers, supervisors, and 
older male relatives.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right, and 
were able in practice, to decide freely the number, spacing, and timing 
of their children, and to have the information and means to do so free 
from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Contraception was widely 
available. According to the Population Reference Bureau, skilled 
attendance during childbirth averaged 94 percent across the country, 
with higher rates in urban areas. Obstetric and postpartum care was 
generally available, and women had equal access to testing and 
treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. A 
government program, Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, 
has effectively curtailed mother-to-child transmission. According to 
the Ministry of Health, the maternal mortality rate was 193 deaths per 
100,000 births, and 90 percent of births were in hospitals.

    Discrimination.--By law women have the same civil rights as men, 
but societal discrimination persisted. A number of traditional laws 
enforced by tribal structures and customary courts restricted women's 
property rights and economic opportunities, particularly in rural 
areas. Marriages can occur under one of three systems, each with its 
own implications for women's property rights. A woman married under 
traditional law or in ``common property'' is held to be a legal minor 
and required to have her husband's consent to buy or sell property, 
apply for credit, and enter into legally binding contracts. Under an 
intermediate system referred to as ``in community of property,'' 
married women may own real estate in their own names, and the law 
stipulates that neither spouse can dispose of joint property without 
the written consent of the other. Women increasingly exercised the 
right to marriage ``out of common property,'' in which they retained 
their full legal rights as adults. Polygamy is legal under traditional 
law with the consent of the first wife, but it was not common.
    Skilled urban women had increasing access to entry- and mid-level 
white-collar jobs. According to a 2007 Grant Thornton International 
Business Report, 74 percent of businesses employed women in senior 
management positions, and women occupied 31 percent of such positions. 
Women occupied many senior-level positions in government bodies, such 
as speaker of the General Assembly, governor of the Bank of Botswana, 
attorney general, ministers of trade and industry and in education and 
skills development, assistant ministers in finance and development 
planning and in local government, and numerous permanent secretary 
positions. However, a 2007 U.N. report found that women's political 
participation trailed that of men. In 2008 the Botswana Defense Force 
began to admit women. In 2008 the first class of Batswana female 
officer candidates completed training in Tanzania. During 2009 women 
were included as officer candidates in the first such in-country 
training and continued to be inducted as officer candidates during the 
year.
    The Women's Affairs Department in the Ministry of Labor and Home 
Affairs has responsibility for promoting and protecting women's rights 
and welfare. The department provided grants to NGOs working on women's 
issues. A local NGO reported in 2010 that women were increasingly able 
to access credit markets and be paid as much as their male counterparts 
for similar work.

    Children.--The law provides for the rights and welfare of children, 
and the government respected these rights in practice.

    Birth Registration.--In general, citizenship is derived from one's 
parents, although there are very limited circumstances in which 
citizenship can be derived from birth within the country's territory. 
The government generally registers births immediately; however, there 
were some delays in remote locations. Unregistered children may be 
denied some government services.

    Education.--The government continued to allocate the largest 
portion of its budget to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of 
Local Government distributed books, food, and materials for primary 
education. Education was not compulsory. The government reintroduced 
school fees in 2006. The fees could be waived for children whose family 
income fell below a certain amount. The government also provided 
uniforms, books, and covered some fees for students whose parents were 
destitute. Students in remote areas received two free meals a day at 
school. Girls and boys attended school at similar rates.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse occurred and was often reported to the 
police in the case of physical harm to the child. The police referred 
the children to counseling in the Department of Social Services as well 
as to local NGOs. Some cases were referred to the attorney general's 
chambers for prosecution. There were no known cases of physically 
harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation.

    Child Marriage.--Child marriage occurred infrequently and was 
largely limited to certain ethnic groups. Marriages that occur when 
either party is under the minimum legal age of 18 are not recognized or 
permitted by the government.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The Children's Act of 2010 
prohibits prostitution and sexual abuse of children. Sex with a child 
younger than 16 is known as defilement and is prohibited and punishable 
by a minimum of 10 years' incarceration. Police received reports 
through the end of September of 393 cases of defilement, 1,173 cases of 
rape (of both girls and women), 118 cases of indecent assault on 
females, and four cases of incest. There were defilement investigations 
and convictions during the year. There were reports of sexual abuse of 
students by teachers. Children were sometimes sexually abused by 
extended family members with whom they lived. The law considers incest 
a punishable act only if it occurs between blood relatives.
    Child prostitution and pornography are criminal offenses punishable 
with five to 15 years in prison. Media and NGO reports claimed that 
prostituted children had been made available to truck drivers on the 
main road linking the country with South Africa and that many of the 
girls and boys were thought to be orphans. This was mainly concentrated 
along the trucking route in the eastern part of the country.

    Displaced Children.--In 2005 the U.N. Children's Fund estimated 
there were 150,000 orphans in the country, of whom approximately 
120,000 had lost one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS. As of December 
2010, the government had registered 37,233 children as orphans. The 
discrepancy between the two estimates was due to the fact the 
government has a more restrictive definition of when a child is 
orphaned than the U.N. The government requires both parents of a child 
to have died before considering the child an orphan. Once registered as 
orphans, the children received clothes, shelter, a monthly food basket 
worth between 216 pula (approximately $33) and 350 pula ($54) depending 
upon location, and counseling as needed. There were no reports of 
orphans being abused by the police.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was estimated to number 70 
people. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in education, 
employment, access to health care, or the provision of other state 
services. The government has an effective national policy that provides 
for integrating the needs of persons with disabilities into all aspects 
of government policymaking. The government mandates access to public 
buildings or transportation for persons with disabilities. There was 
some discrimination against persons with disabilities, and employment 
opportunities remained limited. The government did not restrict persons 
with disabilities from voting or participating in civil affairs, and 
some accommodations were made during elections to allow for persons 
with disabilities to vote. Although new government buildings were being 
constructed to assure access by persons with disabilities, older 
government office buildings remained largely inaccessible. Most new 
privately owned buildings provide disabled access. There is a 
Department of Disability Coordination in the Office of the President to 
assist persons with disabilities.
    The Department of Labor is responsible for protecting the rights of 
persons with disabilities in the labor force and investigating claims 
of discrimination. Individuals can also bring cases directly to the 
Industrial Court. The government funded NGOs that provided 
rehabilitation services and supported small-scale projects for workers 
with disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--An estimated 50,000-60,000 people belong to one 
of the many scattered, diverse tribal groups known as San or Basarwa. 
The San represented approximately 3 percent of the population and are 
culturally and linguistically distinct from most other residents. The 
law prohibits discrimination against the San with respect to 
employment, housing, health services, and cultural practices; however, 
the San remained economically and politically marginalized and 
generally did not have access to their traditional land. The San 
continued to be geographically isolated, had limited access to 
education, lacked adequate political representation, and were not fully 
aware of their civil rights.
    While the government respected the December 2006 High Court ruling 
on a suit filed by 189 San regarding their forced relocation, it 
continued to interpret the ruling to allow only the 189 actual 
applicants and their spouses and minor children to return to the CKGR. 
The court ruled that the applicants were entitled to return to the CKGR 
without entry permits and to be issued permits to hunt in designated 
wildlife management areas, which are not located in the CKGR. Many of 
the San and their supporters continued to object to the government's 
narrow interpretation of this ruling. Negotiations between San 
representatives and the government regarding residency and hunting 
rights stalled after the court ruling provided the right to access 
water.
    During the year there were no government programs directly 
addressing discrimination against the San. With the exception of the 
2006 court ruling, there were no demarcated cultural lands.
    A number of NGOs made efforts to promote the rights of the San or 
to help provide economic opportunities. However, the programs had 
limited impact. The NGO Survival International, along with other 
independent organizations, continued to criticize the decision by the 
government to allow mining exploration in the CKGR. The NGOs argued 
that diamond exploration in the CKGR would have a significant negative 
impact on the life and environment of the San.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The country has no law 
explicitly criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity. However, 
what the law describes as ``unnatural acts'' are criminalized, and 
there is widespread belief this is directed toward gay, lesbian, 
bisexual, and transgender persons. Police did not target same-sex 
activity, and there were no reports of violence against persons based 
on their sexual orientation or gender identity during the year.
    An independent organization LeGaBiBo (Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals 
of Botswana) attempted to register in 2009 as an NGO to advocate for 
the rights of gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual persons, but the 
government refused to register it. LeGaBiBo operated under the umbrella 
of the Botswana Network of Ethics on Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA), which 
in February filed a lawsuit challenging the government's decision not 
to register LeGaBiBo. In November BONELA withdrew its lawsuit against 
the government due to technical errors in its founding affidavit.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Discrimination against 
persons with HIV/AIDS continued to be a problem, including in the 
workplace. The government funded community organizations that ran 
antidiscrimination and public awareness programs. The Botswana Network 
on Ethics, Law, and HIV/AIDS continued to advocate for an HIV 
employment law to curb discrimination in the workplace.
    In contrast to 2010, there were no reports that persons with 
albinism were subject to societal discrimination.
Section 7. Worker Rights

    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the rights of workers, except police, military, 
and prison personnel, to form and join independent unions to bargain 
collectively, and to strike, provided certain restrictions are 
observed. Police, military, and prison personnel are represented by 
employee associations, which serve as a means to communicate collective 
needs and concerns to their government employer. The Trade Union and 
Employers' Organizations (TUEO) law provides for certain restrictions 
that limit the right to organize. The TUEO law grants certain 
privileges (such as access to an employer's premises for purposes of 
recruiting members, holding meetings or representing workers, deduction 
of trade union dues, recognition of trade union representation with 
regard to grievances) only to unions representing at least one-third of 
the employees in an enterprise. Trade unions that fail to meet some of 
the formal registration requirements are automatically dissolved and 
banned from carrying out union activities. The TUEO law also authorizes 
the registrar to inspect accounts, books, and documents of a trade 
union at ``any reasonable time'' and provides the minister of defense, 
justice, and security with the authority to inspect a trade union 
``whenever he considers it necessary in the public interest.''
    The law provides for collective bargaining only for unions that 
have enrolled 25 percent of an organization's labor force. The law also 
permits an employer or employers' organization to apply to the 
government to withdraw the recognition granted to a trade union on the 
grounds the trade union refuses to negotiate in good faith with the 
employer.
    The law severely restricts the right to strike. Strikes are illegal 
unless arbitration procedures are first exhausted. Sympathy strikes are 
prohibited. Employees categorized as those in the ``essential 
services'' as specified in the Schedule of the Trade Disputes Act, 
including the Bank of Botswana, railway services, health care, 
firefighting, military, transport services, telecommunications 
infrastructure, electricity, water, and sewage are not allowed to 
strike. In response to the 2011 Public Sector Strike, the minister of 
labor and home affairs issued a regulation that added teachers, 
veterinarians, and diamond workers to the list of those providing 
essential services. The Trade Disputes Act empowers the commissioner 
and the minister to refer a dispute in essential services to 
arbitration or to the industrial court for determination. Striking 
workers participating in an illegal strike may face dismissal.
    Civil service disputes were referred to an ombudsman for 
resolution. Private labor disputes were mediated by labor commissioners 
and, if not resolved, sent to the Industrial Court. The average time to 
resolve a labor dispute dropped from 20 months to 11 months by year's 
end.
    While the law allows formally registered unions to conduct their 
activities without interference, members of nonregistered unions are 
not protected against antiunion discrimination. The law provides for 
protection against antiunion discrimination. Workers may not be fired 
for legal union-related activities. Dismissals may be appealed to civil 
courts or labor officers, which rarely ordered more than two months' 
severance pay. The law does not provide for reinstatement of workers, 
but a judge may order reinstatement if the firing is deemed to be 
related to union activities. However, the law does not provide adequate 
protection to public employees' organizations from acts of interference 
by the public authorities in their establishment or administration.
    Workers exercised the right to form and join unions. The government 
protected the right to conduct union activities in practice. When the 
unions followed legal requirements of exhausting arbitration and 
notifying the government of a strike, the government permitted the 
unions to strike and did not use force on strikers.
    In a public sector strike from April 18 to June 10, unions and 
government claimed the other side had not maintained the terms 
negotiated for striking by workers in the ``essential services.'' The 
unions filed a case against the government and the Industrial Court 
ruled the government was in violation of the Trade Dispute Act by using 
replacement labor in the first 14 days of a strike. The Directorate of 
Public Service Management filed a counter court application, and on 
April 26, the court ruled in favor of the government, ordering all 
health workers, including workers not in essential services (such as 
cooks and cleaners) to return to work immediately.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
law prohibit forced and compulsory labor, including by children; 
however, there were reports of forced child labor in cattle herding and 
in domestic servitude.
    Some Zimbabwean women employed as domestic workers reported being 
exploited by employers through inadequate or nonpayment of wages, 
restriction of movement, and threats of deportation. The government 
conducted 2,291 labor inspections throughout the year, finding 360 
cases of unpaid overtime worked and 265 cases of payment below the 
minimum wage.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Children 14 years or older may be employed in light work that is ``not 
harmful to [their] health and development'' and is approved by a parent 
or guardian. The law provides that work shall not exceed six hours per 
day when a child is not in school, and five hours when a child is in 
school. The law provides that adopted children may not be exploited for 
labor and prohibits the exploitation or coercion into prostitution.
    The Ministry of Labor and Home Affairs is responsible for enforcing 
child labor laws and policies in all sectors; however, resources were 
too limited for effective oversight in remote areas. District and 
municipal councils have child welfare divisions, which are also 
responsible for enforcing child labor laws. Other involved government 
entities included offices with the Ministry of Education and the 
Ministry of Local Government. Oversight of child labor issues was 
facilitated through the Advisory Committee on Child Labor, which 
included representatives of various NGOs, government agencies, workers' 
federations, and employers' organizations and which advised the 
government on the state of children three to four times throughout the 
year. The government supported and worked with partners to conduct 
workshops to raise awareness of child labor. The Department of Labor 
partnered with the Department of Social Services to advocate against 
and raise awareness of exploitative child labor.
    The law provides that a child should not ``move anything so heavy 
as to be likely to endanger his physical development,'' work 
underground or at night, or engage in anything dangerous or immoral. 
Despite the laws and policies designed to protect children from 
exploitation in the workplace, there were reports of child labor, 
mostly on subsistence-level cattle posts or farms.
    Of the children employed, approximately half were below the legal 
working age of 14. Two-thirds of employed children were working in 
rural villages, and more than 60 percent worked in the agricultural 
sector. According to the 2005-06 labor survey, slightly fewer than 
38,000 children between the ages of seven and 17 were employed in 2006. 
Approximately half of those were under 14. More than 60 percent of 
employed children worked in agriculture, 20 percent in retail trade, 
and 4 percent in private homes. Children also worked as domestic 
laborers and in informal bars. Outside of supermarkets they sometimes 
assisted truck drivers with unloading goods and carried bags for 
customers. Many orphans also left school to work as caregivers for sick 
relatives. Most employed children worked up to 28 hours per week.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum hourly wage for most 
full-time labor in the private sector was 3.80 pula ($0.58). Formal 
sector jobs generally paid well above minimum wage levels. Informal 
sector employment, particularly in the agricultural and domestic 
service sectors, where housing and food were provided, frequently paid 
below the minimum wage. The minimum wage for domestic workers was two 
pula ($0.30) per hour, or approximately 16 pula ($2.40) a day. The 
minimum for workers in the agricultural sector was 408 pula ($62) per 
month; however, the cost of feeding a worker who lived on the 
employer's premises could be deducted from the wages. A 2003 government 
household income survey found that 23 percent of people lived on less 
than a dollar a day. The government defines poverty as a lack of food, 
shelter, clothing, etc. rather than an absolute income level; the same 
survey estimated that 30 percent of people lived in poverty. A smaller 
survey in 2009 estimated that 23 percent were impoverished.
    The cabinet determined wage policy based on recommendations from 
the National Economic, Manpower, and Incomes Committee, which consists 
of representatives of the government, private sector, and Botswana 
Federation of Trade Unions. The Ministry of Labor and Home Affairs is 
responsible for enforcing the minimum wage, and each of the country's 
districts had at least one labor inspector.
    The law permits a maximum 48-hour workweek, exclusive of overtime, 
which is payable at time-and-a-half. The law does not specifically 
outline rest periods or prohibit excessive compulsory overtime. The law 
prescribes 40-hour workweek for most modern private sector jobs, and a 
48-hour workweek for the public sector. The labor law also applies to 
farm and migrant workers. The Department of Labor had inspectors to 
oversee and enforce labor regulations. There are limited requirements 
for occupational safety contained in the Employment Act. The 
government's ability to enforce its workplace safety legislation 
remained limited by inadequate staffing and unclear jurisdictions among 
different ministries.
    The law provides that workers who complain about hazardous 
conditions may not be fired, and authorities in the Ministry of Labor 
and Home Affairs effectively enforced this right.
    The government generally enforced wage, hour, health, and safety 
requirements, but the number of labor inspectors was insufficient to 
inspect all workplaces. Foreign migrant workers were vulnerable to 
exploitative working conditions, mainly in domestic labor. Employers in 
the formal sector generally provided for worker safety.

                               __________

                              BURKINA FASO

                           executive summary
    Burkina Faso is a presidential republic. In November 2010 President 
Blaise Compaore was reelected to a fourth term with more than 80 
percent of the vote. Despite some irregularities and the resource 
advantage held by the president, international observers considered the 
election to have been free and transparent. The president, assisted by 
members of his party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), 
continued to dominate the government. The CDP won a majority in the 
2007 legislative elections, which observers declared generally free and 
orderly despite irregularities, including fraud involving voter 
identification cards. There were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    Major human rights problems included security force use of 
excessive force against civilians, criminal suspects, and detainees; 
abuse of prisoners and harsh prison conditions; and societal violence 
and discrimination against women and children, including female genital 
mutilation.
    Other major abuses included arbitrary arrest and detention, 
judicial inefficiency and lack of independence, official corruption, 
trafficking in persons, discrimination against persons with 
disabilities, and child labor.
    The government took steps to prosecute individuals in the police 
and military accused of human rights abuse. However, impunity remained 
a problem in the country.
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 February 20, Justin Zongo, a 24-year old high school student, died 
in a Koudougou hospital. Zongo was questioned by police several times 
between December 2010 and February 2011 after a female classmate 
pressed charges against him for battery. Students and civil society 
organizations claimed that Zongo died as a result of police brutality, 
and not of meningitis as the government initially claimed. This death 
sparked violent protests first in the Koudougou area and then 
throughout the country. In the days following Zongo's death, the 
confrontations between protesters and security forces turned violent. A 
total of five civilians were killed in separate incidents by stray 
bullets when the overwhelmed police tried to keep the crowd under 
control and protect government buildings. On February 23, students 
Wendkuni Kissou and Assad Ouedraogo and mechanic Issa Bado died after 
clashes with security forces in Koudougou. Students Ahmed Zougba in Poa 
and Michel Bouda in Kindi died on February 24. Policeman Andre Dabire 
was lynched by a mob in Poa the same day in retaliation for the deaths 
of civilians. According to the Burkina Faso Movement for Human and 
Peoples' Rights (MBDHP), live fire used by police and gendarmerie units 
during crowd control caused those deaths.
    On February 26, the government responded to the violent protests by 
relieving the governor of the Central West region and the regional 
police director of their duties. On March 11, the Ministry of Justice 
indicted three policemen in connection with Justin Zongo's death and 
kept them in detention while investigations were underway. The attorney 
general later stated that the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal would 
investigate Zongo's death, and the incidents in Poa, Kindi, and 
Koudougou as separate events.
    On August 23, the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal jury found two of the 
indicted policemen guilty of manslaughter and one of being an accessory 
to manslaughter in the death of Justin Zongo. They were sentenced 
respectively to 10 and eight years of imprisonment and immediately 
transferred to the city jail. The defendants' lawyers filed an appeal 
with the Cour de Cassation, the highest court of appeal in the country. 
The Criminal Chamber of the Cour de Cassation was called upon to try 
the three other cases. In the Koudougou incidents, two individuals were 
charged and were in jail pending trial at year's end. Regarding events 
in Poa, a policeman and two civilians were detained on murder, and 
destruction of public buildings and personal properties charges. In 
Kindi, a police assistant was arrested. At year's end investigations 
were underway with the judges ordering ballistic expertise in Koudougou 
and Kindi, and autopsies of the victims in the all cases.
    In June 2010 Da Arnaud Some died while in police custody several 
hours after having been arrested in Danyoro for alleged drug 
possession. The circumstances of Some's death in a Gaoua hospital were 
unclear. According to the police, Some tried to escape and sustained 
injuries falling down a steep ravine. He died a few hours later in the 
hospital. Human rights organizations, including the MBDHP, investigated 
the death and concluded that Some died as a result of a police beating 
and not because of an alleged fall. The MBDHP called for an independent 
investigation and the arrest of those responsible for Some's death. The 
government took rapid disciplinary action, arresting the three 
policemen allegedly involved in Some's death and reassigning the entire 
police staffs in Danyoro and Gaoua, including the two chiefs of police, 
to other police stations. The three policemen were tried by the 
criminal chamber of the Bobo-Dioulasso Court of Appeal. On June 17, two 
of them were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in 
jail; charges were dropped against the third.
    In July 2010 security forces killed two young men in Gaoua after 
violent demonstrations organized to protest the June 30 killing of 
Some. According to official reports, security forces used shotguns to 
restore order. Human rights associations collected empty cartridges 
after the incidents and said injuries were consistent with the use of 
live fire. Official post-incident reports referred to the causes of 
death as ``accidental'' (see section 1c).

    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 law prohibit such treatment, 
members of the security forces continued to abuse individuals. The 
government made efforts to investigate and bring such cases to justice 
(see section 1.a). Suspects in police or gendarmerie custody reportedly 
were subjected frequently to beatings and threats. Government actions 
to prevent such treatment were limited, with only a few known cases 
when this behavior was punished. For example, in February four soldiers 
publically humiliated a civilian by forcing him to undress and parade 
naked (see section 1.d.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons and detention 
facilities did not meet international standards. Conditions in prisons 
and detention facilities were harsh and at times life-threatening. 
Prisons were overcrowded, and medical care and sanitation were poor. 
Although regulations require the presence of a doctor and five nurses 
at the Maison d'Arret et de Correction de Ouagadougou's (MACO) health 
unit, only three nurses are on duty to treat the 1,506 detainees. 
Prisoners' diets were inadequate, and inmates often relied on 
supplemental food from relatives. Typically, a designated group of 
detainees are tasked with cooking meals each day. Pretrial detainees 
usually were held with convicted prisoners. The infrastructures are 
decrepit and not adequately maintained. In some prisons such as the 
MACO, the severe overcrowding hinders appropriate ventilation. However, 
each cell has electricity and inmates can opt to buy a fan. They have 
access to potable water and rudimentary sanitation. There is not an 
office of the ombudsmen; however, the Burkina Faso Movement for the 
Emergence of Justice (MBEJUS) reported that it occasionally acted as 
ombudsman at the MACO. Women are held in a separate area of the prison, 
and their detention conditions are better than those of men, in large 
part because they are so few and thus have access to larger living 
spaces. According to human rights organizations, deaths from prison 
conditions or neglect occurred. Human rights activists believed that 
two to four inmates die every week as a result of prison conditions. In 
order to address overcrowding, the Ministry of Justice regularly grants 
provisional release to inmates who have served at least two-thirds of 
their sentences. Other alternative measures include community service 
and half way house.
    According to the Ministry of Justice, as of December 17, there were 
4,837 persons incarcerated countrywide, including 103 women and 102 
minors. Juveniles and adults were not held together in Ouagadougou; 
however, in provincial prisons they were held together because no 
separate facilities existed for juveniles. Under the supervision of the 
Ministry of Justice, the Centre Laye houses convicted juveniles and 
provides them with training to help them transition back to jobs.
    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 incarceration conditions. The government investigated and 
monitored prison and detention center conditions. Prison authorities 
granted permission to visit prisons without requiring advance notice 
for representatives of local and international human rights groups, the 
media, foreign embassies, and the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC). The ICRC visited prisons as did members of local 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), foreign embassies, and the press. 
The government conducted human rights and civil liberties training for 
security forces, including prison officers.
    Two riots occurred in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso prisons during 
the year. In Ouagadougou, on February16, a group of prisoners tried to 
escape from the MACO during the night. The attempt to tunnel out failed 
but turned into a riot after prison officers intervened. Prisoners 
demanded speedy trials, better diet and health care, and measures to 
alleviate overcrowding. An inmate was injured and a building was 
damaged due to a fire. After the incident, the minister of justice and 
human rights promotion visited the MACO and met with prisoners to 
discuss their demands. The MBEJUS reported that improvements were made, 
including efforts by the government to increase food rations and 
establish a better medication supply for the prison health unit.
    Similar events took place in the Bobo-Dioulasso prison on April 1. 
After a failed escape attempt, a group of prisoners fought with prison 
guards. One prisoner was killed during the riot, and 10 others were 
injured.
    The government conducted investigations on both prison incidents. 
As a result, 10 MACO inmates were charged with malicious damage of 
property, attempting to escape, and rebellion. They were sentenced to 
an additional 12 months in jail. Investigations were underway at year's 
end for Bobo-Dioulasso's prison.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, security forces did 
not consistently observe these prohibitions. The government did not 
take steps to prevent such treatment and did not systematically 
investigate and punish those responsible.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police, 
under the Ministry of Security, and the municipal police, under the 
Ministry of Territorial Administration, are responsible for public 
security. Gendarmes, under the Ministry of Security, are responsible 
for restoring law and order during a disturbance, enforcing the penal 
code, and taking preventive action, such as checking if individuals are 
carrying required official documents.
    Human rights organizations stated that, although overall there was 
a climate of impunity, the government took steps to address police 
abuse. Policemen were convicted and sentenced to jail time in the 
Justin Zongo and Da Arnaud Some cases (see section 1 a). Security 
forces, particularly the army, sometimes acted independently of 
civilian control as illustrated by this year's multiple military 
mutinies.
    On March 22, in response to actions after an altercation between a 
senior enlisted soldier and four of his soldier friends, on one side, 
and his wife's suspected lover, a Ouagadougou High Court sentenced four 
soldiers to 12 months in jail, and a fifth to 15 months and also a 
three million CFA fine (approximately $6,016) to cover damages to the 
victim. The judge found them guilty of public indecency and theft 
because they publicly had humiliated the wife's alleged lover in 
February by forcing him to undress and parade naked.
    This court decision angered some of their fellow soldiers, who felt 
the sentences were too harsh. They decided to forcibly free their 
colleagues using their military-issued weapons, caused damaged to the 
courthouse, and succeeded in freeing their fellow soldiers from the 
base prison. The government, to avoid the escalation of violence, did 
not immediately re-incarcerate them. In protest, on March 24, 
magistrate and lawyers' unions announced a nationwide suspension of all 
judicial activities until the convicted soldiers were returned to 
prison. The soldiers were re-incarcerated on April 6 and are still 
awaiting trial; magistrates resumed their functions on April 11.
    The criminal court of the Court of Appeals, however, granted the 
convicted soldiers provisional release on April 8, pending their appeal 
trial. The appeal trial was scheduled to take place on October 28, but 
the court postponed the trial to March 9, 2012.
    In June soldiers mutinied to obtain better working conditions, new 
uniforms, and increased benefits. On July 7, the government published a 
presidential decree dismissing 566 soldiers for taking part in the 
mutiny. On December 15, an additional 60 soldiers were dismissed. In 
both instances, the charges cited were ``particularly egregious conduct 
contrary to honor and morals, and incitement to public disorder.'' 
Among those dismissed in July, more than 308 were detained in military 
and civil jails and awaiting trial at year's end.
    Observers stated that security forces were not effective in 
responding to societal violence. They pointed to complicated procedures 
for authorizing security force action as a hindrance to preventing and 
responding to societal violence. For example, authorities were not 
effective in addressing incidents last year between Fulani herders and 
Mossi, Gourounsi, and Gourmanche farmers, or in cases in which elderly 
women accused of witchcraft, were expelled from their homes or 
villages.
    The Justice and Human Rights Promotion Ministry conducted seminars 
during the year to educate security forces on human rights.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law, police 
must possess a warrant based on sufficient evidence issued by 
authorized officials to apprehend a suspect; however, in practice these 
rights were not always respected. Detainees were not consistently 
informed of charges against them. The law provides the right to 
expeditious arraignment, bail, access to legal counsel after a detainee 
has been charged before a judge or, if indigent, access to a lawyer 
provided by the state after being charged; however, these rights were 
seldom respected. The law does not provide for detainees to have access 
to family members, although detainees generally were allowed such 
access through court-issued authorizations.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--The law limits detention without charge for 
investigative purposes to a maximum of 72 hours, renewable for a single 
48-hour period; however, police rarely observed the law. The law 
permits judges to impose an unlimited number of six-month preventive 
detention periods. The average time of detention without charge 
(preventive detention) was one week. Defendants without access to legal 
counsel often were detained for weeks or months before appearing before 
a magistrate. For nonviolent offenders, ombudsmen are permitted to 
serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees to negotiate alternatives to 
incarceration to alleviate inhumane overcrowding.

    Pretrial Detention.--Government officials estimated that 48 percent 
of prisoners nationwide were in pretrial status. In some cases 
detainees were held without charge or trial for longer periods than the 
maximum sentence they would have received if convicted of the alleged 
offense. A pretrial release (release on bail) system exists; however, 
the extent of its use was unknown. Human rights advocates stated that 
the justice system, including prisons, had unreliable mechanisms to 
track detainees and occasionally ``lost'' some of them and/or their 
paperwork.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, NGOs reported that the judiciary 
was corrupt, inefficient, and subject to executive influence. 
Constitutionally, the head of state also serves as president of the 
Superior Council of the Magistrature, which nominates and removes 
senior magistrates and examines their performance. Other systemic 
weaknesses in the justice system included corruption of magistrates, 
outdated legal codes, insufficient number of courts, and excessive 
legal costs.
    Military courts try cases only involving military personnel charged 
with violation of the military code of conduct while on duty, and 
provide rights equivalent to those in civil criminal courts. Military 
courts are headed by a civilian judge. They hold public trials and 
publish verdicts in the local press.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, but juries are only used for 
criminal cases. Defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to 
legal representation and consultation. Defendants have the right to be 
present at their trials, to be informed promptly of charges against 
them, to provide their own evidence, and to have access to government-
held evidence. Defendants can challenge and present witnesses and have 
the right of appeal. In civil cases where the defendant is destitute 
and makes the request, the state provides a court-appointed lawyer. In 
criminal cases, court-appointed lawyers are mandatory for those who 
cannot afford it. However, these rights were not always respected, due 
in part to popular ignorance of the law and a continuing shortage of 
magistrates and court-appointed lawyers. Human rights organizations 
claim that there were major court backlogs but according to the 
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Promotion, 74.8 percent of cases 
are tried within three months of formal indictment.

    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; however, due to the corruption, lack of 
trust, and inefficiency of the judiciary, citizens sometimes preferred 
to rely on the ombudsman (see section 5) to settle disputes with the 
government. The law provides for access to a court to bring lawsuits 
seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation, and 
both administrative and judicial remedies were available for alleged 
wrongs. Several such court orders were issued during the year. There 
were problems enforcing court orders in sensitive cases involving 
national security, wealthy or influential persons, and government 
officials.

    Property Restitution.--The constitution provides women with equal 
property and inheritance rights. In practice, however, the courts did 
not consistently uphold a woman's right to inheritance. This practice 
was most prevalent in rural areas, where a widow's right of inheritance 
was superseded by her deceased husband's family claim on land and 
possessions.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respects these prohibitions in practice. These 
rights were suspended in cases of national security, where the law 
permits surveillance, searches, and monitoring of telephones and 
private correspondence without a warrant.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
PressThe constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of the 
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. 
Government media outlets including newspaper, television, and radio 
displayed a progovernment bias, but allowed significant participation 
in their newspaper and television programming by those representing 
opposition views. There were numerous independent newspapers, satirical 
weeklies, and radio and television stations, some of which were highly 
critical of the government. Foreign radio stations broadcast without 
government interference.
    Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately 
without reprisal. During the year the government did not attempt to 
impede criticism. All media are under the administrative and technical 
supervision of the Ministry of Communications, which is responsible for 
developing and implementing government policy and projects concerning 
information and communication. The Superior Council of Communication 
(SCC), a semiautonomous body under the Office of the President, also 
regulates the media by overseeing the content of radio and television 
programs and newspapers to ensure they adhere to professional ethics 
standards and government policy on information and communication. The 
SCC may summon a journalist to attend a hearing about his work, 
followed by a warning for any subsequent violations. Hearings may 
concern alleged libel, disturbing the peace, inciting violence, or 
violations of state security. After the death of Justin Zongo, the SCC 
repeatedly called for journalists and private newspapers to refrain 
from incendiary language and instead promote social peace. Some 
journalists saw this as a limitation of their freedom of speech.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; 
the government generally respected this right.
    Political parties and labor unions may hold meetings and rallies 
without government permission; however, advance notification is 
required for demonstrations on the streets that might impact traffic or 
threaten public order. If a demonstration or rally results in violence, 
injuries, or significant property damage, penalties for the organizers 
include six months to five years of imprisonment, and fines comprised 
between 100,000 and 2 million CFA ($200 and $4,000). These penalties 
may be doubled for an unauthorized rally or demonstration. Denials or 
imposed modifications of a proposed march route or schedule may be 
appealed to the courts. Government agents sometimes infiltrated 
political meetings and rallies.
    The government at times reportedly limited communications by 
disabling text message service on telephone networks. Human rights 
groups alleged that during the March and April student protests, the 
government employed such tactics.
    On February 23 and 24, demonstrations in Koudougou, Poa, and Kindi 
following Justin Zongo's death resulted in six deaths. According to the 
MBDHP and other observers, police units used teargas and live fire to 
disperse protesters (see section 1.a.).

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right. Political parties and labor unions could organize without 
government permission.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
to provide protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    The government, in accordance with the Economic Community of West 
African States' guidelines, required travel documents, such as 
identification cards, for regional travel.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The government granted refugee or asylum status and also 
provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as 
refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol.

    Access to Basic Services.--Under the law, refugees have equal 
access to employment, basic services, education, police, and court 
services. There were no reports of refugees being denied these rights 
during the year.

    Temporary Protection.--According to the UNHCR and the National 
Commission for Refugees, 78 Ivoirian asylum-seekers were registered in 
Burkina Faso in April due to the Ivoirian political crisis. The 
majority resided in Ouagadougou.
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 through multiparty elections; however, the ruling 
party's control of official resources and dominance in the government 
severely disadvantaged the political opposition.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections: In 
November 2010 President Blaise Compaore won reelection with more than 
80 percent of the vote. Opposition candidate Hama Arba Diallo, the 
runner-up, received 7.96 percent. Despite some irregularities, 
international observers considered the election to have been free and 
transparent despite the resource advantage held by the president.

    Political Parties.--Political parties operated freely. Individuals 
and parties may declare their candidacies and stand for election in 
presidential elections provided the Constitutional Council validates 
their candidacy; however, individuals must be members of a registered 
political party to run in legislative or municipal elections.
    In the 2007 legislative elections, the ruling CDP won 73 seats in 
the 111-seat National Assembly. Of the 38 non-CDP members of 
parliament, 25 belonged to parties allied with the government. Election 
observers declared the elections free and orderly, except in four 
cities where they noted irregularities, including several cases of 
fraud involving voter identification cards. Opposition leaders 
denounced the elections.
    CDP membership conferred advantages, particularly for businessmen 
and traders seeking ostensibly open government contracts.
    There were no cabinet members from the political opposition

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 16 women in the 
111-seats National Assembly and three women in the 30-member 
presidential cabinet. One of the four higher courts was led by a woman, 
the national ombudsman was a woman, 22 elected mayors were women, and 
an estimated 40 to 45 percent of new communal councilors were women. 
There are more than 60 ethnic groups in the country. Major ethnic 
groups include Mossi (50 percent of the population), Fulanis (12 
percent), and Dioula (10 percent). Ethnicity is not a factor in cabinet 
appointments.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not enforce the law effectively, and 
officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Local NGOs 
denounced what they called the overwhelming corruption of senior civil 
servants. They reported that corruption was especially acute in the 
customs service, gendarmerie, taxing agencies, national police, 
municipal police, public health service, municipalities, the education 
sector, government procurement, and the Ministry of Justice and Human 
Right Promotion. In recent years, despite numerous alleged instances of 
high-level corruption, no senior government officials were prosecuted 
for corruption. On July 27, the Council of Ministers dismissed the 
mayors of Nangreongo and Boulmiougou because of accusations of 
embezzlement and mishandling of communal resources. At year's end the 
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Promotion indicated that the High 
Courts of Ouagadougou and Ziniare have not prosecuted these cases.
    Corruption was widespread, particularly among lower levels of 
police and gendarmerie. The 2010 report by the National Network to 
Fight Against Corruption, a nongovernmental organization, stated that 
customs, police, the health sector and tax offices were among the most 
corrupt institutions in the country. Corruption and official impunity 
were also a problem in the military. The gendarmerie is responsible for 
investigating abuse by police and gendarmes, but the results of their 
investigations were not always made public. The military courts held a 
number of trials in which civilians pressed charges against military 
personnel. These trials were public, and verdicts were reported in the 
press. The government took some judicial action against representatives 
of security forces accused by human rights groups of being responsible 
for abuses and took disciplinary action against policemen (see section 
1.a.) and soldiers accused of looting and mutiny. At year's end 308 
soldiers were detained for their role in the mutinies and are awaiting 
trial. On July 7, 566 were dismissed from their position by 
presidential decree as were another 60 on December 15.
    Some public officials like the president, the prime minister, 
cabinet members, heads of institutions, ambassadors, and directors of 
state-owned companies are subject to financial disclosure laws, but 
anticorruption NGOs complain that those disclosures are not made 
public.
    No laws provide for public access to government information. While 
government ministries released some nonsensitive documents, local 
journalists complained that ministries generally were unresponsive to 
requests for information, ostensibly for reasons of national security 
and confidentiality. There is no procedure to appeal denials of 
requests for information.
    On July 20, the Council of Ministers adopted a new government 
communication strategy to improve accountability and transparency. The 
new measures, already in effect, include: a toll-free number for 
citizens seeking information on governmental action; a weekly column in 
newspapers; press conferences every Thursday; and production of 
television and radio shows. In 2009 and in an effort to fight 
corruption, the government also implemented a toll-free number to allow 
citizens to report suspected cases of corruption involving civil 
servants.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing 
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials were 
cooperative and responsive to their views.
    The government permitted international human rights groups to visit 
and operate in the country; the International Red Cross visited during 
the year.
    The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Promotion is responsible 
for the protection and promotion of human rights and coordinates 
relevant efforts of other ministries. The minister of justice and human 
rights promotion reports to the prime minister. During the year the 
ministry conducted education campaigns and published pamphlets to raise 
awareness of human rights among security force members.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The ombudsman is appointed by the 
president for a nonrenewable five-year term and cannot be removed 
during the term. The public generally trusted the ombudsman's 
impartiality. In accordance with the law, the ombudsman presented his 
2010 report to the president on June 9. The institution investigates 
complaints related to conflicts between Burkinabe and non-Burkinabe 
nationals living in Burkina Faso and complaints involving government 
services. In 2010 the institution investigated 528 of the 880 
registered complaints. The ombudsman office pursued 145 cases but was 
unsuccessful in negotiating a settlement in 30 cases.
    The governmental National Commission on Human Rights serves as a 
permanent framework for dialogue on human rights concerns and included 
representatives of human rights NGOs, unions, professional 
associations, and the government. The MBDHP did not participate in the 
commission and continued to charge that the commission was subject to 
government influence. According to NGOs, the commission was 
inadequately funded and thus ineffective.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, disability, language, or social status; however, the government 
did not effectively enforce these prohibitions. Discrimination against 
women and persons with disabilities remained problems.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is a crime. Although 
there were prosecutions during the year, no official statistics were 
available on the number of rapes reported. Article 417 of the Penal 
Code makes rape punishable with five to 10 years' imprisonment. Human 
rights associations reported rape occurs frequently. The law makes no 
explicit mention of spousal rape, and there have been no recent court 
cases. Several organizations counseled rape victims, including Roman 
Catholic and Protestant missions, the Association of Women Jurists in 
Burkina, the MBDHP, the Association of Women, and Promofemmes (a 
regional network that works to combat violence against women). Once a 
rape is reported, police investigate the accusation and, if the 
evidence warrants, bring the case to court.
    Domestic violence against women occurred frequently, primarily in 
rural areas. No law specifically protects women from domestic violence, 
and cases of wife beating usually were handled out of court. There were 
no available statistics on how many persons were prosecuted, convicted, 
or punished for domestic violence during the year. Such legal actions 
were infrequent, because women were ashamed, afraid, or otherwise 
reluctant to take their spouses to court. Cases that involve severe 
injury were usually handled through the legal system. There are no 
government-run shelters in the country for women victims of domestic 
violence, but there are counseling centers in each of the 13 regional 
``Maison de la Femme'' structures. In addition, a toll-free help number 
was activated. Since December, there have been daily advertisements 
publishing the number in local papers.
    The Ministry for Promotion of Women, the Ministry for Social Action 
and National Solidarity, and several NGOs cooperated to protect women's 
rights. The legal section in the Ministry for the Promotion of Women 
has a legal affairs section that informs women of their rights and 
encourages them to defend those rights. It organized a number of 
workshops and led several sensitization campaigns to inform women of 
their rights. Although the fight to achieve effective rights for women 
is a longstanding process, increasing numbers of women, primarily in 
urban areas, voiced their demand for equal rights. The numbers of women 
occupying decision-making positions has increased, with many active in 
politics. The government enacted a gender quota law in April 2009. This 
law requires that political parties have at least 30 percent women 
among candidates on their electoral lists for legislative and municipal 
elections. The law is scheduled to take effect during the 2012 
elections and establishes financial incentives for political parties 
who reach the 30 percent threshold.
    In July 2009 the government adopted a national gender policy aimed 
at reducing inequalities and gender discrimination in the country. At 
years' end the Ministry for Promotion of Women launched a national 
sensitization campaign focused on abating early and forced marriage and 
teen pregnancies.
    On occasion, vulnerable elderly women with no support, primarily in 
rural areas and often widowed, were accused of witchcraft by fellow 
villagers and banned from their villages. They are often accused of 
eating the soul of a relative or a child who had died. These women 
sought refuge at centers run by governmental or charitable 
organizations in urban centers.
    The Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity recorded 
nearly 500 such women accused of being witches who had fled their 
villages. During the year the Roman Catholic-operated Delwende center 
housed approximately 317 persons accused of witchcraft. The Ministry of 
Social Action and National Solidarity provides financial assistance to 
the Delwende center and is building another center nearby to relocate 
them in an area not prone to flooding. Another similar government-run 
center is located in the Paspanga area in Ouagadougou and houses 
approximately 100 women. The government and traditional authorities 
worked together during the year to stop such persecutions. In 
particular, the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity 
initiated specific awareness programs with ethnic Mossi villages and 
assisted with mediation efforts between suspected ``witches'' and 
village elders. As part of an NGO-led sensitization campaign, women 
from the two centers demonstrated peacefully on March 6 in Ouagadougou. 
The Mogho Naaba, Emperor of the Mossi, was the sponsor of this event 
and wrote a letter denouncing the condition of these women and calling 
for an end to this practice.

    Sexual Harassment.--The labor code explicitly prohibits sexual 
harassment in the workplace, but such harassment of women was common 
and considered by many as culturally acceptable. The law prescribes 
fines of 50,000 to 600,000 CFA francs ($100 to $1,203) and prison terms 
varying from one month to five years for persons convicted of workplace 
harassment. There were no available statistics on how many persons were 
prosecuted, convicted, or punished for the offense during the year.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals are legally entitled 
to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of 
their children. They have the right to access reproductive and family 
planning information and may do so without facing discrimination, 
coercion, or violence. In practice, however, a lack of access to 
information and medical care constrained these rights, especially in 
remote areas. Cultural norms, especially in rural areas with less 
educated populations, also limited the availability and use of these 
resources. Reproductive rights were usually respected in urban areas 
and among more educated people. According to the 2010 demographic and 
health survey preliminary report (published in August 2011), the modern 
contraceptive prevalence rate is 15 percent. A DHS preliminary report 
also shows that 67 percent of births were attended by skilled 
personnel. However, women often were subject to their husbands' 
decision regarding birth control. In 2008 UNICEF estimated that the 
maternal mortality ratio was 560 deaths per 100,000 live births, that a 
woman's lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 28, and that a total 
of 54 percent of births were attended by skilled personnel (mainly 
midwives).
    Both government and private health centers were open to all women 
for reproductive health services, including contraception, skilled 
medical assistance during childbirth (essential obstetric and 
postpartum care), and diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted 
diseases. However, remote villages often lacked these facilities or did 
not have adequate road infrastructure and transportation to permit easy 
access. To obtain specific treatment or deliver under medical 
supervision, women in rural areas sometimes had to travel great 
distances to the closest urban health center. According to Amnesty 
International, maternal deaths could also be partly explained by health 
workers lacking adequate training.

    Discrimination.--Women continued to occupy a subordinate position 
in society and often experienced discrimination in education, jobs, 
property ownership, access to credit, management or ownership of a 
business, and family rights. Polygyny is permitted, but both parties 
have to agree to it prior to marriage. A wife may oppose further 
marriages by her husband if she provides evidence that he has abandoned 
her and her children. Each spouse may petition for divorce, and the law 
provides that custody of a child may be granted to either parent, based 
on the child's best interest. In practice, however, the mother retained 
custody until the child reached the age of seven, at which time custody 
reverted to the father or his family. Women represented approximately 
45 percent of the general workforce in the formal sector and were 
primarily concentrated in lower-paying subservient positions. Although 
the law provides equal property rights for women and, depending on 
other family relationships, inheritance benefits, traditional law often 
denied women the right to own property, particularly real estate. This 
is exacerbated by the fact that 75 percent of marriages are defined as 
common law (religious or traditional ceremony) marriages and not 
legally binding. For example, in rural areas, land owned by a woman 
becomes the property of the family of her husband after marriage. Many 
citizens, particularly in rural areas, clung to traditional beliefs 
that did not recognize inheritance rights for women and regarded a 
woman as property that could be inherited upon her husband's death.
    The government continued media campaigns to change attitudes toward 
women, but progress was slow. The Ministry for Women's Promotion is 
responsible for increasing women's awareness of their rights, and is 
working to facilitate their access to land. The government sponsored a 
number of community outreach efforts and awareness campaigns to promote 
women's rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived either by 
birth within the country's territory or through a parent. Many births 
are not registered immediately, particularly in rural areas where 
administrative structures are insufficient, geographically distant, and 
rural parents do not know such registration is required. Lack of 
registration sometimes resulted in denial of public services and 
inability to register for school. To address the problem, the 
government periodically organized registration drives and issued 
belated birth certificates.

    Education.--The law calls for compulsory, tuition-free, and 
universal education until the age of 16. The government paid tuition, 
books, and supplies for all students under 16 years of age, although 
uniforms were the responsibility of the student's family. Children over 
16 years of age were responsible for paying all education costs, unless 
they qualified for tuition assistance from merit-and need-based 
programs. The overall primary, school enrollment was approximately 78 
percent for boys and 71 percent for girls.

    Child Abuse.--The law prohibits the abuse of children under 15 and 
provides for the punishment of abusers. The penal code mandates a one-
to three-year prison sentence and fines ranging from 300,000 to 900,000 
CFA francs ($601 to $1,805) for inhumane treatment or mistreatment of 
children; however, light corporal punishment was tolerated and widely 
practiced in society, although the government conducted seminars and 
education campaigns against child abuse.
    In September, 29 year-old Boukary Sawadogo was convicted and 
sentenced to three years in jail for public indecency and sexually 
abusing a minor.
    On September 13, the Ministry of Social Action and National 
Solidarity launched a toll-free number enabling people to anonymously 
report cases of violence against children. During the year the ministry 
equipped two care centers in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso for child 
victims.

    Child Marriage.--Several NGOs stated that child marriage was a 
problem. In rural areas, the Population Council estimated that, in 
2009, 62 percent of girls and women aged between 20 and 24 were married 
by the age of 18. In the Sahel region, 19 percent of girls are married 
before 15. According to the law, the legal age for marriage is 17 for 
women and 20 for men. The law prohibits forced marriage and prescribes 
penalties of six months to two years in prison for violation. The 
prison term may be increased to three years, if the victim is less than 
13 years of age; however, there were no reports during the year of 
prosecutions of violators. Many NGOs worked with traditional leaders 
and village elders to halt this practice. From 2008 to 2010, the 
government carried out a project called ``Getting rid of early 
marriages in Burkina Faso: a plan for protection, accountability and 
community's intervention.'' The project aimed at fighting early 
marriage by strengthening young girls' skills and their civil rights 
knowledge.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Female genital mutilation (FGM) was 
practiced, especially in rural areas, despite being illegal, and 
usually was performed at an early age. Although there are no accurate 
and recent figures on FGM, the National Committee for the Fight Against 
Excision (CNLPE) believes that the practice has decreased significantly 
in recent years. In 2008 the committee reported that 249 girls had 
undergone FGM, but this number should take into consideration the fact 
that some parents take their child to neighboring countries, such as 
Mali, where the practice of FGM is legal. Perpetrators are subject to a 
significant fine of 150,000 to 900,000 CFA (between $301 and $1,811), 
and imprisonment of six months to three years, or up to 10 years if the 
victim dies. During the year security forces and social workers from 
the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity arrested several 
FGM practitioners and their accomplices. In accordance with the law, 
they were sentenced to prison terms. On September 16, the Bobo-
Dioulasso High Court sentenced Daouda Konate to three years in jail and 
a fine for perpetrating FGM on four girls under the age of three. It 
was the first time that a man was convicted of FGM.
    Burkina Faso's First Lady Chantal Compaore is the honorary 
president of the CNLPE and is actively involved in the fight against 
FGM. On February 28, she chaired a roundtable at the U.N. headquarters 
entitled: ``International Campaign for a United Nations General 
Assembly Resolution to Ban FGM Worldwide''.
    The government, through the Regional Committees to Combat Excision, 
continued to work with local populations to address FGM. These regional 
committees (presided over by government-appointed high commissioners) 
brought together representatives of the Ministries of Social Action, 
Basic Education, Secondary and Superior Education, Women's Rights, 
Justice, Health, the police and gendarmerie, and local and religious 
leaders; they actively campaigned against the practice.
    The government continued its national action plan, a ``Zero 
Tolerance to FGM'' that aimed to reduce the practice of FGM by at least 
30 percent by year 2013. Towards that end during the year the 
government conducted awareness campaigns, trainings, and identification 
and support programs for victims of this practice.
    In September the Network of Burkina Faso Islamic Organizations 
organized a national conference to raise awareness and fight against 
FGM. They explained that despite popular belief, FGM is not a Muslim 
tradition.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There were no statistics on child 
prostitution; however, government services and human rights 
associations believed it was a problem. Children from poor families 
relied on prostitution to meet their daily needs and, at times, to help 
their needy parents. Trafficked children, primarily Nigerian nationals, 
were also subject to sexual abuse and forced prostitution.

    Infanticide.--The law prohibits female infanticide, and there were 
no reports of such cases. Newspapers reported cases of abandonment of 
newborn babies following unwanted pregnancies.

    Displaced Children.--There were numerous street children, primarily 
in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. Many children ended up on the 
streets after traveling from rural areas to find employment in the 
city, after their parents sent them to the city to study with an 
unregistered Qur'an teacher, or to live with relatives and go to 
school. According to a 2010 report by the Ministry of Social Action and 
National Solidarity, there were 5,721 street children in Burkina Faso 
among which 2,308 children were enrolled in unregistered Qur'anic 
schools. Several NGOs assisted street children. Two directorates within 
the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity also ran 
educational programs, including vocational training, for street 
children; funded income-generating activities; and assisted in the 
reintegration and rehabilitation of street children. Nevertheless, the 
number of street children far outstripped the capacity of these 
institutions.
    On September 10, the Regional Direction of Social Action and 
National Solidarity in the Cascades region (in the west) organized a 
workshop with members of the Muslim community, Qur'anic teachers, 
police, gendarmerie and social workers. They worked with and educated 
members of the Muslim community and discussed solutions to end the 
phenomenon of street children, particularly child-beggars in Qur'anic 
schools.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980 
HagueConvention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. There 
was no known Jewish community in the country.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical or mental disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, the provision of other state 
services, or other areas; however, the government did not effectively 
enforce these provisions. In April 2010 the government enacted 
additional legislation to expand the rights of persons with 
disabilities. The law provides for reduced-cost or free healthcare and 
access to education, and establishes codes for access to buildings, and 
access to employment persons with disabilities often faced societal and 
economic discrimination. Such persons who were able to work found it 
difficult to find employment, including in government service, because 
of deeply entrenched societal attitudes that persons with disabilities 
should be under the care of their families and not in the workforce.
    Programs to aid persons with disabilities were limited. During the 
year the National Committee for the Reintegration of Persons with 
Disabilities and NGOs conducted awareness campaigns and implemented 
integration programs and capacity-building programs to manage income-
generating activities better. High commissioners, teachers and NGOs 
worked together to inform citizens about the rights of persons with 
disabilities, specifically the rights of children with disabilities. A 
number of NGOs schooled and provided vocational training to persons 
with disabilities and provided equipment for them to work.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Incidents of conflict have 
flared over trampled fields involving cattle herders of the Fulani 
ethnic group and farmers of other ethnic groups. Such incidents were 
fueled by the scarcity of grazing lands and Fulani herders allowing 
their cattle to graze on farm lands of the other groups, or farmers 
wanting to cultivate land set aside by local authorities for grazing. 
According to the Ministry of Animal Resources, more than 3,800 of such 
conflicts occurred between 2005 and 2011, including 318 during the 
first half of 2011. These conflicts caused 55 deaths since 2005 (see 
section 1.d., Role of the Police and Security Apparatus).
    In May clashes between members of Bwaba and Mossi ethnic groups 
occurred in Solenzo over alleged disrespect for a traditional Bwaba 
initiation ceremony by a Mossi. The confrontation resulted in two 
deaths. The governor of the region and local authorities went to 
Solenzo to mediate with local residents in order to resolve the 
conflict. This incident also reflected long-lasting tensions over land 
use in the region.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not discriminate 
on the basis of sexual orientation in employment and occupation, 
housing, statelessness, or access to education or health care. However, 
societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity 
remained a problem. Religious and traditional beliefs do not accept 
homosexuality, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
persons were reportedly occasional victims of verbal and physical 
abuse. There were no reports that the government responded to societal 
violence and discrimination against such persons.
    LGBT organizations had no legal presence in the country but existed 
unofficially. There were no reports of government or societal violence 
against such organizations.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against persons with HIV/AIDS was a problem. During the year 
approximately 130,000 persons were HIV-positive, 1.8 percent of the 
population. Persons who tested positive were sometimes shunned by their 
families, and HIV-positive wives were sometimes evicted from their 
homes while their husbands were not. Some landlords refused to rent 
lodgings to persons with HIV/AIDS. However, persons with HIV/AIDS were 
generally not discriminated against in employment practices or the 
workplace. In January 2010 the government announced free distribution 
of antiretroviral medication for HIV-positive persons.
Section 7. Worker Rights

    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form and join independent unions of their 
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements; 
however, ``essential'' workers such as police, army, and other security 
personnel may not join unions. The law provides unions the right to 
conduct their activities without interference.
    The law provides for the right to strike, although it stipulates a 
very narrow definition of this right. For strikes that call on workers 
to stay home and that do not entail participation in a rally, the union 
is required to send an advance notice (eight to 15 days) to the 
government. If unions call for a march, then the government requires 
the same request and that a notice also be submitted to the concerned 
city mayor. March organizers are held accountable for any damage or 
property destruction that occurs during the demonstration. Magistrates, 
police, military personnel, and gendarmes do not have the right to 
strike.
    The law prohibits anti-union discrimination and allows a labor 
inspector to immediately reinstate workers fired because of their union 
activities. All workers without distinction benefit from the relevant 
legal protections. The government generally enforced these laws.
    The government respected freedom of association and the right to 
collective bargaining. During the year the government received 16 
requests for union recognition. All were granted. The government 
respected the right to conduct their activities without interference.
    Unions have the right to bargain directly with employers and 
industry associations for wages and other benefits. Approximately 86 
percent of the work force was engaged in subsistence agriculture and 
did not belong to unions. Of the remainder, an estimated 25 percent of 
private sector employees and 60 percent of public sector workers were 
union members. Worker organizations are independent of the government 
and political parties. There were no reports of strikebreaking during 
the year.
    There were no reports of government restrictions on collective 
bargaining during the year. There was extensive collective bargaining 
in the formal wage sector; however, this sector included only a small 
percentage of workers. Moreover, employers sometimes refused to bargain 
with unions. This was the case for the establishment of an inter-
professional collective convention. In the private sector, particularly 
in the mining sector and other industries, employers' use of 
subcontracting made it difficult to systematically enforce workers 
rights.
    There were no reports of antiunion discrimination during the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred. Forced child labor was found in 
the country's agricultural (particularly cotton), informal trade, 
domestic servitude, and animal husbandry sectors as well as in gold 
panning sites and stone quarries. Some children sent to Qur'anic 
schools by their parents were forced to engage in begging (see section 
6, displaced children).
    There were no instances of compulsory participation in public works 
or forced prison labor.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets the minimum age for employment at 16 and prohibits children 
less than 18 years of age from working at night except in times of 
emergency. The minimum age for employment was consistent with the age 
for completing educational requirements, which was 16 years. In the 
domestic and agricultural sectors, the law permits children under the 
age of 15 to perform limited activities for up to four and one-half 
hours per day. There were no explicit restrictions regarding 
occupational health and safety in the law.
    The law prohibits the worst forms of child labor, including the 
commercial sexual exploitation of children, child pornography, and jobs 
that harm their health. The 2008 antitrafficking legislation provides 
for penalties of up to 10 years for violators and increases maximum 
prison terms from five to 10 years. The law also allows terms as high 
as 20 years to life imprisonment under certain conditions. However, the 
government did not effectively enforce the law.
    The Ministry of Civil Service, Labor and Social Security, which 
oversees labor standards, lacked the financial and transportation means 
as well as a sufficient number of inspectors to enforce worker safety 
and minimum age legislation adequately. Punishment for violating child 
labor laws included prison terms of up to five years and fines of up to 
600,000 CFA francs ($1,207). The number of convictions during the year 
was unknown.
    The government organized workshops during the year, and in 
cooperation with donors, undertook sensitization programs to inform 
children, parents, and employers of the dangers of exploitative child 
labor and sending children away from home to work. The government 
worked with local NGOs to monitor the opening of new gold mines to 
ensure that no children were employed there illegally.
    Child labor was a problem. According to the National Institute of 
Statistics and Demography 41.1 percent of the children between five and 
17 years were engaged in some form of economic activity. Children 
mostly worked in the following areas: agriculture (69.2 percent), 
mining (2.2 percent), trade (5 percent) and sometimes as domestic 
servants in the informal sector (19 percent). Some children, 
particularly those working as cattle herders and street hawkers did not 
attend school. A 2010 UNICEF study found that of 50,000 gold miners, 
19,881 were children. The main reason for this phenomenon was poverty 
and insufficient access to education.
    Many children under the age of 15 worked long hours. Children 
commonly worked with their parents in rural areas or in family-owned 
small businesses in villages and cities. There were no reports of 
children under age 15 employed in either state-owned or large private 
companies.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law mandates a minimum 
monthly wage of 30,684 CFA francs ($61) in the formal sector; the 
minimum wage does not apply to subsistence agriculture or other 
informal occupations.
    The law mandates a standard workweek of 40 hours for non-domestic 
workers and a 60-hour workweek for household employees, and it provides 
for overtime pay. There are also regulations pertaining to rest 
periods, limits on hours worked, and prohibition of excessive 
compulsory overtime, but these standards were not effectively enforced.
    The government sets occupational health and safety standards. Every 
company with 10 or more employees is required to have a work safety 
committee. If the government's Labor Inspection Office declares a 
workplace unsafe for any reason, workers have the right to remove 
themselves without jeopardizing continued employment. The Ministry of 
Civil service, Labor and Social Security was responsible for enforcing 
the minimum wage. Government inspectors under the Ministry of Civil 
Service, Labor, and Social Security and the labor tribunals are 
responsible for overseeing occupational health and safety standards in 
the small industrial and commercial sectors, but these standards do not 
apply in subsistence agriculture and other informal sectors.
    These standards were generally not effectively enforced. During the 
year the government in conjunction with the Action Catholique des 
Travailleurs provided technical assistance for trainings and seminars 
as well as workshops on legislation and workers rights. The 
government's Labor Inspector Corps did not have sufficient resources, 
including sufficient numbers of inspectors and offices and financial 
and transportation means, to fulfill its duties adequately. There were 
125 labor inspectors and 116 labor controllers. There were no reports 
of effective enforcement of inspection findings during the year. There 
were indications that the right to remove oneself from unsafe working 
conditions was respected, although such declarations by the Labor 
Inspection Office were rare.
    Employers often paid less than the minimum wage. Wage-earners 
usually supplemented their income through reliance on the extended 
family, subsistence agriculture, or trading in the informal sector.

                               __________

                                BURUNDI

                           executive summary
    The Republic of Burundi is a democratic, multiparty republic. The 
2005 constitution provides for an executive branch that reports to the 
president, a bicameral parliament, and an independent judiciary. In 
June 2010 voters reelected President Pierre Nkurunziza, and in July 
2010 they selected a new National Assembly (lower house) in elections 
that international observers found largely free, fair, peaceful, and 
consistent with international standards. The armed forces and other 
security forces reported to civilian authorities. While observers 
considered the military generally professional and apolitical, the 
intelligence service and the police tended to be influenced directly by 
and responsive to the ruling National Council for the Defense of 
Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy party (CNDD-FDD).
    During the year the main human rights abuses included torture and 
extrajudicial executions of detainees, particularly of members of 
certain opposition political parties, by police, military, and 
intelligence services; prolonged pretrial detention of detainees, often 
without formal charges, in overcrowded, harsh, degrading, and sometimes 
life-threatening prison conditions; and a lack of judicial 
independence.
    Other human rights abuses included interference with and 
intimidation of government officials and political opposition members 
by certain members of the ruling CNDD-FDD party and the intelligence 
and police services. The political rights of certain opposition 
political parties--including the right to hold party meetings--were 
restricted arbitrarily, and members of these parties were detained and/
or threatened and intimidated. Some journalists and members of civil 
society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) critical of the ruling 
CNDD-FDD party and government were the objects of harassment and 
intimidation. Corruption existed at all levels of government. Women and 
girls suffered from violence and discrimination, and children and women 
were trafficked. Forced child labor also existed.
    The general reluctance and slowness of police and public 
prosecutors to investigate and prosecute--and of judges to hear--cases 
of government corruption and human rights abuse led to a widespread 
perception of impunity for government and ruling CNDD-FDD party 
officials and agents. In many cases investigative and judicial 
officials hesitated to act as a result of bribes or threats to 
themselves or their families.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The U.N. Office of 
the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCR) documented 61 cases of 
extrajudicial executions committed by police, intelligence service, 
military, and local government officials during the year. Members of 
the Youth Wing (Imbonerakure) of the ruling CNDD-FDD political party 
also were implicated in some of these cases. The UNOHCR conveyed all 
these cases and their documentation to representatives of an 
interministerial committee of the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of 
National Solidarity, Human Rights, and Gender; the Ministry of Public 
Security; the National Intelligence Service (SNR); and others in the 
government. The UNOHCR monitored the government's actions on each case; 
as of November 30, no prosecutions were underway in any of the cases. 
Besides these 61 cases, through November 30, the UNOHCR documented an 
additional 42 cases of politically motivated assassination in which the 
perpetrators were unknown; the victims included members of the 
opposition parties National Liberation Front (FNL) and Movement for 
Solidarity and Democracy (MSD), as well as members of the ruling CNDD-
FDD.
    In November the UNOHCR requested from the Ministry of Justice a 
list of those police officials who the government claimed were in 
custody pending trial or serving jail terms for commission of human 
rights violations, including extrajudicial killings. As of mid-December 
the ministry did not produce the list. On May 19, the government 
established an ad hoc commission to investigate, within three months, 
incidents of violence committed before, during, and after the 2010 
elections. By year's end the commission's report was not conveyed to 
the prosecutor general of the republic.
    The government established an ad hoc commission under the 
jurisdiction of the public prosecutor for Bujumbura City to investigate 
cases of extrajudicial executions in Bujumbura Rurale Province reported 
during the period from November 2010 through June. In August the 
commission completed its investigations and transmitted its report to 
the prosecutor for Bujumbura City, but it did not release the report 
publicly. To address the numerous unsolved killings and allegations of 
extrajudicial executions and to prevent recurrences in the future, in 
September the government instructed all public prosecutors to open case 
files and pursue all murder cases, regardless of whether or not a 
suspect was in custody.
    The new National Independent Human Rights Commission (CNIDH), which 
commenced its work in June, investigated as ``emblematic'' one case of 
extrajudicial execution, that of Joel Ndereyimana, who was killed on 
the night of June 22 while in the custody of police in Gihanga Commune, 
Bubanza Province. According to the commission's investigation, 
villagers apprehended Ndereyimana attempting to burglarize a local 
residence and turned him over to the local Ndava-Busongo village 
police. The Ndava-Busongo police then delivered Ndereyimana to Gihanga 
police chief Dieudonne Magorwa on the night of June 22. Ndereyimana was 
last seen alive in Magorwa's custody; his corpse was discovered on June 
23 in another location. On July 4, the commission requested the Bubanza 
prosecutor general to open a case file and pursue an investigation as 
required by law. The prosecutor general initially was reluctant to open 
a case file and did not do so until late July. The commission's on-site 
investigation revealed that the delay in opening the case was due 
primarily to the unwillingness of the two Ndava-Busongo village police 
officers to testify because certain unidentified senior police 
officials had threatened them with death if they talked to the 
commission or cooperated in any investigation. In August the commission 
recommended to the prosecutor general of the republic that Magorwa and 
a lower level police officer be charged formally with extrajudicial 
execution. The prosecutor general of the republic turned the case over 
to the Bubanza provincial prosecutor general for investigation. A trial 
date was set for October 26, but due to a strike by judges and court 
personnel, the hearing was rescheduled to begin after the end of the 
year.
    Investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killing and beheading 
of opposition MSD party member Leandre Bukuru in November continued. 
The head prosecutor for the Gitega court of appeals investigated the 
case, as a local police commissioner was alleged to be involved in the 
killing. The CNIDH conducted its own investigation. Both investigations 
continued at year's end.
    The Special Commission of Inquiry established by the minister of 
justice in November 2010 to investigate cases of extrajudicial 
executions in the provinces of Cibitoke and Bubanza through the end of 
October 2010 submitted its report to the prosecutor general of the 
republic in June. According to the prosecutor general of the republic, 
four cases involving local police officials were being pursued but, as 
of November 30, no one was arrested. In addition, no action was taken 
on the following cases from 2010: police officer Jackson Ndikuriyo, who 
was killed in August 2010 while in the custody of Bubanza Province 
Police Commissioner Remegie Nzeyimana and four other police officers; 
and Japhet Bigirimana (alias Kadura), Boniface Mahungu, Nsabiyaremye 
(alias Zairois), and Niyonkuru who were killed in September 2010 while 
in the custody of Police Chief Eugene Bizindavyi of Buganda Commune, 
Cibitoke Province, and other police officers.
    In September the government's investigation of the 2010 killing of 
Fabien Mpfubusa found that Mpfubusa was shot while resisting arrest; 
four of his accomplices in the killing of two persons in Mubanga were 
charged and in detention. There was no independent information 
available to confirm or deny the allegation that Mpfubusa was a victim 
of extrajudicial execution.
    The high-profile criminal case of the killing of Ernest Manirumva 
in 2009, allegedly by police and SNR personnel, continued. On January 
19, a hearing to determine which court had jurisdiction resulted in the 
case's being sent to the Bujumbura City High Court on January 26. At a 
June 15 hearing before the court, the government prosecutor requested 
that the case file be returned for further investigation, including the 
results of the interrogation of a major suspect, Gabriel Nduwayo, who 
was extradited by the government of Canada to Burundi in May. Nduwayo 
and 16 other defendants remain in custody.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
abductions or kidnappings.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and the law ban torture, but incidents 
nonetheless occurred. During the year the UNOHCR documented 33 cases of 
torture by police and SNR personnel.
    The UNOHCR documented 35 victims of cruel, inhuman, or degrading 
treatment or punishment for the year, mostly committed by the national 
police. No information on arrests or convictions of the perpetrators 
was available.
    The UNOHCR documented 30 cases of rape and sexual abuse by 
government agents during the year. Nine of the presumed perpetrators 
were arrested. No information on the current status of the legal cases 
against them was available.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons were overcrowded, 
and prison conditions remained harsh and sometimes life-threatening. 
Conditions in detention centers managed by the SNR and in local ``lock-
ups'' managed by police generally were worse than in the prisons. The 
director of prison administration in the Office of Penitentiary Affairs 
reported that as of November 30, 10,478 persons were held in 11 prisons 
built before 1965 to accommodate a total of 4,050 inmates. Government 
officials estimated that more than half of the persons held in prisons, 
detention centers, and ``lock-ups'' were held, often without charge, in 
pretrial detention.
    The government improved conditions and alleviated overcrowding by 
releasing hundreds of pretrial detainees. The director of prison 
administration was not able to provide information on the number of 
persons held in detention centers managed by the SNR or in ``lock-
ups.'' All prisons had access to potable water.
    According to government officials and international human rights 
observers, prisoners suffered from digestive illnesses and malaria; an 
unknown number died as a result of disease. Each inmate is supposed to 
receive 12 ounces (350 grams) of manioc and 12 ounces of beans daily. 
Oil and salt may be provided on some days. Family and friends are 
expected to provide funds and all other food to inmates. Although each 
prison had at least one qualified nurse and at least a weekly visit by 
a doctor, prisoners did not always receive prompt access to medical 
care. Serious cases were sent to local hospitals. The International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was the sole provider of medicines. 
Cases of physical abuse and prolonged solitary confinement also were 
reported.
    As of November 30, there were 415 women in prisons and 88 children 
under three years of age, some of whom were born in prison. There were 
231 juveniles in pretrial detention and 154 convicted juveniles. A 
separate area for female inmates existed in each prison. These areas 
generally were better than the men's sections. For example, the female 
prisoners made better use of the space provided; they received free 
rations of charcoal; and NGOs provided more support such as furnishing 
soap to women. A small prison in Ngozi Province was reserved for women 
only. Juvenile prisoners were held in the same prisons as adults. 
During the year 10 of the 11 prisons were rehabilitated to accommodate 
juvenile prisoners in separate areas; however, adult prisoners often 
were allowed in those areas as well due to overcrowding. Juveniles 
generally were held with adults in detention centers and communal 
``lock-ups.'' Pretrial detainees commonly were held with convicted 
prisoners.
    Prisoners were permitted religious observance without 
discrimination. Prisoners were allowed to submit complaints to judicial 
authorities without censorship; however, judicial authorities rarely 
investigated prisoner complaints.
    In May an estimated 900 inmates detained at Ruyigi prison, which 
has a capacity of 300, rioted to protest deteriorating living 
conditions. Rioters told local media they had not been fed for a week. 
Guards restored order in a matter of hours; two inmates who were 
attempting to use a rope to climb the prison wall were shot and killed.
    In September the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic 
and the Office of the Ombudsman began separate investigations into 
prison conditions and individual cases (see section 1.d., Pretrial 
Detention).
    During the year the government permitted all visits requested by 
international and local human rights monitors, including the ICRC. The 
ICRC regularly visited all prisons, including police ``lock-ups,'' and 
the SNR ``lock-up.'' The visits took place in accordance with the 
ICRC's standard operating procedures. The ICRC was confident that it 
had access to all prisons as well as SNR and police detention centers 
and local ``lock-ups.''

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. However, there were credible 
reports that they occurred (see section 1.e., Political Prisoners and 
Detainees).

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Under the Ministry of 
Public Security, the Burundi National Police has responsibility in law 
and practice for law enforcement and maintenance of order with the 
country. The Ministry of Defense, which commands the armed forces, is 
responsible for external security but also has some domestic security 
responsibilities. The SNR, which reports directly to the president, has 
arrest and detention authorities. Elements of the police, the SNR, the 
military, and local officials were responsible for human rights abuses 
during the year (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.).
    The constitution provides for a 50/50 quota (Hutu/Tutsi) in both 
the military and the police to prevent these armed elements from being 
used against one ethnic group or the other. The formal integration 
(with international oversight and assistance) of Hutu into the 
previously Tutsi-dominated army and police began in 2004 and largely 
has been completed.

    Burundi National Police.--The police generally were undertrained, 
underequipped, underpaid, and unprofessional. They were widely 
perceived by local citizens as corrupt and were often implicated in 
criminal activity, including receiving bribes. Approximately 75 percent 
of the police force included former rebels; 85 percent of the force had 
received minimal entry-level training without any refresher training in 
the past five years; and 15 percent of the police force did not receive 
any training. Due to low wages, petty corruption was widespread. For 
example, according to the government's Anti-Corruption Brigade in the 
Ministry in the Office of the President in Charge of Good Governance 
and Privatization, a truck or bus driver typically was compelled to pay 
bribes totaling approximately 19,500 Burundian francs ($16) at 
arbitrary police roadblocks and ``vehicle inspections'' on the main 
road from Bujumbura to Makamba.
    The public perceived police as heavily politicized and responsive 
to the ruling CNDD-FDD party. During the year police officials were 
implicated in cases of torture, killing, and extrajudicial execution 
(see sections 1.a. and 1.c.). The government's general reluctance and 
slowness to investigate and prosecute these cases led to a widespread 
perception of impunity.
    The international community was heavily engaged in providing 
instruction at the police academy on human rights, code of conduct, and 
community-oriented policing.

    Armed Forces.--The armed forces generally were perceived as 
politically neutral and professional. The country has contributed 
peacekeepers to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) since 
2008. In September a board of inquiry of the African Union determined 
that four Burundian peacekeepers deployed with AMISOM in Mogadishu were 
responsible for the death of a Malaysian journalist and the wounding of 
another. Burundian authorities disputed this finding. Also in September 
the government officially requested the African Union to conduct an 
independent investigation of the charges, but results were not 
available at year's end. The four soldiers accused of the killing 
continued to work in Mogadishu at the end of the year. The 
international community was heavily engaged in training the armed 
forces and regularly provided training in international humanitarian 
law and in countering sexual- and gender-based violence to soldiers 
assigned to AMISOM.

    National Intelligence Service (SNR).--The SNR was a 200-person 
force with mandates for both external and internal security. It was 
reasonably effective at investigating what the government defined as 
terrorists, including certain opposition political party leaders and 
their supporters. The SNR was perceived by many citizens to be heavily 
politicized and responsive to the ruling CNDD-FDD party. During the 
year intelligence officials were implicated in cases of torture, 
killing, and extrajudicial execution (see sections 1.a. and 1.c.). SNR 
officials claimed that officers who were found guilty of abusing their 
authority were punished internally. However, the government's general 
reluctance and slowness to investigate and prosecute these cases led to 
a widespread perception of impunity.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires arrest warrants issued by the presiding magistrate. Police can 
make arrests without a warrant but are required to notify their 
supervisor before doing so. The police have seven days to finish their 
investigation and to transfer suspects to the magistrate. The police 
can request seven more days if additional investigation time is 
required. However, police rarely respected these provisions in practice 
and routinely violated the requirement that detainees be charged and 
appear before a magistrate within seven days of arrest.
    A magistrate can order the release of suspects or confirm the 
charges and continue detention, initially for 14 days, then for seven 
more days as necessary to prepare the case for trial. Magistrates 
routinely failed to convene preliminary hearings, often citing their 
``heavy'' case backlog and/or improper documentation by police. Lack of 
transportation for suspects, police, and magistrates was, however, the 
most frequently cited reason for the failure to convene preliminary 
hearings. This was a particular problem in the six provinces where 
there were no prisons; there was a lack of transportation to transfer 
suspects to the provincial court with jurisdiction from their place of 
detention in another province.
    Police are authorized to release suspects on bail, but this 
provision rarely was exercised. Suspects are permitted lawyers at their 
own expense in criminal cases, but the law does not require, and the 
government did not provide, attorneys for indigents at government 
expense. The law prohibits incommunicado detention, but it reportedly 
occurred. Authorities on occasion denied family members prompt access 
to detainees.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--There were allegations of arbitrary detentions 
by police and SNR personnel.

    Pretrial Detention.--Prolonged pretrial detention remained a 
serious problem. The law specifies that a person cannot be held longer 
than 14 days without charge. As of November 30, according to the 
director of prison administration, 49 percent of those being held in 
prisons and detention centers were pretrial detainees--that is, held 
without formal charge--and the average time in pretrial detention was 
one year; some persons were held for nearly five years. Police, 
prosecutorial, and judicial inefficiency and corruption contributed to 
the problem. For example, a large number of persons were deprived of 
their legal right to release on personal recognizance because public 
prosecutors simply failed to open case files or because prosecutorial 
and court officials ``could not find'' the case files. Others were held 
without proper arrest warrants either because the police failed to 
complete the initial investigation and transfer the case to the 
appropriate magistrate or because the magistrate failed to convene the 
required hearing to rule on the charges.
    In September the prosecutor general of the republic and the Office 
of the Ombudsman initiated separate reviews of the cases of all 
prisoners with the goal of releasing either provisionally or completely 
those held in pretrial detention. As a result of the review, in October 
the government announced the release of 328 persons from Mpimba Prison 
in Bujumbura.
    In July lawyer Francois Nyamoya was arrested for allegedly 
suborning a witness in the 2002 murder case of a World Health 
Organization official, Dr. Kassy Manlan, in which he had defended his 
sister, Gertrude Nyamoya. On August 19, the Superior Court ruled that 
Nyamoya be provisionally released pending trial, on the conditions that 
he not leave the country and that he report once a week or whenever 
summoned to a magistrate. However, at the end of the year Nyamoya 
remained in custody at Mpimba Prison, and his lawyer continued to 
appeal his case.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, there were instances in which 
members of the judiciary were subjected to political interference and/
or took bribes to drop investigations and prosecutions, predetermine 
the outcome of trials, or to fail to enforce court orders.
    Judicial officials, including the president of the Supreme Court 
responsible for prosecuting and trying high-profile corruption and 
criminal cases, often were subjected to direct and indirect threats 
from persons named in the cases or their political supporters. In 
October magistrates went on strike for two months to protest political 
interference and demand the removal of incompetent and corrupt judicial 
personnel appointed by the government in violation of the law.
    Executive officials also were threatened and harassed: In March the 
ministers of justice and of good governance and privatization were the 
targets of threatening telephone calls and text messages from persons 
who sought to block a list of nominations for senior judicial positions 
presented by the executive branch to the Senate for confirmation. Among 
the nominees were several persons known for being tough on corruption 
and on human rights violators.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent. All trials are 
conducted publicly by panels of judges. Defendants have a right to 
counsel but not at the government's expense, even in cases involving 
serious criminal charges. Few defendants had legal representation 
because few could afford the services of one of the 131 registered 
lawyers in the country. Some local and international NGOs provided 
legal assistance but could not assist in all cases. Defendants have a 
right to defend themselves, including to question the prosecution's 
witnesses, call their own witnesses, and examine evidence against them. 
Defendants also can present evidence on their own behalf and did so in 
the majority of cases. The law extends the above rights to all 
defendants.
    All defendants, except those in military courts, have the right to 
appeal their cases to the Supreme Court. In practice the inefficiency 
of the court system extended the appeals process for long periods, in 
many cases for more than a year.
    Procedures for civilian and military courts are similar, but 
military courts typically reached decisions more quickly. The 
government does not provide military defendants with attorneys to 
assist in their defense, although NGOs provided some defendants with 
attorneys in cases involving serious charges. Military trials generally 
are open to the public but can be closed for compelling reasons, 
including for national security or when publicity can harm the victim 
or a third party, such as in cases involving rape or child abuse. 
Defendants in military courts are allowed only one appeal.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The government denied that 
persons were detained or convicted for political reasons. Through the 
end of November, the UNOHCR documented 107 cases of detention of 
members of opposition political parties by police, intelligence 
service, military, and local officials; these cases and documentation 
were conveyed to the government for investigation. As of mid-December 
there was no action.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals and 
organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations, 
including appeal to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law provide for the right to 
privacy, but the government did not always respect this right in 
practice. Authorities did not always respect the law requiring search 
warrants.
    Membership in a registered political party often is needed to 
obtain or retain employment in the civil service and the benefits that 
accrue from such positions, such as transportation allowances, free 
housing, electricity, and water, exemption from personal income taxes, 
and interest-free loans.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press; the government usually respected these rights.

    Freedom of Speech.--The government mostly respected freedom of 
speech. Throughout the year political party leaders, including those 
representing the nonparliamentary opposition coalition that boycotted 
the 2010 elections, convened press conferences, were interviewed by the 
media, and issued/circulated written statements (including on the 
Internet) in which they criticized the government and the ruling party. 
In August prosecutors called in for questioning the president of one of 
these opposition parties, the Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), 
after he expressed support for violence against the government in a 
press conference. He was released after questioning during which he 
retracted his statement by explaining that he had been ``provoked'' by 
one of the journalists into saying what he had said.
    On July 27, the president of the Burundian Bar Association, Isidore 
Rufikiri, was detained by the public prosecutor of Bujumbura Mairie for 
having repeatedly and publicly insulted government magistrates. After 
``apologizing'' for his statements, he was released on August 4.
    Freedom of Press: The law prohibits political parties, labor 
unions, and foreign nongovernmental organizations from owning media 
outlets. The law also prohibits the media from spreading ``hate'' 
messages or from using abusive or defamatory language against public 
servants acting in their official role that could damage the dignity of 
or respect for the public office.
    The National Communications Council (CNC), an independent state 
agency, oversaw enforcement of these laws and was charged with 
promoting freedom of the press and expression, guaranteeing access to 
information by all political parties, labor groups and media, as well 
as accreditation of journalists. It reviewed all projects or 
legislative proposals relating to the press and imposed sanctions 
against media organizations that it deemed violated the law. The CNC 
used counseling sessions with and reprimands of the heads of media 
organizations or journalists who it thought violated the law. It did 
not file lawsuits and lacked the resources to investigate cases; 
instead, it referred cases to the prosecutor general of the appropriate 
province. During the year the CNC issued eight reprimands in total to 
four private, independent FM radio stations and one television station: 
Rema FM, which tended to reflect the views of the ruling CNDD-FDD, and 
African Public Radio, which was viewed as favorable to the opposition, 
each received two reprimands; Radio Isanganiro, Renaissance TV, and 
CCIB FM+, which were viewed as more politically neutral, each received 
one. Following the reprimands, journalists from two radio stations, 
African Public Radio and Bonesha, were summoned by public prosecutors 
to respond to ``judicial investigations,'' but no criminal charges were 
filed.

    Violence and Harassment.--Some journalists investigating 
controversial subjects such as corruption and human rights violations 
reported threats from certain members of the police, the SNR, and the 
ruling CNDD-FDD party.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The law protects public 
servants and the president against ``words, gestures, threats, or 
writing of any kind'' that are ``abusive or defamatory'' and would 
``impair the dignity of or respect for their office.'' The law also 
prohibits racially or ethnically motivated hate speech. The law 
mandates a penalty of six months to five years in jail and a fine of 
approximately 10,000 to 50,000 Burundian francs ($8 to $40) for 
insulting the head of state. Some journalists, lawyers, political 
party, and civil society or NGO leaders alleged that the government 
used these articles to intimidate and harass them.
    In May by decision of the cabinet, the government suspended for 
three days a popular call-in program aired on the private, independent 
African Public Radio because the host permitted a prominent opposition 
political party leader to call the president a thief and murderer for 
10 minutes before cutting him off. The program resumed broadcasting and 
subsequently aired numerous live and taped interviews with prominent 
opposition political party leaders.
    Following the massacre of civilians in a bar near Gatumba on 
September 18, the Burundian National Security Council (NSC) directed 
the media to ``refrain from any communication that may undermine peace 
and security and not publish, comment on or analyze'' information 
related to the ongoing investigation of the massacre. A few days after 
the NSC directives, most of the radio stations in the country flouted 
the NSC order by broadcasting interviews about the massacre 
simultaneously on all of their stations; the government took no actions 
against them. The stations complied with the order after this single 
act of defiance.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Libel laws prohibit the public 
distribution of information that exposes a person to ``public 
contempt'' and carry penalties of prison terms and fines. The crime of 
treason, which includes knowingly demoralizing the military or the 
nation in a manner that endangers national defense during a time of 
war, carries a criminal penalty of life imprisonment. It is a crime for 
anyone knowingly to disseminate or publicize false rumors likely to 
alarm the people or to excite them against the government or promote 
civil war. It is illegal for anyone to display drawings, posters, 
photographs and other items that may disturb the public peace. 
Penalties range from two months to three years and fines. Some 
journalists, lawyers, and political party, civil society, and NGO 
leaders alleged that the government used these laws to intimidate and 
harass them.
    On May 13, the High Court of Bujumbura, on appeal, acquitted 
NetPress editor and owner Jean Claude Kavumbagu of treason, libel, and 
harmful imputation but confirmed the charge of ``publishing information 
likely to harm the assets of the state and the national economy.'' He 
paid the fine of 100,000 Burundian francs ($80) and was immediately 
released. Kavumbagu was sentenced to eight months in prison but was 
immediately released as he had already spent 10 months in pretrial 
detention. The state prosecutor had requested a life sentence.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, 
and the government mostly respected it in practice. The law requires 
political parties to notify the government prior to a meeting. Some 
nonparliamentary opposition political parties claimed that local 
officials refused permission for them to hold meetings and/or dispersed 
meetings. In November at the request of the president of the Unity for 
National Progress Party (UPRONA), one of the parties in the government 
coalition, police dispersed a meeting of members of a dissident faction 
of the party.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected it in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government mostly respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    In-Country Movement.--The government strongly encouraged citizens 
to participate in community-level work projects every Saturday morning 
and imposed travel restrictions on citizens during the hours of 8:30-
10:30 a.m. Permits were required for movement outside of one's 
community during those hours, and these restrictions were enforced by 
police roadblocks. Waivers could be obtained in advance; all foreign 
residents were exempt.

    Exile.--The law does not provide for forced exile, and the 
government did not practice it. Several leaders of political parties 
which boycotted the 2010 elections remain in self-imposed exile, 
claiming to fear for their lives.
    Emigration and Repatriation: The International Organization for 
Migration estimated that 200,000 refugees from the country remained in 
Tanzania.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the government 
estimates, there were approximately 150,000 IDPs. Some attempted to 
return to their places of origin, but the majority relocated to urban 
centers. The government generally permitted IDPs to be included in the 
UNHCR's and other humanitarian groups' activities benefiting returning 
refugees, such as shelter and legal assistance programs.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. At the end of 2010, the latest UNHCR data available, 29,365 
refugees and 12,062 asylum seekers lived in the country.

    Employment.--Refugees have the right to work except in protected 
sectors like the army, police, and judiciary.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees may access public services, 
including for example education, health, and legal assistance.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from the parents, not 
the place of birth. According to the UNHCR at the end of 2010, 1,059 
stateless persons lived in the country. The UNHCR stated that the 
stateless persons were all Omani, and they were waiting for the 
government of Oman to provide them with proof of their citizenship. The 
government of Burundi offered them Burundian citizenship if they could 
not get Omani citizenship. They reported no negative or prejudicial 
events during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Between 
May and September 2010 the government held five separate elections: 
communal councils (in May), presidential (in June), National Assembly 
(in July), Senate (in July), and village councils (in September). Voter 
turnout in the communal elections was more than 90 percent. Following 
the communal elections, a coalition of 12 parties withdrew and 
boycotted the remaining four elections. Following the withdrawal of the 
opposition coalition, the CNDD-FDD's presidential candidate, Pierre 
Nkurunziza, ran unopposed, and the ruling CNDD-FDD party won absolute 
majorities in the National Assembly and Senate.
    The EU's Election Observation Mission, which monitored the five 
elections, noted that the June 28 presidential and July 23 National 
Assembly elections were largely peaceful and generally well managed by 
the Independent Electoral Commission, but that the political and 
electoral environment was characterized by unfair use by the ruling 
CNDD-FDD of government facilities and financial resources during the 
campaigns, the absence of pluralistic competition, and restrictions by 
the government and ruling party on the freedoms of political party 
expression and assembly of its competitors. Members of the youth wings 
of the CNDD-FDD and of several rival political parties engaged in 
intimidation and violence before, during, and after the elections.

    Political Parties.--There were 43 registered political parties, the 
vast majority based on family, clan, or region and representing 
localized interests. Only six parties fielded candidates in all 17 
provinces and 129 communes in the May 2010 communal elections. In July 
the National Assembly mandated that all parties reregister by the end 
of the year. According to the new law, in order to qualify for public 
campaign funding and to compete in the 2015 legislative and 
presidential elections, parties must be ``nationally'' based (i.e., be 
ethnically and regionally diverse) and demonstrate in writing that they 
have party membership and organizations in all of the provinces. A 
provision that all party presidents must reside in Burundi was rejected 
by the coalition of political parties that boycotted the 2010 
elections, given that the presidents of three of the parties in the 
coalition remain in self-imposed exile abroad.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The constitution reserves 
30 percent of the seats in the National Assembly, the Senate, and the 
communal councils for women. There were 32 women in the 106-seat 
National Assembly and 19 women in the 41-seat Senate. The constitution 
also mandates that 30 percent of appointed government positions be set 
aside for women. After a cabinet reshuffle in December, women held 
eight of 21 ministerial positions; there were seven women on the 17-
seat Supreme Court, and three women on the seven-seat Constitutional 
Court.
    The constitution provides for representation in all elected and 
appointed government positions for the two main ethnic groups: the Hutu 
majority is entitled to no more than 60 percent and the Tutsi minority 
to no less than 40 percent. In addition, the Batwa ethnic group, which 
makes up less than 1 percent of the population, is allotted three seats 
in each chamber of parliament. However, in 2010 the government named a 
non-Batwa to one of three Senate seats reserved for Batwas, a decision 
challenged by the Batwa community but upheld by the Constitutional 
Court in 2010.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. 
However, the government did not fully implement the law, and some high-
level government officials continued to engage in corrupt practices 
with impunity. Corruption is a very serious problem in the country.
    The ministries of civil service, defense, and public security 
completed reviews of all civil service, military, and police positions 
and eliminated more than 5,000 ``ghost'' (deceased, retired, or 
dismissed) personnel who were still drawing salaries, thereby saving 
the government nearly 20.7 billion Burundian francs ($15 million) 
during the year.
    In the Burundian Tax and Customs Authority, the government fired 
personnel, tightened procedures, and put the authority under foreign 
management. As a result, tax and revenue collections increased through 
the end of September by 137 percent over the same period in 2010.
    The state inspector general and the Anti-Corruption Brigade of the 
Ministry of Good Governance and Privatization are responsible for 
investigating government corruption. Within the judiciary there is a 
designated anticorruption general prosecutor and an anticorruption 
court. The Anti-Corruption Brigade has the authority to investigate, 
arrest, and refer offenders to the anticorruption general prosecutor.
    During the year the Anti-Corruption Brigade investigated 226 cases. 
Between October 2010 and September 2011, the Anti-Corruption General 
Prosecutor's Office investigated 386 cases: 290 of these were scheduled 
for trial at the Anti-Corruption Court, 42 cases were referred to other 
courts, and 54 were dismissed.
    In view of the lengthy backlog of cases in the court and the 
difficulty of obtaining convictions, the Anti-Corruption Brigade 
resorted in many instances to enforcing the law through settlements in 
which the government agreed not to prosecute and the official agreed to 
reimburse the money stolen. The government exercised its power to 
freeze and seize property and bank assets of officials to compel 
reimbursement. In most cases, however, the official was permitted to 
retain his position.
    Early in the year Melchior Wagara, the former chief of civilian 
staff in the Office of the President, reportedly was required to 
reimburse the government approximately 5.5 billion Burundian francs 
($4.4 million) embezzled from the 2010 presidential inauguration fund. 
On April 8, he was named to a vice president's position at the Central 
Bank of Burundi, a position the government claimed provided no access 
to or influence over monetary transactions. In another case, the 
president of a government-owned bank reimbursed embezzled money to the 
government; he remained in his position at year's end.
    In 2007 the government charged three senior government officials 
with fraud involving 48.3 billion Burundian francs ($38.6 million) in a 
government procurement contract with a private company, INTERPETROL. In 
early 2010 the prosecutor general dismissed the case for lack of 
evidence, but the new government reopened the case in December 2010. In 
April the government began prosecuting the owners of INTERPETROL, Munir 
and Tariq Bashir, on charges of embezzlement, corruption, and 
collusion. No new charges were brought against the government officials 
associated with the case. Certain CNDD-FDD party and government 
officials, including the director of the SNR, Adolphe Nshimirimana, and 
the deputy director of the National Police, Gervais Ndirakobuca, 
directly threatened the chief justice of the Supreme Court to force him 
to drop the case. Nonetheless, with the support of senior government 
and CNDD-FDD party officials, the chief justice and the public 
prosecutor continued to prosecute the case at year's end.
    In May a court official took a bribe to alter or forge a court 
release order, and prison administration officials thus unwittingly 
released four high-profile prisoners serving sentences for organizing 
and carrying out a series of politically motivated grenade attacks 
during the 2010 elections. According to police sources, the prisoners 
remained at large at year's end.
    The law requires financial disclosure by elected officials and 
senior appointed officials once every five years, but not public 
disclosure. Information on financial disclosures was difficult to 
obtain. There is no freedom of 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 somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views.
    International and national human rights observers generally were 
allowed to visit prisons and detention centers, including those run by 
the SNR. Human rights groups continued to operate and publish 
newsletters documenting human rights abuses and to participate in 
meetings sponsored by the government and international organizations.
    No major local human rights NGOs were closely aligned with the 
government or political parties. Some national human rights NGOs 
reported being subjected to intimidation and harassment by government 
officials.
    Following its May 2010 expulsion of the resident Human Rights Watch 
(HRW) researcher, the government agreed to permit--and HRW assigned--a 
new researcher in the country, who began work in early 2011.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated 
with international governmental organizations and permitted visits by 
U.N. representatives and other organizations, such as the ICRC and the 
U.N. Independent Expert on Human Rights in Burundi. In June the mandate 
of the U.N. Independent Expert expired and was not renewed.
    The UNOHCR was very effective and thorough. It regularly conveyed 
its concerns to the appropriate government agencies, and had regular 
follow up mechanisms. The ICRC also acted effectively in the country.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--During its first year of operation 
the Office of the Ombudsman was widely perceived by both Burundians and 
international partners to be impartial and effective.
    In January parliament created the CNIDH; the authorities and 
mandate of the commission are consistent with the Paris Principles on 
National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. 
During the year the CNIDH exercised its power to call in senior 
officials, demand information, and order corrective action; it also 
monitored the government's follow-up. Local and international partners 
widely perceived the commission as independent and effective.
    Human rights committees exist in the national assembly and the 
senate. They were instrumental in passing the law creating the CNIDH.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equal status and protection for all 
citizens, without distinction based on race, language, religion, sex, 
or ethnic origin. The government did not enforce it in many cases.

    Women--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape, 
including spousal rape, with penalties of up to 30 years' imprisonment. 
The law prohibits domestic abuse of a spouse, with punishment ranging 
from fines to three- to five-years' imprisonment. The government did 
not enforce the law uniformly, and rape and other domestic and sexual 
violence continued to be serious problems.
    According to reports compiled from family development centers 
throughout the country, there were 3,781 reported cases of gender-based 
violence in 2010, the last year that funding was available to compile 
statistics. The local human rights organization, the Association for 
the Protection of Human Rights and Prisoners in Burundi, recorded 61 
alleged rapists arrested as of September. Centre Seruka, a clinic for 
rape victims, estimated that 60 percent of alleged rapists were 
arrested, and perhaps 30 percent of all arrested rapists were 
prosecuted. During the year Centre Seruka averaged 116 new cases per 
month; 65 percent of the victims were under the age of 18, 46 percent 
were under the age of 13, and 15 percent were under the age of five.
    The National Police's Women and Children's Brigade was responsible 
for investigating cases of sexual violence and rape, as well as of 
trafficking of girls and women.
    Many women were reluctant to report rape for cultural reasons, fear 
of reprisal, and the lack of medical care. Men often abandoned their 
wives following acts of rape, and rape victims were ostracized by their 
families and communities. Police and magistrates regularly required 
that victims provide food for and pay the costs of incarceration of 
those they accused of rape.
    The government, with financial support from international NGOs and 
the U.N., completed civic awareness training on domestic and gender-
based violence as well as the role of police assistance throughout the 
country. The audience for the training included the police, local 
administrators, and grassroots community organizations.
    Civil society organizations worked to overcome the cultural stigma 
of rape to help victims reintegrate into families that had rejected 
them and encouraged rape victims to press charges and to seek medical 
care. Centre Seruka provided shelter and counseling to victims of rape 
and domestic violence. Several international NGOs provided free medical 
care, mostly in urban areas.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, including 
the use of orders, severe pressure, or threats of physical or 
psychological violence to obtain sexual favors. The sentence for sexual 
harassment ranges from fines to penalties of one month to two years in 
prison. The sentence for sexual harassment doubles if the victim is 
less than 18 years old. The government did not actively enforce this 
law. There were reports that sexual harassment occurred, but no data 
was available on its frequency or extent.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children, and to have the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. For 
cultural reasons husbands often made the final decisions about family 
planning. Health clinics and local health NGOs were permitted to 
disseminate freely information on family planning under the guidance of 
the Ministry of Public Health. The government provided free childbirth 
services, but the lack of doctors meant most women used nurses or 
midwives during childbirth as well as for prenatal and postnatal care, 
unless the mother or child suffered serious health complications. 
According to the 2010 demographic and health survey, 60 percent of all 
births took place with skilled attendants. The 2008 census reported 
that maternal mortality rate at 866 deaths per 100,000 live births. The 
main causes of maternal mortality were hemorrhaging, postpartum 
infections, obstetric complications, and hypertension. Health 
facilities were not equipped to deal with these health problems in a 
timely manner.
    There were no restrictions on access to contraceptives. The 
contraceptive prevalence rate was 18 percent. According to a knowledge, 
attitudes, and practices survey done in 2009, this low rate was due to 
weak involvement and/or opposition of men in family planning, lack of 
dialogue on family planning within the couple, weak powers of decision 
making of women on problems related to reproductive health, 
inaccessibility of services because highly regarded health clinics 
affiliated with certain religious groups did not provide modern 
contraceptive methods, persistent rumors and beliefs against family 
planning and modern contraceptive methods. Men and women had equal 
access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV, but local health NGOs and clinics reported that women 
were more likely than men to seek treatment and refer their partners. 
Only 16 percent of health facilities provided services to prevent 
mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.

    Discrimination.--Despite constitutional protections, women 
continued to face legal, economic, and societal discrimination and 
often were victims of discriminatory practices with regard to 
inheritance and marital property laws. The Ministry of National 
Solidarity, Human Rights, and Gender is responsible for combating 
discrimination against women.
    By law women must receive the same pay as men for the same work, 
but in practice they did not. Some employers suspended the salaries of 
women while they were on what should be paid maternity leave, and 
others refused medical coverage to married female employees. Women were 
less likely to hold mid- or high-level positions in the workforce. 
However, women owned many businesses, particularly in Bujumbura.

    Children.--Birth registration.--Although the constitution states 
that citizenship can be derived from the mother or father, in practice 
and according to the law on nationality, citizenship is derived from 
the father only. The failure of the government to record all births 
resulted in denial of some public services for unregistered children, 
as the government requires a birth certificate for access to free 
public schooling and free medical care for children under five. The 
government registered without charge the births of all children up to 
the age of five.

    Child Abuse.--The law prohibits violence against or abuse of 
children, with punishment ranging from fines to three- to five-years' 
imprisonment; the problem was not widespread.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Female genital mutilation is not 
practiced, but the traditional practice of removing a newborn child's 
uvula (the piece of flesh that hangs down at the rear of the mouth) 
continued to cause numerous infections and deaths of infants.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The penalty for rape of a minor 
is 10 to 30 years' imprisonment, and 18 is the minimum age for 
consensual sex. Local hospitals, NGOs, and human rights associations 
highlighted a particularly high number of rape and sexual abuse cases 
against children in Rumonge, Burambi, and Buyengero communes of Bururi 
Province during the year; there were also several reported cases from 
Ngozi, Muyinga, Bujumbura, and Bujumbura Rurale provinces, although 
exact statistics were unavailable. According to UNICEF, approximately 
60 percent of reported rapes were of children under age 18, and 20 
percent of whom were under age 12. Centre Seruka reported that 95 
percent of the rape victims who visited its facility during the year 
were female; the average age of victims assisted by Centre Seruka was 
14.5 years of age. The U.N. Development Fund for Women reported that 
many rapes of minors were motivated by the rapist's belief that the 
rape would prevent or cure sexually transmitted diseases, including 
HIV/AIDS.
    The law punishes child pornography by fines and three to five 
years' imprisonment. While child pornography was not prevalent, the 
rape of minors was a widespread problem.

    Displaced Children.--According to the latest (2009) report compiled 
by the Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights, and Gender and 
the Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies of Burundi, more than 
3,253 street children lived in the country's three largest cities of 
Bujumbura, Gitega, and Ngozi; statistics on their numbers in other 
communities were not available. The Ministry of National Solidarity, 
Human Rights, and Gender stated that many of these children were HIV/
AIDS orphans. The government provided street children with minimal 
educational support and relied on NGOs for basic services such as 
medical services or economic support.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

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

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical, mental, sensory, or 
intellectual disabilities; however, the government was unable to 
promote or protect the rights of persons with disabilities with regard 
to employment, education, or access to health care. Although persons 
with disabilities were eligible for free health-care services through 
social programs targeting vulnerable groups, the benefits were not 
widely publicized or provided.
    The employment practice of requiring health certification from the 
Ministry of Public Health sometimes led to discrimination against 
persons with disabilities.
    The Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights, and Gender 
coordinates assistance and protects the rights of persons with 
disabilities. The government did not enact legislation or otherwise 
mandate access to buildings, information, or government services for 
persons with disabilities. The government supported a center for 
physical therapy in Gitega and a center for social and professional 
reinsertion in Ngozi to assist individuals with physical disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--The Batwa, the original hunter-gatherer 
inhabitants who number approximately 80,000 persons, less than 1 
percent of the population, generally remained economically, 
politically, and socially marginalized. Lack of education, employment, 
and access to land were cited as the major problems. Local 
administrations must provide free schoolbooks and health care for all 
Batwa children and two acres of land per family (comparable with the 
nationwide average size of a farmstead). Local administrations largely 
fulfilled these requirements. The constitution provides three appointed 
seats for Batwa in each of the houses of parliament. Following the 2010 
election, however, one of these three Senate seats was awarded to a 
non-Batwa. The local NGO, Union for the Promotion of Batwa, claimed 
that on October 23 three Batwa were killed and 32 Batwa houses were 
systematically burned in Gahombo Commune, Kayanza Province. Five 
suspects were arrested and held for two weeks. The local prosecutor 
dismissed the case for lack of evidence.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes same-sex 
sexual acts with penalties ranging from a fine to imprisonment of three 
months to two years, with or without a fine. During the year no one was 
arrested or prosecuted under this law.
    On May 17, the Remuruka Center, which offers urgent services to the 
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, began 
operations in Bujumbura. The government neither supported nor hindered 
local LGBT organizations or the center.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The constitution 
specifically outlaws discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS or 
other ``incurable'' illnesses; there were no reports of societal 
violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
    During the year criminals who trafficked in body parts of persons 
with albinism kidnapped a five-month-old girl with albinism and hacked 
off the arm of a young boy with albinism to sell to traditional healers 
in Tanzania for use in magic charms.
Section 7. Worker Rights

    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and the law protect the right of workers to form and 
join unions without previous authorization or excessive requirements. A 
union must have at least 50 members. Most civil servants may unionize, 
but they must be registered with the Ministry of Civil Service, Labor, 
and Social Security. Police, the armed forces, public sector employees, 
foreigners working in the public sector, and magistrates may not form 
or join a union. The law also prevents workers under the age of 18 from 
joining unions without the consent of their parents or guardians. 
Virtually no private sector jobs were unionized.
    The constitution and the law provide workers with a conditional 
right to strike but set strict conditions under which a strike may 
occur and ban solidarity strikes. All peaceful means of resolution must 
be exhausted prior to the strike; negotiations must continue during the 
action and be mediated by a mutually agreed party or by the government; 
and six days' notice must be given to the employer and the labor 
ministry. Before a strike is allowed, the ministry must determine 
whether strike conditions have been met. The law permits requisition 
orders in the event of strike action. The ministry has a de facto veto 
power over all strikes. The law prohibits retribution against workers 
participating in a legal strike. The law also recognizes the right to 
collective bargaining. Wages, however, are excluded from the scope of 
collective bargaining in the public sector; instead, wages were set 
according to fixed scales following consultation with unions. The law 
allows unions to conduct their activities without interference. The law 
prohibits antiunion discrimination. The law does not specifically 
provide for reinstatement of workers dismissed for union activity.
    Most workers worked in the unregulated informal economy and largely 
were unprotected by labor law with the exception of laws regarding 
minimum wage.
    The Confederation Burundian Labor Unions (COSYBU) stated that 
virtually no informal sector workers had written employment contracts; 
according to government statistics, only 5 percent had written 
employment contracts.
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
respected in practice. However, the government sometimes interfered in 
union activities. The government did not effectively enforce applicable 
laws and procedures were subject to lengthy delays and appeals.
    In October the government suspended salaries of magistrates 
striking for higher salaries. Soon thereafter the magistrates 
terminated the strike, and their salary payments resumed. At the end of 
2010 Juvenal Rududura, vice-president of the nonmagistrates' union of 
the justice ministry (SPMJB), an affiliate of the COSYBU, had not been 
reinstated. His criminal record was not expunged. He was imprisoned for 
10 months in 2008-09 for criticizing on television antiunion repression 
and corruption in the recruitment process. At the end of the year he 
was still prohibited from leaving the city of Bujumbura and had to 
report to the prosecutor's office once a month. His case was under 
submission since 2009, and therefore he has yet to be readmitted to the 
SPMJB.
    The two principal trade union centers, the COSYBU and the 
Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Burundi (CSB), criticized 
authorities' constant interference in trade union affairs. Between 2007 
and 2010 trade unions with close ties to the ruling party were created 
in the health and education sectors. Workers were harassed by their 
employers to join the ruling party, quit any union they were already a 
member of, and join the government-controlled union. However, during 
the year the COSYBU reported that the government-controlled unions lost 
momentum and were less active. The government did not use hiring 
practices to avoid hiring workers with bargaining rights.
    Since most salaried workers were civil servants, government 
entities were involved in almost every phase of labor negotiations. 
Both the COSYBU and the CSB represented labor interests in collective 
bargaining negotiations, in cooperation with individual labor unions.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
most forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children. Most 
reports involving adult men and women concerned cases of domestic 
servitude. Forced labor by children involved domestic servitude and 
agriculture. Children working in domestic service often were isolated 
from the public, and some received other remuneration, such as food and 
shelter, in lieu of wages for their work. Children in domestic service 
could also be vulnerable to long working hours and physical and sexual 
exploitation by their employers, conditions indicative of forced labor. 
Children were trafficked internally for work in domestic service. Girls 
were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to East Africa. 
There were no credible reported cases of forced child labor in the 
production of goods. The government has made an effort to stem child 
trafficking. The police caught one ring trafficking three 16-year-old 
girls en route to the Democratic Republic of Congo destined for the sex 
trade. They caught a second ring trafficking 11 children between the 
ages of six and 11 from one province to another destined for domestic 
servitude. In both cases the perpetrators were prosecuted.
    The government encouraged citizens to participate in community work 
each Saturday morning and imposed travel restrictions on citizens 
during the hours of 8:30-10:30 a.m.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law states that enterprises may not employ children under the age of 
16, barring exceptions permitted by the labor ministry. These 
exceptions include light work or apprenticeships that do not damage 
children's health, interfere with their normal development, or 
prejudice their schooling. In accordance with the law, the minister of 
labor may permit children aged 12 and up to be employed in ``light 
labor,'' such as selling newspapers, herding cattle, or preparing food. 
Under the law the legal age for most types of ``nondangerous'' labor 
varies from 16 to 18. Children are legally prohibited from working at 
night and are legally limited to 40 hours per week. The law makes no 
distinction between the formal and informal sector. The labor ministry 
is responsible for enforcing child labor laws and had multiple 
enforcement tools, including criminal penalties, civil fines, and court 
orders.
    The government did not effectively enforce these laws. Due to a 
lack of inspectors and resources including fuel for vehicles, the 
ministry enforced the law only when a complaint was filed. During the 
year the government acknowledged no cases of child labor in the formal 
sector of the economy and conducted no child labor investigations.
    Because of extreme poverty, child labor was an economic necessity 
for many families and remained a problem. Children younger than 16 in 
rural areas regularly performed heavy manual labor in the daytime 
during the school year, primarily in the agricultural sector. Children 
working in agriculture could be subject to using potentially dangerous 
machinery and tools, carrying heavy loads, and applying harmful 
pesticides. They also herded cattle and goats, which could expose them 
to the elements and force them to work with large or dangerous animals. 
Many children worked in the informal sectors. Children were obliged by 
custom and economic necessity to participate in subsistence farming, 
family businesses, and other informal sector activity such as street 
vending. Children also worked in small, local brick-making enterprises. 
In urban areas children worked as domestic servants.
    The commercial sexual exploitation of children also occurred. Older 
females offered vulnerable younger girls room and board within their 
homes under the guise of being benevolent, and in some cases pushed 
them into prostitution to pay for living expenses; these brothels were 
located in poorer areas of Bujumbura, as well as along the lake and 
trucking routes. Extended family members sometimes also financially 
profited from the prostitution of young relatives residing with them. 
Business people recruited local girls for prostitution in Bujumbura and 
nearby countries.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work..--The informal daily minimum wage 
in Bujumbura for unskilled laborers was 2,500 Burundian francs ($2.00). 
In the past the minimum wage was set by the government, but the 
government has stopped setting it, and during the year the minimum wage 
was set by market forces. In the interior of the country, the daily 
minimum wage was 1,000 Burundian francs ($0.80), with a lunch provided. 
The government estimated that 60 percent of the population lived below 
the poverty line which the World Bank defined for Burundi as being the 
equivalent of $0.50 in urban areas and $0.38 in rural areas. More than 
90 percent of the population participated in the informal economy. The 
wages in the informal sector average between 2,500 and 3,000 Burundian 
francs ($2.00 to $2.40) in Bujumbura and 211,500 Burundian francs 
($1.20) in the interior of the country. There were no reports of 
enforcement of minimum wage laws in recent years.
    The labor code stipulates an eight-hour workday and a 40-hour 
workweek, except for workers involved in national security activities. 
Supplements must be paid for overtime work: 35 percent for the first 
two hours and 60 percent thereafter. The weekends and holiday premium 
pay is 200 percent. There is no statute concerning compulsory overtime. 
Rest periods include 30 minutes for lunch. There is no differentiation 
made between foreign or migrant workers and citizen workers.
    The labor code establishes occupational safety and health (OSH) 
standards that require safe workplaces. Enforcement responsibility for 
acting upon complaints rests with the labor ministry. Workers did not 
have the right to remove themselves from situations that endangered 
health and safety without jeopardizing their employment.
    The Department of Inspection within the Labor Ministry is charged 
with enforcing the law regarding minimum wage and work hours and the 
OSH standards. These regulations apply to the entire workforce and make 
no distinction between domestic and foreign workers or between the 
informal and formal sectors.
    The government did not effectively enforce these laws. Due to a 
lack of inspectors and resources including fuel for vehicles, the 
ministry enforced the law only when a complaint was filed. Employees 
generally did not complain so as not to jeopardize their employment.
    There were no known examples of employer violations of OSH 
standards, nor were there reports of OSH complaints filed with the 
ministry during the year despite the fact that workplace environments 
often did not meet OSH standards. There was no data on workplace 
fatalities. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011

                               __________

                                CAMEROON

                           executive summary
    Cameroon is a republic dominated by a strong presidency. The 
country has a multiparty system of government, but the Cameroon 
People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) has remained in power since it was 
created in 1985. It has unfettered control of all government branches. 
The president retains the power to control legislation and rule by 
decree. On October 9, CPDM leader Paul Biya won reelection as 
president, a position he has held since 1982. The election was flawed 
by irregularities, including the failure to properly distribute all 
voter cards, late opening of polling stations, multiple voting, ballot-
box stuffing, the absence of indelible ink, and intimidation of voters. 
There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control.
    The most important human rights problems in the country were 
security force abuses--particularly of detainees and prisoners; denial 
of fair and speedy public trial; and restrictions on freedom of 
assembly.
    Other major human rights abuses included arbitrary arrest and 
detention, prolonged and sometimes incommunicado pretrial detention, 
life-threatening prison conditions, and infringement on privacy rights. 
The government harassed and imprisoned journalists, restricted freedoms 
of speech, press, and association, and impeded freedom of movement. 
Corruption was pervasive at all levels of government. Societal violence 
and discrimination against women and girls, including female genital 
mutilation (FGM), was a problem. Trafficking in persons, particularly 
children, and discrimination against pygmies, gays, and lesbians 
occurred. There was occasional discrimination against persons with 
albinism, although such incidents continued to decrease. The government 
restricted worker rights and the activities of independent labor 
organizations. Hereditary servitude, forced labor, including by 
children, and child labor were problems.
    Although the government took some steps to punish and prosecute 
officials who committed abuses in the security forces and in the public 
service, impunity remained a problem.
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 persons during the year. The government 
generally investigated and sometimes disciplined those responsible for 
such killings.
    On July 29, soldiers from the army regiment based in Nkongsamba 
shot and killed Stephane Ewane, a high school student. Ewane and three 
friends were returning from a party when they saw a military patrol and 
fled, fearing arbitrary arrest, a common occurrence (see section 1.d.). 
One of the soldiers shot without warning and hit Ewane. An 
investigation continued at year's end.
    Government officials confirmed that no action had been taken 
against security force members accused of human rights violations in 
2008 in association with the February protests, according to the 2011 
Amnesty International annual report. In 2008 as many as 100 persons 
were killed during protests against price increases and a 
constitutional amendment that removed presidential term limits.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, but 
there were continued reports that security forces tortured, beat, 
harassed, and otherwise abused citizens, prisoners, and detainees. 
Security forces also reportedly subjected women, children, and elderly 
persons to abuse. According to the Report by the Ministry of Justice on 
Human Rights in Cameroon in 2010, 296 police officers and 115 soldiers 
and gendarmes were sanctioned or prosecuted for misconduct in 2010. 
Eight security force members were tried for alleged torture in 2010. Of 
the eight, two were convicted, two were acquitted, and four cases were 
pending at the end of 2010.
    On January 1, in Tignere, the assistant prosecutor of Tignere, 
Faro, and Deo Division, Adamawa Region, intervened to stop soldiers 
from a Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) unit from beating a citizen. 
In response, the soldiers severely beat the prosecutor. No further 
information was available at year's end.
    In January the chief of the Douala BIR dismissed a soldier who in 
August 2010 shot at a bus, which he reportedly assumed was being driven 
by bandits. One passenger was injured seriously.
    On December 24, according to press reports, six BIR members 
indiscriminately entered homes in Bafut, Mezam Division, and beat the 
owners. They also looted homes and cars in the neighborhood. The 
incident occurred after Bafut youths, who were having drinks in a bar 
on December 23, refused to share their drinks with the BIR members when 
asked. An investigation was underway at year's end.
    Security forces reportedly detained and tortured persons at 
specific sites, including temporary holding cells within police or 
gendarme facilities and cells located at the Directorate General for 
External Intelligence (DGRE).
    Security forces beat journalists and gay men during the year (see 
sections 2.a. and 6).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and life threatening. Numerous international human rights 
organizations and some prison personnel reported that torture was 
widespread. In Douala's New Bell Prison and other minimum security 
detention centers, prison guards inflicted beatings, and prisoners 
reportedly were chained or at times flogged in their cells.
    During a February visit, a delegation of the African Commission on 
Human and People's Rights criticized prison conditions, which it 
described as being below required standards. In June 2010 the 
penitentiary administration confirmed harsh prison conditions in a 
document presented to diplomatic missions. The document noted 
overcrowding, poorly maintained and unsound facilities with leaking 
roofs, insufficient toilets and beds, lack of water and electricity, 
scarcity of pharmaceuticals, lack of appropriate kitchens, absence of 
drainage, and lack of disinfectants.
    During a 2009 visit to New Bell Prison in Douala, foreign 
government officials found that prison guards chained disobedient and 
violent prisoners in a tiny disciplinary cell, where they were 
reportedly beaten and denied access to food. Security forces reportedly 
stripped prisoners and detainees, confined them in severely overcrowded 
cells, denied them access to toilets or other sanitation facilities, 
and beat them to extract confessions or information about alleged 
criminals.
    Guards and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported 
rapes among inmates. Individuals incarcerated in New Bell Prison for 
homosexual acts suffered discrimination by and violence from other 
inmates.
    According to statistics released by Catholic Relief Services in its 
Protecting the Rights of Inmates and Detainees (PRIDE) project, as of 
November there were 23,916 prisoners and detainees, including 255 
juveniles (180 in the Yaounde's Kondengui Prison and 75 in New Bell 
Prison) and 92 women (60 in Kondengui Prison and 32 in New Bell 
Prison).
    Prisoners were kept in dilapidated, colonial-era prisons, where the 
number of inmates was as much as four to five times intended capacity. 
According to the PRIDE project, the Yaounde Kondengui Prison, 
originally built for approximately 1,000 inmates, held 2,928 in 
November. In November the country's 74 prisons, with a capacity of 
16,995 inmates, housed 23,196 prisoners and detainees. Overcrowding was 
exacerbated by the large number of pretrial detainees.
    Deficiencies in health care and sanitation, which were common in 
all prisons, remained a significant problem. According to an August 
report published by an NGO working in prisons, the penitentiary 
administration provided New Bell Prison with an annual healthcare 
budget of 4,000,000 CFA francs ($8,000) for its more than 2,000 
detainees.
    Potable water was inadequate, and prisoners' families were expected 
to provide food for their imprisoned family members. For example, New 
Bell Prison contained seven water taps for approximately 2,000 
prisoners, contributing to poor hygiene, illness, and death. The daily 
food allocation per prisoner was less than 100 CFA francs (20 cents). 
Corruption among prison personnel was widespread. Pretrial detainees 
reported that prison guards sometimes required them, under threat of 
abuse, to pay ``cell fees,'' money paid to prevent further abuse. 
Prisoners bribed wardens for special favors or treatment, including 
temporary freedom.
    Some prisoners were kept in prison after completing their sentences 
or receiving court orders of release due to inability to pay their 
fines.
    There were two separate prisons for women and a few pretrial 
detention centers for women; however, women routinely were held in 
police and gendarmerie complexes with men, occasionally in the same 
cells. Mothers sometimes chose to be incarcerated with their children 
if the children were very young or if they had no other child care 
option. Conditions for male and female inmates were equally poor. 
Juvenile prisoners were often incarcerated with adults, occasionally in 
the same cells or wards. There were credible reports that adult inmates 
sexually abused juvenile prisoners. Pretrial detainees routinely were 
held in cells with convicted criminals. Some high-profile prisoners, 
including officials imprisoned for corruption, were separated from 
other prisoners and enjoyed relatively lenient treatment.
    In temporary holding cells within police or gendarme facilities, 
adult men, juveniles, and women were held together. Detainees usually 
received no food, water, or medical care. Detainees whose families had 
been informed of their incarceration relied on their relatives for food 
and medicine. Overcrowding was common. Detention center guards accepted 
bribes from detainees in return for access to better conditions, 
including permission to stay in an office instead of a cell.
    Many citizens in the North and Far North regions turned to 
traditional chiefs, or lamibe, for dispute resolution, and the 
government continued to permit lamibe to temporarily detain persons 
until they transferred them to the police or gendarmerie and the 
judicial system. Such detentions could last several weeks or months, 
depending on the gravity of the offense, the distance to the nearest 
security office, and the availability of lamibe, security officers, 
complainants, and transportation. Within the palaces of the traditional 
chiefdoms of Rey Bouba, Gashiga, Bibemi, and Tcheboa, there were 
allegations of private prisons that had reputations for serious abuse. 
For example, those incarcerated were often tied to a post with chains 
attached to their wrists and ankles. During an April 2010 visit in the 
North and Far North regions, lamibe claimed to foreign diplomats that 
such detention facilities no longer existed, although incriminated 
subjects were often held under the veranda of a hut and could be seen 
by passersby.
    Prisoners were permitted religious observance. Authorities 
permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial 
authorities without censorship. During a 2009 visit to the Buea Prison, 
diplomatic mission employees observed prisoners talking to the 
prosecutor and complaining about their conditions. The secretary of 
state for penitentiary administration and the inspector general in 
charge of penitentiary administration investigated credible allegations 
of inhumane conditions and acknowledged the existence of such 
conditions publicly; however, no action was taken during the year. The 
National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF) also conducted 
investigations during the year and publicly denounced poor detention 
conditions. The NCHRF acted on behalf of prisoners or detainees to 
alleviate overcrowding, address the status of juvenile offenders, 
improve pretrial detention conditions, and other matters.
    The country had no prison ombudsman.
    The government permitted international humanitarian organizations 
access to prisoners. Both the local Red Cross and the NCHRF made 
infrequent, unannounced prison visits during the year. The government 
continued to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 
to visit prisons, and ICRC visits were conducted during the year in 
accordance with standard modalities.
    The government continued its efforts to improve prison conditions. 
In March the penitentiary administration presented an assessment of the 
modernization of prisons that the government launched in 2008. 
According to the report, the government's initiative resulted in the 
total renovation of 47 prisons, the construction of 27 wells, and the 
purchase of 10 vehicles to transport prisoners, two pick-ups, one 
minibus, and two trucks. The administration also acquired more beds and 
mattresses.
    As part of the PRIDE Project, Catholic Relief Services during the 
year implemented the first phase of a project to improve recordkeeping 
in prisons.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution and 
law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, security forces continued 
to arrest and detain citizens arbitrarily.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police, 
DGRE, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Territorial Administration, and, 
to a lesser extent Presidential Guard, are responsible for internal 
security. The Ministry of Defense, which includes the gendarmerie, the 
army, the army's military security unit, and the DGRE, reports to an 
office of the presidency, resulting in strong presidential control of 
security forces. The national police and the gendarmerie have primary 
responsibility for law enforcement, although the gendarmerie alone has 
responsibility in rural areas. The national police, which includes the 
public security force, judicial police, territorial security forces, 
and frontier police, report to the General Delegation for National 
Security (DGSN), which is under the direct authority of the presidency.
    Police were ineffective, poorly trained, and corrupt (see section 
4). Impunity was a problem. Citizens often resorted to vigilante 
violence rather than calling police (see section 6).
    The DGSN investigates reports of abuse and forwards cases that 
merit prosecution and trial to the courts. Lesser sanctions are handled 
internally. During the year DGSN authorities sanctioned at least 49 
security officers, including 32 soldiers and gendarmes and 17 police 
officers. Offenses included harassment of citizens, corruption, 
extortion, disregard of orders, forgery, and dangerous use of firearms.
    The national gendarmerie and the army also have special offices to 
investigate abuse. The secretary of state for defense and the minister-
delegate at the presidency in charge of defense subsequently sanction 
abusers. However, the minister-delegate of defense refers cases 
involving aggravated theft, criminal complicity, murder, and other 
major offenses to the military courts for trial.
    The BIR, an elite unit earning twice the pay of the regular army, 
reportedly dismissed from its ranks officers implicated in violence 
against civilians. Those dismissed were demoted to the regular army 
with a 50 percent cut in pay.
    According to the Report by the Ministry of Justice on Human Rights 
in Cameroon in 2010, 296 police officers were sanctioned or tried for 
misconduct in 2010. Infractions included extortion, aiding a suspect to 
escape, and abusive use of a service weapon causing bodily harm. 
Penalties ranged from warnings to the three-month suspension of 96 
officers without pay.
    The report also noted that military tribunals in 2010 tried 57 
cases involving a total of 115 soldiers and gendarmes for offenses 
ranging from corruption to manslaughter; 37 soldiers and gendarmes were 
convicted for offenses including manslaughter, torture, violation of 
instructions, false arrest, oppression, and attempted manslaughter. A 
captain and a lieutenant were among those disciplined. Preliminary 
administrative punishments--actions taken soon after the perpetration 
of the offense--ranged from written warnings to suspensions of up to 
six months and imprisonment for 10 to 12 days. More serious cases were 
transferred to the judiciary for prosecution and sentencing, which 
could take months or even years. The report also noted that an 
additional 21 proceedings were ongoing.
    During the year foreign military personnel provided training to 
security forces on civil-military relations and the role of security 
forces during elections, including rules of engagement and escalation 
of force.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires that police obtain a warrant for an arrest, except when a 
person is caught in the act of committing a crime; however, police 
often did not respect this requirement. The law provides that detainees 
be brought promptly before a magistrate, although this frequently did 
not occur. Police may legally detain a person in connection with a 
common crime for up to 48 hours, renewable once. This period may, with 
the written approval of the state counsel, be exceptionally extended 
twice before bringing charges. Nevertheless, police occasionally 
exceeded these detention periods. The law permits detention without 
charge--for renewable periods of 15 days--by administrative authorities 
such as governors and civilian government officials serving in 
territorial command. The law also provides for access to legal counsel 
and family members, although detainees were frequently denied access to 
both. The law permits bail, allows citizens the right to appeal, and 
provides the right to sue for unlawful arrest, but these rights were 
seldom respected.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Police and gendarmes frequently arrested persons 
on Friday afternoons, although the number of such cases decreased 
during the year, according to NGOs and legal practitioners. Although 
the law provides for judicial review of an arrest within 24 hours, the 
courts did not convene on weekends, so individuals arrested on a Friday 
typically remained in detention until Monday at the earliest. According 
to some reports, police and gendarmes occasionally made such ``Friday 
arrests'' on spurious charges after accepting bribes from persons who 
had private grievances. Security forces and government authorities 
reportedly continued to arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, often 
holding them for prolonged periods without charge or trial and, at 
times, incommunicado.
    Police arbitrarily arrested persons without warrant during 
neighborhood sweeps for criminals and stolen goods. Citizens and 
foreigners, including undocumented immigrants were required to carry 
identification with them at all times, and police frequently arrested 
persons without identification during sweeps. In July and September, 
such sweeps took place in the Yaounde neighborhoods of Mimboman, 
Etoudi, and Tongolo. While security forces subsequently released some 
detainees, others were transferred to the Prosecutor's Office and 
remained in detention at year's end on various charges, including 
theft, aggression, and evasion.
    The DGSN claimed a policy of zero tolerance for police harassment, 
but police and gendarmes subjected undocumented immigrants--primarily 
from Nigeria and Chad--to harassment and imprisonment. During raids 
members of the security forces extorted money from those who did not 
have regular residence permits or valid receipts for store merchandise. 
Some members of the country's large community of Nigerian immigrants 
complained of discrimination and abuse by government officials.
    The government arrested Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) 
activists for participating in SCNC activities (see section 3).
    Security forces also arrested journalists and a human rights 
activist during the year (see sections 2.a. and 5).
    Unlike in the previous year, police did not arbitrarily arrest 
women on the street suspected of prostitution.
    In the North and Far North regions, the government continued to 
permit traditional chiefs, or lamibe, to detain temporarily persons 
outside the government penitentiary system, in effect creating private 
prisons, until they transferred them to the police or gendarmerie and 
the judicial system (see section 1.c.).

    Pretrial Detention.--The law provides for a maximum of 18 months' 
detention before trial, but many detainees waited up to 10 years before 
trial. According to the PRIDE project, more than 60 percent of inmates 
were pretrial detainees. The law precludes holding juvenile detainees 
more than three months after the conclusion of an investigation, but 
juveniles were sometimes held for more than a year without trial. 
Judicial inefficiency, a shortage of lawyers, corruption, and lost 
files due to an inadequate tracking system contributed to lengthy 
pretrial detention.
    On his November 3 inauguration, President Biya granted amnesty to 
hundreds of prisoners sentenced to one year of imprisonment or less. 
Death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, sentences of life 
imprisonment were commuted to 20 years' imprisonment, and 10-year 
sentences were reduced by eight years.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, but the judiciary remained corrupt, 
inefficient, and subject to political influence. The court system is 
subordinate to the Ministry of Justice. The constitution names the 
president as ``first magistrate,'' thus ``chief'' of the judiciary and 
the theoretical arbiter of any sanctions against the judiciary, 
although the president has not played this role publicly. The 
constitution specifies that the president is the guarantor of the legal 
system's independence. He also appoints all judges with the advice of 
the Higher Judicial Council.
    Despite such executive influence, the judiciary occasionally 
demonstrated independence. In September, for example, the Supreme Court 
confirmed its previous ruling that the minister of culture's decision 
to dissolve the Cameroon Music Corporation (CMC) was a violation of the 
law. The court ordered the ministry to reinstate the CMC to its 
previous status.
    The legal system includes both national and customary law, and many 
criminal and civil cases can be tried using either one. Criminal cases 
generally were tried in statutory courts.
    Customary courts served as a primary means for settling domestic 
cases, such as succession, inheritance, and child custody. Customary 
courts may exercise jurisdiction in a civil case only with the consent 
of both parties. Either party has the right to have a case heard by a 
statutory court and to appeal an adverse decision by a customary court 
to the statutory courts.
    Customary court convictions involving witchcraft are automatically 
transferred to the statutory courts, which act as the court of first 
instance. The law provides for sentences of between two and ten years' 
imprisonment and fines of between 5,000 CFA francs ($10) and 100,000 
CFA francs ($200) to ``whoever commits any act of witchcraft, magic, or 
divination liable to disturb public order or tranquility, or to harm 
another in his person, property, or substance, whether by the taking of 
a reward or otherwise.'' In adjudicating such cases, courts relied on 
the testimony of witnesses and sorcerers, as well as confessions from 
the accused. Trials for alleged witchcraft occurred infrequently.
    Customary law is deemed valid only when it is not ``repugnant to 
natural justice, equity, and good conscience.'' However, many citizens 
in rural areas remained unaware of their rights under civil law and 
were taught they must abide by customary laws. Customary law ostensibly 
provides for equal rights and status, although men may limit women's 
rights regarding inheritance and employment. Some traditional legal 
systems regard wives as the legal property of their husbands. Customary 
law practiced in rural areas is based upon the traditions of the ethnic 
group predominant in the region and adjudicated by traditional 
authorities of that group.
    Military tribunals may exercise jurisdiction over civilians when 
the president declares martial law and in cases involving civil unrest 
or organized armed violence. Military tribunals also have jurisdiction 
over gang crimes, banditry, and highway robbery if such crimes are 
committed with firearms.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for a fair public hearing in 
which the defendant is presumed innocent. There is no jury system. 
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney 
in a timely manner, and the government generally respected this right. 
Defendants generally were allowed to question witnesses and to present 
witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants had access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases and could appeal a 
conviction. Because appointed attorneys received little compensation, 
the quality of legal representation for indigent clients often was 
poor. The bar association and some voluntary organizations such as the 
Cameroonian Association of Female Jurists offered free assistance in 
some cases. A program funded by the European Union to improve the human 
rights of detainees and their conditions of detention facilitated the 
provision of free legal assistance to 3,000 detainees.
    Despite a 2009 legal aid bill to facilitate judicial access for all 
citizens, indigent defendants were not provided attorneys at public 
expense, primarily due to resistance from attorneys who claimed they 
were inadequately compensated for such work.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports of political 
detainees, but all were charged with other crimes.
    During the year the Yaounde High Court repeatedly postponed the 
trial of two detainees widely considered by human rights NGOs to be 
political prisoners. Titus Edzoa, former minister of health and long-
time aide to President Biya, and Michel Thierry Atangana, Edzoa's 1997 
campaign manager, were arrested in 1997, three months after Edzoa 
resigned from the government and launched his candidacy for president. 
They were convicted on charges of embezzling public funds and sentenced 
to 15 years in prison. Both Edzoa and Atangana complained of 
irregularities in their trials and restricted access to counsel. At the 
end of 2009, the prosecutor filed new charges against both men for 
embezzlement, and hearings started a few weeks later. In February the 
government denied a visa to Atangana's French lawyer, which resulted in 
one of the trial postponements during the year.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens have the right to 
seek redress for alleged wrongs through administrative procedures or 
through the legal system, although both options involved lengthy 
delays. There were problems enforcing civil court orders due to 
bureaucratic inefficiency.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such 
actions, these rights were subject to restriction for the ``higher 
interests of the state,'' and there were credible reports that police 
and gendarmes harassed citizens, conducted searches without warrants, 
and opened or seized mail with impunity. The government continued to 
keep some opposition activists and dissidents under surveillance. 
Police sometimes detained family members and neighbors of criminal 
suspects.
    The law permits a police officer to enter a private home during 
daylight hours without a warrant if he is pursuing a criminal suspect. 
A police officer may enter a private home at any time in pursuit of a 
person observed committing a crime.
    In late September and early October, police put the houses of SCNC 
officials and activists under surveillance to monitor preparations for 
protests on October 1, Unification Day. The SCNC is an Anglophone group 
the government considers illegal because it advocates secession. The 
group does not have legal status as it has never filed an application 
to become either a political party or other legally recognized 
organization.
    An administrative authority, including a governor or prefect, may 
authorize police to conduct neighborhood sweeps without warrants. Such 
sweeps at times involved forced entry into homes in search of suspected 
criminals or stolen or illegal goods. Security forces sometimes sealed 
off a neighborhood, systematically searched homes, arrested persons, 
sometimes arbitrarily, and seized suspicious or illegal articles (see 
section 1.d.). Citizens without identification cards were detained 
until their identity could be established and were then released. There 
were several complaints that police arbitrarily confiscated electronic 
devices including cell phones.
    In the Far North Region, human rights organizations reported that 
the traditional ruler of Meskine, Diamare Division, arbitrarily evicted 
some of his subjects from their land during the year.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the law provides for freedom of speech and press, it 
also criminalizes media offenses, and the government restricted 
freedoms of speech and press during the year. Government officials 
threatened, harassed, arrested, and denied equal treatment to 
individuals or organizations that criticized government policies or 
expressed views at odds with government policy.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals who criticized the government 
publicly or privately sometimes faced reprisals. The government 
attempted to impede criticism by monitoring political meetings.
    On January 26, the vice chancellor of the University of Buea in the 
Southwest Region suspended Stanley Eyongetta Njieassam, a student 
leader, for criticizing the vice chancellor and challenging government 
policies. The suspension was lifted on February 26.
    On April 29, author Bertrand Teyou, who was arrested twice in 2010 
for publicly criticizing the president, was released from prison after 
paying a fine. In March 2010 gendarmes arrested and detained Teyou for 
talking about the president in ``insidious terms'' during the 
dedication ceremony of his book The Antecode Biya. Teyou subsequently 
was charged with conspiracy, incitement to rebellion, attempt to 
disturb public order, and perilous activity. Teyou, who was detained 
for eight days, was again arrested and detained in November 2010 in 
connection with the release of another book. The Douala Court of First 
Instance found Teyou guilty of defamation, insult, and illegal protest, 
and sentenced him to pay a fine of two million CFA francs ($4,000). 
Teyou, who could not pay the fine, remained in jail until his April 
release.

    Freedom of Press.--Approximately 400 privately owned newspapers 
published during the year, but only an estimated 25 had sufficient 
funds to publish regularly. The government enforced media regulations 
irregularly, often implementing arduous requirements selectively for 
regime critics. The government continued to disburse official funds to 
support private press outlets, although it disbursed funds selectively 
to outlets that were less critical of the government and with 
instructions to provide reporting favorable to the regime. Government 
officials used expansive libel laws to arraign journalists who 
criticized them and to suspend newspapers. Privately owned media were 
not accredited with the president's or prime minister's offices and 
were not invited to accompany the president on official trips.
    After its September 26 to October 2 visit to the country, Reporters 
Without Borders noted that the law confuses media offenses with common 
crimes, gives too much power to political and administrative officials, 
and does not provide enough protection for access to information and 
the confidentiality of sources.

    Violence and Harassment.--Security forces detained, arrested, and 
abused journalists during the year. In a statement published on March 
31, the National Syndicate of Cameroon Journalists (SNJC) denounced the 
sustained harassment and moral pressure of which journalists had been 
the victims since the beginning of the year. SNJC called on the 
government to respect the public liberties of citizens provided for in 
the constitution. On March 9, the Committee to Protect Journalists 
(CPJ) wrote a letter to President Biya expressing concern about ongoing 
abuses against press freedom. The CPJ called on the president to hold 
members of his administration accountable for using security forces and 
criminal laws to settle scores with the media and urged the president 
to initiate reforms that would refer matters of defamation to civil 
courts.
    On January 20, in Ebolowa, Mvila Division, South Region, Police 
Commissioner Evina assaulted and beat Rodrique Tongue, a journalist 
working for Le Messager newspaper. Reasons for the assault were 
unclear. No action was undertaken against the commissioner.
    On September 16, police from the Special Group for Operations 
seriously beat and injured Ulrich Fabien Ateba Biwole, a journalist of 
Le Jour newspaper, in the Yaounde neighborhood of Anguissa. Ateba 
Biwole was inquiring about a group of citizens escorted in the street 
by armed men in civilian attire. The armed men, who Ateba Biwole later 
learned were police officers, attacked him when they learned he was a 
journalist.
    Journalists also were arrested and detained.
    On March 30, security officers arrested and detained incommunicado 
Lamissia Aldorarc, the Adamoua Region correspondent of the Yaounde-
based daily Le Jour. Aldorarc, who was investigating an alleged armed 
rebellion attempt, was held for several days in the DGRE Adamaoua 
Region office.
    On September 5, police arrested Francois Fogno Fotso, editor of the 
private bimonthly Generation Libre, which in October 2010 had published 
an article detailing alleged corruption by a tax official. From 
September 5 to 9, Fotso was interrogated without the presence of a 
lawyer and pressured to identify the sources for the article. On 
September 9, Fotso was taken to court but not charged, and subsequently 
returned to the custody of military police in Yaounde. Fotso had been 
summoned four times by military police since the October 2010 article, 
but refused to comply with their demands. In a public statement, the 
Association of Patriot Journalists of Cameroon criticized what it 
called an ``arbitrary arrest of a journalist who dared do his job.''
    Security forces also arrested and detained Cameroonian journalists 
representing foreign media outlets.
    For example, on February 23, gendarmes of the Mboppi gendarmerie 
brigade in Douala arrested and detained incommunicado for 24 hours 
Reinnier Kaze, the correspondent of Agence France Press. Kaze was 
reporting on an anti-Biya march in Douala. The gendarmes also arrested 
several other journalists on the same occasion, including the reporting 
team of Vox Africa, a pan-African television service.
    Radio remained the most important medium and reached most citizens. 
There were approximately 375 privately owned radio stations operating 
in the country, three-fourths of them in Yaounde and Douala. The 
government required nonprofit rural radio stations to submit 
applications to broadcast, but they were exempt from licensing fees. 
Commercial radio and television broadcasters must submit a licensing 
application and pay an application fee with the application. After a 
license is issued, stations must pay an annual licensing fee, which was 
expensive for some stations. Although the government did not issue new 
broadcast licenses during the year, companies operated without them 
under a government policy of administrative tolerance.
    Several rural community radio stations functioned with funding from 
the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and foreign 
countries. The government prohibited these stations from discussing 
politics.
    Television had lower levels of penetration than print media but was 
more influential in shaping public opinion in urban areas. There was 
one private cable television network. The 19 independent television 
stations skirted criticism of the government, although their news 
broadcasts sometimes focused on poverty, unemployment, and poor 
education, pointing to the role of government neglect and corruption. 
The state-owned Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV) broadcast on both 
television and radio. The government levied taxes to finance CRTV 
programming, which gave the station a distinct advantage over 
independent broadcasters.
    The government was the largest advertiser in the country. Some 
private media enterprises reported government officials used the 
promise of advertising (or the threat of withholding it) to influence 
reporting of the government's activities.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists and media outlets 
practiced self-censorship.

    Libel Laws.--Press freedom is constrained by strict libel laws that 
suppress criticism. These laws authorize the government, at its 
discretion and the request of the plaintiff, to criminalize a civil 
libel suit or to initiate a criminal libel suit in cases of alleged 
libel against the president and other high government officials. Such 
crimes are punishable by prison terms and heavy fines. The libel law 
places the burden of proof on the defendant. Government officials 
abused this law to keep local journalists from reporting on corruption 
and abusive behavior.
    For example, on March 24, the Douala-Ndokoti first instance court 
sentenced Jean Marie Tchatchouang, publisher of Parole newspaper, to a 
suspended six-month prison term and damages of one million CFA francs 
($2,000) to be paid to Ernest Ngalle, the general manager of Socatur, a 
Douala-based bus company, for alleged libel against the general 
manager. From September to December 2010, Tchatchouang published a 
number of articles that accused Ngalle of embezzlement. The court also 
suspended the newspaper for an undetermined period of time.

    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.
    On March 8, MTN-Cameroon informed its Internet service customers 
that the government required the suspension of Twitter SMS on its 
network. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications officially denied 
having initiated the measure, although some government officials 
alleged that intelligence services had made the suspension decision. 
The suspension was brief.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Although there were no legal 
restrictions on academic freedom, state security informants reportedly 
operated on university campuses. Professors said that participation in 
opposition political parties or public criticism of the government 
could affect their professional opportunities.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Although the law provides for freedom of assembly, the 
government restricted this right in practice. The law requires 
organizers of public meetings, demonstrations, and processions to 
notify officials in advance but does not require prior government 
approval of public assemblies and does not authorize the government to 
suppress public assemblies that it has not approved in advance. 
However, officials routinely asserted that the law implicitly 
authorizes the government to grant or deny permission for public 
assembly. Consequently, the government often refused to grant permits 
for assemblies organized by persons or groups critical of the 
government and used force to suppress public assemblies for which it 
had not issued permits. The government also prevented civil society 
organizations and political parties from holding press conferences, 
where criticism of the presidential election, corruption, and abuse of 
power were expected.
    In February the prefect of Wouri Division banned Martyrs' Week 
marches and rallies in Douala to commemorate the February 2008 riots. 
The prefect alleged that the planned events, organized by political and 
civil society organizations, were likely to disturb public order.
    On September 10, Garoua gendarmes disrupted a meeting of the 
Association Citoyenne de Defense des Interets Collectifs. The 
organization sought to brief the public on its proposed agricultural 
policy for presidential candidates.
    Authorities refused to grant the SCNC permission to hold rallies 
and meetings, and security forces arrested and detained SCNC activists 
(see section 3).
    Security forces forcibly disrupted demonstrations, meetings, and 
rallies of citizens, trade unions, and political activists throughout 
the year. The use of excessive force by security forces resulted in 
numerous injuries to demonstrators.
    For example, on February 23, the Douala anti-riot police used 
water-cannon trucks and tear gas to disrupt a demonstration organized 
by opposition parties and human rights organizations and activists to 
commemorate the victims of the February 2008 riots.
    On May 31, police detained 37 members of the Cameroon Coalition for 
Food Self-Sufficiency and prevented more than 200 members from 
demonstrating for increased government support for farms and a curb on 
imports.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, but the government limited this right in practice. The law 
prohibits organizations that advocate any type of secession, resulting 
in the disruption of SCNC meetings on the grounds that the purpose of 
the organization rendered any meetings illegal (see section 3).
    The conditions for government recognition of political parties, 
NGOs, or associations were arduous, interminable, and unevenly 
enforced. The process forced most associations to operate in 
uncertainty, in which their activities were tolerated but not formally 
approved.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/g/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, 
emigration, and repatriation, security forces impeded domestic and 
international travel during the year.
    The government cooperated with the U.N. High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing 
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, 
and asylum seekers.

    In-country Movement.--Security forces at roadblocks and checkpoints 
in cities and on most highways extorted bribes and harassed travelers. 
Police frequently stopped travelers to check identification documents, 
vehicle registrations, and tax receipts as security and immigration 
control measures. There were credible reports that police arrested and 
beat individuals who failed to carry their identification cards as 
required by law (see section 1.d.).
    During the two-week presidential campaign, the government closed 
the country's airspace to all but the president on the day he traveled 
to Maroua to launch his campaign and on the day he returned. Opposition 
candidates charged that the closure was intended to limit their 
campaign activities.

    Foreign Travel.--The government also closed the borders and 
canceled all flights from the evening before the election until after 
the polls had closed.

    Exile.--The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not 
use it; however, some human rights monitors and political opponents 
remained in self-imposed exile because they felt threatened by the 
government.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--In 2005 between 10,000 and 
15,000 refugees and residents in and around the Adamawa Region villages 
of Djohong and Ngaoui were displaced following attacks and looting by 
unidentified armed groups from the Central African Republic (CAR). 
Officials in the Adamawa Region reported that most of the refugees have 
been assimilated and that only a few hundred IDPs remained. IDP 
children attended local schools, and the government provided refugees 
with medical care. During the year the government worked with UNHCR to 
protect and assist remaining IDPs, who the UNHCR reported were too few 
in number to incorporate in their statistics.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system of providing protection to refugees.
    The country continued to host approximately 100,000 refugees, the 
vast majority of whom were from CAR. Refugees were given the same 
rights to basic services as the host population. Refugee access to 
legal remedies--as with the general population-- remained limited.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary 
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees and provided 
it to more than 124,000 persons, including 110,000 from CAR, 7,500 from 
Chad, and 4,000 from Nigeria.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens with the right to change their government 
peacefully; however, President Biya and CPDM members controlled key 
aspects of the political process, including the judiciary.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On 
October 9, CPDM leader Paul Biya, who garnered more than 77 percent of 
the vote, won reelection as president, a position he has held since 
1982. The election was peaceful but marred by irregularities, including 
polls that opened late, a voter list that contained numerous duplicate 
entries, insufficient time to distribute registration cards, inadequate 
training of polling officials, and the absence of indelible ink. These 
shortcomings effectively disfranchised an unknown number of voters and 
created opportunities for multiple voting and ballot box stuffing. 
Domestic and international observers concluded that the irregularities 
did not significantly affect the election outcome. Citizens residing 
overseas registered and voted.
    The opposition's failure to unite behind a single candidate divided 
the opposition vote 22 ways and contributed to voter apathy and 
cynicism. According to the Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy 
(CHRAPA), an organization with special consultative status at the U.N., 
less than 30 percent of the population voted. The government claimed 
that 66 percent of the population cast ballots.
    The election was administered by Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), which 
was established in 2006 and whose members were appointed by the 
president. ELECAM's original 12 Electoral Council members were formerly 
active CPDM members, resulting in public skepticism of ELECAM's 
credibility and objectivity. In May the government amended electoral 
legislation to increase the number of council members from 12 to 18. In 
July the president appointed six new members, who included prominent 
figures from civil society. On October 7, one of the new appointees was 
dismissed for allegedly receiving money from the CPDM to manage part of 
its public relations campaign.
    After the election the Supreme Court received 20 complaints from 
political parties, 10 of which demanded either the partial or complete 
annulment of results as a result of irregularities. On October 19, the 
court dismissed all the cases for lack of evidence or late submission.
    According to CHRAPA, coverage of campaign activities by the state 
media was biased, providing extensive coverage of the campaign 
activities of the incumbent but not of opposition parties.
    The government greatly increased the number of municipalities run 
by presidentially appointed delegates, who have authority over elected 
mayors, effectively disenfranchising the residents of those localities. 
Delegate-run cities included most of the provincial capitals and some 
division capitals in pro-opposition regions; however, this practice was 
almost nonexistent in the southern regions, which tended to support the 
ruling CPDM party. In municipalities with elected mayors, local 
autonomy was limited, since elected local governments relied on the 
central government for most of their revenue and administrative 
personnel.

    Political Parties.--There were more than 253 registered political 
parties. Fewer than 10, however, had significant levels of support, and 
only five had seats in the National Assembly. The CPDM held an absolute 
majority in the National Assembly. Opposition parties included the 
Social Democratic Front (SDF), based in the Anglophone regions and some 
major cities, the National Union for Democracy and Progress, the 
Cameroon Democratic Union, and the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon.
    Membership in the ruling political party conferred significant 
advantages, including in the allocation of key jobs in parastatals and 
the civil service. The president appoints all ministers, including the 
prime minister, and also directly appoints the governors of each of the 
10 regions who also serve as CPDM officials. The president has the 
power to appoint important lower level members of the 58 regional 
administrative structures as well. Onerous requirements for 
registration of parties and candidates restricted political activity.
    In 2008 the National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment 
that removed presidential term limits and added provisions for 
presidential immunity. Although considerable national discussion of the 
proposal ensued, the National Assembly ultimately passed the revisions 
in a manner that allowed no debate and underscored the CPDM's 
unfettered control of all government branches. Neither the electorate 
nor its elected representatives had an opportunity to affect the 
outcome of the constitutional exercise.
    Residents of the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions tended 
to support the opposition SDF party and consequently claimed to suffer 
disproportionately from human rights abuses committed by the government 
and its security forces. The Anglophone community complained of being 
underrepresented in the public sector. Although citizens in certain 
Francophone areas--the East, Far North, North, and Adamawa regions--
voiced similar complaints about under-representation and government 
neglect, Anglophones claimed they had not received a fair share of 
public sector goods and services within their two regions. Many 
residents of the Anglophone regions sought greater freedom, equality of 
opportunity, and better government by regaining regional autonomy 
rather than through national political reform, and have formed several 
quasi-political organizations in pursuit of their goals.
    Authorities sometimes refused to grant opposition parties 
permission to hold rallies and meetings and arrested SCNC activists for 
participating in SCNC activities. The government considered the SCNC 
illegal because it advocates secession and has never registered as a 
political party or organization.
    On February 9, gendarmes from Bali subdivision, Mezam Division, 
Northwest Region, arrested and detained for five days Chief Ayamba Ette 
Otun and two other SCNC members for circulating tracts calling for the 
independence of Southern Cameroon and warning the government against 
the mistreatment of Southern Cameroonians.
    On October 1, the anniversary of the unification of Anglophone and 
Francophone regions of Cameroon, security forces disrupted SCNC 
meetings and protest rallies in Limbe, Tiko, Buea, Bamenda, and Kumbo. 
Security forces also sealed off the residences of several SCNC leaders 
and arrested and detained SCNC activists in Limbe, Buea, and Tiko.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women held 23 of 180 seats 
in the National Assembly, six of 61 cabinet posts, and a few of the 
higher offices within the major political parties, including the CPDM.
    Pygmies were not represented in the National Assembly or in the 
higher offices of government.
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 
corruption was pervasive at all levels of government. Officials 
frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity, and the World 
Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption was a severe problem. The public perception was that 
judicial and administrative officials were open to bribes in almost all 
situations. In June the National Institute of Statistics published a 
study, indicating that 87 percent of Cameroonian households considered 
corruption a major issue in the country.
    During the year the government sanctioned hundreds of government 
employees for corruption, embezzlement, and mismanagement.
    According to the Report by the Ministry of Justice on Human Rights 
in Cameroon in 2010, authorities investigated 20 cases of corruption 
and 235 cases of embezzlement of public funds in 2010; the courts heard 
16 cases of corruption and 231 cases of embezzlement of public funds.
    The National Anticorruption Commission (CONAC) is the country's 
principal independent anticorruption agency; however, it was 
subservient to the president and lacked autonomy. Between January 2008 
and December 2010, CONAC received 723 petitions regarding corruption, 
of which 132 involved embezzlement and 41 involved tender violations. 
CONAC recommended prosecution for all cases received.
    In 2010 the National Financial Investigations Unit (ANIF), a 
separate financial intelligence unit that tracks money laundering, 
referred to judicial authorities 35 of the 124 reports received of 
suspicious transactions. Between its creation in May 2005 and 2010, the 
ANIF referred to judicial authorities 139 of 450 reports received of 
suspicious transactions. The ANIF has been informed of no trials or 
hearings addressing any of the 139 reports it has referred.
    Police were corrupt. Individuals reportedly paid bribes to police 
and the judiciary to secure their freedom. Police demanded bribes at 
checkpoints, and influential citizens reportedly paid police to make 
arrests or abuse individuals involved in personal disputes.
    Police were sanctioned for corruption during the year. Some 
officers convicted of corruption were relieved of their duties but 
retained their jobs.
    For example, in March the DGSN relieved of their functions Victor 
Hugo Mbarga Mbarga, the inspector general of the DGSN, and Ayafor 
Bernard Tangye, the DGSN west regional delegate, for aggravated 
corruption.
    On October 13, the secretary of state in charge of the gendarmerie 
ordered the arrest of 13 gendarmes caught extorting money from truck 
drivers on the Ebolowa-Ambam-Kye-Ossi highway. The 13 remained in 
detention awaiting trial at year's end.
    Judicial corruption was a problem. According to several press 
reports, judicial authorities accepted illegal payments from detainees' 
families in exchange for a reduced sentence or the outright release of 
their relatives. Judges were susceptible to executive influence and 
often stopped or delayed judicial proceedings in response to 
governmental pressure. Many powerful political or business interests 
had virtual immunity from prosecution, and politically sensitive cases 
sometimes were settled through bribes.
    There were no developments in the 2010 transfer to the judiciary of 
47 corruption cases involving agriculture officials.
    In October 2010 the Wouri High Court opened hearings in the trial 
of Paul Ngamo Hamani, former general manager of Cameroon Airlines, who 
was arrested in March 2009 for embezzlement. The trial continued at 
year's end.
    On March 21 and April 25, the Douala High Court held hearings in 
the 2009 arrest and detention of Jean-Baptiste Nguini Effa, former 
general manager of the government-owned National Petroleum Distribution 
Company, and six of his close collaborators, all of whom were charged 
with embezzlement. The trial continued at year's end.
    The constitution and law require senior government officials, 
including members of the cabinet, to declare their assets; however, the 
president had not issued the requisite decree to implement the law by 
year's end.
    There are no laws providing citizens with access to government 
information, and such access was difficult. Most government documents, 
such as statistics, letters exchanged between various administrations, 
draft legislation, and investigation reports, were not available to the 
public or the media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Although a number of domestic and international human rights groups 
investigated and published findings on human rights cases, government 
officials repeatedly impeded the effectiveness of many local human 
rights NGOs during the year by harassing their members, limiting access 
to prisoners, refusing to share information, and threatening and using 
violence against NGO personnel.
    Despite these restrictions, numerous independent domestic human 
rights NGOs operated, including the National League for Human Rights, 
the Organization for Human Rights and Freedoms, the Association of 
Women against Violence, the Movement for the Defense of Human Rights 
and Freedoms, and the Cameroonian Association of Female Jurists.
    The government collaborated with domestic NGOs to address child 
labor, women's rights, and trafficking in persons.
    The government arrested human rights activists during the year.
    For example, on February 11, in Douala, gendarmes of the Littoral 
gendarmerie legion in the Bonanjo neighborhood arrested and detained 
Mboua Massock, a political and human rights activist who was 
distributing tracts calling for popular resistance against the Biya 
government. Massock, who was arrested in 2009 and 2010 for similar 
activities, was interrogated and released 10 hours later.
    Since February 2010 authorities have harassed and conducted 
surveillance on Maximilienne Ngo Mbe, secretary general of Solidarity 
for the Promotion of Human Rights and Peoples and executive director of 
the Network of Human Rights Defenders of Central Africa. In February 
2010 Ngo Mbe presented a report on the human rights situation in the 
country at the fifth platform for human rights defenders in Dublin, 
Ireland. She subsequently received a threat letter for ``tarnishing the 
image of the president of the republic'' and was the victim of repeated 
thefts. During the year Ngo Mbe was followed by a car with no 
registration plates, her telephone was tapped, and her computer, mobile 
phone, and wallet were stolen.
    Although the NCHRF remained hampered by a shortage of funds, during 
the year it conducted a number of investigations into human rights 
abuses, visited prisons, sought to obtain medical attention for jailed 
suspects, and organized several human rights seminars for judicial 
officials, security personnel, and other government officials. Although 
the commission rarely criticized the government's human rights abuses 
publicly, its staff intervened with government officials in specific 
cases of human rights abuses by security forces. During the year the 
commission hosted a seminar on lessons learned during the presidential 
election.
    During the year the NCHRF continued its efforts to stop ``Friday 
arrests'' (the practice of detaining individuals on Friday to prolong 
the time before court appearance). On January 26, the NCHRF published a 
report in which it characterized administrative detentions as a 
``lethal weapon'' in the hands of some administrative authorities.
    In June, in Yaounde, the NCHRF participated with other sub-regional 
national human rights institutions in a workshop organized by the U.N. 
Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--Although it impeded the 
efforts of local NGOs, the government cooperated with international 
governmental organizations and permitted visits by U.N. representatives 
and other organizations, including the ICRC.
    In February the government facilitated the visit of a delegation 
from the African Union's Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which 
was investigating conditions of detention and other issues.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The National Assembly's 
Constitutional Laws, Human Rights and Freedoms, Justice, Legislation, 
Regulations, and Administration Committee reviews human rights 
legislation submitted by the government and was instrumental in the 
National Assembly's November 29 passage of a law criminalizing the 
trafficking of adults.
    On December 6, the government released the Report by the Ministry 
of Justice on Human Rights in Cameroon in 2010, which focused primarily 
on government actions to address human rights issues, such as judicial 
and disciplinary action taken against officials accused of corruption 
or other inappropriate conduct. The report documented hundreds of 
investigations, disciplinary actions, and prosecutions in 2010 (see 
sections 1.c., 1.d., and 4).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law does not explicitly forbid discrimination based on race, 
language, or social status, but does prohibit discrimination based on 
gender and mandates that ``everyone has equal rights and obligations.'' 
The government did not enforce these provisions effectively, and 
violence and discrimination against women, trafficked persons, ethnic 
minorities, gays and lesbians, and suspected witches were problems. The 
law prohibits homosexual acts.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Although the law criminalizes 
rape and provides penalties of between five and ten years' imprisonment 
for convicted rapists, police and the courts rarely investigated or 
prosecuted rape cases. The law does not address spousal rape. A study 
conducted in 2009 reported the rapes of hundreds of thousands of girls 
and women between 1970 and 2008 (see section 6, Children). Due to 
social taboos associated with sexual violence, the great majority of 
rapes went unreported. For example, the media reported on only four 
rape cases during the year--one in Buea, Southwest Region and three in 
Yaounde. Although the investigation did not result in an arrest in the 
Buea case, police arrested the three suspected Yaounde perpetrators, 
who were charged with rape and remained in detention awaiting trial at 
year's end.
    The German Agency for International Cooperation, in collaboration 
with local NGOs, continued its campaign to raise awareness of rape and 
educate citizens on penal provisions against rape. Campaign activities 
included the distribution of leaflets and T-shirts bearing messages, 
conferences in schools and women's associations, and radio broadcasts.
    The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, although 
assault is prohibited and punishable by imprisonment and fines. In 2008 
a study from La Maison des Droits de l'Homme, a Douala-based NGO, 
reported that approximately 39 percent of women suffered from physical 
violence. Women's rights advocates asserted that penalties for domestic 
violence were insufficient. Spousal abuse is not a legal ground for 
divorce.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--Women over 18 were subjected to 
FGM in isolated areas of Far North, East, and Southwest regions; 
however, most FGM victims were children (see section 6, Children).

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not prohibit sexual harassment. 
The government did not conduct any public education campaigns on the 
subject, and there were no statistics available on its occurrence, 
although it was thought to be widespread.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of 
children, but societal pressures continued to reinforce taboos on 
discussing contraception and all other sex-related issues, particularly 
in northern rural areas. Prenatal care, skilled attendance during 
childbirth, and postpartum care were not available to many women, 
particularly to those living in rural areas. According to 2008 
statistics, the maternal mortality rate was estimated at 1,000 per 
100,000 births. In cooperation with NGOs, the government conducted 
programs to educate couples, especially men, on responsible spacing 
between childbirths. The Ministry of Public Health produced radio and 
televised information programs on responsible parenthood and encouraged 
couples to use contraception to space the timing of their children. 
Couples were also encouraged to get HIV/AIDS testing prior to 
conception, and efforts continued to increase HIV/AIDS testing for 
pregnant women at health clinics. Women were equally diagnosed and 
treated for sexually transmitted infections, and all government and 
civil society campaigns against the disease targeted both men and 
women.

    Discrimination.--Despite constitutional provisions recognizing 
women's rights, women did not enjoy the same rights and privileges as 
men, and some provisions of civil law were prejudicial to women. For 
example, the law allows a husband to deny his wife's right to work, and 
a husband may also end his wife's right to engage in commercial 
activity by notifying the clerk of the commerce tribunal. Customary law 
imposes further strictures on women since in many regions a woman was 
regarded as the property of her husband. Because of the importance of 
custom and tradition, civil laws protecting women often were not 
respected. For example, in some ethnic groups women were precluded from 
inheriting from their husbands. The Ministry of Women's Empowerment and 
the Family worked with other government agencies to promote the legal 
rights of women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from the 
parents, and it is the parents' responsibility to register births. 
Parents must obtain a birth declaration from the hospital or health 
facility in which the child was born and complete the application. The 
mayor's office subsequently issues the birth certificate once the file 
is completed and approved. Because many children were not born in 
formal health facilities, and many parents were unable to reach local 
government offices, many births were unregistered. Statistics on 
unregistered births were unavailable. In recent years the government 
created special civil status centers in remote areas to enable rural 
residents to register their children. Citizens unable to avail 
themselves of these resources often turned to a thriving industry for 
fabricated birth certificates, which were required to register children 
for school or obtain a national identification card. The government 
continued its program begun in 2005 to issue birth certificates to Baka 
(Pygmies), most of whom did not have birth certificates (see section 6, 
Indigenous People). The program also assisted Baka in registering for 
school.

    Education.--Schooling is mandatory through the age of 14, but 
parents had to pay uniform and book fees for primary school students 
and tuition and other fees for secondary school students, rendering 
education unaffordable for many children. The government continued its 
three-year program to improve school access by building new classrooms, 
recruiting new teachers, and providing water fountains.
    According to Jeune Afrique's September report on Investing in 
Cameroon, 47.7 percent of girls and 56.7 percent of boys attended 
primary school. The low school enrollment rate was attributed to cost, 
with girls' participation further reduced by early marriage, sexual 
harassment, unwanted pregnancy, prejudice, and domestic 
responsibilities.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a major problem, although no 
statistics were available. Newspaper reports often cited children as 
victims of kidnapping, mutilation, and even infanticide. There were 
credible stories of mothers (usually young, unemployed, and unmarried) 
abandoning their newborns in streets, garbage cans, and pit toilets.
    On February 2, the minister of social affairs in partnership with 
UNICEF launched a nationwide campaign to sensitize the public on child 
abuse, including sexual abuse, child labor, and child trafficking.
    A 2009 study conducted by the German development organization GTZ 
reported that an estimated 432,000 women and girls have been raped in 
the past 20 years: 20 percent of rapes were perpetrated by family 
members, and the average age of victims was 15 years. According to 
Flavien Ndonko, the head of GTZ's HIV/AIDS program, rape has steadily 
increased, and only about one in 20 rapists was convicted.

    Child Marriage.--While the minimum legal age for a woman to marry 
is 15, many families tried to marry their female children before they 
turned 12 years old. Early marriage was prevalent in the northern 
regions of Adamaoua, North, and particularly the remote Far North, 
where many girls as young as nine faced severe health risks from 
pregnancies. There were no statistics on the prevalence of child 
marriage, but the courts heard one forced marriage case in 2010.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law does not prohibit FGM, 
which was practiced in isolated areas of the Far North, East, and 
Southwest regions. Statistics on its prevalence were unavailable. 
Internal migration contributed to the spread of FGM to different areas. 
The majority of FGM procedures were clitorectomies. The severest form 
of FGM, infibulation, was performed in the Kajifu area of the Southwest 
Region. FGM usually was practiced on infants and preadolescent girls. 
Public health centers in areas where FGM was frequently practiced 
counseled women about the harmful consequences of FGM. According to the 
Association to Fight Violence against Women, FGM practitioners 
frequently conducted secret, rather than open, ceremonies following the 
subjection of a girl to FGM.
    In February the government disclosed an action plan to prevent FGM 
and to draft legislation to end the practice. Until legislation has 
passed, the plan provides for government collaboration with civil 
society organizations to care for victims and prevent new cases. In 
February, in the Briqueterie neighborhood of Yaounde, the minister of 
women's empowerment and the family held meetings with Muslim civil 
society organizations to assess the FGM zero-tolerance program in which 
they had been involved in previous years. Similar assessment meetings 
were held in Kousseri, Logone and Chari Division, Far North Region, 
where the Ministry of Social Affairs cooperated with two NGOs to 
eliminate FGM.
    Breast ironing, a procedure to flatten a young girl's growing 
breasts with hot stones, was perpetrated on many girls, according to 
press reports. The procedure was considered a way to delay a girl's 
physical development, thus limiting the risk of sexual assault and 
teenage pregnancy. Girls as young as nine were subjected to the 
practice, which resulted in burns, deformities, and psychological 
problems.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The penalties for the sexual 
exploitation of children include imprisonment from 15 to 20 years and a 
fine of from 100,000 CFA francs ($200) to ten million CFA francs 
($20,000). The law does not specifically provide a minimum age for 
consensual sex. The law prohibits the use of children for the 
production of pornography and provides for prison terms of from five to 
ten years and fines of from five million CFA francs ($10,000) to 10 
million CFA francs ($20,000) for perpetrators who use any electronic 
system to forward child pornography or any document that could harm the 
dignity of a child. Children under the age of 18 were engaged in 
prostitution, and the problem was believed to be pervasive, although no 
statistics were available.

    Displaced Children.--Approximately 2,000 children lived on the 
streets of the major urban centers. The Project to Fight the Phenomenon 
of Street Children, a governmental project in partnership with NGOs, 
gathered information on street children and offered healthcare, 
education, and psychosocial care. The project also bolstered the intake 
capacities of specialized centers. In 2010 the Ministry of Social 
Affairs reunited five street children with their families and placed 82 
in institutions.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Due in part to the scarcity of 
facilities for persons with disabilities and lack of public assistance, 
the president in April 2010 promulgated a law to protect and promote 
the rights of persons with disabilities. The law requires that both new 
and existing government and private buildings be designed to facilitate 
access by persons with disabilities; secondary public education be 
tuition-free for persons with disabilities and children born of parents 
with disabilities; and initial vocational training, medical treatment, 
employment be provided ``when possible,'' and public assistance be 
provided ``when needed.'' During the year the government implemented 
the educational provisions of the law.
    Societal discrimination continued against persons with albinism. 
Such discrimination occurred less frequently than in previous years, 
but employment opportunities for persons with albinism remained 
limited, although at least one such individual occupied a senior 
position in the government. In early August the Cameroon-based World 
Association for the Defense of the Interests and Solidarity of Albinos 
held its 13th National Week of Albinos. The organization called on the 
government to provide reduced healthcare costs, better access to 
education, and equal employment opportunities for persons with 
albinism.
    Society largely treated those with disabilities as outcasts, and 
many felt that providing assistance was the responsibility of churches 
or foreign NGOs.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The population consists of more 
than 250 ethnic groups, among which there were frequent and credible 
allegations of discrimination. Ethnic groups commonly gave preferential 
treatment to fellow ethnic group members in business and social 
practices. Members of the president's Beti/Bulu ethnic group from 
southern areas held key positions and were disproportionately 
represented in the government, state-owned businesses, security forces, 
and the ruling CPDM party.
    Northern areas continued to suffer from ethnic tensions between the 
Fulani (or Peuhl) and the Kirdi, who remained socially, educationally, 
and economically disadvantaged relative to the Fulani in the three 
northern regions.
    Traditional Fulani rulers, called lamibe, continued to wield great 
power over their subjects, who often included Kirdi, and sometimes 
subjected them to tithing and forced labor. Isolated cases of 
hereditary servitude were alleged, largely Fulani enslavement of Kirdi. 
Many Fulani hired Kirdi at exploitive wage levels to perform tasks that 
the Fulani considered menial and beneath them.
    Vigilante violence against persons suspected of theft resulted in 
at least two deaths during the year. Public frustration over police 
ineffectiveness and the release without charge of many individuals 
arrested for serious crimes contributed to vigilante violence.
    For example, on March 4, inhabitants of the Makepe neighborhood of 
Douala burned to death two thieves, who allegedly stole the motorbike 
of an elderly inhabitant of the neighborhood. An investigation was 
ongoing at year's end.

    Indigenous People.--An estimated 50,000 to 100,000 Baka, including 
Bakola and Bagyeli (Pygmies), resided primarily (and were the earliest 
known inhabitants) in the forested areas of the South and East regions. 
While no legal discrimination exists, other groups often treated the 
Baka as inferior and sometimes subjected them to unfair and 
exploitative labor practices. The government did not effectively 
protect their civil and political rights. Some observers believed that 
sustained logging was destroying the Baka's unique, forest-oriented 
belief system, forcing them to adapt their traditional social and 
economic systems to a more rigid modern society similar to their Bantu 
neighbors.
    Local Baka along the path of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline continued 
to complain that they were not compensated fairly for their land and 
had been cheated by persons posing as Baka representatives. In July the 
NGO Reseau Africain pour les Droits Environnementaux echoed Baka 
allegations, which three other local NGOs had reported in 2010. At its 
inception in 2000, the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO), 
which manages the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, established a system for 
adjudicating compensation and any other claims, using a committee with 
representatives from COTCO, local communities, NGOs, and the 
government. The committee paid almost $12 million in claims in Cameroon 
since the project's inception, including $12,000 in the 12-month period 
ending in July 2011. The committee held thousands of meetings with 
local citizens over the years, including more than 400 during the year 
in Cameroon. The committee finished adjudicating active compensation 
claims during the year and began shifting resources toward eradicating 
malaria and conducting other corporate social responsibility projects 
affecting populations along the pipeline. Some local Baka continued to 
claim that they were not fairly compensated.
    The Ministry of Social Affairs continued efforts begun in 2005 to 
provide birth certificates and national identity cards to Baka; 
however, 95 percent of Baka did not have identity cards at year's end. 
Ministry teams reported that efforts to reach Baka were impeded by the 
difficulty in accessing their homes deep in the forest, but that slow 
progress was being made. During the year ministry teams located dozens 
of Baka to assist them with registration and voting.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual 
activity is illegal and punishable by a prison sentence of six months 
to five years and a fine ranging from 20,000 to 200,000 CFA francs ($40 
to $400). During the year 10 persons were arrested for suspected 
homosexual activity, although most were not engaged in homosexual acts 
at the time of arrest.
    Gay men and lesbians generally kept a low profile because of the 
pervasive societal stigma, discrimination, and harassment as well as 
the possibility of imprisonment. Gay men and lesbians suffered from 
harassment and extortion by law enforcement officials. According to one 
human rights NGO, government officials and private citizens sometimes 
conspired to make false allegations of homosexuality to harass enemies 
or extort money.
    In March Jean-Claude Roger Mbede was sentenced to three years in 
jail by the Yaounde lower court for homosexual activity.
    On July 25, police detained three men returning from a bar in 
Yaounde because two of the men appeared effeminate, according to the 
Association for the Defense of Homosexuality and Human Rights Watch. 
The three were jailed for one week before being charged, and the two 
who appeared effeminate were beaten on the soles of their feet until 
they confessed to being gay, according to a civil society group working 
on their behalf; the third man was released. After repeated 
postponements, a trial was held on September 26, at which the two men 
who confessed to being gay were sentenced to five years in prison and a 
fine of 200,000 CFA francs ($400). An arrest warrant was issued for the 
third man, who was convicted and sentenced in absentia to the same 
punishment.
    On January 13, following the EU decision to finance the Project to 
Provide Assistance and Guidance to Sexual Minorities, the then minister 
of external relations Henri Eyebe Ayissi convoked Raul Mateus Paula, 
the EU ambassador, to convey the government's opposition to the 
decision, noting that the law criminalizes homosexuality.
    Several lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organizations 
operated in the country. There was a pattern of discrimination against 
members of such groups, although no official cases were available for 
citation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons infected with 
HIV/AIDS often were discriminated against and isolated from their 
families and society due to the societal stigma and lack of education 
about the disease.
    Discrimination against persons suspected of practicing witchcraft 
was a problem in rural areas. Suspected witches were shunned and forced 
to travel to neighboring villages to buy food or maintain garden plots. 
Women whose children died at birth, for example, were suspected of 
selling their newborns to mystic forces in exchange for living a long 
life.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form and join trade unions, conduct legal 
strikes, and bargain collectively, but the government imposed numerous 
restrictions in law and in practice. The law does not permit the 
creation of a union that includes both public and private sector 
workers or the creation of a union that includes different or even 
closely related sectors. The law requires that unions register with the 
government, permitting only groups of no fewer than 20 workers to 
organize a union by submitting a constitution, bylaws, and 
nonconviction certifications for each founding member. The law provides 
for prison sentences and heavy fines for workers who form a union and 
carry out union activities without registration. Such penalties are in 
breach of International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions. Trade 
unions or associations of public servants may not join a foreign 
occupational or labor organization without prior authorization from the 
minister responsible for ``supervising public freedoms.''
    The constitution and law provide for collective bargaining between 
workers and management as well as between labor federations and 
business associations in each sector of the economy. The law does not 
apply to the agricultural or other informal sectors, which included the 
majority of the workforce.
    Legal strikes may be called only after mandatory arbitration. 
Workers who ignore procedures to conduct a legal strike can be 
dismissed or fined. Before striking, workers must seek mediation from 
the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance (MINLESI) at the local, 
regional, and ministerial levels. Only if mediation fails at all three 
levels can workers formally issue a strike notice and subsequently go 
on strike. The provision of the law allowing persons to strike does not 
apply to civil servants, employees of the penitentiary system, or 
workers responsible for national security, including police, 
gendarmerie, and army personnel. Instead of strikes, civil servants 
were required to negotiate grievances directly with the minister of the 
appropriate department in addition to the minister of MINLESI.
    The constitution and law prohibit antiunion discrimination, and 
employers guilty of such discrimination were subject to fines of up to 
approximately one million CFA francs ($2,000). However, employers found 
guilty were not required to compensate workers for discrimination or to 
reinstate fired workers.
    Industrial free zones are subject to labor law, except for the 
following provisions: the employers' right to determine salaries 
according to productivity, the free negotiation of work contracts, and 
the automatic issuance of work permits for expatriate workers.
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
not always respected in practice, and the government interfered with 
union activities. The government applied the law inconsistently, and 
some sections of labor law had no force or effect because the 
presidency had not issued implementing decrees. Government interference 
reportedly took various forms, including selectively recognizing 
certain trade unions and inconsistently applying the laws. Government 
officials stated that the government provided union certification 
within one month of application; however, independent unions, 
especially in the public sector, found it difficult to register. Some 
independent unions accused the government of creating small non-
representative unions amenable to government positions and with which 
it could negotiate more easily. The government also bribed union 
leaders to call off strikes. For example, transportation union strikes 
scheduled for early October were allegedly called off after union 
leaders received personal compensation from the government. Arbitration 
decisions are legally binding but were often unenforceable when the 
parties refused to cooperate. It was not uncommon for such decisions to 
be overturned or simply ignored by the government or employers.
    There were a couple of collective bargaining agreements signed 
during the year. Once agreements were negotiated, however, there was no 
mechanism to enforce implementation, and the government ignored some of 
its agreements with labor unions.
    Security forces arrested union leaders. In March gendarmes of 
Bamenda, Mezam Division, Northwest Region, arrested and detained for 
several hours union leaders who conducted a legal strike at the Ayaba 
Hotel to demand that hotel workers be paid several months of salary 
arrears. The union leaders were charged with disturbing public order.
    Information surfaced during the year that in November 2010 police 
in Yaounde dispersed a rally organized by members of the Public Sector 
Central Trade Union (CSP) to demand improved working conditions. 
Although the CSP had notified authorities in advance of the rally, the 
deputy prefect (who had no authority to ban demonstrations) banned the 
rally on the grounds that ``public demonstrations of a vindictive and/
or protest nature are and shall remain prohibited throughout the entire 
department of Mfoundi.'' Police subsequently arrested CSP president 
Jean-Marc Bikoko, CSP accountant Eric Nla'a, Maurice Angelo Phouet Foe 
(secretary general of the Autonomous National Education and Training 
Trade Union), Joseph Ze (secretary general of the Unitary National 
Union of Teachers and Professors--SNUIPEN), Theodore Mbassi Ondoa 
(executive secretary of the Federation of Education Trade Unions of 
Cameroon), and two SNUIPEN members. Accused of holding an ``illegal 
demonstration'' and ``disturbing public order,'' the trade unionists 
were brought before the public prosecutor without having an opportunity 
to consult a lawyer. The public prosecutor ordered their provisional 
release the same day, and they remained awaiting trial at year's end.
    Antiunion discrimination occurred. The blacklisting of union 
members, unfair dismissal, creating employer-controlled unions, and 
threats against workers trying to unionize were common practices. The 
government has often created or used fake trade unions to counter 
strikes, especially in the transportation sector.
    Information surfaced during the year that in January 2010, 
management at Orange Telecom suspended five workers in retaliation for 
a strike.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
law prohibit forced labor. On December 14, the president signed the Law 
Project Relating to the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons and 
Slavery, which repeals the 2005 law against child trafficking but 
extends its antitrafficking provisions to all persons regardless of age 
or gender. The new law also prohibits slavery, exploitation, and debt 
bondage and voids any agreement in which violence was used to obtain 
consent. Violations of the law are punishable by prison terms of five 
to 20 years and fines ranging from 10,000 CFA francs ($20) to 
10,000,000 CFA francs ($20,000). In cases of debt bondage, penalties 
are doubled if the offender is also the guardian or custodian of the 
victim. The law also extends culpability for all crimes to accomplices 
and corporate entities.
    There were credible reports of hereditary servitude imposed on 
former slaves in some chiefdoms in the North Region. Many Kirdi people, 
whose tribe had been enslaved to the Fulani people in years past, 
continued to work for traditional Fulani rulers for some compensation, 
while their children were free to pursue schooling and work of their 
choosing. Fulani often hired Kirdi at exploitive wage levels to perform 
tasks that the Fulani considered menial and beneath them. Kirdi were 
also required to pay local chiefdom taxes to the Fulani, as were all 
other subjects. The combination of low wages and high taxes, although 
legal, effectively constituted forced labor. While technically free to 
leave, many Kirdi remained in the hierarchical and authoritarian system 
because of a lack of other options.
    The new law does not cover the use of prison labor, which occurred 
and is permitted by prison regulation. Prison authorities continued to 
arrange for prison inmates to be contracted out to private employers or 
used as communal labor for municipal public works without the informed 
or formal consent of the prisoner. Money generated from these 
activities was usually pocketed by prison administrators and not given 
to detainees.
    In the South and East regions, some Baka, including children, 
continued to be subjected to unfair labor practices by Bantu farmers, 
who hired the Baka at exploitive wages to work on their cocoa farms 
during the harvest seasons.
    The government made efforts to prevent and eliminate forced labor 
and collaborated with the regional office of Interpol. According to the 
Report by the Ministry of Justice on Human Rights in Cameroon in 2010, 
MINLESI removed approximately 1,500 children from cocoa farms and 
plantations. The report also noted the removal of one adult victim of 
forced labor in 2010. During the year authorities arrested four 
traffickers, two of whom were convicted, and two of whom remained in 
pretrial detention at year's end.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law generally protects children from exploitation in the workplace and 
specifies penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment for 
infringement. The law sets a minimum age of 14 for child employment, 
prohibits children from working at night or longer than eight hours a 
day, and enumerates tasks that children under the age of 18 cannot 
legally perform, including moving heavy objects, dangerous and 
unhealthy tasks, working in confined areas, and prostitution. Employers 
were required to train children between the ages of 14 and 18, and work 
contracts must contain a training provision for minors. These 
provisions of the law were not adequately enforced.
    The Ministry of Social Affairs and MINLESI were responsible for 
enforcing existing child labor laws through site inspections of 
registered businesses; although sporadic inspections occurred during 
the year, the government did not allocate sufficient resources to 
support an effective inspection program. Moreover, the legal 
prohibitions do not include family chores, which in many instances were 
beyond a child's capacity. The government employed 58 general labor 
inspectors, whose responsibilities included investigating child labor.
    The use of child labor, particularly in informal sectors, remained 
rampant. According to ILO's 2008 survey, 51 percent of children between 
the ages of 10 and14 years were engaged in work; 41 percent of children 
between five and 17 years old also worked.
    According to 2008 government statistics on child labor, 85.2 
percent of working children were employed in the agriculture sector, 
either on family subsistence plots or on cocoa, tea, banana, and palm 
oil plantations, and fisheries. In the urban informal sector, children 
worked as street vendors, car washers, and domestic workers. Some 
children also worked in mines and quarries. Many urban street vendors 
were less than 14 years of age. Children worked as household help, and 
some children were involved in prostitution. In the North there were 
credible reports that children from needy homes were placed with other 
families to do household work for pay, which normally went to the 
child's family.
    There were reports that some parents gave their children to 
``marabouts'' (traditional religious figures) in Maroua in the Extreme 
North, to learn the Qur'an and to prepare them to become marabouts 
themselves. However, there were reports that some of these children 
were kept in leg chains and subjected to forced labor.
    Parents viewed child labor as both a tradition and a rite of 
passage. Relatives often employed rural youth, especially girls, as 
domestic helpers, and these jobs seldom allowed time for the children 
to attend school. In rural areas, many children began work at an early 
age on family farms. The cocoa industry also employed child laborers. 
These children originated, for the most part, from the three northern 
and the Northwest regions.
    The ILO continued to work with various ministries and agencies 
involved in antitrafficking activities. It also conducted nationwide 
investigations and cooperated with local organizations.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage in all sectors 
was 28,246 CFA francs ($56) per month. MINLESI was responsible for 
enforcing the minimum wage nationally.
    The law establishes a standard workweek of 40 hours in public and 
private nonagricultural firms and 48 hours in agricultural and related 
activities. There are exceptions for guards and firemen (56 hours a 
week), service sector staff (45 hours), and household and restaurant 
staff (54 hours). The law mandates at least 24 consecutive hours of 
weekly rest. Premium pay for overtime ranges from 120 to 150 percent of 
the hourly pay depending on amount and whether it is for weekend or 
late-night overtime. There is a prohibition on excessive compulsory 
service. MINLESI inspectors were responsible for monitoring these 
standards.
    The government sets health and safety standards. MINLESI inspectors 
and occupational health physicians were responsible for monitoring 
these standards. The National Commission on Health and Safety in the 
Workplace established the list of occupational diseases. The law does 
not provide workers with the right to remove themselves from situations 
that endanger health or safety without jeopardizing their continued 
employment.
    These laws did not apply to the informal sector or to some domestic 
workers. The MINLESI lacked the resources for a comprehensive 
inspection program.
    Despite the minimum wage law, employers often negotiated with 
workers for lower salaries, in part due to the high rate of 
unemployment in the country. Salaries lower than the minimum wage were 
prevalent in the public works sector, where many positions required 
unskilled labor.
    During the year the minister of MINLESI traveled to help settle 
employer-employee disputes on violations of collective bargaining 
conventions, including in the naval industries and ports. On December 
14, the president ratified ILO's Convention 144 on International Labor 
Norms and ILO's Convention 155 on Workers' Security and Health.

                               __________

                               CAPE VERDE

                           executive summary
    Cape Verde is a multiparty parliamentary democracy in which 
constitutional powers are shared between the newly elected (in August) 
head of state, President Jorge Carlos Fonseca, and Prime Minister Jose 
Maria Neves, who is serving a third term after his party won the 
parliamentary elections in February. President Fonseca was elected to a 
five-year term in generally free and fair elections. The Supreme Court 
and the National Electoral Commission also declared the 2011 nationwide 
legislative elections generally free and fair. There continue to be 
isolated instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control.
    There were reports of human rights problems in the following areas: 
allegations of police violence towards prisoners and detainees, lengthy 
pretrial detention, and violence and discrimination against women.
    Other human rights issues concerned child abuse and some instances 
of child labor.
    The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who 
committed abuses. A tendency to downplay or disregard police abuses 
sometimes characterized the attitude of local governments.
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, but 
physical violence committed against persons arrested and detained by 
police continued to be raised by the media. In most cases authorities 
took action against abusers.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons and 
jails in general met international standards, and during the year the 
government continued to allow visits by independent human rights 
observers.
    Prisoners had access to potable water. There were no reported cases 
of food shortages or of inadequate sanitation, ventilation, temperature 
control, lighting, or medical care in prisons and detention centers.
    During the year there were three deaths reported in prisons, all 
linked to health issues. There are seven prisons--the largest, Cadeia 
Central da Praia (CCP), is designed to hold up to 850 prisoners.
    Prisons that exceeded their maximum capacity (indicated in 
parentheses) were the Central Prison of Sao Vicente with 311 inmates 
(200), the Regional Prison of Fogowith with 83 (54), and the Regional 
Prison of Sao Antao with 55 prisoners (36).
    The Regional Prison of Sal held 16 prisoners, the Sub Regional 
Prison of Sao Nicolauo 12, and the Sub Regional Prison of Boa Vista 
five prisoners.
    There were 1,226 prisoners and detainees in total registered in the 
seven prisons at the end of 2010. Of this number, 1,153 were men and 73 
were women.
    There were 323 prisoners in prisons and jails in pretrial detention 
(``preventive detention''): 306 men and 17 women. The prison system 
continues to struggle with overcrowding, especially in older prisons. 
To deal with this, the government sent some prisoners to the Central 
Prison on Santiago Island; this was done also to separate prisoners 
based on trial status, gender, and age.
    There was no credible evidence that conditions for women prisoners 
were worse than those for men.
    There were no prison ombudsmen. There were no steps taken to 
improve recordkeeping.
    The law allows for the suspension of prison sentences that do not 
exceed two years in nonviolent cases if: a judge agrees; it accompanies 
a program to reintroduce the offender to society; and the offender 
completes works ``beneficial to the community.''
    At CCP, prisoners were separated by gender, age, and type of crime 
committed, with distinction made between convicted prisoners and those 
awaiting trial. There were 18 disciplinary cells and two rooms for 
spousal visits. The facility has spaces for guards, lawyers, and 
educational and social reinsertion trainers. There is a classroom 
equipped with television, DVD player, and computers; a space for adult 
education; medical facilities; canteens for guards and prisoners; a 
library; and a space for professional training on social reintegration.
    Conditions in prisons other than CCP were inadequate for inmates 
with mental illness and substance addictions. The number of corrections 
personnel to deal with the growing number of such prisoners was 
insufficient.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors, and authorities 
allowed freedom of religious practice. There were no reports of 
impediments to the direct submission of complaints to judicial 
authorities concerning prison abuses. Prisoners' relatives reported 
some complaints; corrections officials claimed all had been 
investigated and disproven.
    The government permitted formal visits by international human 
rights monitors to the prisons and to individual prisoners. Local 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and members of the press made 
frequent visits to prisons to record conditions.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally 
observed these prohibitions during the year.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Public Order Police 
are under the control of the Ministry of Internal Administration and 
are responsible for law enforcement. The Judicial Police are under the 
control of the Ministry of Justice and are responsible for major 
investigations. Logistical constraints--including lack of vehicles, 
limited communications equipment, and poor forensic capacity--continued 
to limit police effectiveness.
    Police abuses were investigated, and some cases resulted in legal 
action against those responsible. In 2010, the National Police Council 
received 11 reports of police violence. Most of these concerned 
physical abuse; there were also two cases of kidnapping. The proposed 
punishments included suspension, dismissal, and rebuke. In the 11 
cases, only one suspension was confirmed; the remaining cases were 
pending resolution.
    During the year, the National Police Council received eight reports 
of police violence; most cases concerned physical abuse. Three police 
officers were dismissed in accordance with the findings of the 
Disciplinary Board of National Police.
    The government provided professional training to increase police 
effectiveness. In late 2011, the National Police conducted a training 
course on conflict mediation, attended by 50 police personnel.
    The government took steps to address police impunity, which 
historically has been a problem. However, the internal justice system 
of the National Police continued to move quite slowly. The majority of 
cases reported during the year were still under investigation.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police may not 
make arrests without a warrant issued by an authorized official, unless 
a person is caught in the act of committing a felony. The law 
stipulates that a suspect must be brought before a judge within 48 
hours of arrest. The law provides a detainee with the right to prompt 
judicial determination of the legality of the detention, and the 
authorities respected this right in practice.
    Attorneys inform detainees of the charges against them. There is a 
functioning bail system. Authorities allowed detainees prompt access to 
family members and to a lawyer of the detainee's choice and, if the 
detainee or family is unable to pay, to have one appointed by the 
government.
    The judicial system was overburdened and understaffed, and criminal 
cases frequently ended when charges were dropped before a determination 
of guilt or innocence was made.
    Excessive length of pretrial detention remained a problem.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected this 
provision in practice. However, the judicial system lacked sufficient 
staffing and was inefficient.
    In addition to civil courts, there is also a military court; it 
cannot try civilians. The military court provides the same protections 
as civil criminal courts.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. The 
law provides for the right to a fair and public nonjury trial. 
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney 
in a timely manner; free counsel is provided for the impoverished. 
Defendants have the right to confront or question witnesses against 
them and have the right to present witnesses and evidence in their 
defense. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held 
evidence relevant to their cases and can appeal regional court 
decisions to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ). The law extends the 
above rights to all citizens.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Courts are impartial and 
independent and handle civil matters including lawsuits seeking damages 
for, or an injunction ordering the cessation of, a human rights 
violation. Both administrative and judicial remedies are available.

    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. 
The independent press was active and expressed a variety of views 
without direct restriction. Specific legislation provides for radio, 
television, written press, and other media freedom.

    Freedom of Press.--There were three newspapers that tended to 
reflect different political parties' views, and one public and two 
private television channels.
    In July, during the presidential elections, the weekly program 
Visao Global (Global Vision)--the only political debate program in the 
country--was suspended after alleged actions by the commentators that 
violated electoral law. Article 105 of the electoral law prohibits 
media organizations from making any kind of pronouncements, favorable 
or unfavorable, about stakeholders in the electoral process after a 
certain date of a campaign.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Citizens in 
the cities had regular access to the Internet at abundant cybercafes.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
assisting refugees and asylum seekers.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum: The law allows for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The 
government grants refugee status and asylum when petitioned under the 
established system. 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 constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections: In the 
2011 legislative elections, individuals and parties were free to 
declare their candidates. The ruling African Party for the Independence 
of Cape Verde (PAICV) won 38 seats in the National Assembly with 
approximately 52 percent of the vote; the main opposition party, 
Movement for Democracy (MpD), won 32 seats with 42 percent; and the 
Union for a Democratic and Independent Cape Verde won the remaining two 
seats with 4 percent. International observers characterized these 
elections as generally free and fair.
    The presidential election also was held in 2011.
    Economic Community of West African States and African Union 
election observers characterized these elections as free, transparent, 
and credible. However, they noted some irregularities, including cases 
of pressuring voters near polling stations and also of vote buying.
    Jorge Carlos Fonseca, the candidate supported by the opposition 
MpD, won the election with approximately 54 percent of the vote, while 
Manuel Inocencio Sousa, the candidate supported by the PAICV, received 
46 percent of votes.

    Political Parties.--Political parties acted without restriction or 
external interference. Individuals could declare their candidacies and 
parties could select their candidates without interference.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Of the 72 National Assembly 
seats, women held 19, and there were eight women working in cabinet-
level positions in government ministries out of 21 such positions. 
Women filled three of eight seats on the SCJ.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides penalties of up to 15 years' imprisonment for 
corruption by government officials. There were no new reports of 
government corruption during the year.
    The law provides for freedom of access to governmental information 
without restriction, provided that privacy rights are respected. In 
practice, the government frequently granted access.
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 generally were cooperative and 
responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, religion, disability, language, or social status. The 
constitution stipulates that the government should create conditions 
for the gradual removal of all obstacles to the full exercise of human 
rights and equality before the law.
    The law also prohibits racism, xenophobia, and other forms of 
discrimination.
    However, violence and discrimination against women and children 
remained significant problems.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence: Rape is a crime with a penalty 
of from eight to 16 years in prison. Until 2010, domestic violence was 
framed in the Criminal Code as a crime of abuse of a spouse, applying 
only in situations of common law and formal marriages, with penalties 
of from two to 13 years in prison.
    A ``Special Law Project on Gender Based Violence'' became law in 
March. This law was prepared jointly by the Cape Verdean Institute of 
Gender Equality, a government agency, with the support of the Women 
Parliamentarians and diplomatic representatives. The new law calls for 
a network of civil society organizations called ``Rede Sol,'' made up 
of NGOs, the National Police, health centers, hospitals, and community 
law centers.
    Rede Sol is present in five municipalities and covers five islands: 
Santiago, Sao Vicente, Sal, Fogo, and Santo Antao. The new law focuses 
on three objectives: increasing protection of victims, strengthening 
penalties for offenders, and raising awareness about gender-based 
violence. In 2010, there were an estimated 3,203 reports of gender-
based violence made to Rede Sol, compared with 1,703 complaints in 
2009. In 2010, the government and civil society organizations in the 
Rede Sol network reinforced the network with several training programs 
for professionals who worked directly with these issues.

    Sexual Harassment.--Various laws in the criminal code criminalize 
sexual harassment. Penalties include up to one year in prison and a 
fine of up to two years' salary.

    Reproductive Rights.--The civil code grants all citizens the 
freedom to make decisions regarding the number, spacing, and timing of 
their children without discrimination, coercion, or violence. All 
citizens have access to contraception. Family planning centers 
throughout the country distribute some contraceptives freely to the 
public.
    These centers provide skilled assistance and counseling both before 
and after childbirth and in cases of sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV. Prenatal services include ultrasound screening, tetanus 
vaccines, and blood tests, including HIV screening. Postnatal services 
include family planning and free oral/injection contraceptives.
    The reported incidence of maternal mortality was 53.7 per 100,000 
live births, according to the 2009 Ministry of Health Statistical 
Report. Women were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually 
transmitted diseases.

    Discrimination.--The law provides equal rights to men and women. 
However, society imposes cultural obstacles and gender stereotypes that 
hinder the eradication of gender-based discrimination. Women generally 
have lower economic status and less access to management positions in 
public and private sector organizations.

    Children.--Birth Registration: Citizenship can be derived by birth 
within the country or from one's parents. The government has created a 
network of services, such as notary and civil identification records, 
offices in all municipalities, and the Birth Registration Project, 
which is implemented in hospitals and health centers to report births. 
Failure to register births did not result in denial of public services. 
However, nonregistration of births remained a problem, attributed by 
the government to uncertainty as to the identity of fathers, parental 
neglect, and a lack of information on registration in the poorest 
communities. In 2010, 12,373 children were registered. However, the 
2010 census indicated approximately 5,117 other children had not been 
registered.

    Education.--The government provided tuition-free and universal 
education for all children between the ages of six and 12 years. 
Education remained compulsory until the age of 11. Secondary education 
was free only to children whose families had an annual income below 
147,000 escudos ($1,871).

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse including sexual abuse and violence 
against children remained problems. Local governments have tried to 
combat these practices through a national network that includes the 
Cape Verdean Institute of Child and Adolescent (ICCA), various police 
forces, the attorney general, hospitals, and health centers. Pedophilia 
is prohibited by law.
    The government attempted to reduce sexual abuse and violence 
against children through several programs such as Disque Denuncia, the 
Children's Emergency Program, the project Nos Kaza, Centros de 
Acolhimento de Criancas de / na Rua, Project Espaco Seguro, Project 
Familia Substituta, and the creation during the year of five ICCA 
offices.
    Children continued to work in fishing, agriculture, street vending, 
car washing, and garbage collection, among other areas.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There is no Jewish community in Cape Verde, and 
there were no reported anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the 
provision of other state services. The government effectively enforced 
these provisions.
    Persons with disabilities still faced daily obstacles that hindered 
their integration. Physical accessibility, communication means, and 
public transport appropriate for persons with disabilities often were 
lacking.
    There were no reported cases in 2011 of abuse towards people with 
intellectual disabilities or mental health problems in prisons or 
psychiatric hospitals. Lack of physical accessibility in prisons for 
handicapped persons and prison facilities designed for the mentally ill 
were problems.
    The government did not restrict the right of persons with 
disabilities to vote or participate in civil affairs and public life.
    The government has created a quota system for the granting of 
scholarships and tax benefits to companies who employ individuals with 
disabilities. NGOs recognized these measures as partially effective in 
better integrating these citizens in society but also noted 
nonenforcement and inadequate regulation continued to be obstacles.
    Several NGOs worked to protect the interests of the disabled. In 
February, the government adopted a Law of Mobility that sets technical 
standards for accessibility for persons with disabilities to a variety 
of public facilities and services.
    The Ministry of Youth, Employment, and Human Resources (MERHJ) is 
the government organization responsible for protecting the rights of 
people with disabilities. The National Council on the Status of 
Disabled Persons works in partnership with the MERHJ as a consultative 
body responsible for proposing, coordinating, and monitoring the 
implementation of a national policy.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--No laws explicitly provide a 
basis for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender 
identity.
    There were no lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender organizations.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--During the year there 
were no reports of societal violence or discrimination against persons 
with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form or join unions of their choice without 
previous authorization or excessive requirements. The law protects the 
right to engage in collective bargaining and to conduct legal strikes. 
The law allows unions to carry out their activities without 
interference, and the government protected this right. The labor code 
provides for the protection of the freedom of association and the 
reinstatement of workers.
    All workers except for agricultural and road construction workers 
(FAIMO) are covered by these legal protections. However, observers 
noted that workers in the informal sector, fishing, construction, and 
domestic work did not in practice enjoy many of these protections. No 
studies or hard data on the topic were available.
    Although government enforcement is effective, cases can continue 
for years and can be appealed with the passage of more years before 
resolution.
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
respected in practice.
    Worker organizations were independent of the government and 
political parties. There were no reports of violence, threats, or other 
abuses during the year by the government against union members or 
leaders.
    Labor unions complained the government unduly restricted the right 
to strike for certain critical job categories. A ``Civil Need'' law 
states the government can force the end of a strike when there is an 
emergency, or ``to ensure the smooth operation of businesses or 
essential services of public interest.'' However, the government 
refrained from using this authority when dealing with a potentially 
crippling customs strike late in the year. The government has used this 
authority in the past, with prison guards and air traffic controllers. 
The air traffic controllers claimed the government's use was an abuse 
of authority since it was put in place before they started to strike. 
Observers stated the government cooperates with the unions and does not 
discriminate against certain job categories.
    According to labor unions, workers in some sectors, such as farmers 
and FAIMO road construction workers, may remain unprotected by domestic 
regulations. FAIMO was a government program developed in the 1980s and 
1990s to provide employment in rural areas through road construction 
projects. These workers are not explicitly limited in their rights 
under domestic labor law, but according to labor unions, the workers 
may not receive all the benefits they are entitled to receive.
    There was no reported evidence of anti-union discrimination.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children. The 
government effectively enforced such laws. There were no reports that 
such practices occurred during the year.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
legal minimum age for work is 15 years, and the minimum age for 
hazardous work is 18. According to the labor code, children ages 15 to 
18 are not allowed to work more than 38 hours a week or more than seven 
hours a day. Children under 15, according to the constitution, can work 
only in agriculture; as part of an apprenticeship or training program; 
or to help support the family. Children 16 to 18 are allowed to work 
overtime in an emergency. However, in these cases the children cannot 
work more than two hours a day, and these extra hours cannot exceed 30 
hours a year.
    Several laws prohibit child labor, but enforcement was not 
consistent.
    The ICCA, Directorate General of Labor (DGT), and the Labor 
Inspectorate (IGT) worked on matters pertaining to child labor. ICCA 
works on the promotion and defense of the rights of children and 
adolescents. DGT creates labor market policy and drafts labor 
legislation to ensure the promotion of social dialogue and 
reconciliation between social partners. IGT has the responsibility to 
monitor and enforce labor laws and enforces rules relating to labor 
relations.
    Those agencies stated the resources provided were adequate, and 
they carried out 1,447 inspections.
    Barriers, mostly cultural, remained to the effective implementation 
of these laws. For example, not all citizens see children working to 
help support their families as a negative thing, especially in small, 
remote communities.
    The government (through the DGT, IGT, and ICCA) began to lead 
training activities for local staff to combat child labor, particularly 
in its worst forms, and began consultations with local businesses.
    There is no official data on child labor. Child labor occurred 
mainly in the informal sector. Children engaged in street work, 
including in water and food sales, car washing, and begging.
    The worst forms of child labor included street work; domestic 
service; agriculture, fishing, and animal husbandry; trash picking and 
garbage and human waste transport; and peddling drugs for adults.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not stipulate a 
minimum wage. The government defines the poverty income level as 105 
escudos ($1.25) a day. The law stipulates a maximum of eight hours per 
day and 44 hours work per week. The law requires rest periods, the 
length depending on sector, and that the minimum rest period be 12 
hours between workdays. The law also provides for daily and annual 
overtime hours granted in exceptional circumstances. The law states 
that a worker is entitled to 22 days of paid vacation.
    Overtime must be compensated with at least time and a half. Work 
done on holidays must be compensated with double pay.
    In general, it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure the 
workplace is healthy and hygienic. The employer must also develop a 
training program for workers. In specific high-risk sectors, such as 
fishing or construction, the government, in consultation with the 
unions and employers, can provide specific health and safety rules.
    Although the labor code covers employees in the formal and informal 
sectors, agricultural workers and FAIMO employees are not covered by 
labor laws.
    The DGT and IGT are charged with implementing labor laws. There 
were eight technicians working for DGT and 14 technicians working for 
IGT, covering three islands (Santiago, Sao Vicente, and Sal). Both 
agencies agreed with trade unions that these numbers were inadequate, 
and there was a need for tighter enforcement of labor standards, 
especially on many islands where difficulty of travel limited 
monitoring.
    Although companies tended to respect laws on working hours, many 
employees such as domestic workers, health professionals, farmers, 
fishermen, and commercial workers commonly worked for longer periods of 
time than the law allows.
    Some sources stated it was ``likely'' foreign migrant workers were 
more often exploited than others.
    There was no official data on the number of work place deaths and 
accidents during the year.

                               __________

                        CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

                           executive summary
    Central African Republic (CAR) is a constitutional republic 
governed by a strong executive branch and weak legislative and judicial 
branches. Armed forces Chief of Staff General Francois Bozize seized 
power in a military coup in 2003. In January citizens reelected Bozize 
president in what was considered by national and international 
observers to be a flawed election. There were instances in which 
elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian 
control.
    Incidents of serious human rights abuse occurred during the year; 
the most significant reportedly were torture, beatings, and rape of 
suspects and prisoners; harsh and rudimentary conditions in prisons and 
detention centers; and arbitrary arrest and detention.
    Other human rights problems included prolonged pretrial detention, 
denial of fair trial, occasional intimidation of the press, 
restrictions on freedom of movement and assembly, and limited ability 
of citizens to change their government. Sporadic fighting between armed 
groups continued to displace people internally and externally, although 
the net number decreased from the prior year. Regional conflict 
modestly increased the number of refugees in CAR. Corruption was 
widespread. Mob violence resulted in deaths and injuries. Societal 
discrimination and violence against women, including female genital 
mutilation, occurred. Violence and discrimination against Pygmies and 
persons alleged to be witches or sorcerers; trafficking in persons; and 
forced labor and child labor, including forced child labor, also were 
problems.
    Civilians were often killed, abducted, raped, or displaced from 
their homes as a result of internal conflicts. Some armed groups 
included children among their ranks.
    The government took some steps to punish officials who committed 
abuses; however, most official abuses were committed with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--1There were no 
reports that the government or its agents killed members of opposing 
political groups, but soldiers, particularly members of the 
presidential guard, killed civilians they suspected of being bandits or 
supporting armed groups. Both government security forces and armed 
groups killed civilians in the course of conflict in the northeast (see 
section 1.g.).
    During the year there were numerous credible reports that elements 
of the security forces, including the Central African Armed Forces 
(FACA) and particularly the presidential guard, committed unlawful 
killings while apprehending suspects and allegedly in connection with 
personal disputes or rivalries. Authorities appeared unwilling to 
prosecute presidential guard personnel for extrajudicial killings (see 
section 1.g.).
    Security forces continued to commit extrajudicial killings (see 
section 1.g.). For example, on January 14, Lieutenant Elan Yapelogo, a 
member of the presidential guard, killed 18-year-old Marcial Gondje in 
Bangui. Gondje, who was collecting termites with other youths in his 
neighborhood, was accused by a neighbor of attempting to break into his 
bar. The neighbor alerted Yapelogo, who shot and killed Gondje. 
Yapelogo was detained for three weeks at presidential guard 
headquarters but subsequently resumed his position in the force after 
moving his family to another area of Bangui.
    On June 19, members of the FACA fourth infantry battalion in Bouar 
killed a man by beating him with an iron bar and killed two others when 
firing shots to disperse the ensuing demonstration by local residents. 
The army chief of staff was dispatched to the region to calm tensions 
and promised the perpetrators would be prosecuted. However, by year's 
end there were no further developments.
    There were no reports of politically motivated killings by 
opposition groups, political parties or guerilla/rebel/insurgent/
terrorist groups. However, civilians were sometimes killed as a result 
of indiscriminate violence resulting from internal conflicts (see 
section 1.g.).
    Civilians reportedly continued to kill persons suspected of being 
sorcerers or witches (see section 6).
    A member of the presidential guard who had killed a 13-year-old boy 
in November 2010 in Bangui was released several months after the crime 
and returned to his position.
    There were no further developments in the following 2010 killings: 
the May killing of two Mbororo men and the October killing of a 
suspected thief in Bozoum.

    b. Disappearance.--1In June the Popular Front for Reconstruction 
(FPR), a rebel group based in the north, abducted 18 members of the 
nonstate armed entity, the People's Army for the Restoration of 
Democracy (APRD), and held them until their release was negotiated 
through the intervention of government mediators and international 
organizations.
    The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) continued to abduct men, women, 
and children in the southeast.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--1Although the law and the constitution prohibit torture 
and specify punishment for those found guilty of physical abuse, police 
and other security services continued to torture, beat, and otherwise 
abuse criminal suspects, detainees, and prisoners, according to local 
human rights groups such as the Central African Association Against 
Torture (ACAT) and the Central African Human Rights League (LCDH).
    The government did not punish police who reportedly tortured 
suspects, and impunity remained a serious problem. Family members of 
victims and human rights groups, including the Central African 
Monitoring Group on Human Rights (OCDH), filed complaints with the 
courts, but authorities took no action. Members of security forces 
raped, robbed, and abused civilians in both conflict and nonconflict 
areas. Human rights lawyers reported that victims of abuse by 
authorities were often pressured by relatives not to pursue their cases 
due to fear of reprisal.
    According to ACAT torture and beating of detainees occurred 
frequently in detention centers run by the Research and Investigation 
Division (SRI), under the minister of defense, and the Central Office 
for the Repression of Banditry (OCRB), under the director general of 
police. ACAT reported police employed several forms of torture, 
including ``le cafe,'' which entails repeated beating of the soles of 
the feet with a baton or stick. Immediately after administering the 
beating, police would sometimes force the victim to walk on badly 
bruised feet and, if the individual was unable to do so, continued 
beating the individual.
    Civilians continued to suffer mistreatment in territories 
controlled by nonstate armed entities (see section 1.g.).
    On August 2, a worker in a Bangui supermarket was accused of theft 
by his employer. Elements of the OCRB were called to investigate and 
reportedly stripped and beat the accused worker, breaking his arm. No 
action was taken against the alleged perpetrators, and supermarket 
management eventually paid financial restitution to the victim.
    Members of security forces reportedly raped civilians. Sexual 
assaults, although frequent, rarely were reported to authorities. 
Security personnel rarely were punished.
    On August 24, Michel Agazounede, an officer assigned to the OCRB, 
reportedly raped at gunpoint a 14-year-old girl who was in detention. 
The OCRB director ordered the arrest of the officer, who was 
subsequently convicted and incarcerated at Ngaragba Prison.
    Abuse of those accused of witchcraft was commonplace (see section 
6).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--1Prison conditions were 
rudimentary, harsh, and substantially below international standards. 
Prison conditions outside Bangui generally were worse than those in the 
capital. Police, gendarme investigators, and presidential guards 
assigned as prison wardens continued to subject prison inmates to 
torture and other forms of inhuman, cruel, and degrading treatment. 
Most prisons lacked basic sanitation and ventilation, electric 
lighting, basic and emergency medical care, and sufficient access to 
potable water.
    Basic necessities, including food, clothing, and medicine, were 
inadequate and often confiscated by prison officials. Prisoners 
depended on family members to supplement inadequate prison meals and 
sometimes were allowed to forage for food near the prison. According to 
international observers and prison officials, prison detainees outside 
Bangui received a meal only every two to three days from prison 
authorities and sometimes had to pay bribes to prison guards to secure 
food brought to them by their relatives. As in previous years, there 
continued to be reports of occasional deaths in prison due to adverse 
conditions and negligence, including lack of medical treatment for 
those afflicted by tuberculosis. Two deaths were reported during the 
year by prison authorities; however, many detainees were medically 
released to hospitals if illnesses become life threatening or grave.
    As of November there were 845 prisoners, of whom 69 were female. 
Poor recordkeeping and incomplete access for observers prevented an 
accurate count of the prison population. Male and female prisoners were 
held in separate facilities in Bangui. Elsewhere male and female 
prisoners were housed together, but in separate cells. Juveniles were 
sometimes held with adult prisoners, and pretrial detainees were not 
held separately from convicted prisoners.
    In some cases prisoners deemed a security threat were detained for 
extended periods without trial at Camp de Roux, a military facility in 
Bangui not designed as a prison. Access to visitors at Camp de Roux was 
substantially more difficult than access to the general prison 
population.
    In most cases prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to 
visitors and were permitted religious observance. The Attorney 
General's Office granted visitation privileges, but those wishing to 
visit prisoners often had to bribe prison guards and officials.
    There was no ombudsman system in the country.
    According to several human rights lawyers, while prison detainees 
have the right to submit complaints in the case of mistreatment, it was 
generally the detainees' lawyers, if a detainee had one, who alerted 
judicial authorities to the mistreatment of their clients. Victims of 
mistreatment hesitated to lodge formal complaints due to fear of 
reprisal from prison officials.
    Authorities rarely initiated investigations of abuses in the prison 
system.
    Prison recordkeeping was inadequate and largely nonexistent. 
Authorities took no steps to improve recordkeeping but were responsive 
to requests for data. In some cases juvenile or nonviolent offenders 
were released following trial rather than being incarcerated. 
Conditions for women prisoners in Bimbo Central Prison were deemed by a 
U.N. team to be substantially better than those in other prisons and in 
conformance with international standards.
    Prison administrators submitted reports describing the poor 
detention conditions, but these reports did not result in any action.
    Pretrial detainees were not held separately from convicted 
prisoners. As of November there were 366 pretrial detainees in Ngaragba 
Prison and 18 in Bimbo Central Prison. In some cases pretrial detainees 
were kept for short periods to ensure their personal security against 
mob violence, but in others detainees had been held without trial for 
years.
    There were two prisons in Bangui, Ngaragba Prison for men and Bimbo 
Central Prison for women. Inmates with infectious diseases were not 
segregated from other inmates but often were medically released to a 
hospital if illnesses were severe. A nurse was available at the two 
prisons for inmates needing medical care. Detainees and inmates at both 
prisons received one meal per day. Food was insufficient, and prisoners 
complained of inferior ingredients. Families were allowed to bring 
food. Inmates slept on the floor or on thin matting provided by 
families or charities. Authorities at Ngaragba Prison permitted 
detainees' families to make weekly visits. As of November Bimbo Central 
Prison held 30 female inmates. Several had been detained for months and 
had not appeared before a judge; few had lawyers.
    Overcrowding was reportedly not a problem, and children younger 
than five years old were allowed to stay with their mothers at the 
prison.
    As of November there were 517 inmates in Ngaragba Prison. Several 
were detainees who had been held for months without appearing before a 
judge. Twelve prisoners were detained on accusations of sorcery and 
five others had been convicted of the crime. The more crowded cells 
each held approximately 30 to 40 inmates. Prisoners usually slept on 
bare concrete and complained that water supplies were inadequate. In 
the section reserved primarily for educated prisoners and former 
government officials suspected or convicted of financial crimes, cells 
held four to eight persons.
    There were no further developments in the 2010 attempted rape of a 
female prisoner by a prison guard in Bimbo Central Prison and the 
sexual assault of another prisoner by a military guard in Boda Prison.
    Conditions in detention centers were worse than those in prisons. 
Bangui's police detention centers consisted of overcrowded cells with 
very little light and leaky buckets for toilets. Poor sanitation and 
negligence by authorities posed a serious health risk to detainees. 
According to local human rights groups, lack of training and poor 
supervision at detention centers were serious problems and continued to 
result in torture and beatings. Suspects in police and gendarmerie 
cells had to depend on family, friends, religious groups, and 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for food. Detainees with 
infectious diseases were not segregated from other detainees, and 
medicine was not available. Suspects generally slept on bare cement or 
dirt floors. Corruption among guards was pervasive. Guards often 
demanded between 200-300 CFA francs (approximately $0.40-$0.60) to 
permit showers, delivery of food and water, or family visits. 
International observers noted that the detention center in the 
gendarmerie in Bouar had neither windows nor a toilet, only a bucket 
that was emptied every other day. Detainees at the police facility in 
Bouar slept chained to each other, a measure the police justified by 
alleging the detainees were recidivists and undisciplined.
    In Bangui male and female detainees were separated; however, this 
was reportedly not the case in jails and temporary detention facilities 
in the countryside. There were no separate detention facilities for 
juvenile detainees, who routinely were housed with adults and often 
subjected to physical abuse. Arrestees without birth documentation were 
often treated as adults if they were not clearly minors. One U.N. 
inspection team in Bouar was approached by detainees who claimed to be 
as young as 14 years old.
    According to a June report by the U.N. Secretary-General to the 
U.N. Security Council, escapes by detainees, including incarcerated 
members of the armed forces, had become prevalent, critically affecting 
the fight against impunity. In many prisons cells had no doors and 
detainees had little oversight.
    The government on occasion restricted prison visits by human rights 
observers. Although international observers were not entirely denied 
visits, the government sometimes delayed responses to visit requests, 
often for weeks or months. The International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC) and religious groups routinely provided supplies, food, and 
clothes to prisoners. The ICRC had unrestricted access to prisoners; 
however, access for some other observers was at times limited to 
certain areas of a given facility. During the year the Ministries of 
Justice, Public Security, and Defense signed a joint agreement with the 
ICRC to allow routine access to prisons throughout the country.
    Authorities granted the Human Rights Unit of the U.N.'s Integrated 
Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA) and humanitarian NGOs 
limited access to prisoners and detainees, although bureaucratic 
requirements for visits and delays significantly restricted the 
frequency of access during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law provides protection 
against arbitrary arrest and detention and accords detainees the right 
to a judicial determination of the legality of their detention; 
however, security forces frequently ignored such provisions, and 
arbitrary arrest and detention remained problems.
    On April 10, elements of the presidential guard searched the home 
of Minister of Water and Forests Emmanuel Bizot and arrested and 
detained him at the SRI on suspicion of harboring weapons and plotting 
a coup. The minister was ordered released the same day by President 
Bozize.
    On September 16, environmental researcher Jan Cappelle and five 
other NGO workers were arrested en route to a sanctioned environmental 
survey in the uranium mining area of Bakouma. They were returned to 
Bangui and detained for five days until being expelled from the 
country.
    In September four supporters of legislative candidate Desire 
Kolingba were arrested while protesting the results of the country's 
third round of elections. The group was subsequently charged with two 
counts of endangering public safety and sentenced to three years in 
prison.
    The 11 persons arrested in July 2010 during the burning of the 
Rayan supermarket in Bangui remained in custody without a trial date at 
year's end.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--1The Ministry of 
Immigration/Emigration and Public Security, through the director 
general of police, has oversight over the activities of the national 
police, including the OCRB. The Ministry of Defense oversees military 
forces, including the presidential guard, national gendarmerie, and 
SRI. The police and military forces share responsibility for internal 
security.
    Police were ineffective; they lacked financial resources, and their 
salaries were often in arrears. Citizens' lack of faith in police led 
at times to mob violence against persons suspected of theft and other 
offenses.
    During a visit to the country in February 2010, U.N. High 
Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay identified impunity for human 
rights abuses as one of the most daunting challenges facing the 
country. ``Summary executions, enforced disappearances, illegal 
arrests, and detention are all issues that have surfaced in connection 
with state security and defense institutions,'' she said, ``and 
strenuous efforts need to be made to put an end to these extremely 
serious abuses of power.''
    Mechanisms existed for redress of abuses by members of the police 
and military. Citizens filed complaints with the public prosecutor. The 
most common complaints involved theft, rape, brutality, and 
embezzlement. Impunity remained a severe problem. Although the public 
prosecutor had authority to order the arrest of police officers 
suspected of committing abuses and exercised that authority during the 
year, the prosecutor's staff was small and severely underfunded.
    The Permanent Military Tribunal, which adjudicates crimes committed 
by military personnel, met in October and reviewed 36 cases. The 
tribunal normally holds two sessions per year.
    In cooperation with the government, BINUCA continued to collect 
complaints of human rights abuses committed by members of the security 
forces, including FACA soldiers, and nonstate actors. It continued to 
investigate abuses and share information with the public prosecutor to 
facilitate the fight against impunity. In addition BINUCA provided more 
than 788 members of the security forces, including police officers and 
gendarmes, with international humanitarian law and human rights 
training.
    As part of its efforts to protect citizens and safeguard property, 
the government continued to support joint security operations in the 
capital and selected cities in the northwest. The operations were 
conducted by several hundred regional armed forces peacekeepers from 
the Multinational Force in Central Africa (FOMAC) based in Bangui, Kaga 
Bandoro, Ndele, and Paoua.
    In some cases security forces failed to prevent or respond to 
societal violence. For example, in June Bangui was plagued by weeks of 
riots resulting in the deaths of at least 11 mostly Muslim residents 
who were attacked by the local population in retaliation for the 
alleged murder of two children by a Muslim man. Security forces 
intervened but were at times unable to prevent significant damage to 
property and loss of life.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--1Judicial 
warrants are not required for arrest. The law stipulates that persons 
detained in cases other than those involving national security must be 
informed of the charges against them and brought before a magistrate 
within 72 hours. This period is renewable once, for a total of 144 
hours. In practice authorities often did not respect these deadlines, 
in part due to inefficient judicial procedures and a lack of judges. In 
several police and SRI detention centers, detainees were held for more 
than three days and often for weeks before authorities brought their 
cases before a magistrate.
    The law allows all detainees, including those held on national 
security grounds, to have access to their families and legal counsel. 
Indigent detainees may request a lawyer provided by the government for 
criminal cases, although it was not known if this right was often 
invoked. Detainees are allowed to post bail or have family members post 
bail for them. In most cases lawyers and families had free access to 
detainees, but incommunicado detention occasionally occurred.
    There were different standards for treatment of detainees held for 
crimes against the security of the state. National security detainees 
may be held without charge indefinitely and were often held at 
locations separate from other prisoners.
    In August a foreign citizen was arrested on drug charges and 
detained at Camp de Roux. The prisoner was held for months without 
charges or trial, and all visitor access was prohibited without 
authorization from the minister of justice, which was not granted. The 
detainee's attorney was also denied access. At year's end the prisoner 
remained in detention without charges.
    Under the 2009 revised penal and criminal procedure codes, 
detainees have the right to an attorney immediately after arrest, but 
this right was not routinely extended.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--According to BINUCA arbitrary arrest was a 
serious problem and was the most common human rights abuse committed by 
security forces during the year.
    Authorities continued to arrest individuals, particularly women, 
and charge them with witchcraft, an offense punishable by execution, 
although no one received the death penalty during the year. Prison 
officials at Bimbo Central Prison for women stated that accused witches 
were detained for their own safety, since village mobs sometimes killed 
suspected witches. In November prison authorities stated that six of 
the 30 women in Bimbo Central Prison were incarcerated for purported 
witchcraft. In Ngaragba Prison there were 17 detainees held on 
witchcraft-related charges.
    Pretrial Detention: Prolonged pretrial detention was a serious 
problem. For example, in November pretrial detainees constituted 
approximately 70 percent of Ngaragba Prison's population and an 
estimated 60 percent of Bimbo Central Prison's population. Detainees 
usually were informed of the charges against them; however, many waited 
in prison for several months before seeing a judge. Judicial 
inefficiency and corruption, as well as a shortage of judges and severe 
financial constraints on the judicial system, contributed to pretrial 
delays. Some detainees remained in prison for years because of lost 
files and bureaucratic obstacles.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--1The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, the judiciary remained subject to the 
influence of the executive branch, and, despite government efforts to 
improve its capacity, the judiciary was unable to fulfill its 
responsibilities.
    The courts continued to suffer from inefficient administration, a 
shortage of trained personnel, growing salary arrears, and a lack of 
material resources. Less than 1 percent of the annual national budget 
was devoted to the Ministry of Justice. There were approximately 124 
magistrates working in the country's legal system. Many citizens lacked 
access to the judicial system. Citizens often had to travel more than 
30 miles to reach one of the country's 38 courthouses. Consequently, 
traditional justice at the family and village level retained a major 
role in settling conflicts and administering punishment.
    Judicial corruption remained a serious impediment to citizens' 
right to receive a fair trial.
    According to the LCDH, corruption extended from the judges to the 
bailiffs. Many lawyers paid judges for verdicts favorable to their 
clients. There were, however, some efforts to combat judicial 
corruption, including by several U.N. agencies and the EU.
    There were numerous reports that, in reaction to judicial 
inefficiency, citizens in a number of cities organized to deal with 
cases through parallel justice and persecution, such as mob violence, 
or resorted to neighborhood tribunals and appeals to local chiefs. 
Citizens also sought such resort in cases of alleged witchcraft.

    Trial Procedures.--1According to the penal code, defendants are 
presumed innocent until proven guilty. Trials are public, and 
defendants have the right to be present and consult a public defender. 
Criminal trials use juries. If an individual is accused of a serious 
crime and cannot afford a lawyer, the government has an obligation to 
provide one. In practice the government provided counsel for indigent 
defendants, although this process was often slow and delayed trial 
proceedings due to the state's limited resources. Defendants have the 
right to question witnesses, present witnesses and evidence on their 
own behalf, and have access to government-held evidence. Defendants 
have the right to appeal. The law extends these rights to any citizen, 
including women. The government generally complied with these legal 
requirements. The judiciary, however, did not enforce consistently the 
right to a fair trial, and there were many credible reports of 
corruption within the court system. One indigenous ethnic group in 
particular, the Ba'aka (Pygmies), reportedly was subject to legal 
discrimination and unfair trials.
    Authorities occasionally tried cases of purported witchcraft in the 
regular courts. Alleged witchcraft is punishable by execution, although 
the state imposed no death sentences during the year. Most individuals 
convicted of witchcraft received sentences of one to five years in 
prison; they could also be fined up to 815,000 CFA francs ($1,610). 
Police and gendarmes conducted investigations into alleged witchcraft. 
During a typical witchcraft trial, authorities called practitioners of 
traditional medicine to give their opinion of a suspect's ties to 
sorcery, and neighbors occasionally served as witnesses. The law does 
not define the elements of witchcraft, and the determination lies 
solely with the magistrate.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--1There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--1The constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary in civil matters, and citizens had access 
to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a 
human rights violation; however, there was a widespread perception that 
judges were bribed easily and that litigants could not rely on courts 
to render impartial judgments. Many courts were understaffed, and 
personnel were paid poorly.

    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--1The law prohibits searches of homes without a warrant 
in civil and criminal cases; however, police sometimes used provisions 
of the penal code governing certain political and security cases to 
search private property without a warrant.
    Government authorities routinely discriminated on the basis of 
ethnicity or political affiliation in recruitment of personnel for the 
armed forces or distribution of scholarship funds to public university 
students.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Although government forces and armed groups maintained a cease-fire for 
much of the year, civilians often were killed, abducted, displaced from 
their homes, or generally restricted in their movements as a result of 
ongoing internal conflicts.
    In September the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace 
(CPJP) and Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) engaged in armed 
conflict, primarily in the town of Bria, which resulted in 50 deaths, 
the destruction of more than 700 homes, and displacement of 
approximately 4,500 people. Both groups were complicit in the killing 
and burning of homes.
    In addition, attacks on civilians by the LRA prolonged the 
humanitarian crisis in the southeast, contributing to the continued 
presence of internally displaced persons in LRA-affected areas.

    Killings.--In March elements of the CPJP attacked an ethnic Goula 
village in Bamingi-Bangoran Province, killing eight and burning 
approximately 150 homes. More than 500 civilians were displaced to the 
nearby town of Ndele.
    The LRA continued to commit numerous killings of civilians. In June 
suspected LRA combatants stopped a vehicle driven by the chief medical 
officer of Haut Mbomou Province and killed him and his driver while 
they were distributing polio vaccine to towns and villages in the 
southwest.
    There were no further developments or actions taken in any of the 
2010 conflict-related killings by FACA or nonstate armed entities.

    Abductions.--1On May 3, a humanitarian convoy organized by 
International Medical Corps, heading to Ndifa village in Vakaga 
Prefecture, was stopped by suspected members of the UFDR. They hijacked 
the vehicle and five occupants and drove them around for most of the 
day. At dusk the hijackers released the passengers 14 miles from the 
nearest village and drove away with the vehicle, a satellite phone, and 
approximately 150,000 CFA francs ($295) in cash.
    The LRA continued to commit numerous abductions throughout the 
southeast. For example, in June suspected LRA combatants abducted 13 
civilians, including three children, near Zemio. Twelve of these 
abductees were later released.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--1Government forces and 
armed groups mistreated civilians, including reportedly through 
torture, beatings, and rape, in the course of the conflicts.
    In December approximately 10 soldiers of the presidential guard and 
Teddy Bozize, a son of President Bozize, brought two men to a cemetery 
where they robbed and severely beat them. No action had been taken as 
of year's end.
    Abdoulaye Amat, a presidential guard member who cut off the ear of 
Price Telo in June 2010, remained free at year's end.
    In April near Kaga Bandoro, the APRD arrested and reportedly 
tortured a man for allegedly practicing witchcraft. APRD members tied 
the man to a tree, beat him and cut off two of his toes to force a 
confession. After confessing, the man escaped, and the APRD responded 
by arresting his mother and reportedly torturing her. No further 
information was available at year's end.
    In May near Kaga Bandoro the APRD arrested a man for alleged shape 
shifting, a form of witchcraft. When he managed to flee, the APRD 
arrested his mother, stripped her naked, beat her, and forced her to 
pay a fine of 100,000 CFA francs ($200) before releasing her.
    International and domestic observers reported that state security 
forces and members of nonstate armed entities, including Chadian 
soldiers and bandits, continued to attack cattle herders, primarily 
members of the Mbororo ethnic group. Many observers believed Mbororo 
were targeted primarily because of their perceived foreign origins, 
relative wealth, and the vulnerability of cattle to theft. One U.N. 
agency reported that, according to its NGO partners in the affected 
region, Mbororo cattle herders were also disproportionately subjected 
to kidnapping for ransom. A U.N. agency working in the area indicated 
the perpetrators often kidnapped women and children and held them for 
ransoms of between one million and two million CFA francs ($1,975-
$3,950). Victims whose families did not pay were sometimes killed. 
Nonstate armed entities in the country continued to conduct frequent 
attacks on the Mbororo population on the Cameroonian side of the 
border, despite the Cameroonian government's deployment of security 
forces.
    Some observers noted the use of rape by both government forces and 
nonstate armed entities to terrorize the population in the northern 
provinces, especially in the CPJP's zones of operation. Given the 
social stigma attached to rape, any report would likely underestimate 
the incidence of rape in the conflict zones. Several NGOs and U.N. 
agencies conducted gender-based violence awareness and treatment 
campaigns in northern provinces and Bangui.
    During the year there were reports by humanitarian organizations of 
civilians being raped by members of the FPR in the Kaga Bandoro area. 
Rapes rarely were reported or documented due to the sensitivity of the 
issue within the community and fear of retaliation.

    Child Soldiers.--1According to numerous human rights observers, 
some armed groups included soldiers as young as 12. They noted the UFDR 
and APRD stopped recruiting child soldiers as a result of disarmament, 
demobilization, and reinsertion activities, but in some remote areas, 
children were still used as lookouts and porters. In December the CPJP 
signed an Action Plan on Child Soldiers in the presence of U.N. Special 
Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy in 
which it committed to the demobilization of child soldiers in its 
ranks. UNICEF and others noted that, while the child soldiers were 
willing to demobilize and were anxious to attend school, their home 
communities lacked the most basic infrastructure.
    Several NGO observers reported that self-defense committees, 
established by towns to combat armed groups and bandits in areas where 
the FACA or gendarmes were not present or were incapable of providing 
effective security, used children as combatants, lookouts, and porters. 
UNICEF estimated that children constituted one third of the self-
defense committees' personnel.
    The LRA continued to kidnap children and force them to fight, act 
as porters, or function as sex slaves. Through October the LRA had 
killed 82 persons and abducted 360 in the country.
    Displaced children were forced to work as porters, carrying stolen 
goods for groups of bandits.
    See Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at http://
state.gov/j/tip.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--1In numerous cases international 
NGOs were victims of carjackings and thefts in the Bamingui-Bangoran 
and Vakaga regions despite the presence of FACA and FOMAC forces.
    FOMAC peacekeepers and government forces conducted joint security 
operations to secure the northern region and control the proliferation 
of small arms. Despite these operations the government was not able to 
provide sufficient security or protection for internally displaced 
persons (IDPs) in the north.
    In the northwest members of government security forces, including 
the FACA and presidential guard, continued to garrison in the larger 
towns and occasionally engaged in combat with armed groups and bandits. 
While the cease-fire between government forces and armed groups allowed 
some displaced persons to return home, approximately 350,000 persons 
remained displaced in the bush or in refugee camps near the Chadian or 
Cameroonian borders.
    Internal movement was severely impeded, particularly in northern 
and northwestern areas that the government did not control, by bandits 
and armed groups, including former combatants who helped President 
Bozize come to power in 2003.
    Sporadic fighting between armed groups, attacks on civilians by 
armed groups, armed banditry, and occasional abuse by government 
soldiers kept many IDPs from their homes. The Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated the number of IDPs during 
the year was approximately 170,000.
    The overwhelming majority of IDPs were in the northwestern 
provinces of Ouham and Ouham Pende, where civilians remained displaced 
from their villages due to fear and lived in the bush for much of the 
year, returning occasionally to their fields to plant or scavenge. NGOs 
and U.N. agencies observed civilians returning in the northwest 
provinces; however, violence in Haute-Kotto during the year created 
newly displaced populations. Thousands of individuals remained homeless 
due to fighting in the north-central provinces of Haute-Kotto and 
Bamingui-Bangoran, and due to instability in the northeastern province 
of Vakaga, where there was ongoing fighting from an ethnic conflict 
between the Goula, Kara, and Rounga communities.
    Hygiene-related illnesses and chronic malnutrition continued. 
Attacks or fear of attacks prevented many subsistence farmers from 
planting crops, and attackers either stole most of the livestock or the 
farmers fled with their livestock to safety in Cameroon. Chronic 
insecurity also rendered the north occasionally inaccessible to 
commercial, humanitarian, and developmental organizations, contributing 
to the lack of medical care, food security, and school facilities, 
although less so than in the previous year. Humanitarian organizations 
continued to supply some emergency relief and assistance to displaced 
populations, although long-term development projects were hampered by 
frequently changing security situations and sporadic fighting.
    The number of IDPs in Kabo doubled from 3,000 to 6,000 as the 
result of clashes between APRD and Chadian groups in March.
    In the north and northeast, the increasingly interethnic conflict 
between the UFDR and the CPJP resulted in the burning of several 
villages and the displacement of civilians.
    The government did not attack or target IDPs, although some IDPs 
were caught in the fighting between armed groups. The government 
provided little humanitarian assistance, but it allowed U.N. agencies 
and NGOs access to these groups to provide relief.
    Refugees continued to flee the country during the year (see section 
2.d.).
    There were credible reports that the following armed groups 
perpetrated serious human rights abuses in the Central African Republic 
during the year: APRD, CPJP, FPR, LRA, and UFDR.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--1Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of 
speech and press, authorities occasionally arrested journalists 
critical of the government.

    Freedom of Speech.--While individuals enjoy the right to free 
speech, in some cases this right was impeded by the government. During 
the year the government sometimes prevented opposition groups from 
meeting by refusing permits for gatherings or by failing to secure 
public order in meeting places.

    Freedom of Press.--Throughout the year a number of newspapers 
routinely criticized the president, the government's economic policies, 
and official corruption without reprisal. There were more than 30 
newspapers, many privately owned, which circulated daily or at less 
frequent intervals. Independent dailies were available in Bangui, but 
they were not distributed outside of the capital area.
    Radio was the most important medium of mass communication, in part 
because the literacy rate was low. There were a number of alternatives 
to the state-owned radio station, Radio Centrafrique. For example, 
privately owned Radio Ndeke Luka continued to provide independent 
broadcasts, including national and international news and political 
commentary. With the exception of Radio Ndeke Luka, which organized 
debates on current events, government-run and privately owned broadcast 
outlets based in the country tended to avoid covering topics that could 
draw negative attention from the government. International 
broadcasters, including Radio France Internationale, continued to 
operate. During the year the government granted a license to Voice of 
America, which commenced broadcasting 24-hour programming.
    The government continued to monopolize domestic television 
broadcasting (although this was available only in the capital and for 
limited hours), and television news coverage generally supported 
government positions.
    The High Council for Communications, which is charged with granting 
publication and broadcast licenses and protecting and promoting press 
freedom, is nominally independent. However, some of its members were 
appointed by government officials and according to several independent 
journalists, as well as the international press freedom watchdog 
Committee to Protect Journalists, the body was controlled by the 
government.
    There were also reports of government ministers and other senior 
officials threatening journalists who were critical of the government. 
However, according to the Central African Journalists' Union, arrests 
by the government were rare.

    Violence and Harassment.--In May two newspaper journalists, Cyrus 
Sandy and Faustin Bambou, were arrested and imprisoned following a 
series of editorials that accused Deputy Minister of Defense and 
presidential son Francis Bozize of misappropriating funds intended for 
the pensions of military retirees. Authorities claimed the editorials 
had sparked a number of protests by military retirees and charged Sandy 
and Bambou with the criminal offense of inciting hatred and violence. 
After nearly two months in prison and following protests by both 
diplomats and humanitarian organizations, the two were convicted by a 
court of a lesser civil offense of defamation and were released with an 
order to each pay a fine of 300,000 CFA francs ($590).
    Security forces often harassed and threatened journalists. For 
example, in August 2010 unidentified armed men in military uniforms 
attacked Television Centrafrique camerawoman Virginie Mokonzi. The 
assailants reportedly beat, robbed, and raped her in front of her 
children and husband. The Journalist's Union organized a march to 
protest the attack and delivered a memorandum to the prime minister. By 
year's end there were no reports of arrests.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Imprisonment for defamation 
and censorship was abolished in 2005; however, journalists found guilty 
of libel or slander faced fines of 100,000 to eight million CFA francs 
($200 to $15,800).
    The law provides for imprisonment and fines of as much as one 
million CFA francs ($1,975) for journalists who use the media to incite 
disobedience among security forces or incite persons to violence, 
hatred, or discrimination. Similar fines and imprisonment of six months 
to two years may be imposed for the publication or broadcast of false 
or fabricated information that ``would disturb the peace.''

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--1The constitution provides for the right of assembly; 
however, the government restricted this right on a few occasions and 
prevented political opposition groups from conducting meetings. Any 
association intending to hold a political meeting was required to 
obtain the Ministry of Interior's approval; however, some meetings were 
disrupted or prevented despite having this approval.
    In August and September opposition political parties attempted to 
peacefully assemble in Bangui and received advance approval from 
appropriate government authorities. Security forces first blocked 
access to the meeting site and, after eventually allowing the meeting 
to take place, refused to intervene when youths vandalized vehicles and 
threatened attendees. In September security forces blocked access to a 
site that had been previously approved for a peaceful public meeting of 
the Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right. All 
associations, including political parties, must apply to the Ministry 
of Interior for registration, and the government usually granted 
registration expeditiously. The government normally allowed 
associations and political parties to hold congresses, elect officials, 
and publicly debate policy issues without interference, except when 
they advocated sectarianism or tribalism.
    A law prohibiting nonpolitical organizations from uniting for 
political purposes remained in place.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, the government restricted freedom of movement 
within the country and foreign travel during the year.

    In-country Movement.--Police and military personnel, customs 
officers, and other officials harassed travelers unwilling or unable to 
pay bribes or ``taxes'' at checkpoints along intercity roads and at 
major intersections in Bangui, although the number of these roadblocks 
continued to decrease.
    Merchants and traders traveling the more than 350-mile route from 
Bangui to Bangassou encountered an average of 25 military barriers. 
While the fees extorted varied for private passengers, commercial 
vehicles reported paying fees of up to 9,000 to 10,000 CFA francs ($18 
to $20) at each checkpoint to continue their journeys.
    Rebels and armed groups routinely restricted movement by setting 
roadblocks or otherwise closing transit routes. In July the UFDR took 
effective control of the northern town of Sam Ouandja by closing the 
air strip, blocking access by road, and disabling cellular 
communications. In October suspected elements of the FPR stopped a 
commercial vehicle between Sibut and Grimari, killing two passengers 
and wounding several others.
    On multiple occasions during the year, police, gendarmes, and the 
FACA impeded the travel of members of the opposition parties, delaying 
their travel in some cases for months.

    Foreign Travel.--On February 5, government authorities confiscated 
the passport and airline ticket of Guy Simplice Kodegue, spokesman for 
former president Ange-Felix Patasse.
    On March 22, a private plane sent to Bangui to medically evacuate 
former president Patasse was denied landing privileges. On March 30, 
Patasse and several other members of opposition parties attempted to 
board a Kenya Airways flight and were physically prevented from 
reaching the airport by government security officials.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Sporadic fighting between 
government forces and armed groups, attacks on civilians by armed 
groups including the LRA, and armed banditry prevented the country's 
IDPs, most of whom were displaced in 2006, from returning to their 
homes. At year's end there were approximately 170,000 IDPs, 66,545 of 
whom were returnees who were considered displaced. While returns 
started in 2009, these returnees were still in the process of 
reintegration and therefore still considered displaced. More than 
22,000 were newly displaced during the year as a result of internal 
conflict and banditry. The number of individuals who had fled the 
country totaled 164,905 and were largely located in neighboring 
countries.
    In July 2010 the government reopened the roads north of Ndele to 
humanitarian access after a prolonged closure due to government efforts 
to fight the CPJP.
    The government did not provide protection or assistance to IDPs, 
citing a lack of means, but allowed humanitarian organizations to 
provide services such as assistance with seeds and agricultural 
materials or provision of identity documents.
    There were no reports of the government attacking or specifically 
targeting IDPs. The government occasionally blocked humanitarian access 
in areas frequented by armed groups. There were no reports of the 
government inhibiting the free movement of IDPs.
    Displaced children worked in fields for long hours and as porters 
for bandits or armed groups (see sections 1.g. and 7.d.).

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum: The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees.
    The government continued to cooperate with the UNHCR and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting approximately 17,750 refugees 
in the country.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection 
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their 
lives or freedom would be threatened. The government accepted refugees 
without subjecting them to individual screening.

    Refugee Abuse.--During the year security forces subjected refugees, 
as they did citizens, to arbitrary arrest and detention. Refugees were 
especially vulnerable to such human rights abuses. The government 
allowed refugees freedom of movement but, like citizens, they were 
subject to roadside stops and harassment by security forces and armed 
groups. Refugees complained of having to pay higher fees and bribes at 
road checkpoints than CAR citizens.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees' access to courts, public 
education, and basic public health care was limited by the same factors 
that limited citizens' access to these services.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the 
country's territory; however, birth documentation and recordkeeping 
were poor. For much of the year, basic identity documents such as 
passports were unavailable to the public due to a lack of supply. 
During the year the UNHCR determined approximately 50,000 of the 
estimated 170,000 total IDPs and returnees were at risk of stateless 
status. Laws provide for the opportunity to gain nationality.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their 
government peacefully; citizens exercised this right in presidential 
and legislative elections during the year. However, election observers 
considered the elections to be flawed.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections: During 
the year the country held three rounds of multiparty presidential and 
legislative elections that resulted in the reelection of Francois 
Bozize as president. Bozize had seized power in a 2003 military coup, 
declared himself president, and headed a transitional government until 
winning election in 2005. Domestic and international election observers 
judged the 2011 elections to be flawed, citing fraud, intimidation, and 
lack of ballot secrecy, among other problems. Observers also reported 
irregularities, including an unexplained increase of 40 percent in 
registered voters between 2005 and 2010, and high levels of ``par 
derogation'' votes indicating voters casting ballots outside their home 
districts.

    Political Parties.--Political parties were not prevented from 
participating in the elections, and 861 candidates from 41 parties 
competed for 105 legislative seats. Membership within the president's 
Kwa Na Kwa party generally conferred special advantages, including 
access to government resources to conduct political campaigns.
    Political parties continued to be subject to close scrutiny and 
restrictions by the government. Members of political parties were not 
always able to move about the country without restriction; many had to 
obtain authorization from the government before traveling.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women and minority citizens 
are not prevented by law from voting or participating in political life 
on the same basis as men or nonminority citizens. The new government, 
chosen in April, included a number of female ministers, including the 
minister of commerce, minister for primary and secondary education, 
minister of international cooperation, minister of tourism, and 
minister of social affairs. During the year there were eight female 
deputies in the 105-member legislature.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not implement these laws effectively, and 
officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The World 
Bank's Governance Indicators reported that corruption was a severe 
problem.
    In August two former ministers of telecommunications, Theirry 
Maleyombo and Fidele Gouandjika, were implicated in a corruption 
scandal during an audit of the ministry that revealed improper 
payments. Maleyombo was briefly arrested, while Gouandjika had his 
passport confiscated, was called as a witness in the case, and removed 
from his position as government spokesman. At year's end Gouandjika 
remained in his post as minister of agriculture.
    According to the constitution, senior members of the executive, 
legislative, and judicial branches are required to declare publicly 
their personal assets at the beginning of their terms. The members of 
the new government chosen in April declared their assets upon entry 
into the government. The law does not require ministers to declare 
their assets upon departing government.
    The law provides for access by journalists to ``all sources of 
information, within the limits of the law''; however, it does not 
specifically mention government documents or government information, 
and no mention is made of access by the general public. The government 
often was unable or unwilling to provide information, and lack of 
access to information continued to be a problem for journalists and the 
general public. Furthermore, years of instability and conflict made 
information difficult for the government to collect, particularly in 
the countryside. Information on the humanitarian situation, for 
example, was difficult to obtain and sometimes contradictory.
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 freely within the country, despite several cases of 
harassment and threats by government officials or security force 
members against domestic NGOs who investigated and published their 
findings on human rights cases. Government officials were somewhat 
cooperative and responsive to their views.
    There were domestic human rights NGOs that demonstrated significant 
independence; however, several domestic civil society groups were led 
by individuals belonging to or closely associated with the ruling 
political party, which may have limited their independence. Citing the 
appearance of a conflict of interest, some international and domestic 
NGOs expressed concern over the neutrality and independence of the 
country's only legally recognized NGO platform or umbrella group, the 
Inter-NGO Council in CAR (CIONGCA), which was led by the brother of a 
former minister of state and ethnic kinsman of the president.
    A few NGOs were active and had a significant impact on the 
promotion of human rights. Some local NGOs, including the LCDH, OCDH, 
ACAT, and Association of Women Jurists (AFJC), a Bangui-based NGO 
specializing in the defense of women's and children's rights, actively 
monitored human rights problems; worked with journalists to draw 
attention to human rights violations, including those committed by the 
army; pleaded individual cases of human rights abuses before the 
courts; and engaged in efforts to raise the public's awareness of 
citizens' legal rights.
    Domestic human rights NGOs reported that some officials continued 
to view them as spokespersons for opposition political parties. They 
also reported several cases of harassment by officials during their 
fact-finding visits around the country. Domestic human rights NGOs 
reported that its members located outside the capital remained afraid 
to investigate alleged abuses because security force members threatened 
NGO activists suspected of passing information about abuses by security 
forces to international NGOs for publication. Several human rights 
lawyers reported that the families of victims of abuse by officials, or 
those close to officials, often urged the victims not to pursue legally 
their attackers due to fear of reprisal.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--International human rights 
NGOs and international organizations operated in the country mostly 
without interference from the government. Several humanitarian NGOs 
complained of difficulties in renewing their charters and of 
substantial revisions to their operating requirements by the 
government. A newly proposed law aimed to impose additional burdens on 
international NGOs including taxation of expatriate staff salaries, 
mandates to partner with and support local NGOs, and more frequent 
reporting requirements to government agencies.
    Due in part to the government's inability to address persistent 
insecurity in parts of the country effectively, some international 
human rights and humanitarian groups working in conflict zones either 
closed suboffices or left the country. For example, international NGOs 
working in the Vakaga and Haute Kotto provinces did not send 
international staff to the region and maintained only limited 
nationally staffed programs.
    The government cooperated with the International Criminal Court 
(ICC), which continued its investigation into crimes committed in the 
country in 2002-03 by the previous government and by soldiers under the 
command of Jean Pierre Bemba, then a Congolese rebel leader. In 2008 
Bemba was arrested in Brussels. In November 2010 Bemba's trial opened 
in The Hague at the ICC. At year's end the prosecution was still 
presenting its witnesses, and thousands had applied to the court as 
victims.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights and Good Governance, attached to the 
presidency, investigated citizen complaints of human rights violations 
by members of the government. The commission was ineffective and, after 
working briefly on three cases of violations, did not take any 
substantive follow-up steps. With a reported budget of five million CFA 
francs ($9,870), the office did not have adequate staffing or financial 
resources and lacked the means to train its investigators properly. The 
limited funding for the commission also meant that it functioned only 
in Bangui. Some human rights observers noted that it acted more as a 
spokesperson for the government than an office promoting human rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution stipulates that all persons are equal before the 
law without regard to wealth, race, disability, language, or gender. 
However, the government did not enforce these provisions effectively, 
and significant discrimination existed.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape, 
although it does not specifically prohibit spousal rape. Rape is 
punishable by imprisonment with hard labor, but the law does not 
specify a minimum sentence. The government did not enforce the law 
effectively. Police sometimes arrested men on charges of rape, although 
statistics on the number of prosecutions and convictions during the 
year were not available. The fear of social stigma and retaliation 
inhibited many families from bringing suits.
    During a visit to the country in February 2010, the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Human Rights voiced deep concern over--and called for 
urgent action on--the widespread sexual violence that women faced, 
noting that crimes were being committed by both state and nonstate 
actors.
    Few countrywide assessments were conducted on the prevalence of 
rape. However, according to a baseline study conducted in 2009 by an 
international NGO in four nonconflict areas (Bangui, Bouar, Bambari, 
and Bangassou), sexual violence against women was pervasive. One in 
seven women reported having been raped in the previous year, and the 
study concluded that the true prevalence of rape may be even higher. A 
University of California at Berkeley survey conducted in late 2009 
found that in four western provinces, approximately 6 percent of women 
reported being a victim of sexual violence since 2001. In addition, 
from January through August 2011, an international NGO reported 34 
cases of gender-based violence brought to its attention in the Ouham 
Pende area. Of these cases, 50 percent were against minors and included 
male and female rape. According to the NGO, only two of the cases were 
reported to local gendarmes and most went unreported because family 
members preferred a traditionally mediated solution. One of the cases 
reported to the gendarmes involved the rape of a young child; however, 
a traditionally mediated solution stopped the case from reaching the 
courts.
    Although the law does not specifically mention spousal abuse, it 
prohibits violence against any person and provides for penalties of up 
to 10 years in prison. Domestic violence against women, including wife 
beating, was common; 25 percent of women surveyed in an international 
NGO study had experienced violence committed by their partner in 2009. 
Of those surveyed, 33 percent of men and 71 percent of women said it 
was acceptable to use violence against women when women had not 
properly performed their domestic tasks. Spousal abuse was considered a 
civil matter unless the injury was severe. According to the AFJC, 
victims of domestic abuse seldom reported incidents to authorities. 
When incidents were addressed, it was done within the family or local 
community. The deputy prosecutor said he did not remember trying any 
cases of spousal abuse during the year, although litigants cited 
spousal abuse during divorce trials and civil suits.
    Some women reportedly tolerated abuse to retain financial security 
for themselves and their children.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--The practice of FGM was 
prohibited by law, although it occurred in some rural areas (see also 
Children below).
    Other Harmful Traditional Practices: Women, especially the very old 
and those without family, continued to be targets of witchcraft 
accusations (see section 6).

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, 
the government did not effectively enforce the law, and sexual 
harassment was a common problem. The law describes no specific 
penalties for the crime.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government respected couples' rights to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of 
children. Most couples lacked access to contraception and skilled 
attendance during childbirth. According to UNICEF data collected 
between 2000 and 2006, approximately 19 percent of women between the 
ages of 15 and 49 who were married or in union were using 
contraception, and only 44 percent of births were attended by skilled 
personnel. According to the U.N. Population Fund, the maternal 
mortality rate remained extremely high: 850 of every 100,000 live 
births. Infant mortality was 106 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008. 
U.N. sources estimated that a woman's lifetime risk of maternal death 
was one in 27. The government continued working with U.N. agencies to 
increase the use of contraception, including by women, and to assist in 
other prevention activities targeting sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The formal law does not discriminate against women 
in inheritance and property rights, but a number of discriminatory 
customary laws often prevailed, and women's statutory inheritance 
rights often were not respected, particularly in rural areas.
    Women were treated as inferior to men economically and socially. 
Single, divorced, or widowed women, including those with children, were 
not considered heads of households. One of every three women surveyed 
by an international NGO stated they were excluded from financial 
decisions in their households. By law men and women were entitled to 
family subsidies from the government, but several women groups 
complained about lack of access to these payments for women. There were 
no accurate statistics on the percentage of female wage earners. 
Women's access to educational opportunities and to jobs, particularly 
at higher levels in their professions or in government service, 
remained limited. Some women reported economic discrimination in access 
to credit due to lack of collateral. However, there were no reports of 
discrimination in pay equity or owning or managing a business. Divorce 
is legal and can be initiated by either partner.
    The AFJC advised women of their legal rights and how best to defend 
them; it filed complaints with the government regarding human rights 
violations. During the year several women's groups organized workshops 
to promote women's and children's rights and encourage women to 
participate fully in the political process.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--1Citizenship is derived by birth in 
the national territory or from one or both parents. The registration of 
births was spotty, and Muslims reported consistent problems in 
establishing their citizenship. Unregistered children faced limitations 
in access to education and other social services. According to a 2006 
UNICEF study (the most recent available), total birth registration was 
49 percent, with 36 percent of children registered in rural areas. 
Registration of births in conflict zones was likely lower than in other 
areas.

    Education.--Education is compulsory for six years until the age of 
15; tuition is free, but students had to pay for their books, supplies, 
transportation, and insurance. Girls did not have equal access to 
primary education; 65 percent of girls were enrolled in the first year 
of school, but only 23 percent of girls finished the six years of 
primary school, according to a 2007 UNESCO study. At the secondary 
level, a majority of girls dropped out at the age of 14 or 15 due to 
societal pressure to marry and bear children.
    Few Ba'aka attended primary school. Some local and international 
NGOs made efforts (with little success) to increase Ba'aka enrollment 
in schools; there was no significant government assistance to these 
efforts.

    Child Abuse.--The law criminalizes parental abuse of children under 
the age of 15. Nevertheless, child abuse and neglect were widespread, 
although rarely acknowledged. A juvenile court tried cases involving 
children and provided counseling services to parents and juveniles 
during the year.
    In July the government convened the National Council for the 
Protection of Children to address topics related to child abuse, 
exploitation, and trafficking. The membership was appointed by the 
prime minister and includes representatives from concerned ministries, 
international organizations, and NGOs.

    Child Marriage.--The law establishes 18 as the minimum age for 
civil marriage; however, an estimated 61 percent of women between the 
ages of 20 and 24 were married before the age of 18, according to 
UNICEF data collected between 2000 and 2009, and the 2006 Multiple 
Indicators Country Survey reported that nearly 20 percent of women had 
married before reaching the age of 15. The Ministry of Family and 
Social Affairs had limited means to address this problem. Early 
marriage was usually reported in less educated and rural environments 
where the government lacked authority. The phenomenon of early marriage 
was more common in the Muslim community.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law prohibits FGM, which is 
punishable by two to five years' imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 to 
one million CFA francs ($200 to $1,975), depending on the severity of 
the case; nevertheless, girls were subjected to this traditional 
practice in certain rural areas, especially in the northeast and, to a 
lesser degree, in Bangui. According to the AFJC, anecdotal evidence 
suggested FGM rates declined in recent years as a result of efforts by 
UNICEF, AFJC, and the Ministries of Family and Social Affairs, and 
Public Health to familiarize women and girls with the dangers of the 
practice.
    According to UNICEF data collected between 2002 and 2007, the 
overall percentage of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 who 
had undergone FGM was approximately 27 percent.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There were no statutory rape or 
child pornography laws protecting adolescent minors or children.

    Child Soldiers.--Child labor was widespread; forced child labor, 
including the use of children as soldiers, occurred (see sections 1.g., 
7.c., and 7.d.).

    Displaced Children.--There were more than 6,000 street children 
between the ages of five and 18, including 3,000 in Bangui, according 
to data collected by the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs. Many 
experts believed that HIV/AIDS and a belief in sorcery, particularly in 
rural areas, contributed to the large number of street children. An 
estimated 300,000 children had lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, 
and children accused of sorcery (often reportedly in connection with 
HIV/AIDS-related deaths in their neighborhoods) often were expelled 
from their households and were sometimes subjected to societal 
violence.
    There were NGOs specifically promoting children's rights, including 
some, such as Voices of the Heart, which assisted street children.
    The country's instability had a disproportionate effect on 
children, who accounted for almost 50 percent of IDPs during the year. 
Access to government services was limited for all children, but 
displacement reduced it further.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no significant Jewish community, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with both mental and physical disabilities. It also 
requires that for any company employing 25 persons or more, at least 5 
percent of its staff must consist of sufficiently qualified persons 
with disabilities, if they are available. In addition the law states 
that each time the government recruits new personnel into the civil 
service, at least 10 percent of the total number of newly recruited 
personnel should be persons with disabilities. According to the 
Ministry of Family and Social Affairs, the provision was not automatic 
and depended on the availability of applications from persons with 
disabilities at the time of the recruitment decision by the interested 
ministry.
    There were no legislated or mandated accessibility provisions for 
persons with disabilities, and such access was not provided in 
practice. Approximately 10 percent of the country's population had 
disabilities, mostly due to polio, according to the 2003 census. The 
government had no national policy or strategy for providing assistance 
to persons with disabilities, but there were several one-of-a-kind 
government and NGO-initiated programs designed to assist persons with 
physical disabilities, including handicraft training for persons with 
visual disabilities and the distribution of wheelchairs and carts by 
the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs.
    The Ministry of Family and Social Affairs continued to work with 
the NGO Handicap International during the year to provide treatment, 
surgeons, and prostheses to persons with physical disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Violence by unidentified 
persons, bandits, and other nonstate armed entities against the Mbororo 
was a problem, as they continued to suffer disproportionately from the 
civil disorder in the north. Their cattle wealth made them attractive 
targets to the bandits and other nonstate armed entities. Additionally, 
since many citizens viewed the Mbororo as inherently foreign due to 
their transnational migratory patterns, they faced occasional 
discrimination with regard to government services and protections.
    In July gendarmes captured four armed Mbororo herders and detained 
them in Zemio on suspicion of colluding with the LRA. Approximately 100 
persons from the local community stormed the holding facility, 
overpowered the gendarmes, and killed three of the accused men. Mbororo 
in LRA-affected areas were often accused of complicity with the LRA and 
discriminated against or targeted on those grounds.

    Indigenous People.--Despite constitutional protections and the 
ratification of the International Labor Organization (ILO's) Convention 
on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, there was societal discrimination 
against Ba'aka (Pygmies), the earliest known inhabitants of the rain 
forest in the south. Ba'aka constitute approximately 1 to 2 percent of 
the population. They continued to have little say in decisions 
affecting their lands, culture, traditions, and the exploitation of 
natural resources. Forest-dwelling Ba'aka in particular were subject to 
social and economic discrimination and exploitation, which the 
government has done little to prevent. Despite repeated promises the 
government took no steps to issue and deliver identity cards to Ba'aka, 
lack of which, according to many human rights groups, effectively 
denied them access to greater civil rights.
    The Ba'aka, including children, were often coerced into 
agricultural, domestic, and other types of labor. They were considered 
to be the slaves of members of other local ethnic groups, and even when 
they were remunerated for labor, their wages were far below those 
prescribed by the labor code and lower than wages paid to members of 
other groups.
    Refugees International reported that Ba'aka were effectively 
``second-class citizens,'' and the popular prejudice that they were 
barbaric and subhuman further caused them to be excluded from 
mainstream society.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--1The penal code criminalizes 
consensual same-sex sexual activity. The penalty for ``public 
expression of love'' between persons of the same sex is imprisonment 
for six months to two years or a fine of between 150,000 and 600,000 
CFA francs ($295 and $1,185). When one of the participants is a child, 
the adult may be sentenced to two to five years' imprisonment or a fine 
of 100,000 to 800,000 CFA francs ($200 and $1,600); however, there were 
no reports that police arrested or detained persons under these 
provisions.
    While there is official discrimination based on sexual orientation, 
there were no reports of the government targeting gay men and lesbians. 
However, societal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and 
transgender persons was entrenched, and many citizens attributed the 
existence of homosexuality to undue Western influence.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
were subject to discrimination and stigma, although less so as NGOs and 
U.N. agencies raised awareness about the disease and available 
treatments. Nonetheless, many individuals with HIV/AIDS did not 
disclose their status for fear of social stigma.
    Mob violence was widespread, and cases were underreported.
    Civilians reportedly continued to injure and torture persons 
suspected of being sorcerers or witches.
    On May 27, a woman in Bangui was threatened with death by her 
neighbors, who accused her of attempting to initiate seven young girls 
into the practice of sorcery. Police detained the woman for her own 
safety; as of November she remained in custody.
    Detentions, arrests, and abuse of those accused of witchcraft were 
commonplace. Many of those accused were women, and they were often 
subjected to mob violence, imprisonment, or death.
    In November five women accused of sorcery were beaten and tortured 
by members of the APRD in the village of Boyimadja 2. One woman 
eventually died of her injuries, and another remained in APRD custody, 
to be turned over later to local gendarmes.
    There were no further developments in the October 2010 case of four 
persons accused of witchcraft in Mbereguili village. The four were 
reportedly tortured by members of the APRD.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
1The law allows all workers, except for senior-level state employees 
and security forces, including the armed forces and gendarmes, to form 
or join unions without prior authorization. The labor code provides for 
the right of workers to organize and administer trade unions without 
employer interference and grants trade unions full legal status, 
including the right to file lawsuits. Although the labor code no longer 
bars a person who loses the status of worker from belonging to a trade 
union or participating in its administration, the law requires that 
union officials be full-time, wage-earning employees in their 
occupation and allows them to conduct union business only during 
working hours as long as the employer is informed 48 hours in advance 
and provides authorization. In addition the law requires that foreign 
workers must meet a residency requirement of at least two years before 
they may organize. There continued to be substantial restrictions that 
made it difficult for citizens to hold a leadership position within a 
union, despite some amendments to the labor code.
    Workers have the right to strike in both the public and private 
sectors; however, security forces, including the armed forces and 
gendarmes, are prohibited from striking. Requirements for conducting a 
legal strike were excessively lengthy and cumbersome. To be legal 
strikes must be preceded by the union's presentation of demands, the 
employer's response to these demands, a conciliation meeting between 
labor and management, and a finding by an arbitration council that 
union and employer failed to reach agreement on valid demands. The 
union must provide eight days' advance written notification of a 
planned strike. The law states that if employers initiate a lockout 
that is not in accordance with the code, the employer is required to 
pay workers for all days of the lockout. The Ministry of Labor has the 
authority to determine a list of enterprises that are required by law 
to maintain a ``compulsory minimum service'' in the event of a strike. 
The government has the power of requisition or the authority to end 
strikes by invoking the public interest. The code makes no other 
provisions regarding sanctions on employers for acting against 
strikers.
    The law expressly forbids antiunion discrimination. The labor code 
provides that unions may bargain collectively in the public and private 
sectors and also provides workers protection from employer interference 
in the administration of a union. In June 2010 the ILO recommended that 
the government amend a provision of the labor code, which in effect 
hinders the public sector workers' right to bargain collectively by 
providing for the negotiation of collective agreements in the public 
sector by professional groupings even when trade unions exist. During 
the year the government took no action on the ILO recommendation.
    Employees can have their cases heard in the labor court. The law 
does not state whether employers found guilty of antiunion 
discrimination are required to reinstate workers fired for union 
activities, although employers found guilty of such discrimination were 
required by law to pay damages, including back pay and lost wages.
    Several union strikes were encountered during the year, including 
by taxi drivers and university professors, and the government respected 
the laws concerning labor actions. Workers exercised some of these 
rights in practice. However, only a relatively small part of the 
workforce, primarily civil servants, exercised the right to join a 
union. While worker organizations are officially outside government or 
political parties, the government exerted some influence over the 
leadership of some organizations.
    Labor unions did not report any underlying patterns of 
discrimination or abuse. The president of the labor court said the 
court did not hear any cases involving antiunion discrimination during 
the year.
    Collective bargaining occurred in the private sector during the 
year, although the total number of collective agreements concluded was 
unknown. The government generally was not involved if the two parties 
were able to reach an agreement. Information was limited on 
effectiveness of collective bargaining in the private sector.
    In the civil service, the government, which was the country's 
largest employer, set wages after consultation, but not negotiation, 
with government employee trade unions. Salary and pension arrears 
continued to be a problem for armed forces personnel and the 24,000 
civil servants, although the government continued to reduce the 
arrears.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--1The labor code 
specifically prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor and 
prescribes a penalty of five to 10 years' imprisonment. The labor 
code's prohibition of forced or compulsory labor also applies to 
children, although they are not mentioned specifically. However, the 
government did not enforce the prohibition effectively, and there were 
reports that such practices occurred. Women and children were subject 
to forced domestic labor, agricultural labor, mining, sales, restaurant 
labor, and sexual exploitation. Prisoners often worked on public 
projects without compensation. In rural areas there were reported cases 
of the use of prisoners for domestic labor at some government 
officials' residences. However, in Bangui and other large urban areas, 
the practice was rare, partly because of the presence of human rights 
NGOs or lawyers. Prisoners often received shortened sentences for 
performing such work. Ba'aka, including children, often were coerced 
into labor as day laborers, farm hands, or other unskilled labor, and 
often treated as slaves. There were no known victims removed from 
forced labor during the year.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor code forbids the employment of children younger than 14 years of 
age without specific authorization from the Ministry of Labor and Civil 
Service, but the law also provides that the minimum age for employment 
could be as young as 12 years of age for some types of light work in 
traditional agricultural activities or home services. The law prohibits 
children younger than 18 years old from performing hazardous work or 
working at night. Although the law defines hazardous work as any 
employment that endangers children's physical and mental health, it 
does not define the worst forms of child labor. The mining code 
specifically prohibits child or underage labor.
    The government did not enforce these provisions. Child labor was 
common in many sectors of the economy, especially in rural areas. There 
were no reports that children were employed on public works projects or 
at the residences of government officials. However, children continued 
to perform hazardous work during the year.
    Throughout the country children as young as seven years old 
frequently performed agricultural work. Children often worked as 
domestic workers, fishermen, and in mines, often in dangerous 
conditions. Children also worked in the diamond fields alongside adult 
relatives, transporting and washing gravel, as well as mining gold, 
digging holes, and carrying heavy loads. Despite the law prohibiting 
child labor in mining, many children were seen working in and around 
diamond mining fields.
    In Bangui many of the city's estimated 3,000 street children worked 
as street vendors.
    During the year nonstate armed entities recruited and used child 
soldiers (see section 1.g.).
    Displaced children continued to work in fields for long hours in 
conditions of extreme heat, harvesting peanuts and cassava and helping 
gather items that were sold at markets, such as mushrooms, hay, 
firewood, and caterpillars.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor code states that the 
minister of labor must set minimum wages in the public sector by 
decree. The minimum wages in the private sector are established on the 
basis of sector-specific collective conventions resulting from 
negotiations between the employer and workers' representatives in each 
sector.
    The minimum wage in the private sphere varies by sector and kind of 
work. For example, the monthly minimum wage was 8,500 CFA francs ($17) 
for agricultural workers and 26,000 CFA francs ($51) for government 
workers.
    The minimum wage applies only to the formal sector, leaving most of 
the economy unregulated in terms of wages. The monthly minimum wage 
increased 12 percent during the year from 25,000 CFA ($50) to 28,000 
CFA ($55). The law applies to foreign and migrant workers as well. Most 
labor was performed outside the wage and social security system (in the 
extensive informal sector), especially by farmers in the large 
subsistence agricultural sector.
    The law sets a standard workweek of 40 hours for government 
employees and most private sector employees. Household employees may 
work up to 52 hours per week. The law also requires a minimum rest 
period of 48 hours per week for both citizens and foreign and migrant 
workers. Overtime policy varied according to the workplace; violations 
of overtime policy were taken to the Ministry of Labor, although it was 
unknown whether this occurred in practice during the year.
    There are general laws on health and safety standards in the 
workplace, but the Ministry of Labor and Civil Service did not 
precisely define them. The labor code states that a labor inspector may 
force an employer to correct unsafe or unhealthy work conditions, but 
it does not provide the right for workers to remove themselves from 
such conditions without risk of loss of employment. There are no 
exceptions for foreign and migrant workers.
    The government did not enforce labor standards, and violations were 
common through all sectors of the economy.

                               __________

                                  CHAD

                           executive summary
    Chad is a centralized republic in which the executive branch 
dominates the legislature and judiciary. Legislative and presidential 
elections were held during the year. In April President Idriss Deby 
Itno, leader of the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), was elected to 
a fourth term with 83.6 percent of valid votes. However, major 
opposition figures chose to boycott the presidential election, which 
was marked by low voter turnout. Deby has ruled the country since 
taking power in a 1990 coup. In February's legislative elections, the 
ruling MPS won 118 of the National Assembly's 188 seats. International 
observers deemed these elections to be legitimate and credible. Despite 
logistical issues, both the legislative and presidential elections 
occurred without violence. There were instances in which elements of 
the security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The most significant human rights problems reported were abuses by 
security forces, including beatings; harsh and life-threatening prison 
conditions, which resulted in inmate deaths; and discrimination and 
violence against women and children, including female genital 
mutilation (FGM), as well as child abuse and child marriage.
    Other human rights abuses included reports of rape committed by men 
wearing uniforms; arbitrary arrest and detention; lengthy pretrial 
detention; denial of fair public trial; and executive influence on the 
judiciary. In addition, there were some limitations on freedom of 
speech and press. Refugee abuse continued, and corruption was 
widespread. Trafficking in persons, particularly related to child 
herders and domestic servants, reportedly occurred, as did sexual 
exploitation. Ethnic-based discrimination, forced labor, including of 
children, and exploitive child labor were problems.
    The government took steps to prosecute or punish some officials who 
committed abuses; however, accountability was limited due to a lack of 
checks and balances; inadequate institutional capacity, including in 
the judiciary; a culture of impunity; and widespread corruption.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Unlike in the 
previous year, there were allegations, but no confirmed reports, of 
politically motivated killings. There were reports that the government 
or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
    On March 9, Djepatarlemgoto Benjamin, a close relative of the prime 
minister, was killed by unidentified persons at his house. Human rights 
groups alleged that the murder was politically motivated. No 
investigation was conducted, and the government treated the case as a 
purely criminal matter.
    On September 16, in Lere in Mayo-Kebbi West, intercommunal conflict 
related to kidnapping of children for ransom resulted in the deaths of 
four persons. Security forces arrested and jailed 47 alleged 
perpetrators. While in security force custody, nine of the arrestees 
died, with one additional detainee dying while being transferred to 
N'Djamena. Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and some National 
Assembly members criticized the government for not taking any action 
against those responsible.
    The 10 alleged perpetrators of the killings of nine persons during 
the 2009 interethnic conflict between herders and farmers in Kana 
District were released without being charged in June.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of new politically 
motivated disappearances or of people being held in secret detention or 
of disappearing after detention during the year. However, the 
whereabouts of persons arrested for political reasons in previous years 
remained unknown, and persons were held incommunicado during the year.
    In May a presidential decree announced that a previously 
established inter-ministerial committee formed to address the pending 
case of disappeared opposition leader Ibni Oumar Saleh would be 
augmented by two international criminal prosecutors, one from the EU 
and another from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. A 
total of 1,150 persons disappeared in the course of the 2008 fighting, 
58 of whom (including Ibni) were believed to have been the victims of 
criminal acts. The remaining 1,092 reportedly were considered to be 
casualties of war. A number of witnesses have since been called to 
testify about Ibni's arrest and jailing, and according to the 
government, investigative efforts have increased on the cases of some 
of the 57 others.
    Although in decline, cross-border kidnapping of children in the 
Mayo-Kebbi Region along the border with Cameroon continued, despite the 
deployment early in the year of a mixed police/army border force. Armed 
persons, both local and from neighboring countries, reportedly 
kidnapped children, especially Fulani children, due to a perception 
that their families were wealthier than those of other ethnic groups. 
At mid-year, the force ceased operation due to an interruption in 
funding.
    According to the NGO Human Rights without Borders, there were 
allegations that local officials and military force members were 
complicit in kidnappings for ransom. In February one woman and two 
children were kidnapped for ransom from two villages in Lere, Mayo-
Kebbi West, by a cross-border gang comprised of Cameroonian and Chadian 
members. The victims were taken to Cameroon and returned after payment 
of ransom. The NGO reported that village chiefs and local government 
and military officials received payoffs in connection with their 
release. It also alleged that, due to corruption among other government 
and military officials, the local head of the gendarmerie no longer 
arrested gang members, but instead had them summarily shot.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
the government did not always respect these provisions in practice. For 
example, a local human rights group reported that on February 7, Noh 
Djibrine Abdelbanat was abducted and tortured by two gendarmes in 
Salamat Region. The alleged torture resulted in serious injuries, 
including an infected limb that required amputation. The case was 
referred to the public prosecutor's office, and the victim was awarded 
monetary damages.
    There were reports of torture by individual members of the security 
forces, although these were neither politically motivated nor directed 
by the government.
    No effective action was taken against security forces involved in 
the alleged torture of Berangoto, Djibrine Noh,and Madjadoumbe Ngom 
Halle in 2010.
    There were reports during the year of cases in which men wearing 
uniforms, presumed but not confirmed by the authorities to be either 
police, gendarmes, or Chadian National Army (ANT) personnel, raped 
women and girls. For example, on March 4, three men wearing military 
uniforms attacked the house of a local worker of an international NGO 
based in the town of Goz Beida. After the attack, the men abducted a 
15-year-old girl, who stated that the three men raped her several times 
and that she was beaten. She was later found abandoned by the roadside. 
A doctor at a local hospital confirmed that she had been raped.
    An international NGO reported that rape of refugee women was 
common, especially of those who ventured outside their camps. Victims 
were reluctant to come forward for a variety of reasons, including 
cultural, and a lack of confidence in the judicial system.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and life-threatening. Prisons were seriously overcrowded, had 
poor sanitation, and provided inadequate food, shelter, and medical 
facilities. Regional detention centers, which were crumbling, 
overcrowded, and without adequate protection for women and youth, had 
no budget for and did not provide meals for inmates. Prison guards were 
not regularly paid and sometimes ``released'' prisoners who offered 
compensation in return. Provisions for ventilation, temperature, 
lighting, and access to potable water were inadequate or nonexistent. 
The law provides that a doctor must visit each prison three times a 
week, but this provision was not respected. Forced labor in prisons 
occurred.
    As a result of inadequate recordkeeping and management, many 
individuals remained in prison after completing their sentences or 
after courts had ordered their release.
    No follow-up action was taken on the 2010 survey ordered by Justice 
Minister Mbailao Naimbaye Lossimian to assess prison conditions, 
prisoner rights awareness, and the timely disposition of cases. The 
survey revealed that there were prisoners without case files who had 
been detained more than three years with no follow-up by judges or 
lawyers.
    As in prior years, local human rights organizations stated that 
they were denied access to military prisons, but the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was given access during the year. 
Local human rights organizations reported on the existence of secret 
prisons run by the National Security Agency and the General Directorate 
of Security Services for National Institutions (DGSSIE) in 2010. Human 
rights organizations also alleged that both military members and 
civilians were detained at military bases and held incommunicado.
    Estimates of deaths due to poor prison conditions varied. A local 
human rights group reported nine prisoner deaths during the first half 
of the year in three districts of N'Djamena alone. No countrywide 
estimates were available.
    The government did not keep statistics on the number of prisoners 
and detainees, and no information from other sources was available. 
Male juveniles were not always separated from adult male prisoners, and 
children sometimes were held with their inmate mothers. Male and female 
prisoners were separated, and conditions for women were no different 
than those for men. A July 2010 Justice Ministry visit to five eastern 
towns revealed that children as young as eight years old were 
incarcerated for petty thievery. Pretrial detainees were held with 
convicted prisoners. Prisoners generally had access to visitors and 
were permitted religious observance according to their preference. 
There was no regular mechanism by which prisoners could submit 
complaints about prison conditions, limiting judicial authorities' 
ability to receive such complaints. Authorities did not use 
alternatives to sentencing for nonviolent offenders.
    The government honored a permanent authorization provided to the 
Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, 
allowing the organization to visit civilian prisons at any time without 
advance notice. Other local NGOs, including human rights groups, were 
required to obtain authorization from a court or from the director of 
prisons, which depended largely on the personal inclinations of those 
with authority to grant permission. Local NGOs were not allowed access 
to military prisons.
    The government permitted the ICRC to visit civilian prisons under 
the control of the Ministry of Justice, and during the year the ICRC 
conducted such visits.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, security forces 
violated these provisions.
    For example, on January 2, intelligence agents arrested General 
Oumar Bourkou, who was then arbitrarily jailed at a police camp for 15 
days. No charges were filed against him.
    On March 18, intelligence agents arbitrarily arrested General Ahmat 
Yahya and placed him in custody at the National Intelligence Prison. He 
was transferred 15 days later to the Narcotics Police Camp of 
N'Djamena. At year's end, he remained in detention and his case was 
pending.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ANT, gendarmerie, 
national police, nomadic guard (GNNT), DGSSIE, and counterintelligence 
service (ANS) are responsible for internal security. The Integrated 
Security Detachment (DIS), which reports to the National Coordination 
of Support to Humanitarian Activities and to the Integrated Security 
Detachment (CONSAHDIS), is responsible for reducing insecurity in 
refugee camps and for protecting refugees, internally displaced persons 
(IDPs), and humanitarian workers. The ANT, gendarmerie, and GNNT report 
to the Ministry of Defense; the National Police report to the Ministry 
of Public Security and Immigration; and the DGSSIE and ANS report to 
the president.
    Police were corrupt and involved in banditry, arms proliferation, 
and extortion. Security force impunity was widespread (see section 4). 
The government continued to make some progress in modernization and 
professionalization of the military, including a significant reduction 
in the size of the armed forces which was initiated during the year. 
The reform process continued at year's end. The minister of defense's 
effort to achieve a full accounting of those in the military was 
impeded by discharged soldiers who continued to collect salaries and to 
wear military uniforms. The failure to enforce the cessation of pay to 
and the wearing of uniforms by discharged soldiers largely was 
explained by the refusal of military officers responsible for 
enforcement because of ethnic and clan links to the discharged 
soldiers. There were isolated reports of former soldiers who posed as 
active duty military, committing crimes with government-issued weapons.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Although the 
constitution and law require a judicial official to sign arrest 
warrants, detainees were not always promptly informed of charges, and 
judicial determinations were not made promptly. The law requires access 
to bail and counsel, but there were cases when neither was regularly 
provided.
    Incommunicado detention was a problem. The constitution and law 
state provide for legal counsel for indigent defendants and prompt 
access to family members; however, in practice, this usually did not 
occur. Family members often were required to provide food and water for 
prisoners.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--The absence of rebel activity during the year 
resulted in a reduced number of cases of arbitrary arrest, but the 
problem continued.
    In March 2010 intelligence agents arrested without charge fellow 
agent Mahamat Abrass Moussa, who remained in detention at year's end.
    Two university students arrested on May 8, who reportedly prepared 
antigovernment tracts intended to incite insurrection among southern 
Chadians, were held incommunicado until June 8, when they appeared in 
court to face charges. The NGO Human Rights Without Borders stated that 
because the arresting officers did not appear in court, no charges were 
filed. The students, who claimed they were victims of a sting operation 
in which they were paid by government agents to prepare the tracts, 
were released over the summer.
    Pretrial Detention: Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem. 
Persons accused of crimes could be imprisoned for several years before 
being charged or tried, particularly those who were arrested in the 
provinces for felonies and transferred to prison in N'Djamena. Lengthy 
pretrial detention resulted from a weak judiciary, which functioned 
poorly in urban areas and generally was ignored outside of the capital.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, the judiciary was ineffective, 
underfunded, overburdened, and subject to executive interference. 
Intimidation and violence against judicial branch members were also 
problems, and members of the judiciary sometimes received death threats 
or were demoted or removed from their positions for not acquiescing to 
pressure from officials. Courts generally were weak and in some areas 
nonexistent or nonfunctional. There were only 150 judges in the 
country, for example, and most had to hand write court documents.
    The Superior Council of Magistrates recommends judicial nominees 
and sanctions judges who commit improprieties; however, the government 
prevented any sanctions from being considered or carried out. A 
judicial oversight commission has the power to conduct investigations 
of judicial decisions and address suspected miscarriages of justice; 
however, the president appointed commission members, which increased 
executive control over the judiciary and diminished the council's 
authority. Some members of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, and 
Court of Appeals were appointed by the government rather than popularly 
elected as required by law, which further weakened judicial 
independence.
    Government officials, particularly members of the military, often 
were able to avoid prosecution.
    Chad's legal system is based on French civil law. However, the 
constitution recognizes customary and traditional law in locales where 
it is long-established if it does not interfere with public order or 
constitutional guarantees of equality for all citizens. Applicable law 
was sometimes confusing, as courts tended to blend the formal French-
derived legal code with traditional practices, and customary law often 
superseded Napoleonic law in practice. Residents of rural areas often 
lacked access to formal judicial institutions, and legal reference 
texts were not available outside the capital or in Arabic. In many 
minor civil cases, the population relied on traditional courts presided 
over by village chiefs, canton chiefs, or sultans. Penalties in 
traditional courts varied and sometimes depended on the clan 
affiliations of the victim and perpetrator. Decisions of traditional 
courts can be appealed to a formal court.
    The law provides that crimes committed by military members be tried 
by a military court; however, no such courts have been established.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for a presumption of innocence; 
however, many judges assumed a suspect's guilt, sometimes as a means to 
extort money from the defendant. For example, in some rape cases that 
reached the courts, defendants were fined rather than tried. Trials are 
public and use juries, except in politically sensitive cases. 
Defendants have the right to be present in court. They also have the 
right to consult an attorney in a timely manner; however, detained 
persons were not always given access to counsel. The law states that 
indigents should be provided promptly with legal counsel in all cases, 
but this seldom occurred, although human rights groups sometimes 
provided free counsel to indigent clients. Defendants, their lawyers, 
and judges have the right to question witnesses and to present 
witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and their 
attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to their 
cases, except in politically sensitive cases. Defendants have the right 
to appeal decisions. The law extends these rights to all citizens.
    In some cases, local leaders may decide whether to apply the Muslim 
concept of dia, which involves a payment to the family of a crime 
victim. The practice was common in Muslim areas. Non-Muslim groups, 
which supported implementation of a civil code, continued to challenge 
the use of the dia concept, arguing that it was unconstitutional.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--In 2010 an opposition Web site 
released a list of 750 prisoners, not all of whom were alleged to be 
political prisoners, detained at Koro Toro prison, which was closed to 
new prisoners in February. According to the ICRC, its caseload of 
political prisoners decreased markedly during the year following 
several waves of prisoner releases from Koro Toro and other detention 
facilities. Most of those released were suspected of supporting armed 
opposition leaders responsible for attacks on N'Djamena in 2008. Among 
those released were seven alleged United Front for Democratic Change 
rebels held incommunicado since 2007. Some political detainees were 
transferred to the Central Prison in N'Djamena. According to local 
human rights organizations, not all prisoners were transferred or 
released from Koro Toro and some remained incarcerated; the absence of 
statistics and records made it difficult to ascertain how many remained 
incarcerated in Koro Toro.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary was not 
always independent or impartial in civil matters. There are 
administrative and judicial remedies available such as mediation for 
alleged wrongs. Suits for human rights violations may be brought before 
the penal tribunal or the penal court; compensation is addressed in the 
civil court.

    Property Restitution.--Using its power of eminent domain, the 
government continued to confiscate private property and demolish homes, 
businesses, and NGO headquarters during the year as part of ongoing 
urban renewal efforts in N'Djamena. Numerous persons were deprived of 
shelter and their means of livelihood. Citizens and NGOs alike alleged 
that the government failed to give proper advance notification or to 
otherwise follow the legal requirements for proper compensation. The 
government claimed that it provided compensation to those with deeds; 
however, critics charged that the compensation was inadequate and not 
available to all. N'Djamena residents established neighborhood 
associations to counter arbitrary seizures with the support of Amnesty 
International and local human rights organizations.
    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for the right to privacy and 
inviolability of the home; however, the government conducted illegal 
searches and continued home demolitions in N'Djamena. Unlike in the 
previous year, there were no reports that the government conducted 
wiretaps or monitored private mail and e-mail. Security forces 
regularly stopped citizens and extorted money or confiscated 
belongings.
    The Ministry of Public Security and Immigration did not lift a ban 
on both the possession and use of satellite telephones. Military and 
police personnel searched for and confiscated satellite telephones.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of opinion, expression, 
and press, with restrictions if public order, good morals, or the 
rights of others are affected; the government generally respected this 
right in practice.

    Freedom of Speech.--Unlike in the previous year, newspapers were 
free to criticize the government and did so regularly, although some 
self-monitored in terms of the limits of such criticism.

    Freedom of Press.--There were no reports of press restrictions 
during the year. However, a requirement agreed to by the ruling and 
opposition parties providing for equal coverage by radio stations 
during the legislative and presidential campaigns had the effect of 
limiting coverage to the larger state-owned public stations because 
private and community stations lacked, in all cases, the capacity and, 
in some cases, the desire, to cover all candidates equally.
    Newspapers openly criticized government policies and activities. 
Opposition newspapers published cartoon caricatures of government 
ministers and of the president. No action was taken against newspapers 
that published articles negatively portraying MPS activities or party 
members, including senior officials.
    Radio remained the most important medium of mass communication. 
Government-owned Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne had several 
branches. There were numerous private radio stations that broadcast 
throughout the country, many of them owned by religious organizations.
    A new radio station in Lere, Mayo-Kebbi West, Radio Communitaire, 
was inaugurated in June by a local NGO that is dedicated to addressing 
health, human rights, and rural development issues.
    FM Radio call-in programs broadcast the views of callers that 
included open criticism of the government and calls for the government 
to be changed through the elections process.
    The government owned and operated the only domestic television 
station but did not interfere with reception of channels originating 
outside the country.

    Violence and Harassment.--There were no cases of violence 
perpetrated on any journalist. On rare occasions, journalists were 
warned in writing by the High Council for Communication to produce more 
``responsible'' journalism or face fines.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The constitution prohibits 
propaganda of an ethnic, regionalist, or religious nature that affects 
national unity or the secular nature of the state. Some journalists and 
publishers practiced self-censorship.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or, unlike the previous year, credible reports that the 
government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and 
groups could express their views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, with 
restrictions if the rights of others, public order, and morals are 
affected; the government respected this right in practice. The law 
requires organizers of demonstrations to notify the government five 
days in advance.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, with restrictions if the rights of others, 
public order, and morals are affected, and the government generally 
respected this right in practice.
    An ordinance requires prior authorization from the Ministry of 
Territorial Administration before an association, including a labor 
union, may be formed; however, there were no reports that the ordinance 
was enforced. The ordinance also allows for the immediate 
administrative dissolution of an association and permits authorities to 
monitor association funds.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for freedom of movement, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, the government imposed limits on these rights.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, and other persons of concern.

    In-country Movement.--Insecurity in the east, consisting primarily 
of incidents of violent criminality by armed bandits, hindered the 
ability of humanitarian organizations to provide services to refugees. 
NGO workers traveling between camps were sometimes victims of 
carjackings and armed robberies by bandits.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Approximately 130,000 IDPs, 
most of whom were displaced in the east in 2005 as a result of 
interethnic fighting over scarce water and land resources during 
drought, resided in 38 camps in the country. Some 50,000 IDPs returned 
home during the year, some with direct assistance provided by UNHCR. 
Many IDPs were reluctant to return to their original homes because of 
fragile security conditions and because their property had been 
resettled by other groups and frequently provided less access to 
potable water and primary health care. In March government officials 
stated their commitment to help IDPs return home or resettle elsewhere 
in the country, but lacked a strategy to achieve this goal. Several 
areas of IDP return were only partially accessible to humanitarian 
organizations because of security constraints, according to a U.N. 
Secretary General report in April. The government continued to allow 
IDPs access to humanitarian organizations and permitted them to accept 
assistance provided by these groups. The U.N. and other humanitarian 
organizations operated in the country during the year and provided 
services to IDPs and refugees.
    The departure of MINURCAT (the U.N. Mission in the Central African 
Republic and Chad) reduced the U.N.'s ability to monitor the safety of 
IDPs and other civilians, according to the U.N. Secretary General's 
report. Sexual violence against displaced women and girls in eastern 
Chad was a problem. There were reports that men in uniform, who may 
have included members of the security forces, local indigenous groups, 
or unemployed male IDPs and bandits, raped female IDPs (see section 
1.d.).
    As in the rest of the country, perpetrators of sexual violence 
rarely were prosecuted, and government efforts to protect vulnerable 
women and girls were inadequate. However, the government conducted 
extensive sensitization campaigns against sexual violence and urged 
women to come forward without fear of reprisal. DIS personnel, for 
example, are trained in sexual and gender-based violence and all DIS 
units now have female officers.
    Although there were more than 70 international humanitarian 
organizations in the eastern part of the country, there were gaps in 
their protection mechanisms as well. The mobile courts set up by the 
U.N. only made occasional visits to each area and rarely addressed 
sexual violence cases. The formal judicial system was unable to provide 
consistent and predictable recourse or legal protections. Traditional 
or customary legal systems were subject to ethnic or regional 
variations.
    Tension between IDPs and local communities existed. IDPs were 
generally located near potable water and health services provided to 
them by international humanitarian agencies, which sometimes resulted 
in resentment among host communities that did not receive such 
services.
    An indeterminate number of persons lost their homes and means of 
livelihood as a result of the government's ongoing urban renewal 
program in N'Djamena (see section 1.f.).

    Protection of Refugees.--Approximately 270,000 Sudanese refugees 
from Darfur remained in the country; most were located in 12 camps 
along the eastern border with Sudan. Approximately 80,000 refugees from 
the Central African Republic (CAR) lived primarily in five camps in the 
south, and approximately 5,000 refugees of various nationalities lived 
in urban areas.
    MINURCAT concluded operations and withdrew from the country at the 
end of 2010. MINURCAT's functions to protect refugee camps were assumed 
by the DIS comprised of Chadian military and police forces trained by 
MINURCAT. While DIS was generally effective in improving protection for 
refugee and IDP camps and for U.N. and other humanitarian operations in 
the eastern part of the country, many of the attacks on refugee women 
and girls fell outside its area of jurisdiction.

    Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do not provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status; however, the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees.

    Refugee Abuse.--According to UNHCR data, there were 37 rapes, 13 
cases of attempted rape, and 540 cases of sexual or gender-based 
violence reported between November 2010 and May 2011. It was unclear 
whether these higher figures were due to improved reporting or 
increased violence. In the majority of cases, the perpetrators were 
either fellow refugees or unknown individuals just outside the camps. 
These figures likely underestimated the extent of rape since rape was 
often not reported due to cultural sensitivities.
    UNHCR and its partner organizations continued to express concern 
regarding the potential for militarization of refugee camps by Sudanese 
and Chadian rebels, particularly camps located close to the border. 
However, the recruitment of refugees, including children, into rebel 
armed groups waned during the year. The U.N. had no confirmed cases of 
child soldiers in the ANT during the year (see section 6, Child 
Soldiers).
    Anti-refugee sentiment among citizens living in refugee-impacted 
areas was high. Children who were refugees or IDPs often had better 
access to education and health services than those in surrounding local 
populations due to extensive humanitarian interventions on their 
behalf. Resentment between citizens and refugees also occurred due to 
competition for local resources such as wood, water, and grazing land, 
and because Sudanese refugees received goods and services that were not 
available to the local population. Similar conflicts occurred in areas 
hosting refugees from CAR.

    Durable Solutions.--The government cooperated with UNHCR in 
supporting local integration of refugees from CAR in southern Chad. 
However, the government did not support UNHCR's efforts to promote 
third-country resettlement for refugees from Darfur. The government 
allowed refugees from CAR to be referred for resettlement in third 
countries.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Although the constitution and law provide citizens with the right 
to change their government, the government continued to limit this 
right in practice. The executive branch dominated the other branches of 
government.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Although 
fraught with operational problems, international observers including 
the EU, African Union, and the Organisation Internationale de la 
Francophonie, the pan-African civil society group Coordination des 
Experts Electoraux Africains, and government and opposition-affiliated 
Chadian civil society actors deemed the February legislative elections 
to be legitimate and credible. No violence was associated with the 
elections, and there was no evidence of a systematic effort to deny 
voters their right to freely choose. Opposition candidates were given 
equal access to and treatment by national television, and security and 
government officials generally maintained a neutral posture during the 
campaigns.
    The presidential vote in April occurred without violence or 
incident, and the election was organized in a manner sufficiently 
consistent with international standards and local laws that the 
electorate was in general permitted free expression of choice. However, 
local groups criticized the lack of participation by the three 
opposition candidates and low voter turnout.

    Political Parties.--There were approximately 120 registered 
political parties. The main opposition coalition was well-treated, in 
part to provide proof that the country had a multiparty system; 
however, smaller opposition parties were subjected to government 
interference. Northerners, particularly members of the Zaghawa ethnic 
group, including the Bideyat subclan to which the president belongs, 
were overrepresented in key institutions of state power, including the 
military officer corps, elite military units, and the presidential 
staff.
    Opposition leaders accused the government of denying funds and 
equal broadcast time on state-run media.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 10 women in the 
188-seat National Assembly. Five of the 40 cabinet ministers were 
women. Both the cabinet and the National Assembly had diverse ethnic 
representation.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for corruption; however, the 
government did not implement the law effectively, and corruption was 
pervasive at all levels of government. The World Bank's most recent 
Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a severe 
problem.
    The police, gendarmerie, and military forces addressed arms 
proliferation in prior years through a concerted effort to confiscate 
illicit arms. There were fewer incidents of military, police, and 
gendarmes extorting payments from motorists following a crackdown on ad 
hoc roadblocks ordered by the president and as a result of 
international law enforcement training initiatives.
    Impunity for officials, particularly for the military and other 
influential persons, was common. For example, members of the Judiciary 
Police, which is an office within the National Police with arrest 
authority, often did not enforce domestic court orders against the 
military or members of their own ethnic groups. Judicial lack of 
independence and corruption also were problems.
    The Ministry of Good Governance is responsible for fighting 
corruption. The ministry carried out several investigations of 
government malfeasance during the first six months of the year and 
reportedly recovered more than 4 billion CFA ($8 million).
    The government investigated several officials connected to various 
corruption scandals, including a textbook scandal involving 1.5 billion 
CFA ($3 million) in false contracts. All 141 government officials 
associated with the textbook scandal and 34 others investigated in 
connection with embezzlement and misappropriation were released; in 
most cases charges were dropped.
    In 2010 the High Court formally investigated seven ministers in 
connection with the textbook scandal. Charges against former minister 
of education Abdramane Koko, former deputy minister of finance Oumar 
Boukar Gana, and former minister and secretary-general of the 
government Limane Mahamat, who had been previously jailed on corruption 
allegations, were dropped on the basis of insufficient evidence. Former 
secretary-general of the presidency Haroun Kabadi, also implicated and 
jailed in connection with the scandal, was released and subsequently 
appointed as special advisor to President Deby and secretary general of 
the ruling MPS party. In June he was elected head of the National 
Assembly. Sixteen other government officials from the ministries of 
finance and education arrested in connection with the case were also 
freed due to insufficient evidence.
    N'Djamena Mayor Marie-Therese Mbailemndada was arrested in August 
and held in police detention pending investigation of charges of 
mismanagement and inability to account for 1.2 billion CFA ($2.4 
million). She was later released. Her predecessor, Mahamat Zen Bada, 
was also arrested on corruption charges in 2009 and removed from 
office, but released when charges against him were dropped in August 
2010. Zen Bada ran President Deby's 2011 reelection campaign in the 
Guera Region.
    The government took limited action regarding International Crisis 
Group charges that it did not award in a transparent fashion public 
works contracts financed by oil revenues; the lack of transparency 
increased corruption and cronyism.
    In June the Ministry of Good Governance held an anticorruption 
seminar for security force officials and civil servants. This followed 
training sessions the previous year for local officials on ethics and 
good governance; governors from the 22 regions attended the seminars.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws; 
however, the law was not enforced, and officials did not readily 
disclose details of their financial status.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information, although the government provided such access to 
government-employed journalists. The government's budget is publicly 
available in printed form upon request from the Ministry of Finance and 
includes incomes and expenditures. However, some of the expenditures 
are allocated through extra budgetary spending measures. Independent 
media journalists stated that they were not given sufficient access to 
government information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Government officials generally were accessible to human rights 
advocates but were sometimes unresponsive or hostile to their findings. 
There were no reports that the government actively obstructed the work 
of domestic human rights organizations. Such groups were able to 
investigate and publish their findings on human rights cases. Human 
rights groups were outspoken in publicizing abuses through reports, 
press releases, and the print media, but only occasionally successfully 
intervened with authorities.
    There were no reports that the government arrested or harassed NGO 
employees.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated 
with international governmental organizations and permitted visits by 
U.N. representatives. There were no reports that the government 
obstructed the work of international human rights organizations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on 
origin, race, gender, religion, political opinion, or social status, 
the government did not effectively enforce these provisions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is prohibited and 
punishable by hard labor; however, rape, including of female refugees 
and IDPs, was a problem (see section 2.d.). No reliable data on the 
extent of the problem was available. The law does not specifically 
address spousal rape. Although police often arrested and detained 
alleged perpetrators, rape cases usually were not tried, and most 
suspects were released. Cultural norms sometimes forced women and girls 
to marry their attackers to preserve their honor.
    Although the law prohibits violence against women, domestic 
violence, including spousal abuse, was common. Wives traditionally were 
subject to the authority of their husbands, and they had limited legal 
recourse in cases of abuse. Family or traditional authorities could 
provide assistance in such cases and often did, but police rarely 
intervened. During the year some women began reporting cases of 
violence and abuse to local human rights organizations. Information on 
the number of abusers who were prosecuted, convicted, or punished was 
unavailable.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--The law prohibits FGM; however, 
the practice was widespread, particularly in rural areas. The U.N. 
Population Fund (UNFPA) reported that 44 percent of women and girls had 
undergone excision, with rates as high as 90 to 100 percent in some 
regions. The practice was prevalent especially among ethnic groups in 
the east and south. All three types of FGM were practiced. The least 
common but most dangerous and severe type, infibulation, was confined 
largely to the region on the eastern border with Sudan. FGM usually was 
performed prior to puberty as a rite of passage.
    FGM could be prosecuted as a form of assault under the penal code, 
and charges could be brought against the parents of victims, medical 
practitioners, or others involved in the action. However, prosecution 
was hindered by the lack of specific penalty provisions in the penal 
code. There were no reports that any such suits were brought during the 
year. The Ministry of Social Action and Family was responsible for 
coordinating activities to combat FGM. The government, with assistance 
from the U.N., continued to conduct public awareness campaigns to 
discourage the practice and highlight its dangers as part of its 
efforts to combat gender-based violence. The campaign encouraged 
persons to speak out against FGM and other forms of abuse against women 
and girls.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, 
and such harassment was a problem.

    Reproductive Rights.--The law provides for the right of couples and 
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of 
their children, as well as to have access to information regarding 
birth control methods. However, many persons lacked access to medical 
care, particularly those in rural areas. Couples lacked access to 
contraception and, according to UNFPA, only an estimated 3 percent of 
women used any form of contraception. According to UNFPA, the incidence 
of maternal mortality was 1,200 per 100,000 live births, and a woman's 
lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 14. The country had a severe 
shortage of healthcare providers (less than 400 physicians) and a 
significant shortage of nurses, midwives, hospital staff, and 
specialists such as pediatricians. Prenatal care was limited due to 
inadequate health infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. Low 
immunization rates and poor post-natal and child care education were 
other constraints.
    According to U.N. estimates, only 14 percent of births were 
attended by skilled health personnel. Women were equally diagnosed and 
treated with men for sexual transmitted infections; treatment was free.

    Discrimination.--Discrimination against women and exploitation of 
women were widespread. Although formal property and inheritance laws do 
not discriminate against women, local leaders adjudicated most 
inheritance cases in favor of men, according to traditional practice. 
The Ministry of Social Action and Family is responsible for addressing 
gender-related issues. Women did not have equal opportunities for 
education and training, making it difficult for them to compete for 
formal sector jobs. Women were discriminated against in access to 
employment, credit, and pay equity for substantially similar work, and 
in owning or managing businesses due to cultural norms.
    The law states that persons of legal age (18 according to formal 
law and 13 to 14 in traditional practice) have the right to decide 
whether to be married. The law does not address polygyny, but husbands 
may opt at any time to declare a marriage polygynous. If a husband 
takes a second wife, the first wife has the right to request that her 
marriage be dissolved, but she must repay her bride price and other 
marriage-related expenses.
    A UNFPA-supported government awareness campaign to combat gender-
based violence was expanded during the year to Pala in the south. The 
campaign included raising awareness regarding rape, sexual harassment, 
FGM, discrimination against women, and early marriage. In his August 
inaugural speech, President Deby called for an end to ``traditional 
practices,'' particularly in rural areas, where child marriage, FGM, 
unwanted pregnancy, and the denial of educational opportunities to 
girls were most common.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country's territory and from one's parents; however, 
children born to refugees from Sudan were not always considered 
citizens. Children born to refugees from CAR were generally granted 
Chadian citizenship. The government did not register all births 
immediately, and those without birth certificates could only be 
enrolled in school provisionally and were required to subsequently 
obtain a birth certificate. Schools could call on witnesses to verify 
the age of the child.

    Education.--By law education is universal and tuition-free, and 
primary education is compulsory between the ages of six and 11; 
however, parents were often required to pay tuition to public schools 
beyond the primary level. Parents also were required to pay for 
textbooks, except in some rural areas. Parent-teacher associations 
hired and paid approximately half of teachers, without government 
reimbursement. Schools did not exist in many locations. According to 
the World Bank Development Indicators Database, only six girls for 
every 10 boys attended primary school. Most children did not attend 
secondary school, where enrollment of girls was also lower than that of 
boys.
    Several human rights organizations reported on the problem of the 
mouhadjirin, migrant children who attended certain Islamic schools and 
were forced by their teachers to beg for food and money. Children with 
discipline problems were often sent to these schools by their parents, 
who hoped the harsh conditions would ameliorate behavioral problems. 
There was no reliable estimate of the number of mouhadjirin.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse remained a problem, but no data was 
available on its extent. The Ministry of Social Action and Family is 
responsible for the protection of children. The ministry undertook 
public awareness campaigns, although resources remained limited. During 
the year the Ministry of Education closed several Qur'anic schools 
where there had been violations of child protection laws.
    Armed bandits kidnapped children to obtain ransom in the Mayo-Kebbi 
Ouest Region (see section 1.b.).

    Child Marriage.--Although the law prohibits sexual relations with a 
girl younger than 14, even if she is married, the ban was rarely 
enforced. In practice, families arranged marriages for girls as young 
as 12 or 13, with 11 being the minimum age for engagement. The law 
prohibits forced marriages of anyone younger than 18 and provides for 
imprisonment of six months to two years and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 
CFA ($100 to $1,000). Anyone older than 18 has the right to decide for 
themselves. Nevertheless, forced marriage of girls was a serious 
problem, including among refugees. According to UNICEF data collected 
between 2000 and 2009, approximately 72 percent of women between the 
ages of 20 and 24 were married before the age of 18. The custom of 
buying and selling child brides was widespread. Girls that objected to 
being forcibly married often suffered physical assaults by their family 
members and husbands. Many young wives were forced to work long hours 
for their husbands in the fields or at home.

    Child Soldiers.--The law prohibits the use of child soldiers. 
According to UNICEF, there were no confirmed cases of conscription of 
child soldiers during the year. There remain a number of reported, but 
still unverified, cases that the U.N. continued to investigate. A 16-
year-old identified as part of an ANT patrol in the Ngoungour-Kawa area 
in July and October 2010 was found and released in March through the 
intervention of the local prefect and the ANT commander following 
confirmation by the child's parents of his age.
    The demobilization of remaining children from security forces was 
completed in 2010. There were no confirmed reports of armed groups, 
either Chadian or from Sudan, recruiting children from refugee camps 
along the eastern border during the year (see section 2.d.).
    In 2010 Chad hosted a regional conference to end recruitment and 
use of children in armed conflict. The conference was organized with 
support from UNICEF and included delegations from Cameroon, CAR, Niger, 
Nigeria, and Sudan. UNICEF noted that Chad's progress in addressing 
child soldiers had made it a regional leader on the issue. Conference 
participants signed the N'Djamena Declaration, pledging to eliminate 
the recruitment and involvement of children in armed forces, armed 
groups, and in all forms of hostilities. An action plan to implement 
the declaration was signed by the governments and international 
partners on June 15, and was followed by biweekly meetings of a 
government action committee in August and September. On June 14, the 
government signed a comprehensive child soldiers' action plan with the 
U.N. The plan included commitments on demobilization and reintegration 
of child soldiers; prevention, awareness raising, and capacity 
building; legal procedures and discipline for offenders; and access to 
military sites for detection and investigation on the use of child 
soldiers.
    The government continued to transfer children associated with 
returning rebel groups to UNICEF for reintegration and rehabilitation. 
According to UNICEF, 1,031 child soldiers were returned to civilian 
life from February 2007 to September 2011, with more than 95 percent 
returned to their communities. The significant improvement of the 
security environment in eastern Chad since 2010 facilitated family 
tracing and reunification in previously inaccessible areas. The 
government cooperated with international efforts to provide 
rehabilitation services.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish community, nor were there 
any reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities, and while the government made 
efforts to enforce this prohibition in N'Djamena, it was unable to do 
so throughout the country. There were no laws or programs to ensure 
access to buildings for persons with disabilities; however, the 
government operated a few education, employment, and therapy programs 
for such persons.
    The country had numerous persons with disabilities caused by polio, 
and many such persons held ranking positions in the government.
    The government, in conjunction with NGOs, continued to sponsor an 
annual day of activities to raise awareness of the rights of persons 
with disabilities. The Ministry of Social Action and Family is 
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There are approximately 200 
ethnic groups, many of which were concentrated regionally. They speak 
128 distinct primary languages. Although most ethnic groups were 
affiliated with one of two regional and cultural traditions--Arabs and 
Muslims in the North, Center, and East; and Christian or animist groups 
in the South--internal migrations in response to urbanization and 
desertification resulted in the integration of these groups in some 
areas.
    Interethnic violence continued, particularly in the east and south. 
Clashes occurred between herders and sedentary populations and other 
interethnic violence that often concerned use of increasingly scarce 
arable lands due to desertification.
    Societal discrimination was practiced routinely by members of 
virtually all ethnic groups and was evident in patterns of employment. 
The law prohibits government discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, 
although in practice ethnicity continued to influence government 
appointments and political alliances. Political parties and groups 
generally had readily identifiable regional or ethnic bases.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no known lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations. There were few 
reports of violence or discrimination against LGBT persons, in large 
part because most LGBT persons were discreet about sexual orientation 
due to social and cultural strictures against homosexuality. The law 
prohibits but does not define ``unnatural acts,'' and there was no 
evidence that the law was used against LGBT persons during the year.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law provides for 
persons with HIV/AIDS to have the same rights as other persons and 
obligates the government to provide information, education, and access 
to tests and treatment for persons with HIV/AIDS. However, societal 
discrimination continued to be aimed at persons living with HIV/AIDS, 
and government officials were not always well informed on educating 
such persons on their rights and treatment options. Women were 
sometimes accused of passing HIV to their husbands and were threatened 
by family members with judicial action or banishment.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows all employees except members of the armed forces to form 
or join unions of their choice without excessive requirements, but the 
authorization of the Ministry of Territorial Administration is 
required. The Ministry of Territorial Administration can also order the 
immediate administrative dissolution of a union. The law allows unions 
to organize and bargain collectively. The law recognizes the right to 
strike but restricts the right of civil servants and employees of state 
enterprises to do so. Civil servants and employees of state 
enterprises, including civil servants and teachers, must complete a 
mediation process and notify the government before striking. Employees 
of several public entities deemed essential must continue to provide a 
certain level of services. The law restricts the right to strike in the 
public sector, prolongs the period before a strike can occur, and the 
definition of essential services is overly broad. The law permits 
imprisonment with forced labor as punishment for participation in 
illegal strikes. While there are no restrictions on collective 
bargaining, the law authorizes the government to intervene under 
certain circumstances. The labor code prohibits antiunion 
discrimination. It explicitly covers all workers, including foreign and 
illegal workers. However, the protections provided were not always 
respected in practice.
    The government effectively protected the right to freedom of 
association and collective bargaining. However, collective bargaining 
and its appeal procedures were sometimes subject to delays. Delays were 
often caused due to bureaucracy, lack of capacity, and other factors 
such as difficulties in convening key players in the negotiations. 
There were no reports that the authorization of the Ministry of 
Territorial Administration required for union formation was carried out 
during the year. There were also no reports of restrictions on 
collective bargaining or punishment for participating in illegal 
strikes.
    Unions are officially independent of both government and political 
parties, although some unions were unofficially linked through 
membership affiliation with either ruling or opposition parties. The 
government did not influence or interfere in a series of strikes held 
by two of the largest unions during the year. Unions negotiated 
successfully with the government for salary increases for public and 
private sector workers, which ended the strikes. In general, there was 
no antiunion discrimination in practice. In the formal sector more than 
90 percent of employees belonged to unions; however, the great majority 
of workers were self-employed, nonunionized, unpaid, subsistence 
cultivators or herders. The government, which owned enterprises that 
dominated many sectors of the formal economy, remained the largest 
employer.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
states that persons cannot be held as slaves or in servitude, and the 
law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children. A 1991 
law sets the minimum age at 18 for any citizen wanting to join the 
army. The law permits imprisonment with forced labor for participation 
in illegal strikes. The law also prohibits the use of child soldiers.
    Nevertheless, forced labor, particularly forced child labor, 
occurred in the informal sector. Children and adults in the rural 
sector were involved in forced agricultural work and in urban areas in 
domestic servitude.
    The majority of forced child laborers were subjected to domestic 
servitude, forced begging, forced labor in cattle herding, fishing, and 
street vending. Children from Chad were found in forced cattle herding 
in Cameroon, CAR, and Nigeria. Girls sold or forced into child 
marriages were forced by their husbands into domestic servitude and 
agricultural labor. Some young girls were forced into marriages by 
their families and then compelled to work in their husbands' fields or 
homes while they were still too young to do so safely.
    There were no instances of forced labor involving migrant workers.
    Forced labor in prisons occurred.
    See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor code stipulates that the minimum age for employment is 14, except 
that children may work as apprentices beginning at age 13.
    Violations of safety and health standards may lead to penalties 
ranging from approximately 75,000 CFA to 300,000 CFA ($150 to $600). 
Penalties for second offenses may include fines of more than 500,000 
CFA ($1,000) and/or between one and 10 days of imprisonment. The Office 
of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor has responsibility 
for the enforcement of the minimum wage, work hours, and occupational 
health and safety standards. The Ministry of Labor has inspectors 
deployed throughout the country. Labor inspectors can refer cases to 
the Ministry of Justice for prosecution. While not specialized in the 
protection of children per se, the ministry has provided training to 
these inspectors on children's issues. In practice, however, the 
government did not effectively enforce these laws due to several 
factors, including limited financial and human resources, inadequate 
knowledge by the workforce of their rights provided by the law, and 
corruption.
    The Office of Labor Inspection is responsible for enforcement of 
child labor laws and policies; however, the laws were not effectively 
enforced. No prosecutions were conducted during the year. As in 
previous years, the office reportedly had no funding to carry out field 
work and investigations. Police reportedly sometimes took extrajudicial 
actions against traffickers and child labor offenders, including 
beating them and imposing unofficial fines. Traditional leaders also 
sometimes meted out traditional punishments, such as ostracism.
    The government did not have a comprehensive plan to eliminate the 
worst forms of child labor; however, the government continued to work 
with UNICEF and NGOs to increase public awareness of child labor. In 
addition, the campaign continued to educate parents and civil society 
on the dangers of child labor, particularly for child herders, who 
often were sent to distant locations where they were abused.
    In his August 2011 inaugural speech, President Deby again publicly 
admonished parents who forced their children to herd instead of sending 
them to schools.
    Regarding the prohibition of the use of child soldiers, the 
government generally enforced the law in practice. UNICEF maintained 
that the ANT did not recruit children during the year and had earlier 
ceased using children in combat roles. In June the government agreed to 
a U.N. Action Plan to prevent future recruitment of child soldiers. In 
September UNICEF closed down its last rehabilitation center for child 
soldiers, having found no more cases (see section 6, Child Soldiers).
    Child labor was a serious problem. The low legal minimum age for 
employment, lack of any schooling opportunities in some areas, and 
tribal initiation rites rendering children informally adults by the age 
of 14 contributed to a general perception that child labor did not 
constitute exploitation unless the victims were less than age 13 or 14.
    An estimated 20 percent of children between the ages of six and 18 
worked in exploitive labor in the urban informal sector, according to a 
2005 study published by Human Rights Without Borders. Children were 
regularly employed as herders, domestics, crop-pickers, and in panning 
for gold. They also were employed in the commercial sector, 
particularly in the capital, as street vendors, manual laborers, and 
helpers in small shops. Contracts were typically entered into 
informally between parents and herders and generally included 
compensation (including a small monthly salary and generally one animal 
at the end of six months). Local NGOs reported that compensation was 
often not paid.
    The country's numerous child herders working outside of traditional 
herding clans often lived in substandard conditions without access to 
school or proper nutrition. These herders were customarily given one 
cow as payment for one year's work, but herd managers sometimes refused 
to pay this salary, or the child's parents collected the payment for 
themselves.
    Children worked as domestic servants, mainly in the capital. 
According to a 2005 UNICEF-government survey of child domestics in 
N'Djamena (the most recent data source available), 62 percent of child 
domestics were boys, 24 percent were between eight and 14 years of age, 
68 percent were between 15 and 17, and 86 percent were illiterate. 
Local human rights organizations reported an increase in the number of 
child domestic workers during the year.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor code requires the 
government to set minimum wages. The monthly minimum wage was raised 
during the year from 28,000 CFA ($56) to 60,000 CFA ($120); however, 
the minimum wage was not effectively enforced. The law limits most 
employment to 39 hours per week, with overtime paid for supplementary 
hours. Agricultural work was limited to 2,400 hours per year, an 
average of 46 hours per week. All workers were entitled to unbroken 
rest periods of between 24 and 48 hours. The labor code mandates 
occupational health and safety standards and gives inspectors the 
authority to enforce them. Workers had the right to remove themselves 
from dangerous working conditions. The labor code explicitly covers all 
workers, including foreign and illegal workers.
    Nearly all private sector and state-owned firms paid at least the 
minimum wage, but it was largely ignored in the vast informal sector. 
Salary arrears remained a problem, although less so than in previous 
years.
    Workers did not always avail themselves of their rights concerning 
work hour limits, largely because they preferred the additional pay.
    The occupational health and safety standards were generally ignored 
by local private companies and in the civil service. Multinational 
companies generally met acceptable occupational health safety 
standards. However, local private companies and public offices often 
applied poor standards including lack of air conditioning (in part due 
to highly irregular electrical supply), little or no fire device 
protection, and little or no health and safety protection equipment. 
Workers had the right to remove themselves from dangerous working 
conditions, however, in practice, with so few jobs in the formal 
sector, doing so for any reason often meant jeopardizing their 
employment.
    Public sector employees sometimes claimed wage-related violations; 
however, these were generally due to arrears in payment of salaries 
and/or bonuses or complaints over the low level of wages. The 
protections legally provided for foreign and illegal workers were not 
always respected in practice.

                               __________

                                COMOROS

                           executive summary
    The Union of the Comoros is a constitutional, multiparty republic. 
The country consists of three islands--Grande Comore (also called 
Ngazidja), Anjouan, and Moheli--and claims a fourth, Mayotte, which 
France governs. In November and December 2010 elections were held to 
choose a new union president as well as governors for each of the three 
islands. Serious electoral irregularities on the island of Anjouan 
noted by some observers were not sufficient to change the outcome of 
the national contests, and the constitutional court upheld the results 
of the elections. On May 26, former vice president Ikililou Dhoinine 
became president of the Comoros. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Official corruption, bribery in particular, was a pervasive problem 
in the government at all levels. Children were subject to various forms 
of abuse from violence to forced labor, including the worst forms of 
child labor, and trafficking in persons. The government did not 
effectively enforce laws providing protections of worker's rights.
    Other human rights problems reported during the year included poor 
prison conditions, long pretrial detention, restrictions on press 
freedom, violence and societal discrimination against women, and 
criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual activity.
    Impunity for violations of human rights existed. The government 
rarely took steps to prosecute, much less punish, officials anywhere in 
the government who committed abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year 
there were no confirmed reports the government or its agents committed 
any politically motivated killings. However, in June 2010 Colonel Combo 
Ayouba, a senior army officer, was assassinated at his home in Moroni. 
At year's end an investigation continued, and the chief of staff of the 
Comoran Defense Forces was under house arrest for his possible role in 
the killing (see section 1.e).

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and laws prohibit such practices. During 
the year there were no reports government officials employed them.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The detention facility in 
Moroni was known as the national prison. There were detention 
facilities as well on Anjouan and Moheli. The military detained 
security personnel in its own facilities. National or island-level 
authorities used these various detention facilities as deemed 
appropriate, and detainees could be transferred from either Anjouan or 
Moheli to Grande Comore depending upon the nature of the offense.
    The limited available information indicated that prison conditions 
remained poor. Detainees and prisoners normally received a single 
meager meal per day. They depended on family members to supplement 
their diet; those with no relations in the area suffered. Common 
problems included nonpotable water, inadequate sanitation, 
overcrowding, inadequate medical facilities, and poor diet. During the 
year there were no reports of deaths of prison inmates.
    The national prison in Moroni accommodated a maximum of 150 persons 
under crowded conditions. Consistent records of prison populations were 
not available. Authorities held pretrial detainees with convicted 
prisoners.
    Prisoners and detainees were permitted reasonable access to 
visitors and Muslim religious observance. Prisoners could also bring 
complaints to the attention of authorities; however, investigations or 
follow-up actions almost never occurred.
    The government permitted visits by independent human rights 
observers.
    There were some documented improvements in conditions in the Badjo 
detention facility on Moheli island, where a renovation included a new 
cellblock, potable water and sanitation infrastructure, and beds.

    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.--Six separate security 
forces report to four different authorities. Union government forces 
include the Army of National Development and the Gendarmerie, which 
report to the president's Cabinet Director for Defense (equivalent of 
minister); and the National Directorate of Territorial Safety 
(immigration and customs) under the Minister of Interior, Information, 
and Decentralization. Each of the three islands also has its own local 
police force under the authority of its ministry of interior.
    Impunity was a problem, and there was no mechanism to investigate 
police abuses. Police and security forces participated in training on 
civil-military relations, public health, and peacekeeping operations.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires warrants for arrests and permits detainees to be held for 24 
hours, although these provisions were not always respected in practice. 
The prosecutor must approve continued detention. A tribunal informs 
detainees of their rights, including the right to legal representation. 
The law provides for the prompt judicial determination of the legality 
of detention, and detainees must be promptly informed of the charges 
against them. In practice these rights were inconsistently respected. 
The law describes a bail system under which the individual is not 
permitted to leave the country. Some detainees did not get prompt 
access to attorneys or families. The law also requires the state to 
provide an attorney for indigent defendants, but this rarely occurred. 
Formal procedures described under the law were subject to 
unpredictable, inconsistent, and broad variations in actual practice.
    Pretrial Detention: Pretrial detention was a problem. By law 
pretrial detainees can be held for only four months, but this period 
can be extended. Detainees routinely await trial for extended periods 
for reasons including administrative delays, case backlogs, and time-
consuming collection of evidence. Some extensions lasted several 
months.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected 
judicial independence in practice. However, judicial inconsistency, 
unpredictability, lack of payment of salaries, and corruption were 
problems.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial 
for all citizens. Under the legal system, which incorporates French 
legal codes and Shari'a (Islamic law), trials are open to the public, 
and defendants are presumed innocent. Juries deliberate criminal cases. 
Defendants have the right to consult an attorney; indigent defendants 
have the right to have one provided at public expense. Defendants may 
be present, access government-held evidence, question witnesses, and 
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. There is an appeal 
process. The formal procedures described in the law were subject to 
unpredictable, inconsistent, and broad variations in actual practice. 
Defendants rarely received legal counsel at public expense.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--In August 2010 the government 
put General Mohamed Amiri Salimou, chief of staff of the Comoran 
Defense Forces, under house arrest for his possible role in the killing 
of Colonel Combo Ayouba (see section 1.a.). In April the Court of First 
Instance acquitted Salimou and all but four of the 30 persons arrested 
with him of the charge of rebellion without pronouncing on the charge 
of murder. The four were sentenced to one year in prison; three have 
been held in solitary confinement. The investigation into the charge of 
killing Combo continued, and Salimou remained under house arrest, with 
no date set for his trial by year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
but not impartial judiciary for civil matters. Officers of formal 
courts frequently asked for payment from parties before the court in 
the course of exercising their functions. Administrative remedies were 
rarely available, although citizens with influence had access to such 
alternatives. Court orders were inconsistently enforced.

    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press.
    Freedom of Press: The union government partially limited press 
freedom by publicly criticizing journalists who wrote controversial 
articles, and journalists on all three islands practiced self-
censorship. According to the Comoran Federation of Human Rights, in 
March the outgoing administration of President Mohamed Sambi pressured 
the state-run newspaper Al Watan and the independent newspaper Al Balad 
to suspend their editor in chief and director, respectively, for 
articles critical of the long transition period and delays in 
inaugurating President Ikililou.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports the government monitored e-mail or Internet 
chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of 
views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country and foreign travel, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice. No specific 
constitutional or legal provisions deal with emigration and 
repatriation.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection to internally displaced persons, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status, and the government has not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees. In practice, although very 
few refugees sought asylum, 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 constitution provides 
for a rotating union government presidency in which every four years 
each island takes a turn at holding a primary for three presidential 
candidates. The constitution thus restricts, by island, those eligible 
to run for the presidency. However, aside from the rotation principle, 
anyone is free to run for election.

    Recent Elections.--In November and December 2010, elections were 
held to choose a new union government president, as well as governors 
for each of the three islands. The turn passed to Moheli. From the 
original 10 candidates (all natives of Moheli), Mohelian voters 
selected three to run in the national election. Although some observers 
noted serious irregularities on the island of Anjouan in the national 
election, these were not sufficient to change the outcome, and the 
constitutional court upheld the final election results. Former vice 
president Ikililou Dhoinine became the union president in May.
    In December 2009 legislative elections were held for both the union 
national assembly (parliament) and the three island assemblies. These 
elections were also considered generally free and fair.
    Participation of Women and Minorities: There was one woman in the 
33-member National Assembly and three women in the 10-member cabinet. 
No minorities held National Assembly seats or ministerial posts in the 
union or island governments.
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 with impunity in corrupt practices, such as 
taking money for performing routine administrative services or doing 
favors. Resident diplomatic, U.N., and humanitarian agency workers 
reported petty corruption was commonplace at all levels of the civil 
service despite the government's anticorruption campaign. Businessmen 
reported corruption and a lack of transparency, and the World Bank 
indicators reflected that corruption was a significant problem.
    Corruption continued in the security forces. Citizens paid bribes 
to evade customs regulations, avoid arrest, and have police reports 
falsified. Some police personnel paid bribes to receive promotions.
    The union Ministry of Justice is responsible for combating 
corruption. However, although public allegations of corruption were 
routine, the government did not charge, prosecute, or discipline 
officials.
    Officials are subject to financial disclosure laws as of June 21. 
Presidential decree No. 11-103/PR implementing a 2008 Law on 
Transparency of Political, Economic, Financial and Social Activities 
requires all officials at union and island levels to declare their 
assets prior to entering office. Officials subject to the law submitted 
written declarations on taking office.
    No laws provide for public access to government information. Those 
who have personal or working relationships with government officials 
can generally access government information, but members of the general 
public cannot.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    One domestic human rights organization and some international 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) generally operated without 
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on 
human rights cases. Domestic NGOs largely supplanted government 
ministries in the provision of some functions, especially in health and 
education. Government officials were generally cooperative and 
responsive to their views.
    The government cooperated with international organizations and 
permitted visits by representatives of the U.N. and other 
organizations. No outside visits were made during the year, but 
domestic human rights and other nongovernmental organizations used 
locally based U.N. personnel as a means of influencing the government. 
No reports or criticisms were issued.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status, there were reports of 
discrimination against women and persons with disabilities.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal and punishable 
by imprisonment of five to 10 years or up to 15 years if the victim is 
younger than age 15. However, the government did not enforce the laws 
on rape effectively. The law does not specifically address spousal 
rape, which occurred. Statistics were scarce, since many of these 
situations were settled within families or by village elders without 
recourse to the formal court system. Authorities believed the problem 
was widespread, as was overall sexual violence. For example, 
allegations of crimes of sexual aggression accounted for about half of 
all persons detained.
    The law prohibits domestic violence. No reliable data were 
available on the extent of the problem. The government did not take any 
concrete action to combat violence against women. While women can seek 
protection through the courts in such cases, extended family or village 
elders customarily addressed such problems. Domestic violence cases 
rarely, if ever, entered the formal court system.

    Sexual Harassment.--al harassment is illegal and punishable by up 
to 10 years' imprisonment. Although rarely reported due to societal 
pressure, such harassment was nevertheless a common problem, and the 
government did not effectively enforce penalties against it.

    Sex Tourism.--The Comoros is a source country for men and women 
subjected to sex trafficking. There are reports that foreign tourists 
frequented establishments where such trafficking occurred.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals are generally free to 
choose the number and spacing of their children, and to have the 
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and 
violence. Modern contraceptive use among married women and girls ages 
15-49 was approximately 19 percent, according to the U.N. Population 
Fund (UNFPA). Existing health resources (including personnel, 
facilities, equipment, and drugs) were inadequate, making it difficult 
for the government to respond to the health needs of the population. 
According to the Population Reference Bureau, approximately 62 percent 
of births were attended by skilled personnel. The UNFPA estimated 
maternal mortality in 2008 to be 340 deaths per 100,000 live births. A 
general lack of adolescent reproductive health information and services 
led to unwanted pregnancies and increased morbidity and mortality among 
adolescent girls. These incidents were generally concealed for social 
and cultural reasons. There are no legal barriers preventing women from 
receiving treatment for sexually transmitted infections, but many 
hesitated to do so due to social and cultural concerns.

    Discrimination.--The law provides for equality of persons, and in 
general, inheritance and property rights practices do not discriminate 
against women. The local cultures on Grande Comore and Moheli are 
traditionally matrilineal, and all inheritable property is the 
possession of women. This cultural practice leads at times to what 
might be seen as discrimination against men in the inheritance of homes 
and land. Men retain the head-of-household role in society. Throughout 
the country, including on Anjouan, land and homes are usually awarded 
to women in case of divorce or separation. Societal discrimination 
against women was most apparent in rural areas where women were mostly 
limited to farming and child-rearing duties, with fewer opportunities 
for education and wage employment. In urban areas growing numbers of 
women were employed and generally earned wages comparable with those of 
men engaged in similar work; however, few women held positions of 
responsibility in business. The Ministry of Health, Solidarity, and 
Gender Promotion is responsible for promoting women's rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Any child having at least one 
Comoran parent is considered a citizen, regardless of where the birth 
takes place. Any child born in the country is considered a citizen 
unless both parents are foreigners, although these children can apply 
for citizenship if they have lived in the country for at least five 
years at the time of their application. An estimated 15 percent of 
children were not officially registered at birth, although many of 
these situations were regularized subsequently. No public services were 
withheld from children who were not officially registered.

    Education.--Universal education is compulsory until the age of 12, 
but not tuition-free. The public education system was in severe 
disrepair; private schools, including madrassas, took up some of the 
slack. When families paid private school tuition, boys generally were 
more likely to attend schools than girls.

    Child Abuse.--The government did not take specific action to 
protect or promote children's welfare and did not enforce legal 
provisions that address the rights and welfare of children. Although 
there were no official statistics on child abuse, it was common and 
often occurred when impoverished families sent their children to work 
for wealthier families. The practice was most prevalent on Anjouan, 
where children were sent to the French department of Mayotte, where the 
population is ethnically related to that of Anjouan. There were also 
scattered reports of teachers raping students in some schools. 
Traditional societal networks rather than formal law enforcement 
investigations generally handled these cases.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Child prostitution and child 
pornography are illegal. The law considers unmarried children under age 
18 to be minors, and they are protected legally from sexual 
exploitation, prostitution, and pornography. The age of consent is 13. 
Anyone convicted of luring a child into prostitution is subject to a 
prison term of two to five years and a fine of 150,000 to one million 
Comoran francs ($417 to $2,778). There were no official statistics 
regarding these matters. There was evidence that children sent to work 
within the country or to Mayotte by family members, or enrolled in 
madrassas were sometimes subject to sexual abuse. The country was a 
source for children subjected to sex trafficking. Girls were exploited 
in prostitution on all three islands in rented houses, nightclubs, and 
hotels, often with the knowledge of their families or after being 
coerced by other young girls. There were reports that foreign tourists 
frequented these establishments.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish population, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

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

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and laws do not 
mandate access to buildings, information, and communication for persons 
with disabilities.
    Handicap Comores, the country's nongovernmental center for persons 
with disabilities on Grande Comore, was run by a local NGO called 
Shiwe, or ``Pillar.'' The center imported wheelchairs and prostheses.
    There is no restriction on the right of persons with disabilities 
to participate in civic affairs.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual 
activity is illegal and can be punished by up to five years' 
imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to one million Comoran francs ($139 
to $2,778). During the year, however, no case of this nature came 
before the courts. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
persons generally did not publicly discuss their sexual orientation, 
due to societal pressure. There were no LGBT organizations.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form and join independent unions of their 
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements. It 
provides for the right to strike, requiring an eight-day notification 
period and specification of the reason for and duration of the strike. 
The law includes a system for resolving labor disputes. Unions have the 
right to bargain collectively. The government, especially the 
ministries of finance and labor, sets wages in the large public sector, 
and imposes a minimum wage in the small private sector. The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without government interference. The 
law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination by employers in hiring 
practices or other employment functions. There are no laws protecting 
strikers from retribution.
    The law was not applied in the settlement of private-sector 
disputes, but was invoked unpredictably and inconsistently in labor 
disputes in the public sector. Worker organizations were independent of 
the government and political parties.
    Workers exercised these rights in practice. There were no reports 
of instances of retribution against strikers. Common problems included 
failure to pay salaries regularly or on time, mostly in the government 
sector, and unfair and abusive dismissal practices such as firing 
employees without giving proper notice or paying the required severance 
pay. There were no incidents of antiunion discrimination during the 
year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor by adults with certain exceptions for 
obligatory military service, community service, and during accidents, 
fires, and disasters. The union government's civil protection unit may 
oblige persons to respond to disasters if it is unable to obtain 
sufficient voluntary assistance. There are no specific prohibitions 
against forced or compulsory child labor. The law was not applied 
during the year.
    Forced child labor occurred in practice, particularly in 
agriculture (planting, weeding, harvesting), fishing, informal retail 
(selling goods on the street), and domestic service.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws 
exist to protect children from exploitation in the workplace. The law 
establishes 15 as the minimum age for employment.
    The government did not enforce such laws. The Ministry of Labor is 
responsible for enforcing child labor laws, but it did not actively or 
effectively do so. There were three labor inspectors (one for each 
island). These inspectors were responsible for all potential violations 
of labor law and did not focus only on child labor cases.
    Children worked in subsistence farming, fishing, in the informal 
sector selling goods along roadsides, and extracting and selling marine 
sand. Children worked on food crops such as manioc and beans, and also 
on cash crops such as vanilla, cloves, and ylang-ylang (a flower used 
to make perfume). Some children worked under forced labor conditions, 
particularly in domestic service, roadside and market selling, and 
agriculture. In addition, some Qur'anic schools arranged for indigent 
students to receive lessons in exchange for labor, which sometimes was 
forced. Some families placed their children in the homes of wealthier 
families where they worked in exchange for food, shelter, or 
educational opportunities. Many children were not paid for their work.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The official estimate for the 
poverty income level is 250,000 Comoran francs ($700) per year.
    Although the union government and local governments did not enforce 
the minimum wage law and workweek standards, unions had adequate 
influence to negotiate de facto minimum wage rates for different skill 
levels for unionized jobs. These provisions applied to all workers, 
regardless of sector or country of origin. In practice unions promoted 
this de facto minimum wage via their ability to strike against 
employers.
    Some employers, particularly the government, were consistently 
remiss in paying salaries. Despite some strikes and other protests, the 
union government was unable regularly to pay government employees--
including low-level officials, teachers, and medical workers--with 
arrears building up over years; most public sector employees did not 
receive more than one third of their expected pay in any given year.
    No safety or health standards exist for worksites.

                               __________

                    DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

                           executive summary
    The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a nominally 
centralized, constitutional republic. The president and the lower house 
of parliament (National Assembly) are popularly elected. Provincial 
assemblies choose the members of the upper house (Senate). On November 
28, the country held multiparty presidential and National Assembly 
elections, which many local and international observers judged lacked 
credibility and were seriously flawed. State security forces (SSF) 
acted independently of civilian control and of military command in many 
instances.
    The three most important human rights issues were: conflict and 
insecurity in the East that exacerbated an already precarious human 
rights situation, particularly sexual- and gender-based violence 
(SGBV); insecurity during the election period; and the lack of an 
independent and effective judiciary.
    Other major human rights problems included the following: impunity 
enjoyed by SSF throughout the country for many serious abuses, 
including unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, rape, and 
arbitrary arrests and detention; severe and life-threatening conditions 
in prison and detention facilities; prolonged pretrial detention; 
arbitrary interference with privacy, family, and home; SSF members' 
abuse and threatening of journalists and human rights advocates, and 
threatening and obstructing the work of U.N. investigators; abuse of 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) by SSF and rebel and militia groups 
(RMG); widespread official corruption; SSF and RMG retention and 
recruitment of child soldiers; and use of forced civilian labor. 
Societal discrimination against and abuse of women and children, 
Pygmies, persons with albinism, and homosexual persons; trafficking in 
persons; child labor; and lack of protection of workers' rights were 
also problems.
    Impunity for human rights abuses was a severe problem in both the 
security services and elsewhere in the government. Authorities did not 
prosecute or punish the great majority of abusers.
    Internal conflicts, particularly in North Kivu, South Kivu, and 
Orientale provinces, permitted RMG to commit violent abuses against 
civilians. These abuses--some of which may constitute war crimes--
included unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, and SGBV. RMG also 
recruited, abducted, and retained child soldiers and compelled forced 
labor. RMG and some army units engaged in the illegal exploitation and 
trade of natural resources in the East. In a separate conflict in the 
Haut Uele and Bas Uele districts of Orientale Province, the Lord's 
Resistance Army (LRA) continued to commit serious human rights 
violations through attacks resulting in deaths, injuries, abductions, 
forced labor, looting, and general insecurity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were several 
occasions during the year when SSF members arbitrarily and summarily 
killed civilians, sometimes during apprehension or while holding them 
in custody, sometimes during protests, and often when victims did not 
surrender their possessions, submit to rape, or perform personal 
services. For example, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that SSF 
killed 24 individuals, including both bystanders and members of the 
opposition, in elections-related violence between December 9 and 14. Of 
these incidents, 20 took place in Kinshasa, two in North Kivu, and two 
in Kasai Occidental.
    The Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), including dissident elements 
that had been poorly integrated into the FARDC, such as former members 
of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) militia 
led by General Bosco Ntaganda (who remained the subject of an 
outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant ), were 
allegedly implicated in politically motivated killings, arbitrary 
arrests, temporary detentions, and the abduction and disappearance of a 
number of individuals.
    The trial of those accused of the 2010 killing of long-time human 
rights activist Floribert Chebeya concluded in June. A court sentenced 
four national police (PNC) officers to death and one to life in prison, 
and acquitted three. The civil party representing the families of the 
deceased claimed only ``partial satisfaction'' with the verdict and 
filed an appeal calling for former PNC Inspector General John Numbi to 
be tried. Several rule of law experts in the country and almost 80 
local and international human rights nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs) also expressed serious concerns about the credibility and 
independence of the investigation and trial. Numbi was suspended from 
his position in June 2010 pending an investigation, but authorities did 
not charge him or put him on trial.
    RMG in conflict zones committed unlawful killings during the year, 
and there were reports that some businesses facilitated such killings 
and other abuses by sourcing minerals from areas controlled by RMG and 
FARDC units (see section 1.g.).

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports of disappearances 
attributable to SSF, including reports of disappearances of members of 
opposition political parties (see section 2.b.). Authorities often 
refused to acknowledge the detention of suspects and in some cases 
detained suspects in secret detention facilities. Local and 
international human rights organizations alleged SSF abducted 
individuals during the electoral period and detained individuals in 
secret nontraditional prisons (military camps and private offices and 
residences).
    For example, on November 4, former CNDP members of the FARDC 
allegedly kidnapped and beat a popular musician after he performed 
songs in support of opposition candidates. They released him on 
November 6 after community demonstrations. On November 9, he spoke at a 
press conference in support of President Kabila, reportedly under 
intense pressure.
    There were no developments in the 2010 case involving Sylvestre 
Bwira, president of the Civil Society of Masisi, North Kivu. FARDC 
units comprised of ex-CNDP members held and severely beat him; he was 
later released. The abuses occurred after he had sent an open letter to 
President Kabila in August 2010 denouncing abuses committed with 
impunity by General Ntaganda's troops and the parallel CNDP 
administration in Masisi Territory. By year's end authorities had taken 
no action to bring those responsible to justice.
    RMG and FARDC units kidnapped numerous persons, generally for 
forced labor, military service, or sexual services, and there were 
reports that commercial sourcing of minerals from areas controlled by 
these entities may have facilitated such kidnappings and other abuses. 
Many of the victims disappeared (see section 1.g.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--In July the president promulgated a law criminalizing 
torture. However, the government did not effectively enforce the law, 
and there were many reports from the U.N. Joint Human Rights Office 
(UNJHRO) and other human rights organizations that SSF tortured 
civilians, particularly detainees and prisoners, and employed other 
types of cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment. Members of the 
police, the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), and the FARDC 
perpetrated most cases of torture. There were very few reports of 
government authorities taking action against persons responsible for 
these acts.
    The UNJHRO reported several cases of torture. For example, on 
October 3, in the Tshikapa Territory of Kasai Occidental, 15 police 
officers without a warrant reportedly arrested a young pregnant woman. 
During the arrest, they stripped her naked and punched and kicked her 
before sending her to their commander, who placed her in jail. While 
detained, the police shaved her head, armpits, and pubic area. They 
released her on October 6, after she miscarried. No known investigation 
took place, although the U.N. informed the military garrison in 
Tshikapa.
    Authorities took no further action in the August 2010 case in which 
FARDC soldiers arrested five persons, including two minors, suspected 
of involvement in an attack on a United Nations Organization 
Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) 
peacekeeping base in North Kivu that killed three peacekeepers. During 
their detention at the headquarters of the 12th FARDC Sector in 
Kasando, Lubero Territory, soldiers allegedly tortured the individuals, 
giving them between 40 and 120 lashes each and burning and mutilating 
their feet and hands to obtain confessions. The five were transferred 
to the Goma military court.
    On several occasions during the year, SSF utilized cruel, inhuman, 
or degrading methods to exact punishment. For example, on September 24, 
members of the Republican Guards (RG) arrested and beat three civilians 
in Goma after their vehicle was involved in a traffic accident that 
damaged a military vehicle. (The RG guards the president and has no 
authority to arrest or detain civilians.) The soldiers allegedly beat 
the victims, stole their property, and detained the individuals in 
solitary confinement while continuing to beat them. One victim filed a 
complaint with the local military prosecutor.
    In addition, on several occasions during the year, police beat and 
arrested journalists who wrote or broadcast material they did not like 
(see section 2.a.).
    Some church leaders also beat, whipped, and starved children 
accused of witchcraft (see section 6).
    There were continuing reports, including many from UNJHRO, of 
members of the SSF raping civilians, both in the conflict zone in the 
East (see section 1.g.) and elsewhere. For example, on November 17, two 
girls were allegedly raped by two soldiers of the 2nd Company of the 
Special FARDC Regiment in Isiro, Haut-Uele District. Intelligence 
services of Operation Rudia II opened an investigation, but no 
additional information was available at year's end.
    No additional information was available regarding the rape in March 
2010 by four policemen from Kampungu police station in Mweka Territory 
of the daughter of a man they sought in Kasai Occidental.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in most prisons 
remained severe and life threatening. The penal system was underfunded, 
and most prisons were understaffed, undersupplied, overcrowded, and 
poorly maintained. Serious threats to life and health were widespread 
and included: violence, particularly rape; food shortages; lack of 
access to potable water; and inadequate sanitation, ventilation, 
temperature, lighting, and medical care. Death from starvation or 
disease was common. Men and women, juveniles and adults, and pretrial 
detainees and convicted prisoners were often held together. Escapes 
were common.
    According to the Joint Prison Coordination (which includes the 
Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defense, and MONUSCO), in 2010 the 
number of those in pretrial detention exceeded 18,000, including an 
estimated 500 women. The reported total number of sentenced prisoners 
did not exceed 4,000, including approximately 100 women. These figures 
represent several times the number of persons the system was designed 
to hold.
    Even harsher conditions prevailed in small detention centers, which 
were extremely overcrowded; had no toilets, mattresses, or medical 
care; and provided detainees with insufficient amounts of light, air, 
and water. Originally intended to house short-term detainees, they were 
often used for lengthy incarceration. They generally operated without 
dedicated funding and with minimal regulation or oversight. Informed 
sources stated that detention center authorities often arbitrarily beat 
or tortured detainees. Guards frequently extorted bribes from family 
members and NGOs for permission to visit detainees or provide food and 
other necessities.
    Despite President Kabila's 2006 decision to close illegal jails 
operated by the military or other state security forces, there were no 
reports of such closures during the year. According to MONUSCO, the 
security services, particularly the intelligence services and the RG, 
continued to operate numerous illegal detention facilities 
characterized by harsh and life-threatening conditions. Authorities 
routinely denied family members, friends, and lawyers access to these 
illegal facilities.
    Authorities denied some prisoners and detainees access to visitors 
and did not permit them to have contact with or submit complaints to 
judicial authorities (see section 1.d.). The government had not 
established an effective or reliable system to monitor detention 
facilities, and authorities very rarely investigated allegations of 
inhumane prison or detention center conditions. There were no 
government ombudsmen serving to protect the rights of prisoners and 
detainees. There were no reports of authorities preventing prisoners or 
detainees from practicing their religion. No meaningful steps were 
taken to improve recordkeeping or to use alternatives to sentencing for 
nonviolent offenders. In general, the conditions of women prisoners 
were no worse than those for men.
    On most occasions, the government allowed the International 
Committee of the Red Cross, MONUSCO, and some NGOs access to all 
official detention facilities. However, it did not allow these 
organizations access to illegal government-run detention facilities, 
including those run by the ANR, the RG, and units of FARDC, including 
ex-CNDP FARDC units in Masisi Territory, North Kivu.
    RMG sometimes detained civilians, often for ransom, but little 
information was available concerning the conditions of detention (see 
section 1.g.).

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest or detention; however, SSF arbitrarily arrested and detained 
persons on a routine basis.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PNC is part of the 
SFF, which operates under the Ministry of Interior and has primary 
responsibility for law enforcement and public order, including during 
the electoral period. The PNC includes the Rapid Intervention Police 
and the Integrated Police Unit. The ANR, overseen by the president's 
national security advisor, is responsible for internal and external 
security. Other agencies include the military intelligence service of 
the Ministry of Defense; the Direction Generale de Migration (DGM), 
responsible for border control; the RG; and the FARDC, which is part of 
the Ministry of Defense and is generally responsible for external 
security, but also fulfills an internal security role.
    The SSF generally were undisciplined, corrupt, undertrained, and 
grossly underfunded. Salaries were often late or unpaid, although the 
initiative of the European Union Mission for Security Sector Reform in 
the DRC (EUSEC), which provided biometric identification cards to 
soldiers to facilitate disbursement of pay and census of soldiers, 
resulted in some progress (see section 4).
    There were mechanisms available to investigate abuses by SSF and 
address internal discipline problems, although the mechanisms remained 
weak and ineffective, particularly for addressing misconduct by mid- 
and high-ranking officials. However, some progress was made during the 
year related to internal discipline of the PNC and FARDC. For example, 
see section 1.a. for a discussion of the Chebeya case. In February a 
military tribunal sentenced 10 FARDC officers to 10-20 years in prison 
for a mass rape committed in Fizi on January 1 that victimized at least 
35 women. Lieutenant Colonel Kibibi Mutware, a former CNDP rebel 
integrated and promoted within the FARDC and the main defendant, 
received a 20-year sentence.
    The government adopted a police reform law in August that replaced 
the Inspection Generale d'Audit by the Commissariat General de la 
Police (CG). The CG is the internal discipline unit within the PNC that 
investigates corruption and other misconduct and human rights 
violations perpetrated by police force members. The CG unit was trained 
and deployed countrywide to investigate police conduct during the 
electoral process.
    The FARDC was ineffective, due in part to weak command and control, 
poor operational planning, low administrative and logistical capacity, 
lack of training, and questionable loyalty of some of its soldiers, 
particularly those in eastern Congo. Other serious obstacles to the 
formation of a coherent national army included lack of equipment and 
barracks. Poor integration of former militias, particularly the CNDP, 
remained a significant problem. During the year the government 
implemented a policy of reorganizing the FARDC into regiments in an 
attempt to disperse former RMG members throughout the military, but 
this had mixed results as the process was poorly planned and executed. 
Most ex-CNDP resisted the reorganization and refused to leave their 
original area of operation. The process resulted in 24 new regiments. 
These units were of low quality, and most were under the control of a 
parallel command structure run by former CNDP officers. The 
reorganization also contributed to a temporary increase in instability 
in North Kivu and South Kivu as RMG occupied the void left by FARDC 
units when the latter deployed to training centers prior to 
reorganizing.
    FARDC units throughout the country regularly engaged in illegal 
taxation and harassment of civilians. They set up checkpoints to 
collect ``taxes,'' often arresting individuals who could not pay the 
demanded bribes and stealing food and money. According to UNJHRO there 
was a direct correlation between the amount of salaries siphoned off by 
corrupt officers and the level of human rights abuses committed by 
FARDC, the RG, the PNC, the DGM, and the ANR. Abuses by FARDC soldiers 
were dramatically reduced in areas where they were properly paid and 
fed.
    Impunity in the SSF remained a severe, widespread problem, and the 
weaknesses of the justice system continued to play a large role in 
causing it (see section 1.e.). The government rarely prosecuted and 
disciplined security force personnel for abusing civilians. Military 
justice institutions continued to face challenges, including a severe 
shortage of military judges and prosecutors. Magistrates, prosecutors, 
and investigators were poorly trained, had little or no resources for 
investigations, and had limited access to legal codes. In addition, the 
military justice system was often subjected to political and command 
interference, and security arrangements for magistrates in conflict-
affected areas were inadequate. Magistrates who attempted to 
investigate politically connected high-level FARDC officers were 
threatened, as were witnesses providing information to judicial 
officers as, for example, occurred in the investigation into the 
Walikale and Bushani mass rapes by the Military Prosecutor's Office in 
North Kivu.
    Some Congolese military prosecutors participated in joint 
investigation teams (JITs), a U.N. initiative launched during the year 
that focused on investigating SGBV in the East. JITs, which consisted 
of UNJHRO officers and Congolese military prosecutors and 
investigators, received complaints of rape and other abuses from human 
rights groups and deployed to remote areas to investigate and collect 
evidence for judicial cases. The UNJHRO officers provided the military 
prosecutors and investigators with transportation, normally a 
debilitating deficiency in the investigation process. As the military 
prosecutors and investigators collected and processed information, they 
received field training in technical areas, such as forensics, witness 
protection and interviewing, and child protection. Although the JITs 
were ad hoc in nature and lacked adequate funding and personnel 
resources, participating military prosecutors and investigators and 
NGOs viewed JITs as a small but effective component in the fight 
against impunity.
    The government maintained human rights follow-up committees with 
MONUSCO in several provinces. Depending on the provinces, they were 
composed of military and police officers, judicial authorities, 
military prosecutors, MONUSCO human rights officers, and MONUSCO child 
protection officers. Committees met regularly to monitor, investigate, 
and develop strategies to combat human rights abuses. Their 
effectiveness remained mixed at year's end.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law arrests 
for offenses punishable by more than six months' imprisonment require 
warrants. Detainees must appear before a magistrate within 48 hours. 
Authorities must inform those arrested of their rights and the reason 
for their arrest, and may not arrest a family member instead of the 
individual being sought. They may not arrest individuals for nonfelony 
offenses, such as debt and civil offenses. Authorities must allow 
arrested individuals to contact their families and consult with 
attorneys. In practice, security officials routinely violated all of 
these requirements. No functioning bail system existed, and detainees 
had little access to legal counsel if unable to pay. Authorities often 
held suspects in incommunicado detention, including in illegal 
facilities run by the ANR and the RG, and refused to acknowledge their 
detention.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Security personnel arrested and detained without 
charge perceived opponents and critics of the government, sometimes 
under the pretext of state security, and often denying due process, 
such as access to an attorney (see sections 1.a., 2.a., and 5).
    Police often arbitrarily arrested and detained persons without 
filing charges, often to extort money from family members.
    The military intelligence agency, DEMIAP, arbitrarily arrested 
persons and subjected them to prolonged arbitrary detention (see 
section 1.a.).

    Pretrial Detention.--Prolonged pretrial detention, often ranging 
from months to years, remained a problem. In March 2010 U.N. Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon reported that at least 70 percent of inmates were 
pretrial detainees. In July 2010 Bandundu civil society leaders 
reported that inmates at Bulungu prison on average spent two to three 
years in detention before their cases came to trial. No substantial 
improvement in the situation occurred during the year. Trial delays 
were due to factors such as judicial inefficiency, corruption, 
financial constraints, and staff shortages. Prison officials often held 
individuals after their sentences had expired due to disorganization, 
inadequate records, judicial inefficiency, or corruption.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, in practice the judiciary was inefficient, 
corrupt, and subject to influence. Judges were poorly compensated and 
subject to influence and coercion by officials and other influential 
individuals. Authorities routinely did not respect court orders.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for a presumption of 
innocence. However, in practice most defendants were assumed guilty and 
had to prove their innocence. Rarely did the prosecution have the 
burden of proving its case. Although the government permitted, and in 
some cases provided, legal counsel, lawyers often did not have free 
access to their clients. The public could attend trials only at the 
discretion of the presiding judge. Juries are not used. During trials 
defendants have the right to be present and to be provided a defense 
attorney. However, in practice these rights were occasionally 
disregarded. Defendants have the right to appeal in most cases, except 
those involving national security, armed robbery, and smuggling, which 
the Court of State Security generally adjudicates. Defendants have the 
right to confront and question witnesses against them and can present 
evidence and witnesses in their own defense. The law requires that 
defendants have access to government-held evidence, but this right was 
irregularly observed in practice.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports of political 
prisoners and detainees. Voix des Sans-Voix, a Congolese NGO, reported 
211 political detainees, which represents an increase from the 142 
reported in 2010. While the government permitted access to some of 
these prisoners by international human rights organizations and 
MONUSCO, authorities consistently denied access to detention facilities 
run by the RG and the ANR (see section 1.c.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil courts exist for 
lawsuits and other disputes, and individuals can seek civil remedies 
for human rights violations within this court system. However, the 
public widely viewed civil courts as corrupt and believed outcomes were 
determined by the relative financial means of the parties to the 
lawsuit. There was little available evidence that individuals used 
civil courts to address human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the law prohibits arbitrary interference with 
privacy, family, home, or correspondence, SSF routinely ignored these 
provisions. Soldiers, demobilized soldiers, deserters, and police 
harassed and robbed civilians. SSF routinely ignored legal requirements 
and entered and searched homes or vehicles without warrants. In 
general, those responsible for such acts remained unidentified and 
unpunished. State security forces sometimes looted homes, businesses, 
and schools.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Internal conflict continued in rural and mineral-rich parts of the 
East, particularly in North Kivu and South Kivu, Bas Uele and Haut Uele 
districts of Orientale Province, and to a lesser degree, the Ituri 
District of Orientale.
    Foreign RMG, including Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda 
(FDLR), LRA, and some Congolese Mai-Mai (local militia) groups 
increasingly formed coalitions during the year and continued to battle 
government forces and attack civilian populations. Military 
preparations, and the fighting itself, led to further depredations 
against civilians by members of SSF and RMG. This continuation of 
fighting in the East, which impeded humanitarian aid in some areas, 
kept the figure of IDPs at approximately 1.7 million at the end of the 
year, exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis.
    MONUSCO continued to maintain several thousand soldiers and 
civilian personnel in the country to assist the government in 
establishing and maintaining peace and security, particularly in the 
East. In June the U.N. Security Council extended MONUSCO's mandate for 
12 months, adding election logistical and technical assistance to its 
mandate. At year's end, MONUSCO included approximately 19,000 
peacekeepers, military observers, and police.

    Killings, Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--According to 
reports by U.N. agencies and NGOs, SSF arrested, illegally detained, 
raped, tortured, and summarily executed or otherwise killed civilians 
and looted villages during military actions against RMG. Impunity 
remained a severe problem, and several individuals in the SSF continued 
to hold high positions despite credible evidence of their direct 
involvement in serious human rights abuses or failing to hold 
subordinates accountable for such abuses (see section 1.d.).
    Taking advantage of parallel command structures, ex-CNDP FARDC 
units in the East controlled their own stockpile of weapons and 
resisted central government orders to deploy outside of the East. 
According to the U.N. Group of Experts (UNGOE), some ex-CNDP elements 
collaborated with RMG who were officially their enemies.
    FARDC soldiers engaged in anti-FDLR operations often arbitrarily 
arrested civilians whom they suspected of being collaborators or 
sympathizers of the FDLR and detained them without charge for days or 
weeks, often beating them and demanding payment for their release. SSF 
in the East forced men, women, and children, including IDPs, to serve 
as porters, miners, and domestic laborers.
    RMG committed numerous serious abuses, especially in rural areas of 
North Kivu, South Kivu, and Orientale, killing, raping, and torturing 
civilians, often as retribution for alleged collaboration with 
government forces. RMG maintained and recruited child soldiers, 
including by force, sometimes from schools and churches, and sometimes 
killed, threatened, and harassed humanitarian workers. RMG abducted 
men, women, and children and compelled them to transport looted goods 
for long distances without pay. They forced adult and child civilians 
and child soldiers to mine, and forced men, women, and children to 
provide household labor or sexual services for periods as long as 
several months. In parts of the East, RMG looted, extorted, and 
illegally taxed and detained civilians, often for ransom.
    For example, UNJHRO reported that during the night of December 31, 
2010-January 1, 2011, FARDC soldiers (probably ex-CNDP) raped at least 
46 women and one girl in the villages of Bushani and Kalambahiro in 
Masisi territory, North Kivu. They also abducted two civilians and 
inflicted cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment on 12 others. They 
looted at least 100 houses and three buildings and set on fire or 
destroyed at least four houses. While the military prosecutor attempted 
an investigation, FARDC commanders in the area refused to cooperate, 
and by year's end no one had been arrested for the crimes.
    According to MONUSCO, that same night in the town of Fizi, South 
Kivu, FARDC Colonel Kibibi and his men raped at least 35 women in 
retaliation for the killing of a FARDC soldier by civilians. As 
discussed in section 1.d., authorities arrested Lieutenant Colonel 
Kibibi and10 of his men and tried them for the rapes. The military 
tribunal sentenced Kibibi and three other officers to 20 years in 
prison, two soldiers to 15 years, and three soldiers to 10 years in 
prison for human rights violations, including mass rapes. In addition, 
one soldier was acquitted while a minor who was among the accused was 
transferred to a juvenile court. At year's end, Kibibi was reportedly 
serving his sentence.
    According to the UNJHRO, during clashes in June between the RMGs 
Alliance des Patriotes pour un Congo Libre et Souverain (APCLS) and Mai 
Mai Cheka near Mutongo village in Walikale Territory, North Kivu, 85 
individuals including 10 minors and one man were raped and 11 persons 
were subjected to other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. At 
least 20 villages in the area were looted. APCLS combatants allegedly 
perpetrated the majority of these abuses. Indirect sources also alleged 
35 other women were raped during the clashes, but the UNJHRO could not 
directly interview the alleged victims. Its investigation continued at 
year's end.
    Ugandan RMG ADF/NALU operated in North Kivu, committing terrorist 
attacks against the civilian population. In April it ambushed and 
killed 10 FARDC soldiers in Beni territory of North Kivu. In October a 
coalition of forces from the RMGs FDLR, National Liberation Front (FNL, 
a Burundian RMG operating in DRC) and Mai Mai Yakutumba operating in 
South Kivu killed at least five persons working for a local NGO. During 
the year the Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri (FRPI) attacked 
civilian populations in Orientale Province, including an attack on 
October 20 that killed a young woman and displaced 30,000 persons.
    On December 7, the trial of eight individuals accused of organizing 
the 2010 Walikale mass rapes began. In July and August 2010 a coalition 
of the FDLR, Mai-Mai Cheka, Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of 
Congo (FPLC), and combatants led by Colonel Emmanuel Nsengiyumva, a 
former member of the CNDP and FARDC, allegedly raped 303 women, 
children, and men in 13 villages in Walikale, North Kivu. The 
perpetrators also looted more than 1,000 homes and abducted 116 
civilians, whom they subjected to forced labor. According to the U.N., 
one of the villages attacked, Luvungi, where more than 100 persons were 
raped, was a lucrative target because it was a mining hub located only 
four miles from gold mines. As of the end of the year, one of the eight 
individuals charged with the rapes had been arrested and another had 
died. The trial was scheduled to relocate to Walikale Territory and 
reconvene in 2012.
    During the year men were raped as part of the violence between RMG 
and FARDC. Male rape cases may have numbered in the hundreds, but 
statistics for male rape were even more difficult to compile than those 
for female rape.

    Child Soldiers.--The recruitment and use of children in North Kivu, 
South Kivu, and Orientale provinces by RMG and FARDC (particularly 
within the poorly integrated elements, including ex-CNDP), continued. 
The government took some steps to reduce the use of child soldiers 
(e.g., awareness campaigns for Congolese Army personnel and 
partnerships with international organizations on training materials). 
In addition, some FARDC commanders made an effort to remove child 
soldiers and turn them over to MONUSCO, UNICEF, or other humanitarian 
organizations. However, the integration of former RMG, including CNDP, 
into the FARDC continued to be a major hindrance to reducing the number 
of child soldiers. That process continued to be plagued by separate 
command structures within FARDC that did not respond to FARDC 
directives, including a specific prohibition against the use of child 
soldiers.
    Various U.N. agencies and offices present in the country and the 
Congolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs created the Resolution 1612 
Country Task Force in 2006. MONUSCO and UNICEF are the cochairs of the 
task force, which pursues advocacy to encourage the government to 
commit to, negotiate, and implement an action plan to end the 
recruitment and use of children by the FARDC. The Ministry of Justice 
and Human Rights and the Ministry of Defense created a Joint Committee 
to work on the action plan, but by year's end, the government had not 
finalized or adopted the action plan.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--Fighting between FARDC and RMG 
continued to displace populations and limit humanitarian access to 
conflict areas. According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), between January and September there were 
116 attacks on humanitarian agency personnel, compared to 105 attacks 
in the first six months of 2010. These two years represent a 
significant increase over 2009 (84 attacks in 10 months) and 2008 (36 
attacks in 10 months).
    In North Kivu and South Kivu RMG and criminal elements of the FARDC 
continued to illegally exploit and trade natural resources for revenue 
and power. Clandestine trade in minerals and other natural resources 
facilitated the purchase of small arms to commit abuses and reduced 
government revenues needed for increasing security and rebuilding the 
country. The natural resources most used to generate direct and 
indirect financing for armed actors and conflict were the minerals 
cassiterite (tin ore), coltan (tantalum ore), wolframite (tungsten ore) 
and gold, followed by timber, charcoal, and fish.
    The illegal trade in minerals continued to be both a symptom and a 
cause of the conflict in the Kivu provinces. While FARDC military 
operations during the year and in 2010 drove RMG out of many of the 
principal mining areas in the Kivus, RMG continued to control many of 
the more remote mining deposits, increasingly pillaged mineral traders 
and transporters, and employed intermediaries to purchase minerals at 
mines they could no longer access. Further, the FARDC regimentation 
process allowed RMG, especially the FDLR, to regain territory they had 
lost in the past. Ex-CNDP FARDC elements remained loyal to and in some 
cases shared mining profits with General Ntaganda as they continued to 
control large areas rich in natural resources in North Kivu and South 
Kivu, including Walikale Territory, the part of North Kivu that is 
richest in cassiterite.
    The law specifically prohibits the involvement of the FARDC in 
mining and the mineral trade. The law also prohibits RMG from engaging 
in mining. However, the government did not effectively enforce the law. 
Criminal involvement by FARDC units and RMG included protection rackets 
(such as protection fees paid by mining pit managers to avoid pillage 
or to facilitate smuggling), indirect commercial control (including the 
use of illegal ``tax'' revenues to buy and sell minerals near mining 
sites), and direct coercive control (including pillage). In addition, 
FARDC units and RMG routinely extorted illegal taxes from civilians and 
at times forced civilians to work for them or relinquish their mineral 
production.
    In March President Kabila lifted the six-month suspension on mining 
in three eastern provinces that began in September 2010. Reviews of the 
ban's effectiveness were mixed. Following the suspension, the 
military's control of some mining areas expanded, and some FARDC 
elements increased their use of forced labor in the mines due to lower 
sale prices on the clandestine market.
    The UNGOE reported that several RMG and units of SSF profited from 
illegal trade and exploitation in the mineral sector. Allied Democratic 
Forces profited from illegal exploitation of timber and gold. The FDLR 
ran protection tax rackets in mining areas in Walikale through which it 
financed both weapons purchases and commercial enterprises. The FDLR's 
revenue from exploitation of cassiterite and coltan decreased, but 
these minerals were still a source of income. The FDLR also illegally 
grew and traded cannabis to finance its operations. The FNL trafficked 
in gold and timber in South Kivu. Mai Mai Yakutumba trafficked gold in 
South Kivu and imposed taxes on copper miners in the town of Yungu. Mai 
Mai Cheka continued to control certain cassiterite mines in Bisie, gold 
mines elsewhere in North Kivu, and diamond mines as well. The APCLS 
imposed illegal taxes on miners in Walikale. Mai Mai Simba exploited 
and taxed the exploitation of gold, diamond, and cassiterite deposits, 
and smuggled ivory, in Maiko Park in Maniema and Orientale provinces. 
Mai Mai Muhamba smuggled ivory and coffee in North Kivu. In addition, 
elements of the FARDC exerted control over mining operations throughout 
the eastern DRC.
    The UNGOE reported that four eastern DRC mineral trading counters-- 
ITT Mining, Huaying Trading Company, Donson, and Etablissement Namukaya 
--purchased minerals without exercising due diligence to ensure they 
were conflict-free. According to the UNGOE, the main onward purchasers 
from ITT, Huaying, and Donson were the investment companies Tolead, 
Unilink Trading, and Chengjian Tower. A Tanzanian company called Safaa 
Mining SPRL also purchased copper from an RMG.
    There were credible reports that the following armed groups 
perpetrated serious human rights abuses in DRC during the year: ADF/
NALU, APCLS, FDLR, FNL, LRA, Mai Mai Cheka, Mai Mai Yakutumba, and 
FRPI.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and press. While the law potentially inhibits these freedoms 
through its prohibition on insulting the head of state, there were no 
known instances of the prohibition being invoked. In practice the 
government restricted individuals' freedom of speech, and freedom of 
the press declined during the year, particularly during the election 
period. Generally, individuals could privately criticize the 
government, its officials, and other private citizens without being 
subject to official reprisals. However, the government intimidated 
journalists and publishers into practicing self-censorship. Public 
criticism of government officials and government conduct or decisions 
regarding issues such as conflict and insurgencies, management of 
natural resources, and corruption, sometimes resulted in harsh 
responses, often from the ANR, the intelligence service under the 
president's control.

    Status of Freedom of Speech and Press.--The Haute Autorite des 
Medias, a quasigovernmental organization mandated by the earlier 
transitional constitution, has the power to suspend broadcast stations 
for hate speech or calls for ethnic violence. In January a new 
regulatory law took effect, establishing the Conseil Superieur de 
l'Audiovisuel et de la Communication (CSAC), and in August the 
president appointed its 15 members, who assumed their posts in 
September. The CSAC is mandated to guarantee freedom and protection of 
the press as well as ensure equal access for political parties, 
associations, and citizens to official means of communication and 
information. Journalists in Danger (JED), a Kinshasa-based journalist 
advocacy group, accused the president of appointing nonqualified 
members to manipulate the CSAC.
    In September, journalists and political parties signed a CSAC code 
of conduct prohibiting hate speech and ensuring open access to media 
during elections. In practice, however, CSAC lacked the capacity to 
monitor adequately all of the newspapers and television and radio 
stations operating across the country.
    The CSAC required hour-long debate programs to be broadcast for 
each of the 11 presidential candidates, in which they or their chosen 
representative discussed their campaign with selected journalists. All 
11 debates were broadcast on national media outlets and several private 
TV stations, some of which boasted a quasi-nationwide audience. In 
addition Radio Okapi, an independent radio station jointly founded by 
MONUSCO and the Fondation Hirondelle, with support from various 
international donors, devoted airtime to each presidential candidate, 
or their representative, to allow them to explain their political 
platforms to the public. These interviews aired nationwide during the 
electoral campaign and helped ensure equality of media exposure for all 
contenders. With the exception of national debates, media outlets 
failed to ensure a fair distribution of airtime among the various 
candidates. The EU election observer mission reported that President 
Kabila received 86 percent of televised airtime, versus 7 percent for 
Leon Kengo wa Dondo, 3 percent for Vital Kamerhe, and 1 percent for 
Etienne Tshisekedi, the leading opposition presidential candidate. JED 
found that, in its sampling, Kabila received 60 percent, Kamerhe 20 
percent, and Tshisekedi 15 percent of televised airtime. JED expressed 
concern over the increasing partiality of media sources, who reported 
their own opinions rather than events on the ground.
    A large and active private press (both pro and antigovernment) 
functioned throughout the country, and the government licensed a large 
number of daily newspapers. According to JED, 52 television stations, 
approximately 240 radio stations, and 200 newspapers were registered 
with the Ministry of Communication. The government required newspapers 
to pay a one-time license fee of 250,000 Congolese francs 
(approximately $278) and complete several administrative requirements 
before publishing. Many journalists lacked professional training, 
received little if any salary, and were vulnerable to manipulation by 
wealthy individuals, government officials, and politicians who provided 
cash or other benefits to encourage certain types of articles.
    Radio remained the most important medium of public information due 
to limited literacy and the relatively high cost of newspapers and 
television. The state owned three radio stations and three television 
stations, and the president's family owned two television stations.
    In 2010 government authorities added a provision in journalists' 
letters of accreditation that the military code of justice (concerning 
criminal penalties, including imprisonment) applied to any foreign 
journalists who committed press offenses. In response, international 
journalists expressed concerns over their ability to report on 
sensitive subjects such as the conflict in the East and corruption. At 
year's end, there were no known cases in which this policy was 
implemented. Nevertheless, SSF harassed foreign journalists. For 
example, on December 23, a RG officer confiscated the working materials 
of Thomas Hubert of BBC Afrique when he was investigating Tshisekedi's 
planned ``inauguration'' at Martyrs' Stadium (see section 3). Many 
hours later, Hubert recovered all the materials except for his camera 
memory card.
    According to JED, one journalist was killed during the year. On 
June 21, unidentified armed men killed Kambala Musonia, a journalist 
with Radio Communautaire de Lubero Sud (RCLS), near his home in 
Kirumba, North Kivu, after Musonia hosted a call-in program during 
which listeners blamed a surge of insecurity in the region on local 
SSF.
    SSF also beat, arbitrarily arrested, harassed, and intimidated 
local journalists because of their reporting. In an open letter to the 
deputy prime minister and minister of the interior dated November 4, 
Reporters without Borders and JED alleged that freedom of the media was 
deteriorating, citing various cases as evidence. For example, a 
television cameraman was taken into custody by police after filming a 
Union pour la Democratie et le Progres Social (UDPS) demonstration on 
October 29. Police freed him two days later.
    In its annual report on press freedom released on December 29, JED 
documented 28 cases of assault of journalists during the year, which 
represented a 400 percent increase compared with 2010. However, the 
number of jailings of journalists decreased from 17 in 2010 to nine 
during the year.

    Overall.--ED reported an 84 percent increase in press freedom 
abuses, including one murder, and several assaults, arbitrary arrests 
and detentions, threats, restricted movements, and illegal sanctions or 
censorship, compared with 2010. Furthermore, JED noted a 28 percent 
increase in abuses in 2011 when compared with 2006, the last electoral 
year. The NGO underscored that journalists, reacting to threats of 
violence, censored themselves. JED further emphasized that economic and 
political pressure restricted press freedom and expressed concern about 
the continuing trend of politicians and government officials hiring 
journalists as advisors.
    Radio journalists, particularly those in Bukavu, South Kivu, 
continued to fear for their safety. Journalists often received 
anonymous death threats from callers, and many journalists continued to 
be concerned by the lack of serious investigation and judicial action 
by authorities against the perpetrators responsible for multiple 
journalist killings since 2005.
    In addition, there were several reports of media outlets being shut 
down during the election period. While CSAC was, in theory, the only 
institution with the authority to restrict broadcasts, the government 
often exercised this power. The media and communications ministry, for 
example, shut down the signal of pro-opposition Radio Tele Lisanga 
(RLTV) from November 6 to 15--before the elections--after it aired a 
live phone call from South Africa by Etienne Tshisekedi, in which the 
UDPS leader declared himself president of the republic and advocated 
violence against the police. DRC media minister Lambert Mende later 
called the suspension of RLTV ``a protective measure'' taken against a 
media organization that promoted hate speech. CSAC later followed up 
with an official suspension of the station's broadcasting rights. While 
the sanction against RLTV expired on December 9, the station remained 
off the air at year's end. In addition, the signal for Canal Futur, a 
TV station owned by unsuccessful presidential candidate and the head of 
the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) Vital Kamerhe, was suspended 
for 10 days on November 28, after the station allegedly defamed one of 
Kamerhe's political adversaries. It remained off the air at year's end. 
On December 21, the CSAC's rapporteur stated that ``other grievances'' 
prevented either broadcasting signal from being relaunched. On December 
31, authorities suspended Radio France Internationale's broadcasts for 
airing Etienne Tshisekedi's New Year's national address alongside 
President Kabila's address, and therefore, according to the Information 
Minister, supporting Tshisekedi's ``anticonstitutional comedy.''
    During the year national and provincial governments continued to 
use criminal defamation and insult laws to intimidate and punish those 
critical of the government. For example, on April 12, Lambert Mbuyi of 
the radio-television station Debout Kasai airing in Mbuji-Mayi, Kasai 
Oriental Province, was questioned at ANR. ANR accused him of airing, 
the day before, a program considered defamatory toward provincial 
authorities.
    On December 3, the government cut off the SMS function of cell 
phones in an effort to control information and limit demonstrations and 
violence in the aftermath of the national elections. Two associations 
of people with disabilities in South Kivu and Kinshasa protested this 
decision, stating that people with hearing and speech impairments used 
SMS as a primary means of communication, and without access to SMS 
their livelihoods were cut off and they were unable to receive alerts 
about potential violence. On December 28, the SMS function was 
restored.

    Internet Freedom.--The government did not restrict access to the 
Internet or monitor e-mail or Internet chat rooms. The CSAC law 
stipulates that bloggers must obtain authorization from CSAC. At year's 
end, CSAC had not refused authorization to any bloggers, and 
individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views 
via the Internet, including by e-mail. Private entrepreneurs made 
Internet access available at moderate prices through Internet cafes in 
large cities throughout the country.

    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. 
The government sometimes restricted this right.
    The government requires organizers of public events to register 
with local authorities in advance. To deny authorization, authorities 
must do so in writing within five days of being notified of the planned 
event. State security forces often acted against unregistered protests, 
marches, or meetings.
    On occasion authorities denied permission to hold demonstrations, 
in particular to opposition parties and their civil society allies. 
Incidents related to freedom of assembly occurred regularly. For 
example, according to HRW, 12 opposition supporters and bystanders were 
killed and 41 were injured on November 26, the final day of the 
campaign period, when supporters of both Etienne Tshisekedi and 
President Kabila gathered at N'djili Airport to greet the incoming 
candidates. RG personnel reportedly fired their weapons into the air 
and into the crowds.
    In addition, the UNJHRO recorded 24 incidents concerning the 
freedom to assemble between November 2010 and September 2011. One such 
incident occurred when presidential candidate Kamerhe visited Goma and 
Bukavu in December 2010. Kamerhe was welcomed by a large crowd in Goma, 
which was then violently repressed. Thirteen victims, including one 
child and one 80-year-old woman, were treated after the incident. Local 
authorities banned subsequent gatherings and jailed Kamerhe's followers 
in Kasongo and Kindu. At least one woman, Consolate Kanyangire 
Biringanine, the women's coordinator of Kamerhe's U.N. political party, 
was killed on April 24.
    SSF occasionally arrested demonstrators. Opposition party UDPS 
staged weekly protests in front of the headquarters of the National 
Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), decrying what it claimed was a 
lack of transparency and CENI's failure to create an inclusive 
political process for all parties. During the weekly protests, 
demonstrators at times burned cars and threw objects while police 
responded with tear gas, shot bullets into the air, and arrested 
several individuals.
    On September 7, the governor of Kinshasa banned all demonstrations 
during the final week of the candidacy registration period in response 
to violent back and forth retaliatory actions between supporters of 
UDPS and the Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Democratie 
(PPRD).

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association. In practice the government sometimes restricted this right 
directly. During the year several domestic NGOs were denied 
authorization to operate (see section 5). In addition, on February 26, 
in the Ituri District of Orientale Province, the U.N. coordinator was 
arrested when he was reportedly conducting recruitment activities for 
his party. Indirectly freedom of association was impeded through 
intimidation in some areas, including Kasai Oriental and Maniema 
provinces.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation. The government sometimes restricted these rights.
    In-country Movement: SSF established barriers and checkpoints on 
roads, and at ports, airports, and markets, ostensibly for security 
reasons, and routinely harassed and extorted money from civilians for 
supposed violations, sometimes detaining them until they or a relative 
paid. The government forced travelers to pass through immigration 
procedures during domestic travel at airports, ports, and when entering 
and leaving towns.
    Local authorities continued to extort taxes and fees from boats 
traveling on many parts of the Congo River. There were also widespread 
reports of FARDC soldiers extorting fees from persons taking goods to 
market or traveling between towns.
    There were reports of attempts by DGM officials to fine foreigners 
not carrying passports, although the law does not require foreigners to 
do so.
    SSF sometimes required travelers to present official travel orders 
from an employer or government official, although the law does not 
require such documentation. SSF often detained individuals traveling 
without official orders in order to pressure bribes.
    The significant risk of rape by SSF and RMG, coupled with 
government inability to secure eastern territories, effectively 
restricted freedom of movement by women in many rural areas, 
particularly in the East (see section 1.g.).

    Foreign Travel.--Passport issuance was irregular and often required 
payment of substantial bribes.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--As of September, there were 
1.7 million IDPs in the country, including 600,984 in North Kivu, 
518,618 in South Kivu, and 447,627 in Orientale provinces. The 
remainder of the IDPs were in Equateur, Katanga, and Maniema provinces. 
These figures represented a slight decrease (1 percent) over the course 
of the previous six months. While still high, the rate of displacement 
was lower than in previous years. Likewise, OCHA reported the rate of 
return also slowed during the year amid continued insecurity.
    The conflict in the East, and the continuing state military 
operations against RMG, were considered the primary causes of 
displacement. For example, many people fled their villages in July as 
the FDLR continued to target villages in South Kivu, stealing cattle 
and looting houses.
    The government did not provide adequate protection or assistance to 
IDPs, who were forced to rely heavily on humanitarian organizations. 
The government generally allowed domestic and international 
humanitarian organizations to provide assistance to IDPs. However, lack 
of security and roads impeded their efforts.
    While the majority of IDPs in North Kivu stayed with relatives and 
friends, as of November 30, approximately 77,000 stayed in 31 sites and 
camps managed by international NGOs and coordinated by the Office of 
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The 
percentage of IDPs in North Kivu in formal and informal camps fell from 
35 percent in 2008 to 17 percent in 2011. Those residing outside camps 
stayed with host families, found shelter in dilapidated buildings, or 
found refuge in the forest. Displaced women and children were extremely 
vulnerable to abuses, including rape and forced recruitment, by FARDC, 
RMG forces, and civilians.
    IDPs in North Kivu were victims of abuses, including sexual 
exploitation of women and children, abduction, forced conscription of 
children, looting, plundering of crops, illegal taxation, and general 
harassment, by all factions engaged in fighting, including FARDC, and 
by other civilians. For example, OCHA reported in June the abduction 
and killing of IDPs in Beni Territory, North Kivu, as IDPs returned to 
their fields during the day. Abuses in camps around Goma included 
killings and death threats, particularly by demobilized fighters, as 
well as abduction and rape. Some IDPs were also reportedly subjected to 
forced labor (see section 1.g.).

    Protection of Refugees.--As of November there were 153,180 refugees 
in the country from seven adjacent countries, the majority from Angola 
and Rwanda. In addition, there were 221,055 Congolese refugees recorded 
as living in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
    The country's laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee 
status, and the government has established a rudimentary system for 
providing protection to refugees. In practice it granted refugee and 
asylum status to individuals and 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 an undetermined 
number of individuals who may not qualify as refugees.
    The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers with welfare and 
safety needs. The government provided assistance in enabling the safe, 
voluntary return of refugees to their homes by allowing their entry 
into the country and facilitating their passage through the immigration 
system. However, government authorities did not provide adequate 
security to refugees.
    As of November 30, 7,626 refugees had returned voluntarily to 
Rwanda and 3,941 refugees had returned voluntarily to Burundi. In 
addition, 1,538 Angolans had returned to Angola after the November 4 
resumption by UNHCR of the voluntary repatriation operation to Angola.
    Unlike in previous years there were no reports of widespread forced 
expulsions. In 2009 Angola forcibly expelled 85,000 irregular Congolese 
immigrants to Bas-Congo Province, and the DRC retaliated by forcibly 
expelling 30,000 Angolans, including those with refugee status. During 
the year smaller expulsions along the entire border between the two 
countries continued. While most 2009 expulsions were conducted 
peacefully, abuses during expulsions by SSF of both countries occurred 
during the year. According to the UNJHRO, in January and February 2010, 
9,205 Congolese were allegedly expelled from Angola, including 1,943 
women, of whom 304 were allegedly raped by Angolan security forces. 
Congolese security forces committed 23 documented and verified rapes of 
expelled Congolese women on Congolese soil. Authorities had arrested 
one lower-level FARDC officer for the rapes by year's end.
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 presidential and parliamentary elections based on universal 
suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Presidential and parliamentary elections were held on November 28, and 
on December 9, the CENI announced that President Joseph Kabila received 
approximately 49 percent of the vote, Etienne Tshisekedi received 32 
percent, and Vital Kamerhe 8 percent. Several international observer 
missions, including the Carter Center and the EU Observer Mission, 
judged that the results of the elections ``lacked credibility,'' due 
largely to irregularities and a lack of transparency in the vote 
tabulation process.
    Election day was generally peaceful but chaotic and disorganized at 
a number of polling stations throughout the country. For example, many 
individuals could not find their names on the voting lists and 
therefore could not vote. Midway through election day, the CENI 
publicly announced that these ``omitted'' individuals could vote in the 
stations in which they registered, regardless of whether their names 
appeared on the rolls. In addition to the confusion, an RMG attacked a 
polling station in Lubumbashi on election day, and there were numerous 
incidents of violence in Kasai Occidental and parts of Kinshasa.
    On December 12, Vital Kamerhe, on behalf of the opposition, filed a 
claim with the Supreme Court seeking to annul the presidential 
elections. On December 16, the Supreme Court upheld the CENI's 
provisional results declaring that President Kabila won the election. 
The opposition quickly denounced the Supreme Court's ruling, and some 
international stakeholders criticized the procedure employed by the 
court. President Kabila was sworn into office on December 20.
    Meanwhile second place winner and Kabila's primary opponent Etienne 
Tshisekedi declared he had won the election and held his own 
``inauguration'' at his home on December 23. SSF had prevented the 
inauguration from taking place at the Martyr's Stadium, as planned by 
Tshisekedi and his UDPS party. Up to five people died in small-scale 
clashes on that day. At year's end Tshisekedi remained in detention in 
his residence.
    By year's end parliamentary election results had not been 
announced.
    During the year, a number of legal codes were changed concerning 
the elections process. Perhaps most significantly, on January 25, the 
Senate and the National Assembly adopted an amendment to the 
constitution that changed the presidential election from a two-round 
voting system to a single-round system whereby a simple majority 
determines the winner.
    In June and July, officials completed the voter registration 
process, registering approximately 32 million voters nationwide. In 
October the CENI began publishing voter lists on its Web site. Many 
observers, including the Carter Center, claimed that the voter 
registration process was flawed.
    The registration of presidential and legislative candidates was 
accompanied by demonstrations, especially by opposition party UDPS and 
Alliance pour la Majorite Presidentielle (AMP) member PPRD.

    Political Parties.--The 2007 law on the status and rights of the 
political opposition recognizes opposition parties represented in 
parliament as well as those not in parliament. The law also details the 
various ``sacred'' rights and obligations of opposition parties. During 
the year political parties were able to operate most of the time 
without restriction or outside interference, but there were notable 
exceptions, particularly during the election period. Opposition members 
were sometimes harassed (see section 2.a.).
    Participation of Women and Minorities: At year's end women held 10 
percent of seats in the National Assembly (50 of 500) and approximately 
6 percent in the provincial assemblies (43 of 690). This was a decrease 
from the 12 percent of seats held prior to the 2006 elections. In 
addition, four of the 108 senators were women. Among the 45 government 
ministers and vice ministers, four were women.
    Many ethnic groups, including Pygmies, were not represented in the 
Senate, the National Assembly, or provincial assemblies. The lack of 
political participation of some ethnic groups may have been a result of 
continuing societal discrimination. The enslavement of and 
discrimination against Pygmies continued in some areas and undoubtedly 
contributed to their lack of political participation (see section 5).
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. In 
2002 the government established a watchdog agency for the enforcement 
of the Code of Professional Ethics, which promotes ethical behavior 
among civil servants in the workplace. The Congolese Court of Accounts 
and the Congolese Anti-Corruption League NGO are also entities that 
work closely on corruption matters. In 2007 the government ratified a 
protocol agreement with the SADC (Southern African Development 
Community) on fighting corruption.
    Nevertheless, the authorities did not implement the law against 
corruption, and corruption remained endemic throughout the government 
and state security forces. Bribery was still routine in public and 
private business transactions, especially in the areas of government 
procurement, dispute settlement, and taxation. The public perceived the 
government to be widely corrupt at all levels. According to the World 
Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, official corruption was a 
severe problem.
    Corruption in the judicial and penal systems continued to be severe 
(see section 1.c.). In rural areas where there were often no courts 
within a 300-mile radius, justice was administered on an ad hoc basis 
by any available authority, creating extraordinary opportunities for 
corruption and abuse of power. Some observers asserted that members of 
both the executive and legislative branches were content to keep the 
judiciary weak and ineffective because it protected their power and 
allowed them to engage in corruption and abuse of power without 
consequence.
    Weak financial controls and lack of a functioning judicial system 
encouraged officials to engage in corruption with impunity. Many civil 
servants, police, and soldiers reportedly were paid late, had not been 
paid in years, received irregular salaries, or did not earn enough to 
support their families, all of which fostered corruption. 
L'Observatuer, a daily newspaper, reported in December that a number of 
police officers in Beni, North Kivu, went on strike after not being 
paid for up to five years. Embezzlement of soldiers' salaries by FARDC 
commanders was common and appeared to contribute to extortion, looting, 
and other abuses by soldiers against citizens (see section 1.d.).
    The law criminalizes money laundering and terrorist financing, and 
provides for a Financial Intelligence Unit. Limited resources and a 
weak judicial system hampered the government's ability to enforce anti-
money laundering regulations, however, and local institutions and 
personnel lacked the training and capacity to enforce the law and its 
attendant regulations fully. During the year the government reached 
money-laundering convictions in two cases.
    Reports, including the UNGOE report, indicated that the mining 
sector continued to lose millions of dollars because of official 
corruption at all levels, including illegal exploitation of minerals by 
FARDC and RMG in the East (see section 1.g.).
    In October the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised concerns 
about two mining contracts entered into in August with Sodimico and 
Gecamines that it and the World Bank noted were concluded without 
proper adherence to transparency principles. The IMF refused to 
conclude its fourth review of the government under the PEG 2 (the 
government's Economic Program) until the government audits and 
publishes the contracts.
    The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights created an internal 
anticorruption team on May 10. According to one internal source, 
however, this new structure lacked independence and therefore the power 
to fight corruption.
    Government authorities and wealthy individuals at times used 
antidefamation laws that carry criminal punishments to discourage media 
investigation of government corruption (see section 2.a.).
    The law requires the president and ministers to disclose their 
assets to a government committee. President Kabila and all ministers 
and vice ministers reportedly did so during the year. However, the data 
were not made public.
    The law does not provide for public access to government-held 
information. In practice the government did not grant access to 
government information for citizens or noncitizens, including foreign 
media.
    To enforce anticorruption laws among civil servants and other 
government employees, in 2009 President Kabila launched a ``zero 
tolerance'' campaign. Within this framework, he established the 
Financial Intelligence Unit to combat money laundering and 
misappropriation of public funds.
    In 2008 the country was accepted as a candidate in the Extractive 
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international voluntary 
initiative designed to increase transparency in transactions between 
governments and companies in the extractive industries. Although the 
government took some positive steps under EITI, including the 
establishment of a National EITI Committee, publication of the first 
report on EITI in the country, and the hiring of an independent auditor 
to validate the EITI process, the government did not meet its March 
2010 validation deadline, nor did it meet a subsequently imposed June 
2011 deadline. The EITI Secretariat granted the government a final 18-
month extension to complete validation by March 1, 2013.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights 
organizations investigated and published findings on human rights 
cases. However, SSF continued to harass, beat, intimidate, and 
arbitrarily arrest and detain local human rights advocates and NGO 
workers, and government intimidation of domestic human rights defenders 
worsened. In addition, prison officials consistently denied access by 
NGOs and U.N. officials to detainees in certain types of facilities 
(see sections 1.c. and 1.d.). The government allowed international 
humanitarian agencies access to conflict zones, permitted many U.N. 
human rights officers to investigate abuses, and invited U.N. special 
rapporteurs and representatives to visit the country to assess the 
human rights situation and provide technical assistance. However, the 
government took no significant steps to implement their 
recommendations. There were instances in which authorities, 
particularly SSF, obstructed the work of U.N. human rights monitors and 
special rapporteurs, and FARDC units in North Kivu occasionally made 
death threats against U.N. personnel.
    Officials from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights met with 
domestic NGOs and sometimes responded to their inquiries. In March 2010 
the minister announced the creation of a liaison organization for 
consultation between the government and human rights NGOs to monitor 
human rights and devise strategies to improve the situation. Scheduled 
to meet every two weeks, the first session convened in September 2010. 
Thereafter the liaison organization met sporadically, the latest 
occasion being November 18 to discuss human rights issues during the 
electoral period. While there was no official Human Rights Commission, 
there is an Interministerial Human Rights Committee, which meets on an 
ad hoc basis to address high-profile issues. During the UNHRC's 
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, numerous domestic human rights 
NGOs and the government underscored the need to establish an 
independent national human rights commission, with a broad mandate to 
protect and promote human rights.
    There were reports that local officials required domestic NGOs 
seeking to register to pay bribes and denied several domestic NGOs 
authorization to operate. Domestic human rights NGOs were particularly 
vulnerable to harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and other 
abuses by SSF, when reporting on or supporting victims of abuses by 
FARDC, ANR, or other SSF and when spotlighting the illegal exploitation 
of natural resources in the East.
    The government generally cooperated with international NGOs that 
published reports on human rights and humanitarian issues and permitted 
their investigators access to conflict areas. These human rights and 
humanitarian aid workers operated in unstable environments where RMG 
were actively engaged, and were sometimes attacked. For instance, on 
September 9, RMG kidnapped five members of one of the UNHCR's NGO 
partners and their drivers near Kigome, Walikale Territory. The members 
of the NGO escaped although the drivers did not. On September 10, an 
RMG kidnapped six workers with the NGO Welthungerhilfe in southwest 
Lubero Territory.
    The government cooperated with multilateral organizations in many 
instances. However, there were some notable problems. While authorities 
continued to permit international humanitarian agencies access to 
conflict areas, authorities denied the agencies access to certain 
prisons located in these areas (see section 1.g.). They also continued 
consistently to deny UNJHRO officers access to detainees in facilities 
run by the ANR and the RG in numerous areas.
    There was an increase in cases of members of SSF obstructing human 
rights work by MONUSCO and the U.N. human rights country team. FARDC 
units in the East, comprised mainly of ex-CNDP members, consistently 
denied UNICEF child protection officers access to children in their 
ranks and sometimes threatened them (see section 1.g.). The government 
had not responded to several requests for information from various U.N. 
human rights monitoring bodies made in prior years. In addition, during 
the year the government replied to only a small percentage of 
communications, including urgent appeals, from U.N. rapporteurs and 
representatives, according to the UNHCR.
    The government cooperated in some respects with the ICC, which 
continued investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity 
committed in the country since 2003. However, despite the ICC 
indictment of General Ntaganda in 2008, the government made no effort 
to arrest and transfer him to the ICC.
    The government continued to cooperate with the International 
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which operated freely in areas 
under government control, seeking several individuals indicted for 
involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, who the ICTR believes might 
be in the DRC. On May 24, Congolese authorities arrested Bernard 
Munyagishira, allegedly responsible for leading the genocide in the 
border town of Gisenyi, Rwanda, directly across the border from Goma, 
North Kivu. He was transferred to the ICTR on June 14, made an initial 
appearance before the court on June 20, and at year's end was awaiting 
trial. In 2009 the government transferred Gregoire Ndahimana, who had 
surrendered to authorities, to the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania. On 
November 17, the ICTR convicted Ndahimana of genocide and crimes 
against humanity and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
    On December 16, the ICC freed Callixte Mbarushimana, a Rwandan 
rebel leader who was charged with murder, rape, and torture in the DRC, 
because of lack of evidence.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity, 
gender, or religion. The government did not enforce these prohibitions 
effectively.
    In many cases throughout this section data from prior years are 
presented because more recent data were not available. In all such 
cases observers believed that the situation had not materially improved 
during the year.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, but 
the government did not effectively enforce this law, and rape was 
common throughout the country and especially pervasive in conflict 
areas in the East. Spousal rape is not criminal under the law, which 
was last modified in 2006. The law defines rape to include male 
victims, sexual slavery, sexual harassment, forced pregnancy, and other 
sexual crimes. It also prohibits compromise fines and forced marriage, 
allows victims of sexual violence to waive appearance in court, and 
permits closed hearings to protect confidentiality. The minimum penalty 
prescribed for rape is a prison sentence of five years.
    SSF, RMG, and civilians perpetrated widespread and sometimes mass 
rape of women and girls (see section 1.g.). In 2009 the United Nations 
Population Fund (UNFPA) reported 12,838 cases of sexual violence 
against both adults and minors in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Orientale 
provinces, with a total of 17,507 cases across the entire country. 
According to the March 2009 U.N. Secretary General's 27th report to the 
U.N. Security Council, more than 1,100 women and girls were raped each 
month in the East alone. An American Journal of Public Health study 
published in June supported this assertion.
    Statistical information on rape, often based on information from 
the judiciary and agencies providing services to victims, remained 
fragmented and incomplete. According to U.N. officials and NGOs such as 
HRW, statistics on sexual violence represented a small percentage of 
the actual number of crimes committed and excluded victims who were 
unable, afraid, or ashamed to seek assistance. The June study also 
supported the claim that rape and sexual violence were widespread and 
not limited to conflict zones.
    Prosecutions for rape and other types of sexual violence remained 
rare. According to the High Military Prosecutors Office, in 2010 the 
military justice system convicted 17 FARDC soldiers of crimes of sexual 
violence in North Kivu Province. HRW and several other human rights 
groups continued to criticize the government for failing to investigate 
and prosecute members of SSF, particularly high-ranking officers, who 
were responsible for rape (see section 1.d.) or failed to take action 
against personnel under their command. Of the 14,200 rape cases that 
were registered in South Kivu between 2005 and 2007, only 287, or 2 
percent of the cases, were taken to court. Both victims and the UNHRC's 
special rapporteur on violence against women cited widespread impunity 
as the main reason for sexual violence. Most victims did not have 
sufficient confidence in the justice system to pursue formal legal 
action or feared subjecting themselves to further humiliation and 
possible reprisal.
    It was common for family members to pressure a rape victim to 
remain silent, even to health care professionals, to safeguard the 
reputations of the victim and her family. Victims of SGBV faced 
enormous social stigma. After a sexual assault, many young women and 
girls were often labeled as unsuitable for marriage, and married women 
were frequently abandoned by their husbands. Some families forced rape 
victims to marry the men who raped them or to forego prosecution in 
exchange for money or goods from the rapist.
    Domestic violence against women was common throughout the country. 
For example, according to the 2007 Demographic Health Survey, 71 
percent of women reported some form of sexual, mental, or physical 
abuse. Other sources found that 86 percent of women in Equateur 
Province were victims of domestic abuse. While there were few recent 
statistics available regarding the extent of domestic abuse across the 
country, a Kinshasa-based December 2010 survey of 1,000 individuals 
conducted by Les Experts found that 45 percent of respondents had been 
abused. Although the law considers assault a crime, it does not 
specifically address spousal abuse, and police rarely intervened in 
domestic disputes. There were no reports of judicial authorities taking 
action in cases of domestic or spousal abuse.

    Female Genital Mutilation.--The law does not prohibit female 
genital mutilation (FGM). According to the World Health Organization, 
isolated groups in the north practiced FGM, and approximately 5 percent 
of women and girls were victims.

    Sexual Harassment.-- Sexual harassment occurred throughout the 
country. A 2010 study conducted by the World Health Organization found 
that 64 percent of workers surveyed had experienced sexual harassment 
at the workplace. The law prohibits sexual harassment, and the minimum 
penalty prescribed by law is a prison sentence of one year. However, 
there was little to no effective enforcement.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government respected the right of 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. However, while the law does not 
require spousal permission for family planning usage, it was still 
common practice for providers to require permission of a woman's spouse 
before providing family planning. Women's access to contraception also 
remained extremely low, with only 6.7 percent of women using modern 
contraceptive methods. According to the World Health Organization, the 
maternal mortality rate for 2008 was 670 deaths per 100,000 live 
births.
    Women's access to treatment for sexually transmitted diseases was 
not known. Recent studies did not disaggregate by gender, and the data 
were highly variable across geographic regions, reflecting variations 
in cultural norms and access to health care services. The percentage of 
women seeking skilled medical assistance during childbirth was 74 
percent in 2010.
    According to the 2010 Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted by the 
government with various U.N. agencies and a foreign aid agency, 87 
percent of pregnant women received prenatal care at least once from a 
qualified professional. This represented a 2 percent increase from the 
2007 demographic and health survey. Medical assistance during 
childbirth was not as prevalent as prenatal care, but access did 
increase between 2001 and 2007. Education, socioeconomic status, place 
of delivery (hospital, clinic, or home), and geographic location had a 
significant impact on who received postpartum care. Cultural barriers 
to seeking healthcare were nonexistent except for the minority of women 
who belonged to Bunda dia Mayala (formerly known as Bunda Dia Congo), a 
political and religious movement in which adherents were sometimes 
prevented from receiving vaccinations.

    Discrimination.--Women did not possess the same rights as men under 
the law or in practice. The law requires a married woman to obtain her 
husband's consent before engaging in legal transactions, including 
selling or renting real estate, opening a bank account, or applying for 
a passport. According to UNICEF, many widows had been dispossessed of 
their property. Women found guilty of adultery may be sentenced to up 
to one year in prison, while adultery by men is punishable only if 
judged to have ``an injurious quality.''
    In their 2009 report to the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC), 
seven U.N. special rapporteurs and representatives expressed concern 
that, while the family code recognizes equality between spouses, it 
``effectively renders a married woman a minor under the guardianship of 
her husband,'' by stating that the wife must obey her husband.
    Women experienced economic discrimination. The law forbids a woman 
from working at night or accepting employment without her husband's 
consent. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), women 
often received less pay in the private sector than men doing the same 
job and rarely occupied positions of authority or high responsibility.
    The constitution calls for gender parity, but the provision was not 
given effect by any legislation. Various laws require political parties 
to consider gender parity when presenting candidates at all levels. 
However, fewer than 12 percent of the recent legislative candidates 
were women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--According to 2010 UNICEF data, 28 
percent of children under the age of five were registered with the 
state. This represented a 3 percent drop in the previous three years. 
However, for the first four months of 2011, the Ministry of the 
Interior reported overall registration of 47 percent of births. Birth 
registration was lowest among ethnic minorities such as Pygmies. The 
lack of registration did not affect access to government services.

    Education.--The constitution and law stipulate that public 
education should be free and that education should be compulsory until 
16 years of age. In practice, however, primary school education was not 
compulsory, tuition-free, or universal, and few functioning government-
funded schools existed. Public and private schools generally expected 
parents to contribute to teachers' salaries, and parents typically 
funded 80 to 90 percent of school expenses. These expenses, combined 
with the potential loss of income or labor while their children 
attended class, rendered many parents unable or unwilling to enroll 
their children. In September 2010 President Kabila ordered that primary 
school fees would no longer be required outside Kinshasa, Katanga, and 
Bas-Congo provinces. However, the inadequate education budget severely 
limited the state's ability to implement its free primary education 
policy. As a result, many schools continued to rely on fees paid by 
parents in order to function.
    Primary and secondary school attendance rates for girls were lower 
because many parents preferred to send only their sons to school due to 
financial, cultural, or security reasons. Approximately 7.6 million 
children and adolescents did not attend school.
    Many of the schools in conflict zones were dilapidated and had been 
closed due to insecurity. The 2010 Report of the U.N. Secretary General 
on Children and Armed Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 
noted an increase in attacks on schools in areas that often had 
corresponding reports of child recruitment. Parents in such areas often 
prevented their children from attending the few functioning schools due 
to fear that RMG would forcibly recruit their children.

    Child Abuse.--Although the law prohibits all forms of child abuse, 
it occurred. The 2010 MICS survey found that 92 percent of children two 
to 14 years old experienced some form of violent discipline methods 
(psychological aggression and/or physical punishment). There was no 
information about authorities arresting individuals for child 
abandonment or other abuse during the year.
    The constitution prohibits parental abandonment of children 
believed to have committed sorcery. Nevertheless, parents or other care 
providers sometimes abandoned and abused such children. The law 
provides for a sentence of imprisonment for parents and other adults 
who accuse children of witchcraft, but authorities did not implement 
the law effectively.
    Child abuse was an especially serious problem in the eastern 
conflict regions. A 2008 report of the U.N. Secretary General on 
children and armed conflict in the country concluded that children 
continued to be the primary victims of the conflict in the East.
    In 2009 a group of seven U.N. special rapporteurs and 
representatives mandated by the UNHRC to assess human rights in the 
country deemed it ``alarming'' that a significant percentage of the 
victims of sexual violence were girls, and in some cases boys. Between 
January 2010 and September 2011, UNICEF reported that approximately 
21,395 SGBV survivors received medical care, of which 12,829 were in 
the East. Of the overall number, 57 percent were children.
    Many churches in Kinshasa conducted exorcisms of children accused 
of witchcraft involving isolation, beating and whipping, starvation, 
and forced ingestion of purgatives. According to UNICEF children with 
disabilities or even speech impediments and learning disabilities were 
branded as witches. This practice sometimes resulted in parents 
abandoning their children. According to UNICEF as many as 70 percent of 
the street children it assisted claimed to have been accused of 
witchcraft.
    In 2009 the Committee on the Rights of the Child established under 
the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child published its concluding 
observations, which underscored the committee's concern over the 
frequency of sexual assaults committed against street children, as well 
as SSF's regular harassment, beating, and arrest of street children. In 
addition the committee expressed concern that ``violence against 
children accused of witchcraft was increasing, and that children were 
being kept as prisoners in religious buildings, where they were 
subjected to torture and mistreatment or even killed under the pretext 
of exorcism.''
    Several NGOs, including Save the Children, worked with MONUSCO and 
UNICEF to promote children's rights throughout the country.

    Child Marriage.--The law prohibits marriage of girls under the age 
of 14 and boys under the age of 18. The 2010 MICS Survey found that 45 
percent of 20- to 45-year-old women were married before the age of 18. 
In addition, some marriages of girls as young as 13 years old took 
place. Dowry payments greatly contributed to underage marriage, as 
parents would marry off a daughter against her will to collect a dowry 
or to finance a dowry for a son.
    The law criminalizes forced marriage. It subjects parents to up to 
12 years' hard labor and a fine of 92,500 Congolese francs 
(approximately $103) for forcing a child to marry. The penalty doubles 
when the child is under the age of 15. However, there were no reports 
of prosecutions for forced marriage.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age of consensual sex 
is 14 years for girls and 18 years for men, and the law prohibits 
prostitution by anyone under the age of 18. Nevertheless, child 
prostitution occurred throughout the country, although there were no 
statistics available regarding its prevalence. Some of these children 
engaged in prostitution without third-party involvement, while others 
were forced to do so.
    According to the World Bank, 26 percent of children living on the 
streets were girls, and of these, nine out of 10 were involved in 
prostitution, and seven out of 10 had been raped.

    Child Soldiers.--All parties to the conflict in the East used child 
soldiers (see section 1.g.).

    Displaced Children.--There were an estimated 8.4 million orphans 
and vulnerable children in the country in 2009. Ninety-one percent 
received no external support of any kind, and only 3 percent received 
medical support. UNICEF and the World Bank estimated that 30,000-40,000 
children lived on the streets, with the highest concentration in 
Kinshasa. Many of these children were forced out of their homes when 
their families accused them of witchcraft and bringing misfortune to 
their families. Others were child refugees and war orphans.
    The government was ill equipped to deal with such large numbers of 
homeless children. Citizens generally regarded street children as 
delinquents engaged in petty crime, begging, and prostitution and 
approved of actions taken against them. SSF abused and arbitrarily 
arrested street children (see sections 1.c. and 1.d.). During the year 
children's tribunals were launched with the training and deployment of 
12 magistrates--one for each provincial tribunal.
    There were numerous reports that street children had to pay police 
officers to be allowed to sleep in vacant buildings and had to share 
with police a percentage of goods stolen from markets.

    Anti-Semitism.--The country has a very small Jewish population, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law prohibits 
discrimination against persons with disabilities, the government did 
not effectively enforce this provision, and persons with disabilities 
often found it difficult to obtain employment, education, or government 
services.
    The law does not mandate access to buildings or government services 
for persons with disabilities. Some schools for persons with 
disabilities, including persons with visual disabilities, received 
private funds and limited public funds to provide education and 
vocational training.
    An August 2010 American Journal of Public Health study found that 
overwhelming numbers of civilians in the conflict zone were suffering 
from symptoms associated with mental illness, ranging from post-
traumatic stress disorder to depression.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Members of the country's more 
than 400 ethnic groups practiced ethnic discrimination, and 
discrimination was evident in hiring patterns in some cities. The 
government took no reported actions to address this problem.
    SSF in Kinshasa sometimes harassed, arbitrarily arrested, or 
threatened members of many different ethnic groups from Equateur, North 
Kivu, and South Kivu, according to regular reporting from the UNJHRO.

    Indigenous People.--The country had a population of between 200,000 
and 500,000 Pygmies (Twa, Mbuti, Aka, and others), believed to be the 
country's original inhabitants. The government did not effectively 
protect their civil and political rights, and societal discrimination 
against them was widespread. Most Pygmies took no part in the political 
process and lived in remote areas. Fighting in the East between RMG and 
SSF caused displacement of some Pygmy populations. Since 2003, many 
Pygmies who had lived in IDP camps in the East were forced out of the 
camps by other IDPs, removing their access to humanitarian relief 
provided to camp residents.
    In some areas, traditional leaders (mwami) and wealthy persons 
captured Pygmies and forced them into slavery. For 2009-10, the World 
Peasants/Indigenous Organization (WPIO) reported 644 new cases of 
enslavement of Pygmies.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While there are no laws 
specifically prohibiting homosexuality or homosexual acts, individuals 
engaging in public displays of homosexuality were subject to 
prosecution under public decency provisions in the penal code and 
articles in the law on sexual violence. In October 2010, a law was 
proposed in the national assembly that would impose significant fines 
and jail terms on individuals engaging in homosexuality or groups 
promoting or protecting homosexual behavior. No action had been taken 
on the draft legislation by the end of the year. Homosexuality remained 
a cultural taboo, and harassment by SSF was believed to have continued.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination based on HIV/AIDS status.
    Discrimination against persons with albinism was widespread and 
limited their ability to obtain employment, health care, and education, 
or to marry. Persons with albinism were frequently ostracized by their 
families and communities.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides all workers, except government officials and 
members of SSF, the right to form and join trade unions without prior 
authorization or excessive requirements, to conduct legal strikes, and 
to bargain collectively. Additionally, the law provides unions the 
right to conduct activities without interference. However, the 
provision does not clearly define specific acts of interference. In the 
private sector a minimum of 10 employees are required for unionizing a 
business. Bargaining with the employer requires a minimum of 10 union 
committee members plus one. Union committee members report to the rest 
of the workforce. The union committee gives a notice of strike to the 
company's management and does not need authorization to strike. In 
general the committee delivers a notice to strike to the employer and 
then waits for a reply for 48 hours. The employer is not obligated to 
reply. If he chooses to reply, negotiations, which may take up to three 
months, begin with a labor inspector and ultimately, the Peace Court. 
If the employer does not reply signaling his readiness to negotiate, 
the strike may immediately start. Sometimes employees provide only 
minimum labor while negotiating.
    Foreigners cannot hold trade union office until they have lived in 
the country for at least 20 years. The law requires unions to have 
prior consent from the Ministry of Labor (MOL) and to adhere to lengthy 
mandatory arbitration and appeal procedures before striking. In general 
the police, army, and domestic workers cannot strike. Directors in 
public and private enterprises are also excluded from striking.
    The law prohibits discrimination against union employees and 
requires employers to reinstate workers fired for union activities. 
However, the government did not effectively enforce applicable laws, 
and the extent to which the government protected these rights in 
practice was limited.
    International NGO Freedom House reported in January that labor 
unions existed only in urban areas and were largely inactive. The 
government recognized only 12 unions at the national level. These 
unions, largely in the natural resources sector, were recognized after 
the 2008 elections and have a mandate that extends until 2013. 
Employees in the private sector are free to join one of these 12 
nationally recognized unions. Unions present in a private sector 
company form a union committee, which is recognized by management and, 
at times, even financially assisted. Membership in the unions was 
unknown. Informally and not within an official union, artisanal miners 
organized themselves in small groups for mutual support and sharing 
benefits.
    In August 2010 a Freedom House assessment found significant 
restrictions on labor rights and a ``repressive'' labor rights 
environment. Also in 2010, the International Trade Union Confederation 
(ITUC) reported that there were arrests of trade union members who were 
tortured and received ill treatment during their detention. The ITUC 
and the Trade Union Confederation of the Congo (CSC) also reported acts 
of interference in trade union activities, including threats of 
dismissal in violation of the law, the existence of many unions 
established and financed by employers, and the failure to comply with 
requirements for collective bargaining. For example, the management of 
the Societe Nationale des Transports et des Ports (SCTP) dismissed its 
union head and sent some union members to jail.
    Despite the law, antiunion discrimination occurred in practice. To 
a limited extent, the government protected the right of reinstatement 
for workers fired for union activities.
    In small- and medium-sized businesses, workers could not 
effectively exercise the right to strike. With an enormous unemployed 
labor pool, companies and shops could immediately replace any workers 
attempting to unionize, collectively bargain, or strike. Despite the 
law prohibiting employers and the government from retaliating against 
strikers, in April police prevented employees of the SCTP and the Regie 
des Voies Aeriennes from striking and arrested some employees and union 
delegates.
    Collective bargaining was ineffective in practice. For example, 
public hospital nurses and public school teachers launched strikes, but 
both returned to work without any of their demands met. In the public 
sector, the government set wages by decree and permitted unions to act 
only in an advisory capacity.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children. Under the Labor Code, forced labor is punishable by a maximum 
of six months' imprisonment plus a fine. Another law also provides for 
a penalty of prison labor from 10 to 20 years for the enrollment or use 
of children under 18 years of age in armed forces or the police.
    The government did not effectively enforce laws prohibiting forced 
or compulsory labor. Although no statistics were available, forced 
labor widely occurred throughout the country.
    Examples of violations include the coercion of men, women, and 
children into forced labor. In the mining sector, individuals took on 
debt from intermediaries and dealers to acquire food, supplies, and 
mining tools and equipment. Miners who failed to provide sufficient ore 
to pay off this debt became debt slaves, forced to continue to work to 
pay off arrears. The government did not attempt to regulate this 
practice. By some estimates, tens of thousands of children worked in 
the mining sector, most often in extremely dangerous conditions as 
artisanal miners. Children mined diamonds, gold, cobalt, coltan, 
wolframite, and cassiterite. In mining areas, children sifted, cleaned, 
sorted, transported heavy loads, and dug for minerals underground. In 
the East, FARDC elements and RMG, operating outside central government 
control, continued to abduct and forcibly recruit men, women, and 
children to serve as laborers (including in mines in the Kivus), 
porters, domestics, combatants, and sex slaves (see section 1.g.).
    A June report by the NGO Free the Slaves stated that children were 
particularly vulnerable to forced labor in the East. The report noted 
that, ``[i]t is not uncommon for members of armed groups to force an 
individual to work in the mines during the day and sexually exploit the 
same person at night.''
    Some police officers in the East reportedly arrested individuals 
arbitrarily in order to extort money from them. The police forced those 
who could not pay to work until they had ``earned'' their freedom.
    SSF forced men, women, and children, including IDPs and prisoners, 
to serve as porters, miners, and domestic laborers (see sections 1.c., 
1.g., 6, and 7.c.). In addition, according to the UNGOE report of 
November 2010, in Mushake, Masisi Territory, ex-CNDP FARDC soldiers 
``enforce salongo, whereby civilians are required to build houses, 
clean camps, and transport merchandise for the military.'' Observers 
believed that the situation did not materially improve during 2011.
    SSF and RMG in conflict-affected areas in the East used children, 
including child soldiers, for forced labor in mines (see section 1.g.). 
However, the use of forced child labor by SSF was not limited to 
conflict zones. For example, in 2009 UNICEF reported that soldiers in 
Katanga Province forced children and adults to mine and transport heavy 
loads. No available information suggests that the situation materially 
improved during the year.
    The government took no action against FARDC soldiers who used 
forced labor and abducted civilians for forced labor during the year.
    The government did not conduct any official child labor 
investigations during the year. Little if any information existed on 
the removal of victims from forced labor. At year's end there was no 
effective government effort underway to limit child labor in mines. The 
government and U.N. sources reported the removal of minors from the 
ranks of the armed forces in the course of its census and registration 
program. The armed forces handed these minors over to the United 
Nations' reintegration program.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
minimum age for full-time employment without parental consent is 18 
years. Employers may legally hire minors between the ages of 15 and 18 
with the consent of a parent or guardian. Those under the age of 16 may 
work a maximum of four hours per day, and all minors are restricted 
from transporting heavy items.
    While criminal courts continued to hear child labor complaints, 
neither the courts nor other government agencies were able to 
effectively enforce these laws. Government ministries and the National 
Committee to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labor lacked the resources 
and capacity to enforce child labor laws.
    The MOL has responsibility for investigating child labor abuses but 
had no dedicated child labor inspection service. In December the 
government approved a National Action Plan to Combat the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor. Other government agencies responsible for combating child 
labor included the Ministry of Gender, Family and Children, the 
Ministry of Social Affairs, and the National Committee to Combat the 
Worst Forms of Child Labor. These agencies had no budgets for 
inspections and conducted no child labor investigations during 2010 or 
2011. According to the NGO Volunteer Office in the Service of Children 
and Health, while child labor was widespread, no formal complaints had 
been filed.
    The government did not undertake any measures to reinforce the 
capacities of the labor inspectors to ensure that children under 18 did 
not engage in hazardous work in mines.
    Child labor, including forced child labor, was a problem throughout 
the country (see section 7.b.).
    Child labor was most common in the informal sector, particularly in 
mining and subsistence agriculture. For economic survival, families 
often encouraged children to work. According to the MOL, children 
worked in mines and stone quarries, and as child soldiers, water 
sellers, domestic servants, and entertainers in bars and restaurants. 
In December the International Organization of Migration (IOM) reported 
that several industries in the country used child labor.
    According to data collected by a September 2010 UNICEF survey, 
approximately 42 percent of children between the ages of five and 14 
were involved in child labor. The same survey indicated that children 
in rural areas are more likely to be involved in child labor than 
children in urban areas (46 percent compared to 34 percent). UNICEF 
considered children to be involved in labor if, during the week 
preceding the survey, a child five to 11 years old performed at least 
one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work, or 
a child 12 to 14 years old performed at least 14 hours of economic 
activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work.
    Children were also exploited in the worst forms of child labor, 
many of them in exploitative work in agriculture, street vending, water 
selling, and domestic service. Children made up as much as 30 percent 
of the work force in the artisanal mining sector. In mining regions of 
the provinces of Katanga, Kasai Occidental, Orientale, North Kivu, and 
South Kivu, children performed dangerous mine work, often underground. 
In many areas of the country, children who were five to 12 years old 
broke rocks to make gravel for a small wage.
    Parents often used children for dangerous and difficult 
agricultural labor. Families unable to support their children 
occasionally sent them to live with relatives who effectively treated 
the children as domestic slaves, subjecting them to physical and sexual 
abuse.
    Children were also trafficked for sexual exploitation, including 
for prostitution in brothels or by loosely organized networks. Reports 
indicated continued child prostitution, including forced prostitution, 
throughout the country (see section 6).
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda/htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government sets regional 
minimum wages for all workers in private enterprise, with the highest 
pay scales applied to the cities of Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. In January 
2009 the government established a minimum wage of 1,680 Congolese 
francs (approximately $3 at that time) per day. Given the continued 
devaluation of the currency, the minimum wage, which has never been 
adjusted, stood at $1.87 at year's end. While most foreign employers 
paid higher wages than the official minimum wage, the average worker 
has had to cope with falling real wages for over a decade.
    The law defines different standard workweeks, ranging from 45 to 72 
hours, for various jobs and prescribes rest periods and premium pay for 
overtime. However, the law establishes no monitoring or enforcement 
mechanism, and employers often did not respect these provisions.
    The law specifies health and safety standards. The law does not 
provide workers the right to remove themselves from dangerous work 
situations without jeopardizing their employment. Health and safety 
standards were not effectively enforced in either the formal and 
informal sectors.
    Employers in the informal sector often did not respect the legally 
required minimum wage. The average monthly wage did not provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Government salaries 
remained low, ranging from 45,000 to 75,000 Congolese francs 
(approximately $50 to $83) per month, and salary arrears were common in 
both the civil service and public enterprises (parastatals). More than 
90 percent of laborers worked in subsistence agriculture, informal 
commerce or mining, or other informal pursuits.
    According to the World Bank, between 500,000 and two million miners 
worked in the informal sector nationwide and up to 16 percent of the 
population indirectly relied on artisanal mining. Overall estimates 
were notoriously challenging to verify, and determining the number of 
miners working specifically in the conflict areas was difficult. In 
2010 the international NGO Pact estimated that between 200,000 and 
250,000 miners worked in North Kivu and South Kivu. Many suffered 
violence from guards and SSF for illegally entering mining concession 
areas.
    Informal sector workers, who make up approximately 90 percent of 
the workforce, are subject to hazardous and/or exploitive working 
conditions.

                               __________

                         REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

                           executive summary
    The Republic of the Congo is a parliamentary republic in which most 
of the decision-making authority and political power is vested in the 
president and his administration, although the method by which internal 
decision-making occurs is unclear. Denis Sassou-Nguesso was reelected 
president in 2009 with 78 percent of the vote, but the validity of 
these figures is questioned. The 2009 election was peaceful, and the 
African Union declared the elections to have been free and fair; 
however, opposition candidates and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 
cited irregularities. While the country has a multiparty political 
system, members of the president's Congolese Labor Party (PCT) occupy 
most senior government positions. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Major human rights problems included suspected beatings and 
torturing of detainees by security forces; poor prison conditions; and 
societal discrimination against women.
    Other human rights abuses included arbitrary arrest; lengthy 
pretrial detention; an ineffective and under-resourced judiciary; 
infringement of citizens' privacy rights; some restrictions on freedom 
of speech, press, and assembly, official corruption and lack of 
transparency; domestic violence, including rape; trafficking in 
persons; discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, particularly against 
indigenous persons; and child labor.
    The government seldom took steps to prosecute or punish officials 
who committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in 
the government, and official impunity was a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, NGOs reported 
cases of government-led torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading 
treatment.
    For example, in early 2011 inmates and pretrial detainees in 
Brazzaville's prison were reportedly tortured two to three times per 
month by gendarmes during the night, after the regular prison staff 
departed the premises at 5 p.m.
    In April a gendarme attempted to rape a female inmate in the 
Brazzaville prison. Following this incident, the government no longer 
deployed gendarmes inside the prison, but they continued to be 
stationed outside to prevent prison escapes.
    Bradi Oboromalekou was arrested in June 2010 for selling cannabis 
and possessing a weapon. While incarcerated, his hands were reportedly 
handcuffed behind his back and he was repeatedly tortured for two weeks 
in the Brazzaville-Central police station jail before being transferred 
to the Jean Francois Ndengue police station jail. Oboromalekou 
continued to be tortured over another six weeks in this second facility 
before finally being released; the perpetrators enjoyed complete 
impunity.
    In September 2010 Army Lieutenant Ferdinand Bourangon died of 
torture-induced injuries allegedly perpetrated in Brazzaville's prison. 
Other unnamed prisoners were also allegedly tortured. To date, no 
disciplinary action has been taken against prison personnel. 
Bourangon's family filed a lawsuit against the alleged perpetrators, 
although the courts have not reviewed the case.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions were harsh and life-threatening. Most inmates slept 
on the floor on cardboard or thin mattresses in small overcrowded 
cells, exposing them to disease. The prisons lacked any significant 
ventilation, had poorly maintained lighting, had wiring protruding from 
the walls, and had regular occurrences of water backing up into 
prisoners' cells. Basic and emergency medical care was limited, and 
meaningful access to social services personnel was severely limited due 
to insufficient personnel and overcrowding.
    Detainees and prisoners are provided potable water in Brazzaville 
and Pointe Noire prisons; however, the two facilities do not have 
running water due to the deterioration of the water-pipes. There is no 
potable water in the country's 10 other departmental prisons.
    Record keeping in the penitentiary system did not improve during 
the past year. Prison officials continue to use a noncomputerized 
record keeping system.
    Prison conditions for women were better than those for men in each 
of the country's 12 prisons. There was a lower population density in 
the female cells than in the male cells.
    The government took some steps to improve the conditions of its 
prisons during the year. A new prison was opened in Impfondo, capital 
of Likouala Department. The prison in Ouesso, capital of Sangha 
Department, was refurbished. The government was negotiating a contract 
to build a new prison that would serve Brazzaville and be located 25 
miles north of the capital.
    Of 12 prisons, two--one in Brazzaville and one in Pointe Noire--
were fully operational during the past three years. Other facilities 
stopped operating at full capacity in 2008 due to infrastructure 
deterioration. By year's end, the prison population was approximately 
1,400, the majority of whom were awaiting trial for assault and 
robbery. As of October 28, the Brazzaville prison, which was built in 
1943 to hold up to 150 prisoners, held approximately 645, including 11 
minors. The Pointe Noire prison, built in 1940, held 240 prisoners, 
including four minors. There were approximately 50-60 detainees and 
prisoners in each of the country's remaining 10 departmental prisons. 
Due to the facilities' infrastructure constraints and lack of education 
services, these facilities do not hold minors. Convicted minors in 
these districts are therefore given punishments that do not include 
prison sentences. Additionally, police stations frequently house 
prisoners in their limited incarceration facilities beyond the maximum 
statutory holding period of 48-72 hours.
    Prison inmates reportedly received, on average, only one meal a 
day, including inadequate portions of rice, bread, and fish or low-
grade meat. Families were allowed to bring meals to inmates.
    Separate facilities were maintained for minors, women, and men in 
Brazzaville and Pointe Noire. In the country's 10 other prisons, there 
were no reported juvenile detainees, and men are held separately from 
women. Security measures in Brazzaville's prison were insufficient to 
maintain minors' isolation from the general prison population. Pretrial 
detainees were held with convicted prisoners in each of the 12 prisons. 
In Brazzaville, prisoners with infectious diseases were kept in one 
cell but allowed to interact with other inmates. In Brazzaville and 
Pointe Noire, most of the cells had a functioning television with 
cable. There were no televisions and cable in the cells of the 
remaining 10 prisons.
    Prisons do not have libraries or sports facilities, but the 
Brazzaville prison does have a school for juveniles that functions 
three times per week for two hours per day. The Pointe Noire prison 
also has a school for juveniles. Classes are taught by qualified 
inmates when available and by civil servants from the Ministry of 
Education when qualified inmates are not available. There are no 
schools in the country's other 10 prisons.
    Access to prisoners was conditional on obtaining a communication 
permit from a judge. The permit allows visitors to spend five to 15 
minutes with a prisoner. The visits took place in a small room that 
held one extended table at which approximately 10 detainees at a time 
might sit and converse with their visitors. A new permit is required 
for each subsequent visit with a prisoner. Visitors often have to bribe 
prison authorities to be allowed in. Many prisoners' families lived far 
away, and visits were often infrequent because of the financial 
hardship of travel to the prison.
    As in the previous year, the government provided only limited 
access to prisons and detention centers to domestic and international 
human rights groups. From January through July, a domestic human rights 
NGO was informally granted daily access to the Brazzaville prison by 
one of the facility's administrators. This access was subsequently 
denied by the same administrator in late July. Diplomatic missions, 
however, were granted access to both the country's prisons and to 
police station jails.
    Prisoners and detainees were permitted religious observance. 
Religiously-affiliated charitable organizations visited prisons and 
detention centers for charitable work and religious support. Prisoners 
and detainees are supposed to be allowed to submit complaints to 
judicial authorities, but in practice this right was not respected. 
There was no provision for an ombudsman. Defendants with sufficient 
means were able to hire private attorneys to serve on their behalf to 
propose alternatives to incarceration or to alleviate inhumane 
conditions.
    Prior to a trial, the government is obligated by law to provide 
legal assistance to detainees who lack the financial resources to hire 
a private attorney, but this was not done in practice. The government 
neglected to pay its public defenders, and, consequently, legal 
representation for poor detainees was limited. The government 
investigated and monitored prison conditions at the request of local 
NGOs following complaints from prisoners' and detainees' families. 
However, little was done to address the penal system's failure to 
ensure due process for detainees.
    For example, three minors in the Brazzaville prison were detained 
for eight months without access to a lawyer and without their cases 
being heard by a judge. The minors were subsequently released. Lengthy 
pretrial detentions are primarily due to the country's judicial system 
that lacks capacity and financing. Judges often have a large backlog of 
cases, and the Ministry of Justice typically must wait six months for 
funding to arrive from the national treasury before cases can go to 
trial. By law, criminal courts must review cases four times per year. 
In practice this is not possible since the Ministry of Justice receives 
funding for processing criminal cases one time per year based on the 
pending number of cases at the time of the request for funding.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. However, police, gendarmes, 
and soldiers unreasonably and arbitrarily detained persons for minor 
and often imaginary offenses, mostly traffic related, and required them 
to pay bribes on the spot as a condition for release.
    The Penal Code states that a detainee can be detained for a maximum 
of 72 hours in a police station jail before the case must be reviewed 
by an attorney general and a decision must be made to either release 
the individual or transfer the detainee to the prison for pretrial 
detention. However, the 72 hour maximum was not observed in practice. 
Some detainees were held for months and transferred among jails before 
finally being freed by the attorneys general.
    The Penal Code also states that prison detainees can be held for a 
maximum of three months in pretrial detention- with an additional three 
months with judicial approval. The law dictates that detainees who have 
completed longer pretrial detentions must be released while awaiting 
their court hearing. However, this was not observed in practice. Three-
quarters of detainees in Brazzaville's prison were pretrial detainees. 
Prison authorities stated that average provisional detention lasted six 
months; however, detainees said that the average was closer to 12 to 36 
months.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security forces 
include the police, the gendarmerie, and the military. The police and 
the gendarmerie are responsible for maintaining internal order, with 
police primarily in cities and the gendarmerie mainly in other areas. 
Military forces are responsible for territorial security, but some 
units also have domestic security responsibilities, such as the 
specialized Republican Guard battalion charged with the protection of 
the president, government buildings, and diplomatic missions. The 
minister of defense oversees the military forces and the gendarmerie, 
and the minister of the interior and decentralization oversees the 
police.
    A police unit under the Ministry of Interior and Decentralization 
is responsible for patrolling frontiers. Another military unit, the 
military police, reports to the minister of defense and is composed of 
military and police officers responsible for investigating professional 
misconduct by members of any of the security forces. Overall, 
professionalism of the security forces continued to improve, in large 
part due to training by the international law enforcement community. 
The government generally maintained effective control over the security 
forces; however, there were members of the security forces who acted 
independently of government authority, committed abuses, and engaged in 
malfeasance.
    Traffic police extorted bribes from drivers under threat of seizure 
of their identity cards or impoundment of their vehicles.
    Although the Human Rights Commission (HRC) was established for the 
public to report security force abuses, impunity for members of the 
security forces remained widespread.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution and law require that warrants be issued by a duly 
authorized official before arrests are made, that a person be 
apprehended openly, that a lawyer be present during initial 
questioning, and that detainees be brought before a judge within three 
days and either charged or released within four months. However, the 
government habitually violated these provisions. There is a system of 
bail, but, with 70 percent of the population earning an income below 
the poverty level, most detainees could not afford to post bail. 
Detainees generally were informed of charges against them at the time 
of arrest, but formal charges often took at least one week to be filed. 
Police at times held persons for six months or longer prior to filing 
of charges, due to administrative errors or delays in processing 
detainees. Most delays were attributed to lack of staff in the Ministry 
of Justice and the court system. Family members usually were given 
prompt access to detainees--but often only after payment of bribes. The 
law requires that indigent detainees facing criminal charges be 
provided lawyers at government expense, but this usually did not occur 
in practice.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrest continued to be a problem. This 
was perpetrated most often on vehicle operators (mainly taxi drivers) 
by police, gendarmes, or soldiers. Immigration officials also routinely 
stopped persons and threatened them with arrest, claiming they lacked 
some required document, were committing espionage, or on some other 
pretext to extort funds. The victims usually paid a bribe; if not, the 
person was detained at a police station (or the airport) until either a 
bribe was paid or someone with influence put pressure on authorities to 
release the individual.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention due to judicial 
backlogs was a problem. Pretrial detainees continued to constitute the 
majority of prisoners. On average detainees waited 6 months, according 
to prison authorities, or 12 to 36 months, according to detainees, 
before going to trial.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary continued to be 
overburdened, underfunded, and subject to political influence and 
corruption.
    In rural areas traditional courts continued to handle many local 
disputes, particularly property and inheritance cases, and domestic 
conflicts that could not be resolved within the family.
    The Martial Court, a military tribunal system established to try 
criminal cases involving military members, gendarmerie, or police, does 
not try civilians. The court was believed to be subject to influence 
and corruption. Subsequent to an investigation into corrupt military 
payroll practices, the Martial Court continued to garnish the salaries 
of more than 500 current and former military personnel to recover 
misappropriated funds.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial presided over by an independent judiciary, and the 
government generally respected judicial independence in practice. The 
constitution also provides for criminal trials to be conducted by the 
courts at least four times per year. For more than 20 years, however, 
criminal trials have only been held annually due to a lack of funding 
within the Ministry of Justice. The combination of a legal caseload 
that far exceeded the capacity of the judiciary and the lack of 
adequate funding to cover the expenses of criminal trials resulted in 
the government being unable to ensure fair and timely trials. The Court 
of Justice processed 84 criminal cases nationwide during 2010, 
including cases of misappropriation of public money, murder, rape, 
armed robbery, infanticide, indecent assault, and arson. In 2011 the 
Ministry of Justice was unable to provide the number of criminal cases 
nationwide, but it did confirm that 52 criminal trials were held in 
Brazzaville. In general, when trials occurred prior to 2008, and in 
2010 when the Court resumed its normal caseload, defendants were tried 
in a public court of law presided over by a state-appointed magistrate. 
Juries were used. Defendants had the right to be present at their trial 
and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner, although this did 
not always occur in practice. Defendants were occasionally convicted in 
absentia after the courts had tried unsuccessfully for a period of six 
months to locate the accused to stand trial. An indigent defendant 
facing serious criminal charges was entitled to an attorney at public 
expense. Defendants could generally confront or question accusers and 
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their own 
behalf. The defense had access to prosecution evidence. Defendants were 
presumed innocent and had the right of appeal. In principle, the law 
extended the above rights to all citizens, and the government generally 
abided by these provisions.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--In contrast to the 
criminal courts, the civil courts review cases on a regular basis 
throughout the year. The civil courts experience long delays--although 
less than the criminal courts--but are considered to be functional. 
Individuals can file a lawsuit in court on civil matters related to 
human rights, including seeking damages for or cessation of a human 
rights violation. However, the public generally lacked confidence in 
the judicial system's ability to address human rights issues.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respected these prohibitions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of 
the press, but also criminalize certain types of speech, such as 
incitement of ethnic hatred, violence, or civil war. As in the previous 
year, the government generally respected freedom of speech and press, 
according to international NGO Freedom House. Broadcast journalists and 
government print media journalists practiced self-censorship. The 
nongovernment print media experienced few constraints. Approximately 10 
private weekly newspapers in Brazzaville often publish articles and 
editorials critical of the government. There are no government 
restrictions on Internet access.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government 
publicly or privately without reprisal on relatively minor issues. 
However, persons feared reprisal if they named high-level officials 
while criticizing government policies. The government generally did not 
proactively attempt to impede criticism by, for example, monitoring 
political meetings, but sometimes punished critics after the fact. 
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of news agencies being 
ordered to close.

    Freedom of Press.--There was one state-owned newspaper, La Nouvelle 
Republique, and 54 private publications, some of which were closely 
allied with the government and others which were at times critical of 
the government. On December 14, the High Council on the Liberty of 
Communication (CSLC) prohibited newspapers Amical and La Voix du Peuple 
from publishing for periods of six and three months, respectively. The 
CSLC ruled that both newspapers had broken national laws by inciting 
hatred and ethnic division. Newspapers occasionally published open 
letters written by government opponents. The print media did not 
circulate widely beyond Brazzaville and Pointe Noire.
    Most citizens obtained their news from local radio or television 
stations. There are no nationwide radio or television stations. 
Collectively, there are 39 radio stations, four of which are 
government-owned, and 23 television stations, of which at least 15 are 
privately owned. Several satellite television services were available 
for the few who could afford them.
    Government journalists were not independent and were expected to 
report positively on government activities. However, there was no 
evidence that there were adverse consequences when government 
journalists deviated from this guidance.
    A number of journalists based in Brazzaville represented 
international media. There were no confirmed reports of the government 
revoking journalists' accreditations if their reporting reflected 
adversely on the government's image; however, the government did not 
repeal the policy that allowed for such revocation. This policy 
potentially affected journalists employed by both international and 
government-controlled media. Local private journalists were not 
affected.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The press law provides for monetary 
penalties for defamation and incitement to violence.

    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. A 
greater proportion of the public, especially youth, accessed the 
Internet more frequently and utilized online social media. However, 
only the most affluent could afford to access the Internet in their own 
homes; others who accessed it used cyber cafes. There were no known 
attempts by the government to collect personally identifiable 
information via 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.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; 
however, the government generally did not respect this right in 
practice.
    Groups that wished to hold public assemblies were required to seek 
authorization from the Ministry of Interior and Decentralization and 
appropriate local officials, who could withhold authorization for 
meetings that they claimed might threaten public order.
    Unlike the previous year, the government did not always respect the 
right of peaceful assembly in practice. For example, local NGOs 
reported that on January 22, the government prevented opposition group 
Party for a Democratic Alliance (P.A.D.) from holding a public meeting 
that was scheduled to take place in the auditorium of the national 
television building. On July 31, police refused opposition party Rally 
of Young Patriots (R.J.P.) access to the Massamba-Debat stadium in 
Brazzaville, where a public rally had been preauthorized. The police 
again prevented opposition parties from gathering outside of the 
Massamba-Debat stadium on December 13.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected the 
right of most groups to associate. Groups or associations--political, 
social, or economic--were generally required to register with the 
Ministry of Interior and Decentralization. Registration was sometimes 
subject to political influence. There were no reports of discriminatory 
practices that targeted any particular group.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a description of religious freedom, 
please see the 2011 International Religious Freedom Report at http://
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; unlike during the previous year the government generally 
respected these rights in practice.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    In-country Movement.--The 2003 disarmament agreement effectively 
ended the organized rebellion in the Pool region. Unlike in the 
previous year, unidentified armed elements believed to be ex-Ninja 
rebels largely ceased to harass and intimidate citizens. The country's 
major road and railway connecting the capital, Brazzaville, to the port 
of Point Noire traverse the Pool region. The increased presence of law 
enforcement officers throughout the Pool region, including on rail 
cars, in 2010 and 2011, significantly reduced banditry and increased 
freedom of movement of persons and goods through much of the country.
    As in the previous year, the government's two operations to improve 
security in the Pool region, ``Kimia'' and ``Kidzounou,'' continued to 
achieve results.

    Foreign Travel.--Unlike in the previous year, the government did 
not impose an international travel ban on opposition leaders. 
Opposition leaders traveled to Europe and back without any government 
interference.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--The government generally did not 
prevent the return of citizens, including political opponents of the 
president. The last returnee was former first lady Jocelyne Lissouba, 
who returned to the country in May 2010; she had fled with her husband, 
former president Pascal Lissouba, in 1997. Jocelyne Lissouba enjoyed a 
warm reception from President Sassou-Nguesso. Former president Lissouba 
received a pardon in 2009 but remained in France for health reasons.

    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 country, especially in areas that border the Democratic 
Republic of the Congo (DRC), received numerous waves of displaced 
persons in recent years. Between October 2009 and May 2010, nearly 
115,000 refugees fled ethnic violence and rebellion in Equateur 
Province of the DRC and sought shelter in the country's Likouala 
Department. As of October, the country hosted 131,446 DRC refugees and 
4,761 DRC asylum seekers.
    In June 2010, the government signed a tripartite agreement with the 
government of the DRC and UNHCR that outlined the conditions and means 
for an eventual voluntary repatriation of the Likouala refugees to the 
DRC's Equateur Province. The parties met again in November 2010 and 
agreed on a plan that would begin to repatriate the first group of 
refugees in April 2011. As of August, UNHCR reported 17 repatriations 
to the DRC. The delay in repatriations was primarily due to the 
refugees' desire to wait for the DRC presidential elections in November 
2011 to take place, for post-conflict peace and reconciliation between 
the Lobala and Boba tribes to be reinforced, and for repatriation aid 
assistance from the international community to be made available.
    The country hosts 828 Angolan refugees, of which 773 are from the 
Angolan enclave of Cabinda. Between October 18 and 20, the government 
convened a second tripartite meeting with the government of Angola and 
UNHCR; agreement was reached to launch a voluntary repatriation effort 
on November 3 that would fall within the framework of the 2002 
tripartite agreement The first tripartite meeting was held in Cabinda 
in 2009.
    The country also hosted 7,846 Rwandan refugees who fled the 
genocide in 1994. A tripartite meeting was held by the government, the 
government of Rwanda, and UNHCR in January, at which time a decision 
was made to invoke a cessation clause that will revoke the refugee 
status of Rwandans in the Congo beginning in December 2011. At that 
time, current Rwandan refugees will need to either repatriate to 
Rwanda, or change their status in the Congo to permanent resident.
    Applications for refugee status are handled by the National Refugee 
Assistance Center (CNAR). The CNAR received 80-90 percent of its 
operating budget from UNHCR.

    Access to Asylum.--In 2007 and 2008, the CNAR and UNHCR processed a 
case backlog of approximately 4,800 asylum seekers who had entered the 
country beginning in 2003. In 2008 there were 993 asylum applications, 
in 2009 there were 397, in 2010 there were 128, and as of August, there 
were 24 applications in 2011. According to UNHCR, as of October, the 
country hosted 140,338 refugees and 5,746 asylum seekers. Refugees and 
asylum seekers came largely from the DRC, Rwanda, Angola.

    Refugee Abuse.--Gender-based violence was frequent in refugee 
sites, with 43 cases of rape reported in the first half of 2011, 28 of 
which involved minors. UNHCR provided care to 38 of the victims. The 
current number of pending cases before the courts concerning gender-
based violence is 37. According to UNHCR, the vast majority of such 
cases go unreported. One reason for this is that complaints can take a 
year or more before they are examined by the courts, and families of 
victims often prefer to negotiate settlements directly with the 
perpetrators. UNHCR protection officers and medical personnel provided 
medical, psychosocial, and legal assistance to victims of gender-based 
violence, including rape. Refugees had equal access to community health 
centers and hospitals and legal recourse for criminal complaints, e.g., 
rape, and civil disputes.
    Primary school was funded by UNHCR and made accessible to all 
refugees during the past year. During this academic year, 26,558 
refugee children, including 13,004 girls, in Likouala Department were 
enrolled in primary school. Access to secondary education for refugees 
was severely limited. Most secondary education teachers are refugees 
themselves who either volunteer or are paid by the parents of refugee 
children. There were 7,200 refugee children enrolled in secondary 
school in Likouala Department, including 2,755 girls.

    Employment.--Employment opportunities for refugees are not 
enumerated in law. Anecdotal evidence suggests that quotas and 
excessive work permit fees limit refugee employment opportunities. A 
healthcare organization stated the law requires it to hire the 
country's nationals for at least 90 percent of its positions. The same 
organization stated that two-year work permits that cost approximately 
150,000 CFA ($303), roughly equivalent to three months salary, are 
required.
    Many refugees work informally in the agriculture sector to obtain 
food. Some refugees farm land that belongs to local nationals in 
exchange for a percentage of the harvest, or for a cash payment. Other 
refugees rent land from local nationals in order to conduct subsistence 
farming.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change 
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right during 
the 2009 presidential election.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Denis 
Sassou-Nguesso was reelected president in the 2009 election with a 
claimed 78 percent of the vote. Officially, 66 percent of eligible 
voters participated in the election, although the opposition estimated 
the turnout to be much lower. While the election was peaceful, 
opposition candidates and NGOs criticized the election for 
irregularities, such as gross manipulation of voter lists and 
discrepancies between the officially reported rates of voter 
participation and those observed by independent election observers. The 
African Union declared the elections free and fair.
    On October 9, the country held a midterm senatorial election for 
one half of the senate's 72 seats. The president's ruling party--Parti 
Congolais du Travail (PCT)--and its allies won 28 seats, the opposition 
won three seats, and five independents were elected. Unlike the 
National Assembly and presidential elections, the senatorial elections 
are conducted through indirect suffrage.

    Political Parties.--Major political parties included the ruling 
PCT, the Pan-African Union for Social Development, the Congolese 
Movement for Democracy and Integrated Development, the Union for 
Democracy and the Republic, the Rally for Democracy and Social 
Progress, and the Union for Progress. Opposition parties encountered 
government restrictions, particularly with regard to the right to 
organize. Opposition parties were restricted from organizing before, 
during, and after the 2009 presidential election.
    Following that election and the August 17, 2011 selection of three 
new ministers, the government included high-ranking politicians from 
northern ethnic tribes as well as representatives from other regions 
and ethnicities.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--After the October Senate 
elections, there were nine women in the 72-seat Senate and nine women 
in the 137-seat National Assembly. There were five women in the 37-
member cabinet.
    Many indigenous persons--largely Pygmies--were excluded from the 
political process due to their isolation in remote areas, lack of 
registration, cultural barriers, and stigmatization by the majority 
Bantu population (see section 6). However, indigenous rights were 
strengthened by the parliament's passage of an indigenous persons 
rights protection bill in December 2010, which became law on February 
25 upon President Sassou-Nguesso's signature of the legislation.
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 engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. According to the 
World Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators, government 
corruption was a severe problem, although the Bank and the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted the government undertook 
significant reform measures to combat corruption. For example, in 
February 2010 the government undertook to identify and remove 
nonexistent civil servants known as ghost workers from the payroll. The 
effort was ongoing and by year's end an estimated 2,700 ghost workers 
had been identified. Many of the beneficiaries of this corruption 
scheme received one or more fraudulent salaries in addition to the 
salary they earned from their legitimate position.
    There was a widespread perception of corruption throughout 
government, including misuse of revenues from the oil and forestry 
sectors. Some local and international organizations claimed government 
officials, through bribes or other fraud, regularly diverted revenues 
from these industries into private overseas accounts before the 
remaining revenues were declared officially. Some funds have been 
properly repatriated, but most remain unlocated. A number of ministries 
were also identified as having diverted funds to secret accounts, 
including the ministries of education, health, and foreign affairs, the 
latter of which is being internally investigated for receiving funds to 
operate several nonexistent embassies abroad.
    Pervasive lower-level corruption included security personnel and 
customs and immigration officials demanding bribes. During the year 
there were reports of arrested individuals whose families bribed police 
to secure their release.
    Senior officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. It was 
unclear if they complied in practice.
    The law provides for public access to government information for 
citizens, noncitizens, and the foreign media; however, in practice 
there were lengthy delays before the government released information, 
if it did so at all. For example, the IMF completed consultations on an 
Extended Credit Facility in mid-year, but the government refused to 
provide certain financial information from the Ministry of Finance and 
the Treasury concerning the state-owned oil company.
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, with some exceptions, without government 
restriction during their investigations and when publishing their 
findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally were 
more cooperative with and responsive to international groups than to 
domestic human rights groups. Some domestic human rights groups tended 
not to report specific incidents for fear the government would impose 
obstacles to their work.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government-sponsored Human 
Rights Commission (HRC) is charged with acting as a government watchdog 
and addressing public concerns on human rights issues. Some civil 
society members claimed that the commission was completely ineffective, 
lacked independence, was primarily represented by persons who have no 
expertise in human rights, and was created to appease the international 
community. President Sassou-Nguesso appointed most, if not all, of its 
members.
    In 2011 the Human Rights Commission did not undertake activities to 
directly respond to human rights problems in the country. Instead the 
organization focused on reforming its institutional structure, and on 
increasing its subject matter expertise through attendance at 
international conferences on human rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law and constitution prohibit discrimination on the basis of 
race, gender, language, religion, social status, or handicap; however, 
the government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions. There 
were documented instances of societal discrimination and violence 
against women. In addition, regional ethnic discrimination and 
discrimination against indigenous persons occurred.

    Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal; however, the 
government did not effectively enforce the law. The law prescribes five 
to 10 years in prison for violators. However, according to a local 
women's group, the penalties for rape could be as little as several 
months' and rarely more than three years' imprisonment, despite what 
the law says. The government established two centers in Brazzaville to 
provide care to rape victims. The government could not provide national 
figures for cases of rape in 2011.
    Rape was common, although the extent of the problem was unknown 
because the crime was seldom reported. Fewer than 25 percent of 
reported rape cases were prosecuted, according to local and 
international NGO estimates. In August 2010 a suspected serial killer 
who allegedly raped and killed nine women was arrested and detained in 
the Brazzaville prison, and was awaiting trial for rape and murder.
    Domestic violence against women, including rape and beatings, was 
widespread but rarely reported. There were no specific provisions in 
the law outlawing spousal battery other than general statutes 
prohibiting assault. Domestic violence traditionally was handled within 
the extended family or village, and only more extreme incidents were 
reported to the police, a result of victims' fear of social stigma and/
or retaliation, as well as a lack of confidence in the courts to 
address human rights abuses. Local NGOs sponsored domestic violence 
awareness campaigns and workshops.
    Female genital mutilation (FGM) was not practiced indigenously and 
is against the law. It may have occurred in some immigrant communities 
from West African countries where it is common. There were no known 
governmental or other efforts to investigate or combat FGM.
    Sexual harassment is illegal. Generally the penalty if convicted is 
two to five years in prison. In particularly egregious cases the 
penalty can equal the maximum for rape, i.e., five to 10 years' 
imprisonment. However, the government did not effectively enforce the 
law. According to local NGOs, sexual harassment was very common but 
rarely reported. As in previous years there were no available official 
statistics on its incidence.

    Reproductive Rights.--There are no laws restricting reproductive 
rights, childbirth, or timing of pregnancies. There were no 
restrictions on the right to access contraceptives; however, they were 
not widely used by the population due to cost. According to the U.N. 
Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2008, only an estimated 13 percent of 
married women ages 15-49 used some form of modern contraceptive method. 
Health clinics and public hospitals were generally in poor condition 
and lacked experienced health staff. The UNFPA estimated the maternal 
mortality ratio (the ratio of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) 
to be 781 and a woman's lifetime risk of maternal death to be one in 
39. According to the Population Reference Bureau, approximately 83 
percent of births were attended by skilled personnel.
    Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. However, HIV-positive 
persons continued to experience social stigmatization and 
discrimination that limited their access to these services. The 
National Committee to Fight AIDS coordinated national policy to counter 
the spread of the HIV/AIDS virus.

    Discrimination.--Customary marriage and family laws discriminate 
against women. Adultery is illegal for both women and men. Polygyny is 
legal while polyandry is not. The law provides that a legal wife shall 
inherit 30 percent of her husband's estate. The law limits dowries to 
symbolic amounts; however, this often was not respected. Men were 
obliged to pay excessive bride prices to the woman's family. The 
Ministry of Promotion of Women's Rights was in charge of protecting and 
promoting the rights of women.
    The law prohibits discrimination based on gender and stipulates 
that women have the right to equal pay for equal work. However, women 
were underrepresented in the formal sector of the economy. Women 
experienced economic discrimination with respect to employment, credit, 
equal pay, and owning or managing businesses. Most women worked in the 
informal sector and thus had little or no access to employment 
benefits. Women in rural areas were especially disadvantaged in terms 
of education and wage employment, and were confined largely to family 
farming, small-scale commerce, and child-rearing responsibilities. Many 
local and international NGOs have developed microcredit programs to 
address these problems, and government ministries, including those of 
social affairs and agriculture, were also active in helping women set 
up small income-producing businesses.

    Children.--Citizenship is acquired by birth in the country as well 
as from one's parents.

    Birth Registration.--The government does not provide automatic 
recording of births; it is up to parents to record the birth of a 
child. Recording is not required, but it must be done to obtain a birth 
certificate, which is necessary for school enrollment and other 
services. Pygmies, in particular, were denied social services as a 
result of not being registered. Those living in remote villages have a 
difficult time registering, as offices for registration are located 
only in provincial capitals. The government continued a system of 
providing free birth registration in Brazzaville, but, as in previous 
years, the program did not cover other areas.

    Education.--Education is compulsory, tuition-free, and universal 
until the age of 16, but families are required to pay for books, 
uniforms, and school fees. School enrollment was generally higher in 
urban areas. Although there was no specific data available, Pygmy 
children were at a disadvantage in school attendance because their 
parents usually failed to register births and obtain the necessary 
birth certificate. Schools were overcrowded and facilities extremely 
poor. Girls and boys attended primary school in roughly equal numbers; 
however, boys were five times more likely than girls to go on to high 
school and four times more likely to go on to a university. In addition 
there were reports that teenage girls were pressured to exchange sex 
for better grades, which contributed to both the spread of HIV/AIDS and 
unwanted and unplanned pregnancies.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was not commonly reported, but was 
thought to be prevalent. Most reports in previous years involved the 
West African immigrant communities in the country.

    Child Marriage.--The law prohibits child marriage, and the legal 
age for marriage is 18 years for women and 21 for men. However, 
marriage at an earlier age is permissible if both sets of parents give 
their permission; the law does not specify the minimum age in this 
special circumstance. The penalty for forced marriage between an adult 
and a child is a prison sentence of three months to two years and a 
fine of 150,000 CFA ($300) to 1,500,000 CFA ($3,000).

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There were cases of children, 
particularly those who lived on the streets, engaging in prostitution 
with third-party involvement. The prevalence of the problem remained 
unclear, although the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated in a 2007 
report that 25 percent of the approximately 1,800 internationally 
trafficked children were sexually exploited.
    The minimum age for consensual sex is 18. The maximum penalty for 
sex with a minor is a prison sentence of five years and a fine of 
10,000,000 CFA ($20,000).
    A Child Protection Code promulgated in April provides penalties for 
crimes against children such as trafficking, pornography, neglect, and 
abuse. Penalties for these crimes range from forced labor, to fines of 
up to 10,000,000 CFA ($20,000), to prison sentences of several years. 
The penalty for child pornography includes a prison sentence up to one 
year and a fine up to 500,000 CFA ($1,000).

    Displaced Children.--International organizations assisted with 
programs to feed and shelter street children, the majority of whom 
lived in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire and were believed to be from the 
DRC, according to UNICEF. Children who lived on the streets were 
vulnerable to sexual exploitation and often fell prey to criminal 
elements such as drug smugglers. Many begged, while others sold cheap 
or stolen goods to support themselves.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no substantial Jewish community 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 http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the 
provision of other state services, although the government generally 
did not enforce the law.
    There were no laws mandating access for persons with disabilities. 
The Ministry of Social Affairs is the lead ministry responsible for 
these issues.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits 
discrimination based on ethnicity; however, the government did not 
effectively enforce this prohibition.
    Regional ethnic discrimination existed among all ethnic groups and 
was evident in government and private sector hiring and buying 
patterns. The relationships among ethnic, regional, and political 
equities can be difficult to discern. A majority of the president's 
cabinet members and generals originate from the country's northern 
Departments.

    Indigenous People.--According to local NGOs, Pygmies were severely 
marginalized in regard to employment, health services, and education, 
in part due to their isolation in remote areas and their different 
cultural norms. Pygmies were often considered socially inferior and had 
little political voice; however, in recent years several Pygmy rights 
groups have developed programs to overcome this. Many Pygmies were not 
aware of the concept of voting and had minimal ability to influence 
government decisions affecting their interests.
    The 2007 national census estimated the indigenous population to be 
2 percent of the general population, equivalent to an estimated 74,000 
persons.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination based on political, sexual, or religious orientation. 
There was not a large openly gay or lesbian community due to the social 
stigma associated with homosexuality. A law promulgated during the 
country's colonial era and still in force prohibits homosexual conduct 
and makes it punishable by up to two years' imprisonment; however, the 
law was rarely enforced. The most recent arrest under this law was in 
1996, when several individuals were arrested in Pointe Noire and 
briefly detained for homosexual behavior.
    There were no known cases of violence against gays, lesbians, or 
transgendered individuals during the year.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Public opinion polls 
show that societal discrimination against individuals with HIV/AIDS is 
significant. Unlawful divulgence of medical records by practitioners, 
negligence in treatment by health professionals, family abandonment, 
and unwarranted termination of employment are all offenses subject to 
sanctions. Civil society, including organizations advocating the rights 
of persons with HIV/AIDS, was fairly well-organized and sought fair 
treatment, especially regarding employment. NGOs and the government 
worked widely on HIV/AIDS issues, including raising public awareness of 
the fact that those living with HIV/AIDS were still able to contribute 
to society.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form and join unions of their choice without 
previous authorization or excessive requirements. Workers exercised 
this right in practice. However, members of the security forces and 
other essential services do not have this right. The law allows unions 
to conduct their activities without interference, and the government 
protected this right in practice.
    Workers have the right to strike, provided all conciliation and 
nonbinding arbitration procedures have been exhausted, and due notice 
has been given. The law also provides that for strikes in services that 
are ``essential for protecting the general interest,'' employers 
establish a ``minimum service,'' in which the refusal to take part is 
considered gross misconduct.
    The law also provides for the right to bargain collectively, and 
workers generally exercised this right freely, although collective 
bargaining was not widespread due to the severe economic conditions. In 
one case where collective bargaining was not allowed, Congolese 
employees of a Chinese construction company who were building a highway 
from Pointe Noire to Brazzaville were denied employment contracts, paid 
under the country's minimum wage, and were subject to dismissal for 
absences of three consecutive days, irrespective of the reason for the 
absences,
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and there were no 
reports that antiunion discrimination occurred. Most trade unions were 
reportedly weak and subject to government influence; as a result, 
workers' demonstrations were frequently prohibited, often by the unions 
themselves. There were no reports during the year of employers firing 
workers for union activity.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. There were 
unconfirmed reports that such practices occurred. Such cases involved 
child trafficking victims who were forced to fish, work in markets, or 
participate in domestic servitude for little or no compensation.
    Children--mostly from Benin, and also Togo, Mali, Guinea, Cameroon, 
Senegal, and the DRC--are subjected to forced domestic labor, market 
vending, and fishing. Child victims experience harsh treatment, long 
work hours, and have almost no access to education or health services; 
they receive little or no remuneration for their work.
    The government has not repealed a 1960 law which allows persons to 
be requisitioned for work of public interest and provides for their 
possible imprisonment if they refuse. However, there were no reports of 
the law ever being applied or enforced.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although there are laws and policies designed to protect children from 
exploitation in the workplace, child labor was a problem. The minimum 
age for employment or internships was 16 years; however, this law 
generally was not enforced, particularly in rural areas and in the 
informal sector.
    The most common forms of child labor were in markets, commercial 
fishing, or in domestic servitude, where children were subject to harsh 
conditions, long hours, and little or no pay. Children worked with 
their families on farms or in small businesses in the informal sector 
without government monitoring. Children are engaged in the worst forms 
of child labor in agriculture and domestic service. There were no 
official government statistics on general child labor. However, a 2005 
International Labor Organization survey showed that 85 percent of the 
sample of 47,000 working children resided in rural areas, and just over 
half (53 percent) were girls who performed household chores or worked 
in exchange for pay.
    The Ministry of Labor, which is responsible for enforcing child 
labor laws, concentrated its limited resources on the formal wage 
sector, where its efforts generally were ineffective. As in the 
previous year, limited resources prevented the ministry from carrying 
out a review of the formal sector, which would include child labor 
inspection trips. Labor inspections occurred during the year, but there 
were no official data available at year's end. International aid groups 
reported little change during the year in child labor conditions.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was 
54,000 CFA ($109) per month in the formal sector. There was no official 
minimum wage for the agricultural and other informal sectors. High 
urban prices and dependent extended families obliged many workers, 
including teachers and health workers, to seek secondary employment, 
mainly in the informal sector.
    The law provides for a standard workweek of seven hours per day, 
five days a week, with a one-hour lunch break. There was no legal limit 
on the number of hours worked per week. The law stipulates that 
overtime must be paid for all work in excess of 42 hours per week; 
however, there is no legal prohibition against excessive compulsory 
overtime. Overtime was subject to agreement between employer and 
employee. These standards were generally observed, and workers were 
usually paid in cash for overtime work beyond 42 hours per week.
    Although health and safety regulations require biannual visits to 
businesses by inspectors from the Ministry of Labor, such visits 
occurred much less frequently, and enforcement of findings was uneven. 
Unions generally were vigilant in calling attention to dangerous 
working conditions; however, the observance of safety standards often 
was lax. Workers have no specific right to remove themselves from 
situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardizing 
their continued employment. There were no exceptions for foreign or 
migrant workers.

                               __________

                             COTE D'IVOIRE

                           executive summary
    Cote d'Ivoire is a democratic republic. On May 21, Alassane 
Ouattara, leader and candidate of the opposition party Rally for 
Republicans (RDR), was officially inaugurated president. The 
inauguration followed the April 11 capture of Laurent Gbagbo, the 
former president who refused to accept the results of the October and 
November 2010 presidential election. The U.N. and international and 
domestic observer missions declared the vote fair and democratic and 
recognized Ouattara as the country's duly elected president; however, 
President Ouattara and former president Gbagbo took separate oaths of 
office in December 2010 and remained in a standoff over the presidency 
until Gbagbo's capture. Post-electoral violence perpetrated by both 
sides, but attributable primarily to pro-Gbagbo forces, resulted in 
approximately 3,000 deaths, significant population displacement, 
torture, sexual violence, and widespread property destruction. On March 
17, President Ouattara combined the former rebel Forces Nouvelles (FN) 
with cooperating elements of the Defense and Security Forces (FDS), the 
former government's security forces, into the Republic Forces of Cote 
d'Ivoire (FRCI), the country's new official military. Until President 
Ouattara's official inauguration in May, security forces, who largely 
supported former president Gbagbo, did not report to civilian 
authorities. Following the inauguration, violence significantly 
decreased, but there still were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control--particularly 
FRCI members ineligible for the unified military, armed pro-Gbagbo 
groups supported under the former regime, and endemic militia groups in 
the West.
    The postelectoral conflict involved serious human rights abuses 
committed by both sides. Under Gbagbo, state-sponsored death squads, 
government security forces, and militia groups intimidated and silenced 
perceived or actual pro-Ouattara supporters. Gbagbo also reportedly 
hired Liberian mercenaries that were implicated in numerous human 
rights abuses. Abuses were also committed by the FRCI and other 
militant groups fighting against Gbagbo. There were numerous reports 
that the FRCI committed extrajudicial killings on the battlefield and 
also failed to protect pro-Gbagbo populations from reprisal killings in 
the wake of the FRCI's advance. Dozos, or traditional hunters, and pro-
Ouattara militia groups participated in reprisal killings, primarily in 
the western region of the country; although there was no confirmation 
of allegations that the Ouattara government provided financial, 
material, or logistical support to militia groups that were sympathetic 
to Ouattara and the FRCI, although investigations continued at year's 
end.
    The most important human rights problems in the country included 
state-sponsored killings under Gbagbo; extrajudicial killings, torture, 
rape, and displacement of persons committed during the postelectoral 
violence; and disregard for civil liberties and political rights.
    Other human rights problems under the Gbagbo government included 
the following: restriction of citizens' right to change their 
government; enforced disappearances; life-threatening prison and 
detention center conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; denial of 
fair public trial; arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, 
and correspondence; police harassment and abuse of noncitizen Africans; 
restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, peaceful assembly, 
association, and movement; official corruption; discrimination and 
violence against women, including female genital mutilation (FGM); 
trafficking in persons; discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual 
and transgender (LGBT) individuals, persons with disabilities, and 
persons with HIV/AIDS; child abuse and exploitation, including forced 
and hazardous labor; and forced labor.
    Other human rights problems under the Ouattara government included 
poor prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary arrests and 
detention; and arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, and 
correspondence. The government restricted speech, press, assembly, 
association, and movement. Corruption was pervasive. Discrimination and 
violence against women and children, including FGM, was a problem, as 
was trafficking in persons. Discrimination against persons with 
disabilities and persons with HIV/AIDS also was a problem. There were 
reports security forces targeted LGBT individuals for abuse. Forced and 
hazardous labor, including by children, was common.
    Impunity for abuses committed by the security forces remained a 
serious problem. The Ouattara government reiterated its commitment to 
respect human rights and punish the perpetrators of human rights 
abuses, regardless of party affiliation; however, little progress was 
made during the year. In May President Ouattara asked for assistance 
from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate human rights 
abuses committed during the postelectoral crisis. On November 29, 
former president Gbagbo was indicted under an ICC arrest warrant for 
crimes against humanity and transferred to The Hague, where he was 
awaiting trial at year's end. The Ouattara government also created a 
national-level Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (DTRC), a 
national Commission of Inquiry (COI), and a Special Prosecution Cell to 
address human rights abuses committed during the postelectoral crisis.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the 
postelectoral crisis there were numerous reports that the Gbagbo 
government or its agents systematically attacked and killed Ouattara 
supporters and shot and killed demonstrators. The FRCI and other 
militia groups either independent or loosely aligned with pro-Ouattara 
forces committed reprisal attacks and summary executions (see section 
1.g.).

    b. Disappearance.--During the year there were reports of 
politically motivated disappearances committed by security forces and 
militia groups under the Gbagbo government (see section 1.g.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
pro-Gbagbo security forces and police beat and abused detainees and 
prisoners to punish them, extract confessions, or extort payments with 
impunity. There were reports that police officers under the Gbagbo 
government forced detainees to perform degrading tasks under threat of 
physical harm and continued to harass and extort bribes from civilians, 
usually on the basis of ethnic identity.
    During the postelectoral crisis there were reports that non-
Ivoirian Africans, mostly from neighboring countries, were subject to 
harassment and abuse by pro-Gbagbo security forces and militia groups, 
including repeated document checks, extortion, and racketeering.
    There also were reports that the FRCI sometimes used cruel and 
degrading treatment during the postelectoral crisis. Violence against 
women, including rape, was widespread during the year and committed by 
various actors (see section 1.g.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--During the postelectoral 
crisis many of the country's 33 prisons were damaged and looted, and in 
several towns prisoners were freed by unidentified elements during the 
course of the fighting. Government records from the beginning of the 
year were lost or were destroyed in the looting. In the 22 prisons 
located in the South, overcrowding had been a serious problem. For 
example, MACA, the country's main prison located in Abidjan, was built 
for 1,500 persons but held approximately 5,400 until March 3, when 
unidentified armed elements freed all inmates. Conditions in MACA were 
notoriously poor; however, wealthier prisoners reportedly could ``buy'' 
extra cell space, food, and even staff to wash and iron their clothes. 
The Gbagbo government provided inadequate food rations, which resulted 
in cases of severe malnutrition if families of prisoners did not 
provide additional food.
    On August 16, MACA prison was renovated and reopened with 16 
prisoners; by October 7, it held 507 prisoners. Conditions in MACA 
improved as a result of renovations and sufficient cell space for 
prisoners; however, the Ouattara government continued to provide 
inadequate food rations at a cost of FCFA 300 ($0.60) per person per 
day.
    Across all government prisons, male minors, few in number, were 
generally held separately from adult men; however, some minors were 
detained with their adult accomplices. Pretrial detainees were held 
with convicted prisoners. Prisoners and detainees had access to 
visitors and were permitted religious observance. Prisoners could 
submit complaints to judicial authorities without fear of censorship, 
and prison authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane 
detention conditions.
    Under the Gbagbo government, prison conditions for women were 
particularly difficult, and health-care facilities inadequate. There 
were credible reports that female prisoners engaged in sexual relations 
with wardens in exchange for food and privileges. Pregnant prisoners 
went to hospitals to give birth, and their children often lived with 
them in prison. The prisons accepted no responsibility for the care or 
feeding of the infants, although inmate mothers received help from 
local NGOs. By year's end conditions for the few remaining female 
inmates had improved, due in part to increased space in the prisons.
    The Ouattara government generally permitted access to prisons by 
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the U.N. 
Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI). Although the Ouattara government 
did not initially authorize a June ICRC request to visit former 
President Gbagbo, his wife, and their associates, it granted permission 
the following month, and the ICRC visited Gbagbo in July. The ICRC 
visited Simone Gbagbo in November.
    The Gbagbo government granted the ICRC access to prisoners and 
detainees throughout the postelectoral crisis. The ICRC visited 
prisoners in the prisons and detainees in the police stations under 
Gbagbo's control without problems.
    On several occasions during the year, UNOCI's human rights division 
visited former president Gbagbo and his associates to assess their 
detention conditions. In Bouna UNOCI voiced concern that inmates were 
not allowed family visits and that hygiene and sanitary conditions were 
poor, complaints that were subsequently addressed by prison 
authorities. UNOCI's visits with former president Gbagbo confirmed that 
he was not being mistreated.
    Although the FN officially transferred prisons under its control to 
the Gbagbo government in January 2010, before the election and 
postelectoral crisis, in practice the FN did not transfer operational 
control until after Gbagbo's detention. At year's end all of the 
country's 33 prisons were under the Ouattara government's control, but 
only 16 were operational.
    Detention and prison conditions in former FN rebel zones were poor, 
with detainees sometimes held in converted schools, movie theaters, or 
other buildings with poor air circulation and sanitary facilities. 
Prison guards were not properly trained. Nutrition and medical care 
were inadequate due to budget constraints. Some detainees became ill, 
and some died from respiratory disease, tuberculosis, or malaria due to 
lack of medical care and unhygienic conditions.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, in practice this 
occurred frequently under the Gbagbo government and infrequently under 
the Ouattara government.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The FDS, under former 
president Gbagbo's Ministry of Defense, included the army, navy, air 
force, republican guard, presidential security force, and the 
gendarmerie, a branch of the armed forces with responsibility for 
general law enforcement. During the postelectoral crisis the security 
forces were either supportive of former president Gbagbo (such as the 
presidential security force) or relatively neutral (such as the 
police). Building upon almost a decade of politicization of the 
military, during the postelectoral crisis former president Gbagbo 
disarmed and marginalized forces suspected of being pro-Ouattara and 
concentrated his power in security forces with close ethnic ties to his 
regime. These security forces were used solely to consolidate Gbagbo's 
hold on power, and they ceased all other functions or activities for 
the nation as a whole. Gbagbo also used militia groups during the 
postelectoral crisis to maintain power, such as the Young Patriots, the 
Group of Patriots for Peace, and the militant Student Federation of 
Cote d'Ivoire (FESCI). Militia groups fought alongside government 
security forces and in some cases were given weapons and encouraged to 
join the national army (see section 1.g.).
    In response Ouattara created the FRCI on March 17, combining the FN 
forces with some anti-Gbagbo elements of the FDS that had fled north. 
However, as the FRCI advanced through the South, they were joined by a 
variety of irregular volunteers. These volunteers were not a part of 
the FRCI but fought alongside them on some occasions and for a similar 
cause. As the FRCI advanced, their numbers swelled due to these 
additions, but officially none of those who joined were considered FRCI 
despite wearing a t-shirt or hat with the FRCI insignia. The matter was 
further complicated because the Ouattara government had not completed a 
survey of those under the official control and command of the new 
military leadership prior to the FRCI's formation. Therefore, 
attributing crimes or abuses committed during the postelectoral 
violence to official FRCI security forces was often difficult. At 
year's end the survey to determine eligible from ineligible FRCI forces 
continued.
    The police, officially under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of 
Interior, included paramilitary rapid intervention units such as the 
antiriot brigade and the Directorate for Territorial Surveillance 
(DST), a plainclothes investigating unit. In 2005 the Ministry of 
Interior formed the Special Security Command (CECOS) to combat rising 
crime in Abidjan. CECOS was a joint endeavor that included members of 
the military, gendarmerie, and police. There were allegations that 
CECOS formed death squads to kill opponents of Gbagbo during the 
postelectoral crisis.
    During the postelectoral crisis many police and gendarmes abandoned 
their posts, and their stations were looted, resulting in a security 
vacuum in a large portion of the country. For example, on March 30, in 
Yamoussoukro, the police prefect's office was reportedly looted by ex-
prisoners who were earlier freed by unidentified armed people. The ex-
prisoners looted the office and took all the archives, including their 
own case files. Also on March 30, young civilians reportedly looted the 
gendarmerie brigade of Yamoussoukro.
    Under Gbagbo, poor training and supervision of security forces, 
corruption, and a failure to prosecute miscreants in the security ranks 
resulted in general lawlessness and public disrespect for authorities. 
Racketeering at roadblocks remained a serious problem. Security forces 
harassed, intimidated, abused, and confiscated the official documents 
of persons who refused to pay bribes. Gbagbo security forces also 
frequently resorted to excessive and sometimes lethal force while 
conducting security operations and dispersing demonstrations. Police 
reportedly solicited sexual favors from prostitutes in exchange for not 
arresting them. On numerous occasions security forces failed to prevent 
violence.
    The Ouattara government announced plans to reform the security 
sector and to demobilize armed elements not part of the formal security 
forces. For example, Ouattara dissolved CECOS, although their members 
had already disbanded, and reconstituted the Republican Guard. Reports 
of racketeering decreased in Abidjan after the postelectoral crisis, as 
did reports of police stopping motor vehicles. In the areas of the 
country traditionally aligned with Gbagbo, especially in the West, 
racketeering increased in the immediate postelectoral period; however, 
by year's end the Ouattara administration had significantly reduced 
illegal checkpoints. The Ouattara government detained approximately 45 
police and military personnel who were accused of abuses or misconduct 
during or after the postelectoral crisis; a small number of those 
detained were released on provisionary bail, while the majority 
remained in detention at year's end awaiting trial.
    The Ouattara government established an official Military Police in 
December to allow security forces to internally investigate abuses. 
There were numerous civilian-controlled mechanisms to investigate 
abuses by security forces, including abuses committed during the 
postelectoral crisis. Such mechanisms included a Special Prosecution 
Cell, the national Commission of Inquiry, and continuing investigations 
by the Ministry of Justice.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A public 
prosecutor may order the detention of a suspect for 48 hours without 
bringing charges, and in special cases such as suspected actions 
against state security, the law permits an additional 48-hour period 
with prior authorization from the prosecutor. According to local human 
rights groups, police often held persons for more than the 48-hour 
legal limit without bringing charges, and magistrates often were unable 
to verify that detainees who were not charged were released. A 
magistrate can order pretrial detention for up to four months by 
submitting a written justification each month to the minister of 
justice.
    Detainees were not always informed promptly of charges against 
them, especially in cases concerning state security. Defendants do not 
have the right to a judicial determination of the legality of their 
detention. A bail system existed solely at the discretion of the judge 
trying the case. Detainees were generally allowed access to lawyers; 
however, in cases involving matters of national security, detainees 
were sometimes denied access to lawyers and family members. For more 
serious crimes, those who could not afford to pay for lawyers were 
provided lawyers by the state, but alleged offenders charged with less 
serious offenses were often without representation.
    Following the postelectoral crisis some members of the former 
ruling party, including former president Gbagbo, were held under house 
arrest. With the exception of the former president and first lady, the 
Ouattara government moved the detainees to detention centers. In August 
the Ouattara government brought formal charges against former president 
Gbagbo, the first lady, and the other detainees. As a sign of good 
will, some of these detainees were released by the Ouattara government 
in November.
    The Ouattara government received criticism for the four-month delay 
in bringing charges against the detainees. According to the Ouattara 
government, the delay in bringing charges against former president 
Gbagbo stemmed from a lack of judicial capacity, as a result of the 
looting and damage to ministry buildings during the postelectoral 
crisis, as well as the significant administrative hurdles associated 
with bringing charges against high-level government officials. For 
example, before charging former president Gbagbo, the Constitutional 
Council first had to authorize the decision to bring charges against 
him.
    The DST was responsible for collecting and analyzing information 
relating to national security. It had the authority to hold persons for 
up to four days without charges; however, human rights groups stated 
there were some cases of detentions exceeding the statutory limit.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--There were numerous reports of arbitrary arrests 
by pro-Gbagbo security forces. For example, a supporter of the pro-
Ouattara coalition party, the Union of Houphouetists for Democracy and 
Peace (RHDP), was arrested during a January 4 raid by the FDS on the 
headquarters of the Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI) and 
released from detention on 5 January.
    There was at least one detention case from 2010 addressed during 
the year. On February 1, four Ghanaians and one Togolese national were 
released by the FN police director in Bouake. The five had been 
arrested in December 2010 for alleged mercenary activities on behalf of 
former president Gbagbo, but were released due to insufficient 
evidence.

    Pretrial Detention.--Prolonged pretrial detention was a problem 
under the Gbagbo government. Despite the legal limit of 10 months of 
pretrial detention in civil cases and 22 months in criminal cases, some 
pretrial detainees were held for years. However, as most prisoners were 
freed during the postelectoral crisis, and prison records were looted 
or loosely kept, statistics on pretrial detainees for the year were not 
available. There was little information on pretrial detention under the 
Ouattara government, as most detention centers did not resume 
functioning following the postelectoral crisis until late in the year. 
During the year it was not a problem as there were virtually no 
prisoners. However, there was no assurance that the Ouattara 
administration addressed the institutional challenges that facilitate 
extended pretrial detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the judiciary was generally 
independent in ordinary criminal cases; however, the judiciary has 
historically followed the lead of the executive in national security or 
politically sensitive cases and was subject to influence from the 
executive branch, the military, and other outside forces. Judges were 
corrupt, and their rulings were frequently influenced by bribes. During 
the postelectoral crisis the judiciary did not function. Under the 
Ouattara government, the judiciary began slowly rebuilding capacity and 
attempting to root out corruption but faced significant challenges, 
especially in restarting proceedings in the criminal courts.

    Trial Procedures.--The Gbagbo and Ouattara governments did not 
always respect the presumption of innocence, although the law provides 
for it. The law also provides for the right to public trial, although 
key evidence sometimes was given secretly. Juries were used only in 
trials at the court of assizes, which convened as needed to try 
criminal cases; however, following the postelectoral crisis there were 
instances in which the FRCI made summary decisions for resolution of 
criminal and economic matters.
    Defendants have the right to be present at their trial, and they 
can present witnesses or evidence on their behalf or question any 
witnesses brought to testify against them. Defendants accused of 
felonies have the right to legal counsel at their own expense. 
Defendants accused of capital crimes have the right to legal counsel 
either at their expense or at the state's expense. Other defendants may 
also seek legal counsel, but it is not obligatory. The judicial system 
provides for court-appointed attorneys; however, no free legal 
assistance was available, aside from infrequent instances in which 
members of the bar provided free advice to defendants for limited 
periods. Defendants may not access government-held evidence, although 
their attorneys have the legal right to do so. Courts may try 
defendants in their absence. Those convicted had the right of appeal, 
although higher courts rarely overturned verdicts.
    In rural areas traditional institutions often administered justice 
at the village level, handling domestic disputes and minor land 
questions in accordance with customary law. Dispute resolution was by 
extended debate, with no known instance of physical punishment. The law 
specifically provides for a grand mediator, appointed by the president, 
to bridge traditional and modern methods of dispute resolution. 
President Ouattara appointed a new grand mediator in September.
    Military courts do not try civilians and provide the same rights as 
civil criminal courts. Although there were no appellate courts within 
the military court system, persons convicted by a military tribunal may 
petition the Supreme Court to set aside the tribunal's verdict and 
order a retrial.
    Little information was available on the judicial system used by the 
former FN in the northern and western regions. The system was placed 
under the jurisdiction of the government-wide judicial system following 
the crisis.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees. While some Gbagbo supporters claimed 
that former ruling party members held in detention were political 
prisoners, the Ouattara government brought specific charges against the 
officials four months after their detention, including charges of 
economic crimes, armed robbery, looting, and embezzlement.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary in civil matters; however, the 
judiciary, under the Gbagbo regime, was subject to corruption, outside 
influence, and favoritism based on family and ethnic ties. Citizens can 
bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights 
violation; however, they did so infrequently. The judiciary was slow 
and inefficient, and there were problems enforcing domestic court 
orders.
    For most of the year the judiciary did not function. The dismissal 
of judges and failure to replace them during the Gbago era, systematic 
looting of Ministry of Justice buildings and tribunals during the 
postelectoral crisis, and destruction of archives by pro-Gbagbo 
supporters seeking to suspend judicial operations effectively halted 
civil judicial activities.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law provide for these rights; 
however, the Gbagbo and Ouattara governments did not respect these 
rights in practice. The law requires warrants to conduct searches, the 
prosecutor's agreement to retain any evidence seized in a search, and 
the presence of witnesses in a search, which may take place at any 
time; in practice police sometimes used a general search warrant 
without a name or address.
    Gbagbo security forces reportedly monitored private fixed-line and 
cellular telephone conversations, but the extent of the practice was 
unknown. Authorities monitored letters and parcels at the post office 
for potential criminal activity, and they were believed to monitor 
private correspondence, although there was no evidence of this 
activity.
    Elements of the FRCI continued to use confiscated property and 
vehicles obtained during the conflict, including property of members of 
the Gbagbo regime and privately owned property. Some vehicles were 
returned, and there were cases of arrest and detention of FRCI members 
for alleged robbery and theft.


    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Killings.--Violence perpetrated by both sides during the postelectoral 
period resulted in more than 3,000 deaths.
    Security forces loyal to Gbagbo were complicit in extrajudicial 
killings and used lethal force to raid areas in which perceived or 
actual Ouattara supporters lived. Many killings reportedly took place 
with the assistance of pro-Gbagbo militia forces (see below). Attacks 
were systematic and used excessive force against civilians, many with 
northern names, due to their perceived support for Ouattara. For 
example, on March 17, FDS elements shelled private homes and the local 
market in Abobo, Abidjan, an area with many perceived or actual 
Ouattara supporters. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 25 
civilians and injured 40.
    Security forces loyal to Gbagbo also killed demonstrators. On March 
3, in Abobo, Abidjan, security forces loyal to Gbagbo opened fire on a 
demonstration of approximately 3,000 unarmed women; seven demonstrators 
were killed. According to the U.N. Human Rights Council Commission of 
Inquiry, no action was taken by the Gbagbo government to hold the 
perpetrators accountable.
    Security forces loyal to Gbagbo also killed foreign citizens. For 
example, on April 4, in Abidjan, unidentified armed persons abducted 
the French general manager of the Novotel Hotel and three foreign 
guests. On June 2, the body of the general manager was found in a 
lagoon in Abidjan; the three foreign guests were presumed dead at 
year's end. Under Ouattara the Ministry of Justice arrested and 
indicted 10 security force members loyal to Gbago in connection with 
the incident.
    The Burkina Faso embassy confirmed and formally registered that 357 
of its citizens were killed by pro-Gbagbo forces.
    There were allegations that security forces loyal to Gbagbo were 
complicit in the use of mass graves in N'dotre in 2010. In December 
2010, after being denied access to the area, heavily guarded by pro-
Gbagbo security forces, UNOCI's human rights division gained access in 
mid-March. Although the allegations of mass graves could not be proven, 
it was noted that there were 250 bodies with suspicious injuries in a 
morgue in nearby Anyama.
    The FRCI also committed extrajudicial killings in the months 
immediately following its March 17 creation. Many killings were 
reprisal attacks on perceived or actual Gbagbo supporters. For example, 
on April 1, in the Seweke III neighborhood of San Pedro, FRCI elements 
reportedly shot and killed Gerard Leonce Yagba after he denied 
knowledge of the whereabouts of his brother, whom neighbors described 
as a militia member.
    FRCI elements reportedly executed people suspected of participating 
in armed resistance following Gbagbo's April 11 detention. In the 
Yopougon neighborhood of Abidjan, armed militia groups and security 
forces, loyal to Gbagbo and implicated in dozens of targeted killings 
of unarmed pro-Ouattara civilian supporters, continued to fight the 
FRCI. In the course of gaining control of the neighborhood, FRCI 
elements reportedly executed people suspected of participating in the 
fighting. On May 15, FRCI elements in the Koweit neighborhood of 
Yopougon allegedly executed a man carrying two pistols who was presumed 
to be a militia member.
    On August 18, the Minister of Justice demanded the arrest of two 
FRCI members after the UNOCI human rights division released information 
on their involvement in extrajudicial killings of civilians; however, 
there was no information that the two FRCI members had been arrested by 
year's end.
    Militias affiliated with both parties reportedly perpetrated 
arbitrary and unlawful killings.
    Pro-Gbagbo militias were responsible for numerous killings, often 
reportedly perpetrated in the presence of or with assistance from 
security forces loyal to Gbagbo. Members of the Young Patriots, who 
were responsible for summary executions in previous years, continued to 
operate with impunity during the postelectoral crisis. In late February 
and in March, Ble Goude, leader of the Young Patriots, called on 
supporters to attack all foreigners and join the army. On February 26, 
Young Patriots members reportedly beat a presumed rebel, put a tire 
around his neck, poured petroleum on his body, and set the man on fire. 
In July the Ouattara government issued an international arrest warrant 
for Ble Goude. On May 6, UNOCI's human rights division confirmed the 
presence of mass graves in Yopougon. Through their inquiries the 
division determined that 68 bodies were buried across 10 sites and that 
pro-Gbagbo militias had reportedly killed all of the victims on April 
12.
    There were several reports of youth supporters of the pro-Ouattara 
RHDP coalition participating in armed uprisings to protect 
neighborhoods from security forces loyal to Gbagbo. For example, on 
February 24 and 25, armed RHDP youth attacked the FDS headquarters in 
Daoukro, set up roadblocks, and looted the homes of FDS members loyal 
to Gbagbo following a clash between FDS and RHDP youth that left six 
dead, including one elderly woman.
    Following several months of targeted killings and disappearances 
perpetrated by FDS troops loyal to Gbagbo in the Abidjan neighborhood 
of Abobo, an armed militia formed under the name of the Invisible 
Commando. The militia was ostensibly led by Ibrahim Coulibaly, also 
known as ``IB,'' a former FN member and coup plotter. In collaboration 
with local residents, the Invisible Commando militia violently resisted 
attempts by FDS members to enter the Abobo neighborhood. In the process 
of these confrontations, there were numerous reports of civilian 
deaths. The Invisible Commando also reportedly attacked pro-Gbagbo 
supporters. For example, on March 7, the group attacked the Ebrie 
ethnic group in the Anonkoua-Koute District of Abobo, resulting in at 
least three civilian deaths. There were no explicit links between the 
Invisible Commando militia and the FRCI, which arrested ``IB'' on April 
26 in Abobo; the militia leader was killed while reportedly resisting 
arrest.
    Several groups of perpetrators, including pro-Gbagbo and pro-
Ouattara militias and unaligned groups, were responsible for summary 
executions, rape, property destruction, and displacement of citizens in 
the western regions of Moyen Cavally and Dix-Huit Montagnes, 
particularly the towns of Duekoue, Guiglo, and Toulepleu.
    Numerous killings occurred in clashes between indigenous ethnic 
groups and northern ethnic groups. In some instances other groups--
including security forces loyal to Gbagbo, Liberian mercenaries, the 
FRCI, and Dozos--were complicit in killings. As Gbagbo's efforts to 
retain power became increasingly violent and as civil authority 
abandoned the region, violence perpetrated by indigenous ethnic groups 
against northern ethnic groups increased. In the wake of the FRCI 
advance toward Abidjan, ethnic reprisals by Dozos and militias were 
widespread.
    For example, between January 3 and 5, fighting between the Dioula 
and Guere communities in Duekoue left at least 37 people dead and 91 
injured. On March 28 and 29, UNOCI reported the deaths of 213 victims 
from various ethnic groups. The U.N. Human Rights Council Commission of 
Inquiry reported that at least 1,012 people were killed in the ern 
regions of Moyen Cavally and Dix-Huit Montanges from December 2010 to 
April 24.
    Following their May 3 defeat by the FRCI, Liberian mercenaries in 
Abidjan retreated toward the Liberian border. There were numerous 
reports of extrajudicial killings committed during this time, 
particularly in Dabou, Irobo, and Grand-Lahou. The U.N. Human Rights 
Council Commission of Inquiry reported that retreating mercenaries 
killed at least 59 persons--including 46 civilians and 13 FRCI members.
    The security situation in the West remained precarious, 
particularly along the Liberian border. On September 15, armed 
militiamen from Liberia reportedly killed 23 people in two villages 
near the Tai Forest.

    Abductions.--There were numerous reports of disappearances, 
reportedly perpetrated by several groups. Security forces that 
supported Gbagbo and pro-Gbagbo militia groups were responsible for 
numerous disappearances. The majority of the disappearances involved 
non-Ivoirian Africans, particularly those from the neighboring 
countries of Burkina Faso and Mali, who were perceived to be Ouattara 
supporters.
    For example, on February 22, in Abidjan's Hopital Militaire 
neighborhood, pro-Gbagbo gendarmes reportedly arrested a Malian driver 
and took him to an undisclosed location. The whereabouts of the driver 
were unknown at year's end.
    On January 4, a Burkinabe farmer living in the Duekoue Antenne area 
disappeared. He had been previously threatened by Guere militia men, 
who had accused him of supporting the Malinke community and the RHDP 
political party. The man had informed Gbagbo authorities of the 
threats, but they had taken no action.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--There were credible 
reports that armed men, including pro-Gbagbo and FRCI security forces, 
raped women and girls throughout the country. In some cases it was 
difficult to determine the affiliation of perpetrators. The UNOCI Human 
Rights Division documented 46 cases of rape related to electoral 
violence from December 2010 to April 24. For example, on April 13, two 
FRCI soldiers reportedly raped a Gbagbo supporter in her home in 
Deahouepleu (near Danane). The perpetrators reportedly threatened the 
victim, vandalized her belongings, and stole FCFA 215,000 ($430).
    In early February FDS members stationed in Boyapleu purportedly 
raped nine women, some of whom were pregnant. One of the victims, who 
was two months' pregnant, lost the baby after the rape. Another victim, 
a 17-year-old girl, was reportedly beaten up and raped by two FDS 
members, who then stole FCFA 20,000 ($40) from her.
    Security forces loyal to Gbagbo reportedly used torture. For 
example, on January 15, a supporter of the pro-Ouattara coalition 
party, the RHDP, who was previously arrested during a January 4 raid by 
the FDS on the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire 
(PDCI), was rearrested, tortured, and sexually abused by elements of 
the Republican Guard.
    On March 28, FDS members and Guere militia men arrested a Malinke 
man for allegedly hosting rebels in his home. They tied him up and beat 
him with machetes, sticks, and rifle butts. They detained the victim 
for 14 hours and demanded FCFA 200,000 ($400) to be release him.
    There were also reports of torture by the FRCI. On May 20, FRCI 
members in Duekoue bound a man to a tree by tying a mattress around him 
and then set the mattress on fire. The man was severely burned on his 
left arm. There were several reports that FRCI members also tortured 
people by dripping burning plastic bags on their bodies.

    Child Soldiers.--There were allegations of use of child soldiers by 
both the FRCI and pro-Gbagbo militia during the height of the crisis; 
however, there was no information documenting actual practice. After 
Ble Goude's March 19 call for more people to fight against Ouattara 
supporters, hundreds of young men, including some students, reportedly 
sought to enroll in the army to fight ``the rebels.'' According to 
UNOCI's child protection unit, there was no evidence of the use of 
child soldiers by the FRCI.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--The postelectoral violence caused 
thousands to flee their homes. At its peak more than one million 
persons were internally displaced and 200,000 took refuge in 
neighboring countries, primarily in Liberia, Ghana, and Togo. In the 
months following Gbagbo's detention, internally displaced persons 
(IDPs) and refugees started to return home, but many had not returned 
by year's end due to lingering security concerns. As of December, 
186,000 IDPs remained, primarily in the west and southwest regions of 
the country, and the number of refugees in neighboring countries had 
dropped to approximately 160,000, the vast majority in Liberia.
    Both the state-run media and pro-Gbagbo militias incited violence 
against the U.N. and UNOCI, which made it more difficult for them to 
carry out their peacekeeping, human rights, and humanitarian work. On 
January 10, a supply convoy was looted by forces loyal to Gbagbo while 
taking supplies to the Golf Hotel where Ouattara was under siege. On 
January 13 pro-Gbagbo student militants seized and burned a U.N. 
vehicle in the Riviera 2 neighborhood of Abidjan. On February 28, the 
Gbagbo regime also ordered the shutdown of electricity and water to the 
North, which impeded U.N. operations there. Services were restored on 
March 5.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press, but the Gbagbo government restricted these rights in practice. 
Restrictions on press freedom significantly diminished under the 
Ouattara government.

    Freedom of Speech.--There were no official restrictions on the 
ability of individuals to speak and assemble. However, on March 3, 
soldiers loyal to the Gbagbo government fired on a demonstration of 
women in the Abobo neighborhood of Abidjan, killing seven (see section 
1.g.). On October 8, an FPI rally in Koumassi, Abidjan, was attacked by 
unidentified individuals. On October 15, the Ouattara government 
prevented the FPI from holding a rally in Yopougon, Abidjan.

    Freedom of Press.--Several private newspapers criticized ruling and 
opposition parties during both the Gbagbo and Ouattara governments. 
Most newspapers, however, were politically aligned and sometimes 
resorted to fabricated stories to defame political opponents. During 
the postelectoral crisis the media played a major role in inflaming 
tensions, and newspapers backed by political parties published 
inflammatory editorials. Media freedoms were drastically curtailed, and 
journalists were harassed for reporting on the political standoff. 
Following Gbagbo's arrest the state-owned daily newspaper Fraternite 
Matin switched allegiance to the Ouattara government.
    The 2004 Press Law prohibits the transmission of any political 
commentary by private radio stations. Prior to Gbagbo's capture, the 
National Audiovisual Communication Council (CNCA), controlled by the 
Gbagbo government, closely monitored Radio Nostalgie, reportedly 
because the major shareholders of the company were close to Ouattara. 
Prior to the December legislative elections, the Audiovisual 
Communications Authority (HACA), which had replaced the CNCA, issued a 
reminder of this prohibition.
    The Gbagbo government exercised considerable influence over news 
coverage and program content of the state-run television channel RTI. 
The U.N. and other international organizations criticized Gbagbo for 
using the media to incite political violence and exploit ethnic 
tensions. Singling out RTI and the Fraternite Matin newspaper, the U.N. 
accused both media outlets of leading a calculated campaign of 
disinformation against President Ouattara and the UNOCI peace-keeping 
force.
    RTI, which was controlled by Gbagbo loyalists during the crisis, 
was repeatedly targeted by Ouattara's forces and later closed following 
heavy damage to its headquarters and broadcasting facility. RTI 
reopened on August 9 and the new state broadcast regulator, HACA, 
stressed that safeguards were in place to prevent RTI from reprising 
its previously divisive role. Upon RTI's return to the airwaves, the 
Ouattara-controlled Television Cote d'Ivoire, which transmitted from 
Ouattara's headquarters at the Golf Hotel, ceased broadcasting.
    Until the former president's arrest, forces loyal to Gbagbo 
deliberately interfered with UNOCI radio station ONUCI-FM. UNOCI, which 
criticized forces loyal to Gbagbo who jammed the station, continued to 
operate by broadcasting its programs through the Bouake radio station 
in the North.
    The country's media regulatory agencies were politicized, and both 
the Gbagbo and Ouattara governments hired and fired directors according 
to their political leanings. In December 2010 the CNCA banned all 
foreign television and radio stations. On April 13, President Ouattara 
revoked the ban and subsequently replaced the CNCA with the HACA.

    Violence and Harassment.--Security forces loyal to Gbagbo and pro-
Gbagbo militias harassed journalists during the postelectoral crisis, 
particularly pro-Ouattara journalists. For example, on March 10, 
security forces loyal to Gbagbo cordoned off the premises of Edipresse, 
the national newspaper printing and distribution company, and demanded 
that publications supportive of Ouattara not be distributed. The 
company also decided to suspend the distribution of pro-Gbagbo dailies 
until the ban was lifted the following day.
    Additionally, on January 28, journalists Aboubacar Sanogo and 
Yayoro Charles Lopez, affiliated with a newspaper backing the FN, were 
arrested on allegations of ``rebellion'' and ``threatening national 
security'' and held for 20 days at the gendarmerie's criminal 
investigation department without formal charge. According to Reporters 
Without Borders, the journalists were mistreated by the authorities, 
who hit them with rifle butts and burned them with cigarettes. The 
journalists were moved to Abidjan's MACA prison, still without formal 
charges, and remained there until March 31, when all MACA inmates were 
set free by unidentified armed elements.
    There were instances in which pro-Gbagbo journalists reportedly 
faced violence and harassment from FRCI members. In April the offices 
of three pro-Gbagbo newspapers--Notre Voie, Le Temps, and Le Nouveau 
Courrier--were looted and forced to close. The newspapers did not 
resume publication until late May and early June. After it resumed 
publishing on June 8, Le Temps newspaper was suspended twice by the 
National Press Commission, which deemed several of its antigovernment 
articles as incitement to hatred and ethnic violence.
    On June 4, six armed men, reported to be elements of the FRCI, 
arrived at the home of Serge Grah, a journalist for Le Temps, claiming 
they were looking for information. They detained Grah for 13 hours and 
took his computer.
    The Ouattara administration ordered the arrest of three journalists 
from the opposition newspaper Notre Voie on November 24. The 
journalists were charged on November 29 with using the press to incite 
``theft and looting and the destruction of private property.'' The 
charges were later reduced, and the three journalists were fully 
exonerated on December 6 in a trial that lasted less than one hour.
    Although the Gbagbo government took no action against the 
perpetrators of violence against journalists, the Ouattara government 
occasionally did. For example, on July 21, the Ouattara government 
indicted RTI journalist Hermann Aboa on numerous charges, including 
inciting hatred, breach of public order, undermining national defense, 
and participation in an armed gang. Reporters Without Borders called 
for Aboa's release from jail, alleging that the charges against Aboa 
were false. At year's end Aboa was reportedly being held in Abidjan's 
MACA prison. Authorities were still investigating him, a process which 
they said could take up to five years. No date was set for his trial.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The law authorizes the government to 
initiate criminal libel prosecutions against officials. In addition the 
state may criminalize a civil libel suit at its discretion or at the 
request of the plaintiff. Criminal libel was punishable by three months 
to two years in prison.
    The FN broadcast its own programming from Bouake, which included 
radio and television shows that were heard in towns and villages around 
Bouake and, according to some reports, in the political capital, 
Yamoussoukro. In the western part of the country, the FN broadcast on a 
local radio station from Man. The FN continued to allow broadcast of 
government television or radio programs in the former zones, but there 
were some reports that the FN did not allow distribution of some pro-
Gbagbo newspapers.
    No action was taken against FN forces that beat, harassed, and 
killed journalists in previous years.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no restrictions by the Ouattara 
government 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. During the postelectoral crisis, however, the Ivorian 
Telecommunication Agency, which was controlled by Gbagbo, ordered 
Internet service providers to prevent access to several Web sites 
publishing pro-Ouattara reports. Despite the order the sites remained 
unblocked. The Gbagbo government also suspended all text messaging 
services, which were not restored until the Ouattara government assumed 
power.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Gbagbo government 
restricted academic freedom. FESCI, the pro-Gbagbo militant student 
group created in the early 1990s, generated a climate of fear and 
intimidation at universities and secondary schools and regularly 
stopped classes, forced students to attend meetings, and threatened 
professors who interfered in their activities. The Gbagbo government 
controlled most educational facilities, and a presidential decree 
required authorization for all meetings on campuses. FESCI members were 
known to kill and torture other students, teachers, and civilians with 
impunity. During the postelectoral crisis FESCI members reportedly set 
up roadblocks, extorted money from students and civilians, and used 
violence to intimidate pro-Ouattara supporters. On March 4, a group of 
FESCI youth reportedly raided and vandalized the residences of two 
politicians supportive of Ouattara.
    Following the crisis the Ouattara government implemented policies 
that severely limited FESCI's ability to operate. Universities remained 
closed after the end of the crisis, and all dorm rooms were ordered 
vacated. In addition the government passed a decree that bans student 
groups from participating in national politics. Student groups are now 
only allowed to address student issues on university campuses.
    Due to the postelectoral crisis many students were unable to attend 
school. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
estimated that, as a result of missed classes, 5 percent of primary 
school students (17,754 out of 338,354 enrolled) were not able to take 
the end-of-year examination. As of September schools in Moyen Cavally 
remained closed, including five schools reportedly occupied by FRCI 
elements. Most students were able to take the end-of-year high school 
exams; however, scores were significantly lower than in 2010. The 
national director for exams speculated the lower scores resulted from 
class interruptions during the crisis and trauma caused by the 
violence.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law allows for freedom of assembly. The Gbagbo regime 
restricted this right in practice and extended a six month renewable 
ban on public protests. The Ouattara government sometimes restricted 
freedom of assembly. For example, on October 15, the Ouattara 
government prevented the FPI from holding a rally in Yopougon, Abidjan. 
The Ouattara government allowed the ban on public demonstrations to 
expire. Groups that wished to hold demonstrations or rallies in 
stadiums or other enclosed spaces were required by law to submit a 
written notice to the Ministry of Security or the Ministry of Interior 
three days before the proposed event.
    Pro-Gbagbo police dispersed antigovernment demonstrations violently 
several times during the postelectoral crisis (see sections 1.g. and 
2.a).
    The Ouattara government did not violently disperse protests; 
however the Ouattara government ended two FPI demonstrations, citing 
security reasons.
    No action was taken against security force members who forcibly 
dispersed demonstrations in previous years.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Gbagbo and Ouattara governments generally 
respected this right; however, the law prohibits the formation of 
political parties along ethnic or religious lines, although the former 
was apparently a key factor in some parties' membership.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law do not 
provide specifically for freedom of movement, foreign travel, 
emigration, or repatriation. Both governments restricted freedom of 
movement during the year.
    The Gbagbo government encouraged the deliberate targeting of U.N. 
personnel, which impeded efforts by the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to protect and assist IDPs, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern during the crisis. Under the Ouattara government, 
cooperation with the UNHCR and other international NGOs resumed, and 
U.N. personnel were able to move freely.

    In-country Movement.--There were frequent restrictions on internal 
travel. Security forces, local civilian ``self-defense'' committees, 
and water, forestry, and customs officials and other unidentified 
groups reportedly erected and operated roadblocks on major roads, where 
they regularly extorted money from travelers. During the postelectoral 
crisis numerous roadblocks were erected, less for racketeering purposes 
than to monitor the movement of certain groups of people, particularly 
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) nationals. Following 
resolution of the crisis, these roadblocks dramatically decreased; 
however, reports persisted that roadblocks manned by uniformed armed 
men continued to be a problem in the southwestern and western regions 
of the country. Medical personnel in the Tai Department, one of the 
country's 72 local administrations, reported that patients were unable 
to obtain health care as a result.
    Persons living under FN authority reportedly continued to face 
harassment and extortion when trying to travel between towns and to and 
from the government-controlled South. Villagers complained that these 
fees prevented pregnant women and other vulnerable persons from 
traveling to receive medical care.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--As of December the U.N.'s 
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that an 
estimated 186,000 IDPs who had fled their homes or villages as a result 
of postelectoral violence in the western part of the country and in 
Abidjan had not returned home. The majority of the IDPs lived with host 
families. In Duekoue approximately 27,000 IDPs had taken refuge in a 
Catholic mission outside the town at the height of the conflict; the 
ICRC provided tents, medical supplies, water, and latrines. At year's 
end approximately 1,700 IDPs (509 families) remained in the mission.
    Government assistance, especially in the North and West where civil 
servants and infrastructure were only partially in place, did not meet 
the needs of these IDPs. International and local NGOs worked to fill 
the gap. As a result of the postelectoral crisis, there were increased 
reports of rape and sexual violence against female IDPs.
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labor, Social 
Affairs and Solidarity, working in concert with U.N. agencies, took the 
lead on IDP matters.
    The Ouattara government respected the principle of voluntary 
returns, but did not put laws and policies in place to protect IDPs in 
accordance with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
    During the year U.N. agencies and local authorities continued to 
facilitate the steady return of IDPs. Shelter was the greatest 
impediment to return. Security fears also limited returns in some 
areas; however, returnees generally reported that they felt secure and 
that the FRCI was providing protection. In December the UNHCR conducted 
a five-day protection mission to return zones in Blolequin, Guiglo, and 
Toulepleu and found that, on average, 73percent of the displaced 
population had returned.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The constitution and 
law provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The government granted refugee status and asylum.

    Refugee Abuse.--Defense and security officers reportedly did not 
honor identity documents issued to refugees by the government or by the 
UNHCR on some occasions. There were reports that pro-Gbagbo security 
forces destroyed refugees' identity documents or arbitrarily detained, 
verbally harassed, and beat refugees at checkpoints, particularly 
during the postelectoral crisis.

    Access to Basic Services.--Liberians made up the majority of the 
country's refugees, and approximately 22,500 Liberian refugees remained 
in the country at year's end. Those who arrived in the country before 
the 2003 peace agreement in Liberia benefited from group eligibility 
and received temporary refugee cards. Liberians who arrived in the 
country after the peace agreement did not receive temporary cards. 
Under certain circumstances some asylum seekers who were not granted 
refugee status by the government were provided refugee certificates by 
the UNHCR. The identity card law includes a provision for identity 
cards to be issued to non-Liberian individuals older than 14 whose 
refugee status has been granted by the National Eligibility Commission.
    The government facilitated local integration for refugees in the 
most extreme situations by issuing resident permits to all refugees 
over the age of 14 to allow them to move freely in the country. The 
National Office of Identification, together with the UNHCR and the 
Ivoirian Refugee and the Stateless Persons Aid and Assistance Office 
continued to provide refugee identity cards to undocumented Liberian 
refugees, which allowed them to reside and work in the country legally 
for the duration of their refugee status. Refugees also had access to 
naturalization.
    The UNHCR assisted with the safe, voluntary return of refugees to 
their homes.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary 
protection for individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 
relevant U.N. conventions.

    Stateless Persons.--The scale of statelessness in the country was 
unclear; the UNHCR estimates ranged from a few thousand to as many as 
900,000.
    Ivoirian citizenship is derived from one's parents rather than by 
birth within the country's territory, and birth registration was not 
universal. The country had habitual residents who were either legally 
stateless or effectively stateless, and the government did not 
effectively implement laws and policies to provide such persons the 
opportunity to gain nationality on a nondiscriminatory basis. During 
the year the UNHCR continued to work with the Ministries of Justice and 
Interior to raise awareness of statelessness.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide for the right of citizens to 
change their government peacefully through democratic means; however, 
the Gbagbo government did not respect these rights.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 
October 2010 the country held its first presidential election in 10 
years. Incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, candidate of the Ivoirian 
People's Front (FPI), and opposition RDR party leader Alassane Ouattara 
advanced to the November 2010 presidential runoff. In December 2010 the 
Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) declared Ouattara the winner of 
the runoff with 54.1 percent of the vote; Gbagbo received 45.9 percent. 
Voter turnout was recorded at 81 percent. The U.N. Special 
Representative of the Secretary General independently certified the 
results of the election, determining Ouattara the winner by a margin 
similar to that announced by the CEI. As a result the African Union, 
ECOWAS, the U.N., and multiple international and domestic observer 
teams also recognized Ouattara as the new president. Gbagbo, however, 
refused to accept the results, and the Constitutional Council, which 
was made up entirely of Gbagbo appointees, overturned the CEI ruling, 
citing voter ``irregularities.'' More than 500,000 votes for Ouattara 
were annulled, and Gbagbo was declared the winner. Ouattara and Gbagbo 
remained in a standoff over the presidency and took separate oaths of 
office in December 2010. Gbagbo retained control of state resources 
including the national television station, the security forces, and the 
treasury.
    The political stalemate plunged the country into crisis. Violence 
perpetrated by both sides resulted in approximately 3,000 deaths, 
significant population displacement, torture, sexual violence, and 
widespread property destruction. On March 17, President Ouattara signed 
a decree to unify former rebel forces, the FN and former government 
security forces, and the FDS into the FRCI, the country's new official 
army. On April 11, the FRCI--with limited assistance from U.N. 
peacekeepers and French military forces--captured Gbagbo. On May 21, 
President Ouattara was inaugurated.
    On December 11, the country held elections for representatives to 
the National Assembly. The elections were peaceful and generally free 
and fair, despite minor administrative problems. Voter turnout was 37 
percent, which was higher than the 32 percent recorded for the 2000 
legislative elections.
    Preliminary results indicated that President Ouattara's RDR party 
won a majority with 127 seats. The PDCI, a pro-Ouattara party, won 77 
seats. Independents, some reported to be pro-FPI, won 35 seats. At 
year's end the political opposition was poised to have limited 
representation in the National Assembly.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Initial results indicate 
there were 29 women elected to the National Assembly.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. In 
prior years, the government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials reportedly frequently engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity. Corruption had the greatest impact on judicial proceedings, 
contract awards, customs and tax matters, and accountability of the 
security forces. President Ouattara vowed to reverse corrupt practices 
in the government and asked all ministers in August to sign a code of 
ethics.
    The 22 cocoa and coffee industry officials arrested in 2008 for 
allegedly embezzling FCFA 100 billion ($200 million) were released on 
bail in January. A trial date was set for January 2012.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of international and domestic human rights groups reported 
harassment from security forces loyal to former President Gbagbo during 
the postelectoral crisis.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--During the postelectoral 
crisis security forces loyal to Gbagbo harassed human rights groups, 
targeted U.N. personnel and denigrated their work, restricted U.N. 
access to certain areas, and obstructed UNOCI human rights 
investigators in their efforts to investigate abuses (see section 
1.g.).
    Under the Ouattara government, UNOCI and independent human rights 
groups gathered evidence and testimony on human rights cases, published 
information in reports and in independent local daily newspapers, and 
criticized government security forces. The government regularly 
permitted the World Food Program, the ICRC, and other international 
organizations to conduct humanitarian operations. Eleven U.N. agencies, 
including the International Labor Organization and the World Health 
Organization, were resident and active throughout the year.
    No cases were opened against perpetrators who threatened and 
harassed members of human rights organizations in this or previous 
years.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--To address the human rights abuses 
committed during the postelectoral crisis, the Ouattara government 
established the DTRC, a national COI, and a Special Prosecution Cell 
within the Ministry of Justice. The DTRC was established as an 
independent commission composed of three vice-chairpersons and seven 
representative members: one representative for the traditional chiefs, 
two religious leaders (Catholic and Muslim), five representatives of 
the country's main regions (South, North, Center, East, and West), one 
representative of African foreign nationals residing in Cote d'Ivoire, 
and one representative of the Ivoirian Diaspora. The COI, officially 
established under the Ministry of Human Rights, received a six-month 
mandate to conduct investigations. The Ministry of Justice planned to 
work with both the DTRC and COI, through its Special Prosecution Cell, 
which also was established to investigate crimes committed during the 
postelectoral crisis. The Ouattara government was supportive of the 
reconciliation process and devoted resources to the COI and the Special 
Prosecution Cell; however, the work of these institutions, particularly 
the DTRC, remained in the initial stages and little progress was made 
during the year to address impunity for abuses committed during the 
postelectoral crisis by year's end. The extent of public trust in the 
institutions was minimal due to the lack of concrete progress.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national 
origin, gender, or religion; however, neither the Gbagbo nor Ouattara 
governments effectively enforced the law.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape and 
provides for prison terms of five to 20 years for perpetrators; 
however, the Gbagbo and Ouattara governments did not enforce this law 
in practice, and rape was reportedly widespread. A life sentence can be 
imposed in cases of gang rape if the rapists are related to or hold 
positions of authority over the victim, or if the victim is under 15 
years of age. The law does not specifically penalize spousal rape.
    Women who reported rape or domestic violence to the police were 
often ignored. Many female victims were convinced by their relatives 
and police to seek an amicable resolution with the rapist rather than 
pursue a legal case.
    On November 27, a 14-year-old girl was raped by her visiting uncle. 
The girl's father reported the assault to the police but was told he 
had to pay FCFA 30,000 ($60) for a medical examination to open an 
investigation; he was unable to pay. He was killed by his daughter's 
rapist when he confronted him. Police arrested the rapist in Daoukro 
and transferred him to the court in Bongouanou, where his trial 
continued at year's end.
    There were continued reports of unidentified highway bandits raping 
and sexually assaulting women in the western part of the country. 
Violence against women, including rape, increased during the 
postelectoral crisis (see section 1.g.).
    The law does not specifically outlaw domestic violence, and it was 
a serious and widespread problem. Domestic violence complaints remained 
minimal, and many victims' parents reportedly urged withdrawal of a 
complaint because of the fear of social stigma.
    During the year the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs provided 
limited assistance to victims of domestic violence and rape. The 
ministry provided government-operated counseling centers, and ministry 
officials visited some victims in their homes.
    The National Committee to Fight Violence Against Women and Children 
monitored abusive situations through frequent home visits and made 
weekly radio announcements of cell phone numbers for victims to call.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Other forms of societal violence 
against women included traditional practices such as dowry deaths (the 
killing of brides over dowry disputes), levirat (forcing a widow to 
marry her dead husband's brother), and sororat (forcing a woman to 
marry her dead sister's husband). The Gbagbo and Ouattara governments 
held awareness-raising seminars on sexual violence for judicial and 
security personnel.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and 
prescribes penalties of between one and three years of imprisonment and 
a fine ranging between FCFA 360,000 and one million ($720 to $2,000). 
However, the Gbagbo and Ouattara governments rarely enforced the law, 
and such harassment was reportedly widespread and routinely accepted as 
a cultural norm.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children. In urban 
areas access to contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth 
were available to women who could afford it. For women who were poor or 
lived in rural areas transportation and the cost of services posed 
significant barriers in accessing health centers and hospitals. 
Furthermore, threats or perceived threats of violence from husbands or 
family members also inhibited some women from seeking family planning 
or health services.

    Discrimination.--The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of 
gender; however, women experienced economic discrimination in access to 
employment, credit, and owning or managing businesses. Gbagbo and 
Ouattara government policy encouraged full participation by women in 
social and economic life; however, there was resistance among employers 
in the formal sector to hiring women. Some women also encountered 
difficulty in obtaining loans, as they could not meet the lending 
criteria.
    Women in the formal sector usually were paid at the same rate as 
men; however, because the tax code did not recognize women as heads of 
households, female workers were required to pay income tax at a higher 
rate than their male counterparts. Women's organizations continued to 
campaign for tax reform to enable single mothers whose children were 
recognized by their fathers to receive deductions for their children. 
Inheritance law also discriminated against women.
    Women's advocacy organizations continued to sponsor campaigns 
against forced marriage, marriage of minors, patterns of inheritance 
that excluded women, and other practices considered harmful to women 
and girls. They also campaigned against legal provisions that 
discriminated against women and continued their efforts to promote 
greater participation of women in national and local politics.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents: at least one parent must be a citizen for a child to be 
considered Ivoirian at birth. The law provides parents a three-month 
period to register their child's birth for a fee of FCFA 500 ($1). The 
government registered all births when parents submitted documentation 
from a health clinic or hospital attesting that a birth had occurred. 
However, persons without proper identification documents could not 
register births. The government did not officially deny public services 
such as education or health care to children without documents; 
however, some schools reportedly required parents to present children's 
identity documents before they could be enrolled.

    Education.--Primary education was not compulsory and usually ended 
when children reached 13 years of age; however, it was tuition free. In 
principle students did not have to pay for books or fees; however, some 
still reportedly did so or rented books from street stalls because the 
government did not cover school fees and books for every student. 
Students who failed secondary school entrance exams did not qualify for 
free secondary education, and many families could not afford to pay for 
schooling.
    Parental preference for educating boys rather than girls reportedly 
persisted, particularly in rural areas.
    Teachers sometimes reportedly demanded sexual favors from students 
in exchange for money or grades. The penalty for statutory rape or 
attempted rape of a child under the age of 16 is a prison sentence of 
one to three years and a fine of FCFA 100,000 to one million ($200 to 
$2,000).

    Child Abuse.--Children were victims of physical and sexual violence 
and abuse. Claims of child rape were often reclassified as indecent 
assault. Between January and August, only three cases of indecent 
assault reportedly came before the court of Abidjan. Children accused 
of practicing witchcraft were placed in the care of pastors, who 
sometimes reportedly used violence to exorcize them. Although the 
Ministries of Family, Labor, and Justice worked to fight child abuse, a 
lack of coordination among ministries and inadequate resources impeded 
government efforts.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--FGM was reportedly a serious 
problem in some parts of the country. The law specifically forbids FGM 
and provides penalties for practitioners of up to five years' 
imprisonment and fines of FCFA 360,000 to two million ($720 to $4,000). 
Double penalties apply to medical practitioners. FGM was practiced most 
frequently among rural populations in the North and West. Local NGOs 
continued public awareness programs to prevent FGM and worked to 
persuade practitioners to stop the practice. However, authorities made 
few arrests related to FGM during the year, and practitioners were 
rarely charged.

    Child Marriage.--The law prohibits the marriage of men under the 
age of 20 and women under the age of 18 without the consent of their 
parents. The law specifically penalizes anyone who forces a minor under 
18 years of age to enter a religious or customary matrimonial union. 
However, in conservative communities--particularly those in the North--
traditional marriages were reportedly performed with girls as young as 
14. In December the Ministry of Family, Women, and Children organized 
awareness-raising and sensitization activities against child marriage 
in Divo, in the northern part of the country.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age of consensual sex 
is 18. Under the law, using, recruiting, or offering children for 
prostitution, or for pornographic films, pictures, or events is 
illegal, and violators can receive sentences ranging from one month to 
two years' imprisonment as well as fines of FCFA 30,000 to 300,000 ($60 
to $600). Statutory rape of a minor carries a punishment of one to 
three years in prison and a fine of FCFA 360,000 to one million ($720 
to $2,000). Cote d'Ivoire is a country of origin and destination for 
children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced 
prostitution.

    Child Soldiers.--There were allegations of the use of child 
soldiers by both the FRCI and pro-Gbagbo militias during the 
postelectoral crisis; however, there was no credible information 
documenting actual practice (see section 1.g.).

    Displaced Children.--Local NGOs reported that there were thousands 
of children living on the streets across the country. NGOs dedicated to 
helping these children found it difficult to estimate the extent of the 
problem or to determine whether these children had access to government 
services. There were no known government programs that addressed 
specifically the problem of children living on the streets.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The country's Jewish community numbered fewer than 
100 persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law requires the government to 
educate and train persons with physical, mental, visual, auditory, and 
cerebral motor disabilities, hire them or help them find jobs, design 
houses and public facilities for wheelchair access, and adapt machines, 
tools, and work spaces for access and use by persons with disabilities. 
However, wheelchair-accessible facilities for such individuals were not 
common, and there were few training and job assistance programs for 
persons with disabilities. The law also prohibits acts of violence 
against persons with disabilities and the abandonment of such persons; 
however, there were no reports that either the Gbagbo or Ouattara 
governments enforced these laws during the year.
    There were no reports during the year that persons with 
disabilities were specific targets of abuse, but they reportedly 
encountered serious discrimination in employment and education. The 
government reserved 800 civil service jobs for persons with 
disabilities; however, in practice government employers sometimes 
refused to employ persons with disabilities.
    The government financially supported special schools, associations, 
and artisans' cooperatives for persons with disabilities, but many such 
persons begged on urban streets and in commercial zones for lack of 
other economic opportunities. Persons with mental disabilities often 
lived on the street.
    The Ministry of Family and Social Affairs and the Federation of the 
Handicapped are responsible for protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country has an ethnically 
diverse population, with more than 60 ethnic groups. Groups sometimes 
practiced societal discrimination against others on the basis of 
ethnicity. Approximately 25 percent of the population was considered 
foreign, although many within this category were second- or third-
generation residents. Outdated or inadequate land ownership laws 
reportedly resulted in conflicts with ethnic and xenophobic overtones, 
often between the native populations and other groups.
    Police routinely abused and harassed non-Ivoirian Africans residing 
in the country and occasionally harassed Lebanese merchants. Harassment 
by officials reflected the common belief that foreigners were 
responsible for high crime rates and identity card fraud.
    In the postelectoral period, security forces loyal to Gbagbo 
systematically harassed and targeted persons with northern or Muslim 
names. Several incidents of ethnic violence resulted in deaths and 
injuries (see section 1.g.).
    Ethnic tensions in the West and Southwest continued to lead to 
violence. In the West, and in Duekoue and Bangolo in particular, there 
continued to be reports of violent clashes between the native 
population and members of the foreign community, particularly Burkinabe 
farmers. These reports declined in the second half of the year.
    The law prohibits xenophobia, racism, and tribalism, making these 
forms of intolerance punishable by five to 10 years' imprisonment. No 
one was prosecuted under the law during the year.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Although there is no explicit 
law prohibiting same-sex sexual activity, public indecency with a same-
sex partner is illegal. There was no official discrimination based on 
sexual orientation in employment, housing, statelessness, or access to 
education or health care. However, societal stigmatization of the LGBT 
community was reportedly widespread, and the government did not act to 
counter it during the year.
    Gay men were reportedly subjected to beatings, imprisonment, verbal 
abuse, humiliation, and extortion by police, gendarmes, and members of 
the armed forces. During the year the FRCI reportedly beat and abused 
gay men and transgender persons, most of them sex workers. Complaints 
were not filed for fear of reprisals.
    The situation of the LGBT community reportedly improved after the 
postelectoral crisis but remained precarious. The few LGBT 
organizations in the country operated with caution to avoid being 
targeted by the FRCI and former FDS members. However, newspapers 
reported favorably on a New Year's Eve party held by a group of 
lesbians in Abidjan.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal stigmatization 
of persons living with HIV/AIDS was widespread, disproportionately 
affecting women due to gender inequity and economic vulnerability.

    Promotion of Acts of Discrimination.--From the November 28, 2010, 
presidential runoff to Gbagbo's April 11 capture, the U.N. and 
international organizations criticized the former president for using 
the state-controlled media to incite political violence and promote 
ethnic tension. Pro-Gbagbo dailies, such as Notre Voie and Le Temps, 
were also cited as promoting and inciting ethnic and racist violence, 
particularly against Burkinabe and other foreign nationals living in 
the country (see section 2.a.).
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of workers to form or join unions of 
their choice, protects the right to strike and collectively bargain, 
and prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers or others against 
union members or organizers. Under the labor law, employers cannot fire 
workers for union activities. The law provides for the reinstatement 
for a dismissed worker within eight days following the receipt of a 
wrongful dismissal claim by the employer. However, the law does not 
permit members of the police and military services to form or join 
unions, or collectively bargain. The law further requires a protracted 
series of negotiations and a six-day notification period before a 
strike may take place, making legal strikes difficult to organize and 
maintain. In addition if the strike is deemed a threat to public order, 
the president has broad powers to compel strikers to return to work 
under threat of sanctions, and to submit strikes in essential services 
to arbitration, but the labor code does not provide a list of such 
services.
    Only a small percentage of the workforce was organized, and most 
laborers worked in the informal sector, which included small farms, 
small roadside and street shops, and urban workshops. However, large 
industrial farms and some trades were organized, and there was an 
agricultural workers union. The law allows unions in the formal sector 
to conduct their activities without interference, and the government 
protected this right in practice, with some reported exceptions.
    Although the political crisis prevented the full exercise of trade 
unions rights, there were no reports of strike breaking during the 
year.
    Collective bargaining agreements apply to all employees and were in 
effect in many major business enterprises and sectors of the civil 
service. For a collective bargaining agreement to be initiated by a 
union, 30 percent of workers must be represented before bargaining can 
begin. The number of collective bargaining agreements reached during 
the year was unknown.
    The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Solidarity did not 
report any complaints of antiunion discrimination and employer 
interference in union functions during the year. However, there was at 
least one case of harassment against union members during the 
postelectoral crisis, although it was unclear whether action by police 
was an act of antiunion discrimination. On April 26, Basile Mahan Gahe, 
secretary general of Dignite Labor Confederation and a Gbagbo 
supporter, was arrested and detained at the city of Williamsville 
police station. On June 29, Gahe was transferred from the police 
station to the Pergola Hotel, where he was held under house arrest. On 
July 9, Gahe was sent to the prison of Boundiali in the North and 
accused of national security related infractions. Investigation 
continued at year's end, and he remained in pretrial detention in 
Boundiali. The union's office was looted, and the other members went 
into hiding.
    Absent reciprocal union agreements, foreigners are required to 
obtain residency status, which takes three years, before they may hold 
union office.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the government 
made efforts to enforce the law during the second half of the year. On 
November 3, the Ouattara government established the National Committee 
for the Monitoring of Actions for the Fight against Trafficking, Forced 
Labor and Child Labor, which is chaired by the first lady and 
responsible for the follow-up and assessment of government actions on 
these issues. The government also set up an interministerial committee 
for the fight against trafficking, forced labor and child labor under 
the prime minister to coordinate and implement programs on the 
elimination of child labor. However, despite these efforts, forced or 
compulsory labor by children continued to occur, specifically on cocoa, 
coffee, pineapple, and rubber plantations.
    Instances of forced labor reportedly occurred in the unregulated 
informal labor sectors. Thus, domestics, most nonindustrial farm 
laborers, and those who worked in street shops and restaurants remained 
outside formal government protection. Forced adult labor reportedly 
occurred in small-scale and commercial production of agricultural 
products. There were reports of forced adult labor practices in rubber 
production, primarily in the form of long hours and low pay for workers 
who lived in conditions of effective indenture.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There were laws against forced labor and the exploitation of children 
in the workplace; however, child labor reportedly remained a widespread 
problem, particularly in cocoa and coffee plantations, and gold mines. 
In most instances the legal minimum working age is 14; however, the 
Ministry of Civil Service and Administrative Reform and the Ministry of 
Labor, Social Affairs, and Solidarity enforced this provision 
effectively only in the civil service and in large multinational 
companies. Children were not allowed to work between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. 
They reportedly routinely worked on family farms or as vendors, shoe 
shiners, errand boys, domestic helpers, street restaurant vendors, and 
car watchers and washers in the informal sector in cities. Some girls 
as young as nine reportedly worked as domestic servants, often within 
their extended family networks.
    In September 2010 the government passed a law banning child 
trafficking and the worst forms of child labor. The punishment for 
violating the law includes a prison term of up to 5 years, and a fine 
from FCFA 500,000 to one million ($1,000 to $2,000). Children 
reportedly continued to work under hazardous conditions on cocoa farms. 
A Tulane University survey published in 2009 found that 24.1 percent of 
children between the ages of five and 17 in the cocoa-growing regions 
had worked on a cocoa farm in the previous 12 months. The survey showed 
that a number of these children were involved in or exposed to 
hazardous conditions, including operating tools (93.9 percent) and 
carrying heavy loads (79.8 percent). Similar hazardous conditions 
reportedly existed during the year. A small percentage of the children 
working on cocoa farms had no family ties to the farmers, but most 
worked on family farms or with their parents.
    In June 2010 the government created an Independent Office for the 
Fight against Child Labor. In 2009 the government launched a new 
program addressing child labor in cocoa-growing areas. The program 
focused on decreasing poverty and thereby decreasing child labor by 
ensuring that each village had a primary school, health clinic, and 
income-generating activities to supplement cocoa income. The program 
included sensitization of parents to the importance of children 
attending school and the dangers associated with child labor. In 2009 
the government began to implement the program in 10 villages and 
selected 20 more villages for participation. During the year the 
government completed 15 projects, and construction continued on an 
additional five projects. The remaining 10 were scheduled for 
completion by July 2012. The Ouattara government relaunched these 
efforts within the framework of its self-help village program in June. 
By year's end they had reached 10 new villages.
    The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Solidarity was 
responsible for enforcing child labor laws and made progress during the 
year in addressing the worst forms of child labor. On November 3, the 
government established the National Committee to Monitor Actions for 
the fight against trafficking, forced labor, and child labor, which was 
chaired by the first lady and responsible for the follow up and 
assessment of government actions on these issues. The government also 
set up an interministerial committee for the fight against trafficking, 
forced labor, and child labor under the prime minister to coordinate 
and implement programs on the elimination of child labor. While 
enforcement of child labor laws continued to be hindered by financial 
constraints and the postelectoral crisis, which prevented the ministry 
from holding scheduled training programs for judges and labor 
inspectors on the enforcement of child labor law and from organizing 
national sensitization campaigns, there were indications that 
government efforts, along with those of its international partners, had 
a positive effect towards decreasing the worst forms of child labor.
    The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Solidarity and the prime 
minister's Child Labor Task Force supported and collaborated with NGOs 
and international partners to combat the worst forms of child labor. As 
part of the World Day against Child Labor in June, the government 
emphasized ending hazardous child labor on cocoa farms. On July 28, 
First Lady Dominique Ouattara announced a partnership between the Child 
Labor Task Force and her NGO, Children of Africa, to fight against the 
worst forms of child labor. The task force continued to implement a 
national action plan to combat child labor and trafficking in persons. 
Nine government ministries were involved in the effort. The Ministry of 
Family and Social Affairs conducted awareness campaigns targeting 
children at risk and agricultural regions that employ child labor, 
working in coordination with several international NGOs.
    During the year NGOs conducted campaigns to sensitize farm families 
about child labor based on the list developed by the government of 
prohibited worst forms of child labor. The association of domestic 
worker placement in the country worked to prevent the exploitation of 
children in domestic work. Other NGOs campaigned against child 
trafficking, child labor, and the sexual abuse of children.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Minimum wages varied according 
to occupation, with the lowest set at FCFA 36,607 ($73) per month for 
the industrial sector; a slightly higher minimum wage rate applied for 
construction work. The official estimate for the poverty income level 
is between FCFA 500 ($1) and FCFA 700 ($1.40) a day. The government 
enforced the minimum wage rates only for salaried workers employed by 
the government or registered with the social security office. Labor 
federations attempted to fight for just treatment under the law for 
workers when companies failed to meet minimum salary requirements or 
discriminated among classes of workers, such as local and foreign 
workers.
    Under Gbagbo and Ouattara, no government action was reportedly 
taken to rectify the large salary discrepancies between expatriate non-
African employees and their African colleagues who were employed by the 
same company.
    The standard legal workweek was 40 hours. The law requires overtime 
pay for additional hours and provides for at least one 24-hour rest 
period per week. The law does not prohibit compulsory overtime.
    The law provides for occupational safety and health standards in 
the formal sector. Workers in the formal sector had the right to remove 
themselves from dangerous work without jeopardy to continued employment 
by utilizing the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Solidarity's 
inspection system to document dangerous working conditions. Despite the 
law workers in both the formal and informal sectors could not absent 
themselves from such labor without risking the loss of their 
employment. Labor laws covered neither foreign migrant workers nor 
citizen workers working in the informal labor sector.
    The government did not effectively enforce either the law or the 
standards, particularly in the large informal sector of the economy. 
The 300 labor inspectors reportedly accepted bribes. The labor law 
provides for the establishment of a committee of occupational, safety, 
and health representatives responsible for ensuring protection and 
worker health at workplaces. The committee is composed of union 
members. The chairman of the committee could pass a violation for 
unhealthy and unsafe working conditions to the labor inspector without 
penalty. Further, the enterprises are obliged by law to provide medical 
services for their employees. However, small firms and businesses in 
the informal sector frequently did not comply.
    The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Solidarity was 
responsible for enforcing the minimum wage. Labor unions contributed to 
effective implementation of the minimum salary requirements in the 
formal sector.
    The standard workweek was 40 hours. The law requires overtime 
compensation for additional hours and provides for at least 24-hour 
rest period per week. The law does not prohibit compulsory overtime. 
The law also provides for regulations on occupational, safety, and 
health standards in the workplaces. The government did not enforce 
occupational, safety and health standards effectively in the informal 
sector. Several million foreign workers, mostly from neighboring 
countries, typically worked in the informal labor sector, where labor 
laws were not enforced.

                               __________

                                DJIBOUTI

                           executive summary
    Djibouti is a republic with a strong elected president and a weak 
legislature. In April 2010 parliament amended the constitution to 
remove term limits, facilitating the April 8 reelection of President 
Ismail Omar Guelleh for a third term. The president won with 80 percent 
of the vote against one independent candidate, who was supported by one 
of two opposition coalitions that had boycotted the election until 
April 3; the other coalition did not participate in the election. 
International observers characterized the election as free and fair, 
although they criticized preelection planning and the presence of 
security forces at polling stations. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    The 2010 constitutional amendment removing presidential term 
limits, general dissatisfaction with the government, student unrest, 
and high levels of unemployment contributed to popular protests in 
February. On February 18, security forces used tear gas and rubber 
bullets to disperse violent young protestors who remained following a 
peaceful demonstration. One civilian and one police officer were 
killed, and numerous demonstrators were injured. The subsequent 
security crackdown resulted in numerous arrests, detentions, and 
criminal proceedings against demonstrators. Between March 25 and April 
8, the official campaign period, the government banned opposition 
rallies.
    The most serious human rights problem in the country was the 
government's abridgement of the right of citizens to change or 
significantly influence their government; it did so by harassing, 
abusing, and detaining government critics and by its unwillingness to 
permit the population access to independent sources of information 
within the country.
    Other human rights problems included the use of excessive force, 
including torture by security forces; harsh prison conditions; 
arbitrary arrest and prolonged pretrial detention; denial of fair 
public trial; interference with privacy rights; restrictions on 
freedoms of speech, press, assembly and association; lack of protection 
for refugees; corruption; discrimination against women; female genital 
mutilation (FGM); trafficking in persons; discrimination against 
persons with disabilities; and government denial of worker rights.
    Officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports 
that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful 
killings, at least one of which resulted from torture.
    On February 18, demonstrators gathered initially in the area of 
Avenue Nasser, outside the city center of Djibouti City, and then 
marched to Hassan Gouled Stadium, where the crowd grew to approximately 
3,000 persons. Participants listened to opposition speeches calling for 
President Guelleh to abandon plans for a third term and criticizing the 
country's 60 percent unemployment rate, high cost of staple foods, and 
lack of affordable housing. Most participants departed the stadium 
before the 6:00 p.m. permit deadline imposed by the Ministry of the 
Interior; however, several hundred remaining young demonstrators began 
throwing rocks, overturning vehicles, and burning tires. Security 
forces responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, killing one 
demonstrator and injuring numerous others. Estimates of the number of 
demonstrators arrested ranged from 80 to 200. On February 27, 
approximately 80 of those detained were brought to court, and 40 cases 
were dismissed. Of the remaining 40, approximately 25 demonstrators 
were convicted of assault or arson and were sentenced to prison. An 
additional number were charged with demonstrating beyond the time 
allotted on the rally permit and were released by the end of February.
    According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Balbala resident 
Dirir Ibrahim Bouraleh allegedly died as a result of injuries inflicted 
during torture at a gendarmerie unit where he was detained from April 
23 to 27. Sergeant Major Abdourahman Omar Said reportedly conducted the 
torture that resulted in Bouraleh's death.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were reports that security forces beat and tortured detainees.
    The government arrested dozens of its political opponents in 
February, including six persons who provided reporting to opposition 
radio station La Voix de Djibouti, which broadcasts from Europe. Among 
the six were Farah Abadid Heldid and Houssein Robleh Dabar, who 
gendarmes arrested without warrant on February 5. On February 9, the 
two opposition journalists were transferred to Gabode Prison on charges 
of ``participating in an insurrectional movement.'' According to RSF, 
while in custody of the gendarmerie, Heldid was interrogated and 
tortured, reportedly by Abdourahman ``Doudou'' Ali Ismael, a member of 
the gendarmerie's Investigation and Documentation Section (SRD). On 
June 23, after four months in Gabode Prison, Heldid and Dabar were 
released after filing appeals with the Court of Appeals and the Supreme 
Court. Reporters Houssein Ahmed Farah, Abdillahi Aden Ali, Joustapha 
Abdourahman Houssein, and Mohamed Ibrahim Waiss, all of whom were 
arrested along with Heldid and Dabar in February, also were released on 
June 23. The four, who were members of opposition parties, were charged 
with ``participating in an insurrectional movement.''
    On November 21, SRD gendarmes again arrested Heldid and Dabar, 
according to RSF. Until November 24, when they were released, the two 
journalists reportedly were interrogated and tortured. Before being 
freed they were questioned by State Prosecutor Maki Omar Abdoulkader 
and Prosecutor General Djama Souleiman Ali. The journalists were taken 
before an investigating judge at the Supreme Court, where they were 
charged with encouraging an illegal demonstration and insulting the 
president. Their mistreatment in the gendarmerie reportedly was ordered 
by Sergeant Major Abdourahman Omar Said, the gendarme allegedly 
responsible for the torture and death of Dirir Ibrahim Bouraleh (see 
section 1.a.). According to RSF, Heldid and Dabar were arrested to 
prevent La Voix de Djibouti from publicizing the distribution of a 
leaflet calling for a ``Day of Anger'' protest. Mohamed Souleiman Cheik 
Moussa, a magistrate who authored the leaflet, was arrested the same 
day.
    In early March, in Tadjourah, a soldier shot a civilian in the leg 
as a result of a personal altercation. The injured civilian was sent to 
Djibouti for medical treatment. It was unclear what actions were taken 
against the soldier who fired the shot; however, a gendarme and a 
military commander in Tadjourah were transferred from the region.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--While there have been some 
improvements in recent years, prison conditions remained harsh. The 
country has one central prison and a number of small jails supervised 
by local police or gendarmes. There were reports that police and 
gendarmes abused and tortured prisoners during the year.
    Gabode Prison in Djibouti City had a maximum capacity of 500 
inmates but often held 750. Inmates in Gabode had adequate access to 
potable water and sanitary facilities and were provided three meals a 
day, with meat served on alternate days. Prisoners' families were 
allowed to bring food to the prison. The prison had a permanent doctor 
and six permanent nurses on its staff during the year; in 2010 the 
doctor was available ``on call'' only. Prisoners with serious health 
problems received treatment at the main Djibouti City public hospital. 
Authorities held prisoners who were seriously ill separately and 
segregated prisoners with communicable diseases from prisoners with 
other health problems. Adequate medication was available. During the 
prisoner intake process, prison officials tested for and documented 
serious health conditions. However, prisoners with serious mental 
illness did not receive adequate care. The prison had both written and 
electronic procedures to track prisoner names, thumbprints, and dates 
of detention and release.
    Conditions in jails, which held detainees until their summary 
release or transfer to the central prison, were poor. Jails had no 
formal system to feed or segregate prisoners and did not provide 
medical services. Most detainees were kept in jails for a few weeks 
before either release or transfer to Gabode Prison.
    At Nagad Detention Center, which primarily held undocumented 
immigrants and was not part of the prison system, detainees had access 
to potable water, food, and medical treatment. Authorities deported 
most detainees within 24 hours of arrest.
    Statistics were unavailable, but Gabode Prison generally held 
approximately 600 prisoners, including an average of 12 female 
prisoners, whose conditions of detention were similar to those of male 
prisoners. There were generally fewer than 20 juvenile prisoners, who 
were not always held separately from adults. Authorities allowed young 
children of female prisoners to stay with their mothers. Pretrial 
detainees were not held separately from convicted prisoners.
    Prisoners and detainees were permitted visitors each Friday 
afternoon and religious observance regardless of religion.
    There was no formal system to enable prisoners and detainees to 
submit complaints to judicial authorities to request investigation of 
inhumane conditions.
    The government granted prison access to foreign embassies and the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which was allowed to 
inspect prisons every six months. A small group of Eritrean prisoners 
of war captured during the 2008 border skirmish with Eritrea received 
regular visits from ICRC staff, and government authorities accepted 
ICRC recommendations with regard to medical concerns for one of the 
prisoners.
    The government continued to provide human rights training for 
guards.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, the government did not respect these 
prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Security forces 
included the National Police under the Ministry of Interior, the army 
and National Gendarmerie under the Ministry of Defense, and an elite 
Republican Guard that protects the president. The National Police is 
responsible for internal security and border control. The National 
Gendarmerie is responsible for external security but also has some 
domestic responsibilities. A separate prison guard service is 
responsible for security at the national prison.
    Security forces were generally effective, although corruption was a 
problem across all three services, particularly in the lower ranks 
where wages were low. The gendarmerie is responsible for investigating 
allegations of police misconduct, and the Ministry of Justice is 
responsible for prosecution; however, no allegations of police 
misconduct were prosecuted during the year.
    Police had a Human Rights Office, and human rights education was 
integrated into the police academy curriculum. During the year the 
local police academy coordinated with the International Organization 
for Migration (IOM) to host a workshop to train security forces in 
refugee rights and processing.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires arrest warrants and stipulates that the government may not 
detain a person beyond 48 hours without an examining magistrate's 
formal charge; however, the government generally did not respect the 
law in practice, especially in rural areas. Detainees may be held 
another 48 hours with the prior approval of the public prosecutor. The 
law provides that detainees be promptly notified of the charges against 
them, although in practice there were delays. The law requires that all 
persons, including those charged with political or national security 
offenses, be tried within eight months of arraignment; however, police 
disregarded this right. The law contains provisions for bail, but 
authorities rarely made use of it. Detainees have the right to prompt 
access to an attorney of their choice. In criminal cases the state 
provides attorneys for detainees who cannot afford legal 
representation. Detainees generally were allowed access to family 
members and legal counsel.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--During the year numerous persons, including 
opposition members, journalists, and human rights activists, were 
arbitrarily arrested, often without warrants (see sections 1.a., 1.c., 
and 3).
    For example, on February 19, three opposition leaders were briefly 
arrested after an altercation with police when the three visited a 
police station to demand the release of 30 demonstrators detained the 
previous evening for vandalism and looting (see section 1.a.). The 
three leaders--Aden Robleh Awaleh, president of the National Democratic 
Party (PND), Mohamed Daoud Chehem, president of the Djiboutian Party 
for Development (PDD), and Ismael Guedi Hared, president of the Union 
for Democracy and Justice party (UDJ)--were released later the same day 
by order of the president.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem, and 
approximately half of the prison population was in pretrial detention. 
Statistics were unavailable, but it was not uncommon for prisoners to 
wait two or three years--and in one case eight years--for their trials 
to begin. Judicial inefficiency contributed heavily to lengthy pretrial 
detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, the judiciary lacked 
independence and was inefficient. Constitutional provisions for a fair 
trial often were not respected.
    Allegations of politically motivated prosecutions surfaced in June 
2010 following the conviction in absentia of businessman Abdourahman 
Boreh on charges of terrorism for allegedly directing a grenade attack 
in Djibouti City. Boreh, whose foreign attorney was not allowed into 
the country, claimed his 15-year-sentence was intended to derail a 
potential presidential bid.
    In 2010 the foreign attorney for Jean-Paul Noel Abdi, the president 
of the Djibouti League for Human Rights (LDDH), whom authorities 
charged with conspiring against the state, was denied an entry visa and 
had no physical access to his client (see section 5).
    The legal system is based on legislation and executive decrees, 
French codified law adopted at independence, Islamic law (Sharia), and 
nomadic traditions. Islamic law prevailed in family matters.

    Trial Procedures.--The law states that the accused is innocent 
until proven guilty; however, in practice, trials did not proceed in 
accordance with the presumption of innocence. Trials generally were 
public. A presiding judge and two associate judges hear cases. The 
judge receives assistance from three lay assessors who are not members 
of the bench but who are considered to possess sufficient legal 
knowledge to comprehend court proceedings. The government chooses lay 
assessors from the public. Defendants have the right to be present, 
consult with an attorney in a timely manner, confront witnesses, and 
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. These rights were 
generally respected. The indigent have a right to legal counsel in 
criminal and civil matters but in practice sometimes did not have legal 
representation. Defendants have the right of appeal.
    Traditional law often applied in cases involving conflict 
resolution and victim compensation. For example, traditional law often 
stipulated that a price be paid to the victim's clan for crimes such as 
murder and rape. Most parties preferred traditional court rulings for 
sensitive issues such as rape, where a consensus toward maintaining 
peace between those involved was valued over the individual rights of 
the victim, who was often pressured by family to abide by traditional 
court rulings.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Numerous persons were detained 
for political reasons during the months leading up to the election and 
released afterwards. For example, the government charged eight men--
including human rights activist Jean Paul Noel Abdi--with conspiring 
against the state (see section 5). The prisoners were permitted legal 
representation and were allowed to meet with their attorneys before 
trial. Noel Abdi was released two weeks later. The remaining prisoners 
were detained for two months and released shortly after the election.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--In cases of human rights 
violations, citizens could address correspondence to the National Human 
Rights Commission. On a variety of matters, citizens could also seek 
assistance from the Ombudsman's Office, which often helped resolve 
administrative disputes between government branches. The government did 
not always comply with the decisions and recommendations of these 
bodies pertaining to human rights.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such 
actions, the government did not respect these prohibitions in practice. 
The law requires that authorities obtain a warrant before conducting 
searches on private property, but the government did not always respect 
the law in practice. Government opponents claimed the government 
monitored their communications and kept their homes under surveillance.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law allow for freedom of speech and press, 
provided such freedoms comply with the law and respect ``the honor of 
others.'' In practice the government did not respect these rights. The 
law provides prison sentences for media offenses.

    Freedom of Speech.--While individuals often expressed themselves 
freely in society, individuals who criticized the government publicly 
or privately could face reprisals.

    Freedom of Press.--There were no privately owned or independent 
media in the country. Printing facilities for mass media were 
government owned, which created obstacles for those wishing to publish 
criticism of the government. The principal newspaper, La Nation, 
maintained a monopoly on domestic news ``by means of ubiquitous state-
owned media that do what they are told,'' according to RSF. All 
opposition newspapers have been closed by the courts or ``by means of 
the economic asphyxiation which the government uses to gag the media,'' 
according to RSF. Each registered political party was allowed to 
publish a public journal or newspaper, although the 2007 ban on the 
opposition political party newsletter Le Renouveau remained in effect 
(see section 3). During the year the opposition PND party regularly 
published the political newsletter La Republique. Other parties 
published papers sporadically. Opposition political groups and civil 
society activists circulated newsletters and other materials critical 
of the government.
    The government owned the only radio and television stations, which 
were operated by Radio-Television de Djibouti (RTD). The official media 
generally did not criticize government leaders or policy, and 
opposition access to radio and television time remained limited. RTD 
did provide limited coverage of opposition events during the election 
season. Foreign media broadcast throughout the country, and cable news 
and other programming were available.

    Violence and Harassment.--The government arrested and harassed 
journalists, two of whom security forces tortured during the year (see 
section 1.c.).

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The country's media and 
slander laws and the government's harassment and detention of 
journalists resulted in widespread self-censorship.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The government cited national 
security to suppress criticism and arrested, detained, and tortured 
journalists charged with such offenses during the year (see section 
1.c.).
    Circulation of a new newspaper requires authorization from the 
Communication Commission, which requires agreement from the Djiboutian 
National Security Service following an investigation. The only 
publishing houses equipped for broad distribution were government 
owned, obliging antigovernment sources to print privately.

    Internet Freedom.--There were few government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
However, the government reportedly continued to block access to the Web 
site of the Association for Respect of Human Rights in Djibouti, which 
was often critical of the government.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events, and teachers could 
speak and conduct research without restriction provided they did not 
violate sedition laws.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Although the constitution provides for freedom of assembly, 
the government severely restricted this right. The Interior Ministry 
requires permits for peaceful assemblies and denied such permits to 
opposition groups during the election campaign.
    On February 5, students from the law college of the University of 
Djibouti gathered in response to an abnormally large failure rate on an 
important exam. Over the next four days demonstrations erupted at 
secondary schools and again at the university. While the motives of 
demonstrators were unclear, some observers attributed student actions 
to general disapproval of the government's education policies. Security 
forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators. An unknown number of 
students were arrested and released within 48 hours.
    The government's use of excessive force to quell violence following 
a demonstration on February 18 resulted in the death of one 
demonstrator and numerous injuries (see section 1.a.).
    The government denied an opposition request for weekly Friday 
rallies to be held leading up to the April 8 election. In a March 9 
letter to the opposition, interior minister Yacin Elmi Bouh justified 
the denial by noting that only registered parties were permitted to 
hold outdoor rallies. According to Bouh, since the opposition 
declaration was made on behalf of all five opposition parties--
including the banned Movement for Democratic Renewal (MRD)--the 
opposition declaration of weekly rallies could not be considered 
credible (see section 3). The letter also accused the opposition of 
seeking a ``blank check'' for weekly demonstrations and of seeking to 
promote insurrection. The government maintained an increased security 
presence on Fridays to deter demonstrations until the election.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law allow for freedom 
of association provided legal requirements are met; however, the 
government restricted this right in practice. The government harassed 
and intimidated opposition parties, human rights groups, and labor 
unions (see sections 1.c., 3, 5, and 7.a.).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law generally provides for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government generally cooperated with the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    In-country Movement.--Due to the continuing border dispute with 
Eritrea, certain areas in the north remained under military control.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Numerous families displaced 
in 2008 as a result of a border dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea 
continued to live in the Khor area south of their original homes.
    The government utilized the National Assistance Office for Refugees 
and Disaster Stricken People (ONARS) to screen, assess, and aid refugee 
applicants. The government allowed IDPs access to ONARS and to 
international humanitarian organizations and welcomed assistance from 
outside organizations. The government deported large groups of 
foreigners who were determined to be economic migrants and not IDPs.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status. The government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees under the 
National Eligibility Commission; however, during the year asylum was 
seldom granted except to persons from southern Somalia.
    In 2009 ONARS and the UNHCR completed a census of refugees at Ali 
Addeh refugee camp and distributed identification cards to adult 
refugees. However, organizational difficulties and resource constraints 
prevented both entities from providing adequate service to refugees, 
including the prompt processing of refugee claims. While the government 
grants prima facie status to refugees from southern Somalia, all other 
nationalities, including Eritreans, must register with ONARS. In 2009 
the government ceased, indefinitely, the registration of non-Somalis 
due to a public disturbance that occurred outside the ONARS office. 
This decision resulted in the denial of registration for individuals 
that UNHCR deemed to be in need of protection services access to the 
services of ONARS. The screening unit was moved to the Loyada Center, a 
primary checkpoint on the Djibouti-Somalia border, to accommodate the 
flow of refugees from Somalia.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion. However, the government did not routinely grant 
refugee or asylum status, and delays in the system for granting refugee 
status left persons at risk of expulsion to countries where they might 
be threatened. The government, working with the IOM and the ICRC, 
continued its efforts to properly differentiate refugees from illegal 
immigrants; however, a lack of manpower and other resources limited the 
success of the vetting effort, particularly in light of the large 
number of migrants transiting the country en route to Yemen.

    Refugee Abuse.--Large numbers of illegal migrants were detained in 
occasional government efforts to reduce the number of illegal 
immigrants in the city. These migrants were given the opportunity to 
claim refugee status, but their applications were usually denied.

    Access to Basic Services.--Ali Addeh camp was overcrowded, and 
basic services were inadequate.

    Employment.--Refugees continued to report that although they could 
not obtain work permits, many, especially women, worked. Refugees who 
sought work without permits typically performed low-level tasks in 
construction, house cleaning, or babysitting. Due to the lack of 
permits, they were unable to challenge poor working conditions or 
ensure fair payment for their labor. Refugees at the Ali Addeh camp had 
access to a local primary school but not to a secondary school.

    Temporary Protection.--During the year the government provided 
temporary protection to a limited number of individuals who may not 
qualify as refugees. However, illegal migrants identified as economic 
migrants attempting to transit Djibouti en route to Yemen were 
temporarily jailed and returned to their countries of origin. The 
government worked with IOM to provide adequate health services to these 
migrants while they awaited deportation. There also was a trend toward 
denying refugee status to Ethiopian applicants due to the government's 
position that most were economic migrants.
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, but many citizens were deprived of this right in 
practice by government measures to suppress opposition groups and the 
refusal of several opposition groups to participate in elections they 
considered unfair. The formal structures of representative government 
and electoral processes had little relevance to the real distribution 
and exercise of power.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In April 
2010 parliament amended the constitution to remove term limits, 
facilitating the April 8 reelection of President Ismail Omar Guelleh 
for a third term. The president won with 80 percent of the vote against 
independent candidate Mohamed Warsama Ragueh. Political opposition 
parties, claiming that the Guelleh administration had made it 
impossible to conduct a fair election, initially chose not to nominate 
candidates for the presidential election, effectively boycotting it. 
However, one week prior to election day, the Union of Democratic 
Movements, the most active opposition coalition, asked its supporters 
to vote for Ragueh, the former head of the Constitutional Council. The 
Union for a Democratic Change, the other coalition, did not participate 
in the election. International observers from the African Union, La 
Francophonie, the Arab League, and the Inter-Governmental Authority on 
Development declared the elections to be free, fair, and transparent. 
However, observers criticized pre-election planning and the number of 
security personnel at polling stations.
    The government banned opposition rallies between March 25 and April 
8 and harassed opposition leaders (see section 2.b.).
    For example, on March 11, security forces detained four opposition 
leaders for approximately four hours while they were on their way to a 
planned demonstration. The detained leaders were PND president Aden 
Robleh Awaleh, PDD president Mohamed Daoud Chehem, UDJ president Guedi 
Hared, and MRD president Souleiman Farah Lodon. The four leaders were 
loaded into a truck and driven around the outskirts of Djibouti, after 
which they were returned to the residence of UDJ president Guedi. The 
leaders said they were not mistreated but considered the government's 
action a clear effort to prevent them from organizing the 
demonstration. The demonstration planned for the day did not take 
place.
    In March the government expelled Democracy International (DI) from 
the country after accusing it of being an ``illegal organization'' that 
supported the opposition's ``seditious activities,'' according to Human 
Rights Watch and Freedom House. The international election monitoring 
organization had been working to assist the government in preparations 
for the election and training of both ruling and opposition parties in 
campaign methods. The expulsion followed campaign monitoring activities 
by DI during the February 18 unrest that the government perceived as a 
violation of unbiased participation in the process.

    Political Parties.--The government arrested, harassed, and 
threatened opposition leaders, restricted the operations of opposition 
parties, and denied opposition groups permits to organize protests (see 
sections 1.a., 1.c., and 2.b.). According to Freedom House, opposition 
parties were also ``disadvantaged by electoral rules and the 
government's abuse of the administrative apparatus.''

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The 2008 legislative 
elections brought two more women into the National Assembly, raising to 
nine the number of female parliamentarians in the 65-seat body. There 
was one woman in the 21-member cabinet, and the president of the 
Supreme Court, who by law acts in the president's stead in case of 
death or incapacitation, was a woman.
    The legislature included members of all clans. Membership was 
approximately 41 percent Issa, 43 percent Afar, and 16 percent 
representatives of smaller minority groups. Elected from a single list 
(opposition parties did not contest the legislative elections in 2008 
after the government declined to accept their conditions), the 
legislature's members reflected the governing coalition's intent to 
ensure balance. The cabinet was similarly balanced: there were six 
Afars, including the prime minister and the foreign minister. However, 
some Afars continued to claim they were not as well represented at 
lower governmental levels. There were three representatives from Somali 
clans other than the Issa in the cabinet, and one of Yemeni origin.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not implement such laws effectively, and 
officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. According to the 
World Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators, government 
corruption was a serious problem.
    The Chamber of Public Accounts and Fiscal Discipline (CAFD) and the 
State Inspectorate General (IG) were responsible for combating 
corruption and conducted public expenditure audits in an effort to 
promote transparency. The law mandates the CAFD and IG to report 
regularly, although in practice their reports lagged behind an annual 
schedule. RTD continued to broadcast anticorruption public service 
announcements developed with the IG. The announcements were broadcast 
twice a week in four languages.
    Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
    There were no laws providing for public access to government 
information, although legislative texts were publicly available through 
the online official journal, and citizens could address requests for 
information or mediation to the Ombudsman's Office.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A few domestic human rights groups that dealt with matters 
authorities did not consider politically sensitive generally were 
allowed to operate without government restriction, conducting limited 
investigations and sometimes publishing findings on human rights cases. 
Government officials were occasionally responsive to their views. 
Government officials regularly cooperated with local nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) offering training and education to citizens on 
such human rights issues as women's rights. However, many domestic NGOs 
had leaders who were also key officials of the government.
    On February 9, LDDH president Jean Paul Noel Abdi was arrested 
without warrant along with five opposition journalists and charged with 
conspiracy (see section 2.a.). On February 21, Noel Abdi was released 
on probation, and on March 22, his probation was lifted. Charges 
against Noel Abdi from previous years remained pending, including those 
that resulted in his February 2010 arrest and those pertaining to his 
2009 arrest for distributing materials that ``insulted judicial 
authority.''

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government routinely 
allowed visits from international NGOs, including those dealing with 
human rights issues, and regularly received visitors from U.N. bodies.
    The ICRC maintained a small office staffed with locally hired 
personnel. ICRC regional representatives based in Nairobi visited 
quarterly and were allowed to conduct visits in accordance with 
standard modalities.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government's Human Rights 
Commission included technical experts, representatives of civil society 
and labor, religious groups, the legal community, the Ombudsman's 
Office, and the National Assembly. The commission met regularly and 
occasionally commented on cases of concern. State-run media featured 
prominent coverage of the commission's activities throughout the year. 
The commission succeeded in having human rights subjects added to 
police and gendarmerie training.
    There is a government ombudsman, who also served in the parliament, 
whose responsibilities included mediation between the government and 
citizens. Written records of the ombudsman's activities were sparse, 
and it was unclear what actions he took during the year to promote 
human rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination on the basis of 
race, gender, or language; however, the government did not enforce the 
law effectively. The constitution does not directly address 
discrimination based on disability or social status. The government 
took steps during the year to increase protection of women, including 
campaigns against female genital mutilation (FGM), but societal 
discrimination against women and ethnic minorities persisted.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law includes sentences of 
up to 20 years' imprisonment for rape, but does not address spousal 
rape. The government did not enforce the law effectively. Rape cases, 
which often were not reported to the police, usually were settled 
informally between the families of the victim and the perpetrator. 
Reliable statistics on the prevalence of rape were not available.
    Domestic violence against women was common, but few cases were 
reported. While the law does not specifically prohibit domestic 
violence, it prohibits ``torture and barbaric acts'' against a spouse 
and specifies penalties up to 20 years imprisonment for perpetrators. 
Families and clans, rather than courts, handled cases of violence 
against women. Police rarely intervened in domestic violence incidents, 
and the media reported only the most extreme cases, usually involving 
death of the victim.
    The Union of Djiboutian Women ran a center which provided services 
including counseling to the victims of domestic violence. Of the 362 
women assisted during the year, 26 percent reported physical violence, 
28 percent reported psychological abuse, and more than 50 percent 
sought assistance in obtaining alimony or child support payments. In 
2010 the counseling center opened a new station in the Ali Addeh 
refugee camp.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--(see section 6, Children).

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not prohibit sexual harassment. 
Statistics were not available, but anecdotal information suggested such 
harassment was widespread, although seldom reported.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right of 
citizens to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and 
timing of their children. Clinics under the Ministry of Health operated 
freely in disseminating information on family planning. There were no 
restrictions on the right to access contraceptives, and the government 
estimated in 2009 that approximately 33 percent of women had access to 
contraceptives. The government provided childbirth services, and 
increasing numbers of women delivered babies in a hospital or health 
clinic. A 2009 Ministry of Health report stated 78 percent of the 
population had access to prenatal care, 15 percent to obstetric care, 
and 36 percent to postpartum care. The U.N. Population Fund estimated 
the maternal mortality rate in 2008 at 300 deaths per 100,000 live 
births.

    Discrimination.--The constitution provides for equal treatment of 
citizens without distinction as to sex, but custom and traditional 
societal discrimination, including in education, resulted in a 
secondary role for women in public life and fewer employment 
opportunities in the formal sector. Women did not possess the same 
legal rights as men. In accordance with Sharia law, men inherit a 
larger proportion of estates than women. Many women owned and ran small 
businesses, although mostly in the informal sector, where they did not 
receive the same benefits or access to credit available in the formal 
sector. The government continued to promote female leadership in the 
small business sector, including through expanded access to 
microcredit.
    A 2008 presidential decree requires women to be represented in at 
least 20 percent of all high-level public service positions, and the 
government enforced the law in practice. The Ministry for the Promotion 
of Women, Family, Welfare, and Social Affairs was responsible for 
promoting the rights of women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from a 
child's parents. The government continued to encourage the immediate 
registration of births, and most births in Djibouti City were 
registered quickly. However, births in rural areas were often 
registered late or not at all. The birth registration fee of 2,000 DJF 
($11) deterred some parents from registering births. Lack of birth 
registration did not result in denial of public services, but lack of 
such documentation impeded the ability of adults to vote.

    Education.--Primary education was compulsory. Primary and middle 
school were tuition free, but other expenses could be prohibitive for 
poor families. Although the educational system did not discriminate 
against girls, societal attitudes resulted in lower school enrollment 
rates for girls than boys.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse existed but was not frequently reported 
or prosecuted.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--According to previous estimates, 93 
percent of the female population in the country had undergone FGM. 
However, a 2010 report by the Ministry of Health and the U.N. 
Population Fund showed that 51 percent of eight-year-old girls, 54 
percent of seven-year-old girls, and 60 percent of six-year-old girls 
had not undergone the procedure, a marked decrease. Infibulation, the 
most extreme form of FGM, continued to be widely practiced, especially 
in rural areas. The law makes FGM punishable by five years' 
imprisonment and a fine of one million DJF ($5,550), and NGOs are 
allowed to file charges on behalf of victims; however, the government 
has not convicted anyone under this statute. The law provides for up to 
one year's imprisonment and a fine of up to 100,000 DJF ($565) for 
anyone convicted of failing to report a completed or planned FGM to the 
proper authorities.
    During the year the government continued efforts to end FGM with an 
ongoing high-profile national publicity campaign, ongoing public 
support from the first lady and other prominent women, and outreach to 
Muslim religious leaders. The media featured frequent and prominent 
coverage of events organized to educate the public on the negative 
consequences of FGM. Efforts of the Union of Djiboutian Women and other 
groups to educate women were reportedly effective in lessening the 
incidence of FGM in the capital, according to government ministries and 
NGOs.

    Child Marriage.--Child marriage occasionally occurred in rural 
areas, where it was considered a traditional practice rather than a 
problem. The Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Family, Welfare, and 
Social Affairs worked with women's groups throughout the country to 
protect the rights of girls, including the right to decide when and 
whom to marry.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides for three years' 
imprisonment and a fine of one million DJF ($5,650) for the commercial 
exploitation of children. The law does not specifically prohibit 
statutory rape, and there is no legal minimum age of consent. The sale, 
manufacture, or distribution of all pornography, including child 
pornography, is covered under laws prohibiting attacks on ``good 
morals,'' and violations are punishable with a year in prison and a 
fine of up to DJF 200,000 ($1,130).
    Despite government efforts to keep at-risk children off the streets 
and warn businesses against permitting children to enter bars and 
clubs, there were credible reports of child prostitution on the streets 
and in brothels. Children were subject to commercial sexual 
exploitation after reaching Djibouti City or the Ethiopia-Djibouti 
trucking corridor. Occasionally child prostitution occurred with the 
involvement of a third party, most frequently an older child or group 
of older children. Of 2,430 prostituted persons apprehended by the 
police in 2009, 408 were between the ages of 10 and 17.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no established Jewish community, and 
there were no reports of anti Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution does not prohibit 
discrimination against persons with disabilities, although the labor 
code prohibits discrimination in employment against such persons. 
Persons with disabilities had access to education and public health 
services. The government did not mandate accessibility to buildings or 
government services for persons with disabilities, and such buildings 
were often inaccessible. There was societal discrimination against 
persons with disabilities. No government agency was charged 
specifically with protecting the rights of such persons. NGOs continued 
to organize seminars and other events that drew attention to the need 
for enhanced legal protections and better workplace conditions for 
persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The governing coalition 
included all of the country's major clan and ethnic groups, with 
minority groups also represented in senior positions. Nonetheless, 
there continued to be discrimination on the basis of ethnicity in 
employment and job advancement. Somali Issas, the majority ethnic 
group, controlled the ruling party and dominated the civil service and 
security services, and the minority Afar peoples were marginalized. 
Discrimination based on ethnicity and clan affiliation remained a 
factor in business and politics.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes 
consensual same-sex sexual conduct; however, the government took no 
actions against persons under the law, and there were no reported 
incidents of societal violence or discrimination based on gender 
identity or sexual orientation. Societal norms did not allow for the 
public discussion of homosexuality, and persons generally did not 
openly acknowledge being gay. There were no known organizations for 
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no known 
societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law provide for the right to form and join unions, 
with prior authorization. The government restricted the right to form 
and join unions. The law provides the right to strike after providing 
advance notification. The president has broad legal powers to 
requisition public servants whom he determines to be indispensable to 
the operation of essential public services. The labor code allows 
collective bargaining and fixes the basic conditions for adherence to 
collective agreements. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and 
requires employers found guilty of discrimination to reinstate workers 
fired for union activities.
    Most residents in rural areas worked as subsistence farmers, and 
there were no agricultural unions. The two civil, nongovernmental labor 
unions each had a government-appointed counterpart, which union leaders 
referred to as ``shadow unions.'' Union leaders alleged that the 
government suppressed independent representative unions by tacitly 
discouraging labor meetings and encouraging government-sponsored shadow 
unions. The government did not recognize the civil, nongovernmental 
labor unions, and only members of the government-approved labor unions 
attended international and regional labor meetings with the imprimatur 
of the government. The Labor Union of Djibouti (UDT) continued to 
operate as a civil-organized union without government recognition. All 
workers, citizens, and noncitizens with work permits were included in 
legal protections.
    In 2010 the International Labor Organization (ILO) expressed its 
concern over several points of divergence between ILO Convention 87 and 
the country's labor laws, which (a) provide for a more or less 
automatic suspension of the employment contract when a worker holds 
trade union office; (b) in an overly broadly formulated form, prohibit 
access to any trade union because of any conviction (whether or not the 
conviction is prejudicial to the integrity required to exercise union 
office); (c) prescribe a lengthy and complicated trade union 
registration procedure; (d) require organizations to obtain 
authorization prior to their establishments as trade unions; and (e) 
confer upon the president broad powers to requisition public servants 
considered indispensable to the life of the nation and the proper 
operation of essential public services. The ILO also recommended that, 
where the representativeness of a workers' organization have not yet 
been established, no representation from the trade unions should be 
barred from the tripartite work of the National Council on Work, 
Employment, and Professional Training.
    A 2010 ILO report noted substantial differences between the 
country's labor laws and the relevant ILO convention, including 
employment restrictions on those holding union office, a lengthy and 
complicated union registration procedure, and excessive presidential 
authority to requisition public workers.
    The government neither enforced nor complied with the law on 
antiunion discrimination.
    Workers exercised the right to strike in practice and occasionally 
disregarded the requirement for advance notification of strikes. 
However, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) alleged 
that authorities have brutally repressed strikes. According to the 
ITUC, union leaders and members were subjected to constant harassment 
by authorities. The government accused trade union activists of being 
enemies of the nation, and activists were subjected to arrest, 
imprisonment, transfer, and dismissal.
    According to a 2011 ILO report covering the previous year, security 
forces on two occasions in March 2010 arrested numerous UDT members who 
were peacefully protesting wage arrearages owed to railway workers and 
released them the same day without charges.
    During the year collective bargaining sometimes occurred, and 
agreements were usually reached in short periods of time. The National 
Council on Work, Employment, and Professional Training, established in 
2008, was charged with examining all collective bargaining agreements 
and playing an advisory role in their negotiation and application. The 
council included representatives from labor, employers, and the 
government.
    In disputes over wages or health and safety problems, the Ministry 
of Labor encouraged direct resolution by labor representatives chosen 
by the government and employers. Workers or employers could request 
formal administrative hearings before the Labor Inspectorate. However, 
in practice the inspectorate did not have sufficient resources to 
conduct regular preventive inspections or to follow up on the 
enforcement of previous cases. There were no reports of instances of 
employers refusing to bargain with unions chosen by workers or measures 
taken by employers to avoid hiring workers with bargaining rights.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. A small number of women and 
children transiting the country from Somalia or Ethiopia as well as 
local girls became victims of domestic servitude in Djibouti City and 
the Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor.
    For further information see the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits all labor by, and employment of, children under age 16.
    Government enforcement of child labor legislation was ineffective. 
The Ministry of Labor is responsible for monitoring workplaces and 
preventing child labor but conducted no inspections during the year. A 
shortage of labor inspectors and other resources such as vehicles 
reduced the likelihood that reports of child labor would be 
investigated. There was no government program to enforce the work of 
inspectors.
    Child labor existed throughout the country, including the worst 
forms of child labor. Children engaged in the sale of the mild narcotic 
khat, legal under local law. Family-owned businesses such as 
restaurants and small shops employed children at all hours. Children 
were involved in a range of activities such as shining shoes, washing 
and guarding cars, selling items, working as domestic servants, working 
in subsistence farming and with livestock, and other activities in the 
informal sector. Children of both sexes worked as domestic servants.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The 2006 labor code canceled 
minimum wage rates for occupational categories and provides that wages 
be set after common agreement between employers and employees. The 
legal workweek is 48 hours, normally spread over six days. This limit 
applies to workers regardless of gender or nationality. The law 
mandates a weekly rest period of 24 consecutive hours and the provision 
of overtime pay, and limits compulsory overtime to a maximum of five 
hours per week. The law provided for paid holidays. The government sets 
occupational safety and health standards. There were no laws or 
regulations permitting workers to refuse to carry out dangerous work 
assignments without jeopardizing their continued employment. Although 
more flexible hiring regulations applied in the Djibouti Free Zone, a 
commercial export processing zone near the Djibouti City port, other 
labor code provisions applied to all workers, including foreign workers 
and workers in the Free Zone.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing occupational 
health and safety standards, wages, and work hours. Data on inspectors 
was unavailable. Enforcement was ineffective. There was almost no 
enforcement of labor inspectors due to drastically low resource 
availability. Workers across all industries or sectors sometimes faced 
hazardous working conditions. Workers rarely protested due to fear that 
others willing to accept the risks would replace them. Credible data on 
workplace fatalities and accidents were not available.

                               __________

                           EQUITORIAL GUINEA

                           executive summary
    Equatorial Guinea is nominally a multiparty constitutional 
republic. Since a military coup in 1979, President Obiang Nguema 
Mbasogo dominated all branches of government in collaboration with his 
clan and his political party, the Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea 
(PDGE). In 2009 voters reelected President Obiang with a claimed 95.37 
percent of votes cast. The lopsided results and weak independent 
monitoring of the electoral process raised suspicions of systematic 
vote fraud. Foreign diplomatic observers noted numerous irregularities 
and the presence of military personnel at all voting stations. There 
were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control.
    Major human rights abuses reported during the year included a 
disregard for the rule of law and due process, denial of basic 
political rights including freedom of speech and press, and widespread 
official corruption.
    Other human rights abuses included: inability of citizens to change 
their government; arbitrary arrest, detention, and incommunicado 
detention; poor conditions in prisons and detention facilities; 
harassment and deportation of foreign residents with limited due 
process; constraints on judicial independence; official corruption at 
all levels of government; restrictions on the right to privacy; 
restrictions on freedoms of assembly, association, and movement; 
violence and discrimination against women; trafficking in persons; 
discrimination against ethnic minorities; and restrictions on labor 
rights.
    The government did not take steps to prosecute or punish officials 
who committed human rights abuses and itself committed such acts with 
impunity. It did not maintain effective internal or external mechanisms 
to investigate security force abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Unlike in the 
previous year, there were no reports that the government or its agents 
committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
    There were no further developments, and none were expected, in the 
August 2010 summary executions of four former military officers.
    There were no further developments, and none were expected, in the 
December 2009 killing of a Malian immigrant, Bakary Konate, by 
uniformed men at a checkpoint in Bata after he failed to pay a bribe.

    b. Disappearance.--Unlike in the previous year, there were no 
reports that the government or its agents carried out politically 
motivated abductions or kidnappings.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--While the law prohibits such practices, security officials 
abused persons during the year. Police officers and military personnel 
occasionally used excessive force to gather information about an 
individual's suspected crimes. Opposition leaders and international 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to criticize the 
``government for its systematic use of torture,'' but there were no 
reliable reports that torture occurred.
    No action was taken during the year against security officials at 
Black Beach Prison who reportedly tortured four former military 
officers until they confessed to the 2009 attack on the presidential 
palace.
    Foreigners, primarily irregular immigrants from other African 
countries, were harassed, intimidated, and arbitrarily arrested and 
detained. Foreign diplomats, primarily those from African countries, 
also complained that police harassed and abused them and their family 
members, even after the victims displayed their diplomatic documents.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in police 
station jails and other detention centers were harsh and sometimes life 
threatening. The government recently renovated three prisons in Bata, 
Evinayong, and Malabo, and while conditions improved, they remained 
inadequate. It was unknown if any prisoners or detainees died in prison 
or pretrial detention centers. Holding cells were overcrowded and 
dirty, and prisoners and detainees rarely had access to medical care, 
exercise, or mattresses. Provisions for sanitation, ventilation, 
lighting, and access to potable water were inadequate. Diseases, 
including malaria and HIV/AIDS, were serious problems. The government 
provided medical care to some prisoners and detainees, but this access 
was not routine. The government began providing basic meals in the 
three main prisons and some holding centers, but it was generally 
insufficient and of poor quality. Food often had to be provided by 
families of prisoners or detainees or by fellow prisoners and 
detainees, and authorities restricted access to potable water. Some 
prisoners and detainees did not have access to toilets.
    Detained undocumented immigrants pending deportation were held in 
police cells for lengthy periods. Foreign embassies reported that the 
government did not contact them when nationals were arrested and that 
at times legal immigrants were arrested with undocumented immigrants. 
For example, police rounded up several dozen Africans in Malabo in late 
May, accused them of having falsified papers, detained them at the 
Central Police Headquarters in Malabo, and released them a few days 
later after intervention by diplomats.
    Although there were no reliable statistics on the total number or 
breakdown of prisoners in detention, the government-run news media 
reported that 269 prisoners were in the country's largest prison, Black 
Beach. Opposition sources claimed that approximately 15 of the 269 were 
women. No breakdown was available for juveniles or for the remaining 
two prisons, 12 detention centers, and other holding cells.
    Female prisoners generally were separated from male prisoners, but 
juveniles were not separated from adults. Juveniles generally were 
imprisoned for only the most serious crimes; otherwise, they were given 
``provisional liberty'' in some cases and monitored. Pretrial detainees 
were held together with convicted prisoners. Opposition sources 
reported that one child under the age of two was held while his mother 
was imprisoned.
    In most cases prisoners had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observances. The government appointed a local judge 
to serve as ombudsman to hear complaints about sentencing, but in 
general authorities did not permit prisoners and detainees to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities or to request investigation.
    On March 29-30, Attorney General Carlos Mangue Elunku met with 90 
percent of inmates in Black Beach Prison to determine their dates of 
imprisonment, legal situation, sentencing dates, and state of health.
    Neither the judicial system nor police had a fully effective system 
to register cases or track prisoners. Prisons provided the Ministry of 
Justice with a monthly printout of prison inmate numbers, including 
releases, with full names, sentences completed, and release dates. 
However, the lists were not always reliable.
    On January 25, the government signed a headquarters agreement with 
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) giving the 
international organization a permanent presence in the country. In 
October the regional ICRC representative met with the president, the 
local Red Cross, and other officials to discuss the logistics and 
staffing of the new headquarters. By year's end the ICRC had not 
requested to visit the local prisons.
    In March the attorney general appointed a local judge as ombudsman 
for inmate complaints about sentencing. The government did not consider 
matters such as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, security forces arrested or detained 
persons arbitrarily and without due legal process. Both police and 
gendarmes frequently ordered arrests and detentions without legal 
authorization.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police generally 
are responsible for security in the cities, while gendarmes are 
responsible for security outside the cities and for special events; 
both report to the minister of national security. Military personnel, 
who report to the minister of defense, also fulfilled police functions 
in border areas, sensitive sites, and high-traffic areas. In addition 
there were police elements within the ministries of interior (border 
and traffic police), finance (customs police), and justice 
(investigative/prosecuting police). Presidential security officials 
also exercised police functions in the vicinity of the president and 
presidential facilities. Foreign contractors continued to work with the 
government to consolidate and organize security structures within the 
country.
    Corruption and impunity continued to be problems. Security forces 
extorted money from citizens and immigrants at police checkpoints. 
There was no internal investigation unit within the police, and 
mechanisms to investigate allegations of abuse were poorly developed. 
However, the Ministry of National Security reported that it was 
required to appear before the legislature to provide responses about 
abuses committed by individual police officers and that police officers 
were dismissed as a result.
    The Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Defense did 
not maintain effective control over security forces, and security 
forces sometimes committed abuses with impunity. The government did not 
maintain effective internal or external mechanisms to investigate 
security force abuses.
    The government continued to invest in the professionalization of 
its security forces. In January six military officers attended an 
international humanitarian law training session funded by the ICRC in 
Congo-Brazzaville. In August the first naval cadets of the new regional 
naval academy graduated; the academy is the first international naval 
academy on African soil and seeks to become a regional center of 
excellence. Cadets from Equatorial Guinea and 10 other African 
countries were being trained to perform various technical positions, 
which will professionalize the military and support efforts to combat 
human trafficking.
    A foreign contractor continued to train police officers and their 
leaders on human rights, prevention of trafficking in persons, rule of 
law, appropriate use of force, and code of ethics. Evidence and 
feedback from expatriates, citizens, and community leaders indicated 
improvements in performance in human rights and professional conduct, 
particularly among younger officers who received the training.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Although the 
constitution requires arrest warrants, except in cases in which a 
suspect is caught committing a crime, the government frequently 
arrested persons without a warrant. A detainee has the right to a 
judicial determination of the legality of the detention within 72 hours 
of arrest, excluding weekends and holidays, but detentions were often 
longer, occasionally several months.
    Although the law provides for detainees to be informed promptly of 
the charges against them, authorities did not respect this right in 
practice. Some foreign detainees complained they were detained and 
subsequently deported without knowledge of the charges against them. 
While a bail system and public defenders were supplied by the bar 
association, which received funding from the government, and were 
available upon request, the public largely was unaware of either, and 
neither system operated effectively. Detainees, particularly political 
detainees, occasionally were denied access to lawyers.
    The law provides for family visits and prohibits incommunicado 
detention. In practice prisoners and detainees were sometimes allowed 
family visitors at the discretion of the local police chief.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Lawyers did not have access to police stations 
and could not contact detainees while they were held there; police 
superintendents when interviewed stated they did not see the need for 
or advisability of such access. Police raids on immigrant communities, 
local stores, and restaurants increased in the period preceding the 
African Union Summit in June. Reliable sources reported that many legal 
as well as irregular immigrants were abused, extorted, or detained 
during such raids. Police occasionally used excessive force to detain 
and deport detainees, and almost all foreign embassies in the country 
criticized the government during the year for its harassment, abuse, 
extortion, and detention without representation of foreign nationals. 
Many detainees complained about the bribes required for release from 
detention.
    There were several reports of international businessmen being 
arbitrarily detained in conjunction with business disputes.
    Several members of the largest opposition political party, the 
Convergence Party for Social Democracy (CPDS), were arrested, briefly 
detained, and released. They included Juan Manuel Nguema Esono, the 
national secretary of youth of the CPDS, and another party member, 
Vicente Nze, on April 25 and Marcial Abaga Barril, campaign manager, on 
November 2.
    The government arbitrarily detained a foreign camera crew briefly 
during the year (see section 2.a.).

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem, 
and many of those incarcerated were pretrial detainees; the exact 
number was unavailable. Although prison authorities provided monthly 
lists of prisoners and detainees to the Ministry of Justice, such lists 
were not reliable. Inefficient judicial procedures, corruption, lack of 
monitoring, and inadequate staffing contributed to the problem.

    Amnesty.--On June 4, the government pardoned 22 prisoners serving 
long jail terms and convicted of plotting against the regime. Those 
released included five members of the banned Partido Popular de Guinea 
Ecuatorial who were convicted of involvement in the 2004 plot to 
overthrow the government. Two were former army officers who had turned 
against the regime. The remaining freed prisoners were former soldiers, 
convicted in 2004 by a summary military tribunal and sentenced to10 to 
20 years in prison for conspiring with former army colonel Cipriano 
Nguema Mba to overthrow the government. Also pardoned were Florencio 
Ela Bibang and Antimo Edu Nchama, who were specifically named by the 
2008 U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, the government did not respect 
this provision in practice, and the judiciary was not independent, 
according to U.N. officials and local and international human rights 
advocates. Judges served at the pleasure of the president and were 
appointed, transferred, and dismissed for political as well as 
competency reasons. Judicial corruption was widely reported, and cases 
were sometimes decided on political grounds.
    The military justice system, based entirely on the 1945 system in 
Franco's Spain, did not provide defendants with the same rights as the 
civil criminal court system. The code of military justice states that 
persons who disobey a military authority, or are alleged to have 
committed an offense considered to be a ``crime against the state,'' 
should be judged by a military tribunal, with limited due process and 
procedural safeguards, regardless of whether the defendant is civilian 
or military. A defendant may be tried without being present, and the 
defense does not have a guaranteed right to cross-examine an accuser. 
Such proceedings are not public, and the defendants do not have a right 
of appeal to a higher court. According to the U.N. Working Group on 
Arbitrary Detention, ``judges and defenders in military courts were not 
lawyers or jurists, but military officials with no legal training.''
    Tribal elders adjudicated civil claims and minor criminal matters 
in traditional courts in the countryside. These adjudications were 
conducted according to tradition and did not afford the same rights and 
privileges as the formal system. Those dissatisfied with traditional 
judgments could appeal to the civil court system.

    Trial Procedures.--Although by law a defendant enjoys the 
presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the government suspended 
due process and the presumption of innocence for several detainees 
during the year. Most trials for ordinary crimes were public, but 
juries were seldom used. Defendants have the right to be present at 
their trials but rarely were able to consult promptly with attorneys 
unless they could afford private counsel. An accused person who cannot 
afford a lawyer is entitled to ask the government to provide one, but 
only if the accused is summoned to appear in court, and defendants were 
not routinely advised of this right. The country's bar association was 
available to defend indigent defendants, but there remained a shortage 
of lawyers, and there continued to be no effective system of court-
appointed representation. The law provides for defendants to confront 
and question witnesses and present their own witnesses and evidence. 
This right was seldom enforced in practice. Defendants do not have the 
ability to access government-held evidence. By law the accused has the 
right to appeal, but legal appeals were not common due to lack of 
adequate legal representation and ignorance of constitutional rights. 
The law extends these rights to all citizens.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--In June the government pardoned 
and released the remaining 22 political prisoners.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil matters can be 
settled out of court, and in some cases tribal elders adjudicated local 
disputes. Courts increasingly were engaged in ruling on civil cases 
brought before them, some of which involved human rights complaints.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, but 
the government often did not respect these prohibitions in practice. 
Security forces entered homes without authorization and arrested 
criminals, foreign nationals, and others--often without required 
judicial orders (which are not required for certain officials to enter 
and search homes)--and confiscated their property with impunity.
    Government informers reportedly monitored opposition members, NGOs, 
and journalists. The government blocked employment of known members of 
opposition parties.
    Individuals may hold property title to land, but the state has full 
power of eminent domain, which it has exercised in the interests of 
development. In past years scores of families were forcibly evicted 
from their homes to make room for roads and housing developments, 
especially in Malabo and Bata. The local Red Cross, Catholic Church, 
human rights lawyers, and opposition members expressed concerns about 
the displacement of poor communities in the prior year. No reports of 
displacement were received during the year.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of speech 
and press, the law grants extensive powers to authorities to restrict 
the activities of the media, and the government continued to limit 
these rights in practice. The country's media remained weak and under 
government influence or control. Journalists were subject to 
surveillance and practiced self-censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--While criticism of government policies was 
allowed, individuals generally could not criticize the president, his 
family, other high-ranking officials, or the security forces without 
fear of reprisal. The government reportedly attempted to impede 
criticism by continuing to monitor the activities of the political 
opposition, journalists, and others.

    Freedom of Press.--Print media outlets were extremely limited. In 
December 2010 the Ministry of Information approved El Lector, an 
independent newspaper that appeared at infrequent intervals throughout 
the year. Starting a new periodical required a complicated process 
governed by an ambiguous law and was often inhibited by government 
bureaucracy. In addition, with the exception of journalists covering 
the African Union Summit in June, accreditation was cumbersome for both 
local and foreign journalists, who had to register with the Ministry of 
Information. International newspapers or news magazines were generally 
not available in rural areas but were sold in grocery stores and hotels 
in Malabo and Bata.
    Only one international news agency had a regular stringer present 
in the country, and government agents reportedly followed and observed 
stringers for foreign media, who generally were not able to operate 
freely in the country. The government owned the only national radio and 
television broadcast system, RTVGE. The president's eldest son owned 
the only private broadcast media. Satellite broadcasts were widely 
available, including the French language Africa24 television channel 
that occasionally carried opposition criticism.
    Foreign channels were not censored, were broadcast throughout the 
country, and included Radio France International, the BBC, and Radio 
Exterior, the international shortwave service from Spain.

    Violence and Harassment.--On June 18, security officials briefly 
detained a German television crew covering women's soccer and required 
the crew to delete previously recorded footage on social conditions.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The law allows the government 
considerable authority to restrict press activities through official 
prepublication censorship. The law also establishes criminal, civil, 
and administrative penalties for violation of its provisions, in 
particular when it comes to violations of the 19 ``publishing 
principles'' in article 2 of the Law on the Press, Publishing, and 
Audiovisual Media. International news reported that Juan Pedro Medene, 
a French language social program host, was terminated from his position 
on local television for mentioning Libya on a cultural show; however, 
the events of North Africa were widely discussed on radio, television, 
and in the newly approved independent newspaper, El Lector.

    Libel Laws.--Libel is a criminal offense, but there were no 
instances of the government using such laws to suppress criticism 
during the year.

    Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--The government approved the 
establishment of an independent newspaper that was published 
infrequently throughout the year.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Most overt 
criticism of the government came from the country's community in exile, 
and the Internet replaced broadcast media as the primary way opposition 
views were expressed and disseminated. Exiled citizens' sites were not 
blocked, and some Internet-based criticism of the government and its 
leaders was openly sourced without negative repercussions to 
individuals living inside the country.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events, although in past 
years some professionals lost their teaching positions because of their 
political affiliation or critical statements reported to government 
officials by students in their classes. Most professors reportedly 
practiced self-censorship to avoid problems. Cultural events required 
coordination with the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism.
    On March 8, the government canceled all International Women's Day 
celebrations in the mainland city of Bata because of rumors of planned 
demonstrations by opposition groups.
    Members of opposition political parties, faculty members, and 
students complained of government interference in the hiring of 
teachers, continued employment of unqualified teachers, and pressure to 
give passing grades to failing students with connections. Teachers with 
political connections but no experience or accreditation were hired, 
even though they seldom appeared at the classes they purportedly 
taught. No teacher's union existed to defend the rights of teachers, 
and teaching positions were available only to PDGE members.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for the right of assembly; 
however, the government restricted this right, largely through limits 
on freedom of association, which made it difficult for organizations 
that had not gained legal authorization to operate and hold meetings 
legally. Although the government formally abolished permit requirements 
for political party meetings within party buildings, it denied requests 
by opposition parties to hold meetings outside of their meeting spaces.
    On August 1, the government denied a request by the legally 
recognized Popular Union party to hold meetings in public buildings 
because ``it was not during an election campaign.'' The government 
required notification for public events such as meetings or marches. 
According to foreign donors and members of local civil society groups, 
in light of coup attempts in recent years, the government continued to 
view some informal meetings by associations as security threats.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, but the government significantly restricted 
this right in practice. All political parties, labor unions, and other 
associations must register with the government. As of year's end, only 
one labor organization had been registered (see section 7). The law 
prohibits the formation of political parties along ethnic lines, and 
several political parties remained banned. The registration process for 
NGOs was costly, burdensome, opaque, and sometimes took years to 
complete. However, there were no government restrictions that targeted 
specific groups.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--Although the law provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, the government occasionally restricted these rights in 
practice.
    During the year there were no cases in which the government 
cooperated with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which had no 
local office, or other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees 
and asylum seekers.

    In-country Movement.--Police at roadblocks routinely checked 
passing travelers and occasionally engaged in petty extortion. Frequent 
roundups of undocumented immigrants also occurred at roadblocks. The 
government claimed roadblocks impeded illegal immigration, mercenary 
activities, and attempted coups. The number of roadblocks increased in 
the period preceding the June African Union Summit.

    Exile.--While the law prohibits forced internal or external exile, 
members of banned opposition parties stated that the government would 
prevent them from leaving the county if they attempted to do so. 
Several members of banned political parties remained in self-imposed 
exile.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Unlike in the previous year, 
there were no reports that the government forcibly evicted families 
from their homes to make room for roads and luxury housing 
developments.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--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.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some 
protection against the expulsion or return of persons to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion. Reliable statistics were not available on the 
number of such refugees.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary 
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees. Reliable 
statistics were not available.
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, although this right was extremely limited, 
partly as a result of the dominance of the ruling PDGE party.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009 
President Obiang was reelected, winning a claimed 95.37 percent of 
votes cast; opposition candidate Placido Mico of the CPDS won 3.55 
percent of the vote. The lopsided results and weak independent 
monitoring of the electoral process raised the suspicion of systematic 
voting fraud. The government's insistence on coordinating the movement 
of election observers, prohibition on criticism of the elections, and 
control of media access to cover the elections limited the 
participation of international election observers at the 1,289 polling 
stations. Procedural irregularities at some polling stations included 
multiple voting, failure to respect secrecy of the vote, and the 
absence of a posted list of registered candidates. At some stations 
family voting was allowed, unregistered voters were allowed to vote, 
and ballot boxes were unsealed. Soldiers were deployed to all polling 
stations.
    In October 2009 President Obiang announced the election would be on 
November 29, with campaigning to begin officially on November 5. 
According to Human Rights Watch, the tight election timetable and the 
government's refusal to make the voter rolls public severely limited 
the opposition's ability to campaign and win support. The voter 
registration process was seriously flawed. The registration committee 
was composed primarily of PDGE members and routinely decided issues in 
favor of the PDGE. When registering a PDGE member, the committee 
registered all members of the family as PDGE voters, including 
children. Persons who were dead or underage were included as PDGE 
registrants.
    No independent and impartial body existed to oversee the electoral 
process or consider election-related complaints. The National Electoral 
Commission, which was separate from the voter registration committee 
and charged with ensuring the fairness of the elections and handling 
formal post-election complaints, was controlled by the ruling party and 
headed by the interior minister, a prominent member of the party. While 
its membership included a representative of each political party that 
fielded candidates, it also included representatives from the 
government and lacked civil society representation. In addition, a 
majority of its members were ruling party officials. The opposition 
CPDS party claimed that one of its electoral officials was forced with 
a pistol held to his head to approve a vote count.
    Opposition party members and candidates operated at a significant 
disadvantage when attempting to gain voter support. On the whole, 
opposition parties and their candidates were poorly organized, 
inadequately financed, and unsupported by the public. Several peaceful 
political parties banned in recent years were not allowed to 
participate in the elections. The government denied the opposition 
equal access to the media. Opposition members and leaders also claimed 
the government monitored their activities.
    Unlike in previous elections, no opposition members were 
arbitrarily arrested, detained, or tortured, but opposition candidates 
were harassed and intimidated during the presidential campaign.

    Political Parties.--The ruling PDGE party ruled through a complex 
arrangement built around family, clan, and ethnic loyalties. Indirect 
pressure for public employees to join the PDGE continued. Opposition 
party members continued to report they had been discriminated against 
in hiring, job retention, scholarships, and obtaining business 
licenses. Opposition members contended government pressure precluded 
them from obtaining jobs with foreign companies. Opposition party 
members claimed businesses found to have hired employees with direct 
links to families, individuals, parties, or groups out of favor with 
the government often were forced to dismiss those employees or face 
reprisals.
    On January 27, the government appointed four deputy prime ministers 
from opposition parties. At least two serving ministers were also from 
the opposition.
    The legal opposition parties faced restrictions on freedoms of 
speech, association, and assembly (see sections 2.a. and 2.b.). Some 
political parties that existed before the 1992 law establishing 
procedures to legalize political parties remained banned, generally for 
``supporting terrorism.''
    The president exercised strong powers as head of state, commander 
of the armed forces, head of the judiciary, and founder and head of the 
ruling party. In general, leadership positions within government were 
restricted to the president's party or the coalition of ``loyal 
opposition'' parties. On November 13, the government held a popular 
vote on a constitutional referendum to limit the president to two 
seven-year terms and create a vice president, a second chamber of the 
legislature, an anticorruption body, and a ``Defender of the People'' 
to serve as a human rights ombudsman. The referendum passed with 97.7 
percent support. The margin of the positive vote and the lack of any 
credible oversight of the voting process raised doubts about the 
legitimacy of the referendum. International NGOs and local opposition 
parties claimed that the process was marred by reports of voting fraud, 
harassment of opposition supporters, and intimidation of voters. There 
were scattered confrontations between regime authorities and opposition 
activists in the continental city of Bata.
    Because the ruling party overwhelmingly dominated the commissions 
established to review electoral practices and recommend reforms, few 
changes were made.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The government did not 
overtly limit participation of minorities in politics; however, the 
predominant Fang ethnic group, estimated to constitute more than 85 
percent of the population, continued to exercise strong political and 
economic power. Women constituted more than 10 percent of the 100-
member parliament, including its vice president. There were two women 
in the 22 member cabinet, and four of the 24 vice ministers were women.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    While laws provide severe criminal penalties for official 
corruption, the government did not implement these laws effectively, 
and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity, 
making corruption a severe problem. The presidency and prime minister's 
office were the lead agencies for anticorruption efforts. At the same 
time, the president and members of his inner circle continued to amass 
personal fortunes from the revenues associated with oil exports.
    In February the president removed several high-level government 
officials from their offices due to corruption.
    On September 28, French judges in Paris seized 11 luxury vehicles 
owned by the president's son and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry 
Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue due to a continuing investigation into 
suspected concealment and laundering of embezzled public funds abroad. 
The investigation began in 2010 as a result of a complaint filed by 
Transparency International France in 2008.
    In October a foreign government filed two civil forfeiture 
complaints against Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue to recover $70.8 
million in real and personal property alleged to be proceeds of foreign 
corruption offenses.
    Officials by law must declare their assets, although no 
declarations were made public. There was no requirement for officials 
to divest themselves of business interests in potential conflict with 
official responsibilities and no law prohibiting conflict of interest. 
Most ministers continued to moonlight and conduct businesses they 
conflated with their government responsibilities.
    In May the government announced its intention to renew its 
candidacy in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), 
a multinational civil society initiative to encourage transparency and 
accountability in extractive industries. The country had been delisted 
as a candidate country in April 2010 because of lack of consensus among 
EITI board members on whether there were extenuating circumstances that 
would allow the country an extension to complete all EITI requirements.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information, and citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media, 
generally were unable to access government information. A lack of 
organized record keeping, archiving, and public libraries also limited 
access to government information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The law restricts NGO activity, and the few existing domestic human 
rights NGOs focused on development issues involving social and economic 
rights, such as health and elder care. Although the law includes human 
rights among the areas in which NGOs may operate, no NGO reported 
publicly on the abuse of civil or political rights by the government or 
on official corruption. Thus, there were no local groups dedicated to 
human rights; rather, there were groups that ostensibly worked on human 
rights as part of their overall brief. The government was suspicious of 
human rights activity, claiming that much of it was prompted by 
antiregime exile groups and critical foreign NGOs.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated to 
varying degrees with international organizations such as the ICRC and 
U.N. In January the government signed a headquarters agreement with the 
ICRC and began preparations to open a headquarters (see section 1.c.).

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The parliamentary committee for 
complaints and petitions provided a forum for the public to register 
concerns and was active during the year. The committee accepted 
complaints and petitions whenever the parliament was in session. This 
committee is to be upgraded into an independent ``Defender of the 
People'' office, which was approved as part of the November 13 
constitutional reform package. The sole opposition member in parliament 
vociferously and publicly denounced abuses.
    The primary official in charge of human rights, the third vice 
prime minister for human rights, functioned more to defend the 
government from accusations than to investigate human rights complaints 
or keep statistics on such issues.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, or religion, language, or social status, but the government did 
not enforce these provisions effectively. Nonetheless, numerous public 
outreach efforts were undertaken to improve public awareness of the 
issues associated with violence and discrimination against women and 
children, discrimination against ethnic minorities, and discrimination 
against those with HIV/AIDS.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal, and penalties 
date to the Spanish colonial-era penal code in existence as of 1968. 
Spousal rape is not specified in the law. Penalties for rape include 12 
to 20 years in prison. An additional fine may be levied, but the law 
does not specify the amount. The government did not enforce the law 
effectively. Reporting rape was considered shameful to the families 
involved. Several cases were prosecuted in court during the year, but 
the exact number was not known.
    Domestic violence was a widespread problem. Violence against women, 
including spousal abuse, is illegal, but the government did not enforce 
the law effectively. Depending on severity and circumstances, the 
penalty for assault can range from one to 20 years' imprisonment. 
Police and the judiciary were reluctant to prosecute domestic violence 
cases. In conjunction with international organizations, the government 
conducted public awareness campaigns on women's rights and domestic 
violence. In accordance with a 2009 law, family courts were created to 
deal with cases of violence against women; however, domestic violence 
cases continued to be handled by district courts. On occasion, police 
organized workshops on family violence, and public marches against 
violence against women were authorized.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--FGM is not criminalized, but it 
was not traditionally practiced in the country. No data existed to 
determine the possible practice, if any, of FGM among immigrant groups.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal; its extent was 
unknown. There were no known cases brought before the courts.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government did not interfere with the 
basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly 
the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to have the 
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and 
violence. According to the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), less than 10 
percent of the population used contraceptives. Statistics on maternal 
health, prenatal care, essential obstetric care, and postpartum care 
were dated and unreliable. In July the government launched a series of 
demographic and health surveys to provide accurate statistics including 
maternal mortality ratios. In September the Regional Director for 
Africa at the World Health Organization stated that Equatorial Guinea 
was one of seven countries on track to achieve its Millennium 
Development Goal to reduce maternal mortality. Government officials and 
international observers attributed this decline to government and 
private-sector efforts to reduce malaria and improved care in 
hospitals. Some prenatal and obstetric care was free in government 
clinics, but availability and quality was highly variable, and access 
was limited mostly to the two main cities. Women and men were equally 
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--While the law provides for equal rights for women 
and men, including rights under family law, property law, and in the 
judicial system, the rights of women were limited in practice. 
According to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination 
against Women, the prevalence of negative stereotypes and the deep-
rooted adverse cultural norms, customs, and traditions, including 
forced and early marriage and levirate marriage (the practice by which 
a man may be required to marry his brother's widow), discriminated 
against women. Lack of legislation regulating customary marriages and 
other aspects of family law also discriminated against women, 
particularly with respect to polygyny, inheritance, and child custody.
    Women in rural areas largely were confined by custom to traditional 
roles. In urban settings women with equal qualifications rarely 
suffered overt discrimination. However, the country maintained a 
conservative culture in which societal bias against women persisted. 
Women sometimes experienced discrimination in access to employment, 
credit, and equal pay for similar work.
    The government continued to provide courses, seminars, conferences, 
and media programs to sensitize the population and government agencies 
to the needs and rights of women. The Ministry of Social Affairs and 
the Promotion of Women held several events during the year to publicize 
these rights and held public rallies for women's rights and against 
domestic violence.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents. Registration of births is the responsibility of the parents, 
and failure to register a child can result in the denial of public 
services.

    Education.--Education is free and compulsory until age 13. The 
overwhelming majority of children attended school at least through 
primary grades. Boys generally completed an additional seven years of 
secondary school or attended a program of vocational study after 
primary education. For many girls in rural settings, however, early 
pregnancy or the need to assist at home limited educational 
opportunities, and women generally attained lower educational levels 
than men. During the year the government continued to partner with a 
foreign oil company to undertake a multimillion dollar school 
renovation program and work with a foreign country to reform outdated 
curriculum materials.

    Child Abuse.--Abuse of minors is illegal; however, the government 
did not enforce the law effectively, and child abuse occurred. Physical 
punishment was the culturally accepted method of discipline. During the 
year a small number of cases in which child abuse was alleged came 
before the courts.

    Child Marriage.--While teenage pregnancies were common, the 
Ministry of Social Affairs and the Promotion of Women operated several 
programs to deter child marriage. There is no minimum age for marriage.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law does not address child 
prostitution or child pornography. There was little evidence children 
engaged in prostitution for survival, and the country is not a 
destination for child sex tourism. The minimum age for sexual consent 
is 18.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was extremely small, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not provide persons with 
disabilities any protection from discrimination in employment, 
education, or the provision of other state services, nor does it 
mandate access to buildings for persons with disabilities.
    Educational services for persons with mental or physical 
disabilities were limited. The local Red Cross, with financial support 
from the government, managed the country's school for deaf children. 
The government, through the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the 
Catholic Church worked together to provide care for persons with mental 
disabilities in the Virgin Madre Maria Africa facility. The country's 
first lady gave several highly publicized donations to help persons 
living with disabilities.
    Although not written into the law, the Ministry of Education and 
the Ministry of Health worked to protect the rights of persons with 
disabilities. Public service announcements regarding rights of persons 
with disabilities continued to be broadcast.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Discrimination against ethnic 
or racial minorities was illegal; however, societal discrimination, 
harassment by security forces, and political marginalization of 
minorities were problems. Foreigners were often victimized. 
Undocumented residents from Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Mali, Togo, 
Gabon, and other African countries represented a significant portion of 
the labor force and continued to grow, despite police attempts to 
enforce immigration laws. Foreigners routinely were stopped at 
checkpoints and asked to provide documentation.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws 
criminalizing sexual orientation; however, societal stigmatization and 
traditional discrimination against gay men and lesbians was strong, and 
the government made little effort to combat it.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Despite frequent public 
statements and radio campaigns advocating nondiscrimination, persons 
with HIV/AIDS continued to be victims of societal stigmatization, which 
led them to keep their illness hidden. The government provided free 
HIV/AIDS testing and treatment and supported public information 
campaigns to increase awareness of health risks, availability of 
testing, and the importance of practicing safe sex.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers the right to establish unions, affiliate with 
unions of their choice, bargain collectively, and engage in strikes. 
The law also allows unions to conduct activities without interference. 
The Union Organization of Small Farmers continued to be the only legal 
operational labor union. Authorities continued to refuse to register 
the Equatorial Guinea Trade Union or recognize other existing unions. 
The law stipulates a union must have at least 50 members from a 
specific workplace to register; this rule effectively blocked union 
formation.
    In practice the government placed practical obstacles before groups 
wishing to organize and did not protect the right of unions to conduct 
their activities without interference. Most often those seeking to 
organize were co-opted into existing party structures by means of 
pressure and incentives. Workers rarely engaged in strikes, in part 
because they feared losing their jobs and possible harm to themselves 
or their families. On several occasions during the year, both local and 
foreign workers engaged in temporary protests or ``go slows'' (work 
slowdowns and planned absences), which were resolved peacefully by 
Labor Ministry officials through negotiations and fines on employers.
    There were few reports of organized, collective bargaining by any 
group; however, the Ministry of Labor mediated labor disputes. 
Dismissed workers, for example, could appeal to the ministry, first 
through their regional delegate, but there was little trust in the 
fairness of the system. Citizens have the right to appeal Labor 
Ministry decisions to a special standing committee of the parliament 
established to hear citizen complaints regarding decisions by any 
government agency.
    There is no law prohibiting antiunion discrimination, and there 
were no reports it occurred.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor. According to U.N. and other sources, there 
was no evidence of forced labor by adults.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits children under the age of 14 from working and provides 
that persons found guilty of illegally forcing a minor to work may be 
punished with a fine of approximately 50,000 to 250,000 CFA francs ($98 
to $490). Children younger than age 16 are prohibited from 
participating in work that may endanger their health, security, or 
morals. A limited number of children were recruited and transported 
from nearby countries, primarily Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, and Gabon, 
and forced to work as domestic servants, market laborers, and ambulant 
vendors. Children involved in street work sold food, water, and 
clothes; transported water; and washed cars. Young women ages 15 to 18 
reportedly were involved also in transactional sex, particularly girls 
studying in urban centers such as Malabo and Bata. There was no 
reliable data available on the extent of child labor, although 
observers believed it was not a major problem.
    Law enforcement officials were stationed in market places, where 
they enforced laws prohibiting minors from working. Vendors who 
violated these laws could be forced to close down their stalls, heavily 
fined, or deported. No vendors were prosecuted during the year. During 
a recent campaign, the government asked guardians of foreign children 
to provide parental proof. All children had documentation, although the 
government suspected that some of the papers were forgeries. The 
government did not provide social services to children found working in 
markets. In general there was greater attention to local children, 
focusing on concern that they be in school; foreign children, mostly 
street vendors, were treated like foreign adults.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor 
laws, but inspectors focused mainly on the construction industry, not 
street vending.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In September the government 
increased the monthly minimum wage from 95,400 CFA francs ($188) to 
129,035 CFA francs ($255) for all workers in the country. Many formal-
sector companies paid more than this, but workers in the informal 
sector and domestic workers were not covered under the minimum wage 
law. The law exempts domestic workers, except those working for 
business executives, and those working within the family or the 
informal sector from the minimum wage law. By law hydrocarbon industry 
workers received salaries many times higher than those in other 
sectors, worsening disparities within society and fueling inflation for 
some goods and services. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for 
enforcing minimum wage rules.
    The Department of Labor employed approximately 100 labor inspectors 
who performed labor inspections and cited companies for violations. 
Enforcement of labor laws and ratified international labor agreements, 
however, were not effective, resulting in poor working conditions. 
Safety codes, for example, were not generally enforced. Most petroleum 
companies, on the other hand, exceeded minimum international safety 
standards.
    The law prescribes a standard 35-hour workweek and a 48-hour weekly 
rest period; these requirements were generally observed in the formal 
economy. Exceptions were made for some jobs, such as those in offshore 
oil industry work. Premium pay for overtime was required, but the 
requirement was not always effectively enforced.
    The law provides for protection of workers from occupational 
hazards, but the government did not effectively enforce this provision. 
The law does not provide workers with the right to remove themselves 
from situations that endangered health or safety without jeopardizing 
their continued employment. The law does not provide for any exception 
for foreign or migrant workers. The Department of Labor does not 
publish the results of its inspections. There were a growing number of 
foreign workers in the construction industry who may be exposed to 
hazardous conditions. Violations may include long working hours and 
insufficient safety gear.

                               __________

                                ERITREA

                           executive summary
    The Government of Eritrea is an authoritarian regime under the 
control of President Isaias Afwerki. The People's Front for Democracy 
and Justice (PFDJ), headed by President Afwerki, is the sole political 
party. The PFDJ has controlled the country since 1991. Elections have 
not taken place since the country's independence from Ethiopia in 1993. 
Elements of the security forces frequently and with impunity acted 
independently of civilian control.
    There were consistent and persistent reports of serious human 
rights violations. These abuses included, but were not limited to, 
harsh and life-threatening prison conditions that included torture and 
incommunicado detention, which sometimes resulted in death; forced 
labor of indefinite duration through the mandatory national service 
program; and the severe restriction of civil liberties including 
freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion.
    Other abuses included the following: unlawful killings by security 
forces; politically motivated disappearances; arbitrary arrest and 
detention, including of national service evaders and their family 
members; executive interference in the judiciary and the use of a 
special court system to limit due process; the detention of political 
prisoners and detainees; and infringement of privacy rights. They also 
included a lack of due process and excessive pretrial detention, and 
severe limits on freedom of movement and travel for all citizens, 
residents, and humanitarian agencies. All remaining international 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were forced to close during the 
year, and the activities of the U.N. were severely restricted. Societal 
abuse and discrimination against women, the Kunama ethnic group, gay 
men and lesbians, members of certain religious groups, and persons with 
disabilities occurred. Female genital mutilation (FGM) was prevalent in 
rural areas. The government limited worker rights. Child abuse and 
forced child labor were problems.
    The government did not take steps to prosecute or punish officials 
who committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in 
the government. Impunity was the norm.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government 
committed arbitrary killings. The government continued to subject 
detainees to harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, including 
torture that resulted in deaths during the year. For example, credible 
sources reported the death of three religious prisoners in Metier 
prison due to torture and complications from untreated diseases. 
Additional deaths resulted from the continued authorization of the use 
of lethal force against individuals resisting or attempting to flee 
military service or found in prohibited regions near the border or 
mining camps.
    Persons detained for evading national service reportedly died from 
harsh treatment, and young men and women reportedly were severely 
beaten and killed during round-ups for national service. Widespread 
mistreating and hazing of conscripts sometimes resulted in deaths and 
suicides of national service members. The government continued summary 
executions and shooting of individuals on sight near mining camps and 
border regions for allegedly attempting to flee military service, 
interfering with mining activities, or attempting to leave the country 
without an exit visa.
    In May and June the government rounded up approximately 3,000 
religious workers from the government-approved Eritrean Orthodox, 
Evangelical (Lutheran), and Islamic faiths and sent them to the Wi'a 
military camp for national service. There were reports that lack of 
food and sanitary facilities at Wi'a resulted in illness among these 
religious workers. In previous years persons detained at Wi'a died from 
poor conditions. Reports continued that persons detained in Wi'a were 
tortured. Previously, religious workers from government-approved faiths 
were often not required to perform military service.
    During the year a Jehovah's Witness member died while in detention. 
The government did not investigate or prosecute any reports of security 
force abuse.

    b. Disappearance.--An unknown number of persons disappeared during 
the year; they were assumed to be in government detention or to have 
died while in detention. The government does not regularly notify 
family members or respond to information requests regarding the status 
of detainees. This included persons detained based on their political 
and religious beliefs, journalists, and those who were thought to have 
evaded national service.
    Approximately 30 journalists in prison were considered to have 
disappeared (see section 2.a.). The government also held local staff 
employed by foreign diplomatic missions in incommunicado detention and 
did not provide information regarding their location.
    Round-ups in Asmara preceding the annual May 24 Independence Day 
celebrations were more coordinated than in previous years. Authorities 
detained an estimated several thousand persons in the capital region; 
some were held temporarily, while an unknown number reportedly 
disappeared.
    There was no additional information regarding the February 2010 
report of 12 Eritreans deported from Libya who disappeared.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law and unimplemented constitution prohibit torture. 
However, torture and beatings are institutionalized within prison and 
detention centers. Reports of prisoners' deaths due to torture, poor 
sanitation, and inadequate medical treatment were common, although 
secrecy and lack of access make it impossible to determine the number 
of deaths.
    Security forces tortured and beat army deserters, draft evaders, 
persons living near mining camps, persons attempting to flee the 
country without travel documents, and members of certain religious 
groups. Torture or mistreatment included prolonged sun exposure in 
temperatures of up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit; the binding of hands, 
elbows, and feet in contorted positions for extended periods of time; 
forcing inmates to walk barefoot on sharp objects; overcrowded 
conditions; exposure to extreme heat from confinement in crowded and 
unventilated metal shipping containers or in crowded cement-lined 
underground pits without ventilation or sanitation; suspension from 
trees with arms tied behind the back, a technique known as ``almaz'' 
(diamond); and being placed face down with hands tied to feet outside 
in the desert, a technique known as the ``helicopter,'' while pouring 
sugar on detainees to attract biting insects. The government sanctioned 
these torture and abuse methods, and no known action was taken during 
the year to punish the perpetrators.
    According to international NGO Human Rights Watch, Eritrean female 
refugees reported in 2009 that female conscripts in national service 
were often raped by their supervisors.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and life threatening. Severe overcrowding was common. Some 
prisoners were shackled in unventilated holding cells for long periods 
of time in extreme desert heat and died due to heat exhaustion and lack 
of medical care. Underground cells or shipping containers with little 
or no ventilation in extreme temperatures held prisoners. The shipping 
containers were reportedly not large enough to allow all of those 
incarcerated to lie down at the same time. The cement-lined underground 
bunkers held up to 200 prisoners each; prisoners reportedly lost 
consciousness from the extreme heat.
    The government did not provide adequate provisions for basic and 
emergency medical care in prisons and detention centers, and detainees 
died due to lack of medical treatment during the year. Food was not 
adequate. Potable water was generally not available.
    During the year Misghina Gebretinsae, a Jehovah's Witness, died 
while in prison. He was reportedly held in solitary confinement in a 
container the week before his death. Authorities arrested Gebretinsae 
in 2008 during the onset of arrests of many Jehovah's Witnesses.
    There were numerous unofficial detention centers, most located in 
military camps and used as overflow detention centers following mass 
arrests and roundups. Detention center conditions for persons 
temporarily held for evading military service were also harsh and life 
threatening. During the year there were hundreds of such detainees. 
Draft evaders were reportedly sent to the Wi'a military camp where, 
typically, they were beaten. Some were held as long as two years before 
being reassigned to their units. At one detention facility outside 
Asmara, authorities continued to hold detainees in an underground hall 
with no light or ventilation and sometimes in very crowded conditions.
    Use of psychological torture was common, according to former 
inmates. One common technique was for the interrogator to open and 
close a cell door constantly, as if the prisoner were going to be taken 
for interrogation with beatings. Denial of food, medical treatment, and 
family access were also used to punish prisoners. Some prisoners were 
released after close friends or relatives offered their homes or other 
property as bond.
    The government did not investigate and monitor prison and detention 
center conditions. There are more than 300 prisons and detention 
centers, which were filled to capacity.
    Although there was a juvenile detention center in Asmara, juveniles 
frequently were held with adults in prisons and detention centers, and 
some young children were held with their mothers. Juveniles were 
sometimes imprisoned with their mothers and other detainees in adult 
facilities. Pretrial detainees typically were not separated from 
convicted prisoners.
    Prisoners and detainees did not have reasonable access to visitors 
and were not always permitted religious observance. Authorities 
commonly moved prisoners to locations far from their families to make 
family visits impossible. In some circumstances authorities permitted 
convicted criminals up to three visits per week by family members; 
however, this was only common for those who had relatives working 
within the government. Persons detained, arrested, or convicted for 
reasons of national security or for evading national service were 
denied family visits and often were held in solitary confinement. Those 
imprisoned were often interrogated about religious affiliation and were 
asked to identify members of religious groups that were not approved, 
such as Jehovah's Witnesses.
    Authorities did not permit prisoners and detainees to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request 
investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions, which 
authorities did not investigate. There were no ombudsmen to serve on 
behalf of prisoners. There are no provisions for addressing the status 
and circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders, pretrial 
detention, or bail. Recordkeeping procedures are not transparent, 
making it impossible to assure that prisoners do not serve beyond the 
maximum sentence for the charged offense.
    During the year the government did not permit the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to monitor prison conditions; this 
included denying the ICRC access to Ethiopian prisoners of war detained 
in the country.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law and unimplemented 
constitution prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, 
arbitrary arrest and detention remained widespread.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police were responsible 
for maintaining internal security, and the army was responsible for 
external security; however, the government utilized the armed forces, 
the reserves, and demobilized soldiers to meet either domestic or 
external security requirements. Agents of the National Security Office, 
which reports to the Office of the President, were responsible for 
detaining persons suspected of threatening national security. The armed 
forces have the authority to arrest and detain civilians. Police 
generally did not have a role in cases involving national security, but 
they were heavily involved in rounding up individuals evading national 
service.
    During the year the police, armed forces, and internal security 
arrested and detained persons without due process and often used 
violence. Police forcibly arrested individuals on the street who were 
unable to present identification documents. Those in the government 
national service were required to present ``movement papers'' issued by 
their offices or departments authorizing their presence in a particular 
location. Those persons who did not present ``movement papers'' were 
arrested. Participation in the national service program, which is of 
indefinite duration and requires conscripts to perform a wide variety 
of military and nonmilitary activities, is mandatory. Impunity for 
abuse was the norm.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
stipulates that unless there is a ``crime in progress,'' police must 
conduct an investigation and obtain a warrant prior to making an 
arrest. In cases involving national security, this process may be 
waived. In practice very few individuals were arrested with a warrant. 
The law stipulates that detainees must be brought before a judge within 
48 hours of arrest and may not be held more than 28 days without being 
charged with a crime. In practice suspects were detained for much 
longer periods without being brought before a judge, charged with a 
crime, or in some cases even understanding the reason for their 
detention. Authorities also often changed the charges against detainees 
during detention. The government argued that those detained without 
charge can be assumed to be charged under national security grounds.
    There were credible reports that release from detention sometimes 
occurred in the following circumstances: after providing proof of 
completion of national service, after being threatened with death for 
continued religious or homosexual activity, after recanting religious 
faith or declaring allegiance to the Eritrean Orthodox Church, after 
paying a fine equivalent to hundreds or thousands of dollars or having 
another person put up their house as guarantee, after unpaid forced 
labor such as picking vegetables for several months, or just before 
imminent death caused by torture during detention.
    The law provides for a bail system, except for persons charged with 
national security crimes or crimes that could carry the death penalty. 
In practice bail was arbitrary, not always used, and often involved 
paying a bribe after someone with government connections interceded. 
Detainees in prisons often did not have access to counsel. Detainees in 
police stations not held on national security grounds often had access 
to legal representation and family members. It was unclear whether 
indigent detainees were sometimes provided counsel, as occurred in 
previous years. Incommunicado detention was widespread.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrest occurred frequently. Security 
force personnel detained individuals for reasons such as evading 
national service, criticizing the government, practicing one's 
religious beliefs, and for unspecified alleged national security 
reasons. Numerous persons were detained, even if they had valid papers 
showing they had completed or were exempt from national service. In 
practice most detainees were informally charged with violations 
relating to national service, effectively allowing authorities to 
incarcerate them indefinitely.
    Security forces also continued to detain and arrest the parents and 
spouses of individuals who evaded national service or fled the country.
    There were reports of mass arrests known as round-ups, in which 
citizens were held without charge indefinitely while authorities sorted 
out their military service paperwork in search of deserters and 
questioned them about their religious affiliation. These round-ups 
tended to coincide with the observance of Independence Day and also 
harvest season, when many of those detained were forced to pick 
vegetables for several months for no pay on government-controlled 
farms.
    The government continued to arbitrarily arrest members of 
nonregistered religious groups and persons who criticized the 
government (see sections 2.a. and 2.c.). There was at least one report 
of a Jehovah's Witness being arrested during the year.
    Authorities reportedly arrested 41 evangelicals on New Year's Eve 
2010 and 31 others on January 9. No further information was available 
as to the whereabouts of individuals detained.
    The government does not recognize dual nationality, and during the 
year security forces arbitrarily arrested citizens holding other 
nationalities on national security charges.
    Numerous reports also indicated that persons with connections to 
high-level officials instigated the arrest of individuals against whom 
they held grudges. In many instances these individuals were never 
formally charged.

    Pretrial Detention.--The government held numerous other detainees 
without charge or due process. The percentage of the prison/detainee 
population in pretrial detention was not available. Some detainees were 
still in prison after a decade, and others died while in detention. 
Detainees included an unknown number of persons suspected of 
antigovernment speech or association with the 11 former PFDJ members 
arrested in 2001. Suspected Islamic radicals or suspected terrorists 
also remained in detention without charge. Some had been detained for 
more than 10 years. These detainees reportedly did not have access to 
legal counsel and were not brought before a judge. During the year the 
deposed Abune Antonios patriarch remained under house arrest (see 
section 2.c.). There were also widespread reports that many detainees 
were released without going to trial.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law and unimplemented 
constitution provide for an independent judiciary; however, in practice 
the judiciary was impotent. Judicial corruption remained a problem. 
Executive control of the judiciary continued; the Office of the 
President served as a clearinghouse for citizens' petitions to the 
courts or acted for the courts as arbitrators or facilitators in civil 
matters. The judiciary suffered from a lack of trained personnel, 
inadequate funding, and poor infrastructure. Many civilian and special 
court judges are former senior military officers with no formal legal 
training. They generally based their decisions on ``conscience'' 
without reference to the law. The drafting into national service of 
many civilian court administrators, defendants, judges, lawyers, and 
others involved in the legal system continued to have a significant 
negative effect on the judiciary.
    The attorney general allowed special courts to retry civilian court 
cases, including those decided by the High Court, thereby subjecting 
defendants to double jeopardy. In rare instances appeals made to the 
Office of the President reportedly resulted in special courts rehearing 
certain cases.
    Administered by the military, the special courts are overseen by 
the Office of the President. The executive-controlled special courts 
issue directives to other courts regarding administrative matters, 
although their domain was supposed to be restricted to criminal cases 
involving capital offenses, theft, embezzlement, and corruption. They 
are used as a tool to silence dissent. The Office of the Attorney 
General decides which cases are to be tried by a special court. No 
lawyers practice in the special courts. The judges serve as the 
prosecutors and may request that individuals involved in the cases 
present their positions. The special courts, which do not permit 
defense counsel or the right of appeal, allowed the executive branch to 
mete out punishment without regard for due process. Most trials in 
special courts were not open to the public.
    Most citizens' only contact with the legal system was with the 
traditional community courts. In these courts judges heard civil cases, 
while magistrates versed in criminal law heard criminal cases. 
Customary tribunals were sometimes used to adjudicate local civil and 
criminal cases. The Ministry of Justice offered training in alternative 
dispute resolution to handle some civil and criminal cases. The 
military court has jurisdiction over penal cases brought against 
members of the armed forces in addition to crimes committed by and 
against members of the armed forces. Presiding judges are senior 
military officers, and the court has higher and lower levels, depending 
on the seriousness of the offense. With approximately 200,000 enlisted 
personnel in the armed forces, the military courts have a significant 
and unregulated importance in the country.
    Sharia (Islamic law) for family and succession cases may be applied 
when both litigants in civil cases are Muslims. The government allowed 
Muslim courts to apply sharia, but not in any cases where physical 
punishment was envisioned.

    Trial Procedures.--Most detained persons were not ever brought to 
trial. No cases involving individuals detained for national security or 
political reasons were brought to trial.
    The judicial system consists of regular courts and special courts. 
In regular courts defendants have the right to be present and to 
consult with an attorney; however, many could not afford a lawyer, and 
government legal aid was rarely provided. The government reopened the 
law school in 2010. New lawyers work for the government and do not go 
into private practice.
    The regional court is generally the court of first instance and has 
civil, criminal, and sharia benches. The sharia bench adjudicates 
family law for Muslims only. Decisions rendered by any of the benches 
at the regional court can be appealed to the High Court. The High Court 
is primarily an appellate court but also serves as the court of first 
instance for cases involving murder, rape, and other serious felonies. 
The High Court also has civil, criminal, and sharia benches. Only in 
the High Court do defendants have the right to confront and question 
witnesses, present their own witnesses, present evidence, gain access 
to government-held evidence, appeal a decision, and enjoy the 
presumption of innocence. However, the High Court adjudicated very few 
cases, trials were generally closed to the public, and the attorney 
general allowed High Court cases to be retried in special courts where 
defendants have none of the above rights in practice. There also is a 
five-judge bench that hears final appeals in lieu of a Supreme Court.
    Rural courts followed customary law rather than constitutional law 
and were headed by rural elders or elected officials. Local 
administrators in rural areas encouraged citizens to reconcile outside 
the court system for less serious cases, and customary courts are 
widely used. More substantial cases were reserved for the courts. Some 
trials in rural courts were open to the public but were not heard by a 
jury; they were heard by a panel of judges.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Persons were routinely arrested 
on political grounds, and the penal system lacked due process and 
transparency. There were reports that the government continued to hold 
without charge and sometimes torture 2,000 to 3,000 members of 
unregistered religious groups and numerous members of the Eritrean 
Liberation Front, an armed opposition group that fought against 
Ethiopia during the struggle for independence. The government did not 
permit access to such persons by international humanitarian 
organizations. No new information was available regarding Eritrean 
diplomats and staff of embassies and international organizations 
detained in previous years. In 2010 a former prison official reported 
that 20 of a group of 35 high-ranking government officials, 
journalists, and staff of international organizations remained detained 
at Era-Ero prison; the other 15 had reportedly died.
    In May and June, the government arrested 90 religious believers 
around Asmara, in addition to the approximately 3,000 religious workers 
detained during the same time period (see section 1.a.). Of the 90, six 
were reportedly released by year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are no civil 
judicial procedures for individuals claiming human rights violations by 
the government. For the majority of citizens, there were few remedies 
available for enforcing domestic court orders; however, persons 
affiliated with the executive branch, former fighters, and persons with 
wealth could use their influence with the court to secure civil 
remedies under the law.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law and unimplemented constitution prohibit 
arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence; 
however, the government did not respect these rights in practice.
    The government entered homes without judicial authorization. There 
were reports that plainclothes agents of the National Security Office 
entered homes without warrants, carried out illegal searches, and 
threatened family members, including children. For example, there were 
reports that security forces targeted gatherings of unregistered 
religious groups, regularly searched their homes, and detained their 
members.
    The government monitored mail, e-mail, text messages, and telephone 
calls without obtaining warrants as required by law. Government 
informers were present throughout the country. Many citizens believed 
the government particularly monitored cell phones; it requires a permit 
for the use of SIM cards, necessary for operating and storing 
information in mobile phones. The government allowed only one SIM card 
per person, although this rule was unevenly applied, and there was a 
black market for the sharing of SIM cards. The government did not allow 
citizens in military service to have SIM cards. There were reports of 
the government arresting those who rented their cell phones to others 
or used a cell phone while in military service. Mail was commonly 
opened and resealed before delivery. If mail was sent to the country 
containing religious material or other material deemed suspicious by 
the government, the government typically confiscated the mail and 
called in the person designated to receive the mail for interrogation.
    The government deployed military and police personnel throughout 
the country, using roadblocks, street sweeps, and house-to-house 
searches to find deserters and draft evaders. Security forces continued 
to detain and arrest parents and other family members of individuals 
who evaded national service or fled the country. There were reports 
that such parents were either fined 50,000 nakfa ($3,333) or forced to 
surrender their children to the government. Government officials 
entered households and confiscated property and livestock of draft 
evaders.
    Membership in the PFDJ, the only legal political party, was not 
mandatory for all citizens; however, the government coerced membership 
for certain categories of individuals, particularly those occupying 
government positions or assigned through national service, to serve in 
government institutions. All citizens were forced to attend PFDJ 
indoctrination meetings irrespective of membership, and there were 
reports of threats to withhold the ration cards of those who did not 
attend. There were reports that similar meetings were mandatory for 
Eritrean communities abroad, and the names of those not attending were 
reported to government officials. Reportedly citizens who did not 
attend were harassed, and their families in Eritrea were subject to 
harassment. Eritrean officials overseas also collected biographical and 
contact information on Eritreans living abroad.
    It was reported that Eritrean military officials or proxies used 
access to persons in refugee communities in neighboring countries such 
as Kenya and Sudan to threaten them against becoming politically active 
in Eritrean politics without permission of their respective 
governments.
    There were also reports of security forces arresting persons whose 
foreign family members did not pay their extraterritorial income tax of 
2 percent of foreign earned income.
    Military and other officials seized residences and businesses 
belonging to private citizens and registered and unregistered religious 
organizations and housed the families of senior military officers or 
other officials in the properties, used them for government or military 
functions, or transferred ownership to civilian and military officials. 
No compensation was given for such forced evictions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law and unimplemented constitution provide for freedom of 
speech and of the press; however, the government severely restricted 
these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Speech.--The government severely restricted the ability 
of individuals to criticize the government in public or in private, and 
some who did were arrested or detained. Gatherings were considered 
illegal without prior approval, and the government routinely monitored 
religious gatherings. Most other gatherings took place through 
government-run organizations and thereby were implicitly monitored by 
government officials present. Public criticism about the government's 
inability to combat poverty and malnutrition was prohibited. The 
government actively monitored the Eritrean diaspora via agents.

    Freedom of Press.--The private press remained banned. The 
government controlled all media, which included one newspaper that was 
published in three languages, three radio stations, and a television 
station. The law requires journalists to be licensed. The law does not 
allow private ownership of broadcast or other media. Satellite dishes 
were widespread in Asmara and allowed by the government. Throughout the 
year the government ordered restaurants and hotels to shut off 
television satellite feeds of international news organizations when 
stories were shown that they believed could incite unrest, particularly 
those relating to events in North Africa and the Middle East. The 
minority who could afford to purchase satellite dishes had access to 
uncensored international news.
    The law restricts printing and publication of materials. The 
printing of a publication that does not have a permit and the printing 
or dissemination of prohibited foreign publications are both punishable 
by imprisonment. Government approval is required for distribution of 
publications from religious or international organizations.
    During the government-sponsored annual book fair in Asmara, from 
March 18 to 25, those attempting to buy books were required to show 
their national identity cards. Supervisors of booths selling books 
logged the names and national identity numbers of purchasers.

    Violence and Harassment.--Most independent journalists remained in 
detention. According to Reporters Without Borders, the government 
continued to detain more than 30 journalists during the year. The 
government did not provide information about their places of detention 
or health, rendering these cases of forced disappearance. Between June 
1, 2010, and May 31, six journalists reportedly fled the country.
    During the year authorities arrested at least four journalists. In 
February authorities arrested radio journalists Nebiel Edris, Ahmed 
Usman, and Mohamed Osman. In March the government arrested sports 
journalist Tesfalidet Mebrahtu, who worked with state-owned radio and 
television.
    No new information was available regarding the disappearance of 
Dawit Isaac, founder of the now-closed weekly newspaper Setit. Isaac's 
brother and others reportedly submitted a writ of habeas corpus to the 
court requesting details on his location and a review of his detention.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Most independent journalists 
remained in detention or had fled the country, which effectively 
prevented any media criticism of the government. All other journalists 
practiced self-censorship due to fear of government reprisal. 
Journalists are required to obtain written permission to take 
photographs. The one foreign news organization operating had only one 
heavily censored stringer, who did not permanently reside in the 
country.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Although libel or national security 
laws were not used to prosecute persons, the government repeatedly 
asserted that national security concerns were at the root of 
suppressing free speech and criticism. Persons detained in relation to 
freedom of speech and press often were detained indefinitely without 
being brought to trial.

    Internet Freedom.--There were government restrictions on access to 
the Internet, and the government monitored Internet communications.
    The government monitored e-mail without obtaining warrants as 
required by law. All Internet service users were required to use one of 
the three Internet service providers owned directly by the government 
or controlled through high-ranking PFDJ party members. While Internet 
cafes with extremely limited bandwidth were available in Asmara and 
other major cities, the vast majority of persons in the country did not 
have access to the Internet. Those who wanted a larger bandwidth, such 
as some international mining corporations, paid exorbitant prices far 
beyond the reach of the local population. In rural areas of the 
country, there was no access to the Internet. Government informants 
frequented Internet cafes, where they visually monitored customers' 
screens and occasionally demanded customers' records. The government 
also discouraged citizens from viewing Web sites known to be 
antigovernment by continuously labeling the sites and their developers 
as saboteurs of the government. Many citizens expressed fear of arrest 
if the government caught them viewing such sites.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted 
academic freedom, including by restricting or censoring course content 
and curriculum and censuring or sanctioning academic personnel for 
their teachings, writing, and research. Academic travel and contact 
with other academics at home and abroad was restricted, intimidating 
academics into practicing self-censorship and influencing academic 
appointments based on political affiliation.
    The government systematically restricted the ability of persons to 
access education. In order to enroll their children in more selective 
primary schools, parents often paid bribes or provided favors to local 
authorities or staff at the school.
    There were reports that schools separated students whose families 
included liberation fighters from students whose families did not 
include fighters. Students whose families included liberation fighters 
were sometimes required to serve only five months or less in the 
military and were often assigned to prized places in technical 
colleges, freeing them of indefinite military service. Students whose 
families did not include a liberation fighter often served indefinite 
military service with no opportunity for higher education.
    With few exceptions students must finish their last high school 
year at the Sawa military and educational camp and were not permitted 
to choose their next course of study, instead being assigned to 
specific vocational programs based on their performance on the 
matriculation exam. Only those students who completed military training 
at Sawa or received a medical waiver were allowed to take the exam.
    In 2002 the government reorganized the University of Asmara, 
closing the central campus and splitting it into seven undergraduate 
colleges spread throughout the country. It was commonly believed that 
this was done to avoid a concentration of students who might stage 
political protests.
    The government denied exit visas to many students who wanted to 
study abroad. College academics who wished to travel abroad for further 
study or training were required to seek exit visas and permission in 
advance from the appropriate college president and the government. Many 
students chose to risk their lives by illegally crossing the border 
into Sudan or Ethiopia in hopes of attending a university abroad.
    During the year the government censored, canceled, or closed films, 
art exhibits, and other cultural activities. For example, the 
government routinely monitored libraries and cultural centers 
maintained by foreign embassies, threatening censure of material and, 
in some instances, intimidating and harassing employees and attendees. 
There were few cultural events which were not directly sponsored by the 
government.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law and unimplemented constitution provide for freedom 
of assembly and association; however, the government did not permit 
either. For public gatherings, the government required those assembling 
to obtain a permit, although this requirement was enforced only 
sporadically.
    Security forces disrupted public meetings and religious and 
cultural gatherings. Security forces typically photographed, 
interrogated, and recorded the names of participants.
    On April 27, in the town of Segheneyti, police arrested 120 
Catholic parishioners who were marching to the regional administrator's 
office to protest a government order for their priests to report to 
Sawa Military School. Those detained were later released.

    Freedom of Association.--The law and unimplemented constitution 
provide for freedom of association; however, the government did not 
respect it in practice.
    The government did not allow the formation of any political parties 
other than the PFDJ. It also prohibited the formation of any 
associations or private organizations.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl//irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law and unimplemented 
constitution provide for freedom of movement, foreign travel, 
emigration, and repatriation; however, the government restricted all of 
these rights in practice. For example, citizens participating in 
national service were often denied internal travel permits, passports, 
and exit visas unless they received special privileges or paid bribes.
    The government provided limited cooperation to the Office of the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide protection and 
assistance to refugees recognized by the government. However, the 
government did not recognize refugees from Ethiopia or cooperate with 
the UNHCR on their behalf. The government's Office of Refugee Affairs 
managed the refugee camps, providing clinics, schools, and other 
resources. The camps were primarily composed of persons from Somalia 
and Sudan. Refugees from Ethiopia generally lived in the capital.

    In-country Movement.--Citizens require government permission for 
most travel within the country and to change their places of residence. 
The government severely restricts travel to the border regions and even 
bans bus services to certain towns near the border with Ethiopia.
    Military police periodically set up surprise checkpoints in Asmara 
and on roads between cities to find draft evaders and deserters. Police 
also stopped persons on the street and detained those who were unable 
to present identification documents or movement papers showing they had 
permission to be in that area.
    Travel restrictions imposed in 2006 on noncitizens remained in 
effect. All diplomats, humanitarian organizations, U.N. staff, and 
foreign tourists were required to obtain advance permission from the 
government to leave Asmara. Travel restrictions were enforced at 
military checkpoints. Securing travel permission was not a transparent 
process. While some foreign nationals obtained permission to travel to 
certain locations, the government refused to issue travel permits to 
others traveling to the same place. The government often failed to 
respond to requests for travel authorization.
    Prior to the closure of all international NGOs, the government 
prevented NGO travel by restricting fuel supplies and failing to 
respond to requests for travel permits.

    Foreign Travel.--The government severely restricted foreign travel 
and continually modified its requirements to obtain passports and exit 
visas, sometimes suspending passport or exit visa services without 
warning. The prohibitive cost of passports deters many citizens from 
foreign travel. It costs a citizen in national service the equivalent 
of 40 percent of his or her gross yearly salary to obtain a valid 
passport. Some persons previously issued passports were not allowed to 
renew them, nor were they granted exit visas.
    Citizens and some foreign nationals were required to obtain exit 
visas to depart the country. Persons routinely denied exit visas 
included men under the age of 54, regardless of whether they had 
completed national service; women younger than 47; members of Jehovah's 
Witnesses and other unregistered religious groups; persons who had not 
completed national service; and other persons out of favor with, or 
seen as critical of, the government. While not consistently 
implemented, some relaxation of exit visa requirements took place 
during the year, allowing an unknown number of persons below the 
described age cutoffs to leave the country without imposing additional 
bribes or favors to officials. Some females married more than 10 years 
and some persons released from national service received exit visas.
    In 2006 the government began refusing to issue exit visas to 
children 11 years old and older. Increasingly, children of any age were 
denied exit visas either on the grounds that they were approaching the 
age of eligibility for national service or because their foreign-based 
parents had not paid the 2 percent income tax required of all citizens 
residing abroad. The government did not in general grant exit visas to 
entire families or both parents of children simultaneously in order to 
prevent families from fleeing the country. Some citizens were given 
exit visas only after posting bonds of approximately 150,000 nakfa 
($10,000) or more. Exit visa policies were frequently adjusted in 
nontransparent ways specifically to benefit the relatives of high-
ranking government officials. For example, the government posted 
notices on current exit visa regulations in nondesignated, 
inconsistent, and inaccessible locations.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--In general citizens had the right to 
return. However, citizens residing abroad had to show proof that they 
paid the 2 percent tax on foreign earned income to be eligible for some 
government services, including exit visas for future departures from 
the country. If the applicant had broken a law abroad, contracted a 
serious contagious disease, or was declared ineligible for political 
asylum by other governments, his or her application to return to the 
country was considered on a case-by-case basis.
    In 2009 the government halted its repatriation program with the 
ICRC, preventing the repatriation of thousands of Ethiopians.

    Citizenship.--The government does not recognize dual citizenship. 
It generally considered persons of Eritrean descent to be citizens. The 
government did not grant consular access to detained dual citizens. In 
1994 the government revoked the citizenship of Jehovah's Witnesses due 
to their refusal to take part in the referendum on independence or 
participate in national service. Younger Jehovah's Witnesses who did 
not perform the compulsory military service were not able to obtain 
identification cards and thus were not eligible for any government 
sector jobs or for coupons to buy basic essentials (food and kerosene) 
at government-subsidized prices.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--While almost all IDPs from 
the conflict with Ethiopia were permanently resettled in previous 
years, hundreds of IDP families remained in the Gash Barka Region. The 
government allowed U.N. organizations and the ICRC to provide 
assistance to former IDPs.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not specifically provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status. 
However, 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 did not grant Ethiopians asylum.
    The government required noncitizens to pay an annual fee for a 
residency card; there was no discrimination regarding nationality in 
terms of protection of refugees, except for Ethiopians. The fee was 500 
nakfa ($33); the card was used to demonstrate that a foreigner was not 
indigent. If foreigners could not pay the fee, they were first referred 
to the ICRC for repatriation. If they refused repatriation, they were 
incarcerated for 60 days, at which point the cycle began again.

    Refugee Abuse.--As in previous years the government systematically 
rounded up persons who had not performed military service and 
Ethiopians around the country's Independence Day (May 24). The 
Ethiopians were held in a camp until authorities verified they were not 
indigent or they paid a fine.
    Reports indicated that the government provided resources to 
Ethiopian refugees only if the refugees joined Ethiopian opposition 
groups. Ethiopian refugees who did not join opposition groups were 
harassed by government officials.

    Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection 
to 89 persons from Sudan, 3,865 persons from Somalia, and 77 persons 
from Ethiopia on a prima facie basis.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law and unimplemented constitution provide citizens with the 
right to change their government peacefully; however, citizens were not 
allowed to exercise this right in practice.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Elections.--The government 
came to power in a 1993 popular referendum in which voters chose to 
have an independent country managed by a transitional government; 
however, the transitional government did not permit the formation of a 
democratic system. The government twice scheduled elections in 
accordance with the constitution but cancelled them without 
explanation. An official declaration in 2003 claimed that, ``in 
accordance with the prevailing wish of the people, it is not the time 
to establish political parties, and discussion of the establishment has 
been postponed.'' Government officials also stated that implementation 
of the constitution was not possible until the border demarcation with 
Ethiopia was finalized. In 2008 the president claimed in an Al-Jazeera 
interview that elections might not take place for another 30 or 40 
years.

    Political Parties.--The country is a one-party state. Power rested 
with the PFDJ and its institutions. At times the government coerced 
persons to join the PFDJ. Although no other political parties operated 
in the country, citizens living abroad established several political 
parties and a shadow government in Ethiopia. During the year the 
government continued to label individuals as gay, traitors, rapists, 
pedophiles, and traffickers if they were deemed not loyal to the 
government.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Almost all high-level 
government officials were former liberation fighters who had been in 
power since 1993. Women held four nominal ministerial positions in the 
government: justice, labor and human welfare, tourism, and health. 
Women also served in other government positions, such as mayors and 
regional administrators.
    A few members of ethnic minorities were on the PFDJ's Executive 
Council or served on the Central Council. Some senior government and 
party officials were members of minority groups such as the Tigre. The 
head of the navy was an ethnic Afar.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law does not provide criminal penalties for official 
corruption, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity.
    Persons seeking executive and/or judicial services often must pay a 
``gift'' or bribe through a system of patronage and cronyism to access 
services. There were reports of petty corruption within the executive 
branch, largely based on family connections. Judicial corruption was 
also a problem, and illegal acts such as property theft were not 
prosecuted when carried out by certain military officials or former 
fighters from the independence struggle who were in favor with the 
government. Officials involved in the penal system often manipulated 
the family members of those in detention for illegal bribes or other 
favors.
    There were allegations of corruption among armed forces leaders 
involving illicit trade, the appropriation of houses, and the black 
market sale of goods such as diesel fuel and cement. Corruption was 
extensive for government services involving issuance of identification 
and travel documents, including in the passport office. Individuals 
requesting exit visas or passports often had to pay bribes.
    Police, who often were conscripted, were paid 15 nakfa ($1), and 
corruption was a problem. Reports were common of police and other 
security force members committing crimes to supplement their income, 
including breaking into homes to steal jewelry, money, and food. Police 
typically used their influence to assist friends and family, such as 
facilitating their release from prison. Reports were common that police 
demanded bribes to release detainees and that military personnel 
systematically accepted money to smuggle citizens from the country and 
cooperated with human trafficking groups. There were no mechanisms to 
address allegations of official abuse, and impunity was a problem.
    Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws, and 
there was no government agency responsible for combating government 
corruption.
    The government has a history of seizing successful private 
companies and transferring them to the PFDJ or the government. 
Individuals were not compensated for these seizures. The government 
provided privileges to former liberation ``fighters'' and their 
relatives by granting them access to business opportunities, licenses 
to import and export goods, education privileges, and property 
expropriated from ``nonfighters.''
    Although the law and unimplemented constitution provide for public 
access to government information, the government did not provide 
information to either citizens or noncitizens.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The government forced the closure of all remaining international 
NGO offices during the year (Oxfam, Lutheran World Federation, Irish 
Self-Help, Gruppo Missione Asmara of Italy, Refugee Trust 
International, and Norwegian Church Aid), and seized NGO property that 
it claimed belonged to the government. These NGOs filled gaps in 
essential services that the government did not provide, such as 
adequate access to food and water. Prior to the closure, the government 
sometimes prevented NGO travel by restricting fuel supplies and failing 
to respond to requests for travel permits.
    Civil society organizations were few in number, lacked capacity, 
and were controlled by the government or fearful of government 
reprisal.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government severely 
restricted U.N. operations in the country. The government did not 
permit the World Food Program, which maintained an office in the 
country, to conduct humanitarian food distribution, although it allowed 
UNICEF to continue its supplemental feeding programs under the 
supervision of the Ministry of Health. By requiring U.N. organizations 
to obtain permission for travel outside the capital, the government 
effectively controlled access to rural areas.
    The government permitted only the ICRC to operate effectively, 
although it limited ICRC operations to repatriation, providing shelter 
to families displaced by the conflict with Ethiopia and providing 
assistance to IDPs. The government did not permit the ICRC to visit 
prisons or detention centers.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law and unimplemented constitution prohibit discrimination 
against women, persons with disabilities, and discrimination based on 
race, language, and social status, but the government did not enforce 
these provisions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is a crime punishable by 
up to 10 years of imprisonment. Gang rape or rape of a minor or an 
invalid is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Sexual assault is 
punishable by six months to eight years in prison. Spousal rape is not 
specifically outlawed. No information was available on the prevalence 
of rape. Authorities often responded to reports of rape by encouraging 
the perpetrator to marry the victim. Allegations of women being raped 
while attending mandatory military and educational training at the Sawa 
camp were common.
    Violence against women occurred and was pervasive in rural areas. 
Domestic violence is a crime; however, domestic violence cases were 
rarely brought to trial, and there were no legal penalties. Women 
seldom openly discussed domestic violence because of societal 
pressures. Such incidents were more commonly addressed, if at all, 
within families or by clergy. The authorities' response to domestic 
violence was hindered by a lack of trained personnel, inadequate 
funding, and unsupportive societal attitudes.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--(See section 6, Children--Harmful 
Traditional Practices).

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal; however, cultural 
norms prevented women from reporting such incidents, and no one was 
known to have been charged or prosecuted for sexual harassment during 
the year.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the basic right 
to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of 
their children, and to have the information and means to do so free 
from discrimination, coercion, and violence. In January the government 
forced all private medical clinics to close. Maternal mortality was 
high due to lack of skilled medical personnel and supplies. The 
government runs a program for child and maternal health and funds 
contraception, but access to such programs in rural areas was limited.

    Discrimination.--Women have a legal right to equal educational 
opportunities, equal pay for equal work, and equal property rights; 
however, in practice men retained privileged access to education, 
employment, and control of economic resources, particularly in rural 
areas. Women generally did not enjoy a social status equal to men.
    The law requires that women, starting from grade 12, participate in 
national service, although girls already married were generally exempt. 
During the year the government continued efforts to detain female draft 
evaders and deserters. Women drafted for national service were often 
subjected to rape, sexual harassment, and other abuse.
    The Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare and the Ministry of Health 
are the primary government offices responsible for ensuring legal 
rights of women along with the quasigovernmental National Union of 
Eritrean Women (NUEW).

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from at 
least one parent being an Eritrean citizen. Registration of a new birth 
within the first three months of a child's life requires only a 
hospital certificate; after three months the parents must present 
themselves to the local (zoba) authorities with the child and three 
witnesses. If not registered a child cannot attend school but can 
receive medical treatment at hospitals. An increasing number of persons 
registered their children within the three-month period to avoid 
complications. Persons born abroad to at least one Eritrean parent are 
considered citizens. Some persons born to Eritrean parents in Eritrea 
were not able to obtain national identity cards and government services 
due to government discrimination--for example, members of certain 
religious groups.

    Education.--Education through grade seven is compulsory and 
tuition-free; however, students were responsible for uniforms, 
supplies, and transportation, which were prohibitively expensive for 
many families. Education above grade seven required a nominal fee and 
was not compulsory. There was a shortage of schools and teachers at all 
levels. Schools have two shifts, which reduces the amount of teaching 
time per student. Three students often have to share a single chair. In 
rural areas young girls usually discontinued school early to work at 
home.
    The government requires all students (except girls already married, 
who were generally exempt) who reached the final year of secondary 
school to attend grade 12 at the Sawa military and educational camp in 
the western section of the country. Students who did not attend this 
final year did not graduate and could not take examinations that 
determined eligibility for advanced education. Many students repeated 
grades, dropped out of school after the 11th grade, or attempted to 
leave the country to avoid being forced to go to the camp. In addition, 
some female students married to avoid being forced to attend the camp. 
Women could earn an alternative secondary school certificate by 
attending night school after completing national service. There were 
reports that students whose parents were liberation fighters were 
favored over others in assignment of living accommodations, shorter 
terms of national service, more frequent approvals for temporary leave 
from military training, and greater opportunities for study.

    Child Abuse.--There are no laws against child abuse and no 
government programs to combat the problem. Physical punishment was 
widespread and socially accepted.

    Child Marriage.--The legal minimum age for marriage for both men 
and women is 18, although religious entities may bless marriages at 
younger ages. UNICEF reported in 2009 that 46 percent of girls were 
married before reaching 18.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law prohibits FGM. According to 
reliable sources, the practice of FGM has been largely eliminated in 
urban areas through the impact of government educational campaigns, but 
FGM continued among the majority rural population. Before recent 
campaigns largely eliminated FGM in urban areas, international 
organizations reported that 95 percent of girls had undergone FGM, and 
that figure was likely still accurate in rural regions. In the 
lowlands, infibulation--the most severe form of FGM--was practiced. The 
government and other organizations, including the NUEW and the National 
Union of Eritrean Youth and Students, continued to sponsor a variety of 
education programs that discouraged the practice.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law criminalizes child 
prostitution, pornography, and sexual exploitation. The minimum age for 
consensual sex is 18. There were several known locations in the capital 
where prostitution, including child prostitution, took place.

    Child Soldiers.--The law prohibits the recruitment of children 
under 18 into the armed forces; however, in practice younger children 
were conscripted by their forced attendance at Sawa military and 
educational camp. Those who did not attend remain at risk of arrest. 
Students at Sawa were typically 18 years old or older, although a fair 
percentage were as young as 16.

    Displaced Children.--During the year humanitarian groups and 
interlocutors continued to anecdotally note an increase from previous 
years in the number of street children due in part to an increase in 
economic hardship. UNICEF funded programs for street children; however, 
the increase in the number of street children outstripped the program's 
ability to provide services.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were fewer than 10 Jews in the country. There 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law and unimplemented constitution 
prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in 
employment, education, or in the provision of other state services. 
Reports of discrimination against persons with disabilities, especially 
in rural areas, were common. This was particularly the case for those 
who were not former liberation fighters. The government dedicated 
substantial resources to support and train the thousands of men and 
women with physical disabilities that resulted from the war for 
independence and the later conflict with Ethiopia. There are no laws 
mandating access for persons with disabilities to public roads, public 
or private buildings, information, and communications. A few hotels and 
government offices provided such access or employed guards that would 
provide assistance as needed. The Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare 
was responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Discrimination against 
minorities was a problem. There were reports of government and societal 
discrimination against the Kunama, one of nine ethnic groups, who 
reside primarily in the northwest.
    Web sites stated that the government ignored the impact of the June 
12 Nabro volcano eruption on ethnic minorities who resided in the area 
near the volcano.
    Governmental and societal abuse of Ethiopians occurred. Ethiopians 
were arbitrarily arrested and asked to pay bribes to be released.
    Requests from citizens in rural areas (where ethnic minorities are 
concentrated) for basic services, such as an adequate number of 
schools, were routinely ignored by the government.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes 
consensual same-sex sexual activity. Individuals continued to be 
detained for alleged consensual same-sex sexual activity. During the 
year there were unconfirmed reports that the government carried out 
periodic roundups of individuals considered gay or lesbian. Gay men and 
lesbians faced severe societal discrimination. The government 
repeatedly accused foreign governments of promoting homosexuality to 
undermine the government. There were reports that known gay men and 
lesbians in the armed forces were subjected to severe abuse. There were 
no known lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender organizations in the 
country.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no known 
societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers with the legal right to form and join unions 
to protect their interests; and allows unions to conduct their 
activities without interference. However, some government policies 
severely restricted free association or prevented the formation of some 
unions, including within the civil service, armed forces, police, and 
other organizations providing essential services. The Ministry of Labor 
and Human Welfare must grant special approval for groups of 20 or more 
persons seeking to form a union. The law prohibits antiunion 
discrimination. While the law provides for the reinstatement of union 
leaders dismissed for union activity, it does not provide this same 
protection for other workers. The law also provides for collective 
bargaining and the right to strike. The law provides for a fine of 
1,200 nakfa ($80) as penalty for antiunion discrimination or acts of 
interference. According to the International Labor Organization's 
Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and 
Recommendations, this fine did not constitute an adequate protection. 
There were no penal provisions specifically covering such violations.
    In practice freedom of association and the right to collective 
bargaining continued to be restricted during the year. The government 
continued to fail to enforce applicable laws. The government ran all 
unions, including the Teachers' Union, Women's Union, Youth's Union, 
and Workers' Union. Membership in these unions was required as a 
precondition for working in their respective fields. Union leaders were 
typically government employees, and union activities were generally 
government sanctioned. While there were no reports that the government 
either opposed or approved the formation of labor associations during 
the year, the threat of disappearance for organizing without government 
permission prevented the formation of independent unions.
    The only legal unions are government-controlled and typically acted 
to prevent workers from organizing. As all unions were subservient to 
the government, there was no free, independent collective bargaining 
during the year. The ability of government-backed industries to use 
national service conscripts as free or cheap sources of labor on 
nonmilitary projects prevented labor market competition. As all unions 
were closely aligned with the government, they did not exercise or 
promote the right to strike.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. However, the 
country's mandatory national service program of indefinite duration 
requires conscripts to perform a wide variety of both military and 
nonmilitary activities, including harvesting and work in the service 
sector. There were also reports that military officials used soldiers 
in national service to perform free labor for personal tasks such as 
construction of houses and crop harvesting. Conscription into 
mandatory, open-ended service begins at the senior year of high school 
for all students; they are required to spend their senior year at the 
Sawa military and education camp. Some students enter Sawa as early as 
the age of 16 or 17 and begin national conscripted labor while still 
under 18.
    With few exceptions the government requires all men and women upon 
graduation from high school to participate in the national service 
program until demobilization, which includes military training and 
civilian work programs. However, the criteria for demobilization were 
unclear, and many were required to work indefinitely in any location or 
capacity chosen by the government. Reports indicated citizens were 
enlisted in the national service for many years at below minimum wage 
rates with no prospective end date, no promotion or salary increases, 
and restricted freedom of movement. The government justified its open-
ended draft on the basis of Ethiopia's occupation of some Eritrean 
territory. Some national service members were assigned to return to 
their civilian jobs while nominally kept in the military because their 
skills were deemed critical to the functioning of the government or the 
economy. These individuals continued to receive only their national 
service salary. The government required them to forfeit to the 
government any money they earned above that salary. Government 
employees generally were unable to leave their jobs or take new 
employment. Draft evaders often were used as laborers on government 
development projects.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
legal minimum age for employment is 14, although this does not apply to 
self-employed workers. The minimum age for hazardous work is 18. The 
law prohibits minors from working in transport industries or working 
underground, such as in mines and sewers. However, children in 
apprenticeships may engage in these hazardous work assignments, 
provided they are supervised by a competent authority. It was unclear 
at what age a child may become an apprentice.
    Labor inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare are 
responsible for enforcing child labor laws; however, laws were not 
enforced. Inspections, if conducted at all, were infrequent; and 
penalties, if imposed, were arbitrary. Although the government had a 
national plan of action to protect children from exploitation in the 
workplace, it was not enforced, and the government refused to provide 
information on what actions it was taking to protect children from 
exploitation.
    The Ministry of Education continued mahtot, a national program by 
which schools designate students from ninth, 10th, and 11th grades to 
participate in summer work programs. News reports from state-run media 
indicated that these students engaged in various activities such as 
environmental conservation, road construction and maintenance, 
production and maintenance of school furniture, and laying power lines/
telephone cables. In addition, the government requires all secondary 
school students to complete 12th grade at the Sawa military and 
educational camp.
    Children were engaged in child labor, including the worst forms of 
child labor, many of them in agriculture, domestic service, and 
automotive repair; however, data on the extent of child labor was not 
available. Children in rural areas assisted with farming, fetched 
firewood and water, and herded livestock. In urban areas children 
worked in small-scale manufacturing, car and bicycle repair shops, tea 
and coffee shops, or the transportation of grain and other goods via 
donkey carts. Some children worked in the streets cleaning cars or 
selling cigarettes, newspapers, or chewing gum. Begging and 
prostitution among children in Asmara also occurred. Persons who fled 
the country reported that police arrested children and forced them into 
military service and other forms of national service despite their 
being younger than the minimum working age.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government sets wages for 
union workers, employees of PFDJ-owned enterprises, and government 
employees. There is no national minimum wage for the private sector. 
The standard workweek was 44.5 hours, but forced overtime without fair 
compensation was often required by employers. There are no prohibitions 
against excessive overtime. Workers were legally entitled to overtime 
pay, except for those employed under national service, but this was not 
enforced. Workers were entitled to one rest day per week; most received 
one to one-and-one-half days off. There were no known occupational 
health and safety standards or enforcement mechanisms.
    Civil service employees and national service recruits were paid 
according to a fixed scale, the most common salary being 500 nakfa 
($33) per month. For most professions wages had not increased for more 
than a decade despite high inflation. Inspection and enforcement were 
nonexistent or varied widely among work places. In practice some 
workers removed themselves from dangerous work sites without 
retaliation.
    Abuses pertaining to wage, overtime, or safety and health standards 
were common in all sectors. During the year there was discrimination 
against foreign or migrant workers, especially Ethiopians, who could 
not receive food coupons and were periodically arrested without cause 
and not released until they paid a fine.

                               __________

                                ETHIOPIA

                           executive summary
    Ethiopia is a federal republic led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi 
and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). In 
national parliamentary elections in May 2010, the EPRDF and affiliated 
parties won 545 of 547 seats to remain in power for a fourth 
consecutive five-year term. The EPRDF is made up of four ethnically 
based political organizations: the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, 
Amhara National Democratic Movement, Oromo People's Democratic 
Organization, and Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement. 
Although the relatively few international officials allowed to observe 
the elections concluded that technical aspects of the vote were handled 
competently, some also noted that an environment conducive to free and 
fair elections was not in place prior to election day. Several laws, 
regulations, and procedures implemented since the 2005 national 
elections created a clear advantage for the EPRDF throughout the 
electoral process. Security forces generally reported to civilian 
authorities; however, there were instances in which special police and 
local militias acted independently of civilian control.
    The most significant human rights problems included the 
government's arrest of more than 100 opposition political figures, 
activists, journalists, and bloggers. The government charged 14 of 
those arrested under the antiterrorism proclamation. In addition it 
charged another 17 persons outside the country in absentia under this 
proclamation. The government restricted freedom of the press, and fear 
of harassment and arrest led journalists to practice self-censorship. 
The Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law) continued to impose 
severe restrictions on civil society and nongovernmental organization 
(NGO) activities.
    Other human rights problems included torture, beating, abuse, and 
mistreatment of detainees by security forces; harsh and at times life-
threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; 
detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; infringement 
on citizens' privacy rights, including illegal searches; allegations of 
abuses in connection with the continued low-level conflict in parts of 
the Somali region; restrictions on freedom of assembly, association, 
and movement; police, administrative, and judicial corruption; violence 
and societal discrimination against women and abuse of children; female 
genital mutilation (FGM); exploitation of children for economic and 
sexual purposes; trafficking in persons; societal discrimination 
against persons with disabilities; clashes between ethnic minorities; 
discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation and 
against persons with HIV/AIDS; limits on worker rights; forced labor; 
and child labor, including forced child labor.
    Impunity was a problem. The government did not take steps to 
prosecute or otherwise punish officials who committed abuses other than 
corruption.
    The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), an ethnically based, 
violent, and increasingly fragmented separatist group operating in the 
Somali region, was responsible for abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed politically 
motivated killings during the year.
    Human Rights Watch reported that it received reports of five to six 
persons dying due to security force beatings in connection with the 
government's ``villagization'' program during the year (see section 
1.f.).
    In May gunmen linked to the ONLF killed a humanitarian aid worker 
(see section 1.g.).
    Clashes between ethnic groups during the year resulted in dozens of 
deaths, as well as the displacement of persons (see sections 2.d. and 
6, National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities).

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances; however, there were credible reports that security 
officials temporarily detained opposition activists and held them 
incommunicado.
    The ONLF held two humanitarian aid workers for more than six weeks 
(see section 1.g.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were credible reports that security officials tortured and 
otherwise abused detainees.
    Authorities reportedly tortured Ethiopian National Unity Party 
president Zerihun Gebre-Egziabher and journalist Woubishet Taye, two of 
the nine persons arrested June 19-21and accused of terrorist activity 
and involvement with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) (see section 
1.e.).
    In November 2010 the U.N. Committee Against Torture reported that 
it was ``deeply concerned'' about ``numerous, ongoing, and consistent 
allegations'' concerning ``the routine use of torture'' by the police, 
prison officers, and other members of the security forces--including 
the military--against political dissidents and opposition party 
members, students, alleged terrorists, and alleged supporters of 
violent separatist groups like the ONLF and the OLF. The committee 
reported that such acts frequently occurred with the participation of, 
at the instigation of, or with the consent of commanding officers in 
police stations, detention centers, federal prisons, military bases, 
and unofficial or secret places of detention. Some reports of such 
abuses continued during the year.
    Numerous credible sources confirmed in 2009 that in Maekelawi, the 
central police investigation headquarters in Addis Ababa, police 
investigators often used physical abuse to extract confessions. 
Citizens widely believed that such treatment remained a common practice 
at Maekelawi. Authorities continued to restrict access by diplomats and 
NGOs to Maekelawi.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and pretrial 
detention center conditions remained harsh and in some cases life 
threatening. Severe overcrowding was common, especially in sleeping 
quarters. The government provided approximately eight birr ($0.46) per 
prisoner per day for food, water, and health care. Many prisoners 
supplemented this with daily food deliveries from family members or by 
purchasing food from local vendors. Medical care was unreliable in 
federal prisons and almost nonexistent in regional prisons. Water 
shortages caused unhygienic conditions, and most prisons lacked 
appropriate sanitary facilities. Many prisoners had serious health 
problems in detention but received little treatment.
    The country has three federal and 120 regional prisons. There also 
are many unofficial detention centers throughout the country, including 
in Dedessa, Bir Sheleko, Tolay, Hormat, Blate, Tatek, Jijiga, Holeta, 
and Senkele. Most are located at military camps.
    At the end of 2010 there were an estimated 86,000 persons in 
prison, of whom 2,474 were women and 546 children incarcerated with 
their mothers. Juveniles sometimes were incarcerated with adults who 
were awaiting execution. Male and female prisoners generally were 
separated. Authorities generally permitted visitors. In some cases 
family visits to prisoners were restricted to a few per year. Some of 
those charged with terrorist activity reported that their families were 
not allowed to visit them in prison.
    Prisoners generally were permitted religious observance, but this 
varied by prison, and even by section of prison, at the discretion of 
prison management. Prisoners may, during trial, make complaints about 
prison conditions or treatment to the presiding judge.
    During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 
visited regional prisons but, like all international organizations and 
NGOs, remained barred from visiting federal prisons, which held persons 
accused or convicted of crimes against national security, and all 
prisons in the Somali region. Regional authorities allowed NGO 
representatives to meet regularly with prisoners without third parties 
present.
    The government and prison authorities generally cooperated with 
efforts of the Ethiopian NGO Justice for All-Prison Fellowship Ethiopia 
(JFA-PFE) to improve prison conditions. JFA-PFE was granted access to 
various prison and detention facilities, including federal prisons. It 
ran ``model'' prisons in Adama and Mekele, with significantly better 
conditions than those found in other prisons.
    Because the government routinely failed to meet its accepted 
obligation to notify diplomatic missions of the arrest of foreign 
nationals, foreign representatives had only rare access to prisons and 
other detention facilities.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution and 
law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, the government often 
ignored these provisions in practice.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Federal Police 
Commission reports to the Ministry of Federal Affairs, which is subject 
to parliamentary oversight; however, this oversight was loose in 
practice. Each of the country's nine regions has a state or special 
police force that reports to the regional civilian authorities. Local 
militias operated across the country in loose coordination with 
regional and federal police and the military, with the degree of 
coordination varying by region. In many cases these militias functioned 
as appendages of local EPRDF political bosses.
    Security forces were effective, but impunity remained a serious 
problem. The mechanisms used to investigate abuses by the federal 
police were not known. Since 2010 regional police in the Somali region 
came under increasing control by the regional government and several 
members were subject to arrest for acts of indiscipline. The government 
rarely publicly disclosed the results of investigations into abuses by 
local security forces, such as arbitrary detention and beatings of 
civilians. In its November 2010 report, the U.N. Committee Against 
Torture noted that there were ``numerous and consistent reports'' about 
the government's ``persistent failure'' to investigate allegations of 
torture and prosecute perpetrators, including Ethiopian National 
Defense Force (ENDF) or police commanders. The committee further noted 
the absence of information on cases in which soldiers and police or 
prison officers were prosecuted, sentenced, or subjected to 
disciplinary sanctions for acts of torture or mistreatment.
    The government continued its efforts to provide human rights 
training for police and army recruits. During the year the government 
continued to accept assistance from the JFA-PFE and the Ethiopian Human 
Rights Commission (EHRC) to improve and professionalize its human 
rights training and curriculum, by including more material on the 
constitution and international human rights treaties and conventions. 
The JFA-PFE and the EHRC conducted human rights training for police 
commissioners, prosecutors, judges, prison administrators, and militia 
in Tigray; Amhara; Oromia; Afar; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and 
People's Region (SNNPR); Gambella; and Addis Ababa.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Although the 
constitution and law require that detainees be brought to court and 
charged within 48 hours of arrest, sometimes this requirement was not 
respected in practice. With court approval, however, persons suspected 
of serious offenses can be detained for 14 days without being charged 
and for additional 14-day periods if an investigation continues. Under 
the antiterrorism law, police may request to hold persons without 
charge for 28-day periods, up to a maximum of four months. The law 
prohibits detention in any facility other than an official detention 
center; however local militias and other formal and informal law 
enforcement entities used dozens of unofficial local detention centers.
    A functioning bail system was in place. Bail was not available for 
murder, treason, and corruption. In most cases authorities set bail 
between 500 and 10,000 birr ($29 and $580), which was too costly for 
most citizens. Police officials did not always respect court orders to 
release suspects on bail. The government provided public defenders for 
detainees unable to afford private legal counsel, but only when their 
cases went to court. While detainees were in pretrial detention, 
authorities allowed them little or no contact with legal counsel.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Authorities regularly detained persons without 
warrants and denied access to counsel and in some cases to family 
members, particularly in outlying regions.
    The government arrested more than 100 opposition political figures, 
activists, journalists, and bloggers.
    In contrast with previous years, there were no reports that 
Ethiopian asylum seekers deported from Yemen were detained upon return 
to the country.

    Pretrial Detention.--Some prisoners reported being detained for 
several years without being charged and without trial. Pretrial 
detention continued to decline during the year. Approximately 80 
percent of those incarcerated during the year in Amhara, Benishangul-
Gumuz, Oromia, SNNPR, and Tigray had been sentenced.
    Trial delays were most often caused by lengthy legal procedures, 
the large numbers of detainees, judicial inefficiency, and staffing 
shortages.

    Amnesty.--On June 1, after extensive lobbying by the Ethiopian 
Orthodox Church and other religious institutions, and despite the 
protests of the family members of victims of the Red Terror, the 
government commuted the death sentences of 23 officials of the previous 
military regime, known as the Derg (1974-91). The officials, convicted 
of genocide, had their sentences reduced to life imprisonment; 16 of 
those officials were released from prison on October 4 for good 
behavior.
    On September 10, in keeping with a long-standing tradition of 
issuing pardons at the Ethiopian New Year, the government pardoned 
2,620 prisoners. In addition the SNNPR government pardoned 5,671 
prisoners.
    On September 27, officials commuted the life sentence of Ginbot 7 
member Tsige Habtemariam and released him. Tsige was more than 80 years 
old at the time of his release. Tsige is the father of Andargachew 
Tsige, the secretary general of Ginbot 7, who received a death sentence 
in absentia in 2009.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary. Although the civil courts operated with a large 
degree of independence, the criminal courts remained weak, 
overburdened, and subject to political influence. The upper house of 
parliament has sole responsibility for judging the constitutionality of 
proposed new laws, handling judicial appointments, and reviewing 
judicial conduct. Courts have the ability to convict defendants on 
charges not raised by the prosecution.
    Regional offices of the federal Ministry of Justice, known as 
bureaus of justice, monitored developments in local courts, but the 
federal judicial presence in the regions was otherwise limited. Some 
regional courts had jurisdiction over both local and federal matters, 
as the federal courts in those jurisdictions were not operational. Many 
citizens residing in rural areas generally had little access to formal 
judicial systems and relied on traditional mechanisms of resolving 
conflict.
    A severe lack of experienced staff in the judicial system sometimes 
made the application of the law unpredictable. The government continued 
to train lower court judges and prosecutors and made effective judicial 
administration the primary focus of this training.
    The seventh criminal branch of the Federal Court of First Instance, 
headed by three judges, handled cases involving juvenile offenses and 
cases of sexual abuse of women and children. There was a large backlog 
of juvenile cases, and accused children often remained in detention 
with adults until officials heard their cases. There were also credible 
reports that domestic violence and rape cases often were delayed 
significantly and given low priority.
    The law provides legal standing to some preexisting religious and 
traditional courts and allows federal and regional legislatures to 
recognize decisions of such courts. By law all parties to a dispute 
must agree to use a traditional or religious court before such a court 
may hear a case, and either party can appeal to a regular court at any 
time. Sharia (Islamic) courts may hear religious and family cases 
involving Muslims. In addition other traditional systems of justice, 
such as the Council of Elders, continued to function. These customary 
mechanisms resolved disputes for the majority of citizens who lived in 
rural areas. Some women complained of lack of access to free and fair 
hearings in the traditional justice system because they were excluded 
by custom from participation in the Council of Elders and because there 
was strong gender discrimination in rural areas.

    Trial Procedures.--By law accused persons have the right to a fair 
public trial by a court of law within a ``reasonable time,'' a 
presumption of innocence, the right to be represented by legal counsel 
of their choice, and the right to appeal. The law gives defendants the 
right to present witnesses and evidence in their defense, cross-examine 
prosecution witnesses, and access government-held evidence. However, in 
practice the government did not always respect the right of access to 
evidence it held. In some sensitive cases deemed to involve matters of 
national security, notably the Ginbot 7 and OLF trials, detainees 
stated that authorities initially denied them the right to see 
attorneys. The court system does not use trial by juries. Unlike in 
previous years, there were no reports that persons charged with 
corruption were denied access to evidence against them prior to their 
trials.
    Judicial inefficiency and lack of qualified staff often resulted in 
serious delays in trial proceedings. The Public Defender's Office 
provided legal counsel to indigent defendants, although its scope and 
quality of service remained limited due to the shortage of attorneys.
    During the year 31 persons were charged with terrorist activities 
under the antiterrorism proclamation, including 12 journalists, 
opposition political figures, and activists based in the country; two 
foreign journalists; and 17 Ethiopians living abroad who were charged 
in absentia. The first formal charges in such cases were filed on 
September 6. Several international human rights organizations raised 
concerns over the law's broad definition of terrorism, as well as its 
severe penalties, its broad rules of evidence, and the discretionary 
powers afforded police and security forces. In at least one case 
defense attorneys were not given access to the prosecution's evidence 
before the start of the trial.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The government arrested more 
than 100 persons between March and September, including opposition 
political figures, activists, journalists, and bloggers. The government 
charged several of those arrested with terrorist or seditious activity, 
but observers found the evidence presented at trials to be either open 
to interpretation or indicative of acts of a political nature rather 
than linked to terrorism.
    Estimates on the number of political prisoners varied. Domestic and 
international NGOs estimated that there were 200 to 300 political 
prisoners and detainees at year's end. The government did not permit 
access by international human rights organizations.
    From March 13 to 16, in the Oromia region the government arrested 
members of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and the 
Oromo People's Congress (OPC). The opposition parties stated that the 
government arrested 74 of their members and claimed that the arrests 
were politically motivated. The government stated that authorities 
arrested 120 persons, and that those arrested were affiliated with the 
OLF.
    A second wave of arrests between June and September included a 
number of prominent journalists, political opposition figures, and 
activists, many of whom the government alleged were involved with 
terrorism. For example, on September 14, authorities arrested Andualem 
Arage, the vice chairman of the opposition front Medrek and a Unity for 
Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ) official; the well known blogger and 
journalist Eskinder Nega; and the UDJ official Natnael Mekonnen. 
Representatives of the opposition said that the arrests were 
politically motivated. The trial continued at year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides citizens 
the right to appeal human rights violations in civil court; however, no 
such cases were filed during the year.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law requires authorities to obtain judicial 
warrants to search private property; however, in practice police often 
ignored the law, and there were no records of courts excluding evidence 
found without warrants. Opposition political party leaders reported 
suspicions of telephone tapping and other electronic eavesdropping. In 
2009 a former employee of the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation 
(ETC), the state-run monopoly telecommunications and Internet provider, 
reported from self-imposed exile that the government had ordered ETC 
employees to record citizens' private telephone conversations 
unlawfully. It was widely believed that this practice continued during 
the year. In at least one instance, a foreign diplomat received a 
communication from a service provider stating that the government had 
accessed the diplomat's private e-mail account.
    The government reportedly used a widespread system of paid 
informants to report on the activities of particular individuals. 
During the year opposition members reported that ruling party 
operatives and militia members made intimidating and unwelcome visits 
to their homes, although the number of reports of such visits declined 
significantly compared with the previous year, when there was an 
election.
    Human Rights Watch and some opposition parties alleged that the 
government politicized foreign donor assistance and that humanitarian 
assistance was used as an incentive to secure support for the ruling 
coalition. In 2010 the donor community based in the country, 
collectively known as the Development Assistance Group, conducted an 
assessment of the four largest donor-supported development programs. 
The assessment concluded that all four programs had accountability 
systems in place that provided effective checks against distortion for 
political purposes in the distribution of assistance.
    Security forces continued to detain family members of persons 
sought for questioning by the government. There were credible reports 
that unemployed youths who were not affiliated with the ruling 
coalition sometimes had trouble receiving the ``support letters'' from 
their kebeles (neighborhoods or wards) necessary to get jobs.
    The national government and regional governments continued to put 
in place ``villagization'' plans in the Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, 
and Somali regions. These plans involved the resettlement of scattered 
rural populations from arid or semiarid lands vulnerable to recurring 
droughts into designated clusters by regional governments. The stated 
purposes of villagization were to improve the provision of government 
services (i.e., health care, education, and clean water), protect 
vulnerable communities from natural disasters and attacks, and change 
environmentally destructive patterns of shifting cultivation. However, 
some observers stated that the purpose was to enable the large-scale 
leasing of land for commercial agriculture, a claim the government 
denied. The plan involved the resettlement of 45,000 households in 
Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz and 70,000 in the Somali region from 
2008-11. The government described the villagization program as strictly 
voluntary, and assessments by international donors found no systematic 
evidence to the contrary. These assessments found that communities and 
individual families appeared to have agreed to move based on assurances 
from authorities of food aid, services, and land, although in some 
instances communities moved before adequate basic services and shelter 
were in place in the new locations. They also noted that community 
members who objected to moving were allowed to stay, with consultations 
continuing, and some persons later returned to their original homes 
without hindrance. A Human Rights Watch report characterized the 
process as ``far from voluntary.'' The report described a process in 
which security forces and local militia attended meetings with those 
communities that had initially indicated they did not want to move and 
later went with villagers to the new locations, where they oversaw the 
construction of tukuls (traditional huts) by the villagers. According 
to the report, security forces beat (sometimes leading to death), 
threatened, arrested without charge, and detained persons who were 
critical of planned villagization of their communities, and this caused 
persons to fear speaking out against the process.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Since1994 the ONLF has engaged in armed conflict with the government. 
During the year scattered fighting continued between government forces, 
primarily regional government-backed militia, and residual elements of 
the ONLF. Allegations of human rights abuses committed by government 
forces (including regional police), government-aligned local militias, 
and ONLF forces continued. Often fighting was reported only well after 
the fact with the opposing sides alleging vastly differing and 
unverifiable accounts of events. In June parliament declared the ONLF 
and four other entities as terrorist organizations.
    Most allegations of human rights abuses involving government actors 
came from ONLF sources, typically conveyed via diaspora blogs, and 
could not be readily investigated. Some villagers continued to report 
that local authorities threatened to retaliate against anyone who 
reported abuses by security forces. The number of reports of such human 
rights abuses continued to decline. The ``Admiral Osman faction'' of 
the ONLF, consisting of hard-core fighters and supported by the 
Eritrean government, was believed to be responsible for an attack 
against aid workers on May 13 and attacks against the government. 
Deliveries of food and medicine were temporarily halted in the limited 
areas affected by fighting due to security concerns.
    The 2010 peace agreements that the government signed with the 
United Western Somali Liberation Front and the Salahdin Ma'ow faction 
of the ONLF held.

    Killings.--On May 13, gunmen affiliated with the ONLF attacked a 
vehicle belonging to the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), killed its 
driver, Farhan Hamsa, and injured one other staff member.

    Abductions.--The persons responsible for the May 13 attack on the 
WFP vehicle also kidnapped two other WFP employees in the vehicle. The 
ONLF admitted that it had the two employees in its custody without 
taking responsibility for the attack. On June 30, the ONLF released the 
two WFP employees unharmed.

    Child Soldiers.--There was no additional information regarding 
reports in past years that some local militias in the Somali region 
recruited child soldiers.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--Civilians, international NGOs, and 
other aid organizations operating in the Somali region reported that 
government security forces, local militias, and the ONLF committed 
abuses such as arbitrary arrest to intimidate the civilian population. 
In contrast with the previous year, there were no reports that special 
police and or militias forcibly relocated whole villages believed to be 
supportive of the ONLF.
    Restrictions that limited the access of NGOs and journalists to 
conflict regions continued, although these were relaxed significantly 
in comparison with previous years and large portions of the region were 
opened to diplomatic visitors. At year's end no areas of the region 
were officially off-limits, and the government generally encouraged 
travel in the region as a means of spurring potential investment. The 
government continued strongly to advise caution in areas of recent 
fighting. Journalists must register before entering conflict regions. 
NGOs had to request permission to enter the Fik zone in the Somali 
region. There were isolated reports of regional police or local 
militias blocking NGO access to particular locations on particular 
days, citing security concerns as the reason for this. NGO workers 
generally turned back and did not press the point. Several foreign 
missions and other groups continued to exercise caution in traveling to 
the area.
    Authorities arrested and convicted two Swedish journalists who 
entered the Somali region after crossing the border from Somalia 
illegally; the journalists were in the company of ONLF fighters when 
they were arrested (see section 2.a.). The government continued to ban 
the ICRC from the region, having previously alleged that it cooperated 
with the ONLF. During the year some humanitarian groups reported 
roadblocks manned by insurgent groups that occasionally briefly 
detained them. These same humanitarian groups reportedly were 
interrogated by the ENDF on their encounters with insurgents at the 
roadblocks.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--While the constitution and law provide for freedom of speech 
and press, the government did not respect these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Speech.--Authorities arrested and harassed persons for 
criticizing the government.

    Freedom of Press.--Approximately 20 private Amharic- and English-
language newspapers with political and business focuses were published, 
with a combined weekly circulation in Addis Ababa of more than 150,000. 
Most newspapers were printed on a weekly basis with the exception of 
the state-owned Amharic and English dailies.
    The government controlled the only nationally broadcast television 
station which, along with radio, was the primary source of news for 
much of the population. Apart from three private FM radio stations in 
the capital city and community radio stations in the regions, the 
government controlled all radio broadcasting.
    Government-controlled media mostly reflected the views of the 
government and the ruling EPRDF coalition. The government periodically 
jammed foreign broadcasts. For example, Voice of America's Amharic-
language programs experienced periodic jamming throughout the year. 
Deutsche Welle also reportedly experienced jamming in early April. The 
broadcasting law prohibits political and religious organizations or 
foreigners from owning broadcast stations.

    Violence and Harassment.--The government continued to arrest, 
harass, and prosecute journalists, publishers, and editors. During the 
year the government arrested nine journalists, five of whom remained in 
custody at year's end. Two journalists fled the country, citing fear of 
arrest; one of the two reported having his accreditation revoked prior 
to departure.
    On February 8, the Ministry of Justice filed approximately130 
charges against Temesgen Dessalegn, editor in chief and owner of the 
private Amharic weekly newspaper Feteh. The charges included 35 
criminal offenses and approximately 100 other allegations. Dessalegn 
was charged with inciting public violence and protests in order to 
boost sales. Reportedly, the charges cited articles in 13 issues of the 
newspaper published between September and December 2010 as ``defaming 
the EPRDF and the government, inciting the public against the 
government and the constitution, and dishonoring the flag.''
    In November Dawit Kebede, editor in chief of the Awramba Times, 
reportedly fled the country due to harassment and intimidation by 
government officials. Following his departure the Awramba Times ceased 
publication. Its license was in Dawit's name and was essentially 
nontransferable.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Government harassment of 
journalists caused them to fear reporting on sensitive topics. Many 
private newspapers reported informal editorial control by the 
government through article placement requests and calls from government 
officials concerning articles perceived as critical of the government. 
Private-sector and government journalists routinely practiced self-
censorship. In contrast with previous years, there were no reports that 
the government used its licensing authority to censor the media 
indirectly.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The government used the 
antiterrorism law to suppress criticism. Journalists feared reporting 
on the five groups designated by parliament in June as terrorist 
organizations (Ginbot 7, the ONLF, the OLF, al-Qaida, and Al Shabaab), 
citing ambiguity on whether reporting on these groups might be 
punishable under the law. From June through September, the government 
arrested and charged five journalists under the antiterrorism 
proclamation. Several journalists, both local and foreign 
correspondents, reported an increase in self-censorship.
    On June 19 and 21, authorities arrested nine persons under the 
antiterrorism proclamation, including two journalists--Woubishet Taye, 
deputy editor of the Awramba Times, and Feteh columnist Reyot Alemu--as 
well as Zerihun Gebre-Egziabher, president of the Ethiopian National 
Unity Party. Reports indicated that Woubishet and Reyot were not 
allowed to receive visitors and did not have access to counsel while 
awaiting formal charges, although they had counsel once their trial 
began. The families of Zerihun and Woubishet stated that the two men 
had been tortured. On September 6, Woubishet, Reyot, and Zerihun were 
charged formally with terrorist activity. The trial continued at year's 
end. Four others of those arrested were later released.
    On June 30, Swedish freelancers Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, 
a photographer and a journalist, respectively, were arrested in the 
Somali region. Reports indicated that they were found with a group of 
ONLF rebels and that prior to their capture the rebels and government 
troops were in a firefight. The journalists admitted to embedding 
themselves with the ONLF and entering Ethiopia illegally but otherwise 
denied actual involvement with or support for the organization. On 
December 21, they were found guilty of rendering support to a terrorist 
organization and illegally entering the country. They each received 
sentences of 11 years in prison.
    The government did not use libel laws during the year to suppress 
criticism.

    Publishing Restrictions.--The government owned the only high-
quality newspaper printing press and regularly increased costs to 
publishers. Reports indicated that this practice influenced the 
circulation numbers of the private newspapers, forcing them to adjust 
their printing runs according to what they could afford. One private 
publisher claimed to have purchased and imported a news printing press 
but cited government-imposed obstacles that prevented delivery and 
installation.

    Internet Freedom.--The government restricted access to the Internet 
and blocked several Web sites, including news sites, blogs, opposition 
Web sites, and Web sites of domestic groups designated as terrorist 
organizations by parliament (Ginbot 7, the OLF, and the ONLF). Several 
news blogs and Web sites run by opposition diaspora groups, such as 
Addis Neger, Nazret, Ethiopian Review, CyberEthiopia, Quatero Amharic 
Magazine, Tensae Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Media Forum, were not 
accessible. In general blog sites were not accessible. The news Web 
site for VOA News was only available periodically, although users could 
generally access their proxy Web sites.
    On September 14, authorities arrested the journalist and blogger 
Eskinder Nega (see section 1.e., Political Prisoners and Detainees).

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted 
academic freedom, including the curriculum, teachers' appointments, and 
student enrollment decisions. Speech, expression, and assembly 
frequently were restricted on university and high school campuses.
    Students in schools and universities were indoctrinated in the core 
precepts of the ruling EPDRF party's concept of ``revolutionary 
democracy.'' According to credible sources, the ruling party ``stacks'' 
student enrollment at Addis Ababa University, which is the nation's 
largest and most influential university, with students loyal to the 
party to ensure further adherence to the party's principles and to 
forestall any student protest.
    The government also restricted academic freedom in other ways. 
Authorities did not permit teachers at any level to deviate from 
official lesson plans and actively prohibited partisan political 
activity and association of any kind on university campuses. Numerous 
anecdotal reports suggested that non-EPRDF members were more likely to 
be transferred to undesirable posts and bypassed for promotions. There 
was a lack of transparency in academic staffing decisions, with 
numerous complaints from individuals in the academic community of bias 
based on party membership, ethnicity, or religion.
    Some college students reportedly were pressured to pledge 
allegiance to the EPRDF in order to secure enrollment in universities 
or government jobs after graduation. According to multiple credible 
sources, teachers and high school students in grade 10 and above were 
required to attend training on the concepts of revolutionary democracy 
and EPRDF party ideology. Many students reportedly believed that they 
needed EPRDF membership to gain admission to a university and 
consequently became members.
    During the year the Ministry of Education relaxed some restrictions 
in its 2010 directive prohibiting private universities from offering 
degree programs in law and teacher education. The directive also 
requires private universities to align their curriculum offerings with 
the previously announced ministry's policy of a 70-to-30 ratio between 
science and social science academic programs. Private university 
curricula had focused heavily on the social sciences. Ministry 
officials originally cited a need to maintain quality standards as the 
reason for the directive.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; 
however, the government restricted this right. On one occasion during 
the year, authorities injured and arrested protestors who were 
reportedly demonstrating without a permit.
    Organizers of large public meetings or demonstrations must notify 
the government 48 hours in advance and obtain a permit. Local 
government officials, almost all of whom were affiliated with the 
EPRDF, controlled access to municipal halls, and there were many 
complaints from opposition parties that local officials denied or 
otherwise obstructed the scheduling of opposition parties' use of halls 
for lawful political rallies.
    Regional governments, including the Addis Ababa regional 
administration, were reluctant to grant permits or provide security for 
large meetings.
    In September the All Ethiopia Unity Party and Ethiopia Unity 
Democratic Organization stated that they were not granted permission by 
the Addis Ababa city administration to hold a peaceful demonstration.

    Freedom of Association.--Although the law provides for freedom of 
association and the right to engage in unrestricted peaceful political 
activity, the government limited this right in practice.
    In accordance with the CSO law, anonymous donations to NGOs are not 
permitted. All donors are therefore aware that their names will be 
public knowledge. The same is true of all donations made to political 
parties.
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs screens registration applications 
from international NGOs and submits a recommendation on whether to 
approve or deny registration.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--Although the law provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, the government restricted some of these rights in 
practice.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees and returning citizens.

    In-country Movement.--The government relaxed but did not completely 
remove restrictions on the movement of persons into and within the 
Ogaden area of the Somali region, continuing to argue that the ONLF 
posed a security threat (see section 1.g.).

    Exile.--The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not 
employ it. Several citizens sought political asylum in other countries 
or remained abroad in self-imposed exile, including prominent human 
rights advocates. For example, during the year Awramba Times editor 
Dawit Kebede fled the country after receiving information that he was 
going to be imprisoned (see section 2.a., Violence and Harassment).

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The total number of IDPs in 
the country during the year was not known. Many persons who had been 
displaced due to conflict in Gambella, Oromia, SNNPR, and the Somali 
region remained displaced. Drought also caused displacements during the 
year.
    The government did not recognize IDPs as a distinct group, and 
there was no specialized office charged with managing matters such as 
IDP protection, return, resettlement, or durable solutions. The 
government did not maintain data on IDPs. The Federal Disaster Risk 
Management and Food Security Sector, under the authority of the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is the main government 
agency responsible for emergencies, in collaboration with the Ministry 
of Health and the Ministry of Water and Energy.
    Government restrictions on the access of human rights 
organizations, the media, humanitarian agencies, and diplomatic 
missions to conflict-affected areas significantly decreased in 
comparison with previous years. There were isolated reports of regional 
police or local militias blocking NGO access to particular locations on 
particular days, citing security concerns as the reason for this. NGO 
workers generally turned back. Access to conflict-affected IDPs often 
was difficult and limited; hence assistance provided to them was often 
inadequate.
    During the year drought caused displacements in the Somali region, 
a situation exacerbated in some cases by the continuing conflict (see 
section 1.g.). The government limited humanitarian access to the Fik 
zone of the Somali region.
    In Oromia religious violence caused temporary displacement. In 
March between three thousand and four thousand evangelical Protestants 
were displaced temporarily when Muslims attacked and burned more than 
60 homes and churches in Asendabo, a small town near Jimma, the 
principal city of western Oromia. The federal police quelled the 
violence. Virtually all of those who left had returned to their homes 
by year's end.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
    According to the UNHCR, the country hosted 290,304 refugees at 
year's end. The majority of refugees were from Somalia (185,473), with 
others coming from Sudan and South Sudan (46,129) and Eritrea (55,085). 
New arrivals from Somalia increased significantly during the year, most 
being women and children who were not in good health. Most Somali 
refugees went to camps in the Dollo Ado area. Deaths of Somali refugee 
children increased significantly compared with previous years, mainly 
due to severe malnutrition. Mortality rates peaked in July and August. 
In August the UNHCR reported that an average of 10 children under age 
five died every day in Kobe camp (located in the Dollo Ado area) since 
it opened in June.
    The UNHCR, the government, and humanitarian agencies activated 
contingency plans to care for Sudanese arrivals who fled from conflict 
in Sudan's Blue Nile State.
    Eritrean asylum seekers continued to arrive at the rate of 
approximately 1,000 new arrivals per month, according to the UNHCR. 
Hundreds of Eritrean refugees reportedly departed monthly on secondary 
migration through Egypt and Sudan to go to Israel, Europe, and other 
final destinations. The UNHCR assisted in the reception and 
transportation back to My Ayni or Adi Harush camps of more than 723 
Eritrean refugees who had been detained in Egypt and deported by the 
Egyptian authorities. The UNHCR reported that the population of 
unaccompanied minors who fled Eritrea was 1,197 at year's end. 
Unaccompanied minors in the 15- to17-year-old age group represented 
more than 75 percent of the total population of such minors, who stated 
they fled Eritrea to avoid military conscription.

    Refugee Abuse.--The out-of-camp policy for Eritrean refugees, which 
permits Eritrean refugees to live outside the camps, remained in place. 
Prior to this policy, such permission was given primarily to attend 
higher education institutions, undergo medical treatment, or avoid 
security threats at the camps. Officially, the out-of-camp policy is 
not extended to refugees from places other than Eritrea. However, in 
practice such persons were not prevented from moving in and out of 
camps.

    Employment.--The government does not grant refugees work permits.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees in camps were provided with 
schooling and health services. For those outside of camps, there were 
no reports of discrimination in access to public services.

    Durable Solutions.--During the year, the International Organization 
for Migration processed 4,746 refugees who departed for resettlement 
and family reunification abroad.
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. In practice the country has never had a peaceful 
change of government.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In the 
May 2010 national parliamentary elections, the EPRDF and affiliated 
parties won 545 of 547 seats to remain in power for a fourth 
consecutive five-year term. In simultaneous elections for regional 
parliaments, the EPRDF and its affiliates won 1,903 of 1,904 seats. The 
EPRDF and its affiliates received approximately 79 percent of total 
votes cast but won more than 99 percent of all seats at all levels. 
Independent observation of the vote was severely limited due to 
government restrictions. Although the relatively few international 
officials allowed to observe the elections concluded that technical 
aspects of the vote were handled competently, some also noted that an 
environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place prior 
to election day. Several laws, regulations, and procedures implemented 
since the 2005 national elections created a clear advantage for the 
EPRDF throughout the electoral process. There was ample evidence that 
unfair government tactics--including intimidation of opposition 
candidates and supporters--influenced the extent of the EPRDF victory. 
In addition voter education was limited in scope to information about 
technical voting procedures and done only by the National Electoral 
Board, and then only days before voting began.
    The African Union, whose observers arrived one week before the 
vote, pronounced the elections as free and fair. The European Union, 
some of whose observers arrived a few months before the vote, concluded 
that the elections fell short of international standards for 
transparency and failed to provide a level playing field for opposition 
parties. Overall the EU observed a ``climate of apprehension and 
insecurity,'' noting that the volume and consistency of complaints of 
harassment and intimidation by opposition parties was ``a matter of 
concern'' and had to be taken into consideration ``in the overall 
assessment of the electoral process.''

    Political Parties.--Political parties were predominantly ethnically 
based. Membership in the EPRDF conferred advantages upon its members; 
the party directly owned many businesses and was broadly perceived to 
award jobs and business contracts to loyal supporters. The opposition 
reported that in many instances local authorities told its members to 
renounce their party membership and join the EPRDF if they wanted 
access to subsidized seeds and fertilizer; food relief; civil service 
job assignment, promotion, or retention; student university assignment 
and postgraduate employment; and other benefits controlled by the 
government.
    During the year there were credible reports that teachers and other 
government workers had their employment terminated if they belonged to 
opposition political parties. According to opposition groups such as 
the OFDM and the OPC, the Oromia regional government continued to 
threaten to dismiss opposition party members--particularly teachers--
from their jobs. At the university level, however, members of Medrek 
and its constituent parties were able to teach.
    Registered political parties must receive permission from regional 
governments to open and occupy local offices.
    In early 2010 a system of public campaign finance was announced. 
Under this system parties are to receive public funds based in part on 
the number of parliamentary seats they hold.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--No laws or cultural or 
traditional practices prevented women or minorities from voting or 
participating in political life on the same basis as men or nonminority 
citizens.
    The government policy of ethnic federalism led to the creation of 
individual constituencies to provide for representation of all major 
ethnic groups in the House of People's Representatives. There were more 
than 80 ethnic groups, and small groups lacked representation in the 
legislature. There were 24 nationality groups in six regional states 
(Tigray, Amhara, Beneshangul-Gumuz, SNNPR, Gambella, and Harar) that 
did not have a sufficient population to qualify for constituency seats 
based on the 2007 census result; however, in the May 2010 elections, 
individuals from these nationality groups competed for 24 special seats 
in the House of People's Representatives. Additionally these 24 
nationality groups have one seat each in the unelected, largely 
ceremonial House of Federation.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
despite the government's prosecution of numerous officials for 
corruption, some officials continued to engage in corrupt practices. 
Corruption, especially the solicitation of bribes, remained a problem 
among low-level bureaucrats. Police and judicial corruption also 
continued to be problems. Some government officials appeared to 
manipulate the privatization process, and state- and party-owned 
businesses received preferential access to land leases and credit.
    The Ministry of Justice has primary responsibility for combating 
corruption, largely through the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption 
Commission.
    A large number of arrests for corruption were made during the year, 
including of significant regional politicians and government officials. 
For example, in May authorities arrested the deputy head of the Bureau 
of Land Administration and Environmental Protection for the Oromia 
region, Mohammed Ebrahim Mussa, on corruption charges. The Oromia 
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission arrested more than 60 government 
officials in the first half of the year.
    On August 16, eight team leaders and staff members of the 
Department of Trade, Industry, and Transport in two Oromia cities, 
Adama and Bishoftu, received fines and prison terms of up to five and a 
half years. They were convicted of misusing their offices for illicit 
gain in the importation of duty-free vehicles; the financial loss to 
the government was reportedly 1,755,585 birr ($101,950). In addition 26 
other individuals convicted of benefiting from the scheme received 
similar sentences.
    The law requires that all government officials and employees 
officially register their wealth and personal property. The president, 
prime minister, and all cabinet-level ministers registered their assets 
by the end of 2010, and by the next September a total of 9,102 elected 
officials, political appointees, and public servants had registered 
their assets, according to the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption 
Commission.
    There was progress in the 2008 case of former ETC managing director 
Tesfaye Birru and 12 other senior management staff accused of approving 
an equipment and technology contract that violated government bid 
regulations and cost 1.52 billion birr ($88.3 million). On August 24, 
the federal high court convicted five of the 13 defendants and 
sentenced them to five to nine years in prison and fines of 7,000 to 
40,000 birr ($406 to $2,323).
    The law provides for public access to government information, but 
access was largely restricted in practice. The law included freedom of 
information provisions.
    The government publishes its laws and regulations in the national 
gazette prior to their taking effect. The Government Communications 
Affairs Office managed contacts between the government, the press, and 
the public; however, the private press reported that the government 
rarely responded to its queries.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A few domestic human rights groups operated, but with significant 
government restriction. The government was generally distrustful and 
wary of domestic human rights groups and international observers. 
State-controlled media were critical of international human rights 
groups such as Human Rights Watch. The government strongly criticized 
Human Rights Watch on several occasions during the year for what it 
described as biased and inaccurate reporting.
    The CSO law prohibits charities, societies, and associations (NGOs 
or CSOs) that receive more than 10 percent of their funding from 
foreign sources from engaging in activities that advance human and 
democratic rights or promote equality of nations, nationalities, 
peoples, genders, and religions; the rights of children and persons 
with disabilities; conflict resolution or reconciliation; or the 
efficiency of justice and law enforcement services. There were 3,522 
organizations registered before the CSO law was adopted, although not 
all were active, and as of June 2,059 CSOs--old and new--were 
registered under the law. Of these, 262 were foreign charities, 1,330 
were ``resident'' charities, 371 were ``local'' charities, 62 were 
adoption agencies, and 34 were consortia. The government maintained 
that the majority of organizations that did not reregister were not 
functional organizations prior to the passage of the law. In December 
the government participated in the first session of a civil-society 
sector working group with donor countries and resident CSOs. Some human 
rights defender organizations adjusted by registering either as local 
charities, meaning that they could not raise more than 10 percent of 
their funds from foreign donors but could act in the enumerated areas, 
or as resident charities, which allowed foreign donations above 10 
percent but prohibited activities in the enumerated areas.
    Two prominent human rights defender organizations--the Human Rights 
Council (HRCO) and the Ethiopian Women Lawyers' Association (EWLA)--
registered as local charities to preserve their mission and adjust to 
the law. However, due to the restrictions of the CSO law, both the HRCO 
and the EWLA cut most of their staff in 2010, drastically reducing the 
services they provided. In 2010 the Charities and Societies Association 
(CSA), set up by the government to oversee NGOs, froze the accounts of 
these two and four other organizations, claiming that funds raised in 
2009 would have to be cross-checked against the annual work plan for 
the year. The funds remained frozen during the year. On October 25, the 
Federal High Court 11th Civil Bench upheld the CSA's decision to block 
the funds. Both the EWLA and the HRCO signed agreements with the 
government-run EHRC that allowed them to gain access to some limited 
funding through the EHRC. The EWLA's agreement with the EHRC allowed it 
to establish legal aid centers in tandem with the government-run 
agency, which effectively began to expand the organization again during 
the year.
    The government denied NGOs access to federal prisons, police 
stations, and political prisoners.
    Restrictions that limited access of NGOs and journalists to 
conflict regions continued, although these were relaxed significantly 
compared with previous years. Journalists must register before entering 
conflict regions. NGOs had to request permission to enter the Fik zone 
in the Somali region. There were isolated reports of regional police or 
local militias blocking NGOs' access to particular locations on 
particular days, citing security concerns as the reason for this (see 
section 1.g.).
    There were credible reports that security officials continued to 
intimidate or detain local individuals to prevent them from meeting 
with NGOs and foreign government officials investigating allegations of 
abuse.
    On August 27, authorities jailed Bekele Gerba, an Addis Ababa 
University professor and deputy chairman of the opposition OFDM, as 
well as OPC member Olbana Lelisa. Representatives of Amnesty 
International had met with Bekele and Olbana several days prior to 
their arrest. Bekele and Olbana were accused of involvement with the 
OLF. At the same time, 20 Addis Ababa University students were arrested 
under similar allegations, and several remained incarcerated at year's 
end. The government also expelled the Amnesty International staff from 
the country. Court proceedings against Bekele and Olbana were beginning 
at year's end.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
cooperated with international organizations such as the U.N.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government-established EHRC, 
which is funded by the parliament and subject to parliamentary review, 
investigates human rights complaints and produces both annual and 
thematic reports, although it did not release any reports during the 
year. The commissioner reported that 11 investigative reports were 
issued. He also stated that the commission established 106 legal aid 
centers, 16 of which were affiliated with universities and 31 with the 
EWLA, pursuant to an agreement that enables the EWLA branches to access 
EHRC funds. The EHRC itself also reviewed more than 1,400 complaints 
submitted to it during the year, the vast majority of which were not 
directed against the government or government bodies. The EHRC, 
however, is not a body independent of government influence, as it is 
controlled by parliament.
    The Office of the Ombudsman has the authority to receive and 
investigate complaints with respect to administrative mismanagement by 
executive branch offices. The agency received hundreds of complaints 
during the year, mainly focused on delays or denials in services, 
improper institutional decisions, promotions or demotions, and pension 
matters. It was not known which complaints were investigated or acted 
upon.
    In September the government launched a steering committee for its 
National Action Plan on Human Rights; however, no action took place by 
year's end.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides all persons equal protection without 
discrimination based on race, nation, nationality or other social 
origin, color, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, 
property, birth, or status. However, in practice the government did not 
fully promote and protect these rights.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape and 
provides for penalties of five to 20 years' imprisonment, depending on 
the severity of the case; however, the law does not expressly address 
spousal rape. The government did not fully enforce the law, partially 
due to widespread underreporting. Recent statistics on the number of 
abusers prosecuted, convicted, or punished were not available.
    Domestic violence, including spousal abuse, was a pervasive social 
problem. The government's 2005 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 
found that 81 percent of women believed a husband had a right to beat 
his wife. A 2005 World Health Organization study found that in two 
SNNPR rural districts, Meskan and Mareko, 71 percent of women were 
subject to physical or sexual violence, or both, by an intimate partner 
during their lifetime. Although women had recourse to the police and 
the courts, societal norms and limited infrastructure prevented many 
women from seeking legal redress, particularly in rural areas. The 
government prosecuted offenders on a limited scale. Domestic violence 
is illegal, but government enforcement of laws against rape and 
domestic violence was inconsistent. Depending on the severity of damage 
inflicted, legal penalties range from small fines to imprisonment for 
up to 10 to 15 years.
    Domestic violence and rape cases often were delayed significantly 
and given low priority (see section 1.e.). On December 17, Fisseha 
Tadesse was convicted of attempted murder after gouging out his ex-
wife's eyes. On December 30, he was sentenced to 14 years' 
imprisonment. In the context of gender-based violence, significant 
gender gaps in the justice system remained, due to poor documentation 
and inadequate investigation.
    During the year the Ministry of Health began the expansion of the 
rape crisis center at Gandhi Hospital into a training center for health 
workers, law enforcement personnel, and others. Police officers were 
required to receive domestic violence training from domestic NGOs and 
the Ministry of Women's Affairs. There was a deputy commissioner of 
women's and children's rights in the EHRC.
    Women and girls experienced gender-based violence, but it was 
underreported due to cultural acceptance, shame, fear, or a victim's 
ignorance of legal protections.
    The government established a National Commission for Children's and 
Women's Affairs in 2005, as part of the EHRC, to investigate alleged 
human rights violations against women and children. During the year the 
commission focused its efforts on workshops and seminars, and not on 
investigations.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--One of the most prevalent harmful 
traditional practices, FGM, is illegal, but the government did not 
enforce this prohibition or punish those who practiced it. The practice 
was still widespread but declining. The 2000 DHS found that 80 percent 
of all women surveyed had undergone FGM, while the total dropped to 74 
percent of all women surveyed in 2005. In addition the number of 
younger women subjected to FGM was declining more rapidly; in 2005, 81 
percent of women ages 35-39 had been subjected to FGM, compared with 
62.1 percent of women ages 15-19. The same survey found that four in 
five women who had been subjected to FGM in the Somali region, and 
three in five in the Afar region, underwent infibulation, the most 
severe form of FGM (see Children, Harmful Traditional Practices).

    Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--The most prevalent harmful 
traditional practices, besides FGM, were uvulectomy (cutting or removal 
the uvula, the piece of flesh that hangs down at the rear of the 
mouth), tonsillectomy (cutting or removal of the tonsils), and marriage 
by abduction.
    Marriage by abduction is illegal, although it continued in some 
regions, including Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR, despite the government's 
attempts to combat the practice. Forced sexual relationships 
accompanied most marriages by abduction, and women often experienced 
physical abuse during the abduction. Abductions led to conflicts among 
families, communities, and ethnic groups. In cases of marriage by 
abduction, the perpetrator did not face punishment if the victim agreed 
to marry the perpetrator. Ethiopia Goji Limadawi Dirgitoch Aswogaj 
Mahibar (EGLDAM), an NGO that combats harmful traditional practices, 
reported in June 2010 that there were significant decreases in this 
practice in all regions over the past decade. Overall, 25 percent of 
women ages 60 and above reported marriage by abduction, but only 8 
percent of women under age 30 reported this practice.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment was widespread. The penal 
code prescribes penalties of 18 to 24 months' imprisonment; however, 
harassment-related laws generally were not enforced.

    Reproductive Rights.--Neither law nor practice curtailed the right 
of individuals 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. The 2011 DHS 
Preliminary Report indicated a contraceptive prevalence of 29 percent 
nationwide among married women, a twofold increase from five years ago. 
A 2009 modeling study by the World Health Organization indicated that 
the maternal mortality rate was 590 per 100,000 live births. The 
principal causes of maternal mortality were excessive bleeding, 
infection, hypertensive complications, and obstructed labor, and the 
underlying cause for these was the prevalence of home births. Only 9 
percent of women reported delivering in a health facility or with a 
skilled birth attendant.

    Discrimination.--Discrimination against women was most acute in 
rural areas, where an estimated 82 percent of the population lived. The 
law contains discriminatory regulations, such as the recognition of the 
husband as the legal head of the family and the sole guardian of 
children over five years old. Courts generally did not consider 
domestic violence a justification for granting a divorce. There was 
limited legal recognition of common-law marriage. Irrespective of the 
number of years the marriage existed, the number of children raised, 
and joint property, the law entitled women to only three months' 
financial support if a relationship ended. A common-law husband had no 
obligation to provide financial assistance to his family, and as a 
result, women and children sometimes faced abandonment. Notwithstanding 
progressive provisions in the formal law, traditional courts continued 
to apply customary law in economic and social relationships.
    According to the constitution, all land belongs to the government. 
However, both men and women have land-use rights, which they can pass 
on as an inheritance. Land law varies among regions. All federal and 
regional land laws empower women to access government land. Inheritance 
laws also enable widowed women to inherit joint property they acquire 
during marriage.
    In urban areas women had fewer employment opportunities than men, 
and the jobs available did not provide equal pay for equal work. 
Women's access to gainful employment, credit, and the opportunity to 
own or manage a business was further limited by their low level of 
education and training and by traditional attitudes.
    The Ministry of Education reported that female participation in 
undergraduate and postgraduate programs increased to 123,706 during the 
2010-11 academic year, compared with 90,938 in 2008-09, continuing the 
trend of rising female participation in tertiary education.

    Children.--Birth registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents. The law requires that all children be registered at birth. In 
practice children born in hospitals were registered while most children 
born outside of hospitals were not. The overwhelming majority of 
children, particularly in rural areas, were born at home.

    Education.--As a policy, primary education was universal and 
tuition-free; however, there were not enough schools to accommodate the 
country's youth, particularly in rural areas. The cost of school 
supplies was prohibitive for many families, and there was no 
legislation to enforce compulsory primary education. The number of 
students enrolled in schools expanded faster than trained teachers 
could be deployed.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was widespread. A 2009 study conducted by 
the African Child Policy Forum revealed that prosecuting offenders for 
sexual violence against children was difficult due to inconsistent 
interpretation of laws among legal bodies and the offender's right to 
bail, which often resulted in the offender fleeing or coercing the 
victim or the victim's family to drop the charges.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Societal abuse of young girls 
continued to be a problem. Harmful practices included FGM, early 
marriage, marriage by abduction, and food and work prohibitions. A 2006 
African Child Policy Forum retrospective survey indicated that 68.5 
percent of girls surveyed had been abused sexually and 84 percent had 
been abused physically.
    The majority of girls in the country had undergone some form of 
FGM. FGM was much less common in urban areas, where only 15 percent of 
the population lived. Girls typically experienced clitoridectomies 
seven days after birth (consisting of an excision of the clitoris, 
often with partial labial excision) and faced infibulation (the most 
extreme and dangerous form of FGM) at the onset of puberty. A 2008 
study funded by Save the Children Norway reported a 24 percent national 
reduction in FGM cases over the previous 10 years, due in part to a 
strong anti-FGM campaign. The campaign continued to have an effect in 
SNNPR and Afar during the year. The penal code criminalizes 
practitioners of clitoridectomy, with imprisonment of at least three 
months or a fine of at least 500 birr ($29). Infibulation of the 
genitals is punishable with imprisonment of five to 10 years. However, 
no criminal charges have ever been brought for FGM. The government 
discouraged the practice of FGM through education in public schools, 
the Health Extension Program, and broader mass media campaigns (see 
Women, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

    Child Marriage.--The law sets the legal marriage age for girls and 
boys at 18; however, this law was not enforced uniformly. In several 
regions it was customary for older men to marry young girls, although 
this traditional practice continued to face greater scrutiny and 
criticism. Child marriage was a problem, particularly in Amhara and 
Tigray, where girls were married routinely as early as age seven, 
despite the legal minimum age of 18 for marriage. Regional governments 
in Amhara and Tigray ran programs to educate young women on issues 
associated with early marriage. There were some signs of growing public 
awareness in communities of the problem of abuse of women and girls, 
including early marriage.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 18 years, but this law was not strictly enforced. The law 
provides for three to 15 years in prison for sexual intercourse with a 
minor. The law provides for one year in prison and a fine of 10,000 
birr ($580) for trafficking in indecent material displaying sexual 
intercourse by minors. The law prohibits profiting from the 
prostitution of minors and inducing minors to engage in prostitution; 
however, commercial sexual exploitation of children continued, 
particularly in urban areas. Girls as young as age 11 reportedly were 
recruited to work in brothels and often sought by customers who 
believed them to be free of sexually transmitted diseases. Young girls 
were trafficked from rural to urban areas. They also were exploited as 
prostitutes in hotels, bars, resort towns, and rural truck stops. 
Reports indicated that some young girls were forced into prostitution 
by their family members.

    Infanticide.--Ritual and superstition-based infanticide continued 
in remote tribal areas, particularly the South Omo Valley. Local 
government worked to educate communities against the practice.

    Displaced Children.--According to a 2010 report by the Ministry of 
Labor and Social Affairs, approximately 150,000 children lived on the 
streets, and 60,000 of these children lived in the capital. The 
ministry's report stated that families' inability to support children 
due to parental illness and insufficient household income exacerbated 
the problem. These children begged, sometimes as part of a gang, or 
worked in the informal sector. Government and privately run orphanages 
were unable to handle the number of street children.

    Institutionalized Children.--There were an estimated 5.4 million 
orphans in the country, according to a 2010 report by the Central 
Statistics Authority. The vast majority lived with extended family 
members. Government-run orphanages were overcrowded, and conditions 
were often unsanitary. Due to severe resource constraints, hospitals 
and orphanages often overlooked or neglected abandoned infants. 
Children did not receive adequate health care, and several infants died 
due to lack of adequate medical attention. There were multiple 
international press reports that parents received payment from some 
adoption agencies to relinquish their children for international 
adoption, and that some agencies concealed the age or health history of 
children from their adoptive parents and also misled birth parents 
about the conditions of adoption. The government had begun to 
investigate the allegations.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbered approximately 2,000; 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution does not mandate equal 
rights for persons with disabilities. However, two laws prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in 
employment and mandate access to buildings. It is illegal for deaf 
persons to drive.
    The Right to Employment of Persons with Disabilities Proclamation 
prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability. It also 
makes employers responsible for providing appropriate working or 
training conditions and materials to persons with disabilities. The law 
specifically recognizes the additional burden on women with 
disabilities. The government took limited measures to enforce the law, 
for example, by assigning interpreters for hearing-impaired civil 
service employees.
    The Ethiopian Building Proclamation mandates building accessibility 
and accessible toilet facilities for persons with physical 
disabilities, although specific regulations that define the 
accessibility standards have not been adopted. Buildings and toilet 
facilities were usually not accessible. Landlords are required to give 
persons with disabilities preference for ground-floor apartments, and 
this was respected in practice.
    Women with disabilities were more disadvantaged than men with 
disabilities in education and employment. An Addis Ababa University 
study from 2008 showed that female students with disabilities were 
subjected to a heavier burden of domestic work than their male peers. 
The enrollment rate for girls with disabilities was lower than for boys 
at the primary school level, and this gap increased at higher levels of 
education. Girls with disabilities also were much more likely to suffer 
physical and sexual abuse than girls without disabilities.
    There were approximately seven million persons with disabilities, 
according to the Ethiopian Federation of Persons with Disabilities. 
There were one mental hospital and an estimated 10 psychiatrists in the 
country. There were several schools for hearing and visually impaired 
persons and several training centers for children and young persons 
with intellectual disabilities. There was a network of prosthetic and 
orthopedic centers in five of the nine regional states.
    The CSO law prohibits organizations receiving more than 10 percent 
of their funding from foreign sources from promoting the rights of 
persons with disabilities. Several domestic associations, such as the 
Ethiopian National Association of the Blind, Ethiopian National 
Association of the Deaf, and Ethiopian National Association of the 
Physically Handicapped continued to be affected negatively by the 
legislation.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country has more than 80 
ethnic groups, of which the Oromo, at 35 percent of the population, is 
the largest. The federal system drew boundaries roughly along major 
ethnic group lines, and regional states had much greater control over 
their affairs than previously. Most political parties remained 
primarily ethnically based.
    Clashes between ethnic groups during the year resulted in deaths. 
Water shortages contributed to interethnic conflict.
    On January 2, a territorial dispute in SNNPR between members of the 
Guji Oromo and the Sidama ethnic groups left five persons dead and 11 
injured.
    On April 4, a dispute in SNNPR over land ownership between members 
of the Geweda and Kolme ethnic groups resulted in the death of three 
persons and the injury of seven others. The federal police and local 
administration intervened quickly to bring calm to the area.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual 
activity is illegal and punishable by imprisonment under the law. There 
were some reports of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) individuals; however, reporting was limited due to 
fears of retribution, discrimination, or stigmatization. Persons did 
not identify themselves as LGBT persons due to severe societal stigma 
and the illegality of consensual same-sex sexual activity.
    In early December Christian and Muslim religious leaders attempted 
to derail a seminar on sexual health that was targeted at men who have 
sex with men. The government intervened, and the seminar went ahead, 
although at a different location.
    The AIDS Resource Center in Addis Ababa reported that the majority 
of self-identified gay and lesbian callers, the majority of whom were 
male, requested assistance in changing their behavior to avoid 
discrimination. Many gay men reported anxiety, confusion, identity 
crises, depression, self-ostracism, religious conflict, and suicide 
attempts.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal stigma and 
discrimination against persons living with or affected by HIV/AIDS 
continued in the areas of education, employment, and community 
integration. Despite the abundance of anecdotal information, there were 
no statistics on the scale of this problem.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides most workers with the right to form and join unions. 
However, the law specifically excludes managerial employees, teachers, 
and civil servants (including judges, prosecutors, and security service 
workers) from organizing unions.
    A minimum of 10 workers is required to form a union. While the law 
provides all unions with the right to register, the government may 
refuse to register trade unions that do not meet its registration 
requirements. The law stipulates that a trade union organization may 
not act in an overtly political manner. Seasonal and part-time 
agricultural workers cannot organize into labor unions. The law 
prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers and provides for 
reinstatement for workers fired for union activity.
    The law protects the right of collective bargaining for most 
workers.
    Although the constitution and law provide workers with the right to 
strike to protect their interests, it contains detailed provisions that 
make legal strike actions difficult to carry out, such as a minimum of 
30 days' advance notice before striking when the case is referred to a 
court or a labor relations board. The law requires aggrieved workers to 
attempt reconciliation with employers before striking and includes a 
lengthy dispute settlement process. These provisions applied equally to 
an employer's right to lock workers out. Two-thirds of the workers 
involved must support a strike for it to occur. If a case has not 
already been referred to a court or labor relations board, workers 
retain the right to strike without resorting to either of these 
options, provided they give at least 10 days' notice to the other party 
and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and make efforts at 
reconciliation.
    The law also prohibits strikes by workers who provide essential 
services, including air transport and urban bus service workers, 
electric power suppliers, gas station personnel, hospital and pharmacy 
personnel, firefighters, telecommunications personnel, and urban 
sanitary workers. The law prohibits retribution against strikers.
    The government permits unions in practice. Approximately two-thirds 
of union members belonged to organizations affiliated with the 
Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions. There was no reported 
government interference in trade union activities during the year, 
although the major trade unions were government-established entities. 
There were no reports that the government used its authority to refuse 
to register trade unions during the year. Approximately 400,000 workers 
were union members. Based on a 2008 Council of Ministers' regulation, 
the government sued the Workers' Association of the National Bank of 
Ethiopia (central bank) in the federal High Court, claiming that the 
bank was a nonprofit government agency and that the labor union should 
be dissolved. In 2009 the High Court ruled that the association could 
not be dissolved by a regulation while the rights of workers of the 
bank were protected by law. The government appealed to the Supreme 
Court, and at year's end the case was pending; however, the worker's 
association was not functional.
    The government allowed citizens to exercise the right of collective 
bargaining freely. Labor experts estimated that collective bargaining 
agreements covered more than 90 percent of unionized workers. 
Representatives negotiated wages at the plant level. It was common for 
employers to refuse to bargain. Unions in the formal industrial sector 
made some efforts to enforce labor regulations.
    Despite the law prohibiting antiunion discrimination, unions 
reported that employers frequently fired union activists. Lawsuits 
alleging unlawful dismissal often take years to resolve because of case 
backlogs in the courts. Employers found guilty of antiunion 
discrimination were required to reinstate workers fired for union 
activities and generally did so in practice. While the law prohibits 
retribution against strikers, most workers were not convinced that the 
government would enforce this protection. Labor officials reported 
that, due to high unemployment and long delays in the hearing of labor 
cases, some workers were afraid to participate in strikes or other 
labor actions.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
most forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children; 
however, the law also permits courts to order forced labor as a 
punitive measure. The government did not effectively enforce the forced 
labor prohibition.
    Forced labor occurred in practice. Both adults and children were 
forced to engage in street vending, begging, traditional weaving, or 
agriculture work. Children also worked in forced domestic labor. 
Situations of debt bondage also occurred in traditional weaving, 
pottery, cattle herding, and other agricultural activities, mostly in 
rural areas.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--By 
law the minimum age for wage or salary employment is 14 years. The 
minimum age provisions, however, do not apply to self-employed 
children. Special provisions cover children between the ages of 14 and 
18, including the prohibition of hazardous or night work. By law 
children between the ages of 14 and 18 are not permitted to work more 
than seven hours per day or between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., on public 
holidays or rest days, or overtime. The law defines hazardous work as 
work in factories or involving machinery with moving parts or any work 
that could jeopardize a child's health. Prohibited work sectors include 
passenger transport, electric generation plants, underground work, 
street cleaning, and many other sectors.
    The government did not effectively enforce these laws in practice. 
The resources for inspections and the implementation of penalties were 
extremely limited. Child labor issues are covered by the Ministry of 
Labor and Social Affairs, with support from the Ministry of Women, 
Youth, and Children. Cooperation, information sharing, and coordination 
between and among the ministries improved during the year. Courts are 
responsible for enforcing children's rights, and criminal and civil 
penalties may be levied in child rights violation cases. In the absence 
of a national strategy, investigation and disposition in cases of the 
violation of children's rights was minimal.
    Child protection units, which the NGO Forum for Street Children 
(FSCE) had sponsored, ceased child protection activities at the end of 
2010 due to restrictions in the CSO law and did not resume them during 
the year. The FSCE changed its name to Forum on Sustainable Child 
Empowerment and piloted a child-labor-free zone at the subcity level in 
Addis Ababa. In this zone the FSCE worked with child protection 
officers, labor inspectors, and police to reintegrate child laborers.
    During the year the government continued to invest in modernizing 
agricultural practices as well as in constructing schools to combat the 
problem of children in agricultural sectors.
    Child labor remained a serious problem, both in urban and rural 
areas. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, many 
children worked for their families without pay. In both rural and urban 
areas, children often began working at young ages. The Ministry of 
Labor and Social Affairs reported that two of five working children 
were below the age of six. Child labor was particularly pervasive in 
subsistence agricultural production, traditional weaving, and small-
scale gold mining. Children in rural areas, especially boys, also 
engaged in activities such as cattle herding, petty trading, plowing, 
harvesting, and weeding, while other children, mostly girls, collected 
firewood and fetched water. Children in urban areas, including orphans, 
also worked in domestic service, often working long hours, which 
prevented many from attending school regularly. Children in urban areas 
also worked in construction, manufacturing, shining shoes, making 
clothes, portering, directing customers to taxis, parking, public 
transport, petty trading, and occasionally herding animals. Child 
laborers often faced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at the hands 
of their employers.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum 
wage. Some government institutions and public enterprises, however, set 
their own minimum wages. Public sector employees, the largest group of 
wage earners, earned a monthly minimum wage of approximately 420 birr 
($24); employees in the banking and insurance sector had a minimum 
monthly wage of 336 birr ($20).
    Wages in the informal sector were generally below subsistence 
levels. Consequently, most families in the wage sector required at 
least two wage earners to survive, which forced many children to leave 
school early. Only a small percentage of the population was involved in 
wage-labor employment, which was concentrated in urban areas.
    The law provides for a 48-hour maximum legal workweek with a 24-
hour rest period, premium pay for overtime, and prohibition of 
excessive compulsory overtime. The country has 13 paid public holidays 
per year. The law entitles employees in public enterprise and 
government financial institutions to overtime pay; civil servants 
receive compensatory time for overtime work.
    The government, industries, and unions negotiated occupational 
health and safety standards. Workers have the right to remove 
themselves from dangerous situations without jeopardizing their 
employment. However, due to lack of resources, the Ministry of Labor 
and Social Affairs inspection department did not effectively enforce 
occupational health and safety standards. Lack of detailed, sector-
specific health and safety guidelines also precluded enforcement. The 
country had 130 labor inspectors. Penalties were not sufficient to 
deter violations. Compensation, benefits, and working conditions of 
seasonal agricultural workers were far below those of unionized 
permanent agricultural employees. Although the government did little to 
enforce the law, in practice most employees in the formal sector worked 
a 39-hour workweek. However, many foreign, migrant, and informal sector 
workers worked more than 48 hours per week.
    Despite the law providing for the right to remove themselves from 
dangerous situations without jeopardizing their employment, most 
workers feared losing their jobs if they were to do so. The Ministry of 
Labor and Social Affairs did not have an effective mechanism for 
receiving, investigating, and tracking allegations of violations.
    Hazardous working conditions existed in the agricultural sector, 
which was the most primary base of the country's economy. There also 
were reports of hazardous and exploitative working conditions in the 
fledgling construction and industrial sectors. The Ministry of Labor 
and Social Affairs attempted to enforce occupational health and safety 
laws, but its investigative and administration capacity was severely 
limited.

                               __________

                                 GABON

                           executive summary
    Gabon is a republic dominated by a strong presidency and the 
Democratic Party of Gabon (PDG), which has held power since 1968. In 
2009 President Ali Bongo Ondimba was elected in a poll characterized by 
international observers as generally free and fair, although 
irregularities and post-election violence occurred. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities.
    The most important human rights problems in the country were ritual 
killings, harsh prison conditions, and lengthy pretrial detention.
    Other major human rights problems included: police use of excessive 
force; an inefficient judiciary subject to government influence; 
restrictions on privacy and the press; harassment and extortion of 
African immigrants and refugees; widespread government corruption; 
violence against women; societal discrimination against women, 
noncitizen Africans, Pygmies, and persons with HIV/AIDS; trafficking in 
persons, particularly children; and forced child labor.
    The government sometimes took steps to prosecute and punish 
officials who committed abuses, but impunity was a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.
    In January a police officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison for 
the November 2010 killings of his girlfriend and another man.
    Ritual killings, in which limbs and/or genitals were amputated, 
occurred. Most victims were children. Although authorities condemned 
the killings, there were no known investigations or prosecutions of 
such cases. The local nongovernmental organization (NGO) Association to 
Fight Ritual Crimes (ALCR) reported that 62 victims of ritual killings 
were identified during the year. The actual number of victims was 
probably higher, according to the ALCR, which noted that many ritual 
crimes were not reported or were incorrectly identified. The government 
has an anonymous call line for reporting possible ritual crimes.

    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 law prohibit such practices, 
security forces sometimes employed them. There were reports in recent 
years that security forces beat prisoners and detainees to extract 
confessions.
    Unconfirmed reports from the African immigrant community asserted 
that police and soldiers occasionally beat noncitizen Africans during 
operations to round up and deport irregular immigrants. Refugees 
continued to complain of harassment and extortion by security forces.
    Children were injured and killed by practitioners of ritual crimes 
(see section 1.a.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons were old and 
overcrowded, and conditions were harsh. Food, sanitation, and 
ventilation were poor, although basic medical care was provided. 
Prisons had adequate lighting and access to potable water, but there 
were no air conditioners in prisons or jails, and temperatures often 
exceeded 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Onsite nurses provided medical care, 
and prisoners needing emergency medical care were transported to 
hospitals. NGOs, family members, and private citizens occasionally made 
contributions to augment prisoners' poor food rations.
    At least eight prisoners died during the year due to poor hygiene 
or malnourishment.
    For example, two days after their June arrival in Bitam detention 
center, three irregular immigrants died due to dehydration. The cause 
of the dehydration was unclear. After an investigation was conducted, 
the government announced that their deaths resulted from cholera. There 
were other reports suggesting that the deaths resulted from 
insufficient food and water. Three high-level gendarmerie officials 
were suspended in connection with the incident.
    Prison authorities did not keep records, and it was unknown how 
many prisoners were in the country's nine prisons, which held an 
estimated 2,750 inmates and detainees in 2006. Libreville's central 
prison held an estimated 1,500 prisoners, although the prison was built 
to hold 300. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners, and 
juveniles were held with adults. There were reports that adult 
prisoners sexually abused juvenile prisoners.
    Conditions in jails and detention centers were harsh and mirrored 
those in prisons. Overcrowding was pervasive.
    Prisoners and detainees were allowed to worship without hindrance, 
and Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim services were regularly held in 
the prisons. Family visits were permitted in both prisons and jails.
    Prisoners and detainees could submit written complaints to judicial 
authorities without censorship and request investigation of credible 
allegations of inhumane conditions. However, no such complaints were 
submitted during the year.
    During the year the Ministry of Justice took control of prisons 
from the Ministry of Interior. In November 2010 the minister of justice 
visited Libreville's central prison and characterized conditions there 
as harsh.
    The government encouraged independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by human rights organizations and NGOs. The International 
Committee of the Red Cross and the NGO Cri de Femmes visited prisons 
during the year. They reported noticeable efforts by the government to 
improve prison conditions despite budget constraints. For example, 
medical supplies and more nutritious food rations were increased in 
Libreville's central prison, and floor mats were supplied after the 
first lady noted that inmates often slept on the ground. The government 
also prohibited the common practice by prison guards of cutting the 
hair of female inmates, a cultural taboo.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but the government did not 
always observe these prohibitions.
    Security forces arbitrarily arrested a journalist, irregular 
immigrants, and opposition members during the year (see sections 2.a., 
2.d, and 3).

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police, 
under the Ministry of Interior, and the gendarmerie, under the Ministry 
of Defense, were responsible for law enforcement and public security. 
Elements of the armed forces and the Republican Guard, an elite unit 
that protects the president, sometimes performed internal security 
functions. The Inspector General's Office was responsible for 
investigating police abuse and conducted several investigations during 
the year (see section 4).
    Police were inefficient and corrupt. Security force members sought 
bribes to supplement their salaries, often while stopping vehicles at 
legal roadblocks to check vehicle registration and identity papers. 
During the year the minister of interior implemented an internal 
sanction system meant to combat such extortion. Police officers were 
required also to wear a badge with an ID number to aid citizens seeking 
to report extortion attempts. In a public statement during the year, 
the president reminded citizens that any fees associated with being 
stopped by the police were to be paid directly to the Treasury 
Department. The government also hired approximately 3,000 security 
force members, including gendarmes and police.
    The Ministry of Interior collaborated with the local NGO Croissance 
Saine Environnement to conduct human rights training for police and 
prison guards.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Although the 
law requires arrest warrants based on sufficient evidence and issued by 
a duly authorized official, security forces frequently disregarded 
these provisions. The law allows authorities up to 48 hours to detain 
initially a suspect without charge, but police often failed to respect 
this time limit. Detainees were usually informed promptly of charges 
against them, although authorities often did not file charges 
expeditiously. Conditional release was possible after charges had been 
announced if further investigation was required. Detainees were allowed 
prompt access to family members and a lawyer or, if indigent, to one 
provided by the state. There was a functioning bail system.

    Pretrial Detention.--The law limits pretrial detention to six 
months for a misdemeanor and one year for a felony charge, with six-
month extensions if authorized by the examining magistrate. 
Nevertheless, prolonged pretrial detention was common as a result of 
overburdened dockets and an inefficient judicial system. Approximately 
one-third of inmates were held in pretrial detention, which sometimes 
lasted up to three years.

    Amnesty.--During the year the president granted amnesty to 53 
nonviolent prisoners.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, the judiciary was inefficient and remained 
susceptible to government influence. The president appoints and can 
dismiss judges through the Ministry of Justice, to which the judiciary 
was accountable. Corruption was a problem.
    During the year the president signed into law a new penal code to 
increase judicial efficiency, enhance the rights of defendants, and 
incorporate modern crimes--such as trafficking in persons and drugs--
into the law. The president also appointed the country's first judge 
who specializes in juvenile cases.
    The military court is appointed each year by the Office of the 
Presidency and is composed of selected magistrates and military 
personnel. The court provides the same basic legal rights as a civilian 
court.
    Minor disputes may be taken to a local traditional chief, 
particularly in rural areas, but the government did not always 
recognize such decisions.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
public trial and to legal counsel, and the government generally 
respected these rights. Nevertheless, a judge may deliver an immediate 
verdict of guilty at the initial hearing in a state security trial if 
the government presents sufficient evidence. Defendants are presumed 
innocent and have the right to be present. Indigent defendants in both 
civil and criminal cases have the right to an attorney provided at 
state expense; however, this right was seldom respected in practice. 
Defendants have the right to confront witnesses against them, present 
witnesses or evidence on their behalf, have access to government-held 
evidence against them through their lawyer, and appeal. The government 
generally respected these rights, which were extended to all citizens.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
system to seek civil remedies, but it was susceptible to government 
influence and corruption. Persons seeking damages for, or cessation of, 
human rights violations could seek relief in the civil court system. 
Corruption was also a problem in the enforcement of domestic court 
orders.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such 
actions, the government did not always respect these prohibitions in 
practice. As part of criminal investigations, police requested and 
easily obtained search warrants from judges, sometimes after the fact. 
Security forces conducted warrantless searches for irregular immigrants 
and criminals. Authorities also reportedly monitored private telephone 
conversations, personal mail, and the movement of citizens.
    Beginning in August, the government began a bulldozing campaign to 
remove illegal structures, including homes, built on or infringing on 
public property. The campaign resulted in homelessness for numerous 
citizens. Since most of the targeted homes were unlawfully constructed, 
their owners were not compensated for the loss. In most cases the 
individuals evicted were not the property owners and had nowhere else 
to go. The government defended the action by saying that illegal 
structures close to utilities and the street impeded traffic and 
violated zoning laws. Noting the country's housing shortage (160,000 
homes are reportedly needed in Libreville alone), President Bongo 
Ondimba claimed the bulldozing campaign was part of a necessary urban 
planning effort. Critics charged that the government provided little or 
no advance notice of the bulldozing campaign (a claim disputed by the 
government) and that alternate lodging was not offered to evicted 
residents. Observers also noted that new housing projects to address 
the housing shortage had been paralyzed due to pervasive corruption at 
the Ministry of Habitat and Urban Planning (see section 4).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press, and the government generally respected these rights, although 
the government suspended a private newspaper and television station 
during the year.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government, 
including the president, publicly or privately, without reprisal.

    Freedom of Press.--The only major daily newspapers were the 
government-affiliated l'Union and Gabon Matin. Approximately 23 
privately owned weekly or monthly newspapers represented independent 
views and those of various political parties, but some appeared 
irregularly due to financial constraints, or, in some cases, government 
suspension of their publication licenses. All newspapers, including 
l'Union, criticized the government and political leaders of all 
parties.
    The government owned and operated two radio stations that broadcast 
throughout the country. Seven privately owned radio stations were 
operating at year's end. International radio stations also broadcast 
locally.
    The government owned and operated two television stations. Six 
privately owned television stations also operated.

    Violence and Harassment.--On June 2, the publication director of 
the pro-opposition newspaper Echos du Nord was escorted to a police 
station and questioned about an article that included a picture of a 
purported birth certificate of President Ali Bongo Ondimba as evidence 
the president was born outside of Gabon. The editor was released after 
two hours, but on June 10, Echos du Nord was suspended. The National 
Council for Communication (CNC) claimed the newspaper had violated the 
communication code by publishing information that could cause public 
panic or unrest. The newspaper, which reopened 30 days later, continued 
to publish at year's end.
    On January 26, the CNC suspended private television channel TV+, 
owned by opposition leader Andre Mba Obame. The CNC charged TV+ with 
violating the communication code for broadcasting a ceremony in which 
Mba Obame declared himself president and swore himself in (see section 
3). On April 18, the CNC lifted the suspension nine days before it was 
due to expire.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Some journalists continued to 
practice occasional self-censorship.

    Libel Laws.--Libel can be either a criminal offense or a civil 
matter. Editors and authors of libelous articles can be jailed for two 
to six months and fined 500,000 to five million CFA francs ($1,037 to 
$10,370). Penalties for libel and other offenses also include a one- to 
three-month publishing suspension for a first offense and a three- to 
six-month suspension for repeat offenses.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.
    On January 29, security forces used tear gas to disperse a crowd of 
between 200 and 300 persons. There were no reports of injuries, and no 
arrests were made.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government cooperated with the U.N. High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting 
refugees and asylum seekers.

    In-country Movement.--Although there were no legal restrictions on 
internal movement, military and police personnel and gendarmes 
continued to stop travelers at checkpoints to check identity, 
residence, or registration documents and to solicit bribes.
    Security force members harassed expatriate Africans working legally 
as merchants, service sector employees, and manual laborers, as well as 
irregular immigrants. Some members of the security forces extorted 
bribes by threatening imprisonment or the confiscation of residency 
documents.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees.

    Refugee Abuse.--Despite efforts by the government and UNHCR to 
reduce discrimination, refugees continued to complain about sporadic 
harassment, extortion, and detentions by security forces. Beginning in 
2010 the government replaced UNHCR-issued identity cards with 
government-issued cards and provided them to more than 90 percent of 
refugees. Card holders have many of the same rights as citizens, 
including the right to work, travel, and access public services. 
Although the cards--along with a UNHCR-led information campaign--helped 
reduce discrimination against refugees, some refugees remained without 
cards at year's end, either because they could not be reached or 
because they chose not to regularize their status in the country.
    On July 31, the refugee status expired of 9,500 persons from the 
Republic of Congo who had lived in the country since the late 1990s. In 
2010 a trilateral agreement was implemented between the U.N. and the 
governments of Gabon and the Republic of Congo to ensure that refugees 
could either return home, regularize their status in Gabon, or resettle 
to a third country. By year's end, 708 Congolese were voluntarily 
repatriated and 34 awaited repatriation pending the resolution of 
medical issues or personal obligations. All seeking repatriation--
excluding the 34--had been accommodated by year's end. Of those seeking 
resettlement in Gabon, 1,566 Congolese families regularized their 
status during the year, 209 families were awaiting final documentation, 
21 families had been resettled, and 266 families were awaiting 
resettlement. Approximately 2,300 Congolese families had chosen none of 
the preceding options and were presumably still in Gabon.
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 partially exercised this right in 
practice through periodic and generally fair elections. The government 
was dominated by a strong presidency. When the legislature is not in 
session, the president can veto legislation, dissolve the national 
legislature, call new elections, and issue decrees that have the force 
of law.
    In January Andre Mba Obame, the secretary general of the former 
National Union (UN) political party, swore himself in as president, 
established a parallel government, and occupied the U.N. Development 
Program headquarters in Libreville for a month. Mba Obame considered 
himself the rightful winner of the 2009 presidential election despite 
coming in third, according to the official count. On January 27, 
security forces briefly detained seven members of the U.N. party and 
charged them with disturbing the peace for refusing to move out of the 
street during morning traffic. An eighth U.N. member, Paulin Obiang 
Ndong, also was briefly detained for distributing videos of Mba Obame's 
``investiture.'' In response to Mba Obame's self-proclamation, the 
government dissolved the U.N. party for violating the country's unity. 
On May 5, the National Assembly voted to remove Mba Obame's immunity as 
a member of parliament. Mba Obame subsequently departed the country for 
medical treatment.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
President Ali Bongo Ondimba was elected in August 2009 with 41 percent 
of the vote. The president succeeded his father, former president Omar 
Bongo, who died in 2009 after a 41-year rule. The two leading 
opposition candidates each received approximately 25 percent of the 
vote. International observers characterized the election as largely 
free and fair, although the election was marred by post-election 
violence, significant restrictions on human rights, and accusations of 
political tampering with the electoral process. Irregularities included 
problems with voter lists and registration, polls that opened late, 
improperly secured ballot boxes, and armed security personnel in or 
near voting sites. Authorities censored news coverage and harassed the 
press. Numerous candidates contested the election results, which were 
subsequently validated by the Constitutional Court.
    In legislative elections held on December 17, the ruling PDG won 
144 of 120 seats in the National Assembly. Regional and local observers 
deemed the election generally free and fair despite minor 
irregularities. Voter abstention was estimated at 65 percent. 
Opposition and civil society leaders who had called for a boycott 
claimed victory for the low voter turnout. Other observers noted that 
abstention rates during legislative elections were generally high, 
primarily due to lack of interest.
    On June 17, parliament passed the Personal Data Protection Law, 
which provides for the introduction of biometrics by 2013 to increase 
transparency in future elections. Critics viewed the law, which 
includes criminal penalties for the unlawful handling of personal 
information, as a significant step toward reducing electoral 
irregularities. No identity document using the proposed new technology 
had been produced by year's end.

    Political Parties.--The PDG has dominated the government since its 
creation by former president Omar Bongo in 1968. PDG membership 
conferred advantage in obtaining government positions.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women held governmental 
positions, including at the ministerial level, in all branches of 
government. In the 31-member cabinet, five were women. The president of 
the Senate and the head of the Constitutional Court also were women.
    Members of the president's Bateke ethnic group and other 
southerners held a disproportionately large number of key positions in 
the security forces, although members of all major ethnic groups 
continued to occupy prominent government positions. Indigenous Pygmies 
rarely participated in the political process.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption, officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
The most recent World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected 
that corruption was a severe problem. During the year the government 
continued its efforts to curb corruption.
    For example, in January the president announced a major reshuffling 
of his cabinet to remove corrupt officials from high-level positions. 
Several ministers were transferred to less important ministerial 
positions.
    The National Infrastructure Agency, created in 2010 to address the 
country's struggling infrastructure, introduced international tendering 
for large infrastructure projects. The government hired a foreign 
company to provide technical support and manage its construction 
projects, which included the completion of a stadium during the year 
and the initiation of several large projects in transportation, 
housing, tourism, and ports sectors.
    Investigations conducted by the Inspector General's Office resulted 
in police dismissals, including the removal of a few high-level 
officers (see section 1.c.).
    In April the government restructured the agency responsible for 
school scholarships and canceled many scholarships after discovering 
evidence of mismanagement of a budget of more than 380 billion CFA 
francs ($79 million).
    In June the president removed all civil servants responsible for 
urban planning after an investigation revealed corruption throughout 
the Ministry of Habitat. After 18 months into a program to construct 
5,000 new homes each year, no homes had been built, and the government 
could not even provide developers with land titles to proceed.
    The Commission Against Illegal Enrichment is the primary body 
responsible for combating official corruption. During the year the 
commission conducted several investigations, although specific 
information on those investigations had not been released, nor was it 
likely to be released.
    Although the law provides that civil servants disclose their 
financial assets within three months of assuming office to the 
Commission Against Illegal Enrichment, this did not always occur. In 
March the commission fined each of eight former government officials 
100,000 CFA francs ($207) per month for a delay in declaring their 
personal assets; none of the eight had complied by year's end.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information, and the government generally did not allow such access.
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 more responsive to their views than in the previous year, when 
officials took no known actions on their recommendations.
    For example, after the release of a report on 2009 post-election 
violence conducted by the domestic NGO Croissance Saine Environment, 
the government followed up on recommendations to conduct human rights 
training for prison guards and police. After local NGO Cri de Femmes 
and UNICEF alerted the government to problems faced by children without 
birth documentation, the government announced a program to provide 
documents free of charge. Both government initiatives occurred during 
the year.
    Local human rights NGOs included ALCR (ritual crime), Cri de Femmes 
(women's rights), EBANDO (pygmy rights), AVOGAB (women's and orphan's 
rights), Groupe Consience (victims of sexual exploitation), Association 
Jeunesse Sans Frontieres (Good governance), AGAFI (Indigenous 
Population Protection), Sifos (Service International de la Formation 
des Enfants victime de la Traite et de l'exploitation), Fawe Gabon 
(Forun for African Women Educationalists), Liebe Handicap, and Reseau 
de Defense des DroitsHumains du Gabon (an association of human rights 
NGOs).

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The independent National Human 
Rights Commission, which had been inactive since its 2006 inception, 
began operating during the year. In May the commission appointed 12 new 
members to the body from civil society, the media, religious community, 
and judiciary. In September the commission held its first meeting to 
develop an action plan for the promotion and protection of human 
rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on 
national origin, race, gender, disability, language, or social status, 
the government did not enforce these provisions consistently.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape and 
provides penalties of five to 10 years' imprisonment for convicted 
rapists. Nevertheless, rape cases seldom were prosecuted. The law does 
not address spousal rape. There were no reliable statistics on the 
prevalence of rape. Discussing rape remained taboo, and women often 
opted not to report rape out of fear or shame. Only limited medical and 
legal assistance for rape victims were available.
    Although the law prohibits domestic violence, it was believed to be 
common, especially in rural areas. Penalties for domestic violence 
range from two months to 15 years in prison. Police rarely intervened 
in such incidents. Women virtually never filed complaints with civil 
authorities, although the government operated a counseling group to 
provide support for abuse victims.

    Sexual Harassment.--There is no law that prohibits sexual 
harassment, and it was a widespread problem. NGOs reported that sexual 
harassment against women in the military was pervasive.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognizes the basic right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely the number and spacing of 
their children and to have the information and means to do so free from 
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Access to reliable 
contraception has increased slowly since the 2009 repeal of a 
parliamentary measure prohibiting the use of contraceptives. Health 
clinics and local health NGOs operated freely in disseminating 
information on the use of contraceptives and family planning.
    The government provided free childbirth services, including 
prenatal care and obstetrical care. According to the World Bank, the 
infant mortality rate was approximately 58 out of 1,000 births. 
Although the maternal mortality rate was reported to be 260 deaths for 
every 100,000 live births, the U.N. Population Fund suggested the rate 
was probably higher and that most incidents of maternal mortality were 
connected to the inadequate quality of health care providers. The 
Ministry of Health suggested that the common practice of not seeking 
prenatal care also played a role. Men and women received equal access 
to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The law provides women with equal rights to 
education, business, investment, access to employment and credit, and 
pay for similar work, and women owned businesses and property, 
participated in politics, and worked in government and the private 
sector. Nevertheless, women continued to face considerable societal and 
legal discrimination, especially in rural areas. The law requires that 
a woman obtain her husband's permission to travel abroad, although this 
was rarely enforced.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is conferred through 
one's parents and not by birth in the country. At least one parent must 
be a citizen to transmit citizenship. Registration of all births is 
mandatory, and children without birth certificates cannot attend school 
or participate in most government-sponsored programs. Many mothers 
could not obtain birth certificates for their children due to 
isolation, poverty, or lack of understanding of the law. In September 
the Ministry of Social Affairs, in partnership with local NGOs and 
UNICEF, launched a month-long registration campaign, registering the 
births of 3,347 children of all ages.

    Education.--Education is compulsory and tuition-free until age 16. 
Students were required to pay for their supplies, including school 
uniforms. The country had a shortage of classrooms and teachers, and 
education often was unavailable after sixth grade in rural areas.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse occurred, but most cases were not 
reported, particularly if the abuse occurred within the family. When 
reports of abuse surfaced, the accused abusers generally were arrested, 
but an inefficient judicial system resulted in long delays and slow 
convictions.

    Child Marriage.--The minimum age for consensual sex and marriage is 
15 for girls and 18 for boys. Child marriage was rare.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Although illegal, female genital 
mutilation was believed to occur among the resident population of 
noncitizen Africans.
    Ritual killings of children also occurred and went unpunished (see 
section 1.a.).

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law prohibits the commercial 
sexual exploitation of children. If convicted, perpetrators can be 
sentenced to between two and five years.
    Some children participated in prostitution for economic reasons, 
but the problem was not widespread. Third party involvement was rare.
    The law prohibits lewd pictures and photographs ``against the 
morals of society.'' The penalty for possession of pornography includes 
possible imprisonment from six months to one year and/or fines up to 
222,000 CFA francs ($461).

    International Child Abductions.--On March 1, Gabon acceded to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no significant Jewish community in the 
country, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with ``physical, mental, congenital, and accidental'' 
disabilities and requires access to buildings and services, although 
most public buildings did not provide adequate access. There were no 
reports of official discrimination against persons with disabilities, 
but societal discrimination occurred, and employment opportunities and 
treatment facilities for persons with disabilities were limited. In 
August the Ministry of Health funded income generation projects for 194 
persons with disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--Pygmies are the earliest known inhabitants of 
the country. Small numbers of Pygmies continued to live in large tracts 
of rainforest in the northeast. Most Pygmies, however, were relocated 
to communities along the major roads during the late colonial and early 
post-independence period. The law grants them the same civil rights as 
other citizens, but Pygmies remained largely outside of formal 
authority, keeping their own traditions, independent communities, and 
local decision-making structures. Pygmies suffered societal 
discrimination, often lived in extreme poverty, and did not have easy 
access to public services. Their Bantu neighbors often exploited their 
labor by paying them much less than the minimum wage. Despite their 
equal status under the law, Pygmies had little recourse if mistreated 
by Bantu. There were no specific government programs or policies to 
assist Pygmies.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Although there were no reports 
of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
persons, discrimination was a problem, and LGBT individuals often kept 
their status secret.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Local NGOs reported 
that discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS occurred. NGOs worked 
closely with the Ministry of Health to combat both the associated 
stigma and the spread of the disease.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers to form and join independent 
unions and bargain collectively, but the right to strike was limited. 
Unions must register with the government to be recognized officially, 
and registration was granted routinely. The law prohibits antiunion 
discrimination and provides for reinstatement for workers dismissed for 
union activities. Strikes may be called only after eight days' advance 
notification and only after arbitration fails. Public sector employees 
were not permitted to strike if public safety could be jeopardized. The 
law prohibits government action against individual strikers who abide 
by notification and arbitration provisions, and no groups were excluded 
from this protection. There are no special laws or exemptions from 
regular labor laws in the country's two export processing zones.
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
respected in practice, and the government generally enforced applicable 
laws, although enforcement procedures were sometimes delayed. Unions 
were generally not only politically active and influential, but also 
independent of the government and political parties. Nevertheless, some 
unions were created and controlled by employers. Agreements negotiated 
by unions also applied to nonunion workers.
    There were labor violations during the year. For example, in 
January the Ministry of Education suspended the salaries of nine 
striking members of Conasysed, the teachers union. The teachers, who 
had complied with the law in announcing the strike, appealed the salary 
suspensions to the prime minister. In September the prime minister 
announced that the suspensions had been lifted; however, the teachers 
had not received their back pay by year's end.
    Although antiunion discrimination is illegal, trade unions in both 
the public and private sectors occasionally faced discrimination, 
including blacklisting union members, unfair dismissal, threatening 
workers who unionized, and creating employer-controlled unions.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. However, the 
government did not effectively enforce the law. Boys, many of whom were 
trafficking victims from inside the country as well as from neighboring 
countries, were forced to work as street hawkers or mechanics, as well 
as in agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, and mining. Girls and 
women, many of whom were trafficking victims from inside the country as 
well as from neighboring countries, were forced to work in domestic 
servitude, market vending, restaurants, and commercial sexual 
exploitation. Conditions included very low pay and forced long hours. 
Such children generally did not attend school, received only limited 
medical attention, and were often exploited by employers or foster 
families. In an effort to curb the problem, police often fined the 
parents of children who were not in school. Laws forbidding child labor 
covered these children, but abuses often were not reported. Some 
children also participated in prostitution for economic reasons.
    The Ministry of Labor's lack of sufficient vehicles, budget, and 
personnel impeded the ability of labor inspectors to investigate 
allegations of forced labor. In addition, labor inspectors found it 
difficult to access family-owned commercial farms and private 
households due to inadequate road infrastructure.
    See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits employment of children below the age of 16 without the 
expressed consent of the ministries of labor, education, and public 
health. The law provides for fines of between 290,000 and 480,000 CFA 
francs ($602 to $996) and prison sentences of up to two years for 
violations of the minimum age for work.
    The ministries rigorously enforced this law in urban areas with 
respect to citizen children, and few citizens under the age of 18 
worked in the formal wage sector. The law was not enforced in rural 
areas and within the informal sectors, however, primarily because the 
inspection force was inadequate.
    Child labor was a problem, particularly in rural areas, where the 
law was seldom enforced. Noncitizen children were more likely to work 
in informal or illegal sectors of the economy, where laws against child 
labor were less rigorously enforced. An unknown number of children, 
primarily noncitizens, worked in marketplaces or performed domestic 
work. Many of these children were reportedly the victims of child 
trafficking (see section 7.b.).
    The Ministry of Justice is responsible for implementing and 
enforcing child labor laws and regulations. Inspectors from the 
Ministry of Labor are responsible for receiving, investigating, and 
addressing child labor complaints.
    Labor inspections were conducted of construction projects for the 
Africa Cup of Nations to ensure that child labor was not being used. 
Labor inspection teams were also sent upcountry to hold meetings on the 
use of child labor in the home and to encourage residents to report 
cases of child domestic servitude.
    During the year the government worked closely with a foreign 
embassy on a media campaign to educate the populace about trafficking 
in persons and child labor. In conjunction with the media outreach, the 
government also initiated a door-to-door program to educate citizens in 
isolated communities about trafficking and child labor.
    See the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--During the year the national 
monthly minimum wage was increased from 80,000 CFA francs ($166) to 
150,000 CFA francs ($311). Government workers received an additional 
monthly allowance of 20,000 CFA francs ($41) per child and 
transportation, housing, and family benefits. There was no minimum wage 
in the informal sector.
    The labor code stipulates a 40-hour workweek with a minimum rest 
period of 48 consecutive hours. Employers must compensate workers for 
overtime work, which is determined by collective agreements or 
government regulations. According to the law, the daily limit for 
compulsory overtime can be extended from 30 minutes to two hours to 
perform specified preparatory or complementary work, such as starting 
machines in a factory or supervising a workplace. It also can be 
extended for urgent work to prevent or repair accidents. The daily 
limit does not apply to establishments in which work is performed on a 
continuous basis and those providing services that cannot be subject to 
a daily limit, including retail, transport, dock work, hotels and 
catering, housekeeping, guarding, security, medical establishments, 
domestic work, and the press.
    The Ministry of Health establishes occupational safety and health 
standards but did not enforce or regulate them. In the formal sector, 
workers may remove themselves from dangerous work situations without 
fear of retribution.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing minimum wage 
standards in the formal sector and generally did so effectively. 
However, the ministry did not enforce overtime or health and safety 
standards.
    The government reportedly did not enforce labor code provisions in 
sectors where the majority of the labor force was foreign, such as in 
the mining and timber sectors. Foreign workers, both documented and 
undocumented, were obliged to work under substandard conditions, were 
dismissed without notice or recourse, and were often physically 
mistreated. Employers frequently paid noncitizens less and required 
them to work longer hours, often hiring them on a short-term, casual 
basis to avoid paying taxes, social security contributions, and other 
benefits.

                               __________

                               THE GAMBIA

                           executive summary
    The Gambia is a multiparty democratic republic. On November 25, 
voters reelected President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh to a fourth term in a 
peaceful, orderly election that was neither free nor fair. President 
Jammeh's party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and 
Construction (APRC), continued to dominate the political landscape. 
There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control.
    The most serious human rights problem in the country was the 
government's harassment and abuse of its critics, which resulted in a 
muzzled press and the death, torture, arrest and detention, and 
sometimes enforced disappearance, of citizens.
    Other human rights problems included poor prison conditions; denial 
of due process, prolonged pretrial detention, and incommunicado 
detention; restrictions on privacy and freedoms of speech, press, and 
assembly; violence against women and girls, including female genital 
mutilation; forced child marriage; trafficking in persons; child 
prostitution; discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) individuals; and child labor.
    The government sometimes took steps to prosecute or punish 
officials who committed abuses; however, impunity was a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were several 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.
    For example, on January 28, in the village of Numuyel, Upper River 
Region, officers of the local detachment of the Police Intervention 
Unit (PIU) tied Dembo Sibi to a tree and beat him to death. The Daily 
News, a local newspaper, reported that Sibi was accused of stealing a 
motorbike and quoted his father as saying that police officers demanded 
3,000 dalasi ($105) for his release, a sum Sibi was unable to pay. 
Authorities arrested five PIU officers in connection with the case. On 
May 30, a judge convicted two of the five--Demba and Modou Colley--and 
sentenced them to death; he acquitted the remaining three officers.
    On April 15, Cherno Alieu Suwareh of Bakau Sanchaba, West Coast 
Region, died following a confrontation with five officers of the 
National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA). On March 25, the officers 
raided Suwareh's compound, reportedly found cannabis in his room, and 
struck Suwareh's head against a wall, resulting in injuries to the 
forehead, according to Yerro Mballow, the police public relations 
officer. Suwareh was admitted to the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital 
in Banjul where he died 11 days later. Suwareh's niece, Isatou Jallow, 
claimed she was present during the beating and testified in court on 
July 12 that her uncle was unable to climb into the vehicle that took 
him away due to his injuries. On June 13, the court released three of 
the five officers arrested in connection with the incident for lack of 
evidence. On December 5, a judge acquitted the remaining two--Eku P. L. 
Grant and Ebou Lowe--and discharged them. The magistrate said there was 
no direct evidence that Suwareh died as a result of acts perpetrated by 
the accused persons, noting that Suwareh's relatives had refused an 
autopsy.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    During the year the government provided conflicting accounts of the 
whereabouts of missing journalist ``Chief'' Ebrima Manneh, who was 
arrested by security officers in 2006 and subsequently disappeared. 
During a March 16 press conference, President Jammeh said that his 
government had nothing to do with ``the death of Chief Manneh,'' the 
first admission by a government official that Manneh had died. During 
an October 6 interview with the Daily News, Minister of Justice Edward 
Gomez claimed Manneh ``was alive and was somewhere to be disclosed 
later.'' On October 19, during a meeting in Banjul with officials of 
the Federation of African Journalists, the justice minister said that 
Manneh had ``stage-managed his disappearance for mischievous reasons.'' 
He went on to say that Manneh had left the country and that the 
government had evidence from Interpol that he went to the United 
States. Manneh's family publicly denied the claim. In October Reporters 
Without Borders called on Gomez to quickly produce evidence of his 
claim that Manneh was still alive out of respect for Manneh, his 
family, and colleagues, as well as those who had been waiting for news 
of him for more than five years. In December the government agreed to 
an independent, outside investigation into Manneh's death.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were reports that security forces tortured, beat, and mistreated 
persons in custody (see also section 1.a.).
    On January 2, villagers in Foni Kampasa witnessed two members of 
the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) assaulting two timber dealers and their 
drivers, according to Foroyaa newspaper. The victims--Habib Babu, Gibi 
Sonko, Pa Ousman Ceesay, Ansumana Kinteh and Lamin Kassama--required 
medical attention and were taken to Bwiam Hospital by officers from 
Kalagi police station. The victims later told a Foroyaa reporter that 
the army officers stole their money and cell phones.
    On December 16, officers of the NDEA arrested Alpha Omar Jobe on 
suspicion of cannabis trafficking. According to the Daily News 
newspaper, Jobe was subsequently tortured and released; he died six 
days later as a result of his injuries. An angry mob carried Jobe's 
body to Manjai police station, which they attacked with stones and 
sticks. Police arrested 21 youths in connection with the attack on the 
station and charged them with causing willful damage to property and 
taking action causing a breach of peace. Their trial continued at 
year's end. No action was taken against the officers who allegedly 
tortured Jobe.
    During the year there were reports that Venezuelan national George 
Sanchez, who was one of nine men convicted of drug trafficking 
following the May 2010 seizure of more than two tons of cocaine in the 
village of Bonto, was subsequently tortured during detention. During 
his December 2010 trial, Sanchez alleged that security officers put a 
plastic bag over his head and beat him, burned his waist and genitals 
with cigarettes, and forcefully removed one of his toenails. Police 
denied the allegations.
    There were no developments in the March 2010 alleged torture by 
members of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) of Ensa Badjie, 
former inspector general of police. Badjie testified during his 2010 
trial for corruption, abuse of office, drug crimes, and other offenses 
that NIA members severely beat him after NIA operative Omar Cham 
covered his head with a black plastic bag. Badjie showed the scars on 
his mouth to the courtroom.
    The Indemnity Act, which allows the president to grant amnesty to 
any person, including security force members, accused of misconduct 
during unauthorized gatherings, continued to deter victims from seeking 
redress for torture during the country's 1994-96 military rule. The 
army requires victims to file formal complaints with the courts 
regarding alleged torture that occurred at other times. During the year 
there were no known prosecutions in civil or military courts of 
security force members accused of mistreating individuals.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor with overcrowded, damp, and poorly ventilated cells. Inmates 
complained of poor sanitation and food. Inmates occasionally slept on 
the floor. Detainees were allowed to receive food from outside prior to 
conviction, but not afterwards. Medical facilities in prisons were 
poor, and sick inmates were taken to the Royal Victoria Teaching 
Hospital in Banjul or nearby health centers for examination and 
treatment. Water supply was adequate, but lighting in some cells was 
poor. During the summer months temperatures were extremely high, and 
there were no ceiling fans or other measures to reduce heat. During his 
October 13 treason trial, former information minister Amadou Janneh 
complained in court that the roof of his cell at Jeshwang Prison leaked 
(see section 1.e.).
    At year's end there were approximately 1,000 inmates in the 
country's prisons, more than double the intended capacity.
    In late October inmates in the security wing of Mile 2 Central 
Prison went on a hunger strike to protest overcrowding, poor hygienic 
conditions, poor diet, restrictions on the number of visits by family 
members, failure by prison authorities to comply with medical 
recommendations from doctors, and denial of access to television and 
radio. Prison authorities denied any hunger strike occurred.
    Pretrial detainees occasionally were held with convicted prisoners.
    Prisoners generally had access to visitors, although there were 
occasional reports of lawyers and family members being denied access to 
detainees at Mile 2 Central Prison. Prisoners were permitted religious 
observance. Prisoners and detainees could transmit complaints to 
judicial authorities through their lawyer, if they could afford one, or 
relatives.
    Authorities sometimes investigated credible allegations of inhumane 
conditions. A Prisons Visiting Committee, which includes 
representatives of several government agencies, is empowered to monitor 
detention center conditions. Ousman Sonko, the minister of interior, 
claimed that the committee visited the prison weekly and submitted 
reports on substandard conditions. Claims of weekly committee visits 
could not be verified.
    The Office of the Ombudsman can investigate all complaints brought 
before it, including bail conditions, pretrial detention, and 
confinement of juvenile offenders. However, it cannot negotiate 
alternatives for detainees or convicts. The Office of the Ombudsman did 
not publish findings of any investigations it conducted during the 
year.
    The government did not permit the International Committee of the 
Red Cross or the media access to monitor prison conditions during the 
year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were instances 
of police and other security forces arbitrarily arresting and detaining 
citizens.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The GAF are responsible 
for external defense and report to the minister of defense, a position 
held by the president. The police, under the interior minister, are 
responsible for public security. The NIA, which reports directly to the 
president, is responsible for protecting state security, collecting 
intelligence, and conducting covert investigations. The NIA is not 
authorized to investigate police abuses but often assumed police 
functions, such as detaining and questioning criminal suspects. During 
the year the NDEA, which was initially mandated to investigate narcotic 
crimes, was given sweeping powers to protect state security, largely 
marginalizing the NIA.
    Security force members were frequently corrupt and ineffective. 
Impunity was a problem, and police sometimes defied court orders.
    For example, on June 24, Mansa Bah, who was acquitted by a 
magistrate in Banjul, was rearrested and returned to prison after the 
prosecutor informed the court that he was ``going to appeal'' the 
acquittal. Bah was charged with drug trafficking and conspiracy, but 
the court upheld the no-case-to-answer submission filed by his lawyer 
and ordered his release. Bah remained in prison pending appeal at 
year's end.
    The police human rights and complaints unit receives and addresses 
complaints of human rights abuses committed by police officers from 
both civilians and other police officers; however, no complaints were 
filed during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires that authorities obtain a warrant before arresting a person; 
however, in practice individuals often were arrested without a warrant. 
Periods of detention generally ranged from a few to 72 hours, the legal 
limit after which detainees must be charged or released; however, there 
were numerous instances of detention surpassing the 72-hour limit. 
Detainees generally were not informed promptly of charges against them. 
There was a functioning bail system; however, prosecutors often opposed 
applications for bail for detainees charged with misdemeanors and 
ordered lengthy adjournments to allow additional time to prepare their 
cases. Judges and magistrates sometimes set bail bonds at unreasonably 
high amounts. The courts occasionally released accused offenders on 
bail only to have police or other law enforcement personnel rearrest 
them as they were leaving the court, sometimes to provide the 
prosecution more time to prepare cases. Detainees were not allowed 
prompt access to a lawyer or family members, although convicted 
prisoners were generally permitted to meet privately with an attorney. 
Indigent persons accused of murder or manslaughter were provided 
lawyers at public expense.
    Military decrees enacted prior to the adoption of the constitution 
give the NIA and the interior minister broad powers to detain 
individuals indefinitely without charge ``in the interest of national 
security.'' These detention decrees were inconsistent with the 
constitution but have not been subject to judicial challenge. The 
government claimed it no longer enforced the decrees; however, such 
detentions occurred.
    For example, on April 30, in Banjul, security forces arrested 
Mouctar Diallo, a Guinean citizen visiting the country while studying 
at the American University in Cairo. Diallo, who came to The Gambia to 
study the relationship between West African nomads and globalization, 
was charged with ``threatening national security'' but later cleared by 
the NIA and allowed to leave the country.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Security forces arbitrarily arrested 
journalists, an Islamic scholar, human rights activists, and other 
citizens during the year (see sections 1.e., 2.a., and 5).
    Lamin Mboge, a lawyer known for his commitment to human rights, was 
arrested and prosecuted under spurious charges. On January 26, Mboge, a 
former magistrate and leading counsel in the Gambia Committee on 
Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children 
(GAMCOTRAP) case (see section 5), was arrested and charged with ``false 
swearing'' and ``uttering false documents'' and remanded to Mile 2 
Central Prison. The arrest followed a criminal complaint lodged by one 
of Mboge's clients over land he allegedly sold without lawful 
authority. Mboge denied the charges and was released on bail; his trial 
was ongoing at year's end.

    Pretrial Detention.--Backlogs and inefficiency in the justice 
system resulted in lengthy pretrial detention. Approximately 27 percent 
of inmates in the prison system were in pretrial detention, and some 
had been incarcerated for several years awaiting trial.

    Amnesty.--Several detainees were released without charge or 
pardoned during the year, including Moses Richards, a former high court 
judge (see section 1.e.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, the courts lacked independence 
and were inefficient and corrupt. Amnesty International noted that the 
president's power to remove a judge, nominally in consultation with the 
Judicial Service Commission, impeded judicial independence. Judges 
presiding over ``sensitive'' cases who made decisions not considered 
favorable to the government risked being fired. Frequent delays and 
missing or unavailable witnesses, judges, and lawyers often impeded 
trials. Many cases also were delayed because of adjournments to allow 
the police or NIA time to continue their investigations.
    To alleviate the backlog, the government continued to recruit 
judges and magistrates from other Commonwealth countries with similar 
legal systems. Foreign magistrates and judges, who often presided over 
sensitive cases, were particularly subject to executive pressure.
    In April 2010 high court judge Moses Richards was dismissed without 
explanation amid reports he criticized the domination of the bench by 
Nigerian judges and magistrates. In December 2010 Richards, who had 
gone into private legal practice, was arrested, denied bail, and 
charged with sedition and ``giving false information to the public 
servant,'' a reference to a letter he addressed to the sheriff of the 
High Court regarding a land dispute in the village of Jabang. On 
September 19, Richards was convicted and sentenced to two years' 
imprisonment with hard labor by the Nigerian-born magistrate who 
presided over the case. On October 14, Richards was released from 
prison by presidential pardon following an apology and plea for mercy 
he addressed to President Jammeh.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of 
innocence. Trials were public, unless closed-court sessions were 
necessary to protect the identity of a witness. Juries were not used. 
Defendants can consult with an attorney and have the right to confront 
witnesses and evidence against them, present witnesses and evidence on 
their own behalf, and appeal judgment to a higher court. The law 
extends the above rights to all citizens, and no groups were denied 
these rights during the year; however, detainees were rarely informed 
of their rights or the reasons for their arrest or detention, according 
to Amnesty International.
    Military tribunals cannot try civilians. Court-martial proceedings 
are presided over by a judge advocate assisted by a panel of senior 
military officers.
    The judicial system also recognizes customary law and sharia 
(Islamic law).
    Customary law covers marriage and divorce for non-Muslims, 
inheritance, land tenure, tribal and clan leadership, and other 
traditional and social relations. District chiefs preside over local 
tribunals that administer customary law at the district level. 
Customary law recognizes the rights of all citizens regardless of age, 
gender, and religion; however, it requires women to show respect for 
their husbands, and children to demonstrate respect for their parents.
    Sharia applies in domestic matters, including Muslim marriage, 
divorce, and inheritance. Islamic, or Cadi, courts discriminated 
against women. Cadi courts and district tribunals do not offer standard 
legal representation to the parties in a case, since lawyers are not 
trained in Islamic or customary law.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there were 
credible reports that the government held civilians based on their 
political views or associations, and some were held incommunicado for 
prolonged periods. There were nearly 30 political prisoners in 
detention at year's end. Most were former military personnel accused of 
involvement in plots to overthrow the government. They were held in the 
security wing of Mile 2 Central Prison, but were occasionally allowed 
visits from family members. The government did not allow regular access 
to such persons by international human rights organizations.
    During the year the trial of former minister of information Amadou 
Scattred Janneh and three of his alleged collaborators--Modou Keita, 
Ebrima Jallow, and Michael C. Uche Thomas--continued. In June they were 
arrested and held for 42 days without charge. They were charged in July 
with treason, conspiracy to commit treason, and seditious acts in 
connection with the printing and distribution of 100 T-shirts bearing 
the inscriptions ``Coalition for Change-The Gambia'' and ``End 
Dictatorship Now.'' Three Gambian journalists living in exile--former 
Gambian Press Union (GPU) president Ndey Tapha Sosseh, columnist Mathew 
Jallow, and Famara Demba--also were charged with treason and sedition.
    On May 11, the Special Criminal Court in Banjul acquitted and 
discharged 12 of 16 persons standing trial on terrorism charges. Those 
acquitted included Gambian citizens Kemo Conteh, army Staff Sergeant 
Sam Kambai, NIA officer Kebba Seckan, Samsudeen Jammeh, and eight 
Senegalese citizens. Trials of the remaining four of the 16 accused--
Alasana Thomas Jarju, Maulud Badjie, Lasana (Prosper) Sambou, and 
Ousman Jarju-continued at year's end. In 2009 there were reports that 
all four had been held incommunicado for three or four years on 
terrorism charges in an unknown location.
    On April 14, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals of seven of 
eight men convicted of plotting to overthrow the government in 2009 and 
sentenced to death in July 2010. The seven were former GAF chief of 
defense staff General Lang Tombong Tamba; former GAF director of 
operations and training Brigadier General Omar Bun Mbye; the commander 
of the army unit in the president's home village, Lieutenant Colonel 
Kawsu Camara; the head of GAF intelligence, Major Momodou Lamin Bo 
Badjie; former deputy inspector general of police Momodou Gaye; former 
diplomat Ngorr Secka; and real estate dealer Abdoulie Joof. The eighth 
man, businessman Yusuf Ezziden, appealed separately but did not appear 
in court and reportedly left the country. Tamba and his six colleagues 
filed an appeal in August with the Supreme Court, which was pending at 
year's end.
    On May 23, Tamba, who was already serving a death sentence for 
allegedly plotting a coup, and former chief of naval staff Rear Admiral 
Sarjo Fofana were convicted of concealment of treason and sentenced to 
20 years' imprisonment in connection with an unsuccessful coup plot in 
2006. Tamba, who originally was credited with foiling the plot when he 
alerted the president and mobilized loyal forces to arrest officers 
said to be involved, was charged with concealment of treason in June 
2010.
    Two of the detainees held after the disclosure of the 2006 abortive 
coup plot--Alieu Lowe, nephew of the fugitive coup leader, and Abdoulie 
Njie--were still being held at Mile 2 Central Prison without charge, 
but their families were allowed access to them during the year. The 
trial of a third detainee, Hamadi Sowe, who was charged with 
concealment of treason, continued at year's end.
    United Democratic Party (UDP) supporter Kanyiba Kanyi, who was 
arrested by men believed to be state security agents and held without 
charge shortly before the 2006 presidential elections, remained in 
prison at year's end. The government has not permitted access to Kanyi 
by his lawyer or international humanitarian organizations. In 2008 
Kanyi's lawyer, who maintained Kanyi was being held by the NIA, filed 
an application to force the state to comply with the 2006 high court 
rulings to free him. In 2009 the judge presiding over the case returned 
the case file to the Office of the Chief Justice in an apparent attempt 
to recuse himself from the trial; the judge provided no explanation for 
the return of the case file. Kanyi reportedly was sighted by a relative 
in 2008 at the Royal Victoria Hospital, where he was being escorted by 
wardens from Mile 2 Central Prison.
    During the year the government provided conflicting accounts of the 
whereabouts of missing journalist ``Chief'' Ebrima Manneh, who was 
arrested by security officers in 2006 and subsequently disappeared (see 
section 1.b.).
    In January 2010 former NIA director Ousman Sowe, who was arrested 
in 2009 for ``delaying a document of national security interest,'' was 
released unconditionally.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The high court has 
jurisdiction to hear cases concerning civil and human rights 
violations, although it may decline to exercise its powers if it is 
satisfied that other adequate means of redress are available. The 
Indemnity Act continued to prevent victims from seeking redress in some 
cases.
    The government did not comply with the 2008 ruling of the Economic 
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court to release missing 
journalist ``Chief'' Ebrima Manneh and pay compensation of $100,000. 
The government also refused to comply with a 2010 ruling by the same 
court to pay $200,000 in compensation to exiled journalist Musa 
Saidykhan, who alleged that security agents tortured him during his 
detention in 2006.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, but 
the government did not always respect these prohibitions in practice. 
The government generally enforced Decree 45, which applies 
constitutional safeguards against arbitrary searches and the seizure of 
property without due process. Observers believed the government 
monitored citizens engaged in activities that it deemed objectionable.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press; however, the government restricted these rights. According to 
the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, ``the 
environment for independent and opposition media remained hostile, with 
numerous obstacles to freedom of expression, including administrative 
hurdles, arbitrary arrest and detention, intimidation and judicial 
harassment against journalists, and the closure of media outlets, 
leading to self-censorship.''

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals who publicly or privately 
criticized the government or the president risked government reprisal.
    For example, on June 18, security forces arrested without charge 
Alhaji Ismaila Manjang, a prominent Islamic scholar and imam in the 
coastal town of Gunjur. The arrest followed Manjang's graduation speech 
given at his Islamic institute in which he condemned practices that 
could be considered idolatrous, such as visits to shrines to seek 
blessings. Manjang was subsequently held incommunicado at NIA 
headquarters for four days. At year's end Manjang had not been charged 
with any offense but was required to report frequently to the NIA.

    Freedom of Press.--Constitutional protections were undermined by 
laws that impose excessive bonds on media institutions, require 
newspapers to reregister annually, and mandate harsh punishment for the 
publication of false information. According to Freedom House, these 
provisions gave authorities great power to silence dissent.
    On March 16, President Jammeh warned independent journalists that 
he would ``not compromise or sacrifice the peace, security, stability, 
dignity, and the well being of Gambians for the sake of freedom of 
expression.'' Accusing some journalists of being the ``mouthpiece of 
opposition parties,'' he vowed to prosecute any journalist who offended 
him.
    The government published The Gambia Info newspaper, formerly called 
The Gambia Daily. The privately owned Daily Observer newspaper favored 
the government in its coverage. There were seven other independent 
newspapers, including one published by an opposition political party 
that remained highly critical of the government. There was one 
independent biweekly magazine.
    The government-owned Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) 
and nine private radio stations broadcast throughout the country. GRTS 
gave limited coverage to opposition activities. GRTS television, 
foreign cable, and satellite television channels broadcasting 
independent news coverage were available in many parts of the country, 
and the government allowed unrestricted access to such networks.

    Violence and Harassment.--Media restrictions tightened during the 
year, and the government continued to harass and detain journalists. 
Numerous journalists remained in self-imposed exile as a result of 
government threats and harassment. On March 16, police arrested and 
detained Dodou Sanneh, a journalist who petitioned the president during 
the year to request reinstatement at GRTS following Sanneh's 2006 
dismissal from his position there. On September 15, Sanneh was 
convicted of ``giving false information to a public servant'' and fined 
500 dalasi ($17) or six months in prison. The GPU paid the fine.
    On June 27, Ahmed Alota, the executive director of the GPU, was 
arrested and detained overnight at PIU headquarters following the 
transmission by Skype of a statement made by Ndey Tapha Sosseh, the 
union's exiled former president, at the GPU Congress. On July 1, 
journalist Madi S. Njie, the newly elected secretary general of the 
GPU, was arrested at the offices of the Standard newspaper. Njie was 
reportedly questioned about a report on Alota's arrest sent to the 
Ghana-based media watchdog Media Foundation for West Africa and the 
underground civil society organization The Coalition for Change, of 
which Sosseh was a member. Both Alota and Njie were released without 
charge.
    Journalists from news outlets perceived to be critical of the 
government were routinely denied access to public information and were 
excluded from covering official events at certain venues.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Private media outlets 
generally practiced self censorship for fear of reprisal by the 
government, and many avoided content deemed contrary to the principles 
of Islam or offensive to other religions and sects. Nevertheless, 
opposition views regularly appeared in the independent press, and there 
was frequent criticism of the government in the private media.
    On several occasions during the year, NIA authorities ordered 
community radio station Taranga FM to stop broadcasting news in local 
languages or face closure. Taranga was the only private radio station 
in the country that broadcast national news in local languages, a 
valued service to the large illiterate segment of the population. The 
station was forced off the air for 32 days in January and February but 
was subsequently allowed to broadcast on condition that the station not 
review opposition newspapers. Referring to the government's action, the 
Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement in August noting 
that it ``condemned the illegal act of political censorship to silence 
Taranga FM ahead of the November presidential elections.'' At year's 
end Taranga FM continued its local language broadcasts but avoided 
sensitive or controversial stories.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--In previous years the NIA was 
involved in arbitrary closures of media outlets and the extrajudicial 
detention and torture of journalists; however, there were no such 
reports during the year.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could generally engage in 
the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
However, Internet users reported they could not access the Web sites of 
the foreign online newspapers Freedom and The Gambia Echo, which 
criticized the government.

    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; 
however, police occasionally refused to issue permits to opposition 
parties wishing to hold political rallies.
    In October police denied a permit to members of the Gambia Bar 
Association seeking to protest the conviction and imprisonment of 
lawyer Moses Richards (see section 1.e.). The inspector general of 
police said he denied the permit on grounds of public security and 
safety.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that opposition 
leaders were imprisoned for organizing political rallies without 
permits.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
to assist internally displaced persons, refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern. The UNHCR coordinated 
government efforts with the International Organization for Migration, 
the Gambia Red Cross Society, and other agencies to provide this 
protection and assistance.

    Foreign Travel.--Restrictions were imposed on foreign travel for 
many persons released from detention, often because their travel 
documents were temporarily confiscated at the time of their arrest or 
soon afterwards. As a rule, all government employees were required to 
obtain permission from the Office of the President before traveling 
abroad.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--Neither the 
constitution nor the law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee 
status, but the government has established a system for providing such 
protection to refugees and granted refugee status during the year.
    The UNHCR reported 9,415 refugees in the country, of whom 8,359 
were Senegalese who fled the Casamance conflict in Senegal. The UNHCR 
provided assistance with basic needs and services and implemented 
livelihood programs. The refugee status of the second largest group--
709 refugees from Liberia--was scheduled to expire in June 2012, except 
for compelling cases in which individuals still felt threatened. During 
the year the number of refugees from Cote d'Ivoire increased from 70 to 
305 as a result of the post-election crisis in that country. The 
country also hosted smaller numbers of refugees from Togo, the 
Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, 
Rwanda, and Cameroon.
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; however, citizens were unable to exercise this 
right in the November 24 presidential election due to the government's 
intimidation of voters and ruling party control of the media.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On 
November 24, voters reelected President Jammeh to a fourth term with 72 
percent of the vote. The election was peaceful and orderly, and more 
than 83 percent of voters participated. UDP leader Ousainu Darboe came 
in second with 17 percent, and independent candidate Hamat Bah received 
11 percent. Prior to the election, ECOWAS said its investigations found 
``an opposition and electorate cowed by repression and intimidation.'' 
Explaining its decision not to send election observers, ECOWAS added 
that the preparations and political environment were not conducive to 
the conduct of free, fair, and transparent polls. Mustapha Carayol, the 
chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, characterized the 
ECOWAS criticism as lies. Other government sources claimed the ECOWAS 
boycott was the result of a personal dispute rather than based on fact. 
The opposition criticized government control of the state-owned media, 
a shortened official campaign period, use of state resources by the 
ruling party, and the overt participation in political activity by 
government officials and members of the security forces. However, the 
UDP and its alliance partners did not challenge election results in 
court, claiming that they were not given sufficient time to do so.

    Political Parties.--President Jammeh's party, the APRC, held 42 of 
48 seats in the National Assembly and continued to dominate the 
political landscape. APRC membership conferred advantages, such as 
expediting government transactions, facilitating access to certain 
documents, and securing employment contracts.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were four women in 
the 53-seat National Assembly; two were elected and two were nominated 
by the president. At year's end there were five women in the 16-member 
cabinet, including the vice president.
    No statistics were available on the percentage of minorities 
included in the legislature or the cabinet. However, President Jammeh 
and many members of his administration were from the minority Jola 
ethnic group.
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 
World Bank's most recent worldwide governance indicators reflected that 
corruption was a serious problem.
    The president spoke against corruption on numerous occasions during 
the year and in July 2010 formally enunciated a policy of ``zero 
tolerance for drugs and corruption.'' The financial intelligence unit, 
which was established in 2009, is responsible for combating corruption. 
There were no new prosecutions for corruption of senior police, 
military, or civilian officials during the year.
    On July 29, a court sentenced former inspector general of police 
Ensa Badjie to life imprisonment for armed robbery, abuse of office, 
and other crimes. Former chief superintendent of prisons Ali Ceesay, 
also accused in the case, was fined 30,000 dalasi ($1,050), which he 
paid.
    The trial in a separate case against Ensa Badjie, former commander 
of the military police unit of the army Lieutenant-Colonel Mam Matarr 
Secka, and Major Kuluteh Manneh continued at year's end. The three 
defendants were charged with corruption, abuse of office, involvement 
in drug-related crimes, and armed robbery.
    At year's end the trial continued of four NDEA senior officers, 
including Director General Ebrahim Bun Sanneh; his deputy, Karamo 
Bojang; and former director of operations Ousman Sanneh. In March 2010 
the four were dismissed and charged with corruption, drug-related 
offenses, and abuse of office.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws, but 
these laws were seldom enforced.
    The constitution and law do not provide for public access to 
government information. Under the law civil servants are not allowed to 
divulge information about their departments or speak to the press 
without prior clearance from their department heads.
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 despite government restrictions, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. However, government 
officials were seldom cooperative or responsive to their views. 
According to Annual Report 2011 of the Observatory for the Protection 
of Human Rights Defenders, the legal and institutional environment in 
the country continued to limit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and 
human rights monitoring activities. The NGO Decree of 1996 imposes a 
cumbersome registration process, allows the government to reject valid 
NGO registration, and requires annual submissions of budgets and work 
programs. The 2010 decision to place supervision of NGO activities 
under the Office of the President resulted in increased restrictions. 
Human rights organizations censored themselves and focused on 
nonsensitive issues. Several groups expressed concern over detainees 
held incommunicado, but the government did not respond.
    The government harassed, arrested, and detained human rights 
workers.
    There were reports during the year that in February 2010 the 
Immigration Department arrested and detained for three days Edwin 
Nebolisa Nwakaeme, the founder and program director of Africa for 
Democracy and Good Governance (ADG), for allegedly lying about the 
category of his organization on a registration form. In March 2010 the 
Serious Crimes Unit of police headquarters in Banjul summoned and 
rearrested him. Nwakaeme was subsequently charged with ``giving false 
information to public officials'' for claiming in a letter to the 
Office of the President that ADG was an NGO, despite the fact that it 
was registered as a charity. In the letter Nwakaeme had requested 
President Jammeh's daughter to accept her nomination as an ADG 
ambassador. In September 2010 Nwakaeme was sentenced to six months' 
imprisonment with hard labor and a fine of 10,000 dalasi ($350). The 
court also banned him from running ADG in the country and ordered him 
to surrender all the documents including the license pertaining to the 
organization. In December 2010 the Banjul High Court upheld Nwakaeme's 
conviction on appeal. On January 14, Nwakaeme was released from jail 
and deported to Nigeria, his native country.
    At year's end the trial continued of two prominent gender activists 
and campaigners against female genital mutilation (FGM)--Isatou Touray, 
executive director of the NGO GAMCOTRAP, and the agency's program 
coordinator, Amie Bojang Sissoho. Touray and Sissoho, who were arrested 
in October 2010, were charged with mismanaging 30,000 euros ($40,200) 
granted by the Spanish NGO Yolocamba Solidaridad. The two were 
subsequently denied bail and spent eight days in prison before their 
trial could proceed. The charges of theft were reportedly based on the 
findings of an investigative panel that looked into GAMCOTRAP's 
management of the Yolocamba grant. A previous panel set up by the 
Office of the President in May 2010 concluded that the allegations of 
mismanagement were unfounded. On January 31, during a hearing at Banjul 
Magistrate's Court, the director of the Spanish NGO denied accusing 
anyone associated with GAMCOTRAP of theft. Both Touray and Sissoho 
continued their work with GAMCOTRAP during the year.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government allowed visits 
during the year by the U.N. and other international governmental 
organizations, such as ECOWAS and the Commonwealth Secretariat; 
however, the government offered no public response to reports issued 
after the visits.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Office of the Ombudsman, which 
was established and funded by the government, operated a national human 
rights unit (NHRU) to promote and protect human rights and to support 
vulnerable groups. During the year the unit received and addressed 
complaints regarding unlawful dismissals, termination of employment, 
unfair treatment, and illegal arrest and detention. According to the 
2010 report from the Office of the Ombudsman, which was released on 
October 17, the organization received 83 complaints, most of which 
involved the police force. Of the 83 complaints, 38 were resolved in 
favor of complainants, 19 were dismissed, 15 were discontinued, and the 
remainder were pending.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, 
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government 
generally enforced these prohibitions. However, discrimination against 
women remained a problem.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The penalty for rape is life 
imprisonment; however, rape, including spousal rape, was a widespread 
problem. The maximum penalty for attempted rape is seven years' 
imprisonment. A small number of cases reported to police were 
prosecuted; most prosecutions resulted in conviction. At least six rape 
cases were brought to the courts during the year. The law against 
spousal rape was difficult to enforce effectively, as many did not 
consider spousal rape a crime and failed to report it. Police generally 
considered reports of spousal rape to be domestic issues outside of 
their jurisdiction.
    The law prohibits any form of violence against women; however, 
domestic violence was a problem. Domestic violence was underreported 
due to the stigma attached to it. Cases were seldom prosecuted and 
usually settled through counseling and dialogue with family elders.
    On January 26, Ebrima Drammeh of Brikama Gidda was convicted of 
common assault for slapping his wife and fined 5,000 dalasi ($175) or 
in default to serve one year in prison.
    GAMCOTRAP, one of the leading women's rights NGOs in the country, 
included gender-based violence in its training modules for combating 
FGM. Another group, the Female Lawyer's Association of The Gambia, 
educated women on their rights and represented them, often pro bono, in 
domestic violence cases.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and 
provides for a one-year mandatory prison sentence for offenders. No 
cases were reported during the year, but sexual harassment remained a 
problem.

    Sex Tourism.--The law prohibits sex tourism, but the problem was 
occasionally reported in tourist resort areas.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government did not interfere with the 
basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly 
the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to have the 
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and 
violence. Couples and individuals had access to contraception and 
skilled attendance during childbirth, including essential obstetric and 
postpartum care. Women were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually 
transmitted infections. The maternal mortality rate during the year was 
378 per 100,000 live births.
    During the year the national reproductive and child health unit of 
the Department of Health and Social Welfare continued to implement a 
reproductive health campaign launched in 2007. The campaign, which was 
funded by the World Health Organization, was designed to encourage men 
to become involved with sexual and reproductive health issues. All 
maternal health care services were provided free of charge in 
government-run hospitals.

    Discrimination.--The law provides equal rights to men and women and 
prohibits discrimination on grounds of gender; however, women 
experienced a wide range of discrimination in matrimonial rights, 
property ownership, and inheritance rights. Employment in the formal 
sector was open to women at the same salary rates as men, and no 
statutory discrimination existed in other kinds of employment, access 
to credit, or owning and managing a business; however, societal 
discrimination lingered, and women generally were employed in such 
pursuits as food vending or subsistence farming.
    Sharia law is applied in marriage, divorce, and inheritance cases 
for Muslims, who make up more than 90 percent of the population. Women 
normally received a lower proportion of assets distributed through 
inheritance than men. The churches concerned and the office of the 
attorney general settled Christian and civil marriage and divorce 
issues.
    Marriages often were arranged and, depending on the ethnic group, 
polygyny was practiced. Women in polygynous unions had problems with 
property and other rights arising from the marriage. They also had the 
option to divorce, but no legal right to disapprove or be notified in 
advance of subsequent marriages by their husbands. The women's bureau 
under the Office of the Vice President oversees programs to ensure the 
legal rights of women. Active women's rights groups existed.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country's territory and from one's parents; however, not all 
births were registered. To access health care and treatment at public 
health centers, children were required to have a clinic card, which was 
available without birth registration. Birth certificates were often 
required to enroll in school, but they could easily be obtained.

    Education.--The constitution and law mandate compulsory, tuition-
free primary education from ages six to 12, but families often had to 
pay tuition as well as fees for books, uniforms, lunch, school fund 
contributions, and exam fees. During the year the government estimated 
that 75 percent of children were enrolled in primary schools. Another 
15 percent were enrolled in Islamic schools, called madrassas. Girls 
constituted approximately 51 percent of primary school students and 
one-third of high school students. The enrollment of girls was lower in 
rural areas, where poverty and cultural factors often led parents to 
decide against sending their daughters to school. As part of the 
government's initiative to increase the numbers of girls in school, the 
government ensured that tuition for female students was consistently 
waived.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse occurred. Serious cases of abuse and 
violence against children were subject to criminal penalties, and 
authorities generally enforced laws when cases of child abuse or 
mistreatment were brought to their attention.
    The penalty for rape is life imprisonment. However, because of the 
difficulty of proving rape of minors, particularly very young children, 
the charge was generally defilement or having carnal knowledge, both of 
which carry a prison sentence of 14 years.
    That was at least one conviction for rape during the year. On 
October 17, Yankuba Njie, a resident of Fajikunda in Kanifing 
Municipality, was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor for 
raping and kidnapping a teenager. Other cases involving child rape that 
remained before the courts included Italian national Regnoni Renato, 
charged with raping a 13-year-old child; Landing Sanneh of Kololi, 
accused of raping a seven-year-old girl; Koranic teacher Alhagie Faal, 
accused of raping a 10-year-old student; and Dutch national Handre Van 
Roye, who was charged with rape and abuse of underage children.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law does not prohibit FGM, and 
the practice remained widespread. A 2005-06 survey by the U.N. 
Children's Fund found that approximately 78 percent of girls and women 
had undergone FGM, and seven of the nine major ethnic groups practiced 
FGM on girls from shortly after birth until age 16. FGM was less 
frequent among educated and urban groups. Some religious leaders 
publicly defended the practice. There were reports of health 
complications, including deaths, associated with FGM; however, no 
accurate statistics were available. Several NGOs conducted public 
education programs to discourage the practice and spoke out against FGM 
in the media.
    During the year several district chiefs, ward councilors, members 
of the Council of Elders, religious leaders, female leaders, and female 
circumcisers attended GAMCOTRAP seminars on the harmful effects of FGM. 
GAMCOTRAP continued its campaign for a law banning FGM.

    Child Marriage.--Carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 16 is 
a felony except in the case of marriage, which can be as early as age 
12. There are no laws against forced marriage, and in many villages, 
young girls were forced to marry at a young age.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides for 14 years' 
imprisonment for commercial sexual exploitation of children and a five-
year prison term for child pornography. The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 18. Children in prostitution worked in some brothels, often to 
support their families or because they were orphans. A small number of 
children were also trafficked for forced commercial sexual 
exploitation. NGOs believed that some tourists living in remote 
guesthouses and motels were involved in the sexual exploitation of 
children. Security forces in the tourism development area were 
instructed to turn away all minors who approached the main resort areas 
without an acceptable reason.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish community, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits exploitation 
of and discrimination against persons with disabilities in access to 
health services, education, and employment; however, there were no laws 
to ensure access to buildings for persons with disabilities, and very 
few buildings in the country were accessible to them. The law requires 
that judicial proceedings involving a person with disabilities take 
into account the disability. There were no laws or programs to ensure 
that persons with disabilities had access to information or 
communications.
    Persons with severe disabilities experienced discrimination and 
subsisted primarily through private charity. Persons with less severe 
disabilities encountered less discrimination, including in employment 
for which they were physically and mentally capable.
    The Department of Social Welfare is responsible for protecting the 
rights of persons with disabilities and worked with the Gambia 
Organization for the Visually Impaired and the School for the Deaf and 
Blind to help educate children with disabilities and to promote 
relevant skills. The department also worked with international donors 
to supply wheelchairs to some persons with disabilities. Several NGOs 
sought to improve awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities 
and encouraged their participation in sports and other physical 
activities. The NHRU specifically sought to promote the rights of women 
with disabilities. Persons with disabilities were given priority access 
to polling booths on election days.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law establishes prison 
terms ranging from five to 14 years for any man who commits in public 
or private ``any act of gross indecency,'' engages a male sex worker, 
or has actual sexual contact with another man; however, to date, no one 
has been prosecuted. There was no similar law targeting women. There 
was strong societal discrimination against LGBT individuals, some of 
whom were shunned.
    In a January speech to army officers, President Jammeh announced he 
wanted a professional army ``free of gays and saboteurs.'' In a 2009 
speech before the National Assembly, President Jammeh called homosexual 
conduct ``strange behavior that even God will not tolerate.'' Despite 
such statements, there were no reported incidents of physical violence 
against LGBT individuals during the year. There were no LGBT 
organizations in the country.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against persons infected with HIV/AIDS hindered disclosure and resulted 
in rejection by partners and relatives. The government took a 
multisectoral approach to fighting HIV/AIDS through its national 
strategic plan, which provided for care, treatment, and support to 
persons living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. The plan also included HIV 
prevention programs for high-risk populations. Throughout the year the 
Ministry of Health urged persons to undergo voluntary HIV/AIDS 
counseling and testing.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides that workers are free to form and join independent 
unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. Military 
personnel, police officers, and other civil service employees are 
prohibited from forming unions or going on strike. Unions must register 
to be recognized.
    The government places restrictions on the right to strike by 
requiring unions to give the commissioner of labor written notice 14 
days before beginning an industrial action (28 days for essential 
services). Police and military personnel had access to a complaints 
unit, and civil servants could take their complaints to the public 
service commission or the government's personnel management office. An 
employer may apply to a court for an injunction to prohibit industrial 
action that is deemed to be in pursuit of a political objective. The 
court also may forbid action judged to be in breach of a collectively 
agreed procedure for settlement of industrial disputes. The law 
prohibits retribution against strikers who comply with the law 
regulating strikes. Employers may not fire or discriminate against 
members of registered unions for engaging in legal union activities, 
and the law provides for reinstatement of workers fired for union 
activity. The law also sets minimum contract standards for hiring, 
training, and terms of employment and provides that contracts may not 
prohibit union membership. No category of workers is excluded from 
relevant legal protections.
    Although there was minimal contentious union activity or labor 
disputes, the government effectively enforced the law when necessary. 
Enforcement procedures were subject to lengthy delays and appeals.
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
respected in practice. Worker organizations are independent of the 
government and political parties. There were no instances of government 
interference in union activities, including the targeted dissolving of 
unions or the use of excessive force to end strikes or protests. There 
were no cases in which registration was denied to a union that applied. 
There were no incidents of violence, threats, or other abuses targeting 
union leaders and members by government or employers.
    Although trade unions were small and fragmented, collective 
bargaining took place. Unions were able to negotiate without government 
interference; however, in practice they lacked experience, 
organization, and professionalism and often turned to the government 
for assistance in negotiations. Union members' wages, which generally 
exceeded legal minimums, were determined by collective bargaining, 
arbitration, or agreements reached between unions and management. Most 
collective agreements were registered with the Department of Labor and 
remained valid for a period of three years before being renewed.
    The government intervened to assist workers whose employers fired 
them or discriminated against them. For example, the Department of 
Labor and the Gambia Workers Union supported the case of a female 
employee of a local company, Shyben A. Madi and Sons Limited, who took 
the company to court for wrongful termination, claiming damages of 9.3 
million dalasi ($325,500). The employee, Ida Suso-Fay, claimed that her 
supervisor repeatedly harassed her after she became pregnant in 2010 
and fired her without explanation while she was on maternity leave. The 
case continued at year's end.
    There were no reports of violations of collective bargaining rights 
or of employers refusing to bargain, bargaining with unions not chosen 
by workers, or using other hiring practices to avoid hiring workers 
with bargaining rights. There were no occurrences of antiunion 
discrimination.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the 
government enforced these laws; however, forced labor occurred. Women 
and children were subjected to trafficking, including forced labor and 
prostitution.
    During the year a few Koranic teachers known as ``marabouts'' 
forced their students known as ``Almudus'' to sell items on the 
streets; however, the practice rarely occurred after police began 
intervening and ordered marabouts to stop.
    See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
constitution prohibits economic exploitation of children under 16 years 
of age, and the law prohibits exploitive labor or hazardous employment 
of children under the age of 18; however, the government did not 
effectively enforce the law. The Children's Act sets the minimum age 
for light work at 16 years and for apprenticeship in the informal 
sector at 12 years. Most children completed their formal education by 
the age of 14 and then began work. The law implicitly applies only to 
the formal sector.
    Child labor in the informal sector was difficult to regulate. 
Rising costs of school fees combined with stagnating incomes prohibited 
some families from sending their children to school, contributing to 
child labor. In urban areas some children worked as street vendors, 
domestics, or taxi and bus assistants. There were a few instances of 
children begging on the street. Other sectors where children between 
the ages of 14 and 17 were known to work include carpentry, masonry, 
plumbing, tailoring, and auto repair. Children in rural areas worked on 
family farms.
    The Department of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor 
laws and conventions on the worst forms of child labor; however, the 
government took no action to prevent or combat child labor during the 
year. Employee labor cards, which include a person's age, were 
registered with the labor commissioner, who was authorized to enforce 
child labor laws. Nevertheless, enforcement inspections rarely took 
place.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Finding on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda/htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 50 dalasi 
($1.75) per day, although this only covered the 20 percent of the 
workforce employed in the formal sector. The government considered the 
national poverty baseline to be 38 dalasi ($1.33) per person per day. 
Most workers were paid above the minimum wage. The Department of Labor 
is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage. A majority of workers 
were employed privately or were self-employed, often in agriculture. 
Most citizens did not live on a single worker's earnings and shared 
resources within extended families.
    The basic legal workweek is 48 hours within a period not to exceed 
six consecutive days. Nationwide the workweek included four eight-hour 
workdays and two four-hour workdays (Friday and Saturday). There are no 
limits on hours worked per week and no prohibition of excessive 
compulsory overtime. A 30-minute lunch break is mandated. Government 
employees are entitled to one month of paid annual leave after one year 
of service. Most government employees were not paid overtime. However, 
government workers holding temporary positions and private sector 
workers received overtime pay calculated per hour. Private sector 
employees received between 14 and 30 days of paid annual leave, 
depending on length of service. There was no exception for foreign or 
migrant workers.
    The law specifies the safety equipment that an employer must 
provide to employees working in designated occupations. The law also 
authorizes the Department of Labor to regulate factory health and 
safety, accident prevention, and dangerous trades, and to appoint 
inspectors to ensure compliance with safety standards. Workers may 
demand protective equipment and clothing for hazardous workplaces and 
have recourse to the labor department. The law provides that workers 
may refuse to work in dangerous situations without risking loss of 
employment. The law protects foreign workers employed by the 
government; however, it only provides protection for privately employed 
foreigners if they have a currently valid work permit.
    The Department of Labor effectively enforced the wage law and 
workweek standards when cases were brought to its attention.
    In April 2010 the National Assembly passed an amendment to the 
payroll tax act that prohibits employers from hiring noncitizens in 
excess of 20 percent of their workforce except in the specialized 
professional category. The amendment was designed to encourage 
employers to train and employ more local citizens. In October the 
Department of Labor, working with the six Joint Industrial Councils, 
submitted recommendations for national minimum wage levels for each of 
the occupations represented by the councils, namely commerce, artisans, 
transport, port operations, agriculture, and fisheries. The 
recommendations were being reviewed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, 
Regional Employment and Employment at year's end.
    There was no specific government action during the year to prevent 
violations of workers' rights or to improve working conditions, 
particularly for hazardous sectors or vulnerable groups.
    In practice workers could not refuse to work in dangerous working 
conditions without risking loss of employment.
    During the year there were no reports of violations of wage, 
overtime, or health and safety standards; no particular group of 
workers was subject to hazardous or exploitative working conditions; 
and there were no occurrences of workplace fatalities and accidents or 
major industrial accidents in which workers were injured or killed.

                               __________

                                 GHANA

                           executive summary
    Ghana is a constitutional democracy with a strong presidency and a 
unicameral, 230-seat parliament. In late 2008 the opposition National 
Democratic Congress (NDC) won both the presidency and a small majority 
in parliament in an election deemed generally free and fair by domestic 
and international observers. NDC candidate Professor John Evans Atta 
Mills was inaugurated president in early 2009 for a four-year term. 
There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of government authorities.
    The most important human rights problems included trafficking in 
persons; exploitive child labor, including forced child labor; and 
harsh and life-threatening prison conditions.
    Other human rights problems included use of excessive force by 
police, resulting in deaths and injuries; prolonged pretrial detention; 
arbitrary arrest of journalists; corruption in all branches of 
government; violence against women and children, including female 
genital mutilation (FGM); societal discrimination against women, 
persons with disabilities, and persons with HIV/AIDS; ethnic killings 
and vigilante violence; ethnic discrimination and politically motivated 
violence; and societal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
and transgender (LGBT) individuals.
    The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who 
committed abuses; however, police impunity remained a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed politically 
motivated killings; however, use of excessive force by security forces 
resulted in the deaths of several armed criminal suspects and other 
persons during the year.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were credible reports that police beat and otherwise abused 
suspects, prisoners, and other citizens. Severe beatings of suspects in 
police custody reportedly occurred throughout the country but generally 
were unreported in official channels. Police generally denied 
allegations or claimed that the level of force used was justified. 
Military officials also reportedly mistreated persons during the year. 
During the year several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), lawyers, 
and civil society organizations publicly criticized police use of 
excessive force. In 2009 these organizations called for the inspector 
general of police (IGP) to take action against security force members 
involved in abuse. As a result, awareness-raising campaigns were 
conducted and internal disciplinary actions were taken against 
offending security officials in 2010 and 2011.
    On June 27, investigators from police headquarters in Accra were 
dispatched to the Volta Region to investigate the death of a trader at 
Hohoe. Allegedly the trader died of multiple wounds inflicted by police 
at the Hohoe police station after the police allegedly sexually 
assaulted her and some of her relatives. Police allegedly detained the 
victim and other members of her family when they questioned why the 
police should collect money from a relative before granting her bail. 
Reports indicated other members of the family were injured. A directive 
was issued to the IGP to produce a report on the incident, but it had 
not filed a report at year's end.
    There were no new developments in the 2010 case of an inmate in 
Koforidua Prison, Eastern Region, who died en route to the hospital.
    In October 2010 police and other security personnel in Nakpanduri, 
Northern Region, allegedly ransacked and burned homes, injured 
civilians, and repeatedly fired their guns during an operation to 
arrest an escaped convict; the interior minister subsequently issued an 
apology on behalf of the government. The Commission on Human Rights and 
Justice (CHRAJ) noted that investigations into police culpability 
continued at year's end.
    Violence between soldiers and police, often due to internal 
rivalries, resulted in injuries during the year.
    For example, in November eight soldiers allegedly beat three 
policemen and a community protection assistant of the National Youth 
Employment Program while they were directing traffic in Tamale. The 
incident was under investigation. The Northern Regional Police 
Commander and the Airborne Force official met to discuss a plan of 
action.
    In June 2010 in Kumasi, soldiers from the Fourth Garrison allegedly 
attacked and beat 12 police officers stationed at various duty posts 
throughout the city. One officer was allegedly hit on the head with a 
hammer and hospitalized. Soldiers also vandalized property at police 
stations and forced officers to flee their posts. In July 2010 a 
committee composed of three top-ranking military officers, three senior 
police officers, and a retired appeals court judge who served as 
committee chair opened an investigation, but the committee had not 
filed a report at year's end.
    In 2009 ``Operation Calm Life,'' a joint military and police 
effort, was created to bridge the divide between military and police 
throughout the country. During the year the operation was underway in 
Accra.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally were harsh and sometimes life threatening. Police have been 
known to beat suspects in custody. Much of the prison population was 
held in buildings that were originally colonial forts or abandoned 
public or military buildings, with poor ventilation and sanitation, 
substandard construction, and limited space and light. Many prisoners 
slept on bare floors or took turns using beds. According to the 2010 
Prisons Service Annual Report (its most recent available report), 
13,507 prisoners (average daily lockup) were held in prisons designed 
to hold approximately one-third that number.
    In 2010, 78 prisoners died in custody. The CHRAJ noted the most 
common ailments (including tuberculosis, malnutrition, dysentery, HIV/
AIDS, and skin disease) affecting prisoners stemmed from overcrowding, 
poor nutrition, and a lack of ventilation. Medical facilities were 
inadequate, and the prisons supplied only the most basic medicines. 
Prisoners relied on families or outside organizations for additional 
food, medicine, and other necessities. According to the CHRAJ, the 
daily food stipend for prisoners was 60 Ghana pesewa ($0.40), which the 
CHRAJ deemed too low. Shortages of food, bedding, clean water, and 
clothing for prisoners persisted.
    For example, in February 2010 two inmates in a police cell in 
Ashaiman, Greater Accra Region, allegedly suffocated to death. The cell 
in which the two were incarcerated was built to accommodate 10 persons 
but held 43 prisoners on remand and 19 convicted prisoners at the time 
of the deaths.
    On average there were 187 female and 115 juvenile inmates in the 42 
prisons and prison camps. Juvenile detainees were not housed separately 
from adults, and pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners. 
In 2011 Amnesty International reported that access to legal aid was 
inadequate, which resulted in some prisoners spending more than 10 
years awaiting trial. It also stated that 123 people, including three 
women, were on death row at year's end; however, no executions had been 
carried out since 1993. The Constitutional Review Commission 
recommended abolishing the death penalty in its final report on the 
amendment of the 1992 Constitution.
    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 and treatment; however, submission of complaints by 
prisoners was not common practice. Authorities investigated credible 
allegations of inhumane conditions and treatment and documented the 
results. Whenever allegations of inhumane treatment are made, the 
accused officer is asked to respond. If prison authorities are 
unsatisfied with the response of the officer, an internal inquiry is 
launched and recommendations for disciplinary action are submitted to 
the director general of the prisons service.
    The government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by the CHRAJ, which served as the official ombudsman, and 
the welfare unit of the prisons service. During the year the CHRAJ 
monitored 28 of the 42 prisons and prison camps. The CHRAJ and other 
NGOs worked on behalf of prisoners and detainees to help alleviate 
inhumane overcrowding, address the status and circumstances of 
confinement of juvenile offenders, and improve pretrial detention, 
bail, and recordkeeping procedures to ensure prisoners do not serve 
beyond the maximum sentence for the charged offenses.
    The government permits independent monitoring of prison conditions 
by local and international human rights groups, including the 
International Committee of the Red Cross; however, no such visits were 
conducted during the year.
    During the year 1,150 inmates were discharged under the ``Justice 
for All'' program, which was begun in 2008 to ease prison overcrowding 
and to accelerate judicial processes; another 727 inmates were released 
on bail.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law provide 
for protection against arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the 
government did not always observe these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police, under the 
Ministry of Interior, were responsible for maintaining law and order. 
However, the military continued to participate in law enforcement 
activities. A separate entity, the Bureau of National Investigations 
(BNI), handled cases considered critical to state security and answered 
directly to the Ministry of National Security. Police maintained 
specialized units in Accra for homicide, forensics, domestic violence, 
trafficking in persons, visa fraud, narcotics, and cybercrimes. Such 
services were unavailable nationwide due to lack of office space, 
vehicles, and other equipment outside the capital. In May 2010 the 
police unveiled a five-year strategic plan to increase police 
personnel, housing, vehicles, equipment, and establish new training 
academies.
    Police brutality, corruption, negligence, and impunity were 
problems. Delays in prosecuting suspects, rumors of police 
collaboration with criminals, and a widespread perception of police 
ineptitude contributed to vigilante violence during the year. There 
were credible reports that police extorted money by acting as private 
debt collectors, setting up illegal checkpoints, and arresting citizens 
in exchange for bribes from disgruntled business associates of those 
detained. Low salaries, which were sometimes not paid on time, 
contributed to police corruption. In July 2010 the government 
implemented the Single Spine Salary Structure, which increased the 
salaries of all police officers, partly in an effort to reduce 
corruption.
    The Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Unit (PIPS) 
investigated human rights abuses and police misconduct. From January 
through December, PIPS received 366 new cases; of those, 219 were 
closed, and 147 remained under investigation at year's end. Among the 
366 cases, 13 involved complaints of harassment, eight of extortion, 72 
of misconduct, 24 of unlawful arrest and detention, 92 of 
unprofessional handling of a case, 51 of unfair treatment, 51 of undue 
delay of investigation, and 37 of alleged police brutality with human 
rights violations.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution and law provide for protection against arbitrary arrest 
and detention; however, the government frequently violated these 
prohibitions. The law requires judicial warrants for arrest and 
provides for arraignment within 48 hours; however, persons were 
frequently arrested without warrants, and detention without charge for 
periods longer than 48 hours occurred. Officials detained some 
prisoners for indefinite periods by renewing warrants or by simply 
allowing them to lapse while an investigation was conducted. The 
constitution provides that a detained individual be informed 
immediately, in a language the person understands, of the reasons for 
detention and of his or her right to a lawyer at state expense if 
unemployed or indigent. The government did not consistently protect 
these rights, but lawyers were generally assigned promptly to 
detainees. The law requires that a detainee who has not been tried 
within a ``reasonable time'' as determined by the court be released 
either unconditionally or subject to conditions necessary to ensure 
that the person will appear in court at a later date; however, in 
practice, this provision was rarely observed.
    The law provides for bail, and the court has unlimited discretion 
to set bail, which was often prohibitively high. The court may refuse 
to release prisoners on bail and instead detain them without charge for 
an indefinite period, subject to weekly review by judicial authorities. 
In September 2010 a man was granted bail after spending 10 years in 
detention. On occasion police also demanded money from suspects as a 
precondition for their release on bail.
    Lengthy pretrial detention remained a serious problem. According to 
the Prisons Service 2010 Annual Report, 25 percent of the prison 
population was in pretrial status. Detainees sometimes served more time 
in detention awaiting trial than the maximum sentence for the crime 
required.
    During the year prison officials, courts, and police continued 
efforts to reconstruct the files of at least 300 pretrial inmates; the 
files had been missing since at least 2007. As of 2010, 136 inmates had 
been released.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, the judiciary was inefficient 
and subject to influence and corruption (see section 4).
    Members of the military were tried separately under the criminal 
code in a military court. Military courts, which provide the same 
rights as civil courts, were not permitted to try civilians. Despite 
alternate dispute resolution (ADR) procedures to decongest the courts 
and address judicial inefficiency, court delays persisted. Mediators 
were trained throughout the country to implement ADR, mediation desks 
were established in some district courts, and an ADR secretariat was 
established within the judicial service. Nevertheless, even in fast-
track courts, which were established to hear cases to conclusion within 
six months, trials could go on for years.
    The Chieftaincy Act gives village and other traditional chiefs the 
power to mediate local matters and enforce customary tribal laws 
dealing with such matters as divorce, child custody, and property 
disputes; however, the authority of traditional rulers had steadily 
eroded because of a commensurate increase in the power of civil 
institutions, including courts and district assemblies.
    A judicial complaints unit, headed by a retired Supreme Court 
justice, addressed public complaints, such as unfair treatment by a 
court or judge, unlawful arrest or detention, missing dockets, delayed 
trials and delivery of judgments, and alleged bribery of judges. In 
2009, the most recent statistics available, the unit received 345 
complaints, of which 294 were resolved, and 51 were under investigation 
at year's end.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right 
to a fair trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right. 
However, the judiciary was sometimes inefficient and subject to 
influence and corruption. Defendants are presumed innocent and trials 
are public. Juries are used in murder trials. Defendants have a right 
to be present, to be represented by an attorney (at public expense if 
necessary), and to cross-examine witnesses. Defendants have the right 
also to present witnesses and evidence. Defendants and their attorneys 
have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases and 
have a right to appeal. The law extends the above rights to all 
citizens. In practice authorities generally respected these safeguards.

    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 citizens had access to a 
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human 
rights violation.
    Fast-track courts and automated commercial courts continued efforts 
to streamline resolution of disputes, although delays were common. A 
growing number of automated courts, whose proceedings were expedited 
through electronic data management, were established across the 
country. They succeeded in case tracking management, and also randomly 
selected judges for case assignment, which was useful in reducing 
judicial corruption.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press; however, the government sometimes restricted those rights during 
the year. Journalists were arbitrarily arrested and detained during the 
year, and some practiced self-censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals generally could criticize the 
government publicly or privately without reprisal.

    Freedom of Press.--Local authorities sometimes detained, arrested, 
or harassed critics of the government.
    In December 2010 a journalist with Yankee Radio, a community-based 
station in the Brong Ahafo Region, was detained for several hours by 
police and charged with ``publishing information with the intention to 
cause fear or harm to the public or to disturb the public peace.'' The 
charge followed the broadcast of an interview with a Ghanaian citizen 
who was said to have fled the Ivoirian crisis. The fleeing man 
allegedly told the journalist that Ghanaian border police were 
extorting money from some stranded Ghanaians in Cote d'Ivoire. The 
journalist was released on bail and told to reappear in court in a 
week. He went into hiding thereafter, and a writ for his arrest was 
issued. The following week, the general manager of Yankee Radio was 
allegedly assaulted by police officers, who stormed the station to 
prevent the rebroadcast of the interview, which police claimed was 
creating fear and panic in the country.
    The BNI detained the editor of Daybreak, an Accra-based weekly 
newspaper, on March 16. He was released unconditionally six hours later 
and reported that he was interrogated on a wide range of issues, 
including the source for a story he published on March 15 on an alleged 
massive shake-up in the top levels of the military.
    No action was taken against the local authorities who assaulted or 
detained the journalists mentioned above.
    There were more than 1,200 newspapers and magazines, approximately 
203 FM radio stations, and 27 television stations registered with the 
National Media Commission (10 were not yet operational). The most wide-
reaching print outlets were state-owned, while the majority of 
television and radio stations had private ownership.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. There were reports that the government paid 
journalists ``time and transportation'' costs to facilitate coverage.

    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 accessible in Accra and other large cities; there was 
limited but growing access in other parts of the country.

    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 peaceful 
assembly, and the government generally respected this right. The 
government does not require permits for demonstrations, but police can 
deny use of a particular route.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right in practice. Security force members were prohibited from joining 
political assemblies or groups within the security services, but they 
were allowed to participate in political activities outside police or 
military compounds.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/rls/
irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    In the early part of the year, thousands of residents of Cote 
d'Ivoire were forced to seek refuge in Ghana as a result of the 
political instability following the country's late 2010 presidential 
elections. Although the violence ended in May, many Ivoirians remained 
in refugee camps in Ghana. On October 6, Cote d'Ivoire, the UNHCR, and 
the government signed an agreement to ensure that officially registered 
Ivoirian refugees would be able to return to Cote d'Ivoire.
    On September 14, a land dispute between clans of the Bassare tribe 
over land in Northern Togo resulted in 476 Togolese refugees fleeing to 
Ghana. Most of them returned to their homes shortly thereafter; the 
remaining refugees were placed in host communities in Tatale Zabzugu 
District in the Northern Region.
    The UNHCR estimated that 30,000 refugees resided in the country 
during the year. This figure includes Liberian, Togolese, and Ivoirian 
refugees, as well as refugees of other nationalities.

    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 law allows rejected asylum seekers to appeal and remain in the 
country until an appeal is adjudicated. There were delays in the appeal 
process, however, and the minister responsible for adjudicating appeals 
made no decisions on any appeals during the year. The law also accords 
protection to refugees who entered the country illegally without 
documentation.
    The government established the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) in 1992 to 
adjudicate claims for refugee status and to ensure that refugees 
received all appropriate protections. Following the 2009 presidential 
election, the incoming administration appointed new board members. In 
January the government named a new GRB chair.
    Sexual and gender-based violence remained a problem for refugees. 
In February police raided the Buduburam Refugee Camp. There were 
conflicting accounts regarding both the number of casualties resulting 
from the incident and the cause of the violence.
    All refugees had freedom of movement within the country and were 
not required to carry identification. Refugees were allowed to apply 
for work permits through the same process as other foreigners. However, 
work permits generally were issued only for employment in the formal 
sector, whereas the majority of refugees worked in the informal sector. 
Refugee children had access to public primary schools. Refugees in 
Krisan Camp, the Buduburam Settlement, and the Volta Region were 
enrolled in the national health insurance system with funding from the 
UNHCR. Urban refugees had access to health care on a fee-for-service 
basis.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through 
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal 
suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Following a narrow victory in 2008 over New Patriotic Party (NPP) 
candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, opposition NDC candidate John Evans Atta 
Mills was inaugurated president in 2009. There were reports of voter 
intimidation and election irregularities; however, observers and the 
Independent Electoral Commission deemed these irregularities too 
insufficient to have altered the outcome of the election. Incidents of 
preelection violence occurred. In 2008 NPP and NDC supporters clashed 
in Gushiegu District, Northern Region, resulting in six deaths and the 
burning of houses and vehicles. During the same period, an NPP rally in 
Tamale was disrupted by gunfire, forcing the party's vice presidential 
candidate to flee. The incident led to attacks on NDC supporters 
returning from their own rally and the destruction of houses and 
vehicles. The 2010 by-elections were held with few incidents reported.

    Political Parties.--Political parties operated without restriction 
or outside interference. The NDC held 116 seats in the parliament, the 
NPP 107, minor parties three, and independents four.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There are no laws 
preventing women from voting or participating in political life on the 
same basis as men, but women traditionally had less access to 
leadership positions than men. There were 19 women in the 230-seat 
parliament, four women in the cabinet, and five women on the Supreme 
Court. Seven of 38 ministers were women. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, 
wife of former president John Jerry Rawlings, sought to become the 
NDC's presidential candidate for the 2012 general election but lost to 
incumbent Mills at the party's 2011 convention.
    There are no laws or practices that keep members of minorities from 
equal participation in political life. According to the 2000 census, 
the country had more than 80 ethnic groups, none of which constituted a 
majority. The Ashanti, the largest ethnic group, made up 14.8 percent 
of the population.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Corruption was present in all branches of government. The law 
provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the 
government did not implement the law effectively, and some officials 
frequently engaged in corrupt practices. Police set up barriers to 
extort money from motorists, and judicial officials accepted bribes to 
expedite or postpone cases or to ``lose'' records. The World Bank's 
most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption 
was a problem.
    In September 2010 the Serious Fraud Office was replaced by the 
Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), which had expanded powers 
to investigate and prosecute corruption in crimes such as money 
laundering, human trafficking, and cybercrime. The EOCO hired new 
employees during the year, most to be investigators. The organization 
continued to grow and had more than 400 staff members at year's end. 
The EOCO is the lead agency on any major corruption case.
    The CHRAJ investigates human rights abuses, public corruption, and 
abuse of power and is empowered to recommend punishments for violators. 
The attorney general, the minister of justice, the EOCO, and the Public 
Prosecutor's Office are responsible for combating corruption. The 
parliamentary Public Accounts Committee is also responsible for 
auditing government spending. An auditor general reviews public sector 
accounts.
    In the May and August 2010 hearings of the Public Accounts 
Committee, numerous cases of embezzlement and misuse of funds by 
government ministries were uncovered in departments, agencies, and 
district assemblies. The committee ruled that failure to refund monies 
or reconcile accounts would result in prosecution. The committee 
forwarded all cases to the attorney general; however, no prosecutions 
had been reported at year's end.
    On May 13, the Accra Human Rights Court ruled that the EOCO has no 
legal standing to investigate the Ghana Football Association (GFA), 
since the GFA was a private entity. The court further declared that the 
EOCO's seizure of documents and computers at the offices of the GFA 
constituted an abuse of power and a violation of the GFA's rights.
    In August the Judicial Council dismissed two circuit court 
magistrates who were said to have committed acts of corruption and 
abuse of office. The investigative committee concluded that the two 
justices took bribes from parties in cases they presided over. Chief 
Justice Georgina Wood, sworn into office in 2007 as the first woman to 
serve in the position, expressed a strong desire to deal with 
corruption within the justice system.
    Security force members were arrested for corruption. For example, 
in August six officers of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the 
Ghana Police Service were arrested after allegedly extorting money from 
motorists at Akoti Junction on the Accra-Cape Coast road.
    In September an Accra Circuit Court dismissed a narcotics case 
after one kilogram of seized cocaine had allegedly been surreptitiously 
replaced with sodium carbonate. The disappearance of the cocaine 
prompted an investigation by the BNI and a judicial panel of inquiry. 
Although finding improper behavior and procedures, the panel cleared 
the Judicial Service of fault in the cocaine's disappearance. The BNI 
placed blame on a deputy superintendent of police, whom it held for 
questioning at year's end.
    Officials were subject to financial disclosure, but their responses 
were not available for public review.
    The constitution provides for public access to government 
information; however, obtaining such access was difficult in practice.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The CHRAJ, which mediated and 
settled cases brought by individuals against government agencies or 
private companies, operated with no overt interference from the 
government; however, some critics questioned its ability to 
independently investigate high-level corruption. Its biggest obstacle 
was a lack of adequate resources, which resulted in low salaries, poor 
working conditions, and the loss of many of its staff to other 
governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Salaries were often delayed 
due to a chronic lack of resources and administrative issues. However, 
public confidence in the CHRAJ was high, resulting in an increased 
workload for its staff. In July President Mills swore in the new head 
of the CHRAJ.
    Human rights issues were addressed in parliament by the Committee 
on the Constitution, Legal Issues and Parliamentary Affairs.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
gender, disability, language, or social status; however, enforcement 
was generally inadequate. Limited financial resources and a generally 
permissive societal attitude toward such discrimination contributed to 
its perpetuation. Courts were empowered to order specific enforcement 
of these prohibitions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape but 
not marital rape. Rape was significantly underreported and remained a 
serious problem. During the year the Ghana Police Service's Domestic 
Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) worked closely with the 
Department of Social Welfare, the national chapter of the International 
Federation of Women Lawyers, the Legal Aid Board, and several other 
human rights NGOs to combat domestic violence. As of September DOVVSU 
received 157 reports of rape and reported 82 arrests and 40 
prosecutions, resulting in five convictions; 126 cases remained 
uninvestigated at year's end. Convicted rapists may be punished with 
prison sentences ranging from five to 25 years.
    Although the law prohibits domestic violence, it continued to be a 
problem. The law stipulates that a person in a domestic relationship 
who engages in misdemeanor domestic violence is liable on summary 
conviction to a fine, a term of imprisonment of not more than two 
years, or both. The court also may order the offender to pay 
compensation directly to the victim. However, inadequate resources and 
logistical capacity in DOVVSU and other agencies, as well as only 
partial implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, hindered the full 
application of the law during the year. Unless specifically called upon 
by DOVVSU, police seldom intervened in cases of domestic violence, in 
part due to a lack of counseling skills, shelter facilities, and other 
resources to assist victims. In many cases victims were discouraged 
from reporting abuse and from cooperating with prosecutors because they 
were aware of long delays in bringing such cases to trial. Victims 
frequently did not complete their formal complaints because they could 
not afford the fees that doctors charged to document the abuse in 
police medical forms. Victims did not report domestic violence (or 
rape) also because of fear of retaliation. Statistics were not 
available on prosecutions of domestic violence cases during the year.

    Female Genital Mutilation.--See section 6, Children.

    Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--In the Northern, Upper East, 
and Upper West regions, where belief in witchcraft remained strong, 
rural women and men were banished to ``witch camps'' (villages in the 
North populated by suspected witches, some of whom were accompanied by 
their families) by their families or traditional village authorities 
for suspected witchcraft. (Such camps were distinct from ``prayer 
camps,'' to which persons with mental illness were sometimes sent by 
their families.) Most accused witches were older women, often widows, 
who were accused by fellow villagers of being the cause of 
difficulties, such as illness, crop failure, or financial misfortune. 
Persons suspected of witchcraft also were killed in recent years. NGOs 
provided food, medical care, and other support to residents of the 
camps. Government officials and the regional office of the CHRAJ 
claimed the number of women in witch camps in the Northern Region 
decreased slightly in recent years.
    For example, in November 2010 in Tema, Greater Accra Region, a 
group of individuals including an evangelist pastor allegedly set fire 
to a 72-year-old woman after accusing her of being a witch. The woman 
died the following day from her injuries. Police arrested six persons; 
two were charged with murder, and four were released on bail. The 
accused had yet to go to trial at year's end.
    The Ministry of Women and Children (MOWAC) monitored witch camps. 
The CHRAJ has an office in Tamale in the Northern Region, which 
supports efforts to protect the rights of those accused of being 
witches and monitors three camps. In 2010, during its most recent 
survey of the camps, the CHRAJ reported that they contained 175 female 
and eight male residents; however, media sources reported far higher 
numbers of men, women, and children in the camps.
    NGOs expressed concern about the government's desire to close witch 
camps. Accused witches feared they would be killed if camps were 
dismantled and they were forced to return to their previous homes. 
According to the CHRAJ, there was some discussion within the MOWAC 
about closing witch camps and beginning a process of reunification with 
family and villages as well as an educational campaign about religious 
tolerance and respect for human rights. The CHRAJ intended to continue 
to work with camp officials, the MOWAC, and residents about the future 
of witch camps. A conference held at the end of the year, attended by 
the MOWAC, the CHRAJ, DOVVSU, NGOs, and other stakeholders focused on a 
process by which accused witches could reintegrate with their families.

    Sexual Harassment.--There were no laws to specifically protect 
women from sexual harassment; however, some sexual harassment cases 
were prosecuted under the existing criminal code. Women's advocacy 
groups reported that sexual harassment remained a widespread problem.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
freely decide on the number, spacing, and timing of pregnancies. 
According to the 2008 Demographic and Health Survey, the most recent 
completed, 98 percent of all women surveyed were able to cite having 
used at least one birth control method. According to a foreign aid 
agency, 17 percent of married women of reproductive age used a modern 
contraceptive method. More than 75 percent of pregnant women had four 
or more prenatal visits. Approximately 60 percent of women delivered 
with a skilled attendant. Maternal mortality was estimated in a recent 
study at 451 per 100,000 live births, with the most common causes of 
death being hemorrhage and infection. More than two-thirds of women 
reported receiving medical care within two days of delivery. Women were 
more likely than men to accept HIV testing, particularly since it was 
offered as a standard component of prenatal care. An estimated 10 
percent of the population knew their HIV status; approximately 30 
percent of HIV-positive pregnant mothers received antiretroviral 
medications to prevent mother-to-child transmission.

    Discrimination.--The constitution provides for all persons to be 
treated equally under the law; however, women continued to experience 
discrimination in access to employment. Women in urban centers and 
those with skills and training encountered little overt bias, but 
resistance persisted to women entering nontraditional fields. Women, 
especially in rural areas, remained subject to burdensome labor 
conditions, performing physically difficult manual labor such as 
farming, transporting goods, and manual household chores, while often 
carrying a child on their backs. Women also were subjected to 
traditional male dominance. Traditional practices and social norms 
often denied women their statutory entitlements to inheritance and 
property, a legally registered marriage with the associated legal 
rights, and the maintenance and custody of children. Female 
entrepreneurs found it difficult to start or expand a business due to 
poor access to credit. Although microcredit programs were available, 
lack of access to credit remained a serious barrier.
    Women's rights groups were active in educational campaigns and in 
programs to provide vocational training, legal aid, and other support 
to women. The government was involved in educational programs, and many 
officials were advocates of women's rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country or parentage, but not all births were registered 
with the government. Some children were reportedly denied education 
because their births were not registered, although a birth certificate 
is not a legal precondition to attend school.
    Education: The constitution provides for ``free, compulsory and 
universal basic education'' for all children from kindergarten through 
junior high school; however, parents were required to purchase uniforms 
and writing materials. During the year the government continued a 
program to provide uniforms to 1.3 million children in ``deprived'' 
areas, although contracting delays prevented most of the targeted 
children from receiving their uniforms. The government also operated a 
school feeding program for more than 1,138,000 children, which covered 
incidental costs as well as meals, and a nationwide capitation grant 
program that covered other school fees for all children attending 
public schools. According to the Ministry of Education, girls attending 
primary school during the 2010-11 school year constituted 48.6 percent 
of all students; at the junior high school level, the proportion was 
46.5 percent. During the year the Ghana Education Service (GES) 
actively campaigned to expand education for girls by providing 
scholarships at the junior and senior high school levels and by 
offering financial incentives and free housing to female teachers to 
work in deprived areas. The GES placed girls' education officers at 
regional and district levels, and there were community participation 
coordinators in every district office to mobilize communities to 
increase enrollment of girls.

    Child Abuse.--The law prohibits defilement (defined as sex with a 
child younger than 16 years with or without their consent), incest, and 
sexual abuse of minors, but such abuses remained serious problems. As 
of September DOVVSU received 446 cases of suspected child defilement 
and 15 cases of attempted defilement; the true number of cases was 
thought to be much higher. There were frequent press reports that male 
teachers sexually assaulted and harassed female students. Girls often 
were reluctant to report these incidents to their parents, and social 
pressure often prevented parents from going to authorities. There were 
press reports during the year of teachers, coaches, and headmasters/
headmistresses being arrested for sexual harassment of female students 
or dismissed for ignoring reported problems. There were also a few 
reports of male teachers arrested for sexually assaulting male 
students.

    Child Marriage.--Forced child marriage, which was illegal, remained 
a problem, and no improvements were noted during the year, according to 
the CHRAJ and NGOs.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law prohibits FGM, but it 
remained a serious problem in the Upper West Region of the country, and 
to a lesser extent in the Upper East and Northern regions. Type II 
FGM--defined by the World Health Organization as the excision of the 
clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora--was more 
commonly perpetrated than any other type. A girl was typically excised 
between four and 14 years of age. According to a 2008 study conducted 
by the Ghana Statistical Service with support from UNICEF, the most 
recent study available, approximately 49 percent of girls and women 
under 50 years in the Upper West Region, 20 percent in the Upper East 
Region, and 5 percent in the Northern Region had experienced some form 
of FGM.
    Intervention programs were somewhat successful in reducing the 
prevalence of FGM, particularly in the northern regions. Officials at 
all levels, including traditional chiefs, continued to speak out 
against the practice, and local NGOs continued educational campaigns to 
encourage abandonment of FGM and to train practitioners in new skills 
so they could seek alternate sources of income.
    According to a 2009 survey of girls and women between 15 and 49 
years old in the Upper West Region, 85 percent stated that the practice 
should be discontinued, 10 percent were unsure, and only 5 percent 
supported its continuation. Lower prevalence of FGM among women in the 
Upper East Region was highly correlated with increased education. There 
were no prosecutions of practitioners during the year.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The migration of children to 
urban areas increased due to economic hardship in rural areas. Children 
were often forced to support themselves to survive, increasing both the 
occurrence of child labor and the school dropout rate. Girls under 18 
were among the most vulnerable child laborers, as many also engaged in 
prostitution or were sexually exploited in exchange for protection 
while living on the streets.
    The minimum age of consensual sex is 16 years. Defilement is 
punishable by imprisonment for seven to 25 years. There is no 
legislation specific to child pornography; however, it can be 
prosecuted as an ``offense against public morals'' and is punishable by 
imprisonment for a period not to exceed three years and/or a fine 
ranging from 120 to 600 cedis ($80-$400) in a country where the average 
annual income was estimated to be 1,950 cedis ($1,300).
    Local and international NGOs worked with the government to promote 
children's rights and were somewhat successful in sensitizing 
communities about protecting the welfare of children.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community had a few hundred members. 
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for the rights of 
persons with disabilities, including protection against exploitation 
and discrimination in employment, health care, and other domains. The 
National Council on Disability, mandated by law, was inaugurated in 
2009. The government did not systematically or overtly discriminate 
against persons with disabilities, but such persons often experienced 
societal discrimination. The law provides persons with disabilities 
access to public buildings ``as far as is practical.'' Activists 
supporting the rights of persons with disabilities complained of the 
slow implementation of the Persons with Disability Act, especially the 
lack of legislative instruments to implement the new law. Despite the 
legal protection provided in the law, discrimination against persons 
with disabilities in employment and the inaccessibility of public 
buildings continued to be problems.
    Persons with both mental and physical disabilities were frequently 
subjected to abuse and intolerance. Unlike in previous years, there 
were no reports of persons with disabilities being killed for ritual 
purposes.
    Some religious groups believed that persons with mental 
disabilities were afflicted by demons that should be exorcised. The 
abuse of children with disabilities was common. In previous years there 
were reports that children with disabilities were tied to trees or 
under market stalls and caned regularly and of family members killing 
children with disabilities.
    Human rights activists expressed concerns about prayer camps in 
which individuals believed to be possessed by evil spirits were chained 
up for weeks, physically assaulted, and denied food and water. Camp 
supervisors would sometimes diagnose mental illness as a ``demonic 
affliction'' and prevent patients from consuming food or water, often 
for seven consecutive days, to cleanse victims of their evil spirits. 
Some victims were thought to be as young as six years old. Families 
sent victims to be exorcised of evil spirits or cured of their physical 
or mental illnesses. Victims were held at the camps until they were 
considered healed. Reports indicated that these practices occurred in 
the Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, Western, Ashanti, and Brong-Ahafo 
regions. In 2009 the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) 
released a report on prayer camps based on interviews with current and 
former inmates. The report noted that some families caring for mentally 
ill members had insufficient financial resources and viewed prayer 
camps as an available option. The CHRI urged regulation of prayer 
camps; however, no regulations were implemented by year's end.
    Several government agencies and NGOs were involved in addressing 
discrimination against persons with disabilities, including the 
Ministry of Health, the Department of Social Welfare in the Ministry of 
Employment and Social Welfare (MESW), the Ministry of Education, and 
the Center for Democratic Development.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--According to the criminal 
code, ``unnatural carnal knowledge'' is defined as ``sexual intercourse 
with a person in an unnatural manner or with an animal.'' It states 
that individuals who have unnatural carnal knowledge ``of any person of 
sixteen years or over with his consent'' is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
There has been considerable debate over whether this legislation could 
be used to prosecute consenting gay adults, and there were no reports 
that it had ever been used.
    The former and current commissioners of the CHRAJ spoke out against 
discrimination and advocated the need to protect the human rights of 
every citizen as provided for in the constitution. In November media 
accounts reported British Prime Minister Cameron was considering 
suspending direct aid to countries with poor records on LGBT rights. In 
response President Mills commented that Ghana was committed to 
upholding human rights as provided by the constitution, but he would 
not initiate a change to the law.
    LGBT persons faced widespread discrimination, as well as police 
harassment and extortion attempts. Gay men in prison were often 
subjected to sexual and other physical abuse.
    In June 2010 more than 1,000 protesters in Takoradi, Western 
Region, participated in a peaceful rally against reports of gay and 
lesbian activities in their city. This was reportedly the first such 
protest in the country.
    In May 2010 an HIV/AIDS training workshop was held in Takoradi for 
health- care workers. After the workshop, The Daily Graphic announced 
that 8,000 gay persons had been ``registered'' in the Western and 
Central Regions. However, experts in the field denied that there had 
been any such ``registration.'' After the workshop there was 
significant negative reporting in the media about homosexuality.
    In a June 2010 interview with The Daily Graphic, the Western Region 
minister called on the government to take steps to combat 
homosexuality. He included the possibility of police raids on locales 
frequented by gay men and lesbians, efforts by community leaders to 
``wean young people'' away from homosexuality, and a public 
condemnation by the government. However, no arrests of persons were 
made in connection with his comments by year's end, and he did not 
repeat his call.
    It was reported that four men who worked within the community of 
gay men were arrested in May 2010 in connection with an alleged sexual 
assault and were later charged with sodomy. The case was first brought 
to the Takoradi Circuit Court on August 24; however, it had not been 
heard by year's end.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Discrimination against 
persons with HIV/AIDS was a problem. Fear of being stigmatized 
continued to discourage persons from being tested for HIV infection, 
and those who tested positive from seeking timely care. There were no 
indications that this situation improved during the year. Instances 
where HIV-positive people were forced to leave their jobs or houses 
were common. The government and NGOs subsidized many centers that 
provided free HIV testing to citizens, although the high patient volume 
and the physical layout of many clinics make it difficult for the 
centers to respect confidentiality at all times.
    Ritual killings occurred during the year. For example, in February 
a six-year-old was killed for ritual purposes in Koforidua; three men 
were arrested in connection with the case. Skin, private parts, and her 
tongue were removed from her body.
    In May the headless body of a 12-year-old was found in bushes in 
the Bompa community of the Brong Ahafo Region, and was believed to 
indicate a ritual killing. Three people, including one with the 
deceased boy's head in his possession, were arrested.
    In December 2010 in Assin Gangan, Central Region, a man allegedly 
beheaded his three-year-old son for ritual purposes. A buyer in Kumasi 
reportedly offered the man 35,000 cedis ($23,750) to produce a human 
head that he could use for rituals. The father was arrested and an 
investigation continued at year's end.
    Chieftaincy disputes, which frequently resulted from a lack of 
clear succession, competing claims over lands and other natural 
resources, and internal rivalries and feuds, continued to result in 
deaths, injuries, and destruction of property.
    For example, in January one person was killed and two others 
seriously injured over a land dispute between Abiriw and Dawu 
residents, in Kuapem, North District.
    In March two police officers were shot in a chieftaincy riot at 
Akwamufie, Akosombo District. One of the officers died from his 
injuries.
    In March 2010 in Tuobodom, Brong-Ahafo Region, three persons were 
killed and more than 500 displaced as a result of fighting between 
ethnic factions after the kidnapping of a rival chief. Eight persons 
were arrested in connection with the incident. An investigation by the 
police Criminal Investigations Division continued at year's end.
    In September residents of Agogo in the Ashanti Region organized a 
protest march to bring attention to alleged criminal activity by Fulani 
herdsmen such as the destruction of crops, rape, and highway robberies. 
By November, 12 people allegedly had been murdered within 18 months by 
Fulani herdsmen in various parts of the Eastern Region. In addition 
police recorded many rape and defilement incidents victimizing women 
and children perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen. On December 7, 13 Fulanis, 
including one woman and two children, were killed during a shooting 
incident in Zamashegu, Northern District. The parliament formed a 
committee to investigate allegations of criminal activities by herdsmen 
believed to be of Fulani descent.
    Mob violence during the year resulted in injuries and property 
damage. For example, in September 2010 in Tema, Greater Accra Region, 
approximately 200 fishermen and fishmongers attacked construction 
workers attempting to clear land for a construction project. The 
fishermen used the land to dry and smoke fish. The mob burned vehicles 
and buildings, threw stones, and fired at police officers. Police and 
military personnel were called in to restore order, and 32 persons were 
arrested, of whom 28 were granted bail. An investigation continued.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, except for the armed forces, police, the prison 
service, and some other security and intelligence agency personnel, to 
form and join unions of their choice without previous authorization or 
excessive requirements. The law requires that trade unions or 
employers' organizations must register, be authorized by the chief 
labor officer, and obtain a certificate of registration.
    The law recognizes the right to strike but restricts that right for 
workers who provide ``essential services.'' The minister of employment 
and social welfare designated a list of essential services, which 
included many sectors falling outside the International Labor 
Organization's (ILO) essential services definition. The list included 
services carried out by utility companies (water, electricity, etc.), 
ports and harbors, medical centers, and the Bank of Ghana. In these 
sectors, the parties to any labor disputes are required to resolve 
their differences within 72 hours; the deadline was meant to put 
pressure on employers and employees to operate efficiently with limited 
interruptions. The right to strike can also be restricted for workers 
in private enterprises whose services were deemed essential to the 
survival of the enterprise by a union and an employer. A union may call 
a legal strike only if the parties fail to agree to refer the dispute 
to voluntary arbitration or if the dispute remains unresolved at the 
end of arbitration proceedings. In addition the Emergency Powers Act of 
1994 grants authorities power to suspend any law and prohibit public 
meetings and processions, but it was unclear if the law applies to 
labor disputes.
    The law provides a framework for collective bargaining. However, 
only unions that represented the majority of workers in a given company 
can obtain a Collective Bargaining Certificate, which is required to 
engage in collective bargaining. The armed forces, police, prison 
service, security and intelligence personnel, and workers with 
policymaking and managerial functions do not have the right to bargain 
collectively.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
interference and provides reinstatement for workers dismissed under any 
unfair pretenses. The labor law also prohibits antiunion discrimination 
by employers and provides for reinstatement for workers fired for union 
activity. The Labor Act protects trade union members and their officers 
against discrimination if they organize within the free zones.
    The government generally protected the right to form and join 
independent unions and conduct legal strikes and bargain collectively, 
and workers exercised these rights in practice. Worker organizations 
were independent of the government and political parties, and there 
were no instances of government interference in union activities during 
the year. There were no reports on violence, threats, or other abuses 
targeting union leaders and members by government or employers. While 
there were no instances of employers who refused to bargain, bargained 
with unions not chosen by workers, or hired workers without bargaining 
rights, some instances of employer interference in union activities 
were subtle. Since many unions also did not fully understand the labor 
laws, they normally did not follow approved processes for dealing with 
disputes. Due to lack of awareness about the National Labor 
Commission's (NLC) role, the NLC faced challenges in enforcing the 
necessary sanctions against both the unions and employers.
    In October 2010 the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) filed a 
case against a local beverage company over union recognition. The 
beverage company filed several cases against the Ghana Federation of 
Labor and FAWU to delay the recognition of its workers union. At year's 
end the substantive case was still pending in court, while a contempt 
action brought against the beverage company's management by the Labor 
Department was discontinued.
    Trade unions engaged in collective bargaining for wages and 
benefits with both private and state-owned enterprises without 
government interference. No union had ever gone through the complete 
dispute resolution process involving arbitration, and there were 
numerous unsanctioned strikes during the year. Some employers continued 
to fire employees for union activity.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
most forms of forced or compulsory labor. Provisions of various laws 
prescribe imprisonment and an obligation to perform prison labor as 
punishment for violations. The law provides for employers found guilty 
of using forced labor to be fined no more than 250 penalty units (each 
unit was assigned a monetary value adjusted for the fluctuating 
exchange rate).
    During the year children were forced to work (see section 7.c.). 
Some victims were forced to work on boats as children and were 
sometimes unable to leave their employers and continued to work without 
pay as adults.
    The government did not commit sufficient resources to enforce 
legislation prohibiting forced labor. No fines were levied during the 
year, and no legal cases were brought that resulted in imprisonment. 
During the year the ILO continued to urge the government to revise 
various legal provisions that permit imprisonment with an obligation to 
perform labor.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets the minimum employment age at 15 years, or 13 years for light 
work that was not likely to be harmful to the child and does not affect 
the child's attendance at or capacity to benefit from school. The law 
prohibits night work and certain types of hazardous labor for those 
under 18 and provides for fines and imprisonment for violators. The law 
allows for children age 15 and above to have an apprenticeship under 
which craftsmen and employers have the obligation to provide a safe and 
healthy work environment along with training and tools. On June 6, 
Ghana ratified ILO Convention 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to 
Employment.
    Child labor laws were not enforced effectively or consistently, and 
law enforcement officials, including judges, police, and labor 
officials, were sometimes unfamiliar with the provisions of the law 
that protected children.
    Inspectors from the MESW were responsible for enforcement of child 
labor regulations, and district labor officers and the social services 
subcommittees of district assemblies were charged with seeing that the 
relevant provisions of the law were observed by annually visiting 
workplaces and making spot checks whenever they received allegations of 
violations. Inspectors were required to provide employers with 
information about child labor violations and effective means to comply 
with provisions of the law. However, the government did not provide 
sufficient resources to law enforcement and judicial authorities to 
carry out these efforts.
    The ILO, government representatives, the Trade Union Congress, 
media, international organizations, and NGOs continued to build upon 
the national action plan by increasing institutional capacity to combat 
child labor. In October 2010 the MESW relaunched the National Steering 
Community on Child Labor, consisting of more than 40 representatives 
from government, the ILO, labor unions, and development partners. In 
November 2010 the MESW unveiled an integrated child labor monitoring 
system; as of July the database and manual for the Ghana Child Labor 
Monitoring System had been completed and training had begun. Education 
and sensitization workshops were conducted with police, labor 
inspectors, local governments, and communities.
    In September 2010 the minister of employment and social welfare 
signed an agreement with representatives of the government of Cote 
d'Ivoire, another government, and the cocoa industry to reaffirm and 
further extend implementation of a protocol requiring the participating 
governments to prohibit the worst forms of child labor and take 
immediate action towards eliminating it.
    On June 13, to commemorate World Day Against Child Labor, the 
government launched the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of 
the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The government worked closely with 
NGOs, labor unions, and the cocoa industry to eliminate the worst forms 
of child labor in the industry. Through these partnerships, the 
government had created several community projects, which promoted 
sensitization, monitoring, and livelihood improvement.
    According to government labor officials, ILO, and the Ghana 
Employers Association, child labor problems were infrequent in the 
formal labor sector. During the year several ministries conducted 
seminars on child labor to educate the media, police, civil servants, 
and the general public. However, local custom and poverty encouraged 
children to work to help support their families and eroded societal 
observance of child labor laws, particularly in the informal sector, 
where child labor remained a serious problem.
    Children as young as seven worked in agriculture and as domestic 
laborers, porters, hawkers, miners, quarry workers, and fare 
collectors. Children also engaged in herding livestock, fetching 
firewood, and bricklaying. In the fishing industry in the Lake Volta 
region child laborers engaged in potentially hazardous work, such as 
diving into deep waters to untangle fishing nets caught on submerged 
tree roots. Girls in the region also engaged in work as domestic 
servants, cooks, servers, and porters.
    Children were also forced to work, and in some cases parents 
reportedly sold, leased, or gave away their children to work in fishing 
villages, shops, or homes. It was difficult to determine the extent to 
which forced and bonded labor by children was practiced. There were 
indications of compulsory labor affecting both children and adults in 
the fishing sector and in illegal mining. Victims were forced to work 
on boats as children and were sometimes unable to leave their employers 
and continued to work without pay as adults. In the illegal mining 
industry (consisting of independent, artisanal miners known as 
galamseys, whose operations sometimes conflict with larger, 
concessionary miners), NGOs cited debt bondage as a problem. There were 
newspaper reports of children being sold into involuntary servitude for 
either sexual exploitation or labor, such as 10- to 12-year-old boys 
working for fishermen in exchange for a yearly remittance to their 
families. The practice often involved parental consent. The media 
regularly published stories about children being used in involuntary 
servitude, particularly as street hawkers and porters.
    Child laborers were often poorly paid and physically abused; they 
received little or no health care and generally did not attend school.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--A National Tripartite Committee 
composed of representatives of the government, labor, and employers set 
a daily minimum wage, which was 3.73 cedis ($2.49) during the year. 
There was no official minimum wage for the growing informal labor 
force. The law sets the maximum workweek at 40 hours, with a break of 
at least 48 consecutive hours every seven days. Workers were entitled 
to at least 15 working days of leave with full pay in a calendar year 
of continuous service or after having worked at least 200 days in a 
particular year. However, such provisions do not apply to task workers 
or domestic workers in private homes, nor elsewhere in the informal 
sector. The law does not prescribe overtime rates and does not prohibit 
excessive compulsory overtime.
    Occupational safety and health (OSH) regulations are set by the 
government. The Factories Department within the MESW was responsible 
for imposing sanctions on violators of the OSH standards. Employers who 
failed to comply were liable to a fine not exceeding 1,000 penalty 
units, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both. The 
law requires that employers report occupational accidents and diseases 
no later than seven days from the date of occurrence. Only workers in 
the formal sector, which employed less than 20 percent of the labor 
force, are covered by this legislation.
    The MESW was unable to effectively enforce the wage law. There was 
widespread violation of the minimum wage law in the formal economy 
across all sectors. The minimum wage law was not enforced in the 
informal sector. Legislation governing working hours was largely 
followed in the formal sector but widely flouted and not enforced in 
the informal sector.
    Safety inspectors were few and poorly trained, and they lacked the 
resources to effectively respond to violations. Inspectors did not 
impose sanctions or otherwise respond to violations during the year. 
Specific information regarding the number of labor inspectors and 
adequacy of penalties was not available. There were no reports of 
specific government action taken during the year to prevent violations 
and improve wages and working conditions.
    A 2008 CHRAJ report found evidence of widespread violations of 
human rights in mining areas. The report documented abuses by the 
security services in mining areas, particularly among galamseys.

                               __________

                                 GUINEA

                           executive summary
    Guinea is a republic. In December 2010 Alpha Conde, the candidate 
of the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) Party and longtime opposition 
leader, was inaugurated as the country's first democratically elected 
president since independence from France in 1958. Conde defeated Cellou 
Dalein Diallo of the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG). While 
the elections generally were regarded as free and fair, the second 
round was accompanied by widespread violence. Prior to Conde's 
inauguration, Guinea was headed by a transition government led by 
former interim president General Sekouba Konate, the defense minister 
in the military junta that seized control of the country in 2008. There 
were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control, most notably on July 19, when 
soldiers and high-ranking officers attacked President Conde's home.
    Using gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, soldiers loyal to the 
former military junta attacked the private residence of President Conde 
on July 19. Conde escaped unhurt, but three members of his presidential 
guard were killed. By the following day, 37 soldiers--including former 
army chief Nouhou Thiam, two colonels, and former members of Konate's 
presidential guard--had been arrested. By year's end 50 persons had 
been arrested and charged in the attack.
    The most serious human rights problems in the country included 
security force abuse, including the use of torture; the government's 
failure to punish the perpetrators of such abuse; and violence and 
discrimination against women and girls, including female genital 
mutilation (FGM).
    The use of excessive force by security forces to quell 
demonstrations resulted in deaths and injuries. Interreligious conflict 
and vigilante violence also resulted in deaths. Security forces 
harassed opposition members and journalists. Prison conditions were 
life-threatening, and prison guards tortured, beat, raped, and 
otherwise abused prisoners and detainees. Arbitrary arrest, prolonged 
pretrial detention, incommunicado detention, and lack of judicial 
independence were problems. The government seized private property 
without compensation. The government restricted freedom of speech, 
press, assembly, and movement. Corruption remained widespread 
throughout all branches of government. The government harassed and 
arrested human rights workers. Trafficking in persons, ethnic 
discrimination, child labor, and forced labor, including by children, 
occurred.
    The government did not take steps to prosecute or punish officials 
who committed abuses, and impunity was a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were several 
unconfirmed reports that the government or its agents committed 
arbitrary or unlawful killings.
    For example, on April 3, security forces used tear gas, batons, and 
sometimes live ammunition to disperse thousands of demonstrators who 
had gathered to welcome home UFDG party leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, 
who had been traveling abroad for three months. One demonstrator was 
killed, and 27 were injured. Approximately 60 UFDG members were 
arrested and charged with taking part in an illegal demonstration; all 
but 27 were released the following week. By year's end, all detainees 
had been released.
    On September 27, three demonstrators were killed during clashes 
with police at a banned opposition rally in Conakry. The rally occurred 
on the eve of the second anniversary of the 2009 security force 
massacre of 150 prodemocracy demonstrators in Conakry's main soccer 
stadium. There were unconfirmed reports that police stopped 
demonstrators on their way to the rally by using live fire as well as 
tear gas and batons. One of the three victims who died was stabbed by a 
member of the security forces, according to an unconfirmed report. More 
than 300 persons, including bystanders, were arrested after protests 
ended later in the day. Many of those arrested were held without charge 
for several days beyond the legal limit of 48 hours; all had been 
released by year's end. Security forces reportedly searched homes 
without warrants and looted houses in their search for demonstrators 
from the evening of September 27-28. A government investigation into 
the incident absolved security forces of any responsibility in the 
killings of three demonstrators. The government charged that the 
demonstrators or other unnamed parties had perpetrated the killings.
    The investigation into the 2009 stadium massacre begun by the 
transition government did not lead to any arrests during the year. At 
least 157 demonstrators were killed when members of the elite 
Presidential Guard surrounded the stadium, blocked entrances, and used 
guns and bayonets on the demonstrators. Nearly 100 women and girls were 
raped during the attack. None of the bodies reportedly buried by 
security forces in mass graves had been exhumed by year's end.
    There was little progress in the investigation into the killings of 
civilians and military personnel following the attempted assassination 
in 2009 of former junta leader Dadis Camara. Although at least three 
low-ranking members of the military were charged in connection with the 
killings, the government appointed two men implicated in the massacres 
to high-level positions during the year. The killings resulted from a 
military crackdown during its search for the ringleader of the plot. 
Eyewitnesses told journalists that persons were shot in the streets as 
they fled from patrols.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    The government took no action to investigate the disappearance of 
dozens of prodemocracy demonstrators following the 2009 stadium 
massacre in Conakry. In 2010 victims' families formed groups to demand 
the government investigate the disappearances.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices, 
government officials continued to employ them with impunity. Security 
forces used violence to quell demonstrations, resulting in deaths and 
injuries (see section 1.a.). Prison guards tortured, beat, raped, and 
otherwise abused citizens and detainees, including children. The 
government seldom took action against alleged torturers.
    During the year security forces tortured four youths suspected of 
stealing, according to the French human rights nongovernmental 
organization (NGO) Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture. 
The youths allegedly were beaten and threatened with death.
    There were no developments in the arrest of 22 military and police 
personnel for use of excessive force, looting, and inciting violence 
during street clashes after election results were announced in November 
2010.
    No action was taken against security forces at the military prison 
on Kassa Island who used torture, possibly including castration, on 
inmates. Approximately 100 military personnel were reportedly detained 
in inhumane conditions in the prison following the 2009 stadium attack. 
In January 2010 interim president Konate closed the Kassa Island 
facility.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in civilian 
prisons, which were under the Ministry of Justice, remained harsh and 
life-threatening. Poor sanitation, malnutrition, disease, and lack of 
medical attention resulted in dozens of deaths. Prison guards routinely 
threatened, beat, and sometimes tortured prisoners to extract 
confessions or to extort money, although there were fewer such reports 
than in previous years. All prisons were overcrowded. Conakry Prison, 
for example, held 1,280 prisoners at year's end, although it was built 
to house 300.
    A local NGO reported that half of the female prisoners in Conakry 
Prison had been beaten or abused during the year. One NGO reported that 
prison guards regularly exploited and harassed girls under the age of 
18 by demanding sexual favors in exchange for additional food or water.
    Neglect, mismanagement, and lack of resources were prevalent. 
Toilets did not function, and prisoners slept and ate in the same space 
used for sanitation purposes. Access to drinking and bathing water was 
inadequate. Many prisons were former warehouses with little 
ventilation. Temperatures were stifling, and electricity was 
insufficient. Although some prisons replaced tin roof panels with 
transparent ones, most prisons were dark.
    NGOs reported endemic malnutrition throughout the prison system, 
which did not provide food or medicine to inmates. Prison directors 
relied on charities, the International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC), and other NGOs to provide food for inmates. Most prisoners 
reported eating one small meal a day consisting primarily of rice and 
sauce, although some prisoners reportedly received two daily meals. 
Some inmates relied on assistance from families or friends to maintain 
their health, but relatives often abandoned prisoners due to the 
difficulty and cost of travel to the prisons. Guards often demanded 
bribes in exchange for delivering food to inmates and routinely 
confiscated prisoners' food.
    Inmates were not tested for HIV/AIDS upon entry into the prisons, 
and no statistics on HIV/AIDS infection rates were kept. Lack of 
medicine in prisons, combined with endemic malnutrition and 
dehydration, made infection or illness life threatening. In several 
regions prisoners with tuberculosis were held together with uninfected 
inmates.
    Although the Ministry of Justice administered civilian prisons, 
military officers and guards--along with untrained and unpaid 
volunteers who hoped for permanent entry into the military--managed and 
staffed the facilities. This system was difficult to manage and 
particularly vulnerable to corruption and abuse. Some prisoners 
exercised more power than the guards, controlling conditions and cell 
assignments and providing better conditions to prisoners who were able 
to pay. There were reports that some prison administrators followed 
directives from their military superiors, even when they were in 
conflict with orders from the Ministry of Justice.
    NGOs estimated that 4,000 prisoners (including between 50 and 100 
women) were incarcerated in 32 civilian prison facilities nationwide. 
Statistics on incarcerated minors held nationwide were unavailable, but 
a local NGO reported that of 130 minors incarcerated at Conakry Prison, 
14 had never been formally charged or tried, several had been 
imprisoned for more than six years, and others had grown up in the 
prison. No information was available on the number of children 
incarcerated with their mothers nationwide. The government did not 
provide for children's food, clothing, education, or medical care in 
prison.
    In most prisons men and women were held separately, but juveniles 
generally were held with adults in prisons outside the capital. 
Pretrial detainees were not separated from convicted prisoners, and the 
prison system often was unable to track pretrial detainees after 
arrest.
    Conditions in military prisons, which were under the Ministry of 
Defense, could not be verified since the government denied access to 
prison advocacy groups and international organizations.
    Gendarmerie detention facilities commonly were used to hold 
civilian detainees while they were being processed for transfer to 
civilian facilities. Such temporary detention could last anywhere from 
a few days to several months. Like prisons, gendarmerie facilities were 
dank and fetid, although some facilities--such as those housing persons 
suspected of involvement in the attempted assassination of President 
Conde--were better constructed and had light and ventilation. The 
government allowed international organizations and NGOs access to 
prisons run by the gendarmerie.
    Prisoners and detainees were not permitted reasonable access to 
visitors or granted religious observance. Prisoners and detainees have 
the right to submit complaints, but seldom exercised that right due to 
fear of reprisals by prison guards and the gendarmerie. Prison 
authorities did not investigate credible allegations of inhumane prison 
conditions, and the government did not investigate or monitor prison or 
detention center conditions.
    The country had no ombudsman to serve on behalf of prisoners and 
detainees to consider alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent 
offenders, monitor the status and circumstances of confinement of 
juvenile offenders, or improve pretrial detention, bail, and 
recordkeeping procedures to ensure prisoners were not held beyond their 
maximum sentences. Nevertheless, the Association for the Support of 
Refugees and Displaced Persons in Detention, a local NGO that 
maintained offices in all prison facilities, regularly interceded with 
the Justice Ministry and prison officials to alleviate overcrowding, 
improve pretrial detention, and keep judicial processes moving without 
the commonly used tactic of bribery. While prison conditions remained 
grim, such interventions resulted in some improvement, such as the 
provision of reed mats for sleeping and the distribution of meat during 
holidays.
    The government permitted prison visits by local humanitarian and 
religious organizations that offered medical care and food for those in 
severe need.
    The ICRC was allowed regular access to all civilian detention 
facilities and continued partnership programs with prison and security 
authorities to improve civilian prison conditions.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit such practices, but government officials did not generally 
observe these prohibitions. Security forces arrested demonstrators 
without warrants and held detainees without charge for several days 
beyond the 48 hour-limit mandated by law.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The gendarmerie, a part 
of the Ministry of Defense, and the National Police, under the Ministry 
of Security, share responsibility for internal security. The army is 
responsible for external security but also plays a role in domestic 
security. FOSSEPEL, a 16,000-member unit composed of police and 
gendarmes, was created in May 2010 to ensure security during the 
elections and was under the Ministry of Security. Following elections, 
most FOSSEPEL members returned to their police or gendarme units. The 
law permits the military, FOSSEPEL, the gendarmerie, and police forces 
to make arrests, although only the gendarmerie can arrest members of 
the military and police forces.
    Security forces were poorly paid, inadequately equipped, and 
ineffective. Corruption was widespread (see section 4). Administrative 
controls over the police were ineffective, and security forces rarely 
followed the penal code. Many citizens viewed the security forces as 
corrupt, ineffective, and dangerous. There were no internal or external 
mechanisms to investigate security force abuse.
    There were instances in which security forces failed to prevent or 
respond to societal violence. For example, on May 2, interreligious 
conflict erupted in the village of Galakpaye after local animists from 
the Forestier ethnic group attempted to exorcise members of a Muslim 
Malinke family. Subsequent clashes led to 25 deaths. Local security 
forces were overwhelmed and unable to restore order until the afternoon 
of May 3, when security forces from a nearby city arrived.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Although the 
law requires a warrant to make an arrest, many detainees were arrested 
without warrants. The law also provides that detainees be charged 
before a magistrate within 48 hours, renewable once if authorized by a 
judge, but many detainees were held for longer periods. In cases 
involving national security, the law allows the length of time to be 
doubled to 96 hours, renewable once, a provision that also was not 
respected in practice.
    Of the 37 people detained after the attack on the president's 
private residence on July 19, at least nine were not brought before a 
judge and charged with attempted assassination until two weeks later.
    The law precludes the arrest of persons in their homes between 9:00 
p.m. and 6:00 a.m., but night arrests occurred. After being charged, 
the accused may be held until the conclusion of the case, including a 
period of appeal. Authorities routinely ignored the legal provision 
entitling defendants to an attorney. Indigent defendants were not 
provided attorneys at state expense. Although the law prohibits 
incommunicado detention, it occurred in practice. Release on bail was 
at the discretion of the magistrate who had jurisdiction. The law 
allows detainees prompt access to family members, but such access was 
sometimes denied or only allowed if an official was present.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Security forces arbitrarily arrested hundreds of 
demonstrators during the year. Many took place without warrants and in 
violation of other due process protections provided in the law (see 
section 1.a.).
    The government also arrested human rights workers (see section 5).

    Pretrial Detention.--According to 2008 statistics, approximately 67 
percent of prisoners were in pretrial detention. Reliable statistics 
were unavailable, but pretrial detainees were often held three years or 
more before sentencing or release. Judicial inefficiency, corruption, 
and lack of political will contributed to the long delays.

    Amnesty.--On August 15, the government pardoned 37 UFDG supporters 
who were arrested during an April 3 rally for UFDG party leader Diallo 
(see section 1.a.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the judicial system lacked 
independence and was underfunded, inefficient, and overtly corrupt (see 
section 4). Budget shortfalls, a shortage of qualified lawyers and 
magistrates, and an outdated and restrictive penal code limited the 
judiciary's effectiveness, as did nepotism and ethnic bias. Although 
regularly scheduled criminal trials have not been held in almost six 
years, specially funded criminal trials for high-profile defendants 
were held sporadically. The government largely ignored the judiciary. 
Local government officials interfered with court processes (see section 
5).
    A military tribunal prepares and adjudicates charges against 
accused military personnel, to whom the penal code does not apply, 
although criminal procedures for military personnel provide the same 
rights as those for civilians. Civilians were not subject to military 
tribunals.
    Many citizens wary of judicial corruption preferred to rely on 
traditional systems of justice at the village or urban neighborhood 
level. Litigants presented their civil cases before a village chief, a 
neighborhood leader, or a council of ``wise men.'' The dividing line 
between the formal and informal justice systems was vague, and 
authorities sometimes referred a case from the formal to the 
traditional system to ensure compliance by all parties. Similarly, if a 
case was not resolved to the satisfaction of all parties in the 
traditional system, it could be referred to the formal system for 
adjudication. In the traditional system, evidence given by women 
carried less weight.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and juries are used for 
criminal cases. Defendants have the right to be present and to consult 
with an attorney in a timely manner. Defendants have the right to 
confront and question prosecution witnesses and to present witnesses 
and evidence on their behalf. The prosecution prepares a case file, 
including testimony and other evidence, and provides a copy for the 
defense. The law provides for the presumption of innocence of accused 
persons, the independence of judges, the equality of citizens before 
the law, the right of the accused to counsel (but only for major 
crimes), and the right to appeal a judicial decision, although these 
rights were not consistently observed in practice. Although the 
government was responsible for funding legal defense costs in serious 
criminal cases, in practice it rarely disbursed funds for this purpose. 
The attorney for the defense frequently received no payment.
    Trial procedures were chaotic and inadequate for the hundreds 
arrested for participating in an illegal demonstration on September 27 
and 28. There were not enough interpreters, and many of the suspects 
did not understand the charges read against them in French.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The government denied the 
existence of political prisoners or detainees during the year; however, 
observers charged that the government held numerous such persons, 
including opposition members.
    Military officers Colonel David Sylla, Colonel Sekou Fadiga, and 
Captain Issa Camara--who Human Rights Watch considers political 
prisoners--remained in Conakry Prison without charge for alleged 
involvement in the July 19 attack on the president's home. It was 
unclear whether civilian Souape Kourouma, who was arrested with the 
military officers, also remained in prison. According to witnesses who 
saw the men in detention, none had been granted access to a lawyer or 
brought before a judge, and Kourouma claimed to have been beaten.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for a 
judicial procedure in civil matters, including lawsuits seeking damages 
for human rights violations. Nevertheless, the judicial process was 
neither independent nor impartial, and decisions were often influenced 
by bribes and based on political and social status. There were no 
lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations during the year, 
in part due to public fear of suing security force members and lack of 
confidence in the competence and impartiality of the judiciary. In 
practice domestic court orders were often not enforced.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the constitution and law provide for the 
inviolability of the home and legal searches require judicial search 
warrants, police reportedly ignored legal procedures in the pursuit of 
criminal suspects or when it served their personal interests.
    Security forces reportedly searched homes without warrants and 
looted houses during their search for demonstrators from the evening of 
September 27-28 (see section 1. a.).
    There were reports that security forces arrested family members of 
detainees or persons they sought to detain. Some of those charged with 
participation in the July 19 assassination attempt on the president 
alleged that members of the military harassed their family members 
during the year.
    On July 14 and 15, several NGOs reported that the government 
unlawfully seized many acres of rural property in the village of Saoro, 
Forest Region, for a plantation. The government did not provide 
compensation.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of speech 
and of the press, the government restricted the press during the year. 
Some journalists practiced self censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals were generally free to criticize 
the government publicly and privately without reprisal.

    Freedom of Press.--Despite the limited reach of the print media due 
to low literacy rates and high prices of newspapers, the independent 
media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without 
official restrictions.
    There were 13 private newspapers that generally published weekly in 
Conakry, and approximately 100 other publications that appeared 
sporadically. Technical difficulties and high operating costs impeded 
regular publication. Two private newspapers were published irregularly 
in the regions of Labe and Kankan. Foreign publications, some of which 
regularly criticized the government, were available both in print and 
electronic format.
    On June 10, the National Communications Council (CNC) imposed a 
two-month suspension on Le Defi, a private newspaper critical of the 
government. Le Defi had published an article that criticized 
controversial public remarks by the country's ombudsman, General 
Facinet Toure, about the Peuhl ethnic group. Toure, a presidential 
appointee who took office pledging to advance national reconciliation, 
was quoted as saying that political power should be kept away from the 
Peuhl because they controlled the economy of the country.
    The On July 11, the CNC suspended opposition newspaper Les 
Nouvelles du Pays for violating the ``code of ethics of journalism.'' 
In May the newspaper released a sensationalist article on the 
intrusion, allegedly by military personnel, into the home of a 
prominent opposition party leader. The government denied any 
involvement and claimed that the home invasion was perpetrated by 
criminals dressed as soldiers.
    Radio remained the most important source of information for the 
public, and numerous private stations broadcast throughout the country. 
During the year the Agency for the Regulation of Telecommunications 
(ART) briefly closed three major radio stations for failure to pay 
their taxes--in 2010 the former transition government increased taxes 
tenfold for community radio stations. Attempts by the prime minister to 
mediate between the radio stations and the ART were inconclusive at 
year's end. A deadline for payment was set for December 23, but no 
action had been taken against radio stations refusing to pay by year's 
end.

    Violence and Harassment.--There were reports of direct physical 
attacks, harassment, and intimidation of journalists by government and 
military officials.
    For example, on April 3, journalists from radio stations 
Renaissance FM and Sabari FM were injured when security forces 
violently dispersed a rally welcoming opposition leader Diallo to 
Conakry (see section 1.a.).
    On May 18, three journalists working for state television RTG were 
fired. The journalists alleged that they were fired for reporting on 
the fragile health of the president after a political visit to Turkey.
    On May 30, three gendarmes in civilian dress refused to leave the 
offices of The Independent newspaper. The director, Mamadou Dian Balde, 
barricaded himself in his office. Human rights activists demanded that 
the gendarmes produce a warrant. Gendarmes and police were subsequently 
dispatched to free the newspaper director. The perpetrators, who later 
left the premises, explained that they were sent by a local gendarme 
colonel regarding a critical story on an increase in soldier salaries. 
No investigation had been conducted into the incident by year's end.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The government generally did 
not impose censorship or content restrictions. Nevertheless, on July 
25, the CNC banned all reporting on the July 19 assassination attempt 
on the president. Local media largely derided and ignored the ban, 
which was lifted on August 1 following local and international 
criticism.

    Libel.--Libel against the head of state, slander, and false 
reporting are subject to heavy fines.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly and 
association, but both were restricted in law and practice. The law bans 
any meeting that has an ethnic or racial character or any gathering 
``whose nature threatens national unity.'' The government requires 72-
working-hour advance notification for public gatherings. The law 
permits local authorities to prohibit a demonstration or meeting if 
they believe it poses a threat to public order. Authorities may also 
hold event organizers criminally liable if violence or destruction of 
property occur.
    The government sought to ban and later disperse an April 3 rally to 
welcome opposition party leader Diallo and a September 27 rally to 
protest the government's decision to move ahead on election planning 
without opposition input or consent. The government's use of excessive 
force at both events resulted in several deaths and dozens of injuries 
(see section 1.a.).
    On November 9, in anticipation of a planned march by local lawyers 
to protest the illegal detention of two human rights activists (see 
section 5), the minister of territorial affairs and decentralization 
declared that all public rallies were outlawed. The order was rescinded 
the following day after local and international criticism. The ministry 
subsequently maintained that the declaration was to remind 
organizations to continue to follow procedures in applying for 
permission to hold rallies. The rally of the lawyers proceeded without 
interference.
    On December 3, however, security forces prevented supporters of 
former prime minister Lansana Kouyate from holding street rallies in 
the city of Kankan.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right in practice. Requirements to obtain official recognition for 
public, social, cultural, religious, or political associations were not 
cumbersome, although bureaucratic delays sometimes impeded the 
registration of new associations.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the International Religious Freedom 
Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and 
the government generally respected these rights in practice. The 
government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing 
protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.

    In-country Movement.--The government required all citizens over 18 
to carry national identification cards, which they must present on 
demand at security checkpoints.
    Although the government eliminated all roadblocks in the country in 
January, it reinstalled those roadblocks after the July 19 attack on 
the president's private residence and kept them in place for the rest 
of the year. Police and security forces continued to detain persons at 
roadblocks to extort money, impeding the free movement of travelers and 
threatening their safety.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Government property seizures 
in July resulted in the displacement of persons; although the number of 
persons displaced was unknown (see section 1.e.). NGOs charged that the 
seizures were unlawful.
    All of the estimated 2,800 persons displaced in 2010 as a result of 
election-related violence or fear of such violence had returned to 
their homes by year's end.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country was a place of refuge for 
asylum seekers from neighboring countries, including Liberia, Sierra 
Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, and Guinea Bissau. At year's end the UNHCR and 
the National Bureau for Refugee Coordination estimated the total 
refugee population at 16,200, most of whom were Liberians.

    Access to asylum.--The country's laws provide for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees.

    Durable Solutions.--The government, in coordination with the UNHCR, 
continued to assist the safe, voluntary return of Liberian refugees to 
Liberia and facilitated local integration for Liberian refugees 
unwilling or unable to return to their homes. Most of the aid for local 
integration consisted of a small plot of land per family in the Forest 
Region near N'Zerekore, as well as a written letter of introduction 
from the national government soliciting local businesses to hire 
integrated former refugees. Many refugees viewed the assistance as 
inadequate.
    With the assistance of the UNHCR, the government continued to 
facilitate the local integration of approximately 1,500 Sierra Leonean 
refugees whose refugee status had been revoked by a panel chaired by 
the UNHCR.

    Temporary Protection.--During the year the government continued to 
provide temporary protection to approximately 66 individuals of various 
African nationalities who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol.
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 partially exercised this right in 
2010 in two rounds of presidential elections, from which UFDG candidate 
Alpha Conde emerged as the victor. Irregularities, political and ethnic 
violence, and incidents of excessive force by security forces 
responding to the violence marred the election's credibility.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In June 
2010 UFDG candidate Cellou Diallo and RPG candidate Alpha Conde emerged 
as the front-runners in the first round of presidential elections, 
which international observers characterized as credible and free. The 
second round of presidential elections, originally scheduled for 
September 2010, was repeatedly postponed until November 2010 due to a 
dispute over alleged bias in the Independent National Electoral 
Commission (CENI) leadership and inadequate preparation for the 
elections. Widespread violence occurred in the months leading up to the 
November 2010 election and for several weeks afterward. The violence 
was largely drawn along ethnic lines between Diallo's Peuhl supporters 
and Conde's supporters--mostly Malinke, Soussou, and Forestier 
residents of the Forest Region. Numerous deaths, injuries, and the 
displacement of thousands of ethnic Peuhl resulted from beatings, 
shootings, and the vandalizing of homes by mobs. While security forces 
sought to quell the violence, there were some reports that FOSSEPEL 
officers--who generally supported the RPG-targeted individuals on the 
basis of their ethnicity.
    Before election results were announced, Diallo declared that he 
would not accept the outcome of the vote due to interethnic clashes 
that left some of his supporters unable to vote. CENI subsequently 
announced the provisional results of the election, which gave Alpha 
Conde the victory with 52.52 percent of the vote. Despite the violence, 
international observers characterized the election as generally free 
and fair. Diallo challenged the results in the Supreme Court, and two 
days of violence between UFDG and RPG supporters ensued. In early 
December 2010 the Supreme Court validated the election results.
    Despite the constitutional provision that legislative elections be 
held no longer than 14 days after presidential elections, they still 
had not been held by year's end. Legislative elections scheduled for 
December 29 were postponed until 2012.

    Political Parties.--There were no government restrictions on 
political party formation beyond registration requirements. According 
to the Ministry of Territorial Affairs and Decentralization, there were 
140 registered political parties.
    On February 12, the minister of youth threatened members of the 
civil service with lay-offs if they supported opposition candidates 
during the legislative elections. Two days later he retracted his 
remarks.
    Opposition parties questioned the legitimacy of the planned 
legislative elections, noting that the government was proceeding with 
unilateral preparations that lacked transparency. Opposition access to 
state media was limited or nonexistent throughout the year, although 
private media criticized the government's election preparations without 
restriction. These concerns led to the opposition call for nationwide 
street protests on September 27 and 28 (see section 1.a.).

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 36 women in the 
155-seat CNT, including the CNT president. Six of 38 cabinet ministers 
were women, and there were two female justices out of 14 on the Supreme 
Court. Minority ethnic groups were represented in CENI, the CNT, and 
the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively, and 
corruption remained widespread throughout all branches of government. 
The World Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected 
that corruption was a severe problem. Public funds were diverted for 
private use or for illegitimate public uses, such as buying expensive 
vehicles for government workers. Land sales and business contracts 
generally lacked transparency.
    Security force corruption was endemic. Members of the military 
targeted and robbed business owners and coerced others into paying 
bribes. Police ignored legal procedures and extorted money from 
citizens at roadblocks.
    The judicial system was endemically corrupt. Magistrates were civil 
servants with no assurance of tenure, and judicial authorities 
routinely required bribes in exchange for favorable rulings.
    During the year no high-profile corruption cases were prosecuted.
    Public officials were not subject to public disclosure laws.
    There is no law providing free access to government information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views.
    The government met with domestic NGO monitors but seldom responded 
to their inquiries, reports, or recommendations.
    The government harassed human rights workers during the year. On 
November 27, security forces arrested and detained Frederic Loua and 
Amadou Diallo, both lawyers and members of the local NGO and lawyers' 
association Meme Droit Pour Tous (Equal Rights for All). Loua and 
Diallo were held for questioning in connection with their successful 
efforts to obtain the release of two suspects who had been in detention 
for seven years without trial. Although the release of the two suspects 
had been ordered by the court, the governor of Conakry returned the two 
suspects to their cells and ordered the arrest of Loua and Diallo, who 
were released later the same day. The two suspects remained in prison 
at year's end. The Bar Association subsequently took the governor to 
court for preventing the police from releasing the two suspects, as 
ordered by the court. The case was ongoing at year's end.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
cooperated with international governmental organizations and permitted 
visits by U.N. representatives. Authorities permitted and facilitated 
visits during the year by members of the International Criminal Court, 
who were investigating human rights abuses committed by government 
officials in 2009. The government also cooperated with the Office of 
the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Conakry.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--On March 19, the president 
nominated by decree a chairman for the Independent Human Rights 
Commission, a constitutionally mandated body that is responsible for 
the promotion and protection of human rights. Nevertheless, by year's 
end parliament had passed no legislation on the duties or function of 
the commission, which had no funding, office, or staff.
    On August 15, President Conde appointed a Provisional Commission 
for National Reconciliation. Led by the first imam of Guinea and the 
Catholic archbishop of Conakry, the commission organized a prayer rally 
to commemorate the 2009 stadium massacre and met with local religious 
leaders throughout the country to enlist their support in national 
reconciliation discussions. The commission characterized its work as 
promoting reconciliation through frank discussions with victims of 
human rights violations committed since independence, with the goal of 
establishing a national reconciliation commission.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law states that all persons are equal before the law 
regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, language, beliefs, political 
opinions, philosophy, or creed, the government did not enforce these 
provisions uniformly.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, which was common, is a 
criminal offense but was rarely prosecuted. Authorities were reluctant 
to pursue criminal investigations of alleged sexual crimes, and there 
were no reports of prosecutions of rapists, although police records 
indicated 50 persons were arrested for rape during the year. Spousal 
rape is neither punished nor regarded as a criminal offense. Social 
beliefs and fear of being ostracized prevented most victims from 
reporting incidents of rape. According to a 2003 study, victims of 
sexual assault constituted more than 20 percent of women treated in a 
local hospital. Experts reported that the situation had not changed 
significantly. Many of these assaults were perpetrated by a person the 
victim knew and often took place at school. More than half the victims 
were young girls. Several local NGOs worked to increase public 
awareness and the reporting of such crimes.
    Domestic violence against women was common, although estimates of 
its prevalence were unavailable. Due to fear of stigmatization and 
reprisal, women rarely reported abuse. The law does not directly 
address wife beating, although charges can be filed under general 
assault, which carries sentences of two to five years in prison and 
fines of 50,000 to 300,000 Guinea francs ($11 to $66). Assault 
constitutes grounds for divorce under civil law, but police rarely 
intervened in domestic disputes, and there were no reports of 
perpetrators being punished. Local NGOs assisted some victims of 
domestic violence.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--(see section 6, Children).

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is not against the law. Women 
working in the formal sector in urban areas complained of frequent 
sexual harassment, and it was not penalized by employers.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely on the number, spacing, and timing of their children and 
generally had access to information on how to do so without fear of 
discrimination, coercion, or violence. In 2008 the maternal mortality 
ratio was 680 deaths per 100,000 live births. Nine percent of women of 
reproductive age used a modern method of contraception. Healthcare for 
pregnant women was free and included access to skilled attendance 
during childbirth, prenatal care, and essential obstetric care and 
postpartum care. Women generally had equal access to diagnoses and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Nevertheless, cultural 
norms and taboos reportedly dissuaded individuals from taking advantage 
of opportunities to learn about reproductive health or seek health 
services for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The law generally provides for equal treatment of 
men and women, although it discriminates against women in inheritance 
matters. Traditional law discriminates against women and sometimes took 
precedence over formal law, particularly in rural areas. The Ministry 
of Social Affairs and Women's and Children's Issues worked to advance 
legal equality for women, who faced discrimination throughout society 
but particularly in rural areas, where opportunities were very limited. 
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 
(OECD), women under traditional law are entitled to hold land only on a 
usufruct basis, which authorizes them to work family-owned land and 
draw a wage, but not to own the land. Women had difficulty obtaining 
loans, according to the OECD.
    Government officials acknowledged that polygyny was a common 
practice. Divorce laws generally tend to favor men in awarding custody 
and dividing communal assets. Legal evidence given by women carried 
less weight than testimony by men, in accordance with Islamic precepts 
and customary law. Although the principle of equal pay for equal work 
exists, in practice women received lower pay than men. No steps were 
taken to implement the 2007-11 action plan on women's empowerment.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship can be derived by 
birth, marriage, naturalization, or parental heritage. The government 
struggled to register births and issue birth certificates to avoid 
leaving a significant number of children without official documentation 
and thereby denying them access to school and health care.

    Education.--Government policy provides for tuition-free, compulsory 
primary school education for six years. While girls and boys had equal 
access to all levels of primary and secondary education, social norms 
and practices resulted in significantly lower girls' attendance rates 
at the secondary level. Sexual harassment, concern about unwanted 
pregnancies, and other factors lowered attendance of female students.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a problem.

    Child Marriage.--The legal age for marriage is 21 years for men and 
17 years for women; however, tradition permits marriage at 14 years of 
age. Although there were no official reports of underage marriage, it 
was a problem. Parents contracted marriages for girls as young as 11 
years of age in Middle Guinea and the Forest Region. The Coordinating 
Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting Women's and Children's 
Health (CPTAFE), a local NGO dedicated to eradicating FGM and ritual 
scarring, in conjunction with the government, local journalists, and 
international NGOs, continued to run an education campaign to 
discourage underage marriage and reported lower rates than in previous 
years. According to the CPTAFE, some families that sanctioned early 
marriages nevertheless kept their married daughters in the family home 
until they had at least completed secondary school.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--FGM is illegal, and practitioners 
faced a penalty of three months in prison and a fine of approximately 
100,000 Guinea francs ($22). In practice FGM was practiced widely in 
all regions among all religious and ethnic groups, primarily on girls 
between the ages of four and 17. Infibulation, the most dangerous form 
of FGM, was rarely performed. CPTAFE reported high rates of infant and 
maternal mortality due to FGM. According to a 2005 Demographic and 
Health Survey, 96 percent of women in the country had undergone the 
procedure. As in prior years, there were no prosecutions of 
practitioners during the year.
    The government cooperated with NGOs in their efforts to eradicate 
FGM and educate health workers on the dangers of the practice. Urban, 
educated families increasingly opted to perform only a slight, symbolic 
incision on a girl's genitals rather than the complete procedure.
    Ritual killings occurred, although the extent of the practice was 
unknown due to cultural taboos and a general unwillingness to speak on 
the subject.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law prohibits child 
pornography, and the country has a statutory rape law. Sexual assault 
of children, including rape, was a serious problem. Girls between the 
ages of 11 and 15 years were most vulnerable and represented more than 
half of all rape victims.

    Displaced Children.--Street children were pervasive in urban areas, 
although there were no official statistics. Many were forced to beg in 
mosques and markets.

    International Child Abductions.--Guinea is not a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community is very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state 
services. There were no official reports of societal or governmental 
discrimination against persons with disabilities, but it was believed 
to be pervasive. The law does not mandate accessibility for persons 
with disabilities, and buildings and vehicles remained inaccessible. 
Few persons with disabilities worked in the formal sector, although 
some worked in the informal sector in small family businesses. Many 
lived by begging on the streets. The Ministry of Social Affairs is 
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, but 
it was ineffective.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's population was 
ethnically diverse, with three main ethnic groups and several smaller 
ones identifying with specific regions. The three major groups are the 
Soussou in Lower Guinea, the Peuhl in Middle Guinea, and the Malinke in 
Upper Guinea. There were smaller ethnic groups throughout the country. 
Conakry, other large urban areas such as Kankan, and the Forest Region 
were ethnically heterogeneous.
    While the law prohibits racial or ethnic discrimination, ethnic 
identification was strong. Mutual suspicion, both inside and outside 
the government, affected relations across ethnic lines. Widespread 
societal ethnic discrimination by members of all major ethnic groups 
was evident in private-sector hiring patterns, in the ethnic 
segregation of urban neighborhoods, and in the relatively low levels of 
interethnic marriage. Political campaigns capitalized on ethnic 
divisions, and divisive ethnic rhetoric spurred civilian clashes in 
Conakry that resulted in the deaths of at least two persons during the 
year. The government and the National Transitional Council implemented 
several sensitization programs throughout the year to highlight the 
importance of peace and unity among ethnic groups. It also held 
conferences and purchased radio and television programming to combat 
ethnic tensions and to encourage political leaders to avoid using 
divisive ethnic rhetoric.
    Vigilante violence occurred during the year. For example, on 
September 27, a Sousou man argued with his ethnic Peuhl neighbor over 
the effectiveness of opposition-sponsored protests earlier that day. 
The argument quickly became violent, with the Soussou man stabbing his 
Peuhl neighbor, who later died from his injuries. A crowd of Peuhls 
quickly subdued the fleeing Soussou man and stabbed him to death.
    Interreligious conflict resulted in deaths (see section 1.d.).

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law penalizes sexual 
relations between persons of the same sex with a maximum sentence of 
three years in prison, although there have not been any prosecutions 
under this law for nearly a decade. There were deep social, religious, 
and cultural taboos against homosexual conduct. There were no official 
or NGO reports of discrimination against individuals based on their 
sexual orientation or gender identity. Nevertheless, during the 2010 
opening of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in 
Conakry, the prime minister announced his belief that consensual same 
sex sexual activity is wrong and should be forbidden by law. He also 
said that sexual orientation should not be regarded as a basic human 
right. There were no active lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender 
organizations.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--National organizations 
worked to end the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Most victims of 
stigmatization were women, who were frequently abandoned by their 
families after their husbands died of AIDS.
    Doctors and health workers routinely disregarded medical 
confidentiality standards, resulting in widespread distrust of testing.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
Although the law provides for the right of workers to organize and join 
independent unions, engage in strikes, and bargain collectively, the 
law also places restrictions on the free exercise of these rights. The 
labor code prohibits members of the armed forces from joining unions, 
requires 25 or more workers to constitute a trade union, and mandates 
that unions provide 10-day notice before striking--and only on the 
grounds of ``professional claims.'' The labor code bans strikes in 
essential services, which it broadly defines to include hospitals, 
police, the military, transport, radio and television, and 
communications.
    While the labor code protects union officials from antiunion 
discrimination, it does not extend that same protection to other 
workers. The labor code prohibits employers from taking into 
consideration union membership and activities with regard to decisions 
about employee hiring, firing, and conduct, although it does not 
provide appeal procedures or effective, proportionate, and dissuasive 
sanctions to prevent such actions from occurring. The law does not 
provide for reinstatement of workers fired for union activity.
    The Office of the Inspector General of Work, within the Ministry of 
Labor, manages consensus arbitration, as required by law. In practice, 
employers often imposed binding arbitration, particularly in 
``essential services.''
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
not always respected, although worker organizations were generally 
independent of the government and political parties.
    A disputed election on September 24 within the country's largest 
union, the National Confederation of Guinean Workers (CNTG), triggered 
a split into factions supporting two candidates for the union's 
presidency, incumbent Amadou Diallo and Yamoussa Toure. Diallo was 
declared the winner, but Toure disputed the results. Diallo 
subsequently accused the government of interference, alleging that the 
government had provided Toure with financial support. Toure's 
supporters attacked Diallo's residence on October 8, and vandalized 
CNTG headquarters on October 17. Toure denied involvement in the 
attacks. Diallo refused to recognize a December 16 court decision 
annulling his presidency of the union.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced labor provides for penalties of five to 10 years' imprisonment 
for depriving third parties of their liberty. The government has not 
effectively enforced this law nor obtained conviction for forced labor 
under this article. The article also does not expressly prohibit debt 
bondage, making it particularly difficult to prosecute.
    Work is compulsory for all convicted prisoners and optional for 
those who have been accused or charged.
    The government claimed that it arrested and charged five 
traffickers and freed 30 victims of child trafficking during the year. 
Some older cases remained pending in the courts, while many additional 
cases have disappeared from the court system.
    Reports indicate that forced labor was most common in the 
agricultural sector. Forced child labor, which represents the majority 
of victims, occurred primarily in the cashew, cocoa, coffee, gold, and 
diamond sectors of the economy (see section 7.c.).
    Although migrant laborers do not represent a significant proportion 
of forced labor victims in Guinea, reports indicate instances of 
trafficking of Chinese and Vietnamese women to Guinea for the purposes 
of commercial sexual exploitation.
    See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits all forms of child labor and sets forth penalties of 
three to 10 years' imprisonment, and disgorgement of resulting profits, 
for violations. The minimum age for employment is 16 years, although 
children may begin to work at 12 years of age as apprentices for light 
work in such sectors as domestic service and agriculture, and at 14 
years of age for other work. Workers and apprentices under the age of 
18 are not permitted to work at night, more than 10 consecutive hours, 
more than 12 consecutive days, or on Sundays. The Ministry of Labor 
maintained a list of occupations in which women and youth under the age 
of 18 cannot be employed, but enforcement was limited to large firms in 
the modern sector of the economy. The penal code increases penalties 
for forced labor if minors are involved, but penalties did not meet 
international standards. Although the child code ensures that the 
country's laws respect treaty obligations, and is regarded as law by 
the justice system, there remains ambiguity about the code's validity 
because a required implementation text has not been passed by the 
government.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws 
and conducted occasional inspections during the reporting period. The 
Bureau of Gender Protection, Children, and Customs is responsible for 
investigating child trafficking and child labor violations. After 
arrests, all information is handed over to the Ministry of Justice. 
During the year the bureau reported two trafficking arrests. The bureau 
was understaffed and had only two vehicles to cover the country.
    Child labor by boys occurred most frequently in the informal 
sectors of subsistence farming, small-scale commerce, and mining. Child 
labor by girls most often involved commercial sexual exploitation and 
put them at risk for face beatings, sexual harassment, and rape. Family 
members or employers forced some children to prostitute themselves to 
earn enough money to survive. The government did not take action when 
prostitution of minors was brought to its attention, and it did not 
monitor child or adult prostitution.
    Many children between the ages of five and 16 worked 10 to 15 hours 
a day in the diamond and gold mines for minimal compensation and little 
food. Child laborers extracted, transported, and cleaned the minerals. 
They operated in extreme conditions, lacked protective gear, did not 
have access to water or electricity, and faced a constant threat of 
disease and sickness. Many children did not attend school and could not 
contact their parents. A 2006 study by the NGO AGRAAD reported that 45 
percent of workers at the Dandano gold mine were children, 
approximately 30 percent of whom were working with an adult relative in 
the mine. Children also worked in granite and gravel pits.
    Many parents sent young Muslim boys to live with a Koranic teacher 
for instruction. While a few boys received lessons, teachers forced 
most to beg or work in fields and mistreated the boys if they failed to 
meet daily quotas. Similarly, through the system of confiage, rural 
families often sent children to Conakry to live with family members 
while they attended school. Host families unwilling or unable to pay 
school fees sent the children to sell water or shine shoes on the 
streets. The host family took the money ostensibly in exchange for room 
and board.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Annual Findings on the Worst 
Forms of Child Labor at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Although the labor code allows 
the government to set a minimum hourly wage enforced by the Ministry of 
Labor, the government has neither exercised this provision nor promoted 
a standard wage. Prevailing wages routinely did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family.
    The law mandates that regular work should not exceed 10-hour days 
or 48-hour weeks, and it mandates a period of at least 24 consecutive 
hours of rest each week, usually on Sunday. Every salaried worker has 
the legal right to an annual paid vacation, accumulated at the rate of 
at least two workdays per month of work. There also are provisions in 
the law for overtime and night wages, which are fixed percentages of 
the regular wage. In practice, authorities rarely monitored work 
practices or enforced these rules. The law provides for a maximum of 
100 hours of compulsory overtime a year.
    The law contains general provisions regarding occupational safety 
and health, but the government did not establish a set of practical 
workplace health and safety standards. Moreover, it did not issue any 
orders laying out the specific safety requirements for certain 
occupations or for certain methods of work that are called for in the 
labor code. All workers, foreign and migrant included, have the right 
to refuse to work in unsafe conditions without penalty, but many 
workers feared retaliation and did not exercise this right.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing labor standards, 
and its 160 inspectors are empowered to suspend work immediately in 
situations deemed hazardous to workers' health. Nevertheless, 
enforcement efforts were sporadic. According to the ILO, inspectors 
received inadequate training and had limited resources. Retired labor 
inspectors were generally not replaced with new hires. Inspectors 
lacked computers and transportation to carry out their duties.
    Penalties for violation of the labor law were not sufficient to 
deter violations.
    In practice, teachers' wages were extremely low, and teachers 
sometimes went six months or more without pay. Salary arrears were not 
paid, and some teachers lived in abject poverty.
    The Ministry of Labor's Inspectorate General reported that there 
were 92 cases of workplace injury, one death, and no cases of illness 
during the year.

                               __________

                             GUINEA-BISSAU

                           executive summary
    Guinea-Bissau is a multiparty republic. In July 2009 Malam Bacai 
Sanha of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape 
Verde (PAIGC) was elected president in elections following the 
assassination of Joao Bernardo Vieira by the military. International 
observers declared the election to be generally free and fair despite 
election-related violence preceding the polls. As in the previous year, 
there were multiple instances in which elements of the security forces 
acted independently of civilian control. On December 26, fighting 
between rival factions of the military resulted in two deaths.
    Serious human rights abuses included beating and torture by 
security forces, poor conditions of detention, and violence--including 
female genital mutilation (FGM)--and discrimination against women.
    Other human rights abuses included arbitrary arrest and detention; 
lack of judicial independence and due process; interference with 
privacy; intimidation of journalists; widespread official corruption, 
exacerbated by government officials' impunity and suspected involvement 
in drug trafficking; trafficking of children; and child labor, 
including some forced labor.
    The government did not take steps to prosecute or punish officials 
who committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in 
the government, and impunity was a serious problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--On the evening of 
December 26, Vladimir Cotta, an officer of the Interior Ministry's 
Rapid Intervention Police (PIR), was killed in a raid on a house 
occupied by some of Admiral Na Tchuto's alleged supporters. PIR 
officers alleged that Major Yaya Dabo, a former officer in the Interior 
Ministry's intelligence service, was responsible for the killing.
    On December 28, PIR officers killed Dabo while he was en route to 
the Ministry of Interior, where he intended to turn himself in to the 
authorities. At the time of his death, Dabo was allegedly in the 
protective custody of two PIR officers and accompanied by the president 
of the Bissau-Guinean Human Rights League and a member of parliament. 
Authorities called for a full investigation into the events, but no 
action was taken by year's end.
    In July 2010 a civilian named Fernando Te was reportedly tortured 
to death while in custody at the Fifth Squadron police station. At 
year's end an investigation was ongoing with no individuals identified 
or charged with his death.
    There were no developments in the cases of the 2009 killings of 
President Vieira and armed forces chief of staff General Jose Batista 
Tagme Na Waie. The national commission of inquiry established in 2009 
to investigate the killings did not identify or charge anyone during 
the year.
    There were developments in the case of national assembly deputy 
Helder Proenca, whom military personnel beat, shot, and killed, along 
with his bodyguard and driver, in 2009 on the outskirts of Bissau. In 
2009 the state attorney general filed a criminal complaint against 
Colonel Samba Djalo, chief of the Military Information and Security 
Service, who had accused Proenca of plotting to overthrow the 
government. On July 21, the attorney general referred the case to the 
Military Justice Court; however, the court returned the case to the 
attorney general the following day, citing a lack of jurisdiction. A 
decision on the jurisdictional issue remained pending before the 
Supreme Court at year's end.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices, 
armed forces and police did not always respect this prohibition. The 
government did not punish members of the security forces who committed 
such abuses.
    During his brief detention in April 2010 (see section 1.d.), Prime 
Minister Carlos Gomes was robbed, beaten, and reportedly pistol-whipped 
by soldiers loyal to then deputy armed forces chief of staff Antonio 
Indjai. Gomes was released after several hours. He remained prime 
minister.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--In December 2010 the 
Ministry of Justice, with the assistance of the U.N. Office on Drugs 
and Crime (UNODC), completed construction of the country's first secure 
prison facilities in the towns of Bafata and Mansoa. The prisons had a 
capacity of 90 prisoners, including cells for up to six women in Mansoa 
and eight in Bafata. Both had electricity and potable water. In June 
prisoners were transferred to the new prisons. In a three-year training 
program that included human rights modules, Portuguese officials 
trained and equipped guards at the prisons.
    At the end of the year there were 64 prisoners held in the jails at 
Bafata and Mansoa. Of these, 43 were held in Bafata and 21 in Mansoa. 
Only four of the prisoners were women. No children were held at these 
facilities. Men and women were held separately, and juveniles were not 
held with adults. There were no reports of deaths in the prisons or of 
guards' or other prisoners' brutalizing or raping inmates. At Mansoa 
and Bafata, prison administrators provided food to the prisoners. Food 
was not provided to prisoners held in pretrial detention in Bissau, who 
were allowed to receive food from their families. Families were allowed 
to visit inmates at least twice a week, more often in cases of good 
behavior by the inmate.
    The government continued to utilize makeshift detention facilities 
at the Judicial Police headquarters and on military bases for short-
term detention of up to 48 hours. Conditions of confinement were poor. 
Detention facilities generally lacked secure cells, running water, and 
adequate sanitation. Detainees' diets were poor, and medical care was 
virtually nonexistent. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted 
prisoners, and juveniles were held with adults.
    The government permitted some independent monitoring of detention 
conditions by local and international human rights groups. According to 
the Justice Ministry's Director of Justice Administration, the prisons 
in Mansoa and Bafata were regularly visited by the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Bissau-Guinean Human Rights 
League, U.N. Integrated Peace-building Office in Guinea Bissau 
(UNIOGBIS) staff, the National Commission for Human Rights, and Aida (a 
Spanish human rights nongovernmental organization [NGO]).
    Following his detention in April 2010 (see section 1.d.), former 
armed forces chief of staff Jose Zamora Induta was reportedly in poor 
health and was denied access to medical treatment at the military 
barracks in Mansoa. Induta was allowed to receive visitors, including 
diplomatic representatives and UNIOGBIS and ICRC representatives, but 
not without third parties present.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government usually 
observed these prohibitions; however, security forces arbitrarily 
arrested persons and were involved in settling personal disputes, 
sometimes detaining persons without due process.
    Following intramilitary violence on December 26, Admiral Na Tchuto 
and several of his supporters were detained at the Army's Mansoa 
Barracks, 37 miles from the city of Bissau. No charges were filed 
against Na Tchuto or the other detainees. Na Tchuto and his followers 
remained in detention at year's end.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The country is divided 
into 37 police districts. There were an estimated 3,500 police 
personnel in nine different police forces reporting to seven different 
ministries. Judicial Police, under the Ministry of Justice, have 
primary responsibility for investigating drug trafficking, terrorism, 
and other transnational crime, while Public Order Police, under the 
Ministry of Interior, are responsible for preventive patrols, crowd 
control, and conventional maintenance of law and order. Other police 
forces include the State Information Service, Border Service, PIR, and 
Maritime Police. According to the constitution, the armed forces are 
responsible for external security and can be called upon to assist the 
police in internal emergencies.
    Police were generally ineffective, poorly and irregularly paid, and 
corrupt. They could not afford fuel for the few vehicles they had, and 
there was a severe lack of training.
    On May 13, the head of the Judicial Police, Lucinda Barbosa 
Ahukarle, resigned, citing death threats she had received because of 
her work fighting drug trafficking.
    Transit police were particularly corrupt and demanded bribes from 
vehicle drivers, whether their documents and vehicles were in order or 
not. Impunity was a problem. Corruption and a lack of police detention 
facilities and vehicles frequently resulted in prisoners simply walking 
out of custody in the middle of investigations. The attorney general 
was responsible for investigating police abuses; however, employees of 
that office were also poorly paid and susceptible to threats, 
corruption, and coercion.
    During a military mutiny in April 2010, Na Tchuto and soldiers 
loyal to then deputy armed forces chief Indjai beat, robbed, and 
detained Prime Minister Gomes, then-armed forces chief of staff Induta, 
and other military personnel. Gomes was released several hours later 
and departed the country on April 23 to receive medical treatment 
abroad. He returned in June. Induta remained in detention without 
charge until his release in December 2010.
    During the mutiny, soldiers also released several officials being 
held on charges of embezzling government funds; however, the officials 
were suspended from their jobs, and charges against them were pending 
at year's end.
    In July 2010 a group of soldiers assaulted several police officers, 
including at least two women, near the parliament building. According 
to media reports, the incident occurred following a dispute between a 
relative of recently appointed armed forces chief of staff Indjai and a 
traffic police officer. No soldiers were charged or punished for the 
assault by year's end.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires arrest warrants, although warrantless arrests, particularly of 
immigrants suspected of crimes, often occurred. The law requires that 
detainees be brought before a magistrate within 48 hours after arrest 
and be released if no timely indictment is filed; however, authorities 
did not always respect these rights in practice. In general detainees 
were informed promptly of charges against them, but in some military 
detentions detainees were not notified. Although the law provides for 
the right to counsel at state expense for indigent clients, lawyers did 
not receive compensation for their part-time public defense work and 
often ignored state directives to represent indigent clients. There was 
a functioning bail system. Pretrial detainees were allowed prompt 
access to family members.
    While the vast majority of the prison population consisted of 
detainees awaiting the conclusion of their trials, few detainees 
remained in custody for longer than one year. Most left detention 
before the conclusion of their trials as a result of inadequate 
detention facilities, lack of security, and rampant corruption. The few 
prisoners who were convicted seldom remained in custody for more than 
two years. Prisoners remanded to their homes, due to space constraints 
in detention facilities, often failed to return to prison.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, but the largely nonfunctional judicial 
branch had little independence. Judges were poorly trained, 
inadequately and irregularly paid, and subject to corruption. Judges 
periodically went on strike throughout the year to protest their pay 
and working conditions. Courts and judicial authorities were also 
frequently biased and passive. The attorney general had little 
protection from political pressure since the president can 
independently replace the incumbent. A lack of materials or 
infrastructure often delayed trials, and convictions were extremely 
rare.
    In addition to the civilian judicial structure, a military court 
system exists. The Supreme Military Court is the final court of appeal 
for military cases. In theory military courts do not try civilians. 
Although civilian courts may try all cases involving state security, 
even if the accused are members of the military, civilian courts were 
reluctant to assert their jurisdiction over members of the military.
    Traditional systems of justice prevailed in most rural areas, and 
persons who lived in urban areas often brought judicial disputes to 
traditional counselors to avoid the costs and bureaucratic impediments 
of the official system. Police also often resolved disputes.

    Trial Procedures.--There is no trial by jury. For all citizens the 
law provides for a presumption of innocence, the right to have timely 
access to an attorney, question witnesses, have access to evidence held 
by the government, and appeal. Trials in civilian courts are open to 
the public. Defendants have the right to be present and present 
witnesses and evidence on their behalf. For those few defendants whose 
cases went to trial, and despite the otherwise dysfunctional judiciary, 
these rights were respected in a majority of cases. Citizens who cannot 
afford an attorney have the right to a court-appointed lawyer, but 
court-appointed attorneys received no compensation from the state for 
representing indigent clients, were not punished for failing to do so, 
and generally ignored such responsibilities.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judicial system 
handles civil as well as criminal matters, but was neither independent 
nor impartial. There was no administrative mechanism to address human 
rights violations. Domestic court orders often were not enforced.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and 
the government partially respected these prohibitions in practice. 
Police routinely ignored privacy rights and protections against 
unreasonable search and seizure.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of 
the press; however, the government did not always respect these rights 
in practice. Unlike the previous year, there were no reports security 
forces detained persons for exercising their right to free speech. 
However, journalists who reported on narcotics trafficking came under 
considerable government pressure, and journalists practiced self-
censorship.

    Freedom of Press.--In March, Prime Minister Gomes brought 
defamation charges against Ali Silva, author of the Ditadura do 
Consenso blog. On March 21, Silva was summoned to the Attorney 
General's Office, where he was questioned for two hours and 
subsequently released. The charges remained pending at year's end.
    On April 15, the Council of Ministers suspended publication of the 
Ultima Hora newspaper following the publication of an article accusing 
soldiers under the command of Indjai of killing then president Vieira. 
The National Union of Journalists and the NGO Reporters Without Borders 
condemned the government's action as ``backward and coercive.'' At a 
news conference on April 20, Minister of the Presidency, Parliamentary 
Affairs, and Social Communication Maria Adiatu Djalo Nandigna issued a 
``vibrant appeal to the media, especially the newspaper Ultima Hora, to 
bring their editorial policies into line with the higher interests'' of 
Guinea-Bissau. She added that if the appeal was ignored, the government 
could ``use its legal powers to cancel licenses for good.'' Ultima Hora 
resumed publication.
    In May 2010 the private daily newspaper Diary Bissau published an 
editorial entitled ``Guinea-Bissau is a Narco-state'' with photographs 
of former armed forces chief of staff Na Waie, former president Vieira, 
former deputy assembly leader Proenca, and former presidential 
candidate Dabo captioned ``victims of drug trafficking in Guinea-
Bissau.'' Unknown assailants subsequently beat Joao de Barros, the 
director of the paper and former minister of media affairs under 
Vieira. In addition the paper's headquarters was ransacked and all 
publishing equipment destroyed. One man, Armando Correia Dias, was 
briefly detained but later released without charge. The investigation 
remained open at year's end.
    In addition to the government-owned newspaper No Pintcha, several 
private newspapers published without restriction. All newspapers were 
published through the state-owned printing house.
    There were several independent radio stations, a national radio 
station, and a national television station. International radio 
broadcasts could be received.
    Journalists reported receiving telephone threats and summons to 
government premises to explain their activities or statements, while 
others reported prolonged court proceedings that impeded their work.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engaged in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail. Lack of 
infrastructure, equipment, and education severely limited 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.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, 
and the government usually respected this right in practice. Permits 
were required for all assemblies and demonstrations.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for the 
right of association, and the government generally respected this right 
in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons 
(IDPs), refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons 
of concern.
    In June the government announced that refugees living in Guinea-
Bissau longer than 20 years would be offered citizenship, and that 
those who declined would lose their refugee status if they could not 
demonstrate that they faced oppression in their home country or that 
their country was in a state of war.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Bissau-Guinean IDPs and 
Senegalese refugees moved within the border region and back and forth 
over the border with Senegal, depending on the status of the ongoing 
armed conflict in Senegal's Casamance Region. This conflict sometimes 
spilled over into Guinea-Bissau. With ethnic and family ties on both 
sides of the poorly marked border, the nationality of these IDPs and 
refugees was not always clear.

    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. 
The government did not grant refugee status or asylum during the year.
    There were no restrictions on refugees' ability to work provided 
they had a valid refugee card. Persons holding official refugee status 
were allowed access to public services, including education, health 
care, and land. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees opened an office 
in Bissau in February 2010 and facilitated the issuance of refugee 
cards. As in previous years, local communities in northern Guinea-
Bissau lent land for cultivation to long-term refugees from the 
Casamance region of southern Senegal. Rather than utilizing local 
schools, most refugees sent children to nearby Senegalese schools in 
the Casamance, which were perceived as being of higher quality.
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.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Following the March 2009 military assassination of President Vieira, 
interim President Raimundo Pereira postponed the first round of the 
presidential election until June 2009 although the constitution 
provides that an election be held within 60 days of a president's 
death. The PAIGC candidate, Malam Bacai Sanha, won the June 2009 first 
round with 39 percent of the vote, and the July 2009 second round with 
63 percent.
    International observers characterized the polling process as 
generally free and fair.

    Political Parties.--Formal membership in the dominant party 
conferred some informal advantages. The Balanta ethnic group, mainly 
through its predominance in the armed forces, controlled the political 
system.
    Unlike previous years, the political opposition was not subjected 
to restrictions on political activity or overt violence such as torture 
or killings.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The 98-member National 
Assembly had 10 female members. The Supreme Court president, two of the 
19 government ministers, and one of nine state secretaries also were 
women.
    All ethnic groups were represented in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties of one month to 10 years in 
prison for official corruption. However the government did not 
implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in 
corrupt practices with impunity.
    Official corruption and lack of transparency were endemic at all 
levels of government. The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators 
reflected that corruption was a severe problem. Members of the military 
and civilian administration reportedly trafficked in drugs and assisted 
international drug cartels by providing access to the country and its 
transportation infrastructure. Customs officers frequently accepted 
bribes not to collect import duties, which greatly reduced government 
revenues. The largely nonfunctional and corrupt judiciary was unable 
and unwilling to enforce the law and investigate corruption cases. 
There were no new investigations of corruption by the attorney general 
during the year.
    On August 29, a group of NGOs released a statement calling for 
additional transparency in the extractive industry. In particular the 
group called for more public information on the offshore oil industry 
and the mining of phosphate, bauxite, and heavy metals in various areas 
of the country.
    No officials were arrested or charged with embezzlement during the 
year.
    According to a 2008 U.N. report and the findings of UNIOGBIS, the 
country was rapidly becoming a major transit point and logistical hub 
in the drug trade. According to the UNODC, the volume of drugs 
transiting the country increased during the year. The failure to 
interdict or investigate suspected narcotics traffickers contributed to 
the perception of government and military involvement in narcotics 
trafficking.
    Systemic failure to act throughout the police, military, and 
judiciary resulted in no prosecutions of drug traffickers. Drug 
traffickers usually had official protection at some level. The Judicial 
Police had no resources to conduct investigations, limited ability to 
detain suspects, and no means of transporting detainees to court. 
Judges and guards were highly susceptible to corruption and often 
released suspected traffickers who subsequently disappeared. Judicial 
officials who displayed independence, resisted corruption, or attempted 
to investigate or prosecute narcotics traffickers were threatened.
    In June the minister of health announced several regional health 
directors had mismanaged funds that were to have been used for the 
purchase of medicine. Some of the drugs were allegedly resold on the 
black market at higher prices. As of the end of the year, none of the 
health directors was charged with any crime.
    Public officials are legally required to disclose their personal 
finances before the Court of Audits, but the court had no authority to 
enforce compliance. No public officials disclosed personal finances 
during the year.
    In April the government announced the establishment of a Financial 
Crimes Information Unit to fight money laundering and corruption.
    As in the previous year, the National Assembly's anticorruption 
committee was inactive.
    The law provides that ``everyone has the right to information''; 
however, such access was seldom provided.
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.
    Unlike the previous year, there were no reports of NGO workers 
being harassed.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government permitted 
visits by U.N. representatives, including UNIOGBIS personnel and the 
ICRC. The ICRC, UNIOGBIS staff, and NGOs visited the prisons in Mansoa 
and Bafata regularly.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination but does not designate kinds of 
discrimination the prohibition covers; the government did not enforce 
prohibitions against discrimination.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape, 
including spousal rape, but government enforcement was limited. The law 
only permits prosecution of rape when the victim has reported it, which 
observers noted was rare due to the cultural stigmatization of rape 
victims. This problem was exacerbated in the Muslim eastern regions of 
Gabu and Bafata, where cultural practice dictated that the issue be 
resolved at home within a family. There were no statistics available on 
the number of abusers who were prosecuted, convicted, or punished for 
rape.
    Domestic violence, including wife beating, was an accepted means of 
settling domestic disputes and was reportedly widespread. No law 
prohibits domestic violence, and politicians reportedly were reluctant 
to address the subject for fear of alienating more traditional voters 
or particular ethnic groups. Although police intervened in domestic 
disputes if requested, the government did not undertake specific 
measures to counter social pressure against reporting domestic 
violence, rape, incest, and other mistreatment of women.

    Sexual Harassment.--There is no law prohibiting sexual harassment, 
and it was a problem.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children and to have the information and means to do so free from 
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There is access to birth 
control and limited access to HIV testing. Women and men were equally 
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections. The U.N. 
Population Fund reported that 98 of 114 health centers offered family 
planning services and that approximately 10 percent of women used 
contraception. The Catholic Church and other religious groups 
discouraged condom use, which also was not widespread due to lack of 
education. According to the most recent data available from the U.N. 
Population Fund, skilled health providers attended to 78 percent of 
pregnant women; however, only 39 percent of live births were attended 
by a skilled health worker. Estimates for the maternal mortality rate 
ranged from 800 to 1,100 per 100,000 live births.

    Discrimination.--The law treats men and women equally and prohibits 
discrimination. However, discrimination against women was a problem, 
particularly in rural areas where traditional and Islamic laws were 
dominant. Women were responsible for most work on subsistence farms and 
had limited access to education like the majority of citizens, 
especially in rural areas. Women did not have equal access to 
employment. Among certain ethnic groups, women cannot manage land or 
inherit property. Although no data was available, women reportedly 
experienced discrimination in employment, pay for similar work, and 
business ownership.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country and from one's parents. Child registration does not 
occur automatically at hospitals. Parents must register their child's 
birth with a notary. The government conducts yearly campaigns to 
register children in the countryside. UNICEF data from 2000-09 
estimated 39 percent of children were registered before the age of 
five. Lack of registration resulted in the denial of education at 
schools above secondary level, since school registration requires a 
birth certificate. However, this requirement was often waived for 
children in primary schools.

    Education.--In March the National Assembly passed a law increasing 
compulsory attendance from the sixth grade to the ninth grade and 
lowering the enrollment age from seven years to six. The enrollment 
rate in primary schools was 65.4 percent for girls and 69.3 percent for 
boys, but Islamic schools banned girls from attending. Children often 
were required to help their families in the fields, which conflicted 
with schooling.

    Child Abuse.--Violence against children was widespread, but it was 
seldom reported to the authorities.
    During the year a teacher, Maria Filomena Ribeiro, was accused of 
imprisoning her eight-year-old daughter in her home with ropes and a 
padlock. Local NGO Association of the Friends of Children (AMIC) 
denounced the incident as ``inhuman.'' Judicial Police opened an 
official investigation but did not file charges as of year's end.
    In 2010 an 85-year-old man in Gabu was charged with sexually 
abusing and impregnating two of his granddaughters, ages 15 and 16. His 
trial had not begun by year's end.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Certain ethnic groups, especially 
the Fulas and the Mandinkas, practiced FGM, not only on adolescent 
girls but also on babies as young as four months. According to a local 
NGO, more than 350,000 girls and women in the country were victims of 
FGM. UNICEF data from 1997-2009 indicate 45 percent of women and girls 
were victimized.
    On June 6, the National Assembly passed a law prohibiting FGM, 
which calls for violators to be punished with a fine of up to five 
million CFA francs ($9,000) and five years in prison. The law was 
published and went into effect on July 6. In November, Ne di Ture was 
charged with performing FGM on a three-year-old girl. At year's end, 
she was awaiting trial.

    Child Marriage.--Child marriage occurred among all ethnic groups, 
but no reliable data existed. Girls who fled arranged marriages often 
became trafficked into commercial sex. The buying and selling of child 
brides also reportedly occurred. Local NGOs worked to protect the 
rights of women and children and operated programs to fight child 
marriage and protect its victims. Observers claimed that NGO efforts to 
enroll more girls in school increased child marriages: More girls were 
forced to marry at a younger age because parents feared the social 
opportunities of school would increase the risk of their daughters 
losing their virginity before marriage.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There are no explicit penalties 
for child prostitution, but there is a statutory rape law prohibiting 
sex with a person less than 16 years old. The rape law carries a 
penalty of two to six years in prison. There is no law against child 
pornography.

    Displaced Children.--The Child Protection Office of the Bissau 
Police Department estimated that 1,000 children were living on the 
streets of Bissau, with a growing number of boys engaged in gangs and 
petty crime. The government provided no services to street children.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

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

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
discrimination against persons with disabilities, mandate building 
access for them, or provide for equal access to employment and 
education. There were no government efforts to mitigate discrimination 
against persons with disabilities or ensure their access to buildings 
or streets. The government made some efforts to assist military 
veterans with disabilities through pension programs, but these programs 
did not adequately address health, housing, or food needs.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws that 
criminalize sexual orientation; however, social taboos against 
homosexuality restricted freedom to express sexual orientation. There 
were no reported violent incidents or other human rights abuses 
targeting individuals based on their sexual orientation or identity. 
There was no official discrimination based on sexual orientation or 
gender identity in employment or access to education and health care. 
However, the law only recognized heterosexual married couples as 
entitled to larger government housing.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was open 
discussion of HIV/AIDS and no reported societal violence or 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides all workers with the freedom to form and join 
independent trade unions without previous authorization.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
government interference; only trade union delegates are protected under 
union laws, while workers' rights to free speech and assembly are 
protected by the constitution. The law prohibits employer antiunion 
discrimination. However, only trade union delegates are protected by 
the labor code against antiunion discrimination, with inadequate 
sanctions.
    The law provides for the right to strike. The only legal 
restriction on strike activity is a prior notice requirement. The law 
also prohibits retaliation against strikers.
    The law does not provide for or protect the right to bargain 
collectively; however, the tripartite National Council for Social 
Consultation conducted collective consultations on salary issues. Most 
wages were established in bilateral negotiations between workers and 
employers. No workers alleged antiunion discrimination during the year, 
and the practice was not believed to be widespread.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are no specific laws that protect children from exploitation in 
the workplace. The legal minimum age is 14 for general factory labor 
and 18 for heavy or dangerous labor, including labor in mines. Minors 
are prohibited from working overtime.
    There were reports that such practices occurred. As in previous 
years, types of forced child labor included domestic servitude, shoe 
shining, and selling food in urban streets.
    The small formal sector generally adhered to these minimum age 
requirements. The Ministries of Justice and of Civil Service and Labor 
did not effectively enforce these requirements, particularly in 
informal work settings, where most child labor occurred. The government 
did not take action to combat such practices by year's end. The 
Institute of Women and Children and the ministries of labor and justice 
are responsible for protecting children from labor exploitation; 
however, there was no effective enforcement. The government 
participated in several programs to combat child labor funded by 
international donors. The AMIC estimated that 50 children per month 
returned home of their own volition. The NGO Network of Youth was also 
involved in removing child workers.
    According to the 2010 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, almost 60 
percent of children ages five to 14 work--65 percent in rural areas and 
45 percent in urban areas. Children in rural communities performed 
domestic and fieldwork without pay to help support their families. They 
also lacked educational opportunities. Some children were partially or 
completely withdrawn from school to work in the fields during the 
annual cashew harvest.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Form of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Council of Ministers 
annually establishes minimum wage rates for all categories of work, but 
it did not enforce them. The lowest monthly wage was approximately 
19,030 CFA francs ($34) per month plus a bag of rice.
    The law provides for a maximum 45-hour workweek; however, many 
employees were forced to work longer hours. The law also provides for 
overtime pay, as long as overtime does not exceed 200 hours per year, 
and a mandatory 12-hour rest period between workdays; however, these 
provisions were not enforced.
    With the cooperation of the unions, the ministries of justice and 
labor establish legal health and safety standards for workers, which 
the National Assembly then may adopt into law. However, these standards 
were not enforced, and many persons worked under conditions that 
endangered their health and safety. Workers, including foreign workers, 
do not have the right to remove themselves from unsafe working 
conditions without losing their jobs.

                               __________

                                 KENYA

                           executive summary
    Kenya is a republic with an institutionally strong president and a 
prime minister with unclearly defined executive powers. There is a 
unicameral national assembly. In 2007 the government held local, 
parliamentary, and presidential elections. Observers judged the 
parliamentary and local elections to be generally free and fair. In the 
presidential election, incumbent Mwai Kibaki was proclaimed the winner 
by a narrow margin under controversial circumstances. Serious 
irregularities undermined the integrity of the presidential election 
results. Raila Odinga, the main opposition candidate, disputed the 
results, and violence erupted in sections of Nairobi and opposition 
strongholds in Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western, and Coast provinces. 
Approximately 1,150 persons were killed and more than 350,000 displaced 
between December 2007 and February 2008, when the two sides agreed to 
form a coalition government as a result of international mediation. 
Under the terms of the agreement, President Kibaki retained his office, 
and Odinga was appointed to a newly created position of prime minister. 
The parties also agreed to undertake a series of constitutional, 
electoral, institutional, and land reforms to address underlying causes 
of the crisis. In August 2010 citizens approved a new constitution in a 
national referendum, widely considered to be free and fair. The new 
constitution includes significant institutional and structural changes 
to the government. There were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The most serious human rights problems were abuses by the security 
forces, including unlawful killings, torture, rape, and use of 
excessive force; mob violence; and the abridgement of the right of 
citizens to change their government in the 2007 election.
    Other human rights problems included police corruption; harsh and 
life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; 
prolonged pretrial detention; executive influence on the judiciary and 
judicial corruption; arbitrary interference with the home and 
infringement on citizens' privacy; restrictions on freedom of speech, 
press, and assembly; abuse and forced resettlement of internally 
displaced persons (IDPs); abuse of refugees, including killing and 
rape; official corruption; violence and discrimination against women; 
violence against children, including female genital mutilation (FGM); 
child prostitution; trafficking in persons; discrimination against 
persons with disabilities; interethnic violence; discrimination based 
on ethnicity, sexual orientation, and HIV/AIDS status; lack of 
enforcement of workers' rights; forced and bonded labor, including of 
children; and child labor.
    Widespread impunity at all levels of government continued to be a 
serious problem. The government took only limited action against 
security forces suspected of unlawful killings, and impunity in cases 
of corruption was common. Although the government took action in some 
cases to prosecute officials who committed abuses, impunity--
particularly in connection with human rights abuses connected to post-
2007 election violence--was pervasive.
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 and 
unlawful killings. The government took only limited action in holding 
accountable security forces suspected of unlawfully killing citizens.
    Police killed two persons in June while quelling a riot in a 
refugee camp (see section 2.d.).
    Police killed numerous criminal suspects, often claiming that the 
suspects violently resisted arrest or were armed. For example, on 
January 19, in the middle of a busy Nairobi highway, three police 
officers shot and killed three suspected carjackers who already had 
surrendered. Authorities suspended the police officers and placed them 
under investigation. At year's end the investigation continued.
    On November 3, police reportedly shot and killed five suspected 
robbers sitting in a car in traffic in Nairobi. Police claimed that one 
of the suspects drew a pistol after officers ordered them to surrender, 
prompting police to open fire on the car.
    On November 4, the Kenyan navy attacked a fishing boat near the 
Somali border, resulting in the death of four Kenyan fishermen. The 
government claimed the boat refused to stop for inspection. Survivors 
asserted that the boat was anchored offshore when the attack occurred 
and that the attack was unprovoked. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported 
that military personnel beat survivors of the incident who swam to 
shore. As of year's end, the government had not initiated an 
investigation.
    There were reports that persons died while in police custody or 
shortly thereafter, some as a result of torture. For example, on 
September 16, a 16-year-old boy died at the Kabete police station, 
hours after being arrested in connection with a robbery. A family 
member who viewed the body saw multiple injuries. The Independent 
Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), a credible human rights nongovernmental 
organization (NGO), conducted a postmortem of the body and established 
that the young man died of blows and associated trauma. Police did not 
conduct any investigation into the death by year's end.
    In 2008 the government formed the Commission of Inquiry into 
Postelection Violence as part of the internationally mediated political 
settlement. In 2008 the final commission report recommended that the 
government establish a special tribunal to investigate individuals 
suspected of such violence; however, no local tribunal was established, 
and the government did not conduct any investigation. As a result of 
government inaction, in December 2010 the International Criminal Court 
(ICC) chief prosecutor opened an investigation and subsequently 
announced that he had asked a pretrial chamber to issue summonses for 
six former government officials on charges of crimes against humanity. 
Summonses were issued in March. On August 30, the ICC dismissed an 
appeal by the government that challenged the admissibility of the cases 
against the six. The ICC appeals chamber ruled that no legal, factual, 
or procedural error could be discerned in the pretrial chamber's 
decisions in May to proceed with the cases. Specifically, the appeals 
chamber found that the government had failed to provide sufficient 
evidence to prove that it was conducting its own investigation of the 
six suspects. The six individuals were Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, deputy 
prime minister and minister of finance; William Samoei Ruto, former 
minister of higher education, science, and technology; Henry Kiprono 
Kosgey, former minister of industrialization; Joshua Arap Sang, former 
head of operations for KASS FM radio station; Francis Kirimi Muthaura, 
head of the public service and secretary to the cabinet; and Mohamed 
Hussein Ali, police commissioner at the time of the violence. An ICC 
decision on whether to confirm charges and proceed to trial against 
some or all of the suspects was expected in early 2012.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of disappearances or 
politically motivated abductions during the year.
    In October HRW released the report Hold Your Heart--Waiting for 
Justice in Kenya's Mt. Elgon Region, regarding the human rights abuses 
perpetrated between 2006 and 2008 by government security forces and the 
Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLDF), a militia group operating in the 
Mount Elgon region of western Kenya. During this period both government 
security forces and the SLDF committed atrocities, including hundreds 
of killings, the detention of more than 3,000 men, forced 
disappearances, torture, and rape. The report, which focused on 
unresolved abductions by SLDF militia and enforced disappearances by 
security forces, criticized the government for not effectively 
investigating such abuses or assisting families with death certificates 
or official recognition of the missing.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
the legal code does not define torture and provides no sentencing 
guidelines, which functionally bars prosecution for torture. Police 
reportedly used violence and torture frequently during interrogations 
and as punishment of pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners. 
According to IMLU, physical battery was the most common method of 
torture used by the police.
    Human rights organizations, churches, and the press reported 
numerous cases of torture and indiscriminate police beatings.
    In November, following two grenade attacks on civilian targets in 
Garissa and an improvised explosive device attack on a military convoy 
in Mandera, police and soldiers rounded up hundreds of suspects in both 
towns. HRW reported that some of these persons suffered broken limbs 
from beatings by police and soldiers. In the days following the 
attacks, suspects were arrested at random. HRW interviewed individuals 
who were taken to a Garissa military camp and forced to do exercises, 
such as standing on their heads, and were beaten if they could not 
comply.
    As of September IMLU received 218 cases of alleged torture by 
security forces, 28 of them resulting in death.
    IMLU's National Torture Prevalence Survey Report 2011 for Kenya, 
released in November, detailed the results of a nationwide survey on 
the prevalence of torture, the definition of which included 
psychological torture--such as harassment, threats, and forcing victims 
to make impossible choices--as well as physical abuse by the police and 
other security forces. Data was collected in interviews with members of 
public and private organizations and a national survey of 1,200 
randomly selected respondents. In the survey, 23 percent of respondents 
reported that they had been tortured, and 29 percent claimed to know 
someone who had been tortured. Of victims who reported torture, only 25 
percent claimed that action was being taken on their complaints. IMLU 
noted that psychological techniques, as opposed to physical torture 
techniques, were gaining in prominence.
    Due to a shortage of civilian state prosecutors in the legal system 
(72 civilian prosecutors nationwide compared to 315 police 
prosecutors), police were responsible for investigating and prosecuting 
all crimes at the magistrate court level. Civilian prosecutors handled 
cases at the high court level. Police routinely ignored evidence of 
security force torture provided by IMLU and other human rights 
organizations. In most cases authorities did not fully investigate 
allegations of torture and did not charge perpetrators.
    Police use of excessive force to disperse demonstrators resulted in 
injuries (see section 2.b.).
    There were allegations that security forces raped female inmates, 
IDPs, refugees, and asylum seekers crossing into the country from 
Somalia (see section 2.d.).
    Police harassed and physically and sexually abused street children 
(see section 6, Children).
    The Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission, whose mandate 
included the investigation of alleged cases of torture since 
independence, collected statements and held public hearings across the 
country. A report of its findings was expected in 2012.
    In October 2010 IMLU filed a case against the government at the 
East Africa Court of Justice, seeking redress for Mount Elgon residents 
tortured during military operations in 2008 (see section 1.b.). In 
December the government filed an appeal with the appellate section of 
the court disputing the jurisdiction of the court in human rights 
matters and the timeliness of the case's filing. The government's 
appeal remained pending at year's end. Despite evidence of torture 
documented by IMLU and HRW from the Mount Elgon and El Wak security 
operations in 2008, the government denied that security forces engaged 
in torture and refused to prosecute individuals who allegedly 
participated in torture during the two operations.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions continued to be harsh and life threatening. A 2009 
prison assessment by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights 
(KNCHR) concluded that torture, degrading and inhuman treatment, 
unsanitary conditions, and extreme overcrowding were endemic in 
prisons. Prison staff routinely beat and assaulted prisoners. According 
to media reports, prison officials also raped female inmates. Fellow 
inmates also committed rapes. Prisoners sometimes were kept in solitary 
confinement far longer than the legal maximum of 90 days.
    As of October the Legal Resource Foundation (LRF) reported a total 
prison population of 50,608, including 2,672 women and 47,936 men. The 
country's 89 prisons had a designed capacity of 22,000 inmates.
    In 2010 the LRF attributed poor prison conditions to lack of 
funding, overcrowding, inadequate staff training, and poor management. 
Prison officers, who received little applicable training, discriminated 
against prisoners with mental problems and transgender prisoners.
    Prisoners generally received three meals a day, but portions were 
inadequate, and sometimes portions were halved as punishment. Water 
shortages, an issue outside prisons as well, continued to be a problem. 
Sanitary facilities were inadequate. Medical care was poor, 
particularly for those with tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS. Supplies of 
antiretroviral drugs and other medications were inadequate, and 
insufficient food lessened the effectiveness of available medicine. 
Prison hospitals could not meet the needs of prisoners. Many inmates 
petitioned the courts for transfer to outside hospitals, but 
administrative delays, such as lack of transport, often delayed court-
ordered hospital attention. Prisoners generally spent most of their 
time indoors in inadequately lit and poorly ventilated cell blocks. 
This was especially true for the one-third of prisoners awaiting trial, 
as they were not engaged in any work programs that would allow them to 
leave their cells.
    According to the government, 187 prisoners died during the year, 
the majority from infections or other generally preventable causes. 
Overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, and inadequate medical treatment 
contributed to prisoner deaths.
    Prisoners and detainees sometimes were denied the right to contact 
relatives or lawyers. Family members who wanted to visit prisoners 
commonly reported bureaucratic and physical obstacles that generally 
required a bribe to resolve. According to the LRF, prisoners had 
reasonable access to legal counsel and other official visitors, 
although there was insufficient space to meet with visitors in private 
and conduct confidential conversations.
    In 2010 the LRF reported that prisoners were able to make 
complaints to the courts and had the ability to send letters written by 
paralegals to the court without appearing personally. There were no 
prison ombudsmen to handle prisoner complaints, but some prisons had 
paralegal clinics, which appeared to decrease the incidence of abuse 
(see section 5). Some magistrates and judges also made prison visits 
during the year, providing another avenue for prisoners to raise 
grievances. In August a group of senior judges, including a deputy 
chief justice of the Supreme Court, visited a prison in Mombasa. 
Inmates were permitted to address the delegation and raise grievances 
and request leniency. The KNHRC had a mandate to visit prisons and 
investigate allegations of inhumane conditions. According to the 
commissioner of prisons, human rights training took place in prisons 
during the year. The Department of Prisons had imbedded intelligence 
officers in the prisons to report on conditions and any abuse.
    In small jails female prisoners were not always separated from 
males. Conditions for female inmates in small, particularly rural, 
facilities were worse than for men. Female prisoners were often not 
provided with sanitary towels and underwear. Civil society activists 
witnessed young children, women, and men sharing the same cells. There 
were 344 children accompanying their mothers or guardians in pretrial 
detention. Convicted mothers were not allowed to keep their children 
unless they were nursing. The LRF reported that prisons did not have 
facilities, lessons, beds, or special food for children, nor did 
children have access to medical care. Children born to women in custody 
had difficulty obtaining birth certificates.
    Minors were generally separated from the adult population, except 
during the initial detention period at police stations, when adults and 
minors of both sexes were often held in a single cell. A 2008 
government report on prison conditions noted that underage female 
offenders, who were ineligible for transfer to a minimum security 
training school, were often housed with adult female prisoners.
    Political prisoners and detainees were held with the general prison 
population and under the same conditions.
    The government permitted prison visits by local human rights groups 
during the year.
    During the year noncustodial community service programs were 
instituted to alleviate prison overcrowding. In addition new prison 
facilities and housing for prison staff were built, mental health 
facilities for offenders were refurbished, and bedding and meals for 
inmates improved, although they still were considered inadequate by 
human rights groups.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arrest or 
detention without a court order unless there are reasonable grounds for 
believing a suspect has committed or is about to commit a criminal 
offense; however, police frequently arrested and detained citizens 
arbitrarily.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--There was a large 
internal security apparatus that included the Kenyan National Police 
Service (KNPS), its Criminal Investigation Department, which was 
responsible for criminal investigations, and the Antiterrorism Police 
Unit. The Kenya Administration Police (KAP), which has a strong rural 
presence throughout the country, provides security for the civilian 
provincial administration structure and has the mandate for border 
security. The Kenya Wildlife Service is responsible for security and 
counterpoaching operations within the national parks, and the 
paramilitary General Services Unit (GSU) is responsible for countering 
uprisings and guarding high-security facilities. The National Security 
Intelligence Service (NSIS) collects intelligence. The KNPS, KAP, and 
GSU are under the authority of the Ministry of State for Provincial 
Administration and Internal Security. The NSIS is under the direct 
authority of the president.
    Military forces, including the army, navy, and air force, are 
responsible for the external defense of the country and support 
civilian organizations in the maintenance of order. They are under the 
authority of the minister of state for defense.
    Police were ineffective and corrupt, and impunity was a problem. 
There was a public perception that police often were complicit in 
criminal activity. In 2008 the Oscar Foundation Free Legal Aid Clinic 
Kenya noted that bribery in police recruitment was a problem. Police 
often recruited unqualified candidates who had political connections or 
who paid bribes, which contributed to poorly conducted investigations.
    Police often stopped and arrested citizens to extort bribes. Press 
and civil society groups reported that police continued to resort to 
illegal confinement, extortion, physical abuse, and fabrication of 
charges to accomplish law enforcement objectives, as well as to 
facilitate illegal activities. Police often failed to enter detainees 
into police custody records, making it difficult to locate them. The 
police practice of requiring an examination and testimony by a single 
police physician in the case of victims of sexual assault resulted in 
substantial barriers to the investigation and prosecution of sexual 
violence cases (see section 6, Women).
    Instances of witness harassment and resultant witness insecurity 
continued to inhibit severely the investigation and prosecution of 
major crimes. The Witness Protection Agency was inadequately funded, 
and doubts about its independence were common.
    Impunity was a major problem. Police officers rarely were arrested 
and prosecuted for criminal activities, corruption, or using excessive 
force. Authorities sometimes attributed the failure to investigate a 
case of police corruption or unlawful killing to the failure of 
citizens to file official complaints. However, the required complaint 
form was available only at police stations, and there was considerable 
public skepticism regarding a process that assigned the investigation 
of police abuse to the police themselves.
    Effective mechanisms to independently investigate security force 
abuses did not exist. A 2009 High Court injunction prevents the KNCHR 
from exercising court powers (for example, the power to summon 
witnesses) in investigating cases of police and judicial misconduct. 
The ban remained in effect at year's end.
    The government took some steps to curb police abuse. In June a 
panel drawn from the Public Service Commission, Police Reform 
Implementation Committee, Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), and 
NSIS conducted an integrity test of 2,000 senior police officials on 
issues related to corruption, mental fitness, and implementation of the 
constitution. The test was based on criteria established by the KACC 
and NSIS. Results were not made public, and it was unclear whether any 
action was taken to remove unfit officers.
    In September the government passed legislation to establish a 
National Police Services Commission under the authority of an inspector 
general of police. In October a seven-member panel began the process of 
selecting commission members, who then were to select a police 
inspector general and two deputy inspectors general.
    There were numerous instances in which police failed to prevent 
societal violence. For example, on July 13, police failed to prevent a 
mob from killing a man who attempted to hijack a bus.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides police with broad powers of arrest. Police may make arrests 
without a warrant if they suspect a crime occurred, is happening, or is 
imminent. Detainees in noncapital cases must be brought before a judge 
within 24 hours (or up to 72 hours if the arrest occurs on a weekend), 
and detainees in capital cases must be brought before a judge within 14 
days. Nevertheless, authorities frequently did not respect these 
rights. The courts dealt with this shortcoming by considering whether 
the extent of the denial of constitutional rights of the accused 
warranted dismissal of pending charges. In many cases accused persons, 
including some charged with murder, were released because they had been 
held longer than the prescribed period.
    Although the law provides pretrial detainees with the right of 
access to family members and attorneys, family members of detainees 
frequently complained that access was permitted only on payment of 
bribes. When detainees could afford counsel, police generally permitted 
access to attorneys, but often refused such access otherwise. There is 
a functioning bail system, although many suspects remained in jail for 
months pending trial because of their inability to post bail. 
Individuals charged with offenses that were deemed serious and with 
capital offenses are not eligible for bail pending trial.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--During the year police in Eastleigh routinely 
targeted Somali youths, threatening to send them to jail or refugee 
camps if they did not pay a bribe. Since few could afford even a modest 
bribe, many were arrested and remained in jail unless family or friends 
raised the bribe money demanded by police.
    Muslim leaders claimed that police indiscriminately arrested 
Muslims on suspicion of terrorism and that some suspects subsequently 
disappeared. Police denied the allegations.
    In September Ugandan prosecutors dropped murder and terrorism 
charges against Kenyan human rights activist Al-Amin Kimathi and 
released him from custody. In September of the previous year, the 
Ugandan government arrested and detained Kimathi and Kenyan attorney 
Mbuga Mureithi in connection with the July 2010 Kampala bombings. 
Kimathi and Mureithi had travelled to Uganda to visit Kenyans who were 
in jail after being extradited to Uganda by the Kenyan government in 
connection with the bombings. Authorities detained Kimathi in Uganda 
for more than a year; they released Mureihi without charge a few days 
after his arrest and deported him back to Kenya. Kimathi claimed that 
the Kenyan government colluded with the government of Uganda to detain 
him in Uganda without due cause. Some Muslims claimed that the arrests 
were motivated by Kimathi and Mureithi's religion and intended to 
intimidate Muslims.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention continued to be a 
serious problem and contributed to overcrowding in prisons. 
Approximately 36 percent of inmates were pretrial detainees. The 
government claimed that the average time spent in pretrial detention on 
capital charges was 16 months; however, there were reports that many 
detainees spent two to three years in prison before their trials were 
completed. Police from the arresting location are responsible for 
serving court summonses and picking up detainees from the prison each 
time a court schedules a hearing on a case. Due to a shortage of 
manpower and resources, however, police often failed to appear or 
lacked the means to transport detainees, who then were forced to await 
the next hearing of their cases. According to the judiciary, 
approximately 800,000 pretrial detainees were awaiting trial, including 
both civil and criminal cases.

    Amnesty.--The president released petty offenders periodically, with 
the largest amnesty occurring on December 12, Independence Day. During 
the year the president pardoned approximately 7,000 persons. In August, 
158 inmates were released from a Mombasa prison under the auspices of a 
court commutation of sentences to community service. In October the 
chief justice ordered the release of an additional 270 inmates 
throughout the country.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, the executive branch sometimes 
exercised political influence over the judiciary. The judiciary was 
corrupt at all levels.
    The president historically had extensive powers over appointments, 
including the positions of attorney general, chief justice, and 
appellate and high court judges. However, the new constitution provides 
that key appointments, including those of chief justice and attorney 
general, require the approval of parliament. The Judicial Services 
Commission is responsible for making recommendations for the 
appointment of judges.
    The constitution provides for Kadhi's courts and states that the 
``jurisdiction of a Kadhi's court shall be limited to questions of 
Muslim law relating to personal status, marriage, divorce, or 
inheritance in proceedings in which all the parties profess the Muslim 
religion and submit to the jurisdiction of the Kadhi's court.'' There 
were no other traditional courts. The national courts used the 
traditional law of an ethnic group as a guide in personal matters, as 
long as it did not conflict with statutory law. Use of traditional law 
occurred most often in cases of marriage, death, and inheritance in 
which there was an original contract based on traditional law. Citizens 
may choose between national and traditional law when they enter into 
marriage or other contracts; however, the courts determine which kind 
of law governs the enforcement of the contract. Some women's 
organizations sought to eliminate traditional law, which often favored 
men.
    The government occasionally used the legal system to harass 
critics. Local authorities continued to prosecute a 2008 case against a 
physician who helped document allegations of human rights abuses in the 
Mount Elgon region.

    Trial Procedures.--Civilians are tried publicly, although some 
testimony may be given in closed session. The law provides for a 
presumption of innocence, and defendants have the right to attend their 
trials, confront witnesses, and present witnesses and evidence in their 
defense. A defendant's right to consult with an attorney in a timely 
manner generally was respected. However, the vast majority of 
defendants could not afford representation and were tried without legal 
counsel. Indigent defendants do not have the right to government-
provided legal counsel except in capital cases. The lack of a formal 
legal aid system seriously hampered the ability of many poor defendants 
to mount an adequate defense. Legal aid was available only in major 
cities where some human rights organizations, notably the Federation of 
Women Lawyers (FIDA), provided it.
    Discovery laws are not defined clearly, further handicapping 
defense lawyers. Implementation of the high court ruling that written 
statements be provided to the defense before trial was slow. Often 
defense lawyers did not have access to government-held evidence before 
a trial. The government sometimes invoked the Official Secrets Act as a 
basis for withholding evidence. Defendants can appeal a verdict to the 
High Court and ultimately to the Court of Appeals, and, for some 
matters, to the Supreme Court. The legal system does not provide for 
trial by jury; judges try all cases.
    In treason and murder cases, the deputy registrar of the High Court 
can appoint three assessors, who are lay citizens, to sit with a high 
court judge. Although assessors render verdicts, their judgments are 
not binding, and the practice was being phased out. Defendants' lawyers 
can object to the appointment of particular assessors. A shortage of 
appropriate assessors frequently led to long delays in hearing cases.
    The police practice of requiring an exam and testimony by the 
country's single police physician in cases of victims of sexual assault 
resulted in substantial barriers to the investigation and prosecution 
of such cases (see section 6, Women).

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The KNCHR attempted to 
assert some of the powers of a court, issuing summonses, ordering the 
release of prisoners or detainees, requiring payment of compensation, 
or providing other legal remedies; however, the government continued to 
ignore such summonses and orders. The police routinely refused to 
release suspects when ordered to do so by the KNCHR. In 2009 the 
attorney general filed a brief with the High Court arguing that the 
KNCHR should be stripped of judicial powers. While the court had not 
issued a final ruling by year's end, it issued an injunction barring 
the KNCHR from convening investigatory panels with court powers. As a 
result the KNCHR had no effective means to investigate cases of police 
and judicial misconduct. The new constitution provides that the KNCHR 
be succeeded by a new entity, the Kenya National Human Rights and 
Equality Commission (KNHREC). The authority and powers of the KNHREC 
remained undefined at year's end.
    The civil court system can be used to seek damages for victims of 
human rights violations, but in practice corruption, political 
influence over the civil court system, and chronic backlogs of cases 
limited access by victims to this remedy.
    Widespread corruption existed at all levels of the civil legal 
system. Bribes, extortion, and political considerations influenced the 
outcomes in large numbers of civil cases.
    Court fees for filing and hearing civil cases effectively barred 
many citizens from gaining access to the courts.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, except 
``to promote public benefit''; however, authorities sometimes infringed 
on citizens' privacy rights. The law permits police to enter a home 
without a search warrant if the time required to obtain a warrant would 
prejudice an investigation. Although security officers generally 
obtained search warrants, they occasionally conducted searches without 
warrants to apprehend suspected criminals or to seize property believed 
stolen.
    During the year police raided dozens of homes in the Nairobi slums 
in search of suspected members of the banned Mungiki criminal 
organization.
    City council officers and police officers also frequently raided, 
evicted, or destroyed the homes and businesses of citizens in slums or 
other areas where residents did not hold proper legal title. Residents 
complained that these actions often were intended to extort bribes.
    In 2009 the government evicted more than 2,000 residents in the Mau 
Forest from their homes. Evictees alleged that security forces 
destroyed property and that the government failed to provide adequate 
emergency shelter or promised compensation. Residents holding title 
deeds are entitled to compensation. By year's end many Mau Forest 
evictees had not been resettled and still were living in extremely poor 
conditions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, but 
the government sometimes restricted these rights.

    Freedom of Speech.--The government occasionally interpreted laws in 
such a way as to restrict freedom of expression. The government 
monitored many types of civil society meetings, and individuals were 
not always allowed to criticize the government publicly without 
reprisal. The Ministry of Education, for example, intimidated reporters 
and potential whistleblowers during the year to quash allegations of 
missing, and likely stolen, funds allocated for free primary education.

    Freedom of Press.--The mainstream print media generally remained 
independent despite attempts at intimidation by officials and security 
forces. The mainstream print media included four daily newspapers, one 
business-focused daily newspaper, and numerous regional weekly 
newspapers with national distribution. There also were numerous 
independent tabloid periodicals that appeared irregularly and were 
highly critical of the government.
    The government occasionally interpreted laws to restrict press 
freedom, and officials regularly accused the media of being 
irresponsible and disseminating misinformation. There were also reports 
that politicians paid journalists to avoid negative coverage or to 
plant negative coverage of a political opponent.
    Of the several television stations operating in Nairobi, the 
government-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) was the only 
station with a national network of broadcast and cable television, AM 
and FM radio, and shortwave transmission. Although KBC coverage 
generally was viewed as balanced, its monopoly on national broadcasting 
limited the ability of critics of the government to communicate with 
the electorate. The disadvantage to government critics posed by the KBC 
monopoly on national broadcasting was particularly pronounced in the 
period prior to the 2007 general elections.

    Violence and Harassment.--Security forces harassed members of the 
media. For example, in June four state employees working for Wajir 
District Hospital attacked Wajir Community Radio journalist Abdi Hassan 
Hussein for interviewing patients who complained of poor treatment at 
the facility.
    On August 7, prison guards at Eldoret GK Prison attacked three 
journalists from the private broadcaster Nation Television (NTV). The 
journalists were covering an escape attempt by six inmates. One of the 
guards shot at cameraman James Ng'ang'a, destroying his camera 
equipment and injuring two of his fingers. Ng'ang'a was filming prison 
guards beating NTV reporters Jared Nyataya and Barnabas Bii. The 
reporters were covering attempts to recapture the escaped inmates, who 
had hidden in a nearby church. The attack occurred despite orders from 
a senior prison officer to allow the journalists to carry out their 
work. Authorities did not conduct any investigation into the incident 
by year's end.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Government harassment of 
journalists resulted in self-censorship, particularly with respect to 
stories associated with corruption, drug trafficking, and crime in 
which government officials applied pressure to protect implicated 
individuals.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The government cited national or 
public security as grounds to suppress views that were politically 
embarrassing. According to the Kenya National Dialogue and 
Reconciliation Monitoring Project, government officials often 
intimidated journalists reporting on the security sector and requested 
that they reveal sources. During the year, for example, the government 
asserted national security as a basis to pressure journalists reporting 
on alleged corruption at the Port of Mombasa. Also, editors at the Star 
newspaper were reportedly harassed by officials of the Anti-Terrorism 
Unit after the newspaper reported on problems with the unit's terrorism 
investigations. No formal charges were pursued by the government.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
    In 2009 the government announced that all cell phone users had to 
provide the government with their name and identification number for 
each line owned. This announcement also affected citizens who accessed 
the Internet through cell-phone-based modems, potentially enabling the 
government to monitor Internet use.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
    Unlike in previous years, no publications were known to be banned 
by the government.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of 
assembly, the government sometimes restricted this right in practice. 
Organizers must notify local police in advance of public meetings, 
which may proceed unless police notify organizers that the meeting is 
prohibited. According to the law, authorities may prohibit such 
gatherings only if there are simultaneous meetings previously scheduled 
for the same venue or if there is a perceived, specific security 
threat. In the past, however, police routinely denied requests for 
meetings filed by human rights activists and dispersed meetings for 
which no prohibition had been issued. Civil society groups noted that 
when they tried to comply with the licensing policy, police often 
refused to issue permits in a timely manner.
    Police forcibly dispersed demonstrators. For example, in October 
the Standard newspaper reported that administrative police attacked 
more than 100 protesters peacefully demonstrating against insecurity in 
the Longonot area of the Rift Valley, and numerous persons were 
injured. Authorities reportedly dismissed one of the officers who was 
caught on camera beating an elderly woman into unconsciousness.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right. The Societies Act requires that every association be registered 
or exempted from registration by the registrar of societies.
    The 2002 ban on membership in the Mungiki criminal organization 
remained in effect. The Mungiki espoused political views and cultural 
practices that were controversial in mainstream society. The government 
declared the group a criminal organization in 2002 because it ran 
protection rackets, particularly in the public transportation sector, 
and harassed and intimidated residents. The Mungiki had a significant 
following among the poor and unemployed. Other prohibited criminal 
organizations with political or cultural trappings included the 
Kamjesh, Chinkororo, Baghdad Boys, Jeshi la Embakasi, Jeshi la Mzee, 
Amachuma, Sungu Sungu, the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), and a 
local group called ``the Taliban.''
    In October the General Services Unit, administrative police, and 
regular police officers raided MRC oath-taking and ritual ceremonies, 
arresting 18 MRC members. Observers noted that raids against the MRC, 
which advocates for secession of Coast Province, were motivated by 
political as well as law enforcement reasons.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights. The 
government generally cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, returning 
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of 
concern.

    In-country Movement.--Police routinely stopped vehicles throughout 
the country and often solicited bribes. Police frequently required 
ethnic Somalis to provide additional identification.

    Foreign Travel.--Civil servants and members of parliament must 
obtain government permission for international travel, which generally 
was granted.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--A large number of IDPs still 
had not returned home after being displaced in previous years. 
According to the Kenya Human Rights Commission, approximately 50,000 
IDPs displaced due to ethnic and election-related violence in the 1990s 
had not returned home due to fear of renewed violence. Between 200,000 
and 250,000 of the 350,000 persons who fled their homes in Rift Valley 
Province, Central Province, Nairobi, and other sections of the country 
as a result of 2008 postelection interethnic violence also had not 
returned home, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring 
Center. The government's eviction and destruction of homes in low 
income areas during the year resulted in hundreds of additional IDPs. 
For example, in October the Kenyan Airport Authority ordered the 
bulldozing of homes adjacent to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in 
Nairobi, displacing approximately 500 residents. Flash floods and land 
disputes during the year also resulted in more IDPs. IDPs were 
concentrated in informal settlements and camps, with many of those 
dislocated as the result of 2008 postelection violence concentrated in 
the Eldoret and Naivasha areas. Living conditions in such settlements 
and camps were poor with rudimentary housing and little public 
infrastructure or service.
    Rapes allegedly perpetrated by IDPs, local residents, and sometimes 
by police personnel occurred in IDP camps.
    In September U.N. Special Rapporteur Chaloka Beyani commended the 
government for developing a draft IDP policy and for the return and 
resettlement of some IDPs affected by postelection violence. Beyani 
urged the government to adopt the IDP policy and address the ``dire'' 
living conditions and human rights of IDPs, including persons displaced 
by the 2007-08 postelection violence and those displaced by natural 
disasters and environmental conservation projects.
    The government continued to pressure IDPs to return to their homes. 
In 2008 the representative of the U.N. secretary-general for the human 
rights of IDPs visited the country and concluded that some returns were 
not voluntary or based on informed choices. In a 2008 report the KNCHR 
found that the government had used intimidation and force to remove 
IDPs from camps and had failed to provide housing, food, and clean 
water to resettled camp residents. The KNCHR also found that resettled 
residents were exposed to sexual violence and harassment.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status for those claiming asylum, and 
the government coordinated with the UNHCR to provide assistance and 
protection to refugees. Drought, famine, and conflict in Somalia, 
however, resulted in a massive influx of refugees into the country 
during the year. The refugee influx and security threats emanating from 
Somalia, particularly those associated with the Dadaab refugee camps, 
severely strained the government's ability to provide security, which 
impeded the efforts of the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations 
to assist and protect refugees and asylum seekers.
    Although the border with Somalia remained officially closed 
throughout the year, the monthly rate of Somali new arrivals into Kenya 
peaked at approximately 37,000 in August. As of late November, the 
UNHCR registered more than 176,000 new refugees, 154,000 of whom 
settled in the Dadaab refugee camps. The UNHCR estimated the total 
number of refugees in the country at more than 600,000, including more 
than 463,000 at Dadaab, more than 84,000 at the Kakuma refugee camp, 
and more than 53,000 in urban areas throughout the country, including 
Nairobi.
    For several months the government allowed the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) to transport refugees from the border 
town of Liboi to Dadaab, which helped to prevent extortion and attacks 
on refugees. On October 17, however, the government reiterated that the 
border was closed, tightened enforcement measures, stopped registering 
new refugees at Dadaab, and ordered the IOM to stop transporting 
refugees from the border. The government's actions followed a series of 
security incidents and the commencement of the government's military 
incursion into Somalia.
    In accordance with the law, which provides for the government to 
assume responsibility from the UNHCR for the administration of refugee 
affairs, in March the Department of Refugee Affairs (DRA) assumed 
responsibility for registering asylum seekers in Dadaab, Kakuma, and 
Nairobi. The DRA expanded its registration activities to Malindi and 
Mombasa later in the year. A significant registration backlog developed 
in Dadaab, however, with the influx of refugees from Somalia. This 
backlog was eliminated by September, but the government suspended all 
registration activities in October. Unrelated to the registration 
backlog in Dadaab, in Kakuma there remained a significant backlog in 
refugee status determination for all nationalities except Sudanese. The 
government recognizes Somalis from south and central Somalia as 
refugees on a prima facie basis and therefore does not require a 
refugee status determination.
    During the year the government announced a mass distribution of 
refugee identification cards but did not complete the distribution by 
year's end. The government planned to take responsibility for refugee 
status determination from the UNHCR as well, although it had not done 
so by year's end.
    During the year the government permitted the opening of two 
additional camps in the Dadaab area, bringing to five the number of 
camps comprising the refugee complex. Despite the additional 
facilities, overcrowding remained a problem. The government did not 
open the Liboi registration center for Somali asylum seekers, despite 
multiple promises to the contrary. Although the government allowed both 
the Ifo 2 and Kambioos camps to receive refugees, it refused to provide 
official recognition and support to the Kambioos facility. The UNHCR 
moved refugees from the outskirts of the existing camps to plots in the 
new camps. This process stopped in late October, following security 
incidents. Cholera, meningitis, and measles outbreaks were reported in 
Dadaab. Malnutrition rates in the camps increased during the year due 
to the arrival of famine-affected refugees.
    Despite government policy that all refugees must reside in camps, 
12,501 newly arriving refugees were registered in Nairobi during the 
year, bringing the officially registered Nairobi refugee population to 
slightly more than 53,000 persons. Urban refugees remained vulnerable 
populations. While assistance programs for urban refugees increased 
during the year, there remained little possibility for local 
integration.

    Nonrefoulement.--Unlike in the previous year, there were no 
confirmed reports of refoulement; in 2010 HRW reported that hundreds of 
Somali asylum seekers were deported back to Somalia. However, in 
January the government ordered NGOs to cease services to Somalis who 
fled to Mandera, in order to create conditions more conducive for them 
to return home.

    Refugee Abuse.--On June 30, police shot and killed two refugees and 
injured numerous others while using live ammunition to quell a riot in 
the Dagahaley refugee camp, one of the camps in the Dadaab complex. The 
refugees were gathered to protest an attempt to demolish illegal 
structures around a food distribution point, according to the UNHCR.
    Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) remained problems at both 
the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps. Reported incidents included 
domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, physical assault, 
psychological abuse, and forced marriage, particularly of young 
Sudanese and Somali girls. Refugee communities sometimes targeted 
opponents of FGM. Health and social workers in Kakuma refugee camp 
reported that due to strong rape awareness programs in the camp, 
victims increasingly reported such incidents, resulting in improved 
access to counseling. In Dadaab, however, the government's limited 
ability and UNHCR's restricted access and limited ability to provide 
refugee services or protection resulted in numerous SGBV cases and the 
underreporting of crimes and abuse. Between January and November, for 
example, 361 SGBV incidents were reported in Dadaab and 114 in Nairobi. 
Between January and August, 217 SGBV incidents were reported in Kakuma.
    Mobile court judiciary officials associated with the camps 
reportedly directed imams not to officiate weddings of girls under the 
age of 18 in an effort to reduce the occurrence of coerced, underage 
marriages.
    Other security problems in refugee camps included banditry, ethnic-
based violence, and the harassment of Muslim converts to Christianity.
    In April the UNHCR and the government signed a memorandum of 
understanding to reinforce security in Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps 
by increasing police, procuring additional equipment for police, and 
establishing a screening center at Liboi. In November, 92 officers (of 
200 requested) were deployed to Dadaab to reinforce the 349 officers 
already there.
    Mobile courts continued to serve the camp populations and were 
instrumental in curbing crime and violence when cases were reported; 
however, most crimes went unreported. In September the magistrate with 
jurisdiction over Dadaab reported that despite the massive influx of 
refugees, there was no corresponding increase in new cases reported to 
the mobile courts.
    Refugees' freedom of movement remained severely restricted. The 
government required all refugees to remain at UNHCR camps unless 
granted permission by the government to attend higher education 
institutions, receive specialized medical care outside the camp, or 
leave to avoid security threats. In September the government reported 
that 70 percent of refugees who were granted movement passes did not 
return to the camps.
    Numerous refugees were arrested for violating movement 
restrictions. According to the UNHCR, between January and November, 
1,453 refugees from Dadaab were detained for unauthorized movement 
outside the camp; of those, 330 were minors who were handed over to the 
UNHCR. In Kakuma, during the same period, 148 persons were detained, of 
whom only seven were registered refugees. In Nairobi, also between 
January and November, 464 individuals were detained for movement 
violations; half of whom turned out to be asylum seekers, including 
numerous Ethiopian nationals transiting Kenya. Asylum seekers were 
generally released to either the DRA or UNHCR for registration.

    Stateless Persons.--According to the UNHCR, approximately 20,000 
stateless Sudanese Nubians, reportedly the descendants of Sudanese 
forcibly conscripted by the British in the early 1900s, lived in the 
country. Sudanese Nubians were not granted citizenship or 
identification documents, despite the UNHCR's conclusion that the 
Nubians qualified for citizenship under the prevailing nationality law. 
In 2003 the Nubians sought judicial relief from the Constitutional 
Court to be declared citizens by birth. Citizenship is determined by 
parentage, but the law also provides citizenship for Africans brought 
to the country by colonial authorities. In 2005 the Nubians filed a 
memorandum of admissibility with the African Commission on Human and 
Peoples' Rights under the African Charter on Human Rights. In 2007 the 
commission heard arguments on the admissibility of the case. The 
government presented its arguments and filed a brief on the merits of 
the case. No further information on the case was available at year's 
end.
    According to the UNHCR, an unknown number of descendants of mixed 
Eritrean-Ethiopian marriages also were stateless. They were unable to 
obtain citizenship in either of those countries due to strong 
nationalist prejudices. Their lack of proper documentation resulted in 
difficulties in finding employment.
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 through free and fair multiparty elections, and in 2007 
citizens exercised this right through generally free and fair local and 
legislative elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. However, 
the manner in which the 2007 presidential election results were tallied 
raised serious doubts as to whether this right was respected at the 
presidential level.
    In a peaceful August 2010 referendum, 67 percent of voters approved 
a new constitution, which provides for a bill of rights and reforms the 
electoral system, administration of land, and judiciary. The new 
constitution provides parliamentary representation for women, youth, 
persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and marginalized 
communities. Implementation of constitutional reforms continued during 
the year, although full implementation was expected to take years.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2007 
the country held local, parliamentary, and presidential elections. 
Observers judged the parliamentary and local elections to be generally 
free and fair. In the presidential election, incumbent Mwai Kibaki was 
proclaimed the winner by a narrow margin under controversial 
circumstances. Serious irregularities undermined the integrity of the 
presidential election results. Raila Odinga, the main opposition 
candidate, disputed the results, and violence erupted in sections of 
Nairobi and opposition strongholds in Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western, and 
Coast provinces. Approximately 1,150 persons were killed and more than 
350,000 displaced between December 2007 and February 2008.
    A mixed Kenyan-international commission appointed in 2008 to 
evaluate the elections found that the results were ``irretrievably 
polluted.'' The commission also reported that the election results, and 
especially the presidential election results, lacked integrity. While 
nearly 14.3 million citizens registered to vote, an independent review 
commission concluded that voter rolls contained the names of 
approximately 1.3 million deceased persons.
    Voting and counting at polling stations for the 2007 elections 
generally were conducted in accordance with democratic standards, 
although there were irregularities in both opposition and progovernment 
strongholds. International observers concluded that tallying 
irregularities by the Election Commission of Kenya (ECK) in Nairobi 
undermined the credibility of the ECK.
    During the campaign there were instances of violence between 
supporters of rival parties, especially among progovernment parties. 
Although the government required parties to register prior to political 
rallies, the government generally did not interfere with party campaign 
activities. Text messages, pamphlets, and Web logs sometimes were used 
to disseminate hate speech that was banned under the election code of 
conduct. The KNCHR and other civil society organizations accused the 
government of misusing state resources by providing transport and 
funding rallies and election materials for some candidates in the 
election campaign. In accordance with the National Accord, the ECK was 
abolished in 2008 and replaced in 2009 by the Interim Independent 
Electoral Commission (IIEC). In 2009 the IIEC conducted two 
parliamentary by-elections, which international observers deemed free 
and fair, although there were problems with the voter registry and 
bribery of voters.
    During the year several by-elections were held, all of which were 
peaceful and undisputed.

    Political Parties.--There were numerous political parties. In the 
2007 elections, 117 parties with 15,332 candidates competed in local 
elections; 138 parties with 2,548 candidates competed in parliamentary 
elections; and nine parties nominated presidential candidates. The 
Political Parties Act, which came into effect in November 2010, sets 
stringent conditions for political parties but does not discriminate 
against any particular party.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women's participation in 
electoral politics remained low; however, a record number of female 
candidates ran for parliament and local office in 2007, despite 
harassment and attacks. Women constituted 10 percent of all 
parliamentary candidates.
    The new constitution provides for the representation in parliament 
of ethnic minorities; however, implementation posed hazards. The 
political system was characterized by alliances and hardened divisions 
among ethnic groups and subgroups. A political gain by one group was 
often perceived as a loss by other ethnic groups and, as evidenced by 
the postelection violence in 2007 and 2008, could trigger violence.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not implement these laws effectively, and 
officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Since 
President Kibaki assumed office in 2002, despite numerous scandals, no 
top officials have been prosecuted successfully for corruption. The 
World Bank's 2010 Worldwide Governance Indicators indicated that 
corruption was a severe problem.
    In September President Kibaki signed into law the Ethics and Anti-
Corruption Commission Act, which replaced the KACC with the Ethics and 
Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). The new law expands the mandate of 
the EACC from investigation of corruption to developing and enforcing a 
code of ethics for public officials. Both the KACC and the EACC 
attracted significant public attention to corruption issues, but 
without complementary actions to punish perpetrators. Critics charged 
that despite significant financial support from the government, the 
KACC accomplished little and sometimes was used by the government to 
harass critics. By contrast, other observers believed the KACC was 
replaced by the EACC (and its director Patrick Lumumba abruptly 
dismissed) because the KACC was too aggressive in its investigations of 
high-level corruption. Like the KACC, the EACC lacked prosecutorial 
authority, which remained with the director of public prosecutions, 
whose office became independent of the Office of the Attorney General 
as a result of the new law. At year's end the EACC had not finalized 
recruitment of its senior leadership, effectively halting ongoing 
investigations by its staff.
    Between July 2010 and June 30, the KACC recommended 113 cases for 
prosecution to the attorney general, who accepted the recommendation in 
95 of these cases. Most of these cases involved mid- or low-level 
officials, reinforcing the notion that corruption at the highest levels 
went unchecked. Of 7,106 reports of alleged corruption reviewed by the 
KACC, 1 percent involved ministers or assistant ministers, and 6 
percent involved senior officials such as permanent secretaries.
    Widespread corruption existed at all levels of the legal system. 
Bribes, extortion, and political considerations influenced the outcomes 
in large numbers of civil cases.
    Although police corruption was endemic, authorities rarely arrested 
and prosecuted officers for corruption or criminal activities. During 
the year the KACC investigated police officers suspected of accepting 
bribes, benefiting from fraudulent expense reports at a training 
college, and participating in multiple irregular land acquisitions. 
There were no reported arrests by year's end. The KACC participated in 
a vetting panel for police officers in July. It was unclear whether the 
new EACC would continue to play a role in monitoring recruitment and 
supervision of police officers.
    In July the auditor general reported that approximately seven 
billion shillings ($82 million) was unaccounted for in government 
ministries. The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation topped the 
list, with nearly 3.7 billion shillings ($43 million) in unsupported 
expenditures. The Mars Group Kenya, a local anticorruption NGO, joined 
the KACC during the year to assist in the investigation of revenue 
leakages.
    In September prosecutors charged eight persons--including the son-
in-law of Charity Ngilu, the minister of water and irrigation, and the 
husband of Cecily Mbarire, the assistant minister of tourism--with 
embezzling 26 million shillings ($300,000) from the Ministry of Water 
and Irrigation through irregular procurement practices.
    An internal forensic audit of the Ministry of Education during the 
year indicated that it had misappropriated 4.2 billion shillings ($46 
million), including some donor funds meant for the country's free 
primary education program. The KACC completed investigations into 
embezzlement and irregular disbursements by several ministry officials, 
including former permanent secretary Karega Mutahi. In July the Police 
Criminal Investigation Department launched an investigation, although 
no charges had been announced by year's end.
    There were ongoing corruption investigations at the ministries of 
Roads, Energy, Immigration, Sports and Youth Affairs, Special Programs, 
Land, and the Constituency Development Funds.
    There were developments in corruption cases from previous years.
    In April the Parliamentary Committee on Lands and Natural Resources 
exonerated Minister Ngilu of allegations of corruption and nepotism 
leveled by a former assistant minister.
    In August William Ruto, a former minister of higher education, was 
cleared of charges when many of the prosecution's witnesses failed to 
appear. The KACC continued to investigate the acquisition of land for a 
Kenyan embassy in Tokyo and cooperated with the Japanese government to 
collect documentary evidence.
    The new constitution provides citizens with access to information 
held by the state and requires the state to publish and publicize 
important information affecting the nation, and the government took 
steps to implement those provisions during the year. In June the 
government launched Kenya Open Data, a Web site containing selected 
data from the national census and on government expenditures, 
parliamentary proceedings, and public service locations. The government 
spokesman's briefings were televised, and parliamentary debates were 
broadcast live on television and radio. Nevertheless, important reports 
regarding major corruption scandals from the last decade were not 
released to the public, and it was unclear how the public would be 
included in the process of crafting the national budget, as required by 
the new constitution.
    There is no freedom of information law, but some government 
information was available on the Internet.
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. With the exception of 
the police, government officials were usually cooperative and 
responsive to the queries of these groups; however, the government 
generally ignored the recommendations of the U.N., other international 
bodies, and NGOs if such recommendations were contrary to government 
policies. There were reports that officials intimidated NGOs and 
threatened to disrupt their activities, and that provincial 
administrators and security forces interfered with less-established 
NGOs, particularly in rural areas. Human rights activists claimed that 
security agencies conducted surveillance of their activities.
    Approximately 15 domestic organizations advocated for human rights 
in the country, 14 of which were independent of the government. The 
Kenya Human Rights Commission and IMLU produced reports cataloguing 
human rights abuses.
    Several NGOs maintained comprehensive files on local human rights 
abuses. A number of attorneys represented human rights advocates 
without compensation, although they were concentrated in urban areas 
and could handle the cases of only a small percentage of those who 
needed assistance. The government sometimes allowed human rights 
organizations to witness autopsies of persons who died in police 
custody. The government also permitted NGOs to provide paralegal 
services to prisoners. The KNCHR noted that reports of human rights 
abuses decreased in prisons with resident paralegals.
    In May Ken Wafula, a human rights activist and director of the 
Center for Human Rights and Democracy, was released from custody for 
lack of evidence. Wafula had been charged with disobedience and 
publishing inciting materials for his 2009 reporting on the clandestine 
arming of communities in the Rift Valley with the support of government 
officials.
    Human rights workers were abducted during the year. For example, in 
September a Kenyan driver for the NGO CARE was abducted from the 
outskirts of the Hagadera camp and taken to Somalia, where he remained 
in custody at year's end.
    According to the 2011 Annual Report of the Observatory for the 
Protection of Human Rights Defenders, since December 2010 at least five 
human rights defenders who assisted with the ICC investigation into 
postelection violence were forced to relocate after being threatened. A 
sixth received anonymous telephone threats during the year. The 
observatory added that the offices of human rights organizations that 
provided information to assist with the ICC investigation were 
vandalized. In some cases computers and hard drives were stolen. 
Starting from mid-2010, human rights defenders working on other human 
rights issues also were targeted and accused of working for the ICC, 
even if it was not the case.
    Information surfaced during the year that in April 2010 four 
persons in civilian clothes arrested Kenneth Kirimi Mbae, a member of 
the civil society organization Bunge la Mwananchi and local NGO Release 
Political Prisoners (RPP). Until his release four days later, Mbae was 
detained in an isolated house in Narok District, where he was 
interrogated and beaten. The perpetrators also threatened sexual 
violence against Mbae's wife. Mbae, whose injuries required medical 
treatment, was interrogated about extrajudicial killings, RPP 
activities with regard to Mount Elgon military operations, and the 
sharing of information in 2009 with the U.N. special rapporteur (see 
section 1.a.).
    According to a separate report received during the year, in April 
2010 George Nyongesa, a community organizer who worked for Bunge la 
Mwananchi's Web site, received an anonymous telephone call threatening 
to silence him if he did not close the Web site. Lawrence Maina, Web 
site manager of the organization, received two similar phone calls.
    In another report made available during the year, police in May 
2010 dispersed approximately 200 persons attending a Bunge la Mwananchi 
meeting being held in the Jeevanjee Garden in Nairobi. Four 
participants were arrested but released without charge after arriving 
at the police station.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government permitted 
visits by representatives of the U.N. and other international 
organizations in connection with the investigation of abuses or 
monitoring of human rights problems in the country.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The KNCHR, which also produced 
reports cataloguing human rights abuses, has in the past asserted 
certain juridical powers by issuing summonses, ordering the release of 
prisoners, and requiring compensation for human rights abuses. However, 
the government routinely ignored the KNCHR's summonses and orders (see 
section 1.e.).
    The Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission, established in 
2009 to investigate politically and ethnically motivated human rights 
abuses since independence, collected statements and held public 
hearings across the country during the year (see section 1.c.).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, 
color, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, 
language or birth. Government authorities did not enforce effectively 
many of these provisions, and discrimination against women, lesbian, 
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, individuals with HIV/
AIDS, persons with disabilities, ethnic groups, and persons suspected 
of witchcraft was a problem. There was also evidence that some 
government and opposition officials tolerated, and in some instances 
instigated, ethnic violence. The law criminalizes homosexual activity.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
defilement, and sex tourism; however, implementation remained limited, 
and as many as 95 percent of sexual offenses were not reported to the 
police. The law does not specifically prohibit spousal rape.
    The law provides a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for rape, 
although sentences usually were no longer than the minimum of 10 years. 
NGO activists complained that a provision in the law that criminalizes 
false claims of sexual assault deterred the reporting of sexual 
offenses.
    Police statistics for 2010 indicated 3,200 cases of gender-based 
violence, including 785 rapes, up from 2,800 cases reported in 2008; 
statistics for 2009 were unavailable. Human rights groups, however, 
estimated that the actual number of rapes and other cases of gender-
based violence was much higher. The rate of reporting and prosecution 
of rape remained low because of the police practice requiring that 
victims be examined by a police physician; cultural inhibitions against 
publicly discussing sex, particularly sexual violence; survivors' fear 
of retribution; police reluctance to intervene, especially in cases 
where family members, friends, or acquaintances were accused of 
committing the rape; poor training of prosecutors; and the 
unavailability of doctors who might provide the evidence necessary for 
conviction.
    National guidelines on the management of sexual violence--including 
the handling of forensic evidence, postrape care, and victim support--
were promulgated in 2009, but implementation mechanisms remained weak.
    Police procedures in handling cases of rape and sexual assault 
created substantial barriers to the investigation and prosecution of 
suspected perpetrators. In addition to requiring those who allegedly 
experienced sexual assault to be examined by a police physician prior 
to the initiation of an investigation, police prosecutors also required 
the same physician to testify during trial. However, there was only one 
police physician in Nairobi, and police physicians were generally not 
present in rural areas. The police physician in Nairobi frequently 
issued examination reports that conflicted with the findings of other 
medical professionals, was often unavailable to conduct exams, and 
frequently failed to appear in court. Police also lacked the facilities 
to preserve forensic evidence. As a result numerous alleged cases of 
sexual violence were not investigated by the police, and numerous cases 
were dismissed from court due to the absence of a police physician.
    The government did not investigate or prosecute reported incidents 
of widespread sexual violence following the disputed election in 2008.
    Domestic violence against women was widespread but often condoned 
by society and seldom addressed in the courts. The penal code does not 
contain specific provisions against domestic violence but treats it as 
assault. Police generally refrained from investigating cases of 
domestic violence, which they considered a private family matter. NGOs, 
including the Law Society of Kenya and FIDA, provided free legal 
assistance to some victims of domestic violence. In 2010 FIDA reported 
that 83 percent of women and girls in the country reported one or more 
episodes of physical abuse.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Certain communities commonly 
practiced wife inheritance, in which a man inherits the widow of his 
brother or other close relative, regardless of her wishes. Other forced 
marriages were also common. Although poor and uneducated women were 
more likely to be inherited, prominent and educated women sometimes 
were victims.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, 
sexual harassment continued to be a problem. It was often not reported 
and rarely resulted in charges being filed.

    Reproductive Rights.--Subsidized contraception options, including 
condoms, birth control pills, and long-acting or permanent methods, 
were widely available to both men and women throughout the country, 
although access was more difficult in rural areas. An estimated 30 
percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 used a modern method of 
contraception. Skilled obstetric, prenatal, and postpartum care was 
available in major hospitals, but many women were unable to access or 
afford these services. In 2009 an estimated 44 percent of births were 
attended by skilled health personnel. According to U.N. estimates, the 
maternal mortality ratio in 2009 was 488 deaths per 100,000 live 
births. Access to family planning and reproductive health services was 
impeded by sociocultural beliefs and practices, lack of female 
empowerment, lack of male involvement, poverty, and poor health 
management systems.
    The government and private organizations supported a network of 
more than 8,000 counseling and testing centers providing free HIV/AIDS 
diagnosis. Diagnosis of other sexually transmitted infections was 
available through hospitals and clinics throughout the country. HIV/
AIDS carried social stigma, and many citizens avoided testing due to 
social pressure.

    Discrimination.--The law provides equal rights to men and women and 
specifically prohibits discrimination on grounds of gender; however, 
women experienced a wide range of discrimination in matrimonial rights, 
property ownership, and inheritance rights. The average monthly income 
of women was approximately two-thirds that of men. Women held only 6 
percent of land titles. Under traditional law women in many ethnic 
groups could not own land. Women had difficulty moving into 
nontraditional fields, were promoted more slowly, and were more likely 
to be laid off. Societal discrimination was most apparent in rural 
areas. Women also faced discrimination in access to employment and to 
credit. The justice system--particularly customary law--often 
discriminated against women, limiting their political and economic 
rights and relegating them to second-class citizenship.
    The Law of Succession, which governs inheritance rights, provides 
for equal consideration of male and female children but terminates the 
inheritance rights of widows if they remarry. Moreover, a widow cannot 
be the sole administrator of her husband's estate unless she has her 
children's consent. Even prominent and educated women sometimes 
suffered from property and inheritance discrimination. The law also 
allows the Ministry of Justice to exempt certain communities from the 
law in deference to tradition, which in some cases provides for equal 
distribution of a man's property only among his sons.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is determined by the 
citizenship of the parents, and either parent may transmit citizenship. 
Births often were not registered in rural areas, where community elders 
rather than official entities were considered the legitimate 
authorities in family matters. Lack of official birth certificates 
resulted in discrimination in delivery of public services, such as 
education and health care.
    Citizens are required to obtain identity cards when they turn 18 
years of age. Identity cards are required to obtain public services and 
exercise voting rights. Since identity card applications require 
tracing lineage through male relatives, children born out of wedlock--
and children born of married mothers who retained their maiden names--
had difficulty obtaining identity cards unless they could provide the 
identity documents of a male relative.

    Education.--Education was free and compulsory through age 13. 
Secondary enrollment was limited to students who obtained high scores 
on standardized primary exams. Rural families were more reluctant to 
invest in educating girls than boys, particularly at higher levels. 
Between the ages of 12 and 14, girls generally dropped out of school at 
a higher rate than boys due to the lack of sanitary facilities at 
schools and the general family preference to focus limited resources on 
the education of sons. In 2008 UNICEF reported that nine of 10 children 
from poor households failed to complete primary education. In 2008 the 
Ministry of Education estimated that 80,000 children dropped out of 
school annually due to forced marriages and child labor. The government 
ordered provincial administrators to arrest parents who did not send 
their children to school. However, this law was not enforced uniformly.
    In 2008 the Center for the Study of Adolescence reported that 
between 10,000 and 13,000 girls dropped out of school annually due to 
pregnancy. While the law provides pregnant girls the right to continue 
their education until and after giving birth, NGOs reported that 
schools often did not respect this right and that schoolmasters 
sometimes expelled pregnant girls or transferred them to other schools.

    Child Abuse.--Violence against children, particularly in poor and 
rural communities, was a common occurrence, and child abuse, 
particularly sexual abuse, was a problem. Child rape and molestation 
continued to be serious problems. Police reported that 1,626 children 
were defiled (defined as a sexual act with a child involving 
penetration) in 2008. The law establishes a minimum sentence for 
defilement of life imprisonment if the child is less than 11 years old, 
20 years in prison if the child is between ages 11 and 16, and 10 years 
if the child is between ages 16 and 18. Newspapers contained frequent 
reports of molestation or rape of children by relatives, neighbors, 
teachers, police, and clergy. In 2006 the NGOs The CRADLE and Care 
Kenya reported an increase in child sexual abuse and a decrease in the 
age of the youngest victims. The most vulnerable victims were girls 
under age 18 and boys ages three to eight. Most child abusers were 
neighbors, fathers, and other relatives. Teachers were the most 
frequent perpetrators by profession, with pastors and police officers 
following closely.
    The Teachers Service Commission reported that more than 160 cases 
of sexual misconduct were filed against teachers across the country for 
a reporting period ending in 2011; however, cases prosecuted were 
considered a fraction of actual abuses. A report released in 2009 by 
the Teachers Service Commission found that 12,660 female students were 
sexually abused by teachers from 2003 to 2007.
    The government has banned corporal punishment in schools; however, 
there were reports that corporal punishment occurred throughout the 
year.

    Child Marriage.--Newspapers frequently highlighted the problem of 
child marriage, which was commonly practiced among some ethnic groups. 
According to UNICEF, 25 percent of young women were children when they 
married. The Marriage Act forbids marriage under the age of 16, but the 
Mohammedan Marriage and Divorce Act allows Muslim girls to marry at 
puberty. If a marriage is entered into under the provisions of the act, 
any court hearing matters related to the marriage applies the 
provisions of that act when deciding the case.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--In September the government passed 
a law making it illegal to practice FGM, procure the services of 
someone who practices FGM, or send a person out of the country to 
undergo the procedure. The new law also makes it illegal to make 
derogatory remarks about a woman who has not undergone FGM. Although 
the new law was praised by NGOs and others opposed to FGM, FGM was 
practiced widely, particularly in rural areas. FGM usually was 
performed at an early age. According to UNICEF, one-third of women and 
girls between the ages of 15 and 49 had undergone FGM. Of the country's 
42 ethnic groups, only four (the Luo, Luhya, Teso, and Turkana, who 
together constituted approximately 25 percent of the population) did 
not traditionally practice FGM. In 2008 the Ministry of Gender and 
Children's Affairs reported that 90 percent of girls among Somali, 
Kisii, Kuria, and Maasai communities had undergone the procedure. The 
rates among other communities were: Taita Taveta (62 percent); Kalenjin 
(48 percent); Embu (44 percent); Meru (42 percent); Kamba (37 percent); 
and Kikuyu (34 percent). Government officials often participated in 
public awareness programs to prevent the practice.
    Some churches and NGOs provided shelter to girls who fled their 
homes to avoid FGM, but community elders frequently interfered with 
attempts to stop the practice. Various communities and NGOs instituted 
``no cut'' initiation rites for girls as an alternative to FGM.
    Media reports indicated that discrimination against uncircumcised 
boys continued.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The penal code prohibits 
procurement of a girl under age 21 for unlawful sexual relations and 
criminalizes child commercial sexual exploitation, child labor, and the 
transport of children for sale. Nevertheless, children were subject to 
sexual exploitation and were victims of trafficking.
    The Ministry of Gender, Children's Affairs, and Social Development 
and the NGO Eradicate Child Prostitution in Kenya estimated that 30,000 
children were exploited in the sex industry every day. Prostitution 
sometimes was initiated by parents.
    Child prostitution has increased in recent years due to poverty and 
the increase in the number of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Strong 
growth in the tourism industry also led to a large increase in foreign 
and domestic tourists seeking sex with underage girls and boys. 
Political leaders expressed concern that minors in drought-affected 
communities were leaving school and being lured to prostitution to 
address their basic needs. Child prostitution was prevalent in Nairobi, 
Kisumu, Eldoret, Nyeri, and the coastal areas. UNICEF estimated that 
between 10,000 and 15,000 girls were engaged in prostitution in the 
coastal areas alone. UNICEF, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, the 
World Tourism Organization, and NGOs continued to work with the Kenya 
Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers, a representative body of 
hotels and tour operators, to increase their awareness of child 
prostitution and sex tourism. The association encouraged all 
hospitality-sector businesses to adopt and implement the code of 
conduct developed by the NGO End Child Prostitution and Child 
Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes. During the 
year the majority of hotels on the coast continued to uphold the NGOs 
code of conduct and continued to self-regulate through the Kenya 
Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers. The Ministry of Tourism and 
Wildlife continued to register villas and cottages and impose the same 
requirements as on hotels. As part of a new tourism bill, the Tourism 
Regulatory Authority was established in September to oversee hotels, 
villas, and cottages, ensuring their adherence to the code of conduct.

    Child Soldiers.--Although there were no reports that the government 
recruited child soldiers, there were reports that children participated 
in ethnically based militia activity perpetrated by groups such as al 
Shabaab. There also were reports that the Mungiki gang recruited young 
boys from schools.

    Displaced Children.--Poverty and the spread of HIV/AIDS continued 
to intensify the problem of child homelessness. Street children faced 
harassment and physical and sexual abuse from police and others, and 
within the juvenile justice system. The government operated programs to 
place street children in shelters and assisted NGOs in providing 
education, skills training, counseling, legal advice, and medical care 
to girls abused in, and street children exploited in, the commercial 
sex industry. During the year the government's cash transfer program 
for orphans and vulnerable children expanded to cover 47 districts and 
to reach an estimated 100,000 beneficiaries. Each beneficiary received 
3,000 shillings ($34) per month.

    International Child Abductions.--Kenya is not a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical or mental disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state 
services; however, the government did not effectively enforce these 
provisions. The law provides that persons with disabilities should have 
access to public buildings, and some buildings had wheelchair ramps and 
modified elevators and restrooms; however, the government did not 
enforce the law, and new construction often did not include 
accommodations for persons with disabilities.
    There was limited societal awareness regarding persons with 
disabilities and significant stigma attached to disability. Learning 
and other disabilities not readily apparent were not widely recognized. 
NGOs reported that persons with disabilities had limited opportunity to 
obtain education and job training at all levels due to lack of 
accessibility to facilities and resistance on the part of school 
officials and parents to devoting resources to students with 
disabilities. The KNCHR reported that fewer than 10 percent of children 
with special needs were enrolled in school and that no curriculum 
existed for teaching children with learning disabilities.
    The KNCHR charged that the Kenya National Examination Council 
failed to provide adequate testing facilities and resources for 
students with disabilities. The council claimed that it provided exams 
in Braille and in large print for visually impaired candidates and gave 
them extra time to complete exams. The government was developing 
disability-specific curricula, but the process was slow because the 
government failed to allocate sufficient resources and staff.
    There were significant barriers to accessing health care by persons 
with disabilities. They had difficulty obtaining HIV testing and 
contraceptive services, due to the perception that they did not or 
should not engage in sexual activity.
    According to testimony provided to the KNCHR in Embu town during 
the year, pregnant women with disabilities encountered harsh treatment 
in maternity wards. Nurses demanded to know how they became impregnated 
and questioned their right to bear children. Mute mothers claimed that 
hospital staffs ignored them during delivery. Other unconfirmed reports 
indicated that hospital staffs performed--or tried to perform--tubal 
ligations on mothers with disabilities without informing them. Other 
expectant mothers with disabilities were sent away from hospitals for 
not having pads, cotton wool, or the fee of 2,000 shillings ($23) 
required for delivery.
    Few facilities provided interpreters or other accommodations to the 
deaf or those with hearing disabilities. The government assigned each 
region a sign-language interpreter for court proceedings. Nevertheless, 
cases of persons who were deaf or had hearing disabilities were often 
delayed or forced to adjourn due to the lack of standby interpreters, 
according to an official with the Deaf Outreach Program.
    During the year the Kenya Society for the Mentally Handicapped 
(KSMH) sued the government for improperly excluding persons with mental 
disabilities from the most recent budget allocations for persons with 
disabilities. In August a court temporarily halted the allocation of 
such funds as a consequence of the lawsuit, and the case continued at 
year's end.
    Not all polling stations were equipped with accommodations for 
persons with disabilities. However, during the most recent by-elections 
KSMH and the Disabled Voters of Kenya Alliance worked closely with the 
IIEC to ensure that all persons were able to cast their votes.
    The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Development is the 
lead ministry for implementation of the law to protect persons with 
disabilities. The parastatal National Council for Persons with 
Disabilities assisted the ministry. Neither entity received sufficient 
resources to effectively address issues related to persons with 
disabilities.
    Societal discrimination continued against persons with albinism, 
many of whom left their home villages due to fear of persecution and 
moved to urban areas where they believed they were safer. According to 
the International Federation for the Red Cross and Red Crescent 
Societies, numerous persons with albinism abandoned their villages and 
went into hiding between 2007 and 2009. Persons with albinism were 
attacked for their body parts, which were thought by some to confer 
magical powers and which could be sold for significant sums. Since 2007 
at least seven persons with albinism were killed, the most recent 
killing occurring in December 2010. In August 2010 a man was arrested 
for attempting to sell a person with albinism for $250,000. In 2010 the 
minister of planning promised to carry out a census of persons with 
albinism and provide them with sunscreen. However, the government 
offered little health care or other support. Due to societal 
discrimination, employment opportunities for persons with albinism were 
limited.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The population is divided into 
approximately 42 ethnic groups, among which discrimination and 
occasional violence were frequent. The 2009 census released in August 
2010 revealed that the major ethnic communities were: Kikuyu, 6.6 
million; Luhya, 5.3 million; Kalenjin, 5 million; Luo, 4 million; 
Kamba, 3.9 million; Kenyan Somali, 2.3 million; Kisii, 2.2 million; and 
Mijikenda, 1.9 million. The Kikuyu and related groups dominated much of 
private commerce and industry and often purchased land outside their 
traditional home areas, which sometimes resulted in fierce resentment 
from other ethnic groups. The numerically small and shrinking South 
Asian community controlled a disproportionate share of commerce.
    Many factors contributed to interethnic conflicts: long-standing 
grievances over land tenure policies and competition for scarce 
agricultural land, the proliferation of guns, the commercialization of 
traditional cattle rustling, the growth of a modern warrior/bandit 
culture (distinct from traditional culture), ineffective local 
political leadership, diminished economic prospects for groups affected 
by a severe regional drought, political rivalries, and the inability of 
security forces to adequately quell violence. Conflict between land 
owners and squatters was particularly severe in Rift Valley and Coast 
provinces, while competition for water and pasturage was especially 
serious in the northern districts of Rift Valley and Eastern provinces 
and in North Eastern Province.
    In private business and in the public sector, members of nearly all 
ethnic groups commonly discriminated in favor of other members of the 
same group. Some neighborhoods, particularly in slum areas of the 
capital, tended to be segregated ethnically, although interethnic 
marriage has become fairly common in urban areas.
    There was frequent conflict, banditry, and cattle rustling among 
Somali, Turkana, Gabbra, Borana, Samburu, Rendille, and Pokot ethnic 
groups in arid regions located in North Eastern, Eastern, and Rift 
Valley provinces, which at times resulted in death. For example, during 
the year cattle rustling was rampant, and several persons were killed 
in Isiolo and Turkana in connection with cattle raids and 
counterattacks.
    Between October 13 and 18, at least 14 persons were killed as a 
result of interethnic fighting in Isiolo over pasture and water. On 
October 14, seven persons were shot and killed in Tractor village, 
Ngaremara Division, in Isiolo. According to local media reports, the 
dead included two 12-year-old children, who were dragged out of their 
huts and shot as their parents watched. Insecurity in the region 
resulted in the closure of at least six schools. Several teachers from 
the Borana, Somali, and Meru communities in Isiolo received death 
threats and were transferred. In response the government deployed 
hundreds of security officers to the area in pursuit of the attackers, 
but no arrests were made by year's end.
    In response to armed incursions and kidnappings conducted from 
Somali territory, in October Kenyan military forces entered southern 
Somalia to conduct operations against al Shabaab forces. In conjunction 
with these operations, the government launched internal security 
measures inside Kenya to counter suspected al Shabaab militants and 
sympathizers. Kenyan citizens, including Muslims and those of Somali 
ethnic origin, were generally supportive of these efforts; however, 
abuses occurred. For example, HRW reported that on November 11, after 
an attack by suspected al-Shabaab militants in Garissa, security forces 
picked up people who looked Somali, beat them, and forced them to sit 
in dirty water while interrogating them. After an improvised explosive 
device exploded in the same area on December 12, police and soldiers 
rounded up and beat Kenyans of Somali origin over the next three days, 
according to HRW. After grenade attacks occurred at a bus stop and bar 
in Nairobi in October, general public hostility against urban Somali 
refugees in Nairobi and Kenyans of Somali ethnic origin increased. The 
perception that Kenyan citizens of Somali origin were 
disproportionately successful in business contributed to public 
hostility.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes 
``carnal knowledge against the order of nature,'' which is interpreted 
to prohibit consensual same-sex sexual activity and specifies a maximum 
penalty of 14 years' imprisonment. A separate statute specifically 
criminalizes sex between men and specifies a maximum penalty of 21 
years' imprisonment. Police detained persons under these laws, 
particularly suspected sex workers, but released them shortly 
afterward. There were no reported prosecutions of individuals for same-
sex sexual activity during the year.
    LGBT advocacy organizations, such as the Gay and Lesbian Coalition 
of Kenya (GALCK), were permitted to register and conduct activities. 
However, societal discrimination based on sexual orientation was 
widespread and resulted in loss of employment and educational 
opportunities. Violence against the LGBT community also occurred, 
particularly in rural areas and among refugees. NGO groups reported 
that police intervened to stop attacks but were not generally 
sympathetic to LGBT individuals or concerns.
    During the year an LGBT group in Mombasa relocated its offices to a 
more secure location and advised its members to maintain a low profile 
when coming to the group's office to avoid attack.
    According to the 2011 Annual Report of the Observatory, in February 
2010 religious leaders in Mtwapa issued antigay statements and demanded 
the closure of the Kenya Medical Research Institute, which conducts 
research and provides treatment to persons with HIV/AIDS. Crowds 
subsequently attacked the center and beat one of its volunteers. Other 
volunteers were taken into police protective custody. All were released 
without charge, but none of the attackers was arrested.
    On two occasions in 2010, Denis Karimi Nzioka, GALCK's public 
relations officer and a writer on LGBT issues, was forced to move from 
his home by neighbors who said they knew he was gay. Nzioka was also 
targeted by unknown persons on the streets who threatened him with 
violence or death.
    Unlike in previous years, no anti-LGBT publicity campaigns were 
conducted; however, sensational reporting often inflamed societal 
prejudices.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against persons with HIV/AIDS was a problem. Stigmatization of HIV/AIDS 
made it difficult for many families to acknowledge that a member was 
HIV-positive, and no socially or politically prominent individual 
admitted being HIV-positive. Violence against persons with HIV/AIDS 
occurred.
    The government worked in cooperation with international donors on 
programs for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. This cooperation 
enabled a continued expansion of counseling and testing as well as care 
and treatment. These developments were seen as key to reducing stigma 
and discrimination.
    Mob violence and vigilante action were common and resulted in 
numerous deaths. Most victims were persons suspected of criminal 
activities, including theft, robbery, killings, cattle rustling, and 
membership in criminal or terrorist gangs. Human rights observers 
attributed vigilante violence to a lack of public confidence in police 
and the criminal justice system, in which assailants evaded arrest or 
bribed their way out of jail. The social acceptability of mob violence 
also provided cover for acts of personal vengeance, including settling 
land disputes.
    On September 27, a mob killed three men who had failed in a robbery 
attempt.
    Mobs also attacked persons suspected of witchcraft or participation 
in ritual killings, particularly in Kisii district and Nyanza and 
Western provinces. Although local officials spoke out against witch 
burning and increased police patrols to discourage the practice, human 
rights NGOs noted public reluctance to report such cases due to fear of 
retribution.
    In May a mob killed a man and his wife and burned their home in 
Nyahera Village after the mutilated body of a boy was found, and the 
mob attributed the death to the couple's suspected involvement in 
witchcraft. Police at the scene did not intervene to prevent the 
attack. No action was taken by year's end.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides that all workers, including those in the export 
processing zones (EPZs), are free to form and join unions of their 
choice. Any seven or more workers in an enterprise have the right to 
form a union by registering with the trade union registrar. If the 
registrar denies registration, a union may appeal to the courts. The 
new constitution no longer explicitly prohibits members of the armed 
forces, police, prisons service, and the administration police from 
forming or joining unions. However, it permits legislation that does 
so, a reference to the 2007 Labor Relations Act which continued in 
effect.
    The law permits workers in collective bargaining disputes to strike 
but requires the exhaustion of formal conciliation procedures and seven 
days' notice to both the government and the employer. The law permits 
the government to deny workers the right to strike under certain 
conditions. For example, members of the military, police, prison 
guards, and the National Youth Service are prohibited from striking. 
Other civil servants are allowed to strike following the seven-day 
notice period. The Ministry of Labor typically referred disputes to 
mediation, fact-finding, or binding arbitration at the Industrial 
Court, a body of up to five judges appointed by the president. During 
mediation any strike is illegal, thus removing legal prohibitions on 
employer retaliation against strikers. In addition a Ministry of Labor 
referral of a dispute to the conciliation process nullifies the right 
to strike.
    The law provides the right of collective bargaining to every trade 
union, employer's organization, and employer. Workers in the military, 
prisons, and the National Youth Service, however, do not have this 
right. The law also provides that collective labor disputes must first 
undergo conciliation, although conciliation is not compulsory in 
individual employment matters. Security forces cannot bargain 
collectively but have an internal board that reviews salaries. Other 
groups that cannot bargain collectively, such as health sector workers, 
have associations, rather than unions, which negotiate wages and 
conditions that match the government's minimum wage guidelines.
    The law allows employers in some industries to dismiss workers 
regardless of the provisions of their collective bargaining agreements. 
The new constitution's bill of rights allows trade unions to undertake 
their activities without government interference.
    Except for the Factories Act, all labor laws apply in the EPZs; 
however, the EPZ Authority and the government granted many exemptions 
to applicable laws. For example, the government waived a provision of 
the law that prevents women from working in industrial activities at 
night. The Tailors and Textiles Workers Union claimed that a number of 
garment producers in the EPZs refused to recognize the union and 
resisted its efforts to organize their workers.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and provides for 
reinstatement for workers dismissed for union activity. The Industrial 
Court can order reinstatement and damages in the form of back pay for 
employees wrongfully dismissed for union activities. All labor laws are 
supposed to apply to all groups of workers. In practice, however, 
migrant workers often lacked formal organization and consequently 
missed the benefits of collective bargaining. Similarly, domestic 
workers, commercial sex workers, and others who operated in private 
spaces were vulnerable to exclusion from legal protections.
    The government voiced its support for union rights as mandated in 
the constitution. However, because of human and material resource 
constraints, it did not effectively protect these rights. Freedom of 
association and the right to collective bargaining were generally 
respected in practice. Worker organizations were independent of both 
the government and political parties. Civil servants were active 
members of worker organizations. During the year police arrested union 
leaders and threatened them for defending the rights of workers on tea 
plantations. At year's end none of the country's security forces had 
joined unions, although the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) 
continued to advocate on their behalf for this right. Some unions 
complained that employers resisted efforts to establish unions in their 
factories, even where most workers indicated a desire for union 
membership, and that the Industrial Court and Ministry of Labor were 
ineffective in compelling employers to comply with the law. The 
government continued to encourage a strengthened labor dispute system, 
but the decisions of the Industrial Court were not consistently 
enforced. The Industrial Court moved very slowly and the number of 
cases filed increased, as a result of the new labor laws. The result 
was a significant backlog that prevented timely decisions in the 
majority of cases. This resulted in fewer cases being referred to the 
Ministry of Labor. In any event, union leaders reported that employers 
did not comply with the court's reinstatement orders, and workers 
accepted a payment in lieu of reinstatement. In several cases employers 
successfully appealed the industrial court's decisions to the High 
Court. The enforcement mechanisms of the Industrial Court remained 
weak. The majority of cases were filed directly by the parties without 
referring them to the Ministry of Labor for conciliation.
    Some antiunion discrimination occurred, including in garment plants 
in the EPZs. Employers fired workers for participating in trade union 
activities, especially in EPZs. The COTU reported more than 1,000 cases 
across various sectors in which employers fired workers for 
participating in union activities. Discrimination also occurred outside 
EPZs, especially in urban areas, although there were also reports that 
managers on flower farms fired workers and insisted that they not join 
unions. There were also many reports that workers in Nairobi's 
industrial zone were arbitrarily dismissed.
    During the year NGOs and trade unionists reported a growing trend 
toward the elimination of permanent positions in favor of casual or 
contract labor, especially in the EPZ, agricultural, and manufacturing 
sectors. In many cases the job was permanent, but an employer staffed 
it with rotating contract workers. This practice occurred at the 
management level as well, where employers hired individuals as 
management trainees and kept them in this position for the maximum 
permitted period of three years. Then, instead of converting the worker 
to permanent staff, the person was then replaced by another trainee. In 
the banking sector and other commercial industries, there were reports 
that casual workers were replaced when they expressed interest in 
joining a union. Casual employment continued to grow, accounting for 32 
percent of total wage employment for the most recent period for which 
figures were available. This trend continued to increase across 
sectors.
    The majority of strikes were in the plantation and agricultural 
sectors, due to issues related to delay in collective bargaining 
agreements, deduction of bonuses, salary increments, and other 
grievances. The other sectors affected were engineering, food 
manufacturing, shipping, and warehousing.
    On February 28, police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of 
protesting dock workers who threatened to disrupt a workshop on the 
privatization of the Kenya Ports Authority. The Dockworker's Union was 
demanding the preservation of key jobs for its members and the 
surrounding coastal communities. The union was also demanding the 
firing of the minister of transportation and adequate consultation 
among all stakeholders to inform the privatization process. Grievances 
included employers' failure to apply a mandated wage increase, a lack 
of employer-provided protective gear, denial of maternity leave, poor 
working conditions, and long working hours without transportation to 
residential areas.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
law prohibit forced labor, bonded labor, slavery, and indentured 
servitude, including by children. However, such forced labor practices 
occurred. During the year there were reports of forced labor and forced 
child labor in domestic service, street vending, child prostitution, 
subsistence and commercial agriculture, and mining. Forced child labor 
primarily occurred in the informal sector. Some children were subjected 
to debt bondage or prostitution and were trafficked for commercial 
sexual exploitation and labor. Women and men also were trafficked for 
commercial sexual exploitation and labor. Commercial sexual 
exploitation was widespread, particularly in the coastal areas.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of a child (defined as a person under age 
18) in any activity that constitutes a worst form of child labor or 
that would prevent children under age 16 from attending school. 
Children under age 13 are prohibited from working, and the government's 
policy of free and compulsory education through age 13 continued to be 
one of the most successful means to combat child labor. Children 
between ages 13 and 16 may perform only ``light work'' that is not 
harmful to their health or development and does not interfere with 
their schooling. However, the law does not apply minimum age 
restrictions to children serving as apprentices under the terms of the 
Industrial Training Act. Persons under age 18 may not be employed in 
any industrial undertaking at night, employment should not cause 
children to reside away from home without parental approval, and 
permission to work in a bar, hotel, or restaurant requires renewed 
consent annually from the labor commissioner. The law provides fines of 
up to 200,000 shillings ($2,350) and/or imprisonment for up to 12 
months for employing children in such activities.
    Despite legal restrictions, child labor was widespread, 
particularly in the informal sector, where children often worked in 
hazardous conditions, including in subsistence agriculture, fishing, 
and on small-holder and family farms. Child labor was no longer 
widespread on commercial farms. Children also worked as domestic 
servants. An estimated one million children between five and 17 years 
of age--most between ages 13 and 17--worked.
    The 2005 Kenya Integrated Household Budget survey indicated that 
951,273 children under age 18 were employed: 79.9 percent worked in 
agriculture (coffee, tea, rice, sisal, sugar, tobacco, and miraa--a 
stimulant plant) and 11.6 percent worked in domestic services. While 
there were no recent official statistics, the Ministry of Gender, 
Children, and Social Development and NGOs focused on child labor 
problems. There was increased attention to this problem after the 
number of children engaged in child labor rose sharply to an estimated 
2 million children. Anecdotal evidence suggested that with the 
difficult economic times, child labor increased in 2011. The increase 
was attributed to increasing economic hardship, with families relying 
more on children to earn wages to support the household. During the 
year drought, inflation, and other economic conditions continued to 
drive children into the labor market. The employment of children in the 
formal industrial wage sector in violation of the Employment Act was 
rare. Children worked primarily in the informal sector, which was 
difficult to monitor and control.
    Many children worked on family plots or in family units on tea, 
coffee, sugar, sisal, tobacco, and rice plantations. Children also were 
used in the production of flowers and miraa. Children also worked in 
mining, including abandoned gold mines and small quarries, breaking 
rocks and sifting through tailings. Children often worked long hours as 
domestic servants in private homes for little or no pay, and there were 
reports of physical and sexual abuse of child domestics. Parents 
sometimes initiated forced or compulsory labor by children, such as 
agricultural labor, prostitution, and domestic servitude. During the 
year there were reports that children participated in ethnic-based 
militia activity (see section 6).
    The Ministry of Labor nominally enforced the minimum age statute. 
The ministry remained committed to enforcing the statute, but 
implementation remained problematic due to resource constraints.
    The government worked closely with the COTU and the International 
Labor Organization to eliminate child labor. The government continued 
to use its practical guide to labor inspection and trained labor 
inspectors and occupational health and safety officers to report on 
child labor. The National Steering Committee on the Elimination of 
Child Labor, which includes the attorney general, eight ministries, 
representatives of child welfare organizations, other NGOs, unions, and 
employers continued to operate and met quarterly. The Interministerial 
Coordination Committee on Child Labor, chaired by the minister for 
gender, children, and social development, was responsible for setting 
general policy.
    Many NGOs were active on child labor issues and assisted in the 
return to school of child laborers. During the year the government 
continued to implement a multitude of programs for the elimination of 
child labor with dozens of partner agencies. The partners placed the 
children in schools, vocational training institutions, and 
apprenticeships, and supported income-generating activities for 
thousands of parents. Partners also provided support to schools for 
income-generating activities to help keep children from poor families 
in school.
    In 2010 the Child Protection Department employed a total of 500 
children's officers, including 50 new officers. During the year the 
government continued to increase the number of such officers, yet its 
protection capacity remained limited. Fifty new officers were hired 
during the 2010-11 fiscal year. The government's cash transfer program 
for orphans and vulnerable children covered 47 districts and reached an 
estimated 100,000 beneficiaries. It was cofunded by the government and 
development partners. The beneficiaries each received 3,000 shillings 
($34) per month. There were an average of three orphans and vulnerable 
children in each beneficiary household who directly benefitted from the 
program.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Regulation of wages is part of 
the Labor Institutions Act, and the government established basic 
minimum wages by occupation and location, setting minimum standards for 
monthly, daily, and hourly work in each category.
    During the year the Productivity Center of Kenya, a tripartite 
institution including the Ministry of Labor, the Federation of Kenyan 
Employers, and the COTU, continued to set wage guidelines for various 
sectors based on productivity, inflation, and cost of living indices. 
While the center continued to set guidelines, it did not have personnel 
with sufficient expertise to gain the respect of industry. On May 1, 
the government raised the minimum wage by 12.5 percent. In many 
industries workers were paid the legal minimum wage; however, in most 
cases these wages were far outpaced by the cost of living. The lowest 
legal urban minimum wage was increased to 7,586 shillings ($85) per 
month, and the lowest agricultural minimum wage for unskilled employees 
was increased to 3,765 shillings ($44) per month, excluding housing 
allowances. Many employers did not follow the authority's 
recommendations. Most workers relied on second jobs, subsistence 
farming, other informal work, or the extended family for additional 
support. A large percentage of the labor force worked in the informal 
sector and was not covered by these provisions.
    The law limits the normal workweek to 52 hours (60 hours for night 
workers); some categories of workers had lower limits. The law 
specifically excludes agricultural workers from such limitations. An 
employee in the nonagricultural sector is entitled to one rest day per 
week and 21 days of combined annual and sick leave. The law also 
requires that total hours worked (regular time plus overtime) in any 
two-week period not exceed 120 hours (144 hours for night workers). 
Labor laws require two weeks' paternity leave, three months' maternity 
leave with full pay, and compensation for both public and private 
employees for work-related injuries and diseases.
    While employees in the public sector enjoyed the benefits of 
paternity/maternity leave and workplace compensation, those in the 
private sector did not fully enjoy such benefits. Many employers did 
not allow paternity leave, but most respected the maternity leave 
provisions of the law. However, in 2008 private employers challenged 
the workers' compensation provisions in court. At year's end the case 
continued.
    Workweek and overtime violations also were reported during the 
year. Workers in some enterprises, particularly in the EPZs and road 
construction, claimed that employers forced them to work extra hours 
without overtime pay to meet production targets. In addition employers 
often did not provide nighttime transport, leaving workers vulnerable 
to assault, robbery, and sexual harassment. During the year trade 
unionists complained that employers bribed some government labor 
inspectors to avoid penalties for labor violations. The extremely low 
salaries and the lack of vehicles, fuel, and other resources made it 
very difficult for labor inspectors to do their work and left them 
vulnerable to bribes and other forms of corruption. Employers in all 
sectors routinely bribed labor inspectors to prevent them from 
reporting infractions, especially in the area of child labor.
    The law details environmental, health, and safety standards. Fines 
generally were too low to deter unsafe practices. EPZs are excluded 
from the Factory Act's provisions. The Ministry of Labor's Directorate 
of Occupational Health and Safety Services (DOHSS) has the authority to 
inspect factories and work sites, except in the EPZs. DOHSS health and 
safety inspectors can issue notices against employers for practices or 
activities that involve a risk of serious personal injury. Such notices 
can be appealed to the Factories Appeals Court, a body of four members, 
one of whom must be a high court judge. The law stipulates that 
factories employing 20 or more persons have an internal health and 
safety committee with representation from workers. Workers, including 
foreigners and immigrants, theoretically have the right to remove 
themselves from situations that endanger health or safety without 
jeopardy to their employment. The Ministry of Labor did not effectively 
enforce these regulations, and despite the law, workers were reluctant 
to remove themselves from working conditions that endangered their 
health or safety due to risk of losing their jobs.
    The DOHSS employed 79 inspectors, far short of the 168 reportedly 
needed to inspect factories adequately and enforce its safety and 
health orders. No new inspectors reportedly have been hired since 2007. 
There continued to be widespread hazards, such as lack of basic safety 
equipment and emergency escape routes in many companies. During the 
year violations of health and safety conditions were found routinely in 
the EPZs and other sectors, such as small horticultural producers.
    According to the government, many of the largest factories had 
instituted health and safety committees by year's end.

                               __________

                                LESOTHO

                           executive summary
    Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy. Under the constitution the 
king is head of state but does not actively participate in political 
activities. The prime minister is head of government and has executive 
authority. In the most recent elections in 2007, the governing Lesotho 
Congress for Democracy (LCD) party retained a majority of seats in 
parliament; domestic and international observers characterized the 
election as generally free and peaceful. However, some members of the 
leading opposition parties and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 
claimed it was not entirely fair. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Torture and physical abuse by police, poor prison conditions, and 
abuse of spouses and children were the most important human rights 
problems in the country.
    Other human rights problems included lengthy pretrial detention and 
long trial delays and stigmatization of persons with HIV/AIDS. Societal 
abuses included sexual abuse, stigmatization of persons with 
disabilities, mob violence, human trafficking, and child labor.
    The government occasionally took steps to prosecute officials who 
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the 
government; however, impunity sometimes occurred.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed any arbitrary or 
unlawful killings during the year.

    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 law expressly prohibit such 
practices, local media reported instances of police torture and abuse.
    Police reportedly tortured suspects in custody. During the first 
eight months of the year, police stated that three persons died while 
in their custody. For example, local media reported that on March 3, 
Lithoteng police tortured Tseliso Thatjane, who was suspected of 
stealing a television and a DVD player. Police arrested Thatjane's 
wife, Masebabatso Thatjane, reportedly saying they would release her 
only if Tseliso surrendered. Once he surrendered, police allegedly beat 
him with a knobkerrie (traditional wooden club used in herding) and 
repeatedly suffocated him with a plastic bag until he lost 
consciousness. They also demanded a bribe of 500 maloti ($62) to 
release him, which was paid. Tseliso filed a case demanding 
compensation for wrongful arrest and torture, but the case did not move 
forward as he chose not to pursue it.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor. Press reported that Maseru Central Prison experienced food 
shortages. The Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) authorities denied 
any food shortages but acknowledged the quality of food given to 
inmates had deteriorated.
    The risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases for 
prisoners was high, and there were reports of prisoners (but not 
guards) brutalizing or raping others. Some inmates contracted sexually 
transmitted diseases in correctional facilities due to high incidences 
of sexual assault and gang rape by other prisoners during the 
``initiation'' of new inmates. The LCS employed a full-time HIV/AIDS 
coordinator, and HIV testing, counseling, and treatment were available. 
The LCS provided condoms in all adult male and juvenile facilities. HIV 
prevalence among female prisoners was extremely high; according to LCS 
nursing staff, three in five female prisoners were HIV-positive.
    Many prison facilities were in disrepair, but efforts were made to 
refurbish the Juvenile Centre and prisons in Maseru, Leribe, and Thaba 
Tseka. Although potable water was available, sanitation was poor and 
prison facilities lacked bedding. Proper ventilation or heating and 
cooling systems did not exist, and some facilities lacked proper 
lighting. Prisoners received free medical care from government 
hospitals and were eligible to vote in elections. All prisons had a 
nurse and a dispensary to attend to minor illnesses. Some correctional 
facilities owned ambulances to transport inmates for emergency medical 
care. Nine prisoners reportedly died in prison of various illnesses 
during the year.
    The LCS reported a total prison population of 1,762 (1,709 men and 
53 women), a pretrial detainee population of 394 (384 men and 10 
women), and juvenile population of 87 (68 boys and 19 girls). The 
country's prisons had a combined capacity of 2,866. Juveniles were held 
in different detention centers. Men and women were separated within 
adult and juvenile facilities. High-security prisoners and military 
prisoners were held in a separate facility. The law provides that 
pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners be held in separate 
facilities. In practice pretrial detainees and prisoners were placed 
simply in separate cells.
    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 
allowed them to request investigations of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions; however, no investigations were conducted during 
the year.
    Prison regulations provide for visiting committees made up of 
principal chiefs, church ministers, representatives of the business 
community, advocates of the court, and other citizens. The 
International Committee of the Red Cross visited correctional 
facilities in June.
    The Office of the Ombudsmen handles complaints from the general 
public, including prisoners. However, no report on prison complaints 
was released during the year. Prison recordkeeping was considered 
generally adequate. Authorities used community service and official 
warnings as alternative sentences for nonviolent offenders.
    According to prison officials, prison conditions for women were 
better than for men; specifically, women did not face the same 
overcrowding issues as men.
    To improve prison conditions, the government renovated the Maseru 
Central Prison, Juvenile Training Centre, Leribe Prison, and Thaba 
Tseka Prison. Renovations included new water systems in cells, greater 
electrification of prison facilities, and improved fencing.

    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 security forces 
consist of the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF), Lesotho Mounted Police 
Service (LMPS), National Security Service (NSS), and Lesotho 
Correctional Service (LCS). In law and in practice, the LMPS maintains 
internal security. The LDF maintains all external security and assists 
the police when requested by the LMPS commissioner. The NSS is an 
intelligence service that provides information on possible threats in 
support of internal and external security.
    Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the LDF, 
LMPS, NSS, and LCS, and the Directorate on Corruption and Economic 
Offences (DCEO) investigates and punishes abuse and corruption. There 
were no reports of impunity involving the LDF, NSS, or LCS during the 
year. There were isolated but unconfirmed reports of the LMPS acting 
with impunity.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires police, based on sufficient evidence, to obtain a warrant of 
arrest from the magistrate prior to making an arrest. During the arrest 
suspects are apprehended openly and informed about their rights before 
they are brought before an independent judiciary. Suspects must be 
informed of charges within 48 hours, and their families must be 
notified of any detention. The law allows family members to visit 
inmates. However, according to media reports and LMPS officials, police 
did not always comply with these provisions.
    The law provides for bail, which authorities granted regularly and, 
in general, fairly. Defendants have the right to legal counsel. 
Detainees are allowed prompt access to a lawyer, and lawyers are 
provided for indigents in all civil and criminal cases. The Legal Aid 
Division, under the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, offered free 
legal assistance, but a severe lack of resources hampered the 
division's effectiveness. NGOs maintained a few legal aid clinics. 
There were no reports of suspects detained incommunicado or held under 
house arrest. The law provides that a suspect cannot be held in custody 
for more than 90 days before a trial except in exceptional 
circumstances.

    Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detainees constituted 16 percent of 
the prison population. The average length of pretrial detention was 60 
days, after which authorities usually released pretrial detainees on 
bail pending trial. However, pretrial detention could last for months 
due to judicial staffing shortages and unavailability of legal counsel.

    Amnesty.--The government occasionally grants amnesties and early 
releases on Moshoeshoe's Day, the King's Birthday, Independence Day, or 
Christmas Day. During the year a total of 111 male prisoners and one 
female prisoner were granted amnesty.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provides 
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected 
judicial independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent until proven 
guilty. There is no trial by jury. Trials are public. In civil and 
criminal matters, a single judge normally hears cases. It is only in 
high-profile constitutional, commercial, and appeals cases that more 
than one judge is appointed. Defendants have the right to be present at 
their trials and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner; free 
legal counsel is usually available, either from the state or a legal 
NGO in all kinds of cases. Defendants may confront and question 
witnesses against them and present witnesses on their own behalf. 
Defendants are allowed to present evidence on their own behalf at the 
Magistrate Court, but at the High Court legal representation is 
required.
    Defendants have the right to access unclassified government 
evidence. The government cannot classify evidence and use it against a 
defendant. If evidence is going to be used in court, both the plaintiff 
and the defendant must have access. Defendants have the right to 
appeal. A defendant may either be held or released on bail until 
sentenced.
    The constitution and law provide for the right to a fair trial, and 
an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary with jurisdiction over civil matters. Citizens 
can freely access the court system to file lawsuits seeking cessation 
of human rights violations or a recovery of damages. In some cases the 
court has ruled in favor of citizen plaintiffs. There were no reports 
the government failed to comply with decisions pertaining to human 
rights.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and laws prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. 
Although search warrants are required under normal circumstances, the 
law provides police with the power to stop and search persons and 
vehicles as well as enter homes and other places without a warrant if 
the situation is considered life threatening or if there are security 
concerns. The law states that any police officer, rank of inspector and 
above, can conduct a search on individuals or homes without a warrant.
    The High Court awarded 100,000 maloti ($12,360) to retired LDF 
brigadier Motlalentoa Kopo, who had been arrested by LDF members in 
2007. The judgment stated the invasion of Kopo's home was both unlawful 
and groundless and violated his fundamental right to privacy and family 
life as guaranteed by the constitution.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech but do 
not explicitly mention media freedom. The government generally 
respected freedom of speech. An independent press, effective judiciary, 
and functioning democratic political system combined generally to 
promote freedom of the press; however, harassment of journalists, self-
censorship, and lawsuits by officials to silence criticism were 
sometimes problems.
    On August 17, the government reportedly interfered with the 
transmissions of four privately owned radio stations to limit coverage 
of protests that started on August 15.

    Freedom of Speech.--There are no official restrictions on the 
ability of individuals to criticize the government publicly or 
privately or discuss matters of general public interest without 
reprisal. The government did not impede criticism.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide variety of views without restriction. Multiple laws could be 
invoked to control the media, but none was used during the year. The 
constitution grants citizens the right to express themselves and to 
obtain and impart information freely. However, since these rights are 
guaranteed only as long as they do not interfere with ``defense, public 
safety, public order, public morality, or public health,'' this 
provision encouraged self-censorship.

    Violence and Harassment.--While journalists were not subjected to 
arrest, imprisonment, or physical attack, many reported being harassed. 
Journalists reportedly were called to meetings by private businessmen, 
where the journalists were threatened with legal action for publishing 
critical articles.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--On August 17, the government, 
which controls all commercial radio transmitters in the country, 
reportedly shut off the transmissions of four privately owned radio 
stations it accused of fomenting unrest. The government acknowledged 
the broadcasts were interrupted but claimed the interruption was a 
technical error related to system upgrade.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Some journalists practiced self-
censorship as the occasional government official employed slander and 
libel lawsuits against media outlets, editors, and journalists. For 
example, in 2010 the prime minister filed a lawsuit at the High Court 
against a local newspaper, claiming two million maloti ($247,000) for 
defamation after the newspaper alleged that he had embezzled eight 
million maloti ($1 million). At year's end the case was pending in 
court.
    In August Judge Maseforo Mahase of the Lesotho High Court sued 
Harvest FM radio station for eight million maloti (one million dollars) 
for defamation. She claimed that a program shown by the station on July 
14 contained defamatory remarks about her. The case was pending at 
year's end.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could express views 
via the Internet. The Internet was not widely available and almost 
nonexistent in rural areas, due to the lack of communications 
infrastructure and high cost of 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 constitution 
and law provide for the right to peaceful assembly. Protest marches and 
gatherings were commonplace and regularly authorized by the government.
    However, in August two leaders of a large protest organized by the 
Coalition of Concerned Civic Organizations were arrested and charged 
under the Public Meetings and Processions Act and Internal Security 
Act. They were later released due to lack of evidence.
    Twenty students of Limkokwing University appeared at the Magistrate 
Court in November 2010 charged under the Public Meetings and 
Processions Act following rioting that took place during a student 
strike. The case was pending at year's end.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/rls/
irf.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
free movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation. The government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection of 
refugees. The system is active and accessible, and no patterns of 
discrimination were identified.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide the right for citizens peacefully 
to change their government, and citizens exercised this right in 
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal 
suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--During 
the most recent 2007 national elections, the ruling LCD party 
maintained a legislative majority, claiming 61 of 80 constituency-based 
seats in the National Assembly. Domestic and international observers 
characterized the elections as generally free and peaceful. Other 
observers, including members of the leading opposition parties and some 
NGOs, stated they were not entirely fair. Their complaints included the 
method of allocating proportional parliamentary seats, the legality of 
appointing a leader of opposition when no opposition party controlled 
the stipulated 25 percent minimum of seats, and the need to review the 
electoral laws regarding the formation of alliances between parties. 
After three years of mediation by several different parties, on March 
9, the government and opposition parties resolved their differences on 
the electoral laws and ended public arguments about the remaining 
issues.

    Political Parties.--There were no undue restrictions on political 
parties. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had registration 
material on 23 political parties, but not all parties have 
representation in parliament, and some are completely dormant.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There are no laws 
preventing women or minorities from voting or otherwise participating 
in political life on the same basis as men or nonminority citizens. The 
Local Government (Amendment) Act, 2010 provides for the allocation of 
one-third of the seats in the municipal, urban, and community councils 
to women. The National Assembly Electoral Act, 2011 also states that a 
political party registered with the IEC must facilitate the full 
participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities. Party 
lists for proportional representational seats must include equal 
numbers of women and men.
    There were 29 women in the 120-seat National Assembly and seven 
women in the 33-seat Senate. The speaker of the National Assembly, 
seven of 19 government ministers, two of three assistant ministers, and 
five of 10 High Court judges were women.
    Approximately 98.5 percent of the population is ethnic Basotho. 
There were no members of minorities in the national assembly, senate, 
or cabinet.

7ection 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.
    For example, on February 21, several government officials, 
including Principal Secretary for Administration in the Prime 
Minister's Office Kubutu Makhakhe, Administration Deputy Principal 
Secretary Thato Masiloane, Director of Finance Marapelang Raphuthing, 
acting Head of Procurement Manthabeleng Shai, and Procurement Officer 
Lerato Moerane, were suspended for inflating the prices of government 
purchases and favoring businesses closely associated to their families 
and friends.
    After disciplinary hearings Makhakhe was found guilty on seven of 
10 charges and his contract was not renewed; Masiloane was acquitted; 
Raphuthing was fired; and Shai was suspended for three months without 
pay. Moerane's case remained pending at year's end.
    On May 31, Deputy Commissioner of Police Tumelo Moseme Assistant 
Commissioner of Police Dlamini Mphatsoane, Assistant Commissioner of 
Police Thakane Theko, and Inspector Habofanoe Lepheane were charged 
with corruption, fraud, bribery, theft by false pretence, and 
obstructing the course of justice. The DCEO charged the officers with 
conspiring to rig tenders for the supply of new police uniforms and 
alleged that the police officers received 125,000 maloti ($15,450) in 
bribes. The seven suspects were remanded out of custody on free bail, 
defined as bail without a bond.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information. In practice individual ministries made information 
available but not according to any stated policy or procedure.
    Police Commissioner Malejaka Letooane was under investigation over 
a 24 million maloti ($3 million) tender awarded in 2008 to supply 
police uniforms in April and December 2010. The case against her was 
pending at year's end.
    There were no further developments in the reports of corruption and 
fraud within the Block Farming Program in February 2010. Three 
ministers personally owed more than 18,500,000 maloti ($2.3 million) in 
government-guaranteed loans provided under the program directly 
overseen by their ministries.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. According to local 
NGOs, government officials often were cooperative and somewhat 
responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The independent Office of the 
Ombudsman appeared to function without undue governmental or political 
interference. The office was considered effective but was constrained 
by a low level of publicity; high level of centralization; and shortage 
of staff, financing, and equipment. The ombudsman intervened in 
response to requests for release of unlawfully withheld salaries and 
reinstatement of employees illegally suspended from their jobs.
    On April 5, the senate passed an amendment to the constitution 
providing the legal framework necessary to establish a human rights 
commission, but one had not yet been established by year's end.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, disability, language, or social status. However, the 
constitution recognizes customary law as a parallel legal system, and 
under it women remain disadvantaged with regard to property rights, 
inheritance, and succession rights. Persons with disability were 
disadvantaged regarding access to buildings, employment, and 
healthcare.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
including spousal rape, domestic violence; and sexual harassment. Rape 
convictions carry a minimum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, with no 
option of a fine. When cases are reported, police and judiciary 
generally enforced the law promptly and effectively; however, sexual 
assault and rape reportedly were commonplace, and most incidents were 
not reported. From January to December 2010, a total of 832 cases of 
sexual offenses against women were reported, and 311prosecuted.
    Domestic violence against women was widespread. The Child and 
Gender Protection Unit (CGPU) stated that in 2010 there were 103 
reported cases of assault against women. This number greatly 
understated the extent of the problem, as domestic violence was usually 
not reported. While domestic violence and spousal abuse are criminal 
offenses defined as assault, few cases were brought to trial. The law 
does not mandate specific penalties, and judges have a wide degree of 
discretion in sentencing. An offender can be officially warned and 
released, given a suspended sentence, fined, or imprisoned, depending 
on the severity of the assault. Violence against women and children was 
increasingly considered socially unacceptable, due in part to 
government advocacy and awareness programs by the CGPU and other 
ministries. These efforts were bolstered by local and regional 
organizations and several other NGOs, and broadcast and print media 
campaigns. Activities included teaching youth and parents how to report 
such offenses and how to access victim services. Other campaigns and 
radio programs educating women about their rights took place throughout 
the year.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment of women in the workplace and 
elsewhere was a problem, but many cases went unreported. Most reported 
cases were handled internally within the organizations in which they 
occurred, and statistics on the extent of the problem were not readily 
available.

    Reproductive Rights.--The law gives couples and individuals 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. Many international and 
local NGOs worked in partnership with the government to provide such 
services. There are no legal, social, or cultural barriers that limit 
access to these services. There is access to contraception at minimal 
fee. Male and female condoms were freely available. Women and men are 
equally diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted diseases. 
Regardless of the patient's background, government hospitals and 
clinics provided equitable access to reproductive health services. 
These services include skilled attendance during childbirth, prenatal 
care, and essential obstetric and postpartum care. The incidence of 
maternal mortality was 970 deaths per 100,000 live births. This very 
high rate could be attributed to the high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate and 
absence of health infrastructure in many rural areas.

    Discrimination.--Women and men enjoy equal rights in civil and 
criminal courts. The law prohibits discrimination against women under 
formal and customary or traditional law. However, inheritance rights 
are an exception; the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act does not 
address the issue, and customary law discriminates against women as it 
pertains to inheritance. A woman married under civil law may contest 
inheritance rights in civil court. The law grants women married under 
customary law economic rights similar to those accorded to women 
married under common law (except as it pertains to inheritance). Under 
the formal legal system, women have the right to make a will and sue 
for divorce. In order to have legal standing in civil court, a 
customary law marriage must also be registered in the civil system.
    Women's rights organizations took a leading role in educating women 
about their rights under customary and formal law, highlighting the 
importance of women's participation in the democratic process. The 
Ministry of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation is charged with 
promoting the rights of women. It supported efforts by women's groups 
to sensitize society to respect the status and rights of women. 
Although polygamy is not recognized by the formal legal code, it was 
practiced under customary law by a small minority.
    Women were not discriminated against in access to employment or 
credit.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--According to the constitution, 
citizenship is derived by birth within the country's territory. 
According to the Office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths, all 
births are registered by hospitals and local clinics. Children born in 
private homes are registered at the offices of local chiefs, and the 
information is then transmitted to the District Administrator's Office 
for issuance of birth certificates. The Children's Protection and 
Welfare Act (CPWA) that was passed during the year states that a child 
has a right to be registered within three months of birth. If the child 
is registered after one year, a nominal fee of 2.50 maloti ($0.31) is 
to be charged.

    Education.--By law primary education is universal, compulsory, and 
tuition-free through grade seven. Secondary education is not free, but 
the government offered scholarships for orphans and vulnerable children 
(OVC). The Education Act states that children from age six shall be 
enrolled in a primary school and are to stay in school until they reach 
an age that had not been determined by year's end. A fine of not less 
than 1,000 maloti ($124) or imprisonment could be imposed on a parent 
whose child failed to attend school regularly. On June 16, the prime 
minister officially launched the tuition-free and compulsory primary 
education campaign. The Ministry of Education ran a series of public 
service announcements and radio programs to raise awareness of the new 
law.
    UNICEF reported that a substantial number of children did not 
attend school. The problem was particularly prevalent in rural areas, 
where there were few schools. Attending school regularly was most 
difficult for OVC, those involved in supporting their families through 
subsistence activities, or those whose families could not afford fees 
for the purchase of uniforms, books, and other school materials.

    Child Abuse.--While the CPWA prohibits child abuse, it was 
nevertheless a problem, especially for OVC. Incidents of child abuse 
included child neglect, common assault, sexual assault, and forced 
elopement, a customary practice of abducting a girl with the intention 
to marry her without her consent.
    With branches in all 10 districts, the CGPU led the government's 
efforts to combat child abuse; however, its effectiveness was limited 
by a lack of resources. The CGPU sought to address sexual and physical 
abuse, neglected and abandoned children, and protection of the property 
rights of orphans. It also advocated for the changing of cultural norms 
that encourage forced elopement.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of violence at 
traditional initiation schools. These schools use traditional rituals 
to initiate teenage boys into manhood and are attended mainly by rural 
youth. While the activities of these initiation schools were kept 
secret, the media reported violence against students, teachers, and 
members of surrounding communities.

    Child Marriage.--Child marriage was covered by sometimes 
contradictory laws. The CPWA defines a child as a person under the age 
of 18. However, under the Marriage Act of 1974, which was still in 
force, a girl could marry at age 16 while a boy could marry at age 18. 
Moreover, customary law does not set any minimum age for marriage. 
According to UNICEF data collected between 2000 and 2009, an estimated 
23 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before 
the age of 18.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The country's laws set the 
minimum age for consensual sex at 18 and state that anyone who commits 
an offense related to commercial sexual exploitation of children is 
liable to a fine up to 30,000 maloti ($3,708) or imprisonment for a 
period up to two and a half years or both. Child pornography carries a 
similar sentence, but in cases where a child is trafficked the offender 
is liable to a fine of two million maloti ($247,000) or up to life 
imprisonment.
    According to media reports and local NGOs, child prostitution was a 
problem. Young girls and boys, many of whom were OVCs, moved to urban 
areas to engage in prostitution. Child prostitution in the country is 
driven by poverty. A study conducted by a local NGO also noted that 
prostituted children often acted on their own and were apparently not 
controlled by organized criminal syndicates or any other third party. 
UNICEF and the government, however, agreed that while the numbers 
remained small, the trend toward the commercial sexual exploitation of 
children was a growing problem.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were a small number of Jews but no practicing 
Jewish community. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, 
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to healthcare, 
or the provision of other state services. The government approved a 
national disability policy in April that sets up a framework for 
inclusion of persons with disability in the poverty reduction strategy 
and social development programs. The Association of the Disabled 
actively promoted the rights and needs of persons with disabilities.
    Laws and regulations stipulate that persons with disabilities 
should have access to public buildings. Buildings completed after 1995 
generally complied with the law. Information for the blind in the form 
of Braille and JAWS (computer software used by visually impaired 
persons) was not widely available. Sign language was not provided by 
service providers in the government or private sector, so signing 
individuals could not access various state services. There were limited 
facilities for training persons with hearing and speaking disability.
    The government did not effectively implement laws to ensure that 
persons with disabilities have access to information and 
communications. Media reports indicated that persons with disabilities 
experienced societal abuse. There was no record of such abuse in 
prisons, educational facilities, or mental health facilities.
    Election law, which was respected in practice, provides for 
assisted voting for persons with disabilities. They are allowed to have 
anyone of their choosing assist them with voting, including the 
presiding officer at a polling station; there should also be a third 
person to verify that the voter's choices are respected.
    The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not address 
sexual orientation. However, a law against sodomy existed but was not 
enforced. While lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons 
mainly faced general discrimination in access to health care, the 
government had not made any formal statement on the issue. Homosexual 
conduct was taboo in society and not openly discussed. Violence against 
LGBT persons was known to occur but often went unreported for fear of 
being ridiculed.
    Matrix, an LGBT support group, operated freely in all 10 districts. 
On May 17, LGBT community members gathered at a local theater to watch 
a documentary celebrating the life of a gay South African activist. In 
September representatives from Matrix and the Ministry of Justice and 
Human Rights participated in a radio program seeking the views of the 
general public on LGBT issues.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The media reported 
several incidents of ``mob violence'' in which members of the society 
took the law into their own hands to punish suspects. For example, in 
October two men were accused of stock theft in Mapoteng in the Berea 
District. An angry group of villagers beat them to death and burned 
their corpses. The case was pending investigation by police at year's 
end.
    The law prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of 
HIV/AIDS status. In 2006 the parliament amended the labor code to 
include an HIV/AIDS workplace policy. Medicine was available to all HIV 
positive citizens at subsidized prices at all government hospitals.
    LDF policy states that if a soldier is found to be HIV positive 
after induction, the person is not discharged or separated. The soldier 
is provided counseling and testing, and duties are adapted as 
appropriate.
    According to the deputy secretary general of the Lesotho Network of 
People Living with HIV/AIDS, discrimination against HIV positive 
persons was declining.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
Under the law workers in the private sector have the right to join and 
form trade unions of their own choosing without prior authorization or 
excessive bureaucratic requirements. The law prohibits civil servants 
and police from joining or forming unions but allows them to form staff 
associations for the purpose of collective bargaining and promoting 
ethical conduct of their members. All trade unions must register with 
the Registrar of Trade Unions. The law allows unions to conduct their 
activities without interference.
    The law provides for a limited right to strike. In the private 
sector, the labor code requires a series of procedures to be followed 
by workers and employers before a strike is authorized. Civil servants 
are not allowed to strike, and therefore all public sector strikes are 
unauthorized. Under the law the Public Service Joint Advisory Council 
ensures due process and protects civil servants' rights. The council 
consists of an equal number of members appointed by the minister of 
public service and members of any association representing at least 50 
percent of civil servants. The council concludes and enforces 
collective bargaining agreements, prevents and resolves disputes, and 
provides machinery for dealing with general grievances. Further, the 
Public Service Tribunal handles appeals instigated by civil servants or 
their associations. No association represented at least 50 percent of 
civil servants; therefore neither the council nor the tribunal was 
functioning.
    The law protects collective bargaining. There are no restrictions 
on collective bargaining; unions are allowed to bargain for wages above 
the minimum wage. Government approval is not required for collective 
agreements to be valid. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and 
other employer interference in union functions. The law provides for 
reinstatement of workers dismissed for union activity; however, it was 
rarely enforced.
    No particular groups of workers are excluded from relevant legal 
protections.
    Workers exercised these rights in practice; however, only a small 
part of the labor force was unionized. Union officials stated that the 
government did not interfere with their ability to organize but 
complained of an overall lack of government support. A majority of 
employers will bargain only with unions that represent at least 50 
percent of their staff. The Labor Commissioner's Office reported that 
the union movement was fragmented and did not influence labor market 
decisions.
    The apparel industry was the largest private-sector employer and 
accounted for approximately 50 percent of formal employment. There were 
42 apparel factories with an estimated 36,000 workers, constituting 
approximately 80 percent of all jobs in the manufacturing sector. Most 
unions were focused on organizing apparel workers. Unions alleged that 
most factory owners in the apparel industry remained opposed to 
unionization. Both locally and foreign-owned businesses lacked a full 
understanding of the labor code's provisions regarding the right to 
form labor unions. The International Labor Organization's Better Work 
Lesotho (BWL) program, which aims to improve compliance with national 
labor laws and international labor standards, worked to increase the 
understanding of national labor law and the internationally recognized 
core labor standards.
    Both police and civil servants had associations. According to the 
Lesotho Public Servants Association (LEPSA), approximately 34 percent 
of the civil service had joined the association. This low rate of 
participation made it difficult for LEPSA to engage with the government 
on workers' rights issues, because the government only recognizes staff 
associations representing at least 50 percent of all civil servants. 
LEPSA reported that some civil servants of higher grades intimidated 
those of lower grades into not joining the civil service staff 
association. The intimidation reportedly included threats of dismissal 
or transfer for noncompliance.
    While the government generally enforced antiunion discrimination 
provisions, there were problems in the law's implementation. Unions 
complained that the Labor Court and Labor Inspectorate were 
inefficient, onerous, and bureaucratic. Workers claimed they were 
dismissed for union involvement, but Ministry of Labor and Employment 
investigations often revealed they were dismissed on other grounds. 
Unions reported that labor inspectors usually were intimidated by 
factory owners and unable to enforce union rights. According to the 
International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC) 2011 Annual Survey of 
Violations of Trade Union Rights in Lesotho, many employers stopped 
union organizers from entering factory premises to organize workers or 
represent them in disputes. In some cases employers intimidated union 
organizers and members, threatening the latter with dismissal. However, 
the ITUC also reported that while serious workers' rights problems 
persisted in nonunionized factories, there were significant 
improvements in unionized factories, where efforts were made to develop 
regular dialogue and negotiation between representatives of workers and 
management.
    Following unsuccessful minimum wage negotiations, the textile and 
apparel unions organized a stay-away from August 15-17. Other groups, 
including taxi operators, joined the protest. The stay-away was 
declared illegal by the minister of home affairs prior to its start. 
After the first day's protests led to skirmishes between protestors and 
security forces, police arrested two leaders from some of the 
participating organizations for intimidation and contravening the 
Meetings and Processions Act (see Section 2. b.). They were later 
released because of lack of evidence. An estimated 90 percent of 
workers stayed home on the second and third day of the stay-away. From 
August 18, only a small percentage of workers continued to stay away 
from work.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, although there were reports 
that such practices occurred. Women and children were subjected to 
involuntary domestic servitude. Forced and compulsory labor practices 
usually occurred in isolation. Cases of domestic work mostly involving 
girls were reported from remote private homes. Cases of crop farming 
and herding animals mostly involving boys were reported from remote 
small farms and herding outposts, respectively. These fell outside the 
scope of the labor code and were nearly impossible to inspect. 
According to Lesotho Save the Children, children often worked as herd 
boys, street vendors, car washers, and domestic servants.
    Basotho were also coerced into committing crimes, including theft, 
drug dealing, and drug smuggling under threats of violence, through 
forced drug use, or with promises of food.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
CPWA and labor code define the legal minimum age for employment as 15 
years, or 18 for hazardous employment. Hazardous work includes mining 
and quarrying; carrying of heavy loads; manufacturing where chemicals 
are produced or used; working in places where machines are used or in 
places such as bars, hotels, and places of entertainment where a person 
may be exposed to immoral behavior; herding; and producing or 
distributing tobacco. Any employer who breaches these provisions is 
liable to a fine or imprisonment or both. However, these laws were not 
effectively enforced outside the formal economy.
    The Ministry of Labor and Employment, in collaboration with CGPU, 
is responsible for investigating cases of working children. Child labor 
inspections were done as part of general labor inspections. 
Approximately 1,000 labor inspections were completed during the year. 
No child labor cases were reported and hence no prosecutions, 
convictions, or penalties imposed. Labor inspections were hindered by 
scarce resources; the labor commissioner noted the difficultly of 
tracking child labor because the government had no child-labor-specific 
strategy or program. However, the Ministry of Labor and Employment, 
CGPU, and Ministry of Gender and Youth, Sports, and Recreation 
generally disseminated information on prevention of child labor as part 
of their other programs but did no child-labor-specific outreach.
    Child labor remained widespread. The high unemployment rate, high 
levels of poverty, and high prevalence of HIV/AIDS pressured children 
to work in order to support themselves and their families.
    The Bureau of Statistics stated that 3 percent of children ages 6-
14 years participated in economic activities; this statistic did not 
include children aiding their families or others without compensation. 
UNICEF estimated 23 percent of children between 5 and 14 were working. 
Two-thirds of these children were engaged in subsistence farming, while 
the rest were engaged mainly in domestic service. Child labor was 
higher among male children (86.6 percent of child workers) than their 
female counterparts (13.4 percent).
    Herd boys were sometimes attacked by armed stock thieves, caught in 
fights over ownership of animals, and subject to harsh weather 
conditions. In traditional rural society, these rigorous and 
occasionally dangerous working conditions were considered a 
prerequisite to manhood, essential to the livelihood of families, and 
beyond the reach of labor laws.
    Children also were subject to commercial sexual exploitation. 
Children who had lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS were more 
vulnerable to such exploitation.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is a sector-specific 
national minimum wage and a general minimum wage. The general minimum 
monthly wage varied from 878 maloti to 958 maloti ($109 to $119). 
Minimum wage provisions did not cover significant portions of the 
workforce. Workers in agriculture or other informal sectors are not 
covered by labor laws.
    The law stipulates standards for hours of work, including a maximum 
45-hour workweek, a weekly rest period of at least 24 hours, a daily 
minimum rest period of one hour, at least 12 days of paid leave per 
year, paid sick leave, and public holidays. Required overtime is legal 
as long as overtime wages are paid for work in excess of the standard 
45-hour workweek. The maximum overtime allowed is 11 hours per week; 
however, there are exemptions under special circumstances. The laws 
require that the premium pay for overtime be at a rate not less than 
one-and-one-quarter times the employee's normal wage; any employer who 
requires excessive compulsory overtime shall liable to a fine, 
imprisonment, or both.
    The law empowers the Ministry of Labor and Employment to issue 
regulations on work safety. The law requires employers to provide 
adequate light, ventilation, and sanitary facilities for employees and 
to install and maintain machinery in a manner to minimize injury. It 
also requires a registered health and safety officer that promotes safe 
conduct. Employers must provide first aid kits, safety equipment, and 
protective clothing. The law does not explicitly protect the right of 
workers to remove themselves from hazardous situations without 
prejudice to employment; however, sections of the code on safety in the 
workplace and dismissal imply that such a dismissal would be illegal. 
The law also provides for a compensation system for industrial injuries 
and diseases related to employment. The commissioner of labor is 
charged with investigating allegations of labor law violations.
    The Ministry of Labor and Employment is responsible for enforcing 
these laws and standards; however, budget resources limited the 
enforcement of the law. In practice businesses operating in the formal 
sector, including the apparel industry, were subject to more 
enforcement than businesses operating in the informal sector. The 
ministry's inspectorate reported that many locally owned businesses did 
not keep records of employees' salaries to facilitate labor inspections 
as required by law. Labor inspectors generally conducted unannounced 
inspections of a random sample of workplaces on a weekly basis. 
Inspections in mountain districts, however, were done on a quarterly 
basis. Labor laws do not cover the agricultural and other informal 
sectors, where most workers are employed. The Labor Inspectorate stated 
that employers did not always observe these standards.
    According to the labor commissioner, employers in the retail sector 
were the worst violators. The most common allegations involved ignoring 
labor regulations for ordinary work hours, overtime, and public 
holidays. BWL also reported that some employers made incorrect lower 
than required overtime payment to workers.
    Part-time workers of all Shoprite supermarkets complained that most 
were paid 610 maloti ($75), below the 1,228 maloti ($152) per month 
minimum wage stipulated for full-time workers in the retail sector. 
After these workers went on strike on October 5, their employer 
increased the wages by 210 maloti ($26) to 820 maloti ($101).
    According to health and safety inspectors in the Ministry of Labor 
and Employment, larger employers generally followed health and safety 
regulations, but smaller employers failed to appoint or train 
registered health and safety officers. With the exception of the mining 
industry, employers' compliance with health and safety regulations 
generally was low. Inspectors stated that employers in the retail 
sector were not fully compliant with standards, as they had no 
registered health or safety officers, complete first aid kits, or 
protective clothing.
    Trade union representatives described textile sector working 
conditions as poor or even harsh but not dangerous. Unions said that 
most textile factories were in prefabricated metal buildings with 
improper ventilation and air conditioning. Unions stated, however, that 
conditions were not detrimental to workers' health and cited few 
examples of serious safety violations. Third-party auditors hired by 
foreign textile buyers conducted spot checks on many exporting 
factories, customarily sought labor's input, and briefed the unions on 
their findings. Unions believed the third-party auditors kept factory 
owners in line with health and safety regulations.
    Many workplace policies cover employees with HIV/AIDS. For example, 
the Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight AIDS (ALAFA) described HIV/AIDS 
as the primary occupational health risk in the apparel sector. ALAFA 
reported that 85 percent of workers were women and 43 percent of all 
workers were infected with HIV. Employers provided space for 
examinations and time off to see doctors, receive counseling, and 
participate in educational and antistigma programs.
    The government supported the implementation of BWL and announced 
that participation in the program was to be mandatory for the textile 
industry. BWL supported Ministry of Labor and Employment inspection 
efforts by sharing crucial noncompliances and inconsistent labor law 
application instances to ensure that inspectors raise them with 
employers. BWL also shared experiences and knowhow on assessment 
findings with the ministry on a regular basis with a view to work 
towards industry-wide improvements.
    Working conditions for foreign or migrant workers were similar to 
those of residents.

                               __________

                                LIBERIA

                           executive summary
    Liberia is a constitutional republic with a bicameral National 
Assembly. In November Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the Unity Party won a 
second term in multiparty presidential elections, which domestic and 
international observers considered generally free and fair. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Among the most serious human rights abuses were those tied to 
justice: judicial inefficiency and corruption, lengthy pretrial 
detention, denial of due process, and harsh prison conditions. Violence 
against women and children, including rape and domestic violence, and 
child labor also were serious problems.
    Other important human rights abuses included unlawful deprivation 
of life; mob killings; reported ritualistic killings and trial by 
ordeal; police abuse, harassment, and intimidation of detainees and 
others; arbitrary arrest and detention; official corruption; domestic 
human trafficking; and racial and ethnic discrimination.
    Impunity was a serious problem despite government attempts to 
prosecute and punish officials.
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 the government or its agents committed 
arbitrary or unlawful killings.
    For example, Harris Williams, an Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) 
soldier, allegedly killed Henry Freeman, a Liberia National Police 
(LNP) officer, on July 5 in a suspected personal dispute. The soldier 
was arrested and his case was pending at year's end.
    There were reports of ritualistic killings in which body parts used 
in indigenous rituals were removed from the victim. The number of such 
killings was difficult to ascertain since police sometimes described 
such deaths as homicides, accidents, or suicides, even when body parts 
were removed.
    On June 17, nine suspects in the 2009 ritualistic killing of Tomo 
Allison, a pregnant woman discovered in Harper, were released on bail 
and were awaiting trial at year's end.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices as torture; 
however, police officers and other security officials abused, harassed, 
and intimidated persons, particularly during attempts to extort money 
on the streets.
    In May a customs official working at Roberts International Airport 
was arrested and charged with robbery, aggravated assault, kidnapping, 
and criminal conspiracy allegedly for stealing cash and jewelry from a 
businessman.
    Five AFL soldiers were relieved of their positions in Gbarnga for 
misconduct following allegations they had assaulted residents of the 
town in July.
    Police brutality was referred to the attention of police 
commanders. The Professional Standards Division (PSD) was responsible 
for investigating allegations of police misconduct and referring cases 
for prosecution. Although the number of cases was not available at 
year's end, aggressive police action during arrests was identified as 
among the most common complaints of misconduct.
    The Liberian National Police (LNP) conducted performance appraisals 
to foster professional development among officers and identify areas 
for improvement. The PSD drafted an anticorruption strategy to reduce 
corrupt practices within the LNP. The policy was submitted to the 
Inspector General's Office and was pending approval at the end of the 
year.
    On February 13, LNP Commander Victor Boyah allegedly beat sports 
journalist Fombah Kanneh. Kanneh was filming alleged police brutality 
toward spectators after a soccer game at the Antoinette Tubman Sports 
Stadium. Boyah publicly apologized for his actions on February 17.
    On April 4, jurors acquitted Deputy Speaker of the House Togbah 
Mulbah and seven alleged accomplices in the July 2010 beating case of 
LNP officer Lexington Beh, who had impounded a truck belonging to the 
lawmaker.
    Despite being illegal, the practice of trial by ordeal, which 
involves actions such as the placement of a heated metal object on a 
suspect's body or the insertion of an extremity into hot oil to 
determine whether the defendant is innocent, reportedly continued in 
rural areas. The government continued to conduct sensitization 
campaigns focusing on efforts to harmonize the traditional and formal 
justice systems. In particular, campaigns focused on the types of cases 
that needed to be addressed in the formal justice system, such as 
criminal cases including murder and rape, and those that could be 
resolved in either system, such as civil cases.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Inadequate provisions for 
food, sanitation, ventilation, temperature, lighting, basic and 
emergency medical care, and potable water contributed to harsh and 
life-threatening conditions in the country's 15 prisons and detention 
centers. Many prisoners supplemented their meals by purchasing food at 
the prison or receiving food from visitors. With the support of the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Bureau of 
Corrections undertook rehabilitation activities to improve access to 
clean water and sanitation facilities at Monrovia Central Prison, as 
well as the Bondiway, Buchanan, Fishtown, Gbarnga, Harper, Kakata, 
Robertsport, Tubmanburg, and Voinjama facilities. The Bureau of 
Corrections reported approximately 20 prisoner and detainee deaths 
during the year.
    The government made efforts to improve recordkeeping, including 
training court clerks in Montserrado County and issuing case 
registration log books.
    Conditions for women prisoners were similar to those for men.
    The U.N. and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to 
provide medical services and improve basic sanitary conditions.
    According to statistics from the Bureau of Corrections, half the 
country's 1,601 prisoners were held at Monrovia Central Prison. This 
prison operated at more than twice its capacity due to the large number 
of pretrial detainees. The total prison capacity was 1,164 individuals, 
and the population included 52 women and 44 juveniles. Prisons remained 
understaffed. Men and women were held in separate cells in larger 
facilities but were held together in some counties or cities that had 
only one detention cell. In many counties juveniles and adults were 
held together, and pretrial detainees generally were held with 
convicted prisoners.
    Regular visitation hours and religious observances generally were 
respected. Officials from the Human Rights Division of the Ministry of 
Justice and Bureau of Corrections visited prisons to monitor conditions 
during the year. Internal reports and investigations into inhumane 
conditions were not accessible to the public.
    The government permitted the independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by local human rights groups, international NGOs, the U.N., 
and the media. Some human rights groups, including national and 
international organizations, made regular visits to detainees held in 
police headquarters and prisoners in Monrovia Central Prison. The ICRC 
visited all 15 prisons and detention centers.
    No ombudsman system was in place to serve on behalf of prisoners 
and detainees.
    During the year the government and international partners continued 
renovations at several county prisons.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the government did not always 
observe these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of Justice 
has responsibility for enforcing laws and maintaining order within the 
country, including overseeing the LNP and the National Bureau of 
Investigation. The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) provide external 
security but also have some domestic security responsibilities, 
primarily through the coast guard.
    An estimated 7,775 United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) 
peacekeepers and 1,303 United Nations Police (UNPOL) officers had 
significant responsibility for maintaining security as the LNP takes on 
increasing responsibility. Approximately 459 UNPOL advisors and 844 
officers in the U.N. Formed Police Units (armed foreign police 
detachments deployed in groups of 140 officers assigned to UNMIL) 
assisted with monitoring, advising, and training the LNP.
    The LNP operated independently and retained arrest authority; 
however, UNPOL advisors regularly accompanied LNP officers on joint 
patrols around Monrovia. In addition to its regular force, the LNP 
comprised a Police Support Unit (PSU) that received additional training 
in weapons and crowd and riot control and the Emergency Response Unit 
(ERU). The ERU received specialized training and was charged with 
conducting special police operations in antiterrorism, hostage rescue, 
internal security, tactical anticrime, and search and rescue 
situations. The PSU and ERU were better trained and equipped than the 
regular force.
    LNP officers remained poorly equipped, ineffective, and slow to 
respond to criminal activity, although the foot patrol program 
continued to show improvement in strategic areas. Low LNP salaries 
contributed to widespread corruption. Police had limited 
transportation, logistics, communication, and forensic capabilities, 
and did not have the capacity to investigate adequately many crimes, 
including murders. The lack of a crime laboratory and other 
investigative tools hampered police investigations and evidence 
gathering, which in turn hampered prosecutors' cases. Training by UNMIL 
and others led to some improvement within the LNP.
    An AFL disciplinary board investigates alleged misconduct and 
abuses by security forces. Lacking a court martial system, criminal 
cases were handed over to the LNP and Ministry of Justice for 
prosecution.
    On April 11, the president convened a special independent committee 
of inquiry to investigate allegations that the LNP used excessive force 
to subdue a March 22 student demonstration. Students demonstrated in 
support of their teachers who were striking for promised salary 
increases. The task force recommended the deputy director of police be 
dismissed and the director of police suspended without pay for two 
months. On August 1, the president suspended the deputy director for 
one month and the director received a letter of warning.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution requires warrants to make arrests and provides that 
detainees either be charged or released within 48 hours; however, 
arrests were often made without warrants, or warrants were sometimes 
issued without sufficient evidence, and detainees, particularly the 
majority without the means to hire a lawyer, often were held for more 
than 48 hours without charge. Detainees generally were informed of the 
charges against them upon arrest. Detainees have the right to prompt 
determination of the legality of their arrest, but in practice this did 
not always occur. The law provides for bail for all offenses except 
first-degree rape, murder, armed robbery, and treason. Detainees have 
the right to prompt access to counsel, visits from family members, and 
if indigent, to an attorney provided by the state in criminal and civil 
cases, but the government did not always observe such rights.

    Pretrial Detention.--Although the law provides for the right of a 
defendant to receive an expeditious trial, lengthy pretrial and pre-
arraignment detention remained serious problems. An estimated 79 
percent of prisoners were pretrial detainees, in spite of the release 
of 594 during the year by the Fast Track Court to reduce overcrowding. 
The length of time detainees were held in pretrial detention varied, 
but averaged three to six months. Improved capacity for probation and 
ongoing police training helped reduce the number. However, 
incarceration of new detainees kept prisons overcrowded. In some cases 
the length of pretrial detention exceeded the maximum length of 
sentence that could be imposed for the alleged crime. Judicial 
inefficiency, corruption, and the lack of transport, court facilities, 
attorneys, and qualified judges caused trial delays.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, judges and magistrates were 
subject to influence and corruption. Uneven application of the law and 
the unequal distribution of personnel and resources remained problems 
throughout the judicial system. A Professional Magistrates Training 
Program for 61 university graduates ended in July; they were to be 
placed in magisterial courts throughout the country to improve judicial 
efficiency and access but had not been deployed at year's end.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and juries are used in 
circuit court trials but not at the magistrate level. The pool of 
jurors was limited by low literacy rates. Jurors were also subject to 
influence and corrupt practices, which undermined their effectiveness 
and neutrality. Under the constitution defendants have the right to be 
present, to consult with an attorney in a timely manner, and to have 
access to government-held evidence relevant to their case; however, 
these rights were not always observed. Defendants enjoy a presumption 
of innocence and have the right to an attorney and to confront or 
question witnesses against them, present evidence and witnesses on 
their behalf, and appeal adverse decisions, but many of these 
protections were not available to defendants who could not pay bribes 
or afford an attorney. Some local NGOs continued to provide legal 
services to indigent defendants and others who had no representation. 
There continued to be long delays in deciding cases.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is no specialized 
court to address lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations. 
There is an independent civil law court in Monrovia, but circuit courts 
in each county function as both criminal and civil courts. Specialty 
courts, such as the tax court, probate court, and labor court, also 
address civil matters. As with criminal courts, specialized courts were 
inefficient and in some cases corrupt. A commercial court with 
jurisdiction over debts incurred from commercial transactions opened in 
Monrovia in July. Individuals may appeal their cases, including human 
rights cases, to the Community Court of Justice of the Economic 
Community of West African States.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and 
the government generally respected these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could generally criticize the 
government publicly or privately without reprisal. However, libel and 
national security laws did place some limits on freedom of speech.

    Freedom of Press.--In Monrovia approximately a dozen newspapers 
were published during the year with varying degrees of regularity; six 
were independent dailies, and five were independent biweekly 
newspapers. The government published the New Liberian newspaper. Due to 
the price of newspapers and transportation, the 55-75 percent 
illiteracy rate, and road conditions, newspaper distribution was 
largely limited to Monrovia.
    Radio remained the primary means of mass communication, and 
stations mostly operated without government restrictions.
    Although generally able to express a wide variety of views, some 
journalists practiced self-censorship, while the government and private 
citizens expressed concern that some journalists commonly accepted 
payments to publish articles and did not always check the accuracy of 
facts.

    Violence and Harassment.--President Sirleaf suspended Liberian 
Broadcasting System Director General Ambrose Nah on September 24. No 
official reason was given for the suspension.
    On November 7, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism and 
the Ministry of Justice petitioned the courts to close three media 
outlets linked to the opposition party Congress for Democratic Change, 
citing inflammatory and inciting language in the period before the 
November 8 elections and their coverage of a violent demonstration on 
November 7. The judge ordered the radio and TV outlets closed. On 
November 15, the judge declared the government had authority to shut 
down the media outlets based on their news content, but ordered they be 
reopened that same day.
    On January 22, the Supreme Court ordered Rodney Sieh, editor of the 
newspaper Front Page Africa, arrested for contempt of court in an 
October 2010 case in which the court contended the newspaper published 
an inaccurate story. The Executive Mansion intervened, and Sieh was 
released on January 24.

    Nongovernmental Impact.--In October a journalist claimed opposition 
leader George Weah intimidated and ordered him to remove and destroy 
photos he had taken of Weah allegedly harassing a motorcycle driver 
while campaigning in Nimba County.

    Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--The Ministry of Information, 
Culture and Tourism, in collaboration with the United Nations 
Development Programme (UNDP), initiated a short-term training program 
for rural female journalists. Under the program, female reporters and 
radio program producers were provided practical training at selected 
media institutions in Monrovia.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of peaceful 
assembly, and the government generally respected it in practice.
    On November 7, law enforcement agents clashed with supporters of 
the opposition party Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) when CDC 
supporters, without a permit, left their headquarters to march into 
Monrovia. Other government agents and U.N. force personnel helped to 
end the violence, which resulted in one confirmed death. On November 
14, the president convened a special independent committee of inquiry 
to investigate the violence; its investigation was ongoing at year's 
end. An initial report issued on November 25 recommended, and the 
president agreed, that Inspector General of Police Marc Amblard be 
relieved of command.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
association, and the government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. However, LNP and Bureau of Immigration officers occasionally 
subjected travelers to arbitrary searches and petty extortion at 
checkpoints.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), other humanitarian organizations, 
and donor countries in providing protection and assistance to 
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum 
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government had an 
established system for providing protection to refugees and granted 
refugee status and asylum during the year.

    Durable Solutions.--During the year the UNHCR assisted in the 
voluntary repatriation of 1,762 Liberian refugees from other West 
African countries. It also assisted in the voluntary repatriation of 
730 Ivoirian refugees.
    The Land Commission's review of land disputes between returning 
landowners and internally displaced persons who took over their land 
during the civil war and its review of disputes between villages trying 
to accommodate returning refugees resulted in decreased violence during 
the year.

    Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection 
to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 refugee 
convention or its 1967 protocol. The government continued to provide 
protection to Ivoirian refugees who entered the country since November 
2010. At year's end the UNHCR had registered 128,689 new Ivoirian 
refugees for a total of 135,208. UNHCR relocated nearly one-third of 
the refugee population to six refugee camps and 16 relocation villages 
by 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 free 
and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
    The state is highly centralized, and the head of state appoints 
county superintendents. Local governments have no independent revenue 
base and relied entirely on the central government for funds. As a 
result there were very limited government services outside of Monrovia. 
Local officials were provided funds through the County Development 
Fund, but in some cases county government officials allegedly misused 
these funds.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--During 
the year Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the national presidential election 
with 91 percent of the vote in a runoff election after her opponent, 
Winston Tubman of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), boycotted 
the second round of voting; voters also selected 15 senators and 73 
representatives. The National Elections Commission (NEC) publicized its 
schedule for the conduct of national elections scheduled for October 
2011. Sixteen candidates vied for the presidency; 865 candidates 
registered for the 15 contested Senate and 73 House of Representatives 
seats. On August 23, citizens voted on four issues during the National 
Referendum; the only measure that passed will allow legislative seats 
to be won by simple majority instead of absolute majority. The NEC 
conducted the national elections on October 11; international and 
national observers declared them to be free, fair, transparent, and 
credible, although some minor irregularities were noted. Because no 
presidential candidate won an absolute majority of 50 percent plus one, 
a runoff election was held on November 8. The NEC announced that 
President Sirleaf and the CDC's Tubman would proceed to the second 
round as the top two vote-getters. On November 4, Tubman announced the 
CDC was boycotting the elections, citing unsubstantiated claims of 
widespread fraud.
    International and national observers also declared the November 8 
runoff free, fair, and transparent, although marred by low turnout due 
to the previous day's violent protest and the boycott by the CDC.

    Political Parties.--Registration of political parties and 
independent candidates took place during the year; 30 parties were 
registered.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were five female 
ministers and nine female deputy ministers. There were four women in 
the 30-seat Senate and seven women in the 64-seat House of 
Representatives. One female associate justice sat on the five-seat 
Supreme Court. Women constituted 33 percent of local government 
officials and 31 percent of senior and junior ministers.
    Muslims occupied senior government positions, including one 
minister, two deputy ministers, one senator, five representatives, one 
Supreme Court justice, and one county superintendent.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law does not provide criminal penalties for official 
corruption, although criminal penalties exist for economic sabotage, 
mismanagement of funds, and other corruption-related acts. Officials 
engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Low pay levels for the 
civil service, minimal job training, and few court convictions 
exacerbated official corruption and a culture of impunity. The 
government dismissed officials for alleged corruption and recommended 
others for prosecution. The Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) 
and the Ministry of Justice are responsible for exposing and combating 
official corruption. The LACC is empowered to prosecute any case that 
the Ministry of Justice declines to prosecute; however, its capacity to 
do so remained weak. During the year the LACC investigated 14 cases and 
recommended three for prosecution.
    In July the Ministry of Justice dropped charges, over the LACC's 
objections, against former inspector general of police Beatrice Munah 
Sieh for irregularities in the procurement of uniforms.
    On July 12, a former Liberia Telecommunications Authority chair was 
rearrested for alleged bail jumping in the 2010 case of his alleged 
misuse of $71,022. That case ended in a hung jury, and he was awaiting 
a retrial.
    Judges were susceptible to bribes for awarding damages in civil 
cases. Judges sometimes requested bribes to try cases, release 
detainees from prison, or find defendants not guilty in criminal cases. 
Defense attorneys and prosecutors sometimes suggested defendants pay 
bribes to secure favorable rulings from or appease judges, prosecutors, 
jurors, and police officers. The Ministry of Justice increased its 
calls to reform the jury system.
    The Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs and the Ministry of 
Internal Affairs coordinate management of the County Development Funds. 
The funds were previously administered at the county level, but were 
frozen by President Sirleaf in 2010 due to evidence of frequent misuse.
    The government dismissed or suspended a number of officials for 
corruption. On July 6, the president dissolved the Board of Directors 
of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) as recommended by the 
General Auditing Commission (GAC). GAC cited board members' alleged 
acts of amending by-laws to allow them to accept payments in addition 
to their salaries for services to the LPRC. The board was reconstituted 
on July 11.
    Police corruption was a problem. During the year the LNP 
investigated reports of police misconduct or corruption, and 
authorities suspended or dismissed several LNP officers. For example, 
in April an LNP officer was dismissed for extortion and harassment 
after an LNP investigation found the officer had extorted $255 from an 
individual.
    During the year the government continued to take steps to improve 
transparency.
    The GAC continued its ministerial audits and referred findings to 
the legislature. On March 25, the president announced she was not 
renominating the auditor general for another term. The legislature did 
not recommend any cases to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution.
    The Ministry of Finance published the national budget and quarterly 
financial results, and state-owned enterprises published financial 
statements. Periodic short-term advisors continued to support the 
Ministry of Finance and other government entities during the year. 
Advisers helped improve financial management, purchasing, and 
contracting practices, and instituted financial controls that increased 
government revenues and helped to curb corrupt practices. However, 
government ministries and agencies did not always adhere to public 
procurement regulations, particularly for natural resource concessions.
    The 2010 Freedom of Information Act provides that the government 
should release government information not involving national security 
or military issues upon citizens' 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 operated 
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their 
findings on human rights cases. Government officials were generally 
cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Independent National 
Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) developed a one-year work plan 
including the creation of the Palaver Hut mechanism, where community 
members come together in their towns and villages to discuss their 
grievances and seek reconciliation at the community level.
    President Sirleaf submitted one of four quarterly reports mandated 
by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Act on the 
government's progress in implementing TRC recommendations. In the 
report, submitted in January, the president stated the INCHR had 
devised a work plan under which it would begin to implement the TRC 
recommendations; however, the INHCR had not commenced the Palaver Hut 
mechanism as proposed by the end of the year.
    In January the Supreme Court nullified the TRC report's recommended 
30-year ban on holding public office. The ban sought to bar listed 
individuals from holding elective or appointed public office for 30 
years effective the date of the report. The court determined that the 
ban would deny those listed due process and was therefore 
unconstitutional.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on ethnic 
background, sex, creed, place of origin, disability, ethnic origin, or 
political opinion; however, the government did not enforce these 
provisions effectively.
    The constitution, however, enshrines discrimination on the basis of 
race, and only persons who are ``Negroes'' or of ``Negro descent'' can 
become citizens and own land.
    Differences stemming from the country's civil war continued to 
contribute to social and political tensions among ethnic groups.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal but remained a 
serious and pervasive problem. The 2006 rape law legally defines rape 
but does not specifically criminalize spousal rape. The maximum 
sentence is life imprisonment for first-degree rape and 10 years for 
second-degree rape, and accused first-degree rapists are not eligible 
for bail. However, the government did not always effectively enforce 
the law. Judges had discretion to impose less than the maximum 
sentence. The government and NGOs attributed increased reporting of 
rape to an improved understanding of what constitutes rape. The Sexual 
Pathways Referral program, a combined effort of the government and 
NGOs, improved access to medical, psychosocial, legal, and counseling 
assistance for victims. The Women's and Children's Protection Section 
of the LNP stated that approximately 245 rape cases were reported to 
the unit, of which 101 were prosecuted. However, the true incidence of 
rape was believed to be much higher.
    As mandated by the 2008 Gender and Sexually Based Violence Bill, 
the special court for rape and other violence has exclusive original 
jurisdiction over cases of sexual assault including abuse of minors in 
Montserrado County, which includes Monrovia. In the seven cases 
prosecuted during the year, the government won five convictions.
    The sexual and gender-based violent crimes unit within the Ministry 
of Justice continued to coordinate with the special court and 
collaborate with NGOs to increase sensitization to sexual and gender- 
based violence issues.
    There were 45 LNP Women's and Children's Protection Section (WCPS) 
offices, 21 of them outside Montserrado County. There were 217 WPCS 
officers, a third of whom were female, assigned throughout the country.
    Outside of Montserrado County, the stigma of rape contributed to 
the pervasiveness of out-of-court settlements and obstructed 
prosecution of cases. Inefficiency in the justice system also 
prohibited timely prosecution of cases, although local NGOs pushed for 
prosecution and sometimes provided lawyers to indigent victims. The 
government raised awareness of the issue of rape through billboards, 
radio broadcasts, and other publicity campaigns.
    The law prohibits domestic violence; however, it remained a 
widespread problem. The maximum penalty for domestic violence is six 
months' imprisonment, but the government did not enforce the law 
effectively and generally treated cases, if reported, as either simple 
or aggravated assault. The government and the media made some efforts 
to publicize the problem, and several NGOs continued programs to treat 
abused women and girls and to increase awareness of their rights. LNP 
officers received training on sexual offenses as part of their initial 
training.
    During the year the Ministry of Gender and Development organized 
workshops and seminars to combat domestic violence.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, 
and it remained a major problem, including in schools and places of 
work. Government billboards warned against harassment in the workplace.

    Reproductive Rights.--There are no laws restricting couples and 
individuals from deciding the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children; however, information and assistance on family planning topics 
was difficult to obtain, particularly in rural areas, where there were 
few health clinics. The government has included family planning 
counseling and services as key components of its new 10-year National 
Health and Social Welfare Plan. A 2011 government-led survey found 
contraceptive use below 15 percent for three north central counties. 
However, approximately two-thirds of women surveyed said they wanted to 
use family planning methods. This low usage compared to high desire 
suggests cultural barriers or pressure from the women's partners. The 
maternal mortality rate was 994 deaths per 100,000 live births. 
Reducing maternal mortality was a priority of the government, and 
activities over the past four years included additional training of 
midwives, providing incentives to pregnant women, and a maternal home 
pilot project.

    Discrimination.--Women have not recovered from the setbacks caused 
by the war, when almost all schools were closed, and they were 
prevented from maintaining their traditional roles in the production, 
allocation, and sale of food.
    Women and men enjoy the same legal status. Women can inherit land 
and property, receive equal pay for equal work, and own and manage 
businesses.
    Women experienced some economic discrimination based on historic 
traditions, but the government worked to promote women in the economic 
sector through programs and NGO partnerships to conduct workshops and 
microcredit lending programs. A number of businesses were female-owned 
or operated.
    The law prohibits polygyny; however, traditional and religious 
customs permit men to have more than one wife. No specific office 
exists to ensure the legal rights of women, but the Ministry of Gender 
and Development and the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 
Secretariat (Women, Peace and Security) were generally responsible for 
promoting women's rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship can be derived through 
parentage if at least one parent is a Liberian citizen or by birth in 
the country if the child is of ``Negro'' descent. If a child born in 
the country is not of ``Negro'' descent, the child cannot acquire 
citizenship. As a result, non-``Negro'' residents, such as members of 
the large Lebanese community, cannot acquire or transmit citizenship. 
The law requires parents to register their infants within 14 days of 
birth; however, fewer than 5 percent of births were registered.
    In September the legislature passed the National Children's Act. 
The act sets the foundation for and promotes children's rights 
including parental responsibilities to provide food, shelter, clothing, 
education, healthcare, and other basic needs. It is also intended to 
protect children from illegal child labor practices and harmful 
traditional practices.

    Education.--The legislature passed the New Education Reform Act of 
2011, extending free and compulsory education in public schools from 
the primary (grades 1-6) through junior secondary (grades 7-9) levels. 
Despite this, many schools still charged informal fees to pay teachers 
and operating costs the government did not cover, which prevented many 
students from attending. Fees continued for secondary school, and the 
government was unable to provide for the needs of most schoolchildren. 
In both public and private schools, families of children were often 
required to provide their own uniforms, books, pencils, paper, and even 
desks.
    Although the official primary-school-age population is six to15 
years old, the war disrupted the education of many students, and as a 
result primary school students in the country ranged in age from six to 
more than 20 years old. While education reforms were ongoing, overaged 
students continued to pose a significant challenge to an education 
system with limited resources. Girls accounted for fewer than half of 
all students in primary and secondary schools, with gender parity 
worsening progressively with each subsequent grade. Among the most 
vulnerable and underserved groups in terms of access to education were 
those with special needs and marginalized youth (including vulnerable 
children). Although the government increased its budget allocation for 
education, it was unable to adequately compensate teachers, provide 
schools with needed resources, or offset the opportunity costs to 
families of sending their children to school.

    Child Abuse.--Widespread child abuse continued, and reports of 
sexual violence against children continued during the year. Civil 
society organizations reported continued incidents of rape of girls 
under 12, and there were 37 reported cases of child endangerment during 
the year, a statistic thought to greatly underreport the actual 
incidence.

    Child Marriage.--The Domestic Relations Law sets the minimum 
marriage age at 21 for men and 18 for women. However, Section 2.9 of 
the Equal Rights of the Traditional Marriage Law of 1998 permits a girl 
to marry at age 16. Underage marriage continued to be a problem, 
especially in rural areas. The recently passed National Children's Act 
sets the marriage age for all Liberians at 18.

    Female Genital Mutilation.--FGM was common and traditionally 
performed on young girls in northern, western, and central ethnic 
groups, particularly in rural areas. The most extreme form of FGM, 
infibulation, was not practiced. The law does not prohibit FGM, and 
traditional institutions, such as the secret Sande Society, often 
performed FGM as an initiation rite, making it difficult to ascertain 
the number of cases. To combat harmful traditional practices like FGM, 
the government trained community leaders and women's groups during the 
year and provided training in alternative income-generating skills to 
FGM practitioners.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Young women and girls engaged in 
prostitution for money, food, and school fees. The minimum age for 
consensual sex is 18, and 17 of 38 reported cases of statutory rape--
this is likely a small fraction of the true extent of the problem--were 
tried during the year. Statutory rape is a first-degree rape offense, 
and the maximum sentence for perpetrators is life imprisonment. The law 
also prohibits child pornography, with a penalty of up to five years' 
imprisonment for violators.

    Displaced Children.--Despite international and government attempts 
to reunite children separated from their families during the civil war, 
there were still children who lived on the streets in Monrovia. It was 
difficult to tell who were street children, former combatants, or 
internally displaced persons. Nearly all children older than 10 had 
witnessed atrocities during the 14-year civil war, and some children 
had committed atrocities.

    Institutionalized Children.--Regulation of orphanages continued to 
be very weak. Many unofficial orphanages also served as transit points 
or informal group homes for children, some of whom had living parents 
who had given up their children for possible adoption. Orphanages had 
difficulty providing basic sanitation, adequate medical care, and 
adequate nutrition. They relied primarily on private donations and 
support from international organizations, such as UNICEF and the World 
Food Program, which provided food and care throughout the year. Many 
orphans lived outside these institutions.

    International Child Abductions.--To address issues of child 
adoption and international child abduction, the government imposed a 
moratorium on child adoption in 2009; the moratorium continued during 
the year.
    Liberia is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no significant Jewish community, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although it is illegal to discriminate 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities, such persons did 
not enjoy equal access to government services. No laws mandate access 
to public buildings. Streets, schools, public buildings, and other 
facilities were generally in poor condition and inaccessible to persons 
with disabilities, although new curbs in Monrovia were built to be 
wheelchair accessible. Many citizens had permanent disabilities as a 
result of the civil war. Persons with disabilities faced societal 
discrimination, particularly in rural areas. Children with disabilities 
had access to education; however, a 2008-09 survey found only 0.8 
percent of students enrolled in school were identified as disabled. The 
Ministry of Education named a director of special education to address 
the needs of children with disabilities. The National Commission on 
Disabilities conducted an assessment on eight special schools in the 
greater Monrovia area during the year; its results were pending.
    The Journal of the American Medical Association published a Harvard 
Humanitarian Initiative study that concluded that 40 percent of the 
population had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or other mental 
disabilities.
    The government identified an estimated 16 percent of the population 
as disabled, but that number was believed actually to be higher due to 
the civil conflict.
    The National Commission on Disabilities and the Ministry of Health 
and Social Welfare were responsible for protecting the rights of 
persons with disabilities; however, they did not always do so 
effectively.
    Following the October 11 general election, the National Union of 
Organizations for the Disabled noted that persons with disabilities 
were frequently unable to enter polling places, and there was no 
provision of tactile ballot guides for the blind.
    During the year the commission and ministry conducted a series of 
sensitization programs about persons with disabilities, but with 
limited effect. The commission also began work on a plan for the 
government's promotion of the rights of such persons in education, 
employment, and livelihood. The plan was pending completion at year's 
end. NGOs provided some services to persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although the law prohibits 
ethnic discrimination, racial discrimination is enshrined in the 
constitution, which provides that only ``persons who are Negroes or of 
Negro descent'' may be citizens and own land. Many persons of Lebanese 
and Asian descent who were born or lived most of their lives in the 
country were denied citizenship and property rights as a result of this 
discrimination.

    Indigenous People.--The country has 16 indigenous ethnic groups; 
each speaks a distinct primary language and was concentrated 
regionally. Differences involving ethnic groups continued to contribute 
to social and political tensions.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits sodomy, and 
the culture is strongly opposed to homosexuality. ``Voluntary sodomy'' 
is a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to one year's imprisonment. There 
were no reported instances of violence based on sexual orientation. 
There were no civil society groups dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
or transgender rights operating in the country.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence against people with HIV/AIDS.
    Mob violence and vigilantism--which resulted in part from the 
public's lack of confidence in the police and judicial system--resulted 
in deaths and injuries.
    On December 22 and 23, youth seeking payment for their work in a 
short-term seasonal employment scheme rioted in Monrovia when some were 
denied payment because they were not listed on the employment roster or 
were inadequately paid. The payments were suspended until 2012 pending 
review of work logs and records. No deaths were reported, but there was 
damage to public and private property.
    The LNP arrested six individuals in the April 15 mob killing of a 
Sierra Leonean national believed to have murdered their teacher the 
previous night.
    In September a court indicted four persons in the February 2010 mob 
killing in Monrovia of an LNP officer who allegedly shot and killed a 
man, reportedly over a personal dispute.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, except public servants and employees of state-
owned enterprises, to form or join freely independent unions of their 
choice without prior authorization or excessive requirements. It allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference by employers 
but does not provide adequate protection due to inadequate sanctions. 
The law prohibits unions from engaging in partisan political activity. 
It prohibits agricultural workers from joining industrial workers' 
organizations. Workers, except civil servants, have the right to 
strike. Collective bargaining is protected by law. With the exception 
of employees in state-owned enterprises and public servants, all 
workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively.
    While the law prohibits antiunion discrimination and provides for 
reinstatement for workers dismissed for union activity, it allows for 
dismissal without cause if the company provided the mandated severance 
package. It also does not prohibit retaliation against strikers. 
However, the requirement to notify the Ministry of Labor of the intent 
to strike, and the ministry's resulting involvement, were thought to 
mitigate retaliation.
    In general the government effectively enforced applicable laws, and 
workers exercised their rights in practice. The Singapore-based NOS 
Shipping Company signed a collective bargaining agreement with the 
United Seamen Ports and General Workers Union of Liberia Seafarers 
Section in December. New negotiations were launched in the rubber 
sector, but no new collective bargaining agreements had been reached by 
year's end. Union power increased during the year through increased 
membership at major plantations; however, the largely illiterate 
workforce engaged in few economic activities beyond the subsistence 
level. Unions were independent of government and political parties.
    There were no reports of discrimination or employer retaliation 
against strikers during the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however, such practices occurred.
    Families living in the interior sometimes sent young women and 
children to stay with relatives in Monrovia or other cities with the 
promise that the relatives would assist the women and children in 
pursuing educational or other opportunities. However, in some 
instances, these women and children were forced to work as street 
vendors, domestic servants, or beggars on behalf of disabled or blind 
relatives. A 2011 International Labor Organization (ILO) report cited 
the southeastern region of the country for alleged practices of forced 
labor.
    When victims were identified, the Women's and Children's Protection 
Section (WCPS) of the LNP, along with partnering NGOs, worked to 
reunite victims with their families in the interior or referred them to 
safe homes. Child labor was addressed as a child endangerment issue and 
as such, no reliable figures were available on the number of children 
removed from forced labor.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment and apprenticeship of children under age 
16 during school hours. The law does not provide for additional 
restrictions on working hours nor for occupational safety and health. 
One of the provisions of the New Education Reform Act of 2011 addresses 
prior inconsistencies between the minimum employment age and compulsory 
educational requirements. The new compulsory education requirement 
extends through grade nine or until age 15, also the minimum employment 
age. The National Children's Act has provisions intended to protect 
children from the worst forms of child labor and was expected to 
supplement other laws and efforts.
    The Child Labor Commission is responsible for enforcing child labor 
laws and policies. The commission coordinated efforts to provide 
scholarships for children to enroll in school. The Ministry of Labor's 
Child Labor Secretariat, the Ministry of Justice's Human Rights 
Division, the Ministry of Gender and Development's Human Rights 
Division, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare's Department of 
Social Welfare, and the LNP Women and Children Protection Section were 
also charged with investigating and referring for prosecution 
allegations of child labor.
    However, the government did not effectively enforce child labor 
laws. The Child Labor Commission had inadequate staff and funding. 
Except for regularly scheduled sensitization and training activities, 
it undertook no significant actions to address child labor.
    Child labor was widespread in almost every economic sector. In 
urban areas children assisted their parents as vendors in markets or 
hawked goods on the streets. During the year there were reports that 
children tapped rubber on smaller plantations and private farms. There 
were also reports that children worked in conditions that were likely 
to harm their health and safety, such as stone cutting or work that 
required carrying heavy loads. Some children were engaged in hazardous 
labor in alluvial diamond mining and in agriculture.
    International NGOs continued to work to eliminate the worst forms 
of child labor by withdrawing children from hazardous work and putting 
at-risk children in school. Other local and international NGOs worked 
to raise awareness of the worst forms of child labor.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national law requires a 
minimum wage of 15 Liberian dollars ($0.30) per hour, not exceeding 
eight hours per day, excluding benefits, for unskilled laborers. The 
minimum wage laws apply only to the formal economic sector. The law 
does not fix a minimum wage for agricultural workers but requires that 
they be paid at the rate agreed to in the collective bargaining 
agreement between workers' unions and their management, excluding 
benefits. Skilled labor has no minimum fixed wage, and the minimum wage 
for civil servants was 5,600 Liberian dollars ($114) per month.
    Families dependent on minimum wage incomes also engaged in 
subsistence farming, small-scale marketing, and begging.
    The law provides for a 48-hour, six-day regular workweek with a 30-
minute rest period for every five hours of work. The six-day workweek 
may be extended to 56 hours for service occupations and 72 hours for 
miners, with overtime pay beyond 48 hours. The law also provides for 
pay for overtime and prohibits excessive compulsory overtime.
    The law provides for paid leave, severance benefits, and 
occupational health and safety standards. The law does not give workers 
the right to remove themselves from dangerous situations without 
risking loss of employment. Penalties were not sufficient to deter 
violations. The government submitted the New Labor Law and Minimum Wage 
Bill to the legislature for passage in an attempt to modernize current 
labor laws and to strengthen the government's ability to deter 
violations.
    The Ministry of Labor's Labor Inspection Department enforced 
government-established health and safety standards. The ministry had 
approximately 25 inspectors throughout the country to investigate 
allegations of labor violations. Officials conducted unannounced visits 
to consistent violators to improve standards. Enforcement of standards 
and inspection findings were not always consistent.
    Due to the continued severe economic problems, most citizens had to 
accept any work they could find regardless of wages or working 
conditions. The current minimum wage does not provide a livable income, 
and workers often found other activities, like street selling, to 
supplement their wages. Individuals working in the formal economy, 
estimated at 15 percent of the workforce, were afforded labor 
protections, although working conditions varied from workplace to 
workplace. Those in the informal economy, particularly in street 
selling and small-scale farming, often worked more than the 48-hour 
workweek and faced harsher working conditions.

                               __________

                               MADAGASCAR

                           executive summary
    Madagascar is ruled by an unelected and illegal civilian regime 
that assumed power in a March 2009 coup with military support. Andry 
Nirina Rajoelina adopted the title of president of the High Transition 
Authority (HAT), at the head of a loose coalition of former opposition 
politicians, intending to remain in this position until elections are 
held. Former president Marc Ravalomanana, democratically elected in 
2006, is in exile. On September 17, local political leaders signed a 
``Roadmap For Ending the Crisis in Madagascar,'' brokered by mediators 
acting on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), 
which established a transitional process intended to culminate in free 
and open elections for the restoration of a legal government. In 
accordance with the letter, if not the spirit, of this roadmap, 
Rajoelina appointed a ``Prime Minister of Consensus'' on October 28, a 
35-member ``Government of National Unity'' cabinet on November 21, and 
a ``Transition Congress'' with more than 160 members, and a ``High 
Transitional Council'' with more than 360 members on December 1. 
Military leaders continued to assert their autonomy from the current 
political leadership, despite their tacit support of Rajoelina and the 
SADC-endorsed roadmap. There were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The three most important human rights abuses included unlawful 
killings and other security force abuses, arbitrary arrest and 
detention, and the inability of citizens to choose their government.
    Other human rights problems included harsh prison conditions, 
sometimes resulting in deaths; lengthy pretrial detention; an 
inefficient judiciary that lacked independence; violence against and 
intimidation of journalists; restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, 
and assembly; official corruption and impunity; societal discrimination 
and violence against women, persons with disabilities, and the lesbian, 
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community; trafficking of women 
and children; and child labor, including forced child labor.
    The government did not take steps to prosecute or punish officials 
who committed abuses, and impunity remained a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were several 
reports that the de facto regime or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings. Police and gendarmes continued to use unwarranted 
lethal force during pursuit and arrest.
    For example, during the year law enforcement officers shot and 
killed at least 51 criminal suspects. Off-duty and intoxicated elements 
of the armed forces also killed civilians with their firearms. 
Witnesses reported seeing elements of the Rapid Intervention Group 
shoot and kill three criminal suspects on September 8 in Ankorondrano, 
after they had already surrendered and raised their hands in the air. 
No action was taken against any of the security force members for 
excessive use of force or unwarranted use of lethal weapons.
    On December 9, a police mob beat to death Michel Rehavana, a judge 
in Tulear. Another judge's conviction of a police officer for renting 
out his weapons to bandits triggered the event, creating significant 
tension between police and judges across the country. At year's end, 
central authorities brought some of those responsible for the killing 
to the capital for questioning, while the Magistrate's Union went on 
strike to protest the killing, virtually shutting down the entire 
judicial system. The magistrates demanded the punishment of those 
responsible and the resignation of the de facto minister of internal 
security Arsene Rakotondrazaka, who was present in Tulear the day of 
the event.
    On July 18, elements of the Police Intervention Force interrogated 
and beat taxi driver Hajamananirainy Clermont for allegedly using a 
slingshot to propel rocks at the presidential convoy. The next morning, 
Clermont was left at a hospital, where he died of his wounds. 
Authorities denied that the convoy passed at the reported location and 
time, and no action was taken against the security force members.
    There were no further developments in any of the deaths resulting 
from actions by security forces in 2010.
    In August 2010 former president Ravalomanana was tried in absentia, 
convicted, and sentenced to forced labor for life, for the 2009 
killings by presidential guards of at least 30 protesters outside 
Ambohitsorohitra Palace in Antananarivo. Ravalomanana continued to 
claim his innocence while exiled in South Africa.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
abductions or kidnappings during the year.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law provide for the inviolability of 
the person and prohibit such practices; however, security forces 
subjected prisoners to physical and mental abuse, including torture.
    On March 18, Alphonse Rafaralahitsimba and Misa Arifetra 
Rakotoarivelo were sent to Ambatololma Prison after they testified that 
Mamy Rakotoarivelo, a leader of former president Ravalomanana's 
political faction, was the mastermind behind an alleged assassination 
attempt on regime leader Rajoelina on March 3. Family members of the 
two men publicly claimed their confessions had been coerced under 
threats and torture by electrical shock and physical violence. While 
the Directorate of Territorial Security rejected these claims, 
journalists were not permitted access to the detention center to view 
the physical condition of the two men.
    There were no further developments in the following 2010 cases: the 
November arrest and reported physical abuse by proregime forces of a 
group of military officers who had led an attempted coup and the April 
injuries to six persons when Antsiranana police opened fire on a 
funeral procession that passed in front of the central police station.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh and life threatening. Severe overcrowding--due to weaknesses in 
the judicial system and inadequate prison infrastructure--remained a 
serious problem. Lengthy pretrial detention was pervasive.
    As of November the country's 83 prisons and detention centers held 
approximately 19,870 prisoners; although they only had capacity for 
13,000. These prisoners included 785 women, 444 juvenile males, and 17 
juvenile females under age 18. A total of 47 percent (9,353) had been 
convicted.
    Chronic malnutrition, which affected up to two-thirds of detainees 
in some prisons, was the most common cause of death. The Ministry of 
Justice's 2008 goal to raise prisoners' daily food ration (typically 
dry manioc, rice, or cassava) had not been implemented, and the 
situation worsened due to budget shortfalls as a result of the ongoing 
political crisis and the suspension of some foreign assistance. 
Families and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) supplemented the 
daily rations of some prisoners.
    In June and July 2010, there were four reported deaths in 
Taolagnaro Prison due primarily to malnutrition. However, NGO and media 
sources indicated substantial underreporting of prison deaths, and the 
total number of deaths in all prisons during the year was unavailable.
    Malnutrition and a lack of hygiene made detainees vulnerable to 
disease, including epidemics. Deteriorating prison infrastructure--
including a lack of sanitary facilities and potable water--resulted in 
skin disease, insect infestation, and other health risks. Access to 
medical care was limited, although NGOs reported improvement in 
targeted sanitation activities at several facilities in the north. 
Ventilation, lighting, and temperature control in facilities were 
inadequate or hardly existed.
    Church leaders and some NGOs reported that rape was commonplace in 
prisons and often used by prison guards and other inmates to humiliate 
prisoners. Other organizations stated that while rape cases were the 
exception, prisoners often prostituted themselves for food.
    Juveniles were not always held separately from the adult prison 
population, and some preschool-age children shared cells with their 
incarcerated mothers. There were at least two political detainees held 
under house arrest, instead of being imprisoned with the general prison 
population, but other political prisoners generally were held in the 
same facilities. Pretrial detainees seldom were held separately from 
the general prison population.
    Prisoners and detainees were authorized to receive weekly visits 
from relatives and permitted religious observance.
    There was no provision for ombudsmen to serve on behalf of 
prisoners and detainees.
    There were no reports that the de facto regime permitted prisoners 
and detainees to submit complaints on inhumane conditions to judicial 
authorities, or that it investigated or monitored prison and detention 
center conditions or acted to improve them.
    Prison conditions for male and female prisoners were essentially 
the same. Prison recordkeeping was inadequate and poorly coordinated 
with police and judicial authorities.
    Authorities generally permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), 
several local NGOs, and some diplomatic missions, and such visits 
occurred during the year. The ICRC conducted visits several times 
during the year to each of 30 main penitentiary facilities; the ICRC 
was able to hold private consultations in accordance with its standard 
modalities. ICRC representatives also were permitted to visit detainees 
in pretrial or temporary detention for monitoring purposes.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, authorities did not 
always respect these provisions in practice. Persons were arrested on 
vague charges, and suspects were detained for long periods without 
trial.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The de facto minister 
for internal security oversees the national police, the gendarmerie, 
and the coast guard, with authority to preserve law and order in both 
urban and rural areas. The gendarmerie had previously been under the 
authority of the Ministry of Defense. Decree 2011-687, issued on 
November 21 by the de facto regime president Andry Rajoelina and 
``prime minister of consensus'' Jean Omer Beriziky, elevates the de 
facto state secretary for the gendarmerie, Brigadier General 
Randrianazary, to one of 35 cabinet-level positions.
    Lack of training and equipment, low salaries, unclear command 
structures, and rampant corruption severely diminished the security 
forces' ability to respond effectively to the civil unrest that began 
in January 2009. By April 2009, however, security forces under the 
control of the de facto regime began to assert control over 
demonstrations in the capital, with an accompanying reduction in 
violence. The creation in March 2009 of the Joint National 
Investigation Committee, later renamed the Special Investigation Force 
(FIS), added an additional security force answerable directly to the 
regime leader and outside the authority of the de facto minister for 
internal security. The FIS began to pursue high-profile targets without 
resorting to regular judicial processes. Security forces routinely used 
excessive force during arrests and while dispersing demonstrations, 
employing tear gas, flash grenades, and live ammunition.
    There was no systematic mechanism available for investigating 
security force abuses. However, victims may lodge complaints in the 
court of jurisdiction. This rarely, if ever, occurred. According to 
police authorities, 125 police agents were tried between March and 
September, primarily for abandonment of duty, corruption, and 
extortion. There were no reported trials for excessive or arbitrary use 
of force.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Although the 
law requires that authorities obtain arrest warrants in all cases 
except those involving hot pursuit, persons were often detained and 
jailed based on accusations or political affiliation. Defendants have a 
general right to counsel, and those who could not afford a lawyer were 
entitled to one provided by the state. Many citizens were unaware of 
this right or were too afraid to request an attorney. Defendants have 
the right to be informed of charges against them, but this right was 
not always respected. A bail system exists, but bail frequently was 
denied for more severe or high-profile crimes. Magistrates often 
resorted to a ``mandat de depot'' (retaining writ) under which 
defendants were held in detention for the entire pretrial period. The 
law limits the duration of pretrial detention and regulates the use of 
the writ. Regulations limit the duration of detention based on the type 
of crime, with a theoretical maximum of eight months for criminal 
cases. Family members of prisoners generally were allowed access to 
prisoners; however, access to certain prisoners was more limited, such 
as those in solitary confinement or those arrested for political 
reasons.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrest occurred. For example, on March 
15, Mamy Rakotoarivelo, a leader of former president Ravalomanana's 
political faction, was arrested and held in police custody for 15 days. 
Security forces stated that he was suspected of being the mastermind of 
a March 3 ``assassination attempt'' on regime leader Rajoelina. He was 
released on March 29, but three other persons arrested on the same 
charges remained detained at year's end (see section 1.c.). Andry 
Rajoelina subsequently appointed Rakotoarivelo as a member of the 
Transitional Congress on December 1. On December 7, Rakotoarivelo was 
elected president of the Transitional Congress.
    Journalists were arrested during the year (see section 2.a.).
    In November 2010 Fetison Rakoto Adrianairina and Zafilahy Stanislas 
(leaders of the opposition group supported by former president 
Ravalomanana) and Pastor Edouard Tsarahame (a leader of the opposition 
group supported by former president Albert Zafy) were arrested for 
holding an unauthorized demonstration. They were subsequently moved to 
different prisons and to an undisclosed location for five days without 
the knowledge of their lawyers or family. On February 9, Adrianairina 
received a suspended prison sentence of 13 months. Pastor Tsarahame and 
Stanislas each received suspended prison sentences of 10 months for 
holding an unauthorized demonstration and an additional suspended 
sentence of six months for inciting a rebellion causing looting. The 
other 16 suspects each received suspended sentences of between six and 
12 months.
    In November 2010 regime forces arrested Raymond Ranjeva's pregnant 
daughter and searched his house, accusing him of being involved in a 
coup attempt. Ranjeva allegedly was told to turn himself in if he 
wanted his daughter to be released. Ranjeva obliged and was released a 
few hours later, but his daughter remained in custody for insulting 
regime forces and was sentenced to one month's probation (see section 
1.d.).
    There was a sharp increase in politically motivated detentions 
immediately before and after the 2009 coup. The number of arrestees 
remained disputed, but several remained imprisoned (see sections 1.e. 
and 2.a.).

    Pretrial Detention.--The Ministry of Justice reported that 
approximately 53 percent of the prison population was in pretrial 
detention.
    The law mandates that a criminal suspect be charged or released 
within 48 hours of arrest; however, authorities often detained 
individuals for significantly longer periods before charging or 
releasing them. Poor recordkeeping, an outdated judicial system that 
favored keeping the accused in detention until their trial, an 
insufficient number of magistrates, lack of resources, and difficult 
access in remote areas contributed to lengthy pretrial detention, 
ranging from several days to several years. Many detainees spent longer 
in investigative detention than they would have spent incarcerated 
following a maximum sentence for the charges faced.

    Amnesty.--A June 26 presidential pardon led to the July 8 release 
of 3,500 detainees, including 430 from Antanimora Prison. Most released 
prisoners were over the age of 65.
    The SADC-endorsed roadmap calls for the creation of a Transitional 
Parliament (inaugurated on December 2), which would draft and ratify an 
amnesty law as a prerequisite for national elections. To promote 
national reconciliation, the law would grant a blanket amnesty for all 
political events occurring between 2002 and 2009, except for crimes 
against humanity, war crimes, crimes of genocide, and other serious 
violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. By year's end no 
action had been taken to draft amnesty legislation.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary was susceptible to 
executive influence at all levels, and corruption remained a serious 
problem. This worsened under the de facto authorities, and intimidation 
surrounded every major judicial decision since 2009. The absence of any 
legitimate legislative body permitted the de facto government 
effectively to rule by decree, with no check on executive power. The de 
facto minister of justice, Christine Razanamahasoa, routinely expressed 
opinions on high-profile judicial decisions to the media before the 
court announced them.
    Military courts are reserved for the trials of military personnel 
and generally follow the procedures of the civil judicial system, 
except that military officers are included on juries. Defendants in 
military cases have access to an appeals process and generally benefit 
from the same rights available to civilians, although their trials are 
not public. A civilian magistrate, usually joined by a panel of 
military officers, presides over military trials.
    The trial of 13 military officers allegedly involved in the 
November 2010 attempted coup was scheduled for October 10 in 
Fianarantsoa. However, the defendants' families claimed that a fair 
trial could only occur in the capital, Antananarivo. The trial was 
postponed, and no new date announced.
    The law provides traditional village institutions the right to 
protect property and public order. Some rural areas used an informal, 
community-organized judicial system, or ``dina,'' to resolve civil 
disputes between villagers over such issues as alleged cattle rustling. 
This system garnered criticism for human rights abuses, particularly 
for imposing harsh sentences well outside the scope of formal law 
without due process. In the past, these sentences included beheadings, 
but recently focused more on exiling the convicted individual from the 
district where the crime occurred.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for a presumption of innocence; 
however, this was often overlooked. The constitution and law provide 
defendants with the right to a full defense at every stage of the 
proceedings, and trials are public. While the law provides that juries 
can be used in all cases, in practice they were used only in labor 
disputes. Defendants have the right to be present at their trials, to 
be informed of the charges against them, to call and confront 
witnesses, and to present evidence. The government is required to 
provide counsel for all detainees held on criminal charges who cannot 
afford their own attorney; however, in practice, many citizens were not 
aware of this right, nor made aware of it by authorities. Attorneys 
have access to government-held evidence, but this right does not extend 
to defendants without attorneys. Defendants have the right to appeal 
convictions.
    The law extends these rights to all citizens without exception; 
however, in practice these rights were routinely denied, as the de 
facto government prolonged incarceration of suspects for weeks without 
charge and continually postponed hearings while denying bail.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--No definitive numbers were 
available, but in July 2010 a Ministry of Justice source stated that 
the de facto regime had placed 102 ``political prisoners'' in 
``preventive detention'' since 2009, many with little or no evidence of 
having committed criminal or civil offenses. Subsequently, some were 
released conditionally or without being charged. Opposition leaders 
alleged that dozens of additional persons were detained without due 
process for their role in political protests, although the facts of 
their individual cases were unavailable.
    The SADC-endorsed roadmap calls for transitional authorities and 
institutions to adopt security and confidence-building measures, to 
adhere to the rule of law and the principle of equal treatment, and to 
terminate ongoing legal proceedings against members of the opposition 
that appear to be politically motivated. It also calls on transitional 
authorities to allow all Malagasy citizens in exile for political 
reasons to return to the country unconditionally, ensure the political 
freedom of all citizens, and ensure an inclusive transition towards 
free, fair, and credible elections.
    In November Tojo Ravalomanana, the son of ousted president Marc 
Ravalomanana, returned to Antananarivo from South Africa. Within days, 
senior HAT officials stated that he would be subject to detention and 
interrogation by the national gendarmerie or other security services, 
despite the absence of any criminal charges against him. Following 
protests by SADC officials, HAT authorities later declared that Tojo 
Ravalomanana was not being sought by security services, and allowed him 
to return to his private residence.
    In August Ralitera Andrianandraina, former head of security for the 
courts, who was arrested for owning a hunting rifle, was released after 
27 months in prison. Andrianandraina originally was arrested in 2009, 
charged with alleged murder after protesters were killed when storming 
the presidential palace, and sentenced to a year's imprisonment for 
illegal possession of weapons.
    Some prisoners remained difficult to classify due to the effects of 
corruption and intimidation in the judicial process. These prisoners 
generally received treatment equal to that of other prisoners, and 
international humanitarian organizations were permitted access to them.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary deals with 
all civil matters, including human rights cases, and individuals or 
organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations. 
However, the courts lacked independence, were corrupt, and often 
encountered difficulty in enforcing judgments in civil cases.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but homes and 
workplaces of opposition groups were subjected to arbitrary searches 
without warrants. Regime forces also punished family members for 
alleged offenses committed by individuals (see section 1.d.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press, but both the de facto regime and nongovernment groups actively 
impeded political criticism with threats and violence against 
individuals, reporters, media owners, and media outlets. A September 
2010 report by international NGO Freedom House on the status of press 
freedom categorized the country as ``not free,'' downgraded from the 
previous year's rating of ``partially free.'' The report noted that 
``both main parties routinely ignored constitutional protections for 
media freedom while in power, using harassment, intimidation, and 
censorship to restrict media operations. As a result, news coverage 
became extremely partisan and polarized, while diversity of views 
receded.''

    Freedom of Speech.--There were no official restrictions on the 
ability of individuals to criticize the regime publicly or privately; 
however, several individuals reported that both the de facto regime and 
nongovernment groups actively impeded political criticism with threats 
and violence against individuals and opposition groups.

    Freedom of Press.--There were 13 privately owned major daily 
newspapers and many other privately owned national and local news 
publications that were published less frequently.
    More than 300 radio and television stations operated in the 
country, and many shifted to live call-in shows to distance themselves 
from editorial responsibility for content. During the year de facto 
minister of communication Harry Laurent Rahajason withdrew the 
broadcast licenses of an estimated 50 radio and television stations 
that had received licenses previously and ordered them to suspend 
broadcasting immediately. Meanwhile, de facto leader Andry Rajoelina's 
media group, officially registered in his father's name, was given the 
option to extend services in the provinces and the right to continue to 
broadcast freely. After the November 2010 coup attempt, the regime sent 
warning letters to four television stations implying that airing 
anything seen as opposing the regime would be considered a threat to 
public order and security and could lead to suspension and even 
withdrawal of operating permits. Regime authorities repeatedly 
postponed trials for journalists arrested in 2010 and earlier.
    Books published locally concentrated on culture and education, 
while self-censorship led to books of a political nature being 
published abroad.

    Violence and Harassment.--During the year there were reports of 
individuals, some with ties to media outlets, who were threatened or 
arrested for distributing publications that the regime claimed could 
incite political instability. In November, James Ramarosaona, a 
journalist for a major daily, was threatened on his way home and told 
to ``shut up'' or his and his family's security would be in danger. He 
had published articles on the importance of respecting national 
sovereignty and the SADC-endorsed roadmap.
    On October 25, a judge postponed the trial of the 11-member staff 
of Radio Fahazavana, awaiting trial on bail since their 2010 arrest. 
The defendants did not appear for their trial on that day and, 
according to their lawyer, had not been notified of their trial date. 
The trial date was rescheduled for January 24, 2012.
    All journalists released on bail remained subject to arrest again 
at any time.
    In 2010 several journalists were jailed, and regime security forces 
attacked residences of editors or media owners. There were at least 
five incidents of authorities arresting radio journalists and/or 
suspending or closing radio stations. The two journalists from the FJKM 
Church arrested in 2010 had not been brought to trial by year's end. 
The trial was scheduled for January 22, 2012.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Broadcasting licenses for 
radio and television were suspended arbitrarily(see above). To maintain 
access to sources and remain safe, all journalists practiced self-
censorship.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--National security often was cited as 
a justification for suspending licenses and arresting journalists (see 
above).

    Internet Freedom.--There were generally no restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the de facto 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. 
Public access to the Internet was limited mainly to urban areas.
    Political groups, parties, and activists used the Internet 
extensively to advance their agendas, share news, and criticize other 
parties. Although there were allegations of technical sabotage of some 
Web sites during the year, the Internet was considered among the more 
reliable sources of information, as many Internet servers were outside 
the country and could not be regulated by the regime.

    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, 
but this right was restricted extensively during the year. De facto 
government officials and security forces regularly impeded opposition 
gatherings around the country. Five days after the nomination of the 
``prime minister of consensus'' Jean Omer Beriziky on October 28, the 
outgoing minister of interior's chief of staff issued a note forbidding 
any political demonstration until the ``Transition Government of 
National Unity'' was set up ``in order to ensure political 
appeasement.''
    Opposition groups repeatedly were denied the right to hold 
political rallies in various public venues in Antananarivo, despite 
verifying the availability of the venues and applying for the proper 
permits.
    On May 19, opposition protesters held an unauthorized protest near 
the Anosy Court and the National Radio. Former president Albert Zafy 
requested airtime on national radio, and in response, elements of the 
gendarmerie scattered protesters with tear gas.
    On September 10, the ``Rodoben'ny Gasy'' (the new name for the 
``Trois Mouvances'' representing the political factions of the three 
former presidents) was denied authorization to hold a rally at 
Democracy Square in celebration of Democracy Week. The regime then 
changed Democracy Square, the principal location where Rajoelina led 
demonstrations before the 2009 coup, into a children's park to prevent 
future demonstrations there.
    Guy Maxime Ralaiseheno, leader of the Association of Mayors of 
Madagascar, who was arrested in November 2010 for leading a protest, 
was released from prison on January 25 but suspended from his mayoral 
duties. His suspension was renewed six times, most recently on 
September 26, and remained in effect at year's end.
    In 2010 the de facto regime forbade protests during the November 
referendum period and continued the ban through the holiday season 
(Christmas to New Year's Day).

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for the 
right of association and permit citizens to organize political parties 
and associations. The government generally respected this right in 
practice, and the SADC-endorsed roadmap includes a requirement that the 
Transitional Parliament adopt new laws on political parties and the 
status of the opposition. However, by year's end no such laws had been 
drafted or ratified.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. However, in high profile cases related to former presidents 
Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka, the de facto authorities prevented foreign 
travel and repatriation.
    The de facto authorities cooperated with the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian agencies 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    Foreign Travel.--On June 21, former minister of finance under the 
Ravalomanana government, Haja Nirina Razafinjatovo, was prevented from 
embarking at the Nosy Be Airport on a flight to South Africa. 
Authorities cited an exit ban imposed on him for alleged embezzlement 
of public funds.

    Exile.--The constitution does not explicitly prohibit forced exile, 
and the coup regime utilized it selectively. Former president Ratsiraka 
was exiled in France until November, and former president Ravalomanana 
remained in exile in South Africa at year's end. Both had a Notice to 
Airmen (NOTAM) issued against them that forbid commercial airlines to 
allow them to board a plane bound for Madagascar. Ratsiraka's exile 
allegedly expired in November. An additional NOTAM against Ravalomanana 
was issued in September; it reportedly was lifted after the signing of 
the SADC-endorsed roadmap. On December 16, another NOTAM was placed 
against Ravalomanana but was lifted on December 20 after protests from 
the SADC and opposition groups.
    While the SADC-endorsed roadmap calls for the unconditional return 
of political exiles, former president Ravalomanana had not attempted to 
return, subsequent to the signing of the roadmap, at year's end. In 
August 2010 the Antananarivo Criminal Court convicted Ravalomanana in 
absentia for his presumed involvement in the February 2009 presidential 
palace shootings and sentenced him to a life sentence of hard labor. On 
September 17, regime security forces issued an arrest warrant for 
Ravalomanana and publicly announced that he would be immediately 
arrested should he attempt to return to Madagascar.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law does not 
include provisions for the granting of asylum or refugee status, but 
the government provides protection to refugees. The government 
cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting 
the small number of refugees in the country.

    Stateless Persons.--An arcane system of citizenship laws and 
procedures resulted in a large number of stateless persons in the 
minority Muslim community, many belonging to families that have lived 
in the country for generations. Reliable figures remained unavailable, 
but Muslim leaders estimated as many as 5 percent of the approximately 
two million Muslims were affected. Citizenship is transmitted through 
``blood,'' and birth in the country does not automatically transmit 
citizenship. Children born to a citizen mother and noncitizen father 
must declare their desire for citizenship by age 18 or risk losing 
eligibility for citizenship. Some members of the Karana community of 
Indo-Pakistani origin--who failed to register for Indian, Malagasy, or 
French citizenship following India's independence in 1947 and 
Madagascar's independence in 1960--were no longer eligible for any of 
the three; this applied to their descendants as well. Members of the 
wider Muslim community suggested that a Muslim-sounding name alone 
could delay one's citizenship application indefinitely. All stateless 
persons can apply for a foreign resident card which precludes voting 
rights, right to own property, and eligibility for a passport, thus 
limiting international travel. Stateless women can get Malagasy 
nationality if they marry a Malagasy citizen and request citizenship 
before the wedding date.
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 previously exercised this right in 
practice by voting in presidential, legislative, and municipal 
elections between 2006 and 2008. However, this right effectively was 
curtailed following a coup d'etat and the overthrow of the elected 
government in 2009. Following the 2008 closure of his television 
station, VIVA TV, Andry Rajoelina, the former mayor of Antananarivo, 
led a March 2009 coup in opposition to then president Ravalomanana. 
Unable to consolidate his rule in the face of domestic and 
international condemnation, Rajoelina began negotiating with the 
opposition in August 2009. Unhappy with the results of those 
negotiations, Rajoelina unilaterally declared his intention to organize 
elections for as early as March 2010. The opposition rejected this 
plan, pushing for a return to dialogue and an inclusive transition 
government. Throughout 2010 Rajoelina unilaterally announced roadmaps 
to elections that were postponed multiple times. In November 2010 a 
constitutional referendum to adopt a new constitution was held, but 
neither the opposition nor most of the international community 
recognized it, due to considerable irregularities both in the drafting 
of the document and in the conduct of the referendum. Countrywide 
mayoral elections scheduled for December 20 were postponed 
indefinitely.
    After a September 2010 National Conference that was seen as 
unilateral as the opposition either boycotted or was not allowed to 
participate, Rajoelina appointed a ``transition'' parliament, but it 
was not recognized by the international community.
    On September 17, several political parties--including two of the 
three political factions associated with former presidents 
Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka, and Zafy--signed the ``Roadmap for Ending the 
Crisis in Madagascar,'' endorsed by the SADC. The Roadmap outlines a 
plan for setting up neutral institutions, with the aim of holding free 
and fair elections. Basing his actions on the requirements laid out in 
the SADC-endorsed roadmap, Rajoelina nominated a ``Prime Minister of 
Consensus'' on October 28, a ``Government of National Unity'' on 
November 21, and members of a ``High Transitional Council'' (CST) and 
``Transitional Congress'' (CS) on December 1. Members of the CST and CS 
were inaugurated on December 2.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Indirect 
elections to the 33-member senate took place in 2008. The ``I Love 
Madagascar'' Party of then president Ravalomanana won all 22 elected 
seats, and the president appointed the remaining 11 members. 
Allegations of campaign and voting irregularities surfaced during and 
after the election, but no conclusive legal action was taken.

    Political Parties.--Political parties could not operate without 
restriction or outside interference. Members of parties opposing the 
party or policies of the regime leader often had their individual 
rights, such as freedom of expression, violated. The regime often 
denied opposition parties the right to organize and publicize their 
opinions. Political parties also were dominated heavily by the urban 
elites from the more influential Malagasy tribes.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The first de facto 
Rajoelina government had five women in the 31-member cabinet. When 
reshuffled on March 26, six women were nominated to cabinet-level 
positions out of 31; when reshuffled again on November 21, eight women 
were nominated out of 35 cabinet members. At year's end 77 of the 579 
members were women. Before the March 2009 coup d'etat, there were four 
women in the 21-member cabinet, 10 women in the 127-member national 
assembly, and five women in the 33-member senate. Three of the 22 
appointed regional administrators were women.
    Until March 2009, there were 11 Muslims and seven Chinese-Malagasy 
members in the national assembly and eight Muslims in the senate. 
Chinese-Malagasy and Muslims also held civil service positions. 
Residents of Indo-Pakistani origin were not well represented in regime 
institutions.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the de facto government did not implement the law effectively, 
and corruption reportedly increased after the March 2009 coup. 
Corruption was rampant in the national police and gendarmerie. The 
World Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption was a serious problem, as was impunity. NGOs and the media 
reported that anticorruption efforts in recent years were more 
effective in pursuing low-level violators than in attacking corruption 
at the national government level.
    The general lack of rule of law created a permissive environment 
for illegal logging and the export of rare hardwoods, primarily from 
the northern forests, which was thought to have been facilitated by 
bribery and profiteering at several levels of government. Foreign NGOs 
and media reports alleged that high-level corruption, ranging from 
local security forces to the national government, permitted the illegal 
cutting and export of rosewood and ebony trees, despite laws to protect 
them. Chinese businessmen were caught on tape asserting that they paid 
de facto leader Rajoelina directly for illegal logging rights.
    The Independent Anticorruption Bureau (BIANCO), a nominally 
independent government agency with a presidentially appointed director 
and oversight from the Committee for the Safeguard of Integrity within 
the presidency, did not address corruption and abuses of power 
perpetrated by security forces and civilian officials, nor did it play 
a visible role in addressing corruption problems associated with the 
ongoing political crisis.
    In 2008 the government created an agency to combat money laundering 
(SAMIFIN) and an ethics unit within each ministry. BIANCO and the 
Ministry of Justice signed an agreement in 2008 to increase cooperation 
on data collection and case referrals. However, implementation was 
weak, due to lack of financing and political will, especially since the 
March 2009 coup.
    Public officials at the director-general level and above, excluding 
the president, were subject to financial disclosure laws. In practice, 
in 2008 only one-third of those required to disclose assets or income 
did so. Enforcement of disclosure laws remained ineffective.
    There are no laws providing for public access to government 
information. Educational material on corruption, including statistics, 
was available to citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media. 
However, the information was limited, neither regularly updated nor 
thoroughly verified.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Numerous domestic and international human rights groups generally 
operated without restriction, investigating and publishing their 
findings on human rights cases. Regime officials generally were 
unresponsive to their views, but international human rights groups were 
allowed to enter the country, conduct their work, and consult freely 
with other groups.
    There were several domestic NGOs in the country that worked on 
human rights, but very few had the capacity to work effectively and 
independently. The National Council for Election Observation continued 
to be a leader in the field of civic education and provided technical 
support and training in several past elections. Several others worked 
to monitor human rights issues and actively participated in public and 
private fora on the subject. Political movements occasionally attempted 
to co-opt these organizations, leading to accusations of their 
increasing politicization, but they were not routinely suppressed or 
subjected to harassment.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--Following the 2009 coup, the 
U.N. and other international bodies widely criticized the Ravalomanana 
government and Rajoelina's de facto regime for human rights abuses and 
for their continued failure to resolve the ongoing crisis through 
dialogue and new elections. The U.N. played an active role as part of 
the international mediation team, as did the International Contact 
Group on Madagascar, the African Union, the International Organization 
of the Francophonie, and the SADC, which took the lead role in 
mediation efforts from the middle of 2010.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--There is an Office of the 
Ombudsman that conducts minimal activities. There is normally a 
National Human Rights Commission led by the Ministry of Justice or 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but it was not functioning at year's end.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit all forms of discrimination, 
including on the basis of race, gender, disability, language, and 
social status; however, no specific governmental institutions were 
designated to enforce these provisions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape in 
general but does not specifically refer to spousal rape. Penalties 
range from five years to life in prison, depending on factors such as 
the victim's age, the rapist's relationship to the victim, and whether 
the rapist's occupation put the individual in contact with children. 
Rape of a child or a pregnant woman was punishable by hard labor. An 
additional two to five years' imprisonment could be added in the case 
of rape with assault and battery, although the authorities did not 
always enforce these penalties. In 2008 the Morals and Minors Brigade, 
a department in the Ministry of Interior, reported receiving 10 to 12 
rape-related complaints a day countrywide. There were 217 cases of rape 
reported in 2008 in Antananarivo; 130 were investigated. The Union of 
Social Workers recorded cases at the Public Hospital of Befelatanana in 
Antananarivo from January to July and found 91 cases of rape out of 353 
cases of sexual abuse. The majority of the victims were between the 
ages of 10 and 18. These figures greatly underestimated the extent of 
rape nationwide, but no reliable figures were available.
    The law prohibits domestic violence, and it is punishable with two 
to five years in prison and a fine of four million ariary ($1,800), 
depending on the severity of injuries and whether the victim was 
pregnant, but it remained a widespread problem. In 2007 the 
government's National Institute for Public Health estimated that 55 
percent of women were victims of domestic violence. The U.N. Population 
Fund (UNFPA) estimated in 2006 that one-third of women in the southern 
and southeastern region would suffer from violence at some point. A 
2007 Ministry of Health survey on conjugal violence, conducted in 
collaboration with two NGOs, found that of 400 women surveyed in 
Antananarivo, 45 percent were subjected to psychological violence and 
35 percent to physical violence. Police and legal authorities generally 
intervened when physical abuse was reported. The Ministry of Health 
continued working with NGOs in Antananarivo and Fianarantsoa to provide 
victims with legal advice. Statistics on the number of domestic abusers 
prosecuted, convicted, or punished were unavailable. Anecdotal evidence 
from NGO-run welcome centers indicated that the political crisis and 
its related social and economic impact correlated with a rise in the 
incidence of domestic violence, with two- or three-fold increases in 
cases reported.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is against the law. Penalties 
ranged from one to three years imprisonment, plus a fine of one to four 
million ariary ($450 to $1,800). This penalty increases to two to five 
years' imprisonment plus a fine of two to 10 million ariary ($900 to 
$4,500), if the victim was forced or pressured into sexual acts, or 
punished for refusing such advances. However, the practice was 
widespread, particularly in export processing zone (EPZ) factories. The 
UNFPA estimated that 50 percent of women working in EPZs were victims 
of sexual harassment. In past years the authorities enforced sexual 
harassment laws when cases were brought to court; however, there were 
no reported court cases during the year.

    Sex Tourism.--Sex tourism was an increasing problem with the growth 
of the tourism industry before the 2009 coup, and the economic crisis 
and lack of legitimate employment opportunities since the coup. The de 
facto authorities continued their national awareness campaign (begun by 
the Ravalomanana government before the coup) by posting signs 
throughout airports and hotels, including a full-page in the customs 
booklet given to arriving international passengers that warns against 
engaging in sex tourism.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals freely exercised 
their reproductive rights with no legal or policy discrimination or 
coercion. Citizens had free access to contraceptives and family 
planning information at public clinics, and services were also 
available in the private sector. According to the UNFPA, the modern 
contraceptive use rate was 28 percent. Skilled attendance during 
childbirth was estimated at 51 percent but was lower in rural areas 
where there were few trained health workers and people were unable to 
access reproductive health and maternity services. All delivery 
services, including caesarean sections, were free in government health 
facilities. A variety of programs were instituted to expand the 
availability of quality care, but these were limited given the 
constraint on resources. A National Statistics Institute survey issued 
in June 2010 concluded that the maternal mortality ratio (the ratio of 
the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) was 498, 
compared with 269 deaths in the 2004 report. The major factors that 
contributed to a high maternal mortality ratio were the distance from 
and high cost of health centers, the low quality of hospital services, 
maternal chronic malnutrition including anemia, high rates of 
adolescent pregnancy, and the lack of adequate spacing between 
pregnancies. Men and women had equal access to diagnosis and treatment 
of sexually transmitted infections. While there were no legal barriers 
to accessing these services, there were enormous infrastructure 
inconsistencies. Some social and cultural barriers also limited access.

    Discrimination.--Women generally enjoyed the same legal status as 
men. Under the law, wives have an equal voice in selecting the location 
of the couple's residence and generally received half the couple's 
assets if the marriage ended. While widows with children inherit half 
of joint marital property, a husband's surviving kin have priority over 
widows without children, leaving them eighth in line for inheritance if 
there is no prior agreement, and potentially leaving them with none of 
the estate or a very small portion of it. In practice these provisions 
were not always observed.
    A tradition known as ``the customary third,'' which provided the 
wife with the right to only one-third of a couple's joint holdings, was 
occasionally observed. There was no special governmental office to 
ensure the legal rights of women.
    There was relatively little societal discrimination against women 
in urban areas, where many women owned or managed businesses and held 
management positions in private businesses or state-owned companies. In 
rural areas, where most of the population was engaged in subsistence 
farming, more traditional social structures tended to favor entrenched 
gender roles. While there was little discrimination in access to 
employment and credit, women often did not receive equal pay for 
substantially similar work. Women were not permitted to work in 
positions that might endanger their health, safety, or morals. 
According to the labor and social protection codes, such positions 
included night shifts in the manufacturing sector and certain positions 
in the mining, metallurgy, and chemical industries.
    A number of NGOs focused on the civic education of women and girls 
and publicized and explained their specific legal protections; however, 
due to illiteracy, cultural traditions, societal intimidation, and a 
lack of knowledge of their rights, few women lodged official complaints 
or sought redress when their legal rights were violated or ignored.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents, although children born to a citizen mother and a foreign 
father must declare their desire for citizenship by age 18. The country 
has no uniformly enforced birth registration system, and unregistered 
children have historically not been eligible to attend school or obtain 
health care services. UNICEF worked with the government to provide 
birth certificates for both newborn children and those who did not 
receive a certificate at birth. According to a 2010 UNICEF study, 25 
percent of children in the country under the age of five were not 
registered.

    Education.--The constitution provides for tuition-free public 
education for all citizen children and makes primary education until 
age 14 compulsory. At the beginning of the school year, some schools 
asked parents to advance registration fees with the intent that 
government subsidies would reimburse these. At year's end only some 
parents were reimbursed. Registration fees were 18,000 ariary ($8) for 
primary school, 20,000 ariary ($9) for middle school, and 25,000 ariary 
($11) for high school. Furthermore, a lack of public school teachers 
encouraged some schools to rely on their Parents' Association to pay 
all or a portion of teachers' salaries in an effort to attract/retain 
teachers.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a problem. Since the beginning of the 
political crisis, cases of child rape increasingly appeared in the 
media, including two high-profile cases. Authorities rarely intervened 
in cases of child abuse.
    On April 24, Jao Jean, a member of the de facto parliament, was 
accused of kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old girl in Antsohihy. The 
Ministry of Justice issued an arrest warrant, but Jean remained free 
until arrested November 30. Police officials commented that 
``scrupulous application of democracy and tact'' was required for the 
arrest.
    In May, Patrick Nicaud, reportedly a French citizen, was accused of 
allegedly raping underage girls in the port city of Toamasina. The case 
was highly publicized, with pictures of the alleged acts appearing in 
local media. The de facto minister of justice reportedly met with 
Nicaud but took no action to investigate the claim.

    Child Marriage.--Government statistics in 2008 indicated that one-
third of girls and young women between the ages of 15 and 19 were 
married. Child marriage was especially prevalent in rural areas, where 
most couples were united in traditional local ceremonies outside the 
legal system. The legal age for marriage without parental consent was 
18 for both boys and girls. An estimated 39 percent of women between 
the ages of 20 and 24 were married before age 18, according to UNICEF 
data collected between 2000 and 2009.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--In 2007 the government adopted a 
law modifying the criminal code to define child sexual exploitation, 
child sex tourism, child pornography, and trafficking in persons, and 
stipulating penalties for violations. NGOs reported that the law was 
used in court on several occasions but had not resulted in a 
conviction. Law enforcement officials noted that the law was often not 
uniformly interpreted or applied.
    Of the 353 victims of sexual abuse received at the Befelatanana 
Hospital between January and July, 339 victims were under the age of 
18. No comprehensive data had been collected about the prosecution of 
the perpetrators, but the Social Workers' Union (SPDTS) received 
reports that most incidences were acquaintance rapes (carried out by 
boyfriends, close family members, or neighbors). Of 36 cases that SPDTS 
followed, 21 presumed perpetrators were released on bail, and 15 
remained under retaining writ.
    Children increasingly engaged in prostitution for survival with or 
without third-party involvement. A 2007 UNICEF study in the coastal 
cities of Toamasina and Nosy Be found that between 30 and 50 percent of 
females exploited in the commercial sex field were younger than 18.
    The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNICEF, operated more 
than 14 multi-sector networks throughout the country to protect 
children from abuse and exploitation. Several ministries worked with 
UNICEF to develop training manuals on child rights and safeguards for 
officials working in child protection networks.
    A child sex tourism problem exists in coastal cities, including 
Tamatave, Nosy Be, Diego Suarez, and Majunga, as well as the capital 
city of Antananarivo.

    Displaced Children.--Although child abandonment is against the law, 
it was a significant problem due to acute poverty and lack of family 
support. There were few safe shelters for street children, and 
governmental agencies generally tried to place abandoned children with 
parents or other relatives first. A traditional taboo in the southeast 
against giving birth to twins led some parents in the region to abandon 
one or both of their twin children, who sometimes were left to die.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community is very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities, broadly defines 
their rights, and provides for a national commission and regional 
subcommissions to promote the rights of persons with disabilities. In 
practice, however, these rights rarely were enforced, and the legal 
framework for promoting accessibility remained perfunctory. A 2005 
study conducted by the NGO Handicap International found that persons 
with disabilities seldom had access to health care, education, 
employment, or accommodation for communication or other basic services, 
and women and girls with disabilities were often victims of physical 
violence. In general, access to education for persons with disabilities 
was limited, due to lack of adequate infrastructure, specialized 
institutions, and teachers. A network of women with disabilities, 
``Association des Femmes Handicapees de Madagascar,'' advocated for 
their rights.
    The Ministry of Health is responsible for protecting the rights of 
persons with disabilities. Isolated projects at the community level had 
some success. In 2008 a public market in the city of Majunga gained 
special handicapped access; a health and transportation benefits 
program with identity cards was developed in the city of Fianarantsoa; 
and persons with disabilities had been successfully integrated into 
public schools in some areas where they previously had no access. With 
international funding in 2008, the city of Antsiranana worked to make 
city hall, health centers, and other administrative buildings 
accessible. However, reports continued that schools often rejected 
students with disabilities, claiming their facilities were not 
adequate. Local NGOs also provided evidence that persons with 
disabilities were routinely refused access and verbally abused by 
teachers throughout the education system, from primary school to 
university. A 2009 study found that the school attendance rate of 
children with disabilities was only 0.26 percent in 631 schools 
surveyed, due to the lack of specialized programs, poor understanding 
of the children's needs, and insufficient resources.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--None of the 18 tribes of the 
country constituted a majority. There were also minorities of Indo-
Pakistani, Comoran, and Chinese heritage. Ethnicity, caste, and 
regional solidarity often were factors in hiring and were exploited in 
politics. A long history of military conquest and political dominance 
by highland ethnic groups of Asian origin, particularly the Merina, 
over coastal groups of African ancestry contributed to tension between 
citizens of highland and coastal descent, particularly in the political 
sphere.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code provides for a 
prison sentence of two to five years and a fine of two to 10 million 
ariary ($900 to $4,500) for acts that are ``indecent or against nature 
with an individual of the same sex under the age of 21.'' There were 
reports of official abuses occurring at the community level, such as 
administrative officials denying health services to transgender persons 
or breaking confidentiality agreements, although no cases have ever 
been pursued in court.
    There was general societal discrimination against the LGBT 
community. Sexual orientation and gender identity were not widely 
discussed in the country, with public attitudes ranging from tacit 
acceptance to violent rejection, particularly of transgender sex 
workers. Local NGOs reported that most organizations that worked with 
the LGBT community did so as health service providers, often in the 
context of their work to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. LGBT sex 
workers frequently were targets of aggression, including verbal abuse, 
stone throwing, and even murder. In recent years, awareness of ``gay 
pride'' increased through positive media exposure, but general 
attitudes have not changed.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
were subject to stigma and discrimination.
    In 2007 the government adopted a law providing for HIV/AIDS 
patients' rights to free and quality health care, and specifying 
sanctions against persons who discriminated against or marginalized 
persons with the disease. This reportedly helped reduce discrimination, 
following public testimony and greater awareness of issues affecting 
those living with HIV/AIDS. The ministries of health and justice, and 
the National Committee for the Fight Against AIDS in Madagascar, 
enforced the law. Since the 2009 coup, foreign donors have largely 
suspended funding for HIV/AIDS programs.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides that public and private sector workers may establish 
and join labor unions of their choice without prior authorization or 
excessive requirements. Civil servants and maritime workers have their 
own labor codes. The maritime code governs workers in the maritime 
sector and does not contain sufficiently clear provisions ensuring the 
workers this right. In addition those classified as essential workers--
including police, military, and firefighters--may not form unions.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities with a certain 
amount of government interference. The law provides most workers with 
the right to strike, including in EPZs. However, a strike is prohibited 
if there is a possibility of ``disruption of public order,'' or if the 
strike would endanger the life, safety, or health of the population. 
Workers must first exhaust conciliation, mediation, and compulsory 
arbitration procedures, which may take eight months to two and one-half 
years. Workers in other essential services (the labor code does not 
provide a comprehensive list of ``essential services''), such as 
magistrates, have a recognized but more restricted right to strike. 
They are required by law to maintain a basic level of service and to 
give prior notice to their employer. The labor code also provides for 
fine and/or imprisonment for the ``instigators and leaders of illegal 
strikes,'' whether the strike is peaceful or not.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers. In the 
event of antiunion activity, unions or their members may file suit 
against the employer in civil court. However, civil servants and public 
sector employees are not afforded legal protection against acts of 
antiunion discrimination and interference.
    The law also provides workers in the private sector, except for 
seafarers, the right to bargain collectively. Public sector employees 
not engaged in the administration of the state, such as teachers hired 
under the auspices of donor organizations or parent's associations to 
work in public schools, do not have the right to bargain collectively 
on their conditions of employment.
    Workers exercised some of these rights in practice, including the 
right to join a union and engage in strikes during the year. However, 
the Ministry of Civil Services and Labor indicated that some employees 
did not join unions due to fear of reprisal. The authorities generally 
respected the right of unions, including those in the EPZs, to conduct 
their activities without interference.
    There were no specific reports that employers refused to bargain, 
or bargained with unions not chosen by workers, or used hiring 
practices to avoid hiring workers with bargaining rights. Collective 
agreements were signed, mainly in public enterprises.
    Passage of an EPZ law in 2008 notably reduced worker rights, by 
allowing labor laws in EPZs to vary from the country's standard labor 
code. EPZ labor contracts may now differ in terms of contract duration, 
restrictions on the employment of women during night shifts, and the 
amount of overtime permitted. Previously, EPZ activities centered 
mostly on textile factories, most of which were closed, and no specific 
violations were reported during the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Also see the 
Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at http://
state.gov/j/tip

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There were laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace, 
but they were not effectively enforced. Child labor was a widespread 
problem.
    The minimum age for employment was 15, consistent with educational 
requirements. However, the de facto regime did not effectively enforce 
the law. The law allows children to work a maximum of eight hours per 
day and 40 hours per week with no overtime. The law prohibits persons 
under the age of 18 from working at night and at sites where there is 
an imminent danger to health, safety, or morals. Employers must observe 
a mandatory 12-hour rest period between shifts. Occupational health and 
safety restrictions include parental authorization and a medical visit 
before hiring.
    The International Labor Organization's 2007 National Survey on 
Child Labor in Madagascar indicated that approximately 28 percent of 
children between the ages of five and 17 (1.8 million children) were 
working on a full-or part-time basis, with an estimated 438,000 
children involved in dangerous work. Children in rural areas worked 
mostly in agriculture, fishing, and livestock herding, while those in 
urban areas worked in occupations such as domestic labor, transport of 
goods by rickshaw, petty trading, stone quarrying, work in bars, and 
begging. Children also were engaged in salt production, deep sea 
diving, and the shrimp industry. The Ministry of Civil Services and 
Labor estimated that more than 19,000 children were working in the 
mining towns of Ilakaka in the south, mostly in the informal sector, 
helping their families mine gemstones or working as domestics. Some 
children were trafficked internally for the purposes of forced labor.
    The Ministry of Civil Services and Labor is responsible for 
enforcing child labor laws and policies in the formal sector and 
conducted general workplace inspections during the year in response to 
a range of complaints. During the year the ministry had approximately 
100 inspectors to carry out its responsibilities, making it difficult 
to monitor and enforce child labor provisions effectively. There is no 
enforcement in the much larger informal sector.
    A 2007 decree regulates the working conditions of children, defines 
the worst forms of child labor, identifies penalties for employers, and 
establishes the institutional framework for its implementation. NGOs 
reported the decree improved awareness of the issue, which was not 
matched with more effective pursuit of labor law violators. During 2010 
the Ministry of Civil Services and Labor organized a child labor 
workshop for labor inspectors in Antsirabe and established an action 
plan for regional child labor inspectors to use mass media and private 
sector monitoring to combat child labor.
    NGO-run welcome centers in Antananarivo, Tamatave, and Tulear 
continued to receive victims of trafficking and forced labor.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly minimum wage was 
90,235 ariary ($40) for nonagricultural workers and 91,520 ariary ($41) 
for agricultural workers. The official estimate for the poverty income 
level put the threshold at 468,800 ariary ($211) per person per year. 
The Ministry of Civil Services and Labor was responsible for enforcing 
the working conditions and minimum wages prescribed in the labor code.
    The standard workweek was 40 hours in nonagricultural and service 
industries and 42.5 hours in the agricultural sector. Legislation 
limited workers to 20 hours of overtime per week and required 2.5 days 
of paid annual leave per month. If the hours worked exceed the legal 
limits for working hours (2,200 hours/year in agriculture and 173.33 
hours/month in other sectors), employers are legally required to pay 
overtime in accordance with a Labor Council decree, which also denotes 
the required amount of overtime pay.
    The government is charged with setting occupational safety and 
health (OSH) standards for workers and workplaces. However, penalties 
for non-compliance are not defined in the labor code, which only 
requires an inspection before a company can open. The National Fund for 
Social Welfare, the country's social security agency, conducted 
inspections and published reports on workplace conditions, occupational 
health hazards, and workplace accident trends. Workers, including 
foreign or migrant workers, have an explicit right to leave a dangerous 
workplace without jeopardizing their employment, as long as they inform 
their supervisors.
    Authorities often encountered trouble enforcing the minimum wage 
and the workweek laws, due to inadequate resources and insufficient 
personnel. The labor inspectors in the Ministry of Civil Services and 
Labor were sufficient to effectively monitor conditions for workers 
only in the capital. Although most employees knew what the legal 
minimum wages were, those rates were not always paid. High unemployment 
and widespread poverty led workers to accept lower wages. Employees 
often were required to work until production targets were met. In some 
cases, this overtime was unrecorded and unpaid. Workers' right to 
remove themselves from a dangerous workplace was not always respected 
in practice.
    Violations of wage, overtime, or OSH standards were common in the 
informal sector and in domestic work, where many are paid below minimum 
wage and work extensive hours.
    EPZ companies in general respected labor laws, as many foreign 
importers required good working conditions in compliance with local law 
before signing contracts with EPZ companies.
    There was no specific action by de facto authorities during the 
year to prevent violations and improve wages and working conditions, 
other than standard inspections, which are not adequate or exhaustive.

                               __________

                                 MALAWI

                           executive summary
    Malawi is a multiparty democracy. In 2009 voters reelected Bingu wa 
Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as president in 
what international observers characterized as a generally free and fair 
election. Constitutional power is shared between the president and the 
193 National Assembly members. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Three major human rights issues in the country include the use of 
excessive force by security forces, which resulted in deaths and 
injuries; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; and limits on 
freedom of speech, press, and political expression.
    Other human rights problems included arbitrary arrest and 
detention; lengthy pretrial detention; official corruption; occasional 
mob violence; societal violence against women; trafficking in persons; 
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
persons; and child labor.
    In some cases, the government took steps to prosecute officials who 
committed abuses, but impunity remained a problem.
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 20 persons on July 20 and 21 during and after 
demonstrations against the government in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu, and 
Karonga.
    The demonstration was organized to protest President Mutharika and 
his ruling DPP's inaction on ``poor economic and democratic 
governance.'' An injunction banning public demonstrations throughout 
the country delayed the start of the protest, but after the injunction 
was lifted protests went ahead. Only protesters in Blantyre secured 
last-minute legal permission for the demonstrations. Protests in all 
cities devolved into violence on July 20, with police firing tear gas 
and warning shots and disorganized groups destroying property. Civil 
unrest continued the following day with widespread looting in major 
cities. In an attempt to restore order, police used tear gas and live 
bullets. The Malawi Defense Force (MDF) deployed on both July 20 and 21 
to quell violence and restore calm. The final death count, including 
victims who died later from injuries, was 20 persons. None of those who 
died was a participant in the demonstrations.
    On November 30, a commission of inquiry into the events commenced 
work with several public hearings and another session planned for the 
northern region in early 2012. The commission has an eight-month window 
to complete its work. To date, police have admitted using live bullets 
and the inspector general of the Malawi Police Service (MPS) admitted 
to mishandling the protests and called for a return of bonuses paid to 
police who worked during the July unrest.
    On September 24, Robert Chasowa, vice president of ``Youth for 
Freedom and Democracy'' and a student at the Polytechnic School, was 
found dead on campus under controversial circumstances. Chasowa was 
under police watch for the publication of ``Political Update,'' which 
was highly critical of the government. Police claimed that he committed 
suicide by falling from a building, and as evidence, produced two 
suicide notes. Irregularities in the letters raised suspicions and 
Chasowa's family demanded further investigation. A postmortem in 
October concluded that he died from head injuries sustained from 
assault by a blunt instrument and not as a result of a fall. A 
commission of inquiry was to investigate the circumstances surrounding 
Chasowa's death, but no one had been named to the panel by year's end.
    Police arbitrarily shot and killed suspects. For example, on 
December 20, police shot and killed four suspects in Limbe who were 
trying to escape after allegedly planning to break into a shop. The 
same night, police also shot and killed a man in Blantyre suspected of 
attempted robbery. No action reportedly was taken against the police 
officers responsible.
    Police were implicated in the death of several prisoners in 
custody. For example, in March Emmanuel Kafere died in a police cell at 
Mulenga police unit in Zomba. A postmortem indicated that Kafere died 
from internal bleeding after suffering head stab wounds, two broken 
legs, and a broken arm. The policeman accused of Kafere's death was 
charged with murder and appeared in court on March 21. At year's end, 
he was being held in pretrial detention and the case was awaiting 
trial.
    On December 4, Kingsley Khope died in Ndirande police's custody in 
Blantyre. Family members were denied visitation and demanded a 
postmortem. Police claimed Khope died on arrival at the hospital after 
complaining of malaria, but the family accused police of causing the 
death by assaulting Khope.
    Perpetrators of past abuses were occasionally punished, but 
investigations often were abandoned or remained inconclusive. For 
instance, there were no further developments in the following 2010 
killings: the July shooting death of Silence Kapalamula by a police 
officer and the September death of a woman and her child, who were 
struck and killed by a speeding truck driven by a police officer.

    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, 
police used excessive force and other unlawful techniques, including 
sexual abuse, during the year. While senior officials publicly 
condemned prisoner mistreatment, their subordinates continued to employ 
unacceptable techniques. The Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) and 
local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) criticized police for human 
rights violations several times throughout the year.
    On July 31, former soldier Ulemu Martin Nkhata was arrested and 
manhandled by police after he turned himself in. Allegedly, Nkhata 
illegally possessed a gun. He sustained several cuts on his body and 
was later hospitalized. While police claimed a mob beat Nkhata after he 
was caught stealing, Nkhata identified 13 policemen as his attackers. 
Nkhata's wife backed up his story as she was at the police station when 
he turned himself in. A regional police spokesman claimed that he was 
not aware of alleged police brutality, and no further action was taken 
by the authorities.
    On December 18, police officers beat Joseph Nyirenda at a football 
match. Nyirenda claimed that following the assault, police took him 
into custody and ordered him to pay 5,000 Malawian kwacha (MWK) ($30) 
police bail. After complaining to a human rights organization, Nyirenda 
was admitted to Karonga District Hospital. At year's end, no charges 
had been filed for alleged police brutality.
    There were no further developments in the March 2010 beating of 
Harry Mwandama by police and the May 2010 beating of Mercy Lozani by 
three police officers.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and potentially life threatening. Overcrowding, inadequate 
nutrition, substandard sanitation, poor health facilities, and 
inadequate infrastructure remained serious problems. Prisons and 
detention centers, while generally well ventilated, had no provisions 
for temperature control other than wood fires. Basic emergency medical 
care generally was available in the daytime, but unavailable after 
regular working hours. For more involved cases of illness and injury, 
referrals were made to district medical clinics. Potable water was 
available. Prison recordkeeping was considered generally reliable.
    The prison system's 30 facilities, built to accommodate 
approximately 5,500 inmates, routinely held at least double that 
number. According to the Prison Service, there were 12,033 inmates in 
the prison system at year's end. Police stations also held detainees, 
many for longer than the legal limit of 48 hours. Police stations were 
not built to accommodate humanely to long-term detention. A report on 
pretrial detention by Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa 
(OSISA) indicated that Lilongwe Police Station had 87 detainees, 
including four women and seven children. One of the detainees in 
Lilongwe had been held for seven months.
    Prison staffing remained inadequate despite efforts to recruit more 
staff. Daily prison rations were meager. Family members were allowed to 
bring food items, and inmates were encouraged to grow vegetables and 
raise livestock; however, malnutrition in the prison population 
remained a problem.
    While the exact number was not known, numerous inmates died in 
prison each month, largely due to HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, pneumonia, 
tuberculosis, and an inadequate diet. For example, 32 inmates died at 
Zomba Maximum Security Prison during the year. Eastern Region Prison 
spokesperson Kumbukani Chikomo attributed the deaths to prison 
congestion, which complicated identification and treatment of sick 
prisoners.
    In 2009 the High Court noted that overcrowding had contributed to 
the death of 259 inmates in a span of approximately18 months. The court 
decreed that the government had 18 months (which expired May 2011) to 
improve prison conditions. At year's end, the prison system was not in 
compliance with the judgment.
    The 157 female prisoners were segregated within 16 prison compounds 
located in 30 facilities, and monitored by female guards and a female 
officer-in-charge, who keeps the keys to the female section of the 
prison. Pretrial detainees often were not held separately from 
convicted prisoners. The 2011 OSISA report found that the supervision 
of female detainees varied in police detention. In Lilongwe and Mzimba, 
both male and female officers supervise female detainees, while in 
Blantyre, Thyolo, and Zomba only female guards monitored female 
prisoners.
    According to the Prison Service, at year's end there were 486 
children in prison, either serving sentences or awaiting trial. Malawi 
Prison Service defines persons under age 18 as children, with those 
between the ages of 18 and 21 classified as ``young offenders.'' 
Children could be detained in the country's reformatory centers, but 
for a maximum of six months, and only as a last resort or if the child 
is likely to be a repeat offender. There were two juvenile detentions 
centers (reformatory centers) in the country. The Mpemba boys' home 
could accommodate 370 children, and Chilwa 120 children. In practice, 
children were not always held separately, at least in police detention.
    While Victim Support Units attended to the needs of vulnerable 
detainees such as women and children in Lilongwe and Zomba, other 
locations, such as Mzimba, had no protective measures in place due to a 
lack of facilities.
    Prisoners generally were allowed to have visitors, observe their 
religious practices, and submit complaints to prison authorities.
    Community service programs were available as alternatives to prison 
terms for first-time offenders with permanent addresses who were 
convicted of less serious crimes.
    During the year the government permitted domestic and international 
NGOs, such as Amnesty International, and the media to visit and monitor 
prison conditions and to donate basic supplies. The International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not seek permission to visit any 
prisons during the year. However, the NGO Irish Rule of Law 
International and senior foreign diplomats visited prisons during the 
year.
    The government increased the budget allocation for the Prison 
Service from the previous year's 1.2 billion MWK to 2.4 billion MWK 
($7.1 million to $14.2 million). However, the bulk of the increase was 
slated for the construction of a new prison in Lilongwe, rather than 
improving current conditions.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the government did 
not always observe these prohibitions in practice.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MPS, controlled by 
the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Defense, had responsibility 
for law enforcement and maintenance of order. Police occasionally 
called on the army for support in operating roadblocks and assistance 
in manhunts.
    The police force was inefficient, poorly trained, and corrupt (see 
section 4). Impunity was a problem. Inadequate resources and a lack of 
qualified candidates in the recruiting pool hampered efforts to improve 
MPS quality. Police service maintained a disciplinary committee chaired 
by the inspector general of police to investigate abuses; however, 
resources were limited and it met only sporadically. Officers were 
disciplined, but punishments often consisted of reassignment to another 
post or dismissal rather than more stringent sanctions.
    Police continued efforts to improve their investigative skills, 
including training in internal investigations, victims' rights, sexual 
abuse, domestic violence, and trafficking in persons. Police continued 
to receive foreign assistance for training officials and procuring 
equipment.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides an accused person the right to challenge the legality of 
detention, have access to legal counsel, and be released on bail or 
informed of charges by a court within 48 hours; however, these rights 
were often ignored in practice. Most suspects were apprehended without 
a warrant if police had probable cause. While arrest warrants were 
normally issued by a duly authorized official based on evidence 
presented in cases involving corruption or white-collar crime, poorer 
citizens were often arrested without warrants. The use of temporary 
remand warrants to circumvent the 48-hour rule was widespread. Police 
frequently demanded bribes to authorize police bail, which was often 
granted to reduce prison overcrowding rather than on the merits of the 
case (see section 4).
    While the government is obligated to provide legal services to 
indigent detainees, in a vast majority of cases, such aid is only 
provided to homicide suspects. Due to limited resources, the Department 
of Legal Aid prioritizes its assistance, focusing on vulnerable groups 
such as women, children, the elderly, and those facing capital offense 
charges. Legal Aid access often was delayed, since there were only 24 
lawyers and seven paralegals working as public defenders in the 
country. Relatives were sometimes denied access to detainees.
    The Center for Legal Assistance, an NGO that assists prisoners with 
legal matters, continued to provide free legal assistance to expedite 
the trials of detainees, with priority given to the sick, the young, 
and those subjected to long trial delays.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--The government arbitrarily arrested persons, 
sometimes using colonial-era antisedition and treason laws to stifle 
criticism.
    On February 28 and March 1, police arrested 54 persons in Blantyre 
City in an apparent effort to round up criminals. All were later fined 
and released under a colonial-era rogue and vagabond law.
    In December police arrested more than 4,000 persons in a nationwide 
sweep designed to increase security over the holiday season. Arrest 
charges included robbery, theft, and violation of the colonial-era 
rogue and vagabond law. A police spokesperson noted that of the 4,000 
detained, some were in police custody, some were fined, and others were 
in pretrial detention.
    During the year the MHRC received six complaints of arbitrary 
detention related to excessively long pretrial detention, denial of 
bail, and unheard appeals.
    There were no further developments in the 2008 treason cases 
against former president Bakili Muluzi and nine other persons, most of 
whom had close ties to the United Democratic Front.

    Pretrial Detention.--A total of 1,480 persons, or 12 percent of the 
total prison population of 12,033, were in pretrial detention. Most 
pretrial homicide suspects were held in pretrial detention for two to 
three years, but there was evidence that many detainees remained in 
prison awaiting trial for much longer periods. Reliable data on the 
exact number and situation of these long-term pretrial detainees was 
unavailable. However, during a fall visit to Maula prison, a reputable 
NGO discovered that there were 1,986 prisoners, of which nearly 600 
were detainees awaiting trial. Of these pretrial detainees, 122 were 
being held on expired warrants. In December the NGO identified three 
youthful pretrial detainees (two age seven and another age five) and 
worked to get them released on bail.
    To reduce case backlog and excessive pretrial detention, minor 
cases are being directed to traditional courts (run by chiefs) and 
``camp courts'' (led by civil society). Camp courts expedite cases by 
bringing magistrates to the prison. Paralegals gather cases of pretrial 
detainees who have overstayed, are held unlawfully or have been granted 
bail but cannot afford the terms set by the court. Magistrates, along 
with the court clerk and police prosecutor, work through the list 
granting bail to some, reducing bail, dismissing cases, or setting a 
date when the accused must appear for trial.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected 
judicial independence in practice. However, the judicial system was 
inefficient and handicapped by serious weaknesses, including poor 
record keeping, a shortage of attorneys and other trained personnel, 
heavy caseloads, and lack of resources.
    The MDF has courts martial but no military or security tribunals. 
Military personnel accused and tried by courts martial are afforded the 
same rights as persons accused in civil criminal courts. MDF courts 
martial can try civilians in cases concerning military operations; 
however, this has not occurred.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent and have the 
right to a public trial but not to a trial by jury. The Ministry of 
Justice continued its indefinite suspension of jury trials in murder 
cases, since murder suspects sometimes were incarcerated for years 
awaiting trial by jury. Juries were used in other types of cases. A 
Child Justice Court was set up in 2005 in Blantyre to handle cases 
involving child offenders. Defendants have the right to be present at 
their trial, are entitled to an attorney, and, if indigent, to have an 
attorney provided at state expense. Due to limited resources, such 
assistance generally was limited to homicide cases. Defendants have the 
right to present and challenge evidence and witnesses and have access 
to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. The law extends 
the above rights to all persons. All persons have the right of appeal; 
however, in practice appeals often were delayed for years and sometimes 
never addressed by the higher court.
    The judiciary's budgetary and administrative problems effectively 
denied expeditious trials for most defendants. The Department of Public 
Prosecutions had 27 prosecuting attorneys and 10 paralegals, who served 
as lay prosecutors for minor cases in magistrate courts. Recruitment 
and retention of government attorneys remained a problem.

    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 citizens have access to a 
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human 
rights violations. The law provides for administrative and judicial 
remedies for alleged wrongs; however, a lack of resources and legal 
professionals restricted the number of cases pursued and resulted in a 
large backlog. During the year the MHRC received 67 complaints of 
limited access to justice and four complaints of unfair administrative 
justice procedures.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, but 
the government did not always respect these prohibitions in practice.
    In 2009 parliament passed a law legalizing warrantless searches. 
The MHRC reported that police regularly entered homes of poorer 
citizens using special police search orders, which were issued by a 
supervisory police officer rather than by a court.
    The government sometimes detained the family members of persons 
suspected of criminal activity. For example, police regularly used 
``bait arrests'' of relatives when a suspect could not be found to draw 
out the wanted individual from hiding.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press; however, at 
times the government attempted to limit these rights.

    Freedom of Speech.--The government sometimes threatened the use of 
colonial-era antisedition and treason laws to stifle criticism.
    Following the president's March 6 directive to quell dissent, 
several members of civil society, including some of the July 20 protest 
organizers, were victims of attempted violence and arson. The home of 
one human rights activist and the office of another human rights 
organization were firebombed. Other activists faced attempted home or 
office invasions.
    On October 14, four human rights activists were arrested and 
charged with sedition and conducting a demonstration without 
permission. The four had held placards calling President Mutharika a 
dictator during a demonstration coinciding with a regional summit. On 
October 19, the magistrate granted bail to all four and ordered them to 
report to the police every two weeks. At year's end, the case was 
awaiting trial.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide variety of views; however, the government imposed some 
restrictions, such as the use of onerous licensing and registration 
provisions. A broad spectrum of political opinion was available in the 
country's newspapers. Independent newspapers included two dailies, one 
biweekly and four weeklies.
    There were 16 private radio stations that broadcast primarily in 
urban areas and six community radio stations. State-owned Malawi 
Broadcast Corporation (MBC) TV was the sole national television 
broadcaster. In November the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority 
awarded four new radio and television broadcasting licenses. Three of 
the successful license recipients were either owned by or closely 
connected to President Mutharika's family.
    In January President Mutharika signed a law empowering the 
government to ``prohibit the publication or importation'' of 
publications deemed to be ``contrary to the public interest.'' The MHRC 
took the controversial ``media freedom law'' to the High Court and the 
case was pending at year's end. The law was also referred to the Malawi 
Law Commission for review in December.

    Violence and Harassment.--Journalists were harassed, intimidated, 
and threatened with arrest during the year.
    A few journalists reported that they received death threats. For 
example, Nation Publications Limited journalist Phillip Pemba reported 
death threats received in the aftermath of an article revealing that 
Robert Chasowa had dealings with police to stop the planned August 17 
protests before his suspicious death in September (see section 1.a.). 
Similarly, a Radio Maria journalist received a death threat message on 
his cell phone after reporting on remarks by First Lady Callista 
Mutharika on the scarcity of fuel. In September a former employee of 
Malawi Institute of Journalism received death threats for allegedly 
publicizing a recording of ``a private conversation'' between President 
Mutharika's brother and a former deputy minister of sports and culture. 
On October 20, a Capital Radio host received death threats due to his 
critical reporting. Investigations into these cases were pending at 
year's end.
    Police also questioned and arrested journalists. For example, on 
the weekend prior to the July 20 demonstrations, unidentified 
individuals set fire to vehicles belonging to private radio broadcaster 
Zodiak Radio, and when protests and civil unrest occurred as a result, 
journalists were detained and beaten while covering the events.
    In October police questioned Weekend Nation Editor George Kasakula 
and Malawi News Deputy Editor Innocent Chitosi of Blantyre Newspapers 
Limited. These papers had carried detailed insights into Chasowa's 
death and dealings with the police.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists sometimes 
practiced self-censorship, especially at government-owned media outlets 
such as MBC Radios One and Two and MBC TV.
    Prior to the July 20 demonstrations, MBC TV characterized the 
planned protests as a gay rights campaign and only ran content with 
messages against the demonstrations. On July 20, the director general 
of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Agency (MACRA) warned private 
media they could face legal action for broadcasting live reports from 
demonstrations as they ``may incite violence'' leading to damage and 
loss of life. In a statement, he stated that ``the authorities would 
like you to desist from such broadcasts with immediate effect in the 
interest of the security of the nation.'' Most private broadcasters 
complied with this order. MACRA shut down Joy Radio, Capital Radio, and 
Malawi Institute of Journalism FM for approximately four hours on July 
20.

    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. Lack of 
infrastructure and the high cost of Internet connections continued to 
limit Internet access.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Unlike the previous year, 
there were government restrictions on academic freedom during the year. 
While there were no restrictions on cultural events, the government 
sporadically censored films that were deemed to contain culturally 
sensitive or sexually explicit material.
    On February 12, police interrogated Blessings Chinsinga over his 
classroom lecture on the cause of mass protests in Egypt and Tunisia. 
Lecturers at the University of Malawi's Chancellor College publicly 
protested the interrogation, but their union's demand for academic 
freedom went unheeded. In response, lecturers boycotted the classrooms 
starting February 16. Four lecturers, including Chinsinga and the 
acting president of the Chancellor College Academic Staff Union, were 
suspended. Chancellor College officially closed twice, but reopened on 
November 14 after nearly nine months without classes. Although the four 
lecturers were reinstated, the underlying academic freedom issue had 
not been resolved to their satisfaction.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, 
but the government fettered this right in practice. The law and 
government action chilled attempts of public protest. For example, the 
Police Act of 2010, which the Malawi Law Commission was reviewing at 
year's end, holds organizers accountable for any damages and injuries 
during a protest. City Councils and police routinely ignored or delayed 
responding to protest notifications, which prevented groups from 
receiving legal authorization to exercise their right to assemble. 
Injunctions and court orders were routinely used to block protests.
    During a March 6 political rally, President Mutharika stated that 
demonstrations should be subject to a deposit of two million MWK 
($12,000). At year's end, the government had not enforced this 
proclamation.
    On February 14, police arrested leaders of a planned demonstration 
about fuel shortages, preventing the protest from taking place.
    On July 20, civil society groups organized demonstrations to 
protest the inaction of President Mutharika and his ruling DPP on 
``poor economic and democratic governance.'' Twenty persons died when 
violence broke out during protests that went ahead despite an 
injunction banning public demonstrations (see section 1.a.).

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right. The government required all organizations, including political 
parties, to register with the Ministry of Justice. Registrations for 
new political parties and NGOs were routinely delayed and prevented 
domestic and international NGOs from registering. The Office of the 
President and cabinet were involved in the approval process for new 
registration, which added an element of politicization. On several 
occasions, ministers threatened to deregister NGOs involved in protests 
or with views contrary to those of the government, although at year's 
end, no organizations had been deregistered.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and laws provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. However, delays in obtaining passports delayed travel for 
some citizens.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, and 
other persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to some 13,000 refugees, 
primarily from Central Africa.

    Nonrefoulement.--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 group, or political 
opinion. There were no reports of deportations of recognized refugees 
during the year.

    Refugee Abuse.--Security forces sometimes intimidated refugees and 
asylum seekers. Police routinely detained refugees found illegally 
outside of camps and returned them to camps. Local citizens often 
accused refugees of theft and demanded their deportation.

    Employment.--While no legal framework existed, the government 
allowed refugees to seek both employment and educational opportunities, 
although it restricted these activities outside the refugee camps. 
Refugees with professional degrees, especially those with medical 
training, were in previous years given work permits to pursue 
employment outside the camps. There remain some individuals, notably 
nurses and teachers, who have been issued such permits in the past and 
remain in employment based on them. UNHCR, NGOs, and the government 
collaborated to provide basic assistance, including education to 
children, in refugee camps.
    The government cooperated with UNHCR in assisting refugees and 
asylum seekers but restricted refugees' ability to move freely and work 
outside of refugee camps.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees have access to health services 
through a clinic in the camp, which serves both refugee and local 
community populations. Malawian laws and the justice system are 
applicable and accessible to refugees. In practice, access was limited 
by lack of knowledge on the part of refugees as to services available.

    Durable Solutions.--By law the government does not accept refugees 
for permanent settlement.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary 
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 
1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 
Protocol; however, no reliable statistics were available.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change 
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in 
practice periodically through largely free and fair elections based on 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In May 
2009 the citizenry re-elected Bingu wa Mutharika of the DPP president 
in what international observers characterized as a generally free and 
fair election, although there were shortcomings. Observers criticized 
the inequitable access to the state-owned media faced by opposition 
parties and candidates. Opposition parties accused the government of 
using public funds for campaign purposes.
    Nationwide local elections were last held in 2000 and have been 
repeatedly postponed since. In December 2010 the president unilaterally 
suspended the nine-member Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), which was 
preparing for local polls scheduled for April 2011. The reason for the 
suspension was an investigation into missing funds. The investigation 
revealed the problem to be lack of documentation and not fraud, so the 
commissioners were reinstated on April 4. However, 10 MEC financial 
staff remained on suspension at year's end, which hindered MEC 
operations.
    The executive branch exerted considerable influence over the 
unicameral national assembly, which followed a hybrid parliamentary 
system loosely based on both British and presidential-parliamentary 
models. All cabinet ministers were also members of the National 
Assembly, although they were not required to be.
    Although the government did not prohibit activities of opposition 
political parties, the parties alleged that the government encouraged 
opposition party divisions. Sporadic, minor violence occurred between 
supporters of rival political parties.

    Political Parties.--While parties generally were allowed to operate 
without restriction or outside interference, there were instances of 
intimidation by members of the ruling DPP.
    The government delayed the registration of new political parties, 
which limited their ability to operate legally. Political parties were 
forced to resort to the courts for judicial relief. For example, the 
Peoples Party applied for registration in April, but its application 
was rejected. The party was finally registered July 28, but only after 
a Supreme Court ruling compelled the government to accept the 
application.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 39 women in the 
193-seat National Assembly and eight women in the 32-member cabinet, 
including the country's first female vice president. Women constituted 
approximately 25 percent of the civil service. There were three female 
justices among the 27 Supreme and High Court justices.
    There were six members of minority groups, defined as ``white,'' 
``colored'' (``mixed race''), and South Asian, in the National 
Assembly.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government has had some success prosecuting cases; however, 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The 
World Bank's 2010 Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption was a serious problem. President Mutharika spoke publicly 
against corruption and cautioned government officials to refrain from 
questionable activities. Efforts to combat corruption and promote 
transparency continued.
    The Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigated, indicted, and 
prosecuted persons charged with low-level corruption during the year; 
however, critics charged that the bureau generally avoided indictments 
of high-level government officials. The ACB was considered generally 
competent in its handling of low-level cases. Indictments of former 
high-level government officials proceeded slowly, often due to legal 
challenges filed in court by the accused. Surveys indicated that while 
a majority of citizens had been exposed to government anticorruption 
messages, only 15 percent knew how to report corruption to the ACB. The 
ACB reported that it completed 289 investigations during the year, 
which resulted in 77 referrals to prosecutors. A total of 65 corruption 
cases were prosecuted during the year, resulting in 11 convictions, 
five acquittals, and no withdrawals.
    A final verdict in the 2007 corruption case against former 
president Muluzi was pending at year's end.
    The constitution provides for public access to government 
information, in so far as such information is required for the exercise 
of an individual's rights. In practice, the government granted access 
to citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, training civic 
educators, advocating changes to existing laws and cultural practices, 
and investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. 
Government officials often were cooperative and responsive to their 
views.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--UN agencies and international 
NGOs had offices in the country and had access to investigate human 
rights abuses. The ICRC delegation for southern Africa, based in 
Harare, Zimbabwe, also covered the country.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The MHRC, an independent 
government agency, is charged with monitoring, auditing, promoting, and 
investigating violations of human rights. Continued resource shortfalls 
resulted in a backlog of cases, delayed production of reports, and 
hindered human rights monitoring. The MHRC reported that it received 
460 complaints of human rights violations during the year.
    The Office of the Ombudsman is mandated to investigate government 
officials responsible for human rights violations and other abuses. The 
ombudsman does not take legal action against government officials, but 
may order an administrative action to redress the grievance. Between 
August 2009 and October 2010, when the ombudsman position was 
unoccupied, the office continued investigations of existing cases, but 
no new investigations were authorized. The office continued to lack 
adequate resources and had difficulty retaining staff. At year's end, 
the office had seven lead investigators aided by 13 assistants. Some 
recommendations from the ombudsman were referred to parliament after 
they were ignored or challenged by government departments and agencies.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law specifically provides for equal rights for women, forbids 
discrimination based on language or culture, race, disability, or 
social status, and provides for equality and recognition before the law 
for every citizen. However, the capacity of government institutions to 
ensure equal rights for all citizens was limited.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape with 
a maximum penalty of death. Spousal rape is not explicitly mentioned 
but could be prosecuted under the same rape laws. The government 
generally enforced the law effectively, and convicted rapists routinely 
received prison sentences. Data on the prevalence of rape or spousal 
rape and conviction figures were unavailable; however, press reports of 
rape arrests and convictions were an almost daily occurrence. The 
judiciary continued to impose penalties on persons convicted of rape. 
Although the maximum penalty for rape is death, the courts generally 
imposed the maximum assault penalty of 14 years in prison for child 
rape and assault.
    Domestic violence, especially wife beating, was common, although 
women seldom discussed the problem openly, and victims rarely sought 
legal recourse. Legal experts and human rights workers attributed 
victims' reluctance to report their abusers to economic dependence on 
the abuser, lack of awareness of their legal rights, and fear of 
retribution and ostracism. The law provides a maximum penalty of life 
imprisonment for domestic violence and recognizes that both men and 
women can be perpetrators as well as victims. Police regularly 
investigated cases of rape and sexual assault but did not normally 
intervene in domestic disputes. Police support units provided shelter 
to some abuse survivors and dealt with human rights and gender-based 
violence, but officers' capacity to assist and document cases was 
limited.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--In a few isolated areas, widows 
were sometimes forced to have sex with in-laws as part of a culturally 
mandated ``sexual cleansing'' ritual following the death of the 
husband. In some cases, widows were ``inherited'' by a brother-in-law 
or other male relative. Although there are no laws specifically 
prohibiting these practices, the government and civil society continued 
efforts to abolish them by raising awareness concerning the inherent 
dangers of such behavior, including the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is not specifically 
prohibited by law, but it can be prosecuted under existing sections of 
the penal code, such as indecent assault on a woman or girl, which 
carries up to a 14-year prison sentence, or insulting the modesty of a 
woman, which is a misdemeanor punishable by one year in jail. There was 
no available data on the extent of sexual harassment, although it was 
thought to be widespread, or effectiveness of government enforcement.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children. Health clinics and local NGOs 
were permitted to operate freely in disseminating information on family 
planning under the guidance of the Ministry of Health. There were no 
restrictions on the right to use contraceptives, but access was more 
limited in rural areas. The government provided free childbirth 
services, but these services were unevenly distributed due to limited 
access to hospitals and other medical facilities in rural areas. Nurses 
and midwives were a critical component of prenatal and postnatal care, 
due to a shortage of doctors. The 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health 
Survey (DHS) reported the maternal mortality ratio to be 675 deaths per 
100,000 live births. Skilled health providers assisted in 71 percent of 
births with another 14 percent assisted by a traditional birth 
attendant and 9 percent by untrained relatives or friends. Modern 
contraceptive use among married women between ages 15 and 49 was 
approximately 46 percent, according to the DHS. Men and women were 
entitled to equal access to diagnosis and treatment of sexually 
transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--Under the law, women have the right to full and 
equal protection and may not be discriminated against on the basis of 
gender or marital status, including in the workplace; however, 
discrimination against women was pervasive, and women did not have 
opportunities equal to those available to men. Women had significantly 
lower levels of literacy, education, and formal and nontraditional 
employment opportunities, as well as lower rates of access to resources 
to increase agricultural productivity.
    Women often had less access to legal and financial assistance, and 
widows often were victims of discriminatory and illegal inheritance 
practices in which most of an estate was taken by the deceased 
husband's family. Women usually were at a disadvantage in marriage, 
family, and property rights; however, awareness of women's legal rights 
continued to increase, and women began to protest abuse and 
discrimination. Households headed by women were represented 
disproportionately in the lowest quarter of income distribution. More 
than half, 52 percent, of full-time farmers were women; however, they 
had limited access to agricultural extension services, training, and 
credit. Gender training for agricultural extension workers and the 
gradual introduction of rural credit programs for women increased. 
However, few women participated in the limited formal labor market and 
those that did constituted less than 5 percent of managerial and 
administrative staff.
    The law provides for a minimum level of child support, widows' 
rights, and maternity leave; however, only individuals who could use 
the formal legal system benefited from these legal protections.
    The government addressed women's concerns through the Ministry of 
Gender, Child, and Community Development. The Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development's Gender, Institutions, and Development 
data reflected the elevated discrimination in social institutions and 
the high inequality to which women were subjected on a daily basis.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship can be derived from 
birth within the country or from one's parents. In 2007 the government 
launched the pilot phase of the national registration and 
identification system, the first step in the creation of a national 
identification system to provide for mandatory registration of births; 
however, the system had not been fully implemented by year's end. There 
were no reports of discrimination or denial of services due to lack of 
birth registration.

    Education.--The government provided tuition-free primary education 
for all children, although education was not compulsory. Families were 
responsible for paying book fees and purchasing uniforms. However, 
students from poor families had access to a public book fund. Many 
girls, especially in rural areas, were unable to complete even a 
primary education due to poverty, lack of schools, and cultural 
factors, and were at a serious disadvantage in finding employment.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse remained a serious problem. The press 
regularly reported cases of sexual abuse of children, including arrests 
for rape, incest, sodomy, and defilement. A 2008 study by the safe 
schools program in Machinga found that 90 percent of girls and 47 
percent of boys in primary schools experienced some form of violence, 
including sexual touching by other students, sexual abuse by teachers, 
corporal punishment, and verbal and psychological abuse.
    In 2010 parliament passed the Child Care, Protection, and Justice 
Act, which prohibits subjecting a child to any social or customary 
practice that is harmful to the health or general development of a 
child. Targeted practices included child trafficking, forced labor, 
forced marriage or betrothal, and use of children as security for debts 
or loans. The law was passed in July 2010 but had not been fully 
enacted as it was awaiting final publication in the official legal 
records at year's end.
    The Ministry of Gender, Child, and Community Development undertook 
activities to enhance protection and support of child victims. The 
ministry trained and paid small stipends to more than 800 community 
child protection personnel, who worked nationally to identify victims 
of child abuse, underage labor, and trafficking, and referred cases to 
district social welfare offices or the police.

    Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage is 15, with marriage 
under age 18 requiring parental consent. ``Girl Up'', a U.N. Foundation 
campaign, reported in November that child marriage was widespread, with 
nearly 50 percent of girls marrying before age 18.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law does not specifically 
prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM). A few small ethnic groups 
practiced FGM. In most cases, FGM was performed on girls between 10 and 
15 years of age.
    Despite the Child Care, Protection, and Justice Act, many abusive 
practices, including the secret initiation of girls into their future 
adult roles, continued. In a few traditional communities, girls 
averaging 12 years of age were forced to have sexual relations with 
older men as part of such initiation rites. ``Kupimbira,'' a practice 
that allows a poor family to receive a loan or livestock in exchange 
for daughters of any age, existed in some areas. The MHRC expressed 
concern over reports of parents forcing their daughters into marriages 
for food.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The widespread belief that 
children were unlikely to be HIV positive and that sexual intercourse 
with virgins could cleanse an individual of sexually transmitted 
diseases, including HIV/AIDS, contributed to the widespread sexual 
exploitation of minors.
    Reports of European tourists paying for sex with teenage boys and 
girls continued.
    The trafficking of children for sexual purposes was a problem, and 
child prostitution for survival without third-party involvement also 
occurred. For example, at local bars and rest houses, owners coerced 
girls who worked at the establishments to have sex with customers in 
exchange for room and board. The Child Care, Protection, and Justice 
Act stipulates punishment up to and including life imprisonment for 
child traffickers, but the law had not officially taken effect by 
year's end.
    The penal code outlaws carnal knowledge of females under the age of 
16 and stipulates penalties up to and including the death penalty for 
offenders.

    Displaced Children.--A few charitable organizations attempted to 
reduce the number of child beggars in urban areas; however, the problem 
of street children remained serious, as the number of orphans whose 
parents died from HIV/AIDS increased. Extended family members normally 
cared for such children and other orphans.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The Employment Act prohibits 
discrimination in employment; however, there is no comprehensive law 
governing discrimination against persons with disabilities. The law 
provides for the support of persons with disabilities through greater 
access to public places, fair opportunities in employment, and full 
participation in all spheres of society; however, limited resources 
prevented the government from protecting these rights in practice. The 
government had not mandated accessibility to buildings and services for 
persons with disabilities.
    The Department of Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly, within 
the Ministry of Gender, Child, and Community Development is responsible 
for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. There were 
public and privately supported schools and training centers that 
assisted persons with disabilities. There also were several self-
supporting businesses run by and for persons with disabilities. The 
Malawi Rural Development Fund provided loans to persons with 
disabilities to support these activities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual 
activity is illegal and is punishable by up to 14 years in prison in 
addition to corporal punishment, including hard labor. The Malawi Penal 
Code outlaws ``unnatural offenses'' and ``indecent practices between 
males.''
    In January the president assented to a parliamentary penal code 
amendment that criminalizes ``indecent practices between females.'' The 
amendment codifies the illegality of consensual same-sex sexual 
activity between women, setting a maximum prison term of five years for 
convicted offenders.
    An environment conducive to discrimination based on sexual 
orientation was created and maintained by senior government officials. 
On World Tourism Day in September, the tourism minister said it was not 
proper for citizens to engage in same-sex sexual activity as ``very un-
Malawian.'' The mistaken notion that western donor countries were 
withholding financial aid unless the country permits same sex marriages 
enhanced a homophobic environment. In October the Malawi Council of 
Churches declared that the country needed aid, and millions of innocent 
citizens should not be penalized because same-sex sexual activity was 
outlawed.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against persons living with HIV/AIDS remained an issue. Many 
individuals preferred to keep silent about their health rather than 
seek help and risk being ostracized, but campaigns by the government 
and NGOs to combat the stigma had some success. The National AIDS 
Commission maintained that discrimination was a problem in both the 
public and private sectors. A 2011 report of the People Living with HIV 
Stigma Index also confirmed that HIV and AIDS discrimination and stigma 
exist in the country.
    Mobs sometimes used arson as a tool of vigilante justice.
    On October 17, angry villagers torched the entire police unit in 
Mitundu as well as seven police staff houses as a backlash against 
perceived police failure to provide security in the area. Violence 
started with the murder of Marko Chapola at Mitundu Trading Center on 
October 16. Riot police were deployed to contain the situation, and in 
the ensuing battles between police and angry villagers, 49 villagers 
were arrested, and two injured with rubber bullets. All suspects were 
released on bail by October 26 and the case was pending at year's end.
    On November 28, villagers burned and looted the house and compound 
of Mariam Nazeem in Kalilima Village. Nazeem, who was suspected of 
using witchcraft to cause several deaths in the area, was missing at 
year's end.
    There were no further developments in the September 2010 killings 
of Ulemu Sesani and Moses Kachala by a mob in the Blantyre's Ndirande 
suburb.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, except for army personnel and police, to form 
and join trade unions of their choice without previous authorization or 
excessive requirements. The law provides for unions to conduct their 
activities without government interference; however, in reality the law 
does not apply to the vast majority of workers in the informal sectors.
    Unions must register with the Registrar of Trade Unions and 
Employers' Organizations in the Ministry of Labor, and registration was 
granted routinely.
    The law allows members of a registered union to strike or go 
through a formal mediation process overseen by the Ministry of Labor. A 
strike can take place only after all complex and time-consuming 
settlement procedures established in a collective agreement and 
conciliation efforts have failed. Members of a registered union in 
``essential services'' have a limited right to strike. Essential 
services are defined as services whose interruption would endanger the 
life, health, or personal safety of the whole or part of the 
population, as determined by the Industrial Relations Court (IRC). 
While there is a definition of ``essential services,'' there is no 
defined list. Laws do not specifically prohibit retaliation against 
strikers. There is no prohibition on actions against unions that are 
not registered. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and provides 
for remedial measures in cases of dismissal for union activity.
    Workers in the formal sector have the right to organize and bargain 
collectively. The law requires that at least 20 percent of employees 
(excluding senior managerial staff) belong to a union before it can 
engage in collective bargaining at the enterprise level, and at least 
15 percent union membership for collective bargaining at the sector 
level. The law provides for the establishment of industrial councils in 
the absence of collective agreements for sector-level bargaining. 
Industrial council functions included wage negotiation, dispute 
resolution, and industry-specific labor policy development. The law was 
not effectively implemented due to lack of human and financial 
resources. No known particular group of workers was excluded from 
relevant legal protections. There are no special laws or exemptions 
from regular labor laws in export processing zones (EPZ).
    The government protected the right to collective bargaining. 
Workers exercised the right to form and join independent unions and the 
right to conduct strikes in practice. Malawi Congress of Trade Unions 
(MCTU) reported two incidents of alleged antiunion discrimination 
during the year. There was anecdotal evidence that union organizers 
were dismissed or had their rights violated in order to deter 
unionization.
    On May 20, an employee of a freight forwarding company was 
dismissed for unauthorized absence while attending an International 
Labor Organization-sponsored course in Germany. The employee had 
applied for unpaid leave according to the company's leave terms, but 
was later informed that unpaid leave was no longer part of the 
company's conditions of service. The employee alleged that his 
dismissal was for his trade union activism and claimed that the company 
had previously fired employees for speaking out in favor of forming or 
joining a trade union. The employee believes that his dismissal marked 
an attempt to weaken the union. At year's end, MCTU was involved in the 
issue.
    In November workers at a rubber plantation announced the formation 
of a union after two years of covert organization. The union leader was 
arrested and charged with ``organizing workers without the consent of 
the Management, District Commissioner, and Labor officers.'' His case 
was pending at year's end.
    Union membership was low due to the small percentage of the 
workforce in the formal sector, and because of lack of awareness of 
worker rights and fear of reprisals. Many companies in the EPZs 
resisted union activity, and union organizers stated they had little 
access to workers in the EPZs. Informal sector workers organized in the 
Malawi Union for the Informal Sector (MUFIS), which is affiliated with 
MCTU. However, informal sector employees were unable to obtain the same 
standard of protection as formal sector workers. This inequity is the 
result of a Ministry of Labor decision that the MUFIS does not have 
sufficient standing to bargain collectively.
    Employers, labor unions, and the government lacked sufficient 
knowledge of their legitimate roles in labor relations and disputes, 
which limited their effectiveness in implementation and enforcement of 
the law. For example, ambiguities in the law regarding what services 
are considered to be ``essential'' could lead to unions having 
difficulties striking legally. There were, however, no instances of 
strikes being declared illegal during the year.
    Arbitration rulings were legally enforceable; however, in practice, 
due to lack of funding and a heavy case backlog, the IRC could not 
monitor cases or adequately enforce the laws.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The government 
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor. Forced labor is 
punishable by a maximum fine of 10,000 MWK ($60) or two years' 
imprisonment.
    Laws against forced and compulsory labor were not effectively 
enforced due to lack of capacity and resources. The 2010 Child Care, 
Protection, and Justice Act specifically outlaws forced child labor, 
but the law had not been fully enacted at year's end.
    There were reports that forced child labor occurred. Children are 
subjected to domestic servitude and other forms of forced labor, 
including in cattle herding; agricultural labor, particularly on 
tobacco farms; and menial work in small business. In practice, 
punishments were almost always limited to fines, and the modest fines 
imposed were not effective in discouraging labor violations.
    Although the Ministry of Labor reported no cases of forced labor, 
forced and bonded labor involving entire families occurred under the 
tenancy system. Tobacco plantation tenants had exclusive arrangements, 
often unwritten, with the estate owners to sell their crop and to buy 
inputs such as fertilizer, seed, and often food. These costs, in 
addition to rent charges, often were greater than the amount of money 
received from tobacco sales, systematically leading to a situation of 
debt bondage to repay the inputs and other costs.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employme.--21The 
law sets the minimum age for employment at 14, and children between the 
ages of 14 to 18 may not work in jobs that are considered hazardous or 
that interfere with their education. The law specifies legal work hour 
limits, but in practice, the Ministry of Labor lacks the capacity to 
monitor and enforce the law. The law specifies a maximum fine of 20,000 
MWK ($119) or five years' imprisonment for violations. However, the law 
was not effectively enforced due to lack of resources, manpower and 
insufficient penalties to deter offenders.
    Police and Ministry of Labor officials were responsible for 
enforcing child labor laws and policies; however, labor inspectors did 
not have law enforcement capabilities and must cooperate with the 
police to pursue violators.
    The Ministry of Labor continued to conduct child labor law 
enforcement courses for district labor officers, district social 
welfare officers, police, and district magistrate court officers. 
During the year the ministry continued inspections, particularly on 
agricultural estates. There were 29 district labor officers and an 
estimated 160 labor inspectors at year's end. Approximately 1,340 
inspections were carried out from January to September. The Labor 
Ministry's youth committees in rural areas continued to monitor and 
report on child labor. Despite these efforts, enforcement by police and 
ministry inspectors of child labor laws was hindered by lack of 
funding.
    Child labor remained a serious and widespread problem. A June 2008 
report from the Ministry of Labor stated that more than 1.4 million 
children, or one of every three children, were engaged in some form of 
child labor.
    Child labor was common on tobacco farms, subsistence farms, and in 
domestic service. Many boys worked as vendors, and young girls in urban 
areas often worked outside of their families as domestic servants, 
receiving low or no wages.
    An August 2009 report issued by Plan International stated that 
children working in the tobacco industry were being exposed to high 
levels of nicotine poisoning, equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a 
day. The government disputed the report, arguing that the claim that 
78,000 children worked in the tobacco industry was greatly inflated. 
Debate continued over the true extent of the problem.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor sets 
separate urban and rural minimum wage rates based on recommendations of 
the tripartite wage advisory board (TWAB), which is composed of 
representatives of labor, government, and the private sector. The 
minimum wage, revised in January, is 178.25 MWK ($1.06) per day; for 
both rural and urban areas. The poverty lines (at 2004 prices) were 
16,165 MWK ($96) per person per year for poor households and 10,029 MWK 
($60) per person per year for ultra-poor households. It is estimated 
that 52.4 percent of citizens live below the poverty line. There was no 
exception for foreign or migrant workers.
    The maximum legal workweek is 48 hours, with a mandatory weekly 24-
hour rest period. The law requires payment for overtime work and 
prohibits compulsory overtime. In practice these standards were not 
effectively enforced, and employers frequently violated statutory time 
restrictions.
    The Ministry of Labor houses a Directorate of Occupational Safety 
and Health. The law includes extensive occupational health and safety 
(OSH) standards.
    Poor functioning of the TWAB resulted in delayed and inadequate 
wage rate revisions. Official minimum wages apply only to the formal 
sector as the government lacks enforcement mechanisms for the informal 
sector. Wage earners often supplemented their incomes through farming 
activities. The Ministry of Labor lacked the resources to enforce the 
minimum wage effectively. However, the minimum wage was irrelevant for 
most citizens, who earned their livelihood outside the formal wage 
sector.
    The Ministry of Labor's enforcement of the work week and the OSH 
standards was also poor. The law specifies a maximum fine of 20,000 MWK 
($119) or five years' imprisonment for violations. These penalties were 
not sufficient to deter offenders. No jail terms have ever been 
reported.
    Workers, particularly in industrial jobs, often worked without 
basic safety clothing and equipment. In tobacco fields, the handling of 
the leaves was done largely without protective clothing; workers absorb 
up to 54 milligrams of dissolved nicotine daily through their skin, 
equal to the amount of 50 cigarettes. Approximately 80,000 child 
tobacco workers reportedly suffered from a disease called green tobacco 
sickness, or nicotine poisoning. These children often worked 12-hour 
days, often without pay or received an average of 42 MWK ($0.25) for 
long hours of work. Workers dismissed for filing complaints about 
workplace conditions have the right to file a complaint at the labor 
office or sue the employer for wrongful dismissal. Workers have the 
right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without 
jeopardy to continued employment; however, given the low level of 
education of most workers and the high level of unemployment, workers 
were unlikely to exercise this right.
    Six workplace fatalities were reported during the year. Two 
restaurant workers and their employer died when the building collapsed 
in Blantyre. In Chikwawa a sugar factory employee fell into a broiler. 
A driver at a uranium mine near Karonga died, and one employee of a 
plastics company in Blantyre died.
    The law protects foreign workers in correct legal status. Illegal 
foreign workers were subject to deportation.

                               __________

                                  MALI

                           executive summary
    Mali is a constitutional democracy. International and domestic 
observers characterized the 2007 presidential election, which resulted 
in the reelection of President Amadou Toumani Toure, and the 2007 
legislative elections, as generally free and fair; however, there were 
some administrative irregularities. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    The most important human rights problems are related to gender 
inequality, failures of the justice system, and exploitative labor 
relationships. Women face domestic violence to which the legal system 
frequently turns a blind eye, a culture that widely condones female 
genital mutilation (FGM), and a legal system that gives preference to 
men in cases of divorce or inheritance. An ineffective and corrupt 
legal system has meant detainees face lengthy pretrial detention unless 
they are willing and able to pay bribes to obtain their release. Human 
trafficking and exploitative labor relationships are not uncommon in 
the country, especially in regards to child labor.
    Other human rights problems included arbitrary and/or unlawful 
deprivation of life, police abuse of civilians, poor prison conditions, 
lack of enforcement of court orders, official corruption and impunity, 
societal discrimination against black Tamasheqs, discrimination based 
on sexual orientation, and societal discrimination against persons with 
HIV/AIDS.
    The government took steps to prosecute military officials involved 
in the hazing-related deaths of five military trainees on October 3, 
but some impunity existed in the country.
    Northern Mali experienced periodic violence involving banditry, 
drug trafficking, clashes between rival groups, and attacks by the 
terrorist organization Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
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 unlawful killings.
    On September 21, customs officers shot and killed alleged drug 
trafficker Adama Diallo after a car chase outside Kadiolo, in Sikasso 
Region. No disciplinary actions were taken by year's end.
    On March 7, in Koulikoro, a student died from a reaction to gas 
fired by police to disperse a demonstration (see section 2.b.).
    There were no developments in the February 2010 case of minibus 
driver Mamadou Coulibaly, who was shot and killed while trying to flee 
a police checkpoint.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    The terrorist organization AQIM held persons hostage during the 
year (see section 1.g.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were occasional reports that police and gendarmes employed them.
    Police abused civilians, including the use of excessive force to 
disperse demonstrations. On March 7, police used tear gas to disperse 
students protesting outside their hostel; one student died after 
inhaling the gas. There were no other reported major injuries to 
victims or disciplinary actions imposed on perpetrators resulting from 
those incidents.
    No disciplinary action was taken against police and gendarmes 
involved in two 2010 incidents of violence in Timbuktu or against 
members of the Mobile Security Group who allegedly used excessive force 
to disperse demonstrators in November 2010 in Bamako.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Overall prison conditions 
remained extremely poor and did not meet international standards. 
Prisons continued to be overcrowded. As of September 28, the central 
prison in Bamako housed 1,668 prisoners, including 1,092 pretrial 
detainees, in a facility designed to hold 400 persons. The Sikasso 
Prison held close to 615 prisoners, including 209 pretrial detainees, 
in a facility built for 50. Nationwide, the prisons in the eight 
regions and Bamako housed a total of 5,817 prisoners, including 2,522 
pretrial detainees. Prison-provided food was insufficient, when it was 
provided, and medical facilities and sanitation were inadequate, posing 
serious health threats.
    Prisoners have access to the same water as the local population. 
The drinking water is of good quality in Bamako, but there are not safe 
water sources at regional prisons. Prison ventilation, lighting, and 
temperature are comparable to many poor, urban homes. The most 
significant threat to prisoners' health was the lack of sanitation; 
prisoners have access to a bucket in their cells, but seldom an 
outhouse. There were not prison ombudsmen. Specific efforts were not 
taken during the year to improve recordkeeping or use alternative 
sentencing for nonviolent offenders.
    In Bamako men and women were placed in separate prisons, although 
both male and female juvenile offenders were held in the women's 
prison. Conditions in the Bamako women's prison improved but did not 
meet international standards. Outside the capital men, women, and 
juveniles were held in separate cells within the same prison. Arrested 
individuals may be held for up to 72 hours in police stations, where 
there are no separate holding areas for men and women. Pretrial 
detainees were held with convicted prisoners. Detainees had reasonable 
access to visitors and were permitted to conduct religious observance. 
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints 
directly or through the ombudsmen to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigations of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions, although it was not known if any prisoner had done 
so. The government's National Penitentiary Administration investigated 
and monitored prison and detention center conditions.
    The government permitted prison visits by human rights monitors, 
and various human rights organizations conducted visits during the 
year. Nevertheless, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other 
monitors were required to submit a request to the prison director, who 
then forwarded it to the Ministry of Justice. Approvals, which took up 
to one week, were routinely granted but the weeklong delay hindered the 
ability of monitors to ascertain if there were human rights violations. 
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) conducted visits 
during the year in accordance with its standard modalities. The 
National Assembly' s Law Commission sent a mission composed of 
lawmakers and parliamentary assistants to inspect all eight regional 
prisons during the year. Several NGOs, including the Malian Association 
of Human Rights and the Malian Association of Women Lawyers, also 
visited prisons during the year and worked with female and juvenile 
prisoners to improve conditions.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally 
respected these prohibitions; however, there were reports that 
arbitrary arrest and detention occurred in petty criminal cases.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Security forces include 
the army, air force, gendarmerie, National Guard, national police, and 
the General Directorate of State Security (DGSE). The army and air 
force are under the control of the Ministry of Defense. The National 
Guard is administratively under the Ministry of Defense; however, 
operational control rests with the Ministry of Internal Security and 
Civil Protection. The Ministry of Internal Security and Civil 
Protection's responsibilities include maintaining order during 
exceptional circumstances, such as national disasters or riots. The 
National Guard also has specialized border security units. The national 
police and gendarmerie are under the Ministry of Internal Security and 
Civil Protection. Policemen have responsibility for law enforcement and 
maintaining order in urban areas, while gendarmes have that 
responsibility in rural areas. The DGSE has authority to investigate 
any case and temporarily detain persons at the discretion of its 
director general; it usually did so only in terrorism and national 
security cases.
    The National Police is organized into districts. Each district has 
a commissioner who reports to the regional director at national 
headquarters. The National Police was moderately effective but 
seriously lacked resources and training.
    Civilian authorities maintain effective control over the military 
and gendarmes, and the government has effective mechanisms to 
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. On March 29, the army 
arrested Colonel Satigui Sidibe and charged him with stealing 180 
million CFA francs ($350,000). There were no reports of impunity 
involving the security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides that suspects must be charged or released within 48 hours and 
that they are entitled to counsel; however, in practice detainees were 
not always charged within 48 hours. Suspects must be transferred from a 
police station to a prison within 72 hours after being arrested; 
however, in practice detainees were sometimes held longer than 72 
hours. Limited rights of bail and the granting of conditional liberty 
exist, particularly for minor crimes and civil matters. On occasion 
authorities released defendants on their own recognizance.
    Judicial warrants are required for arrest. Bailiffs normally 
deliver warrants, which stipulate when a person is scheduled to appear 
at a police station. While individuals usually were apprehended openly 
with warrants based on sufficient evidence and issued by a duly 
authorized official, there were occasions when warrants were not based 
on sufficient evidence or were not used.
    Detainees are brought before the judiciary and have the right to a 
lawyer of their choice or a state-provided lawyer if they are indigent; 
however, an insufficient number of lawyers--particularly outside the 
cities of Bamako and Mopti--often prevented access to legal 
representation. Detainees were granted prompt access to family members, 
who are also their primary source for food.
    Since June 2, former minister of health Ibrahim Oumar Toure has 
been held under house arrest for charges of abuse of public funds. In 
cases involving a monetary debt, the arrested person frequently 
resolved the case at the police precinct and the police received a 
portion of the recovered money.

    Arbitrary Arrests.--Police sometimes arrested multiple suspects in 
a crime, even without much direct evidence. In a burglary on August 15, 
police arrested the gardener, the dog sitter, and three guards and held 
them in jail for questioning. Police released all five men without 
charges after five days.

    Pretrial Detention.--The law stipulates charged prisoners must be 
tried within one year, but this limit frequently was exceeded, and 
lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. Lengthy trial procedures, 
large numbers of detainees, judicial inefficiency, corruption, and 
staff shortages contributed to lengthy pretrial detention. Individuals 
sometimes remained in prison for several years before their cases came 
to trial. Many individuals could not afford bail. Approximately 52 
percent of the prison population consisted of persons awaiting trial.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, the executive branch continued 
to exert influence over the judicial system. Corruption and limited 
resources affected the fairness of trials. Bribery and influence 
peddling were widespread in the courts, according to domestic human 
rights groups.
    There were problems enforcing court orders. Village chiefs and 
government-appointed justices of the peace decided the majority of 
disputes in rural areas. Justices of the peace had investigative, 
prosecutorial, and judicial functions. In practice these systems did 
not provide the same rights as civil and criminal courts. Sometimes 
justices were absent from their assigned areas for months at a time.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants 
are presumed innocent and have the right to confront witnesses, to 
present witnesses and evidence on their behalf, and to appeal decisions 
to the Supreme Court. Except in the case of minors, trials generally 
were public and juries were used. Defendants have the right to be 
present and have an attorney of their choice. Court-appointed attorneys 
are provided for the indigent without charge. Defendants have the right 
to consult with their attorney, but administrative backlogs and an 
insufficient number of lawyers, particularly in rural areas, often 
prevented prompt access. Defendants and attorneys have access to 
government 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 
judiciary in civil matters, although corruption in the judicial branch 
was widespread and laws are biased against women, particularly in cases 
of divorce or inheritance. There is no separate court system for 
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights 
violation. There were reports that civil court orders were sometimes 
difficult to enforce, especially in cases of traditional slavery.

    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.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Killings.--Northern Mali experienced periodic violence involving 
bandits, smugglers, paramilitary forces, inter- and intra-ethnic 
violence, and AQIM. For example, on March 11-16, a clash between Tuareg 
nomadic herders belonging to the Idnane and the Imghad clans resulted 
in the death of one person in the District of Menaka, in Gao Region, 
near the border with Niger.
    During May and June, 15 people died in fighting between D'Aoussahak 
nomads in Kidal Region.

    Abductions.--On November 23-24, armed individuals possibly 
affiliated with AQIM kidnapped two French nationals in Hombori, Mopti 
Region, and reportedly delivered them to AQIM, which was believed to be 
holding them in Mali. Security forces arrested two suspects involved in 
the kidnapping, and investigations continued at year's end.
    On November 25, armed assailants kidnapped three European tourists 
and killed a fourth in Timbuktu city, Timbuktu Region. The hostages, 
Dutch, Swedish, and South African/British nationals, reportedly are 
being held in Mali. The individual who died while resisting the 
kidnapping attempt was a German national. Security forces reportedly 
arrested two of the assailants and investigations continued at year's 
end.
    AQIM kidnapped three European aid workers on October 22 from a 
Saharoui refugee camp in Algeria and likely moved them to Mali.
    AQIM kept some of the hostages it had taken during 2010. On March 
9, AQIM released Mohamed Yahya Ould Hamid, a Malian whom it held 
following Mauritanian army attacks on AQIM bases in Mali.
    On February 24, AQIM released a Togolese, a Malagasy, and a French 
citizen who were abducted in September 2010 but continued to hold as 
hostages four other Frenchmen taken in the same raid in northern Mali.
    On January 5, an individual claiming connections to AQIM attacked 
the French Embassy in Bamako with a handgun and improvised explosive. 
Tunisian national Bachir Simoun was sentenced to death by a Malian 
court on November 29 but was extradited to Tunisia to be tried in that 
country on December 15.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech including for 
members of the press, and the government generally respected these 
rights in practice. An independent press and a functioning democratic 
political system have ensured freedom of speech and of the press. Self-
censorship was reported anecdotally to be a problem.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
There were numerous Internet cafes in Bamako, but home Internet was 
limited by cost. Outside of Bamako there were few sites where the 
Internet was available for public use.

    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; 
however, at times the government did not respect this right in 
practice.
    On March 7, in Koulikoro, police used tear gas to disperse students 
protesting the government's slowness in building an access road to 
their high school. One student died after having a fatal reaction to 
the gas.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, although the law prohibits associations deemed immoral. 
The government generally respected freedom of association during the 
year.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. Police routinely stopped and checked both citizens and 
foreigners to restrict the movement of contraband and to verify vehicle 
registrations.
    The government cooperated with the U.N. High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing 
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, 
asylum seekers, and other persons of concern.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The government provided some 
assistance to IDPs, allowed the ICRC access to IDPs, and permitted IDPs 
to accept assistance provided by humanitarian organizations. The 
distances involved, difficult terrain, and land mine concerns hampered 
assistance efforts. The government did not attack or target IDPs or 
forcibly return or resettle them. The government worked with the 
International Organization for Migration during the year to reintegrate 
citizens fleeing violence and government instability in Cote d' Ivoire, 
Tunisia, and Libya.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status. The government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. A national 
committee in charge of refugees operated with institutional assistance 
from UNHCR.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection 
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their 
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion.

    Temporary Protection.--The government's Office of International 
Migration is responsible for providing temporary protection to 
individuals who may not qualify as refugees and provided it to 14 
Mauritanians, one Sierra Leonean, two Afghans, two Ivoirians, two 
Liberians, and two Burundians in distress during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change 
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in 
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis 
of universal suffrage.
    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2007 
voters elected President Amadou Toumani Toure to a second five-year 
term with 71 percent of the vote. Legislative elections also were held 
in 2007. Domestic and international observers characterized these 
elections as generally free, fair, and without evident fraud, but there 
were administrative irregularities.

    Political Parties.--Political parties generally operated without 
restrictions or outside interference.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 15 women in the 
147-member National Assembly. There were five women in the 29-seat 
cabinet, including new Prime Minister Mariam Sidibe Kaidama Cisse. 
There were five women--including the chairperson--on the 33-member 
Supreme Court, and three women on the nine-member Constitutional Court.
    The National Assembly had 15 members from historically marginalized 
pastoralist and nomadic ethnic minorities representing the eastern and 
northern regions of Gao, Timbuktu, and Kidal. The cabinet also had four 
members from these 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 frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
Corruption in the judiciary was widespread. Police often were not held 
accountable for corruption. Officials, police, and gendarmes frequently 
extorted bribes. There were reports of uniformed police or individuals 
dressed as police directing stopped motorists to drive to dark and 
isolated locations, where they robbed the victims. The gendarmerie 
conducted investigations of police officers, although the number of 
officers disciplined for infractions was not available.
    The constitution requires the president, prime minister, and other 
cabinet members to submit annually a financial statement and written 
declaration of their net worth to the Supreme Court. These documents 
were not made public.
    The Malian Anticorruption Agency (CASCA) and the independent Office 
of the Auditor General (OAG) are responsible for combating corruption. 
CASCA oversees a number of smaller anticorruption units within various 
government ministries and reports directly to the presidency.
    The OAG' s report for 2010 (released during the year) estimated 
that 34.8 billion CFA francs ($70 million) in revenue had been lost in 
2010 due to fraud and mismanagement, including lost revenue in 
agricultural and health programs.
    On June 2, police arrested former health minister Ibrahim Oumar 
Toure, who faced charges of misappropriating millions of dollars from 
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Fifteen other 
former health ministry officials also were charged in the alleged 
corruption case.
    The law provides for public access to government information, and 
the government generally granted such access for citizens and 
noncitizens, including foreign media. The national budget was available 
to the public upon request. If an information request is refused, the 
person who submitted the request can appeal to an administrative court, 
which must address the appeal within three months.
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.
    For example, on December 6, Human Rights Watch published a major 
report on the use of child labor in the country' s artisanal gold mines 
during the year. Government officials were cooperative and responsive 
to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The National Commission on Human 
Rights (CNDH) is part of the Ministry of Justice. The CNDH is an 
independent institution under the constitution and was restructured 
significantly in 2009. During the year the government provided the 
commission with a headquarters and small staff. On May 26, the 
commission presented its 2010 report on human rights specifically 
focused on corruption and impunity.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on social 
origin and status, color, language, gender, or race, but not 
disability. In spite of relevant legislation, citizens generally were 
reluctant to file complaints or press charges of discrimination, based 
largely on cultural factors. Absent complaints or lawsuits, the 
government did not aggressively pursue violations of these laws.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape and 
provides a penalty of five to 20 years' imprisonment; however, the 
government did not enforce the law effectively. Rape was a widespread 
problem. Only a small percentage of rape cases were prosecuted, since 
most such cases were not reported, and victims felt social pressure not 
to pursue charges against aggressors who were frequently close 
relations. There is no law specifically prohibiting spousal rape, but 
law enforcement officials stated the criminal laws against rape apply 
to spousal rape. Police and judicial authorities were willing to pursue 
rape cases but stopped if parties reached an agreement prior to trial. 
The Bamako Court of Appeals had six cases of rape on its docket for the 
session held during the year; however, information on the number of 
convictions was not available.
    Domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse, was 
prevalent. Most cases went unreported. Spousal abuse is a crime, but 
the law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence. Police were 
reluctant to enforce laws against or intervene in cases of domestic 
violence. Many women were reluctant to file complaints against their 
husbands because they feared such allegations would be interpreted as 
grounds for divorce, were unable to support themselves financially, 
sought to avoid social stigma, or feared further ostracism. The 
government's planning and statistics unit, established to track 
prosecutions, was not operational. Assault is punishable by prison 
terms of one to five years and fines of up to 500,000 CFA francs 
($1,011) or, if premeditated, up to 10 years' imprisonment.
    The Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children, and the Family 
distributed a guide during site visits throughout the year regarding 
violence against women for use by health-care providers, police, 
lawyers, and judges, and many NGOs operated shelters for abused female 
domestic laborers.

    Female genital mutilation (FGM).--FGM is legal in the country and 
widely practiced across faith and ethnic groups. While the government 
has taken steps to raise awareness about the harmful health effects of 
FGM and has successfully lowered the percentage of girls excised in at 
least one region of the country, it has not criminalized it. FGM was 
very common, particularly in rural areas, and was performed on girls 
between the ages of six months and six years (see section 6, Children).

    Reproductive Rights.--Women's ability to make decisions regarding 
reproduction was limited. Women faced pressure to defer responsibility 
to their husbands and family on reproductive issues including the 
number, spacing, and timing of pregnancies and often lacked sufficient 
information about alternative choices. Women often did not have access 
to contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth, including 
essential obstetric and postpartum care. According to the U.N. 
Population Fund (UNFPA), the contraceptive prevalence rate was 8 
percent, with unmet need for family planning estimated at 29 percent. 
Reportedly 49 percent of births were attended by skilled health 
personnel. Women were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually 
transmitted infections, including HIV, but access to health care for 
both men and women was limited. According to UNFPA estimates, in 2008 
the maternal mortality ratio was 830 deaths per 100,000 live births, 
and a woman's lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 22.

    Discrimination.--Family law and traditional practices favor men. 
Women are legally obligated to obey their husbands and are particularly 
vulnerable in cases of divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Women 
had very limited access to legal services due to their lack of 
education and information as well as the prohibitive cost.
    While the law provides for equal property rights, traditional 
practices and ignorance of the law prevented women from taking full 
advantage of their rights. A community property marriage must be 
specified in the marriage contract. In addition, if the type of 
marriage was not specified on the marriage certificate, judges presumed 
the marriage was polygynous. Traditional practice discriminated against 
women in inheritance matters, and men inherited most of the family 
wealth.
    Women's access to employment and economic and educational 
opportunities was limited. According to the National Center for 
Information on Women and Children, women constituted approximately 15.5 
percent of the formal labor force. The government, the country's major 
formal sector employer, paid women the same as men for similar work. 
The Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children, and the Family was 
charged with ensuring the legal rights of women. Women experienced 
economic discrimination due to social norms that favor men.
    The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, and it occurred 
including in schools.

    Children.--Birth registration.--Citizenship is derived from the 
father. The government did not register all births immediately, 
particularly in rural areas. During the year the government continued 
conducting an administrative census to collect biometric data and 
assign a unique identifying number to every citizen. The process 
allowed the registration of children who had not been registered at 
birth, although the number of new birth certificates assigned was 
unknown. Several local NGOs worked with foreign partners during the 
year to register children at birth and to educate parents about the 
benefits of registration.

    Education.--The constitution provides for tuition-free universal 
education, and the law provides for compulsory schooling from ages 
seven to 16; however, many children did not attend school. Parents 
often had to pay for their children's school fees as well as provide 
their uniform and supplies. Girls' enrollment in school was lower than 
boys' at all levels due to poverty, cultural tendencies to emphasize 
boys' education, and the early marriage of girls. Other factors 
affecting school enrollment included distance to the nearest school, 
lack of transportation, and shortages of teachers and instructional 
materials.
    Members of the black Tamasheq community reported that some Tamasheq 
children were denied educational opportunities due to traditional and 
hereditary practices.
    Koranic masters often require students under age 10, known as 
``garibouts,'' to beg for money on the streets or work as laborers in 
agricultural settings (see section 7.d.).

    Child Abuse.--here were no comprehensive statistics on child abuse; 
however, the problem was widespread. Most child abuse cases went 
unreported. Sexual exploitation of children occurred. The police and 
the social services department under the Ministry of Social 
Development, Solidarity, and the Elderly investigated and intervened in 
some reported cases of child abuse or neglect; however, the government 
provided few services for such children.
    FGM was very common, particularly in rural areas, and was performed 
on girls between the ages of six months and six years. Approximately 92 
percent of all girls and women had been subjected to FGM, although a 
Ministry of Health demographic study in 2006 reported that among girls 
and women ages 15 to 19, the rate was 85 percent. The practice was 
widespread except in certain northern areas, occurred among most ethnic 
groups, and was not subject to class boundaries. Some Malians 
erroneously believe the Koran prescribes the practice. There are no 
laws specifically prohibiting FGM; however, a government decree 
prohibits FGM in government-funded health centers. Government 
information campaigns regarding the dangers of FGM reached citizens 
throughout the country, and human rights organizations reported that 
FGM decreased among children of educated parents. Unlike previous years 
there were no reports of Burkinabe families crossing into Mali to evade 
stricter FGM laws in Burkina Faso.

    Child Marriage.--The marriage code allows girls under the age of 15 
to marry if they have parental consent and special permission from a 
judge. The minimum age for girls to marry without such consent is 15. 
Underage marriage was a problem throughout the country. On December 2, 
the National Assembly passed a new Family Code that would raise the age 
of legal marriage to 18 for men and 16 for women; however, at year's 
end it was not signed by the president. Underage marriages would still 
be legal if approved by the child's father, or a family council if the 
father is deceased. According to local human rights organizations, 
judicial officials frequently accepted false documents claiming that 
girls under the age of 15 were old enough to marry. The revised Family 
Code has been the primary way the government has combated early 
marriage, although joint awareness campaigns were mounted with NGOs.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law does not specifically 
address child prostitution, but Article 229 prohibits pimping of both 
adults and children. The penalties are six months to three years in 
prison and a fine of between 20,000 and one million CFA francs ($40-
$2,000). The country has a statutory rape law that defines 18 as the 
minimum age for consensual sex. However, the law is inconsistent with 
the legal minimum marriage age of 15 and was not enforced. Authorities 
cited child pornography as a form of indecent assault prohibited under 
the criminal code. Penalties for indecent assault range from five to 20 
years in prison. The National Police's Division for Protection of 
Children and Morals conducted sweeps of brothels to ensure that 
prostitutes were of legal age and arrested brothel owners found to be 
holding underage girls.
    For example, on May 26, police arrested Aminata Keita Diallo, 
director of the national infant orphanage, on charges of neglect, 
kidnapping, trafficking in children, and manslaughter related to the 
deaths of 33 children in her care between August 2010 and February, as 
well as at least two illegal adoptions.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population was estimated at fewer than 
50, 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 Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There is no specific law protecting the 
rights of persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the 
provision of other state services. There is no law mandating 
accessibility to public buildings. The Ministry of Social Development, 
Solidarity, and the Elderly is charged with the protection of the 
rights of persons with disabilities. The ministry sponsored activities 
to promote opportunities for persons with disabilities to generate 
income and also worked with NGOs, such as the Malian Federation of 
Associations for Handicapped Persons, which provided basic services. 
There was a Bamako-based school for the deaf that ostensibly falls 
under government responsibility, but support and resources were 
practically nonexistent.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Societal discrimination against 
``black'' Tamasheqs, often referred to by the label Bellah, continued. 
Some black Tamasheqs were deprived of civil liberties by other ethnic 
groups due to traditional slavery-like practices and hereditary 
servitude relationships between certain ethnic groups. Black Tamasheqs 
in Menaka also reported systematic discrimination by local officials 
and others that hindered their ability to obtain identity documents or 
voter registration cards, locate adequate housing, protect their 
animals from theft, seek legal protections, obtain education, or access 
development aid.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no publicly visible 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations in the 
country. The free association of LGBT organizations was impeded by a 
law prohibiting association ``for an immoral purpose''; in 2005 the 
then governor of the District of Bamako cited this law to refuse 
official recognition to a gay rights association. Although there was no 
official discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation at the 
national level; in practice, societal discrimination was widespread. 
The Family Code passed by the National Assembly on December 2 would 
forbid ``homosexuals'' from adopting children, but it has not been 
signed by the president and is not yet in force.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against persons with HIV/AIDS occurred. The government implemented 
campaigns to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS and reduce discrimination 
against those with HIV/AIDS.
    Mob violence occurred. For example, on June 7, high school teacher 
Alassane Libo Diarra was beaten to death by an angry mob after being 
falsely accused of stealing a handbag. Seven people were in jail at 
year's end awaiting trial for suspicion of involvement in his death. 
They remained in jail at year's end.
    On July 19, clashes between gangs in Bamako's heavily populated 
neighborhoods of Bagadadji and Niarela resulted in the death of one 
child. Two suspects were awaiting trial at year's end.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form or join independent unions of their 
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements, and 
workers exercised these rights. Only the military, the gendarmerie, and 
the National Guard were prohibited from forming unions. An estimated 95 
percent of salaried employees were organized, including teachers, 
magistrates, health workers, and senior civil servants.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
interference, and the government respected this right in practice.
    Unions have the right to strike, and workers exercised this right. 
However, the law allows the minister of labor to order arbitration for 
disputes that may endanger lives, security or health, normal 
functioning of the economy, or involves a vital professional sector. 
Civil servants and workers in state-owned enterprises are required to 
give two weeks' notice of a planned strike and to enter into mediation 
and negotiations with the employer and a third party, usually the 
Ministry of Labor and State Reforms. The labor code prohibits 
retribution against strikers, and the government generally enforced 
these laws effectively.
    The law provides for the right to collective bargaining, and 
workers exercised this right freely. The law does not prohibit 
antiunion discrimination, but there were no reports of antiunion 
behavior or activities during the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, such 
practices occurred.
    Most adult forced labor was found in the agricultural sector, 
especially rice production, domestic services, gold mining, and the 
informal economy. Forced child labor was seen in the same sectors, but 
sometimes with different tasks. Some Koranic school masters also 
require children to work longer hours than is socially acceptable.
    The law prohibits the contractual use of persons without their 
consent; penalties include a fine and hard labor. Penalties increase to 
20 years' imprisonment if a person under age 15 is involved.
    Many black Tamasheqs continued to be subjected to forced labor 
practices and hereditary servitude relationships, particularly in the 
eastern and northern regions of Gao, Timbuktu, and Kidal. A legal 
clinic in Gao recorded and filed eight new civil cases regarding 
traditional slavery between August 18 and October 17. According to 
NGOs, the judiciary was reluctant to act in forced labor cases. There 
were no developments in 2010 cases of traditional slavery.
    Debt bondage occurred in the salt mines of Taoudenni, located in 
the North. Individuals, primarily of Songhai ethnicity, including some 
children, worked as salt miners to pay off debts owed to businessmen in 
Timbuktu.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor code has provisions that pertain to child labor; however, these 
were often ignored in practice. Child labor was a problem. Child labor 
was concentrated in the agricultural sector, especially rice 
production, domestic services, gold mining, Koranic schools, and the 
informal economy.
    While the labor code sets the minimum age for employment at 14, 
with certain exceptions, an ordinance pertaining to children sets the 
minimum employment age at 15. The labor code permits children between 
the ages of 12 and 14 to engage in domestic or light seasonal work, and 
limits the number of hours they may work. No child is permitted to be 
employed for more than eight hours per day under any circumstances. 
Girls who are 16 to 18 years old cannot be employed for more than six 
hours per day. These regulations were not enforced in practice.
    Approximately half of children between the ages of seven and 14 
were economically active, and more than 40 percent of children in this 
age group were subjected to the worst forms of child labor. Child 
trafficking occurred. Children, especially girls, were used for forced 
domestic labor. Child labor in the mining sector, including salt mining 
in Taoudenni and gold mining, was also a problem. Black Tamasheq 
children were forced to work as domestic and agricultural laborers.
    An unknown number of primary school-aged children throughout the 
country, mostly under age 10, attended part-time Qur'anic schools that 
were funded by students and their parents and taught only the Qur'an. 
As part of their work requirement, Koranic masters often required 
students, known as ``garibouts,'' to beg for money on the streets or 
work as laborers in agricultural settings.
    Authorities enforced labor code provisions, including those related 
to child labor, through inspectors from the Ministry of Labor and State 
Reforms, which conducted surprise inspections and complaint-based 
inspections; however, resource limitations restricted the frequency and 
effectiveness of oversight by the Labor Inspection Service, which 
operated only in the formal sector. The Ministry of Labor and State 
Reforms employed approximately 50 labor inspectors, up from eight in 
2007.
    On June 8, the Council of Ministers adopted a National Action Plan 
to combat child labor, especially the worst forms of child labor 
identified by a 43-member national committee for child labor and 
trafficking issues chaired by the Ministry of Labor and State Reforms. 
The government regularly acts in a supporting role for donor projects 
dealing with child labor.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was 
28,465 CFA francs ($58) per month, which did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage was 
supplemented by a required package of benefits, including social 
security and health care. Persons working in the informal and 
subsistence sectors did not receive the minimum wage. The labor code 
specifies conditions of employment, including hours, wages, and social 
security; however, many employers either ignored or did not comply 
completely with the regulations. The Ministry of Labor is also 
responsible for enforcing the minimum wage, but it did not do so 
effectively.
    The legal workweek is 40 hours, except for work in the agricultural 
sector. The legal workweek for agricultural employees ranges from 42 to 
48 hours, depending on the season. The law requires a weekly 24-hour 
rest period. Workers have to be paid overtime for additional hours. The 
law limits overtime to eight hours per week. Labor inspectors usually 
visited work sites only after complaints were filed by labor unions. 
Legal standards pertaining to hours of work were not always enforced.
    The law provides a broad range of legal protections against hazards 
in the workplace; however, authorities did not effectively enforce 
these standards. Workers' groups brought pressure on employers to 
respect sections of the regulations. With high unemployment, workers 
often were reluctant to report violations of occupational safety 
regulations. The Labor Inspection Service oversees these standards but 
limited enforcement to the formal sector. It was not effective in 
investigating and enforcing workers' safety and was insufficiently 
funded for its responsibilities. Workers had the right to remove 
themselves from dangerous work situations and to request an 
investigation by the Social Security Department, which is responsible 
for recommending remedial action where deemed necessary; it was not 
known if any worker had done so.

                               __________

                               MAURITANIA

                           executive summary
    Mauritania is a highly centralized Islamic republic with a 
president as head of state. The legislative function is exercised by 
the Senate and National Assembly, the former consisting of 
representatives chosen indirectly by municipal councilors and the 
latter directly elected by the voters. The legislative bodies were weak 
relative to the executive. The election of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz as 
president in 2009 ended a political crisis caused by Aziz's 2008 coup 
d'etat against then president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. International 
observers declared the 2009 presidential election to be generally free 
and fair. In 2009 the majority party, Union for the Republic (UPR), won 
most of the seats in the indirect election to refill one-third of the 
Senate seats. The government indefinitely postponed new Senate, 
National Assembly, and municipal elections scheduled to take place 
during the year in accordance with the opposition's initial request, 
although controversy over the constitutionality of the election 
timetable continued throughout the year. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    Continuing slavery, slavery-related practices, and trafficking in 
persons were central human rights problems. Popular concern over 
control of the security forces was highlighted when police clashed with 
demonstrators protesting social, political, and economic problems, 
resulting in at least one death attributed to police. Prison conditions 
remained far below acceptable standards.
    Other reported human rights problems were the use of torture by 
police to extract confessions, arbitrary arrests, lengthy pretrial 
detention, government influence over the judiciary, limits on freedom 
of the press and assembly, restrictions on religious freedom for non-
Muslims, corruption, discrimination against women, female genital 
mutilation (FGM), child marriage, political marginalization of 
southern-based ethnic groups, racial and ethnic discrimination, child 
labor, and inadequate enforcement of labor laws.
    The government took some steps to punish officials who committed 
abuses and prosecuted a number of them. Civil society organizations 
objected to the small number indicted and alleged that some of the 
prosecutions, particularly those involving official corruption, were 
politically motivated.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--On September 27, a 
gendarme who fired on demonstrators in Maghama reportedly shot and 
killed one person and wounded eight others. The demonstrators were 
protesting a national registration campaign, which the government 
launched in May and which they believed would discriminate against 
Afro-Mauritanians due to an alleged lack of ethnic balance among 
officials evaluating nationality. Demonstrators demanded greater Afro-
Mauritanian representation and an unbiased nationality verification 
procedure. On September 27, Minister of the Interior Mohamed Ould 
Boilil publically confirmed the reports and declared that the 
government would not permit disturbances of the peace. There was no 
reported investigation of the death by year's end.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and 
according to the governmental Commissariat for Human Rights, 
Humanitarian Action, and Relations with Civil Society, there were no 
documented cases of torture during the year. Independent human rights 
observers, however, stated that security personnel tortured detainees 
to extract confessions. Torture methods reportedly included electric 
shocks, burning, beating, pulling out of hair, and sexual violence. For 
example, one person involved in ethnically motivated protests in Kaedi 
reported being so severely beaten while held in a government building 
that he had to be evacuated to Nouakchott for medical treatment and 
lost jaw function.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh, and the government's capacity to administer detention facilities 
remained poor. There were credible reports of torture, beating, and 
abuse in police detention centers, several prisons throughout the 
country, and gendarmerie and military facilities.
    A new prison facility was opened in Aleg on November 28, and 
another prison facility neared completion in Nouadhibou, but the 
government failed to allocate sufficient funds for improving prison 
conditions in the existing facilities during the year, and 
overcrowding, violence among inmates, and poor medical care in prisons 
continued. Many prisoners were unable to leave their extremely crowded 
cells or breathe fresh air for months or years at a time. Sanitation 
conditions were poor due to the lack of hygienic products such as soap 
and detergent and prison management's inability to dispose of waste 
properly. Malnutrition was a more serious problem, affecting vulnerable 
members of the prison population, particularly foreign inmates, 
prisoners without familial support, and individuals suffering from 
untreated diseases. The government did not respond robustly to 
allegations of inhumane conditions, although some progress was made in 
improving the quality of health care.
    Serious overcrowding and a lack of running water contributed to the 
spread of diseases. Prisoners with health problems received little or 
no care, and medical supplies remained insufficient. For example, the 
Dar Naim Prison, built to hold 300 prisoners, held approximately 1,200. 
Reports continued of malnutrition, poor health, and deficient hygiene 
in that institution. There were reports that one Dar Naim prisoner was 
accidentally electrocuted during the year. On May 21, local media 
reported that another prisoner, Mohamed Ould Ahmed Salem Ould Amail, 
died at the National Hospital after authorities transferred him from 
Dar Naim because of his deteriorating health.
    The holding areas in police stations were also reportedly 
overcrowded, unsanitary, and poorly ventilated.
    There are no ombudsmen at the prison level. Regulations allowed the 
inmates in an institution to choose one of their number to represent 
them in dealings with management, and inmates occasionally did so 
during the year.
    Steps were been taken to improve recordkeeping: the EU purchased 28 
computers and at year's end was training the penitentiary 
administration on database management to improve recordkeeping and the 
integrity of each prisoner's file.
    According to the penitentiary administration directorate, the 
women's prison is less crowded and therefore more comfortable than the 
men's. On the other hand, male guards participated in monitoring female 
inmates, who risked becoming victims of sexual violence.
    Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to denounce 
overcrowding and long pretrial detention. The large number of pretrial 
detainees exacerbated prison overcrowding. On March 5, four inmates at 
the Dar Naim prison reportedly reacted to their detention conditions by 
sewing their mouths closed to initiate a hunger strike, and on July 8, 
17 individuals escaped from the detention center in Kaedi.
    Pretrial detainees were frequently housed with convicted and often 
dangerous prisoners. On May 23, authorities removed a reported 13-14 
suspected terrorists awaiting trial from Nouakchott Central Prison to 
an undisclosed location in order to improve prison security and disrupt 
illicit activity. The prisoners protested their removal.
    Due to poor security conditions and the fact that dangerous 
prisoners shared cells with less dangerous ones, prisoners lived in a 
climate of violence, and some had to pay bribes to other prisoners to 
avoid being brutalized and harassed. As of October 19, according to 
Ministry of Justice statistics, the prison population totaled 1,695, of 
whom 861 were convicts and 834 were unconvicted detainees. A full 
breakdown of the prison population by gender was unavailable. Of the 54 
children in detention, 34 were in a segregated courtyard of the 
Nouakchott Central Prison at year's end after a juvenile detention 
center in Beyla suffered structural damage. Seventeen were being held 
in a detention center for the ``reception and insertion'' of youth in 
conflict with the law. The center's goal is to facilitate the social 
reintegration of children and youth. During the year officials released 
30 children from this center and monitored their subsequent activities.
    Women and female minors under 18 years of age were housed together 
in a separate location from the men and male minors. Sexual violence 
reportedly occurred in the women's prison, which employed both male and 
female guards. Children of female prisoners remained with their 
mothers, or the Ministry of Justice gave temporary custody of the 
children to another family member. International NGOs, such as the 
Noura Foundation, Caritas, and Terre des Hommes, provided educational 
and economic opportunities to current and former juvenile and female 
detainees.
    Prisoners had access to visitors. There were no reports that men 
were denied the right to observe Muslim prayer obligations 
individually, but the penitentiary administration confirmed that 
inmates did not have regular access to imams. In January 16 imams 
visited the prisons to meet with inmates for religious discussion and 
mental health counseling.
    The government permitted prison visits by NGOs, diplomats, and 
international human rights observers. The International Committee of 
the Red Cross had access to prisons and conducted multiple prison 
visits, including visits to terrorism suspects, in accordance with its 
standard modalities. They distributed hygiene items and books.
    The Ministry of Justice estimated that approximately 200 inmates 
benefited from a 10-day campaign begun on July 5 by the National 
Association of Dental Surgeons in partnership with the penitentiary 
authorities to provide free dental care to adult and juvenile inmates 
across the Nouakchott prison system. According to the Directorate of 
Prisons and Penitentiaries, a larger budget allowed the directorate to 
purchase more medical supplies and increase the number of medical 
consultations from three to approximately 50 each day. During the year 
the government completed construction of a new prison in Aleg, designed 
to accommodate 300 inmates, and a new prison in Nouadhibou with a 
capacity for 600 inmates was nearing completion.
    The Commission for Human Rights, Humanitarian Action, and Relations 
with Civil Society continued to supply detention centers with medical 
staff, as well as medications, hygiene products, and foodstuffs.
    There were reports that police did not inform family members or 
friends of the location and condition of detainees in a timely manner, 
preventing them from receiving adequate food.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but authorities did not 
observe these prohibitions.
    In some cases authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained 
protesters and journalists (see section 2.a.).
    Human rights and other observers accused the government of 
exceeding the legal limits for pretrial detention. Security forces at 
times arrested demonstrators engaged in sit-ins, marches, or rallies, 
and held them longer than the regulations allow. On September 29, the 
media reported that following a violent protest in Nouakchott against 
the national registration initiative, security forces entered private 
residences without warrants and arrested approximately 20 individuals 
(see section 1.f. and section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities).
    On September 27, the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights 
criticized the continued detention of former human rights commissioner 
Mohamed Lemine Ould Daddeh in violation of a one-year maximum pretrial 
detention period. The government's Human Rights Directorate contended 
that Ould Daddeh's detention could last a maximum of two years because 
the limits on length of detention were different for the economic 
crimes with which he was charged. He remained in detention awaiting 
trial at year's end.
    By law a minor may not be held for more than six months while 
awaiting trial. Nevertheless there were reports that a large number of 
individuals, including minors, remained in pretrial detention for 
extended periods due to judicial ineptitude.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police, 
under the Ministry of the Interior, are responsible for law enforcement 
and maintaining order in urban areas. The National Guard, also under 
the Ministry of the Interior, performs limited police functions in 
keeping with its peacetime role as security support at government 
facilities. The National Guard may also be called on by regional 
authorities to restore civil order during large-scale disturbances such 
as rioting. The gendarmerie, a specialized paramilitary group under the 
Ministry of Defense, is responsible for maintaining civil order within 
and outside of metropolitan areas, as well as providing law enforcement 
services in rural areas. On October 11, a new police force, the General 
Group for Road Safety, began operations under the Ministry of the 
Interior.
    The police were poorly paid, trained, and equipped. Corruption and 
impunity were serious problems (see section 4).
    The government rarely held security officials accountable or 
prosecuted them for abuses. The Ethics Police operates as an internal 
affairs division and as a mechanism to investigate security force 
abuses. In practice this unit did not publicly review security force 
abuses.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
application of constitutional safeguards continued to vary widely from 
case to case. The law requires duly authorized arrest warrants, but 
they were not commonly used. The law requires that in most cases courts 
review the legality of a person's detention within 48 hours of arrest, 
but police may extend the period for an additional 48 hours, and a 
prosecutor or court can detain persons for up to 15 days in national 
security cases. Authorities generally respected the two-week deadline 
for formally arraigning or releasing terrorism suspects in national 
security cases. Only after the prosecutor submits charges does a 
suspect have the right to contact an attorney. By law indigent 
defendants are entitled to attorneys at state expense, but in practice 
attorneys were not provided. There was a bail system, but sometimes 
judges arbitrarily refused lawyers' requests for bail or set 
inordinately high bail amounts.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lawyers highlighted the lengthy incarceration 
of detainees and delays in organizing court hearings, but no statistics 
on the average length of detention or length of pretrial procedures 
were available.

    Amnesty.--During the year President Aziz pardoned 269 prisoners, 
including eight women sentenced for ``zina,'' or sexual relations 
outside marriage. Human rights activists and individuals associated 
with drug trafficking were also among those released.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, but it was not independent in practice. 
The executive branch continued to exercise significant influence over 
the judiciary through its ability to appoint and remove judges. On 
September 12, the Mauritanian Bar Association criticized the executive 
branch for removing Magistrate Mohamed Lemine Ould Moctar on 
disciplinary grounds for his role in acquitting the defendants in a 
drug-related case. The association described the removal as a clear 
example of government interference in the justice system. There was no 
government response by year's end. The government generally respected 
court orders.
    Poorly educated and trained judges were susceptible to social, 
financial, and tribal pressures that limited judicial fairness. For 
example, on May 15, three juveniles received the death penalty, in 
violation of national legislation and ratified international 
conventions, for their role in the death of another minor. Observers 
suggested that the court was influenced by tribal and social factors. 
On December 12, the sentences were reduced to 12 years in prison and a 
combined 1.2 million ouguiya ($4,130) fine.
    During the year, international donors, including the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) and the World Bank, funded training 
for prosecutors and judges with the aim of increasing judicial 
professionalism.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for due process. Defendants 
enjoy a presumption of innocence. They have a right to a public trial. 
Juries are not used. Defendants have the right to be present during 
their trial. By law all defendants, regardless of the court or their 
ability to pay, have the legal right to representation by counsel 
during proceedings. Although the court should appoint an attorney free 
of charge to represent defendants lacking the ability to pay, this 
measure was rarely enforced during the year. Defendants have the right 
of appeal. Defendants can confront or question witnesses and present 
witnesses and evidence in both civil and criminal cases. By law 
defendants have access to government-held evidence, but access was 
difficult in practice. These rights were extended to minorities. The 
foregoing rights generally were observed in practice for men but did 
not extend equally to women.
    Sharia provides the legal principles upon which the law and legal 
procedure are based; the courts did not treat women equally in all 
cases. Lawyers also reported that in some cases, the unequal treatment 
of women was based on such considerations as a woman's caste or 
nationality.
    A special court hears cases involving persons under the age of 18. 
Children who appeared before the court received more lenient sentences 
than adults, and extenuating circumstances received greater 
consideration in juvenile cases. The minimum age for children to be 
tried is 12 years old. Children between the ages of 12 and 18 who are 
convicted of a crime are sentenced to detention centers for minors.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Complaints of human rights 
violations are within the jurisdiction of the Administrative Court. 
Individuals or organizations can appeal decisions to international 
regional courts. NGO representatives stated they collaborated with the 
court, but the court was not impartial in practice. There are 
administrative and judiciary remedies through the social chamber of the 
Court of Appeals and through the Supreme Court.

    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 reports that after a violent protest against national 
registration in Nouakchott on September 29, security forces entered 
private residences without warrants and arrested approximately 20 
individuals (see section 1.d. and section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic 
Minorities).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech, and the 
government generally respected this right in practice. Individuals 
could criticize the government publicly or privately. Two daily 
newspapers and all broadcast media were government-owned, but several 
independent daily publications were active and generally expressed a 
wide variety of views with limited restrictions.

    Violence and Harassment.--The independent media outlet Agence 
Nouakchott d'Information reported that police arrested and beat 
journalist Cheikh Ould Nouah, a reporter for the Web site Al-Hurriya 
when he was covering clashes between police and protesters in Kaedi on 
September 24. Djibril Diallo, a journalist and member of the 
unauthorized Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement 
(IRA), was reportedly detained for his coverage of protests.

    Censorship and Content Restrictions.--Some journalists practiced 
self-censorship when covering topics deemed sensitive, including the 
military forces, corruption, and the application of Sharia, and there 
were reports that police detained and questioned journalists during the 
year in connection with their coverage of such topics as protests and 
slavery. Some opposition leaders asserted that they had no effective 
access to official media.
    Independent media remained the principal source of information for 
most citizens, followed by government media. Government media focused 
primarily on official news but provided some coverage of opposition 
activities and views through the year. The government-owned TV 
Mauritania occasionally broadcast programs covering opposition 
activities. During the national political dialogue in September and 
October, government media maintained balanced coverage of opposition 
and progovernment statements.

    Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--On October 5, the legislative 
branch adopted amendments to the 2006 Press Freedom Law that abolished 
prison sentences for slander and defamation of individuals, including 
heads of state and accredited ambassadors. Fines for these offenses 
remain in effect. Some journalists continued to object to the 
``elastic'' application of the law, which they assert could be 
interpreted loosely to penalize journalists for their reporting.
    Signaling the end of the government's 51-year monopoly of the 
broadcast media, on September 18, the High Press and Audiovisual 
Authority (HAPA) began taking applications for five new radio stations 
and five new television channels to be owned by nongovernmental 
entities. HAPA received 17 applications for radio stations and nine 
applications for television channels. On November 20, HAPA announced 
that two independent television stations and five independent radio 
stations received permission to broadcast. Some members of the 
opposition asserted that the permits issued favored progovernment 
interests.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly. The law 
requires that organizers apply to the local prefect (hakim) for 
permission to hold large meetings or assemblies. Authorities generally 
granted permission but on some occasions denied it in circumstances 
that suggested the application of political criteria.
    Security forces on several occasions forcefully dispersed 
unauthorized demonstrations organized by the Youth of February 25, a 
group seeking political, social, and economic reforms, and the Do Not 
Touch My Nationality movement, which was protesting the registration 
drive. During protests organized in March and April by the Youth of 
February 25, police responded to stone-throwing protesters with tear 
gas and batons. Police also violently dispersed a demonstration 
organized by the Do Not Touch My Nationality movement in Kaedi on 
September 24, after protesters set fire to a government building. On 
September 27, police violently dispersed a Do Not Touch My Nationality 
protest in Maghama, resulting in the fatal shooting of one protester. 
Following the death in Maghama, demonstrators burned tires and a 
vehicle in Nouakchott on September 29, before being violently dispersed 
by police. A subsequent demonstration on October 8 was authorized and 
took place peacefully. Two protesters were reportedly injured in a 
clash with police during a November 28 demonstration in Nouakchott, 
authorized for a certain area, when protesters attempted to assemble in 
an unauthorized location near the presidency.
    On August 4, according to Amnesty International, authorities 
arrested four antislavery activists, members of the IRA, for 
participating in a protest against the alleged enslavement of a 10-
year-old girl. The four men were charged with ``unauthorized 
gathering'' and ``rebellion'' and were given six-month suspended 
sentences by a Nouakchott court. Another participant whom police 
detained alleged that police kicked and punched him.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right.
    All political parties and local NGOs must register with the 
Ministry of the Interior. The government encouraged local NGOs to join 
the government-sponsored Civil Society Platform during the year. The 
approximately 300 NGOs that are members of the platform do not receive 
government funding.
    There were approximately 78 accredited political parties and NGOs, 
and they generally functioned openly, issuing public statements, and 
choosing their own leadership. The government generally did not prevent 
unrecognized political parties or NGOs from functioning. However, in 
July 2010 the Ministry of the Interior ordered the international NGO, 
National Democratic Institute (NDI), to suspend its operations because 
it lacked formal accreditation, although NDI had attempted to obtain 
accreditation since 2005. NDI resumed some of its activities later in 
2010 but had not received formal accreditation at the end of 2011.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation. The government generally respected these rights, but 
there were exceptions.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the IOM, and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern. In practice resources 
provided by the government were inadequate.

    In-country Movement.--Persons lacking identity cards could not 
travel freely in some regions. During the year, in response to what it 
described as an increased terrorist threat, the government set up 
mobile roadblocks where gendarmerie, police, or customs officials 
checked the papers of travelers. These roadblocks often provided the 
occasion for officials to demand bribes.

    Foreign Travel.--Unlike in the previous year, authorities did not 
restrict international travel of some opposition members.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The National 
Consultative Commission for Refugees (CNCR) is the national body for 
determining refugee status. The UNHCR carries out refugee status 
determinations under its mandate and presents cases to the CNCR for 
recognition.
    In practice the government provided 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 provided protection to approximately 500 
refugees during the year.
    In accordance with agreements with the Economic Community of West 
African States on freedom of movement, the government allowed West 
African migrants to remain in the country, deporting only those found 
illegally seeking to reach the Canary Islands. According to Interior 
Ministry statistics, 2,001 migrants were returned to their country of 
origin during the year.
    The decree that sets forth the procedures for implementation of 
international refugee conventions adopts the principles set forth in 
the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969 
African Union Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee 
Problem in Africa.

    Employment.--Legislation provides refugees with access to the job 
market and basic services. The UNHCR provided assistance to refugees 
with revenue-generating activities throughout the year.

    Access to Basic Services.--By law refugees had access to basic 
services, including health care and education.

    Durable Solutions.--Under an official multiyear repatriation 
agreement with Senegal that originally ended in January, 20,484 
refugees from that country returned to Mauritania. On August 21, the 
government informed the UNHCR of its willingness to repatriate a 
further 5,460 individuals who remained in Dakar. Under the new 
agreement, approximately 1,300 individuals were repatriated in November 
and December, and the remaining 4,160 were scheduled to return in 2012.
    The National Agency for the Welcome and Reintegration of Refugees 
(ANAIR) is responsible for overseeing the reintegration of repatriated 
refugees, providing administration and identification support, and 
contributing to the social and economic development of resettlement 
areas. Reintegration of returnees into communities was challenging due 
to inefficient sanitation, health, and education infrastructure, and 
land disputes. Initially the majority of Afro-Mauritanian returnees 
were unable to obtain identity cards and birth certificates, but 
according to ANAIR, all returnees are included, or scheduled to be 
included, in the new national registration database that was launched 
on May 6.
    During the year the government worked with the European Commission, 
the Mauritanian Red Crescent, and the Spanish Red Cross at the migrant 
reception center in the Nouadhibou region to process returned migrants 
and to provide nutritional and medical care during detention and 
repatriation.
    During the year ANAIR constructed 83 school classrooms for 
repatriated children and delivered 110 pounds of rice and 44 pounds of 
cooking oil to each family. Nevertheless, returnee associations 
complained that reintegration efforts were slow, as was the settlement 
of land disputes.
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 the country accomplished a peaceful 
transition from military rule with the presidential election of 2009, 
followed the same year by the indirect election of one-third of the 
seats in the Senate. However, the government indefinitely postponed 
scheduled elections of municipal councilors, the members of the 
National Assembly, and another third of Senate seats, due to inability 
to reach agreement with opposition parties.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The country returned to 
constitutional rule in 2009 following the Dakar Accord, which resulted 
in the agreement of president Abdallahi to resign and the formation of 
a Transitional Government of National Unity.

    Recent Elections.--In an election held in 2009, former High State 
Council leader General Aziz won 53 percent of the vote. Although some 
opposition groups claimed the election was fraudulent and requested an 
investigation, the Constitutional Council certified the election.
    Elections by municipal councils to fill one-third of the seats in 
the Senate, also in 2009, resulted in a large win for the UPR. 
Opposition and independent candidates denounced what they characterized 
as heavy pressure on the municipal councilors to vote for majority 
party candidates and on independent candidates to withdraw. Authorities 
did not investigate these complaints.
    Indirect elections for another one third of the Senate seats were 
originally scheduled for April 24, but they were postponed twice due to 
the inability of the government and a coalition of opposition parties 
to agree on the opposition's demand that the electoral code be 
rewritten, the ruling coalition dissolved, and laws regulating the 
media reformed. The opposition coalition indicated it would not 
participate in elections until its demands were met. The majority and 
opposition parties engaged in a national dialogue from September 17 to 
October 19 to resolve their political impasse, but no timetable for 
Senate, National Assembly, or municipal elections had been established 
at year's end. The Constitutional Council subsequently ruled that a 
delay of parliamentary elections through May 2012 would be legal.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 18 women in the 
National Assembly and six in the 56-seat Senate. The 27-member cabinet 
included three women, three Black Moors, and five Afro-Mauritanians.
    The law requires that women make up at least 20 percent of 
candidates on legislative candidate lists. It was observed in practice.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
authorities did not enforce the law effectively, and officials often 
engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Corrupt practices were 
widely believed to exist at all levels of government, and the World 
Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a 
severe problem.
    There were reports that government officials frequently used their 
power to obtain such favors as unauthorized exemption from taxes, 
special grants of land, and preferential treatment during bidding on 
government projects. Corruption was most pervasive in government 
procurement, bank loans, fishing-license distribution, land 
distribution, and tax payments.
    The Ministry of the Interior's Economic Crimes Brigade and the 
Office of the Inspector General were responsible for investigating 
corruption. On January 16, the Judiciary Council created the Criminal 
Division for Economic and Financial Crimes, a special chamber 
responsible for economic crimes, to reinforce the legal efforts against 
corruption. During the year this body completed seven investigations 
resulting in the dismissal of several government officials.
    President Aziz's government placed fighting corruption at the top 
of its agenda and made high-profile arrests during the year such as 
that of Moulaye El Arbi Ould Moulaye Mohamed for his alleged 
involvement in the misappropriation of $49 million from the parastatal 
import-export firm SONIMEX in 2008. A 2008 corruption dispute involving 
the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria was resolved 
after the government reimbursed the Global Fund and agreed to implement 
new procedures.
    Corruption and impunity were also serious problems in the police 
force, and the government rarely held security officials accountable or 
prosecuted them for abuses. Police regularly demanded bribes at nightly 
roadblocks in Nouakchott and at checkpoints between cities. There were 
numerous reports that police arbitrarily detained individuals for 
several hours or overnight at roadblocks in Nouakchott or other towns. 
According to these reports, police detained motorists or passengers 
without asking for identity papers or vehicle registration, and without 
searching the vehicles. Judicial corruption was also a problem.
    The government implemented anticorruption measures. A Procurement 
Regulation Authority was created in July with membership from the 
Office of the Inspector General, the private sector, and civil society 
to monitor independent regulation of the public tender and procurement 
system. The government also enforced laws prohibiting the use of 
government vehicles outside working hours and eliminated benefits such 
as free housing for high-level government officials.
    The government enforced the requirement that senior officials, 
including the president, file a declaration of their personal assets at 
the beginning and end of their service. Senior officials reportedly 
disclose their assets through an internal procedure, but the 
information is not released to the public. President Aziz publicly 
declared his assets in October 2010 due to popular pressure.
    The law provides for public access to government information, and 
the government granted such access to citizens and noncitizens, 
including foreign media, during the year.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Several 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.
    An independent ombudsman organization, the National Commission on 
Human Rights, includes government and civil society representatives. It 
actively monitored human rights and advocated for government action to 
correct violations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law provide for the equality for all citizens 
regardless of race, national origin, sex, or social status and 
prohibits racial or ethnic propaganda, but the government often favored 
individuals on the basis of racial and tribal affiliation, social 
status, and political ties. Societal discrimination against women, 
trafficking in persons, and racial and ethnic discrimination were 
problems.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--According to NGOs the 
incidence of both reported and unreported rape continued to be high, 
and rape was considered a serious problem. Rape, including spousal 
rape, is illegal. In practice the government did not enforce the law 
effectively. According to the penal code, rapists who are single men 
faced penalties of forced labor and flagellation. Married rapists could 
be subject to the death penalty. In practice rape cases rarely went to 
trial. In several cases wealthy rape suspects reportedly avoided 
prosecution or, if prosecuted, avoided prison. Families of the victim 
commonly reached an agreement with the rapist for monetary 
compensation. National statistics on arrests, prosecutions, and 
convictions for rape were unavailable. Human rights activists and 
lawyers reported that rape victims were stigmatized, persecuted, and 
even imprisoned. Since rape was tied to the concept of adultery, judges 
could hold the victim responsible for the rape. During the year the 
local NGO, Mauritanian Association for the Health of Mothers and 
Children (AMSME), provided assistance to 127 girls and six adult women 
who were victims of sexual violence. There were no convictions for rape 
during the year.
    Domestic violence was considered a serious problem. Spousal abuse 
and domestic violence are illegal, but the government did not enforce 
the law effectively, and most cases went unreported. There are no 
specific penalties for domestic violence, and convictions were very 
rare. No reliable government statistics on prosecutions, convictions, 
and sentences for domestic violence were available. In 2010 the 
Association of Female Heads of Families (AFCF) provided legal 
assistance to 1,753 domestic violence victims.
    Police and the judiciary occasionally intervened in domestic abuse 
cases, but women rarely sought legal redress, relying instead on 
family, NGOs, and community leaders to resolve domestic disputes. Many 
domestic violence cases are handled by a traditional judge under Sharia 
outside the secular system. NGOs reported that in certain cases they 
had turned directly to police for help to protect victims of domestic 
violence, but police declined to investigate. The AFCF and other 
women's NGOs provided psychologists and shelter to some victims.

    Female Genital Mutilation.--FGM is practiced primarily on young 
girls (see section 6, Children).

    Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--Traditional forms of 
mistreatment of women appeared to decline during the year. One of these 
is the forced feeding of adolescent girls (gavage) prior to marriage 
practiced only among White Moor tribal groups. Increased government, 
media, and civil society attention to the problem, including the health 
risks associated with excessive body weight, led to a marked decline in 
the traditional encouragement of female obesity. Nevertheless, 
overeating to conform to cultural standards remained a problem; it was 
practiced primarily in rural areas, but many urban women endangered 
their health by taking pills to gain weight or increase their appetite.

    Sexual Harassment.--There are no laws against sexual harassment. 
Women's NGOs reported that it was a common problem in the workplace.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right 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, violence, or coercion. 
Reproductive issues were a sensitive topic and a focus of some women's 
groups. Government health centers did not provide unmarried women with 
access to contraception, and did so for married women only with the 
consent of the husband. Contraception was available at private health 
centers for those who could afford it.
    In 2008 the World Health Organization estimated the rate of 
maternal mortality to be 550 per 100,000 live births, due to lack of 
appropriately equipped medical facilities, low participation in 
programs to promote prenatal care, births without the assistance of 
health professionals, poor sanitary conditions during birth, and 
maternal malnutrition.
    The AFCF stressed that these deficiencies applied in particular to 
poor women and women from traditionally lower castes such as slaves and 
former slaves, who also often lacked access to contraception, obstetric 
and postpartum care, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. 
The AMSME, which operated a center for rape victims, provided emergency 
contraception to victims.

    Discrimination.--Women have legal rights to property and child 
custody, and these rights were recognized among the more educated and 
urbanized members of the population. However, women's legal rights were 
restricted in comparison with those of men. Divorced women could 
potentially lose child custody if they remarried. By local tradition a 
woman's first marriage requires parental consent. In accordance with 
the personal status code, men can marry up to four women but are 
required to obtain the consent of their existing spouse or spouses 
before marrying again. Government awareness programs encouraged women 
to obtain a contractual agreement at the time of marriage stipulating 
that the marriage ends if the husband marries a second wife. This 
practice was common in Moor society. Nevertheless, women who did not 
establish a solid contract remained unprotected. In addition the 
validity of and right to establish prenuptial agreements were not 
always respected. Polygamy continued to be rare among Moors but was 
gaining in popularity. It was common among other ethnic groups. 
Arranged marriages were increasingly rare, particularly among the Moor 
population. Cultural resistance to marriages among members of different 
castes persisted, and NGOs reported that powerful individuals used the 
judicial system to intimidate and persecute members of their families 
who married below their social rank.
    Women still faced legal discrimination, and they were considered 
minors in the eyes of the law. According to Sharia as applied in 
Mauritania, the testimony of two women was necessary to equal that of 
one man. The courts granted only half as large an indemnity to the 
family of a woman who was killed as to the family of a man. Formulas 
for property distribution varied widely from case to case. Human rights 
lawyers reported that judges treated differently cases concerning White 
Moor women, female slaves or other lower-caste women, and foreign 
women. The personal status code provides a framework for the consistent 
application of secular law and Sharia-based family law, but it is not 
uniformly employed.
    Women did not face legal discrimination in areas not addressed 
specifically by Sharia. The law provides that men and women should 
receive equal pay for equal work. The two largest employers, the civil 
service and the state mining company, observed this law, although most 
employers in the private sector did not apply it in practice. In the 
modern wage sector women also received family benefits, including three 
months of maternity leave.
    The government sought to open new employment opportunities for 
women in areas traditionally filled by men, such as diplomacy, health 
care, communications, police, and customs services.
    Women's groups and national and international NGOs organized 
meetings, seminars, and workshops throughout the year to publicize 
women's rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--By law citizenship is derived from 
one's father. Citizenship can be derived from one's mother under the 
following two conditions: if the mother is a citizen and the father's 
nationality is unknown, or if the child was born in the country to a 
citizen mother and repudiates the father's nationality a year before 
reaching majority. Children born abroad to citizens can acquire 
citizenship one year before reaching majority. Minor children of 
parents who have become naturalized citizens are also eligible for 
citizenship.
    In most of the country, the government generally registered births 
immediately, but in the South many citizens reported not having birth 
certificates or national identity papers. In addition some slaves did 
not have birth certificates. There was no official data about the 
number of unregistered births.
    The law makes special provision for children's welfare, and there 
were government programs to care for abandoned children, but inadequate 
funding hampered the effectiveness of these programs.

    Education.--The law mandates six years of school attendance for all 
children, but the law was not effectively enforced. Many children, 
particularly girls, did not attend school for six years. Children of 
slave-caste families often did not receive an education.
    Public education was tuition-free through university level. Classes 
were fully integrated, including both boys and girls and students from 
all social and ethnic groups.
    In addition to public schools, almost all children, regardless of 
gender or ethnic group, attended Qur'anic school between the ages of 
five and seven and gained at least rudimentary skills in reading and 
writing Arabic.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was reported, but no data was available 
to indicate its prevalence.

    Child Marriage.--The legal marriage age is 18, but the law was 
rarely enforced, and reports of child marriage were widespread. Since 
consensual sex outside of marriage is illegal, a ``weli'' (tutor) can 
present a case to local authorities requesting permission for a girl 
younger than 18 years old to marry. In practice authorities frequently 
granted this permission.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--FGM was practiced by all ethnic 
groups and performed on young girls, often on the seventh day after 
birth and almost always before the age of six months. The child 
protection penal code states that any act or attempt to damage a female 
child's sexual organs is punishable by imprisonment and a 120,000 to 
300,000 ouguiya ($410 to $1,034) penalty. The most recent statistics on 
FGM indicated a decrease in incidence from 71 percent in 2001 to 65 
percent in 2007, mainly due to a decline in the practice among urban 
dwellers. Infibulation, the most severe form of excision, was not 
practiced.
    The government and international NGOs continued to coordinate their 
anti-FGM efforts, which were focused on eradicating the practice in 
hospitals, discouraging midwives from practicing FGM, and educating the 
population. The government, the U.N. Population Fund, the U.N. 
Children's Fund, and the national Imams' Association joined other civil 
society members to emphasize the serious health risks of FGM and 
correct the widespread belief that the practice was a religious 
requirement. Government hospitals and licensed medical practitioners 
were barred from performing FGM, and several government agencies worked 
to prevent others from perpetrating it. According to several women's 
rights experts, these efforts appeared to be changing popular 
attitudes.
    The Forum of Islamic Thought and Dialogue between Cultures, whose 
January 2010 roundtable resulted in a fatwa (Islamic ruling) against 
FGM in the country, organized an international roundtable on the 
subject in Nouakchott in cooperation the German Society for 
International Cooperation (GIZ). The roundtable was attended by 
approximately 60 religious leaders from West Africa and Egypt. On 
September 13, at the end of the conference, participants issued a 
regional fatwa against FGM based on the Mauritanian model.
    On March 1 and 2, GIZ and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Children, 
and the Family (MASEF) held an event focusing on raising women's 
awareness of the harmful impact of FGM.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law prohibits adult sexual 
relations with a child, with penalties of six months to two years in 
prison and a 120,000 to180,000 ouguiya ($410 to $620) fine. The 
possession of child pornography is also illegal, with penalties of two 
months to one year in prison and a 160,000 to 300,000 ouguiya ($550 to 
$1,034) fine. Commercial sexual exploitation of children is illegal and 
conviction carries penalties of two to five years in prison and a fine 
of 200,000 to 2 million ouguiya ($690 to $6,900). In some instances men 
from the Middle East contracted ``temporary marriages'' as a means to 
traffic and exploit young Mauritanian girls and women in the Middle 
East.

    Displaced Children.--Although MASEF monitored 900 of the estimated 
1,200 street children in Nouakchott through its youth insertion centers 
in Dar Naim and El Mina, government assistance to street children was 
limited. During the year the local NGO Infancy and Development in 
Mauritania monitored 760 children in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou who 
lived on the streets largely as the result of poverty and the 
urbanization of formerly nomadic families.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--A very small number of expatriates practiced 
Judaism. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical disabilities in education, employment, or 
the provision of other state services, and there were no reports of 
governmental discrimination against persons with disabilities. However, 
persons with disabilities generally did not have access to buildings, 
information, and communications, and there were no government programs 
to provide such access. The government did not mandate preference in 
employment, education, or public accessibility for persons with 
disabilities, although it did provide some rehabilitation and other 
assistance for such persons. MASEF oversees social reinsertion programs 
for persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic minorities faced 
governmental discrimination. The inconsistent issuance of national 
identification cards, which were required for voting, effectively 
disenfranchised many members of southern minority groups. Racial and 
cultural tension and discrimination also arose from the geographic and 
cultural divides between Moors and Afro-Mauritanians. The Moors are 
divided among numerous ethnolinguistic tribal and clan groups and 
further distinguished as either White Moor or Black Moor, although it 
was often difficult to distinguish between the two by skin color. White 
Moor tribes and clans, many of whom are dark-skinned after centuries of 
intermarriage with Berbers and sub-Saharan African groups, dominated 
positions in government and business. The Black Moors (also called 
haratines or freed slaves) remained politically and economically weaker 
than White Moors. Afro-Mauritanian ethnic groups, which include the 
Halpulaar (the largest non-Moor group), Wolof, and Soninke, are 
concentrated in the South and urban areas. Afro-Mauritanians were 
underrepresented in the government and military.
    The constitution designates Arabic as the official language and 
Arabic, Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof as the country's national languages. 
The government continued to encourage French and Arabic bilingualism 
within the school system, as opposed to earlier efforts at 
``arabization.'' Neither the Afro-Mauritanian national languages nor 
the local Hassaniya Arabic dialect were used as languages of 
instruction. On April 20, a riot between Afro-Mauritanian and Moor 
students broke out at Nouakchott University over allegations of fraud 
during a student union vote that was split mainly along ethnic lines.
    Ethnic rivalry contributed to political divisions and tensions. 
Some political parties tended to have readily identifiable ethnic 
bases, although political coalitions among parties were increasingly 
important. Black Moors and Afro-Mauritanians continued to be 
underrepresented in mid- to high-level public and private sector jobs.
    There were numerous reports of land disputes between former slaves, 
Afro-Mauritanians, and Moors. According to human rights activists and 
press reports, local authorities allowed Moors to expropriate land 
occupied by former slaves and Afro-Mauritanians or to obstruct access 
to water and pastures.
    Human rights NGOs reported numerous cases of inheritance disputes 
between slaves or former slaves and their masters. Traditionally, slave 
masters inherited their slaves' possessions.
    The government's Program to Eradicate the Effects of Slavery, begun 
in 2009, continued during the year. Its goals were to reduce poverty 
among the 44,750 former slaves in the Assaba, Brakna, Gorgol, and Hodh 
Chargui regions and improve their access to water, health, education, 
and income-generating opportunities. However, the program's activities 
were reduced during the year after former human rights commissioner 
Ould Daddeh was arrested along with and senior-level staff, including 
its coordinator and its financial director, on findings of corruption 
in a government inspection. NGOs maintained that the commissioner was 
arrested for political reasons.
    The government also continued its collaborative program with the 
U.N. on conflict prevention aimed at promoting democratic values and 
the rights of marginalized populations, including former slaves. 
According to the NGO SOS Esclaves, these programs focused on fighting 
poverty and the effects of slavery rather than the practice of slavery 
itself.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Under Sharia, as applied in 
the country, consensual same-sex sexual activity between men is 
punishable by death if witnessed by four individuals, and such activity 
between women is punishable by three months to two years in prison and 
a 5,000 to 60,000 ouguiya ($17 to $207) fine. There were no criminal 
prosecutions during the year. There was no evidence of societal 
violence, societal discrimination, or systematic government 
discrimination based on sexual orientation. There were no organizations 
advocating for sexual orientation or gender-identity rights, but there 
were no legal impediments to the operation of such groups.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no evidence 
of governmental discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, but 
societal taboos and beliefs associated with the disease in some areas 
caused infected persons to face isolation or exclusion.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form and join independent unions of their 
choice and provides the right to conduct legal strikes and to bargain 
collectively, although long and complex procedures must be followed 
before a legal strike can be called. Under the law all workers except 
members of the armed forces and police were free to associate in and 
establish unions at the local and national levels.
    Laws prohibit antiunion discrimination. Nearly 90 percent of 
industrial and commercial workers were unionized. However, only 25 
percent of workers were employed in regularly paid positions. A 
majority worked in the informal sector, primarily subsistence 
agriculture and animal husbandry.
    To be legally recognized, a union must have the authorization of 
the public prosecutor, who can provisionally suspend a trade union at 
the request of the Ministry of the Interior if the ministry believes 
that the union has not complied with the law. Workers and unions 
organized several strikes during the year. International labor 
observers reported that authorities also repressed a number of strikes. 
For example, in May, during a protest by dockworkers in Nouakchott, 
riot police used violence against the demonstrators and many were 
injured. The International Trade Union Forum reported that the National 
Local Authorities' Workers Union had applied unsuccessfully for 
authorization for the demonstration several times.
    The law provides for the right to strike, but long and complex 
procedures must be followed before a legal strike can be called. The 
government can also dissolve a union for what it considers an illegal 
or politically motivated strike, but it did not dissolve any unions 
during the year. Workers must provide advance notice of at least 10 
working days for any strike. Workers are not allowed to hold sit-ins or 
to block nonstriking workers from entering work premises.
    Unions exercised their right to organize workers during the year. 
However, the head of government decides how negotiations are to be 
conducted once the Ministry for the Civil Service agrees on 
negotiations.
    While antiunion discrimination is illegal, national human rights 
groups and unions reported that authorities did not actively 
investigate alleged antiunion practices in some private firms owned by 
very wealthy citizens.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. The law criminalizes 
the practice of slavery and imposes penalties on government officials 
who do not take action on reported cases. The law includes criminal 
penalties also for contracting to benefit from forced labor and for 
exploiting forced labor as part of an organized criminal network. 
Although significant advances were made during the year, government 
efforts to enforce the antislavery law were widely acknowledged to be 
inadequate when compared with the dimensions of the problem.
    There were reports of forced child labor.
    Slavery-like practices, typically flowing from ancestral master-
slave relationships and involving both adults and children, continued. 
Former slaves and their descendants were impelled to remain in a 
dependent status in part of the lack of marketable skills, poverty, and 
persistent drought. Such practices occurred primarily in areas where 
educational levels were generally low or a barter economy still 
prevailed, and in urban centers, including Nouakchott, where slavery-
like domestic service existed. The practices commonly occurred where 
there was a need for workers to herd livestock, tend fields, and do 
other manual labor. Some former slaves and descendants of slaves were 
pushed into working for their old masters in exchange for some 
combination of money, lodging, food, and medical care. Individuals in 
these subservient circumstances were vulnerable to mistreatment. Women 
with children faced particular difficulties and could be compelled to 
remain in a condition of servitude, performing domestic duties, tending 
fields, or herding animals without remuneration.
    Some former slaves reportedly continued to work for their former 
masters or others without remuneration in order to retain access to 
land they traditionally farmed. Although the law provides for 
distribution of land to the landless, including to former slaves, 
authorities have enforced it in only a few cases. NGO observers 
suggested that deeply embedded psychological and tribal bonds also made 
it difficult for many individuals whose forbearers had been slaves for 
generations, to break their bonds with former masters or their tribes. 
Some persons continued to link themselves to former masters because 
they believed their slave status had been divinely ordained and they 
feared religious punishment if that bond were broken. Former slaves 
were often subjected to social discrimination and limited to performing 
manual labor in markets, ports, and airports.
    Forced labor also occurred in urban centers where young children, 
often girls, were retained as unpaid household servants. Some 
individuals self-identified as slaves or masters and claimed with 
varying degrees of plausibility that they were unaware that slavery had 
been abolished. Human rights groups reported that persons in slave-like 
relationships were persuaded by their masters to deny the relationship 
to activists.
    Men, women, and children were trafficked for and subjected to 
domestic service, street begging for unscrupulous religious teachers, 
and slave-like relationships as domestic servants or herders. The law 
criminalizes the practice of slavery and imposes penalties on 
government officials who do not take action on reported cases.
    The government organized training workshops about the antislavery 
law for administrative authorities and judges. The Program to Eradicate 
the Effects of Slavery continued to provide one billion ouguiya ($3.4 
million) per year in development assistance to communities of former 
slaves. These funds were focused on development assistance, not on the 
social and legal enforcement of the antislavery law.
    On April 13, the government tried its first case under this law. 
The defendants were acquitted the same day. On November 20, the first 
conviction for slavery was obtained in the case of two enslaved youths. 
The master received a sentence of two years' imprisonment and his 
family members received suspended sentences. They were also ordered to 
pay a fine of 1.35 million ouguiya ($4,655). The mother of the two 
youths received a one-year suspended sentence.
    The government also prosecuted an alleged slaveholder using the 
lesser charge of child exploitation, and on January 16, a court 
convicted her and prescribed a jail sentence. In March, however, the 
Nouakchott Court of Appeals acquitted her.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits employment of children under the age of 12. Those under 
age 13 may not be employed in the agricultural sector unless the 
minister of labor grants an exception due to local circumstances. Those 
younger than 14 may be employed in most forms of family enterprise with 
authorization from the Ministry of Labor as long as the work does not 
affect the child's health, exceed two hours per day, or occur during 
school hours or holidays. The law states that employed children 14 to 
16 should receive 70 percent of the minimum wage and those 17 to 18 
should receive 90 percent of the minimum wage. Children should not work 
more than eight hours a day with one or several one-hour breaks, and 
they are prohibited from engaging in night work. The law prohibits 
employing or inciting a child to beg with penalties ranging from one to 
eight months imprisonment and a fine of 180,000 to 300,000 ouguiya 
($620 to $1,034)
    MASEF is the main governmental body responsible for enforcing all 
laws relating to children. The Office of Childhood promotes and 
protects children's rights, elaborates and executes child welfare 
programs, coordinates actions in favor of childhood educational 
development, and elaborates and executes a national policy. The 
Ministry of Justice is involved through the Direction of the Judiciary 
for Protection of Children and the Ministry of the Interior through the 
Special Police Brigade for Minors. The Ministry of Labor also 
collaborates through its Labor Office and Inspection Office.
    Enforcement of laws was inadequate. No mechanisms existed for 
exchanging information among agencies or to assess effectiveness. There 
was no specific mechanism for making complaints other than labor 
inspectors or the Special Police Brigade for Minors. NGOs were the only 
organizations that handle cases of child victims, refer them to the 
Special Brigade for Minors, and pressure the government to adjudicate 
the cases or integrate the victims in social centers or in schools.
    During the first six months of the year, there were only 21 
inspectors to receive and investigate complaints; during the year the 
government recruited 46 inspectors who were trained at the National 
School of Administration, and 60 inspectors were on duty at year's end. 
None of them, however, were dedicated to investing compliance with 
child labor regulations. The 2011 budget provided 10.4 million ouguiya 
($35,700) to the Office of Childhood, but nothing was specified for 
investigations. As a consequence no child labor investigations took 
place during the year.
    An unknown number of ``talibes'' (young students), nearly all from 
Halpulaar tribes, begged in the streets and gave the proceeds to their 
``marabouts'' (religious teachers) as payment for religious 
instruction. There were reliable reports that a small number of 
marabouts forced their talibes to beg for more than 12 hours a day and 
provided them with insufficient food and shelter. The government 
continued a program to reduce the number of talibes and partnered with 
NGOs to provide talibes with basic medical and nutritional care.
    Child labor in the informal sector was common and a significant 
problem, particularly within poorer inner city areas. Several reports 
suggested that young girls, as young as the age of seven, from remote 
regions, and possibly from western Mali, continued to be forced to work 
as unpaid housemaids in some wealthy urban homes.
    Street gang leaders forced children to steal, beg, and sell drugs 
in the streets of the capital. Children were reportedly forced to work 
in agriculture, construction, and livestock herding.
    Young children in the countryside were commonly engaged in herding; 
cultivation of subsistence crops, such as rice, millet, and sorghum; 
fishing; and other significant labor in support of their families' 
activities. Young children in urban areas often drove donkey carts and 
delivered water and building materials. In keeping with longstanding 
tradition, many children served apprenticeships in small industries, 
such as metalworking, carpentry, vehicle repair, masonry, and the 
informal sector. Reporting by some human rights NGOs, including SOS 
Esclaves, strongly suggested that domestic employment of girls as young 
as the age of seven, often unpaid, continued to be a problem.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The nationally mandated minimum 
monthly wage for adults, which was not enforced, was 30,000 ouguiya 
($103), increased from 21,000 ouguiya ($72) on September 24. The 
poverty level for 2008 was an annual income of 129,600 ouguiya ($447) 
and the extreme poverty level for 2008 was an annual income of 96,400 
ouguiya ($332).
    The law provides that the standard legal nonagricultural workweek 
must not exceed either 40 hours or six days without overtime 
compensation, which was to be paid at rates that were graduated 
according to the number of supplemental hours worked. Domestic workers 
and certain other categories could work 56 hours per week. All 
employees must be given at least one 24-hour period of rest per week. 
There are no legal provisions regarding compulsory overtime. The Labor 
Directorate of the Ministry of Labor was responsible for enforcement of 
the labor laws, but there was a lack of effective enforcement due to 
inadequate funding. The government sets health and safety standards. 
Workers have the right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions 
without risking loss of employment. The law applies to all workers in 
the formal economy.
    According to the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania, 
the National Agency of Social Security registered 501 workplace 
fatalities or injuries during the year, 189 of them at the national 
mining company, SNIM. It is likely that the number of accidents was 
greater because many accidents in the informal economy were unreported.
    The Ministry of Labor was responsible for enforcing these standards 
but did so inconsistently due to inadequate funding. In principle 
workers could remove themselves from hazardous conditions without 
risking loss of employment, but in practice they could not.
    Despite the law, labor unions pointed to conditions approaching 
modern slavery in several sectors, including the food processing 
industry. In these sectors, workers do not have contracts or receive 
pay stubs. Their salaries were below the official minimum wage, and 
they worked in very unfavorable conditions. Sometimes they were not 
paid for several months.
    Despite the law, workers could not remove themselves from hazardous 
conditions without risking loss of employment.

                               __________

                               MAURITIUS

                           executive summary
    Mauritius is a multiparty democracy governed by a prime minister, a 
council of ministers, and a National Assembly. The Alliance of the 
Future, a coalition led by Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, won 
the majority of national assembly seats in the May 2010 elections, 
judged by international and local observers to be generally free and 
fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The most important reported human rights problems were violence and 
discrimination against women.
    Other reported human rights problems included security force abuse 
of suspects and detainees, prison overcrowding, official corruption, 
abuse and sexual exploitation of children, discrimination against 
persons living with HIV/AIDS, discrimination and abuse based on sexual 
orientation, restrictions on labor rights, antiunion discrimination, 
and child labor.
    The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who 
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the 
government; however, impunity at times occurred.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings during the year.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there continued to be reports of police abuses. On December 30, the 
Director of the National Security Service allegedly assaulted a 
motorcyclist with a baton after the official reproached the rider for 
his dangerous driving. Two of the motorcyclist's relatives were 
arrested and brought to court for incitement to rebellion after a crowd 
gathered in front of the police officer's house. The investigation 
regarding the initial incident was ongoing at year's end, and the 
senior police officer was not arrested or suspended.
    An investigation continued in the 2010 case involving a 
motorcyclist and six plainclothes police officers. According to media 
reports, motorcyclist Wesley Agathe narrowly avoided hitting a 
plainclothes police officer, who allegedly had been pushed in front of 
Agathe's bike by five other plainclothes officers. Agathe stopped his 
motorbike to reproach the six plainclothes officers for the near 
collision and reported the incident to uniformed police officers who 
drove towards him. During the incident one of the six plainclothes 
police officers accused Agathe of stealing a mobile phone and 7,000 
rupees ($242). The six plainclothes officers took Agathe to the 
Pamplemousses police station, and in view of two uniformed police 
officers, beat Agathe so severely that he lost consciousness and 
sustained bruises on his face and neck. Agathe subsequently was 
released without charge. The police officers involved in the beating 
retained their positions pending an investigation.
    There were no developments in the June 2010 incident in which some 
of the 34 inmates who escaped from Grand River North West Prison were 
observed with bruises and facial swelling after they were recaptured 
and transferred to the Beau Bassin Central Prison. A detainee's 
relative reported that prison guards had beaten some of the inmates.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The media reported cases 
of overcrowding and drug abuse in the country's five prisons. Prisoners 
did not file complaints of abuse with the National Human Rights 
Commission (NHRC). There were no reports of threats to life and health; 
food shortages; inadequate potable water, ventilation, temperature, or 
lighting problems; however, hygiene, sanitation, and basic medical care 
remained a problem.
    As of November 30, the Central Prison, which has a capacity of 
1,064, held 1,476 prisoners, including 138 female prisoners and 1,338 
male prisoners. Three boys and three girls were held in a juvenile 
detention facility. Men and women were held in separate buildings. 
Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to 
submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to 
request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. 
Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions 
and documented the results of such investigations in a publicly 
accessible manner. The government investigated and monitored prison and 
detention center conditions.
    The government permitted prison visits by independent observers, 
including the press, the NHRC, local nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs), and the U.N. The country had no ombudsman to serve on behalf of 
prisoners and detainees to consider such matters as alternatives to 
incarceration for nonviolent offenders; circumstances of confinement 
for juvenile offenders; or improving 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 law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally 
observed these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police force is 
headed by a police commissioner who has authority over all police and 
other security forces, including the Coast Guard and Special Mobile 
Forces, a paramilitary unit that shares responsibility with police for 
internal security. The police commissioner reports directly to the 
Prime Minister's Office. Police corruption and abuse of detainees and 
suspects were problems. The Office of the Ombudsperson, the NHRC, and 
the Police Complaints Bureau are the mechanisms available to 
investigate security force abuses.
    The NHRC investigates allegations of police abuse and may report 
such cases to the office of the director of public prosecutions. The 
NHRC had received 26 complaints of physical or verbal abuse by police: 
nine complaints were withdrawn or dismissed for lack of evidence, and 
17 cases remained under investigation.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution and law require that arrest warrants be based on 
sufficient evidence and issued by a duly authorized official and that 
the accused be read his or her rights, including the right to remain 
silent and the right to an attorney. The law requires that suspects be 
brought before the local district magistrate within 48 hours. Police 
generally respected these rights, although police sometimes delayed 
suspects' access to defense counsel. Detainees generally had prompt 
access to family members, although minors and those who did not know 
their rights were less likely to be provided such access. A suspect can 
be detained for up to a week, after which the person may bring the 
issue of bail before a magistrate. Alternatively, if police agree with 
the accused, that person may be released on bail the same day as the 
arrest. Individuals charged with drug trafficking may be detained for 
up to 36 hours without access to legal counsel or bail. Courts accepted 
bail for most alleged offenses.

    Pretrial Detention.--Due to a backlogged court system, 
approximately20 percent of the prison population was in pretrial 
detention. Pretrial detainees generally remained in remand for one to 
two years before being tried. In practice judges applied time served in 
remand to subsequent sentences.

    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.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, and 
trials are public. Juries are only used in murder trials. Defendants 
have the right to be present and to consult an attorney in a timely 
manner. An attorney is provided at public expense when indigent 
defendants face felony charges. Defendants can confront or question 
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their own 
behalf. Defendants and attorneys have access to government-held 
evidence relevant to their cases, and defendants have the right of 
appeal. These rights were respected in practice, although an extensive 
case backlog delayed the process, particularly for obtaining 
government-held evidence. The law extends the above rights to all 
citizens.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary for civil matters. The law provides access to a 
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations. 
The constitution provides for an ombudsman to investigate complaints 
from the public and members of parliament against government 
institutions and to seek redress for injustices committed by a public 
officer or authority in official duties as an alternative to the court 
system. The ombudsman has the authority to make recommendations but 
cannot impose penalties on a government agency.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of 
the press; however, at times the government did not respect the rights 
of the press in practice.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government 
publicly or privately without reprisal.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide variety of views, although the government at times restricted 
press freedom. The government owned the sole domestic television 
network, MBC TV, and opposition parties and media experts regularly 
criticized the station for its progovernment bias and unfair coverage 
of National Assembly debates. International television networks were 
available by subscription or via a cable box.
    The boycott by government agencies on subscriptions to the 
newspapers of La Sentinelle Group was still ongoing at year's end.

    Violence and Harassment.--The prime minister regularly warned the 
press about tougher media laws that were being developed, although no 
such legislation was introduced during the year.

    Publishing Restrictions.--The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie 
continued to be banned, as it had been since 1989, and officially 
bookstores did not import the book; however, authorities did not fine 
bookstores for carrying the book during the year.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws do not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status. The government has not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees. However, in practice the 
government has not expelled or returned 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 with the right to change 
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in 
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal 
suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
International and local observers characterized the May 2010 National 
Assembly elections as free and fair. The constitution provides for 62 
National Assembly seats to be filled by election. It also provides for 
the Electoral Supervisory Commission to allocate up to eight additional 
seats to unsuccessful candidates from minority communities through a 
system known as the ``best loser system'' (BLS). In the May 2010 
legislative elections, the ruling coalition Alliance of the Future 
(AF), led by the Labor Party, won 41 parliamentary seats; the Alliance 
of the Heart coalition (AH), led by the Mauritian Militant Movement 
(MMM) won 18; the Rodrigues Movement (MR) won two; and the Mauritian 
Solidarity Front won one seat. Subsequently, under the BLS, the AF 
obtained four additional seats, the AH two, and the Rodrigues Peoples 
Organization obtained one.
    The constitution requires all candidates to declare themselves as 
belonging to one of the following four ``communities'': Hindu, Muslim, 
Sino-Mauritian, or general population (all persons who do not belong to 
one of the other three categories). The BLS is based on the demographic 
makeup of the country as found in the 1972 census. However, there were 
concerns the 1972 census results no longer reflected the country's 
demographic composition. Various political observers stated that the 
BLS undermined national unity and promoted discrimination. At year's 
end, there were active public discussions of legislative modifications 
to, or elimination of, the BLS.
    International election observers noted some problems including 
unequal representation due to electoral constituencies not being 
redrawn, the inability of persons who turned 18 between January 2009 
and May 2010 to vote due to use of the 2009 voters roll, lack of 
accommodations for persons with disabilities, and lack of legal 
provisions to provide for domestic election observers. Also various 
candidates stated that some politicians distributed gifts in their 
constituencies prior to the May 2010 election, and that some polling 
materials were not available in Creole, a language spoken by more than 
90 percent of the population.
    Political parties operated without restriction or outside 
interference. Opposition parties stated that the government-owned TV 
station, MBC TV, favored the ruling party. Opposition and MMM leader 
Paul Berenger stated that MBC TV provided more airtime to and better 
picture quality of the prime minister.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 13 women in the 
70-seat National Assembly. Following the May 2010 National Assembly 
elections, there were two female ministers in the 25-member cabinet. Of 
the 20 Supreme Court judges, eight were women.
    Although historically the Hindu majority dominated politics, no 
groups were excluded from the political system. In the National 
Assembly there were 37 Hindus, 20 members of the general population, 11 
Muslims, and two Sino-Mauritian. In the cabinet there were 17 Hindus, 
four Muslims, four members of the general population, and one Sino-
Mauritian.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the government did not implement these laws effectively. There was a 
widespread public perception of corruption in the legislative and 
executive branches. The World Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance 
Indicators reflected that corruption was a problem.
    On January 6, opposition MMM party leader Paul Berenger told the 
media that the government bought a private clinic for 144.7 million 
rupees ($5,006,920) that was initially appraised at 75 million rupees 
($2,595,160). Two ministers were shareholders in the private clinic 
when it was sold. A minister and five civil servants were arrested, and 
an investigation continued at year's end.
    There were no developments in the December 2010 case in which 
police arrested Johnson Roussety, the leader of the Rodrigues Regional 
Assembly and an MR member, for influence peddling in forcing a civil 
servant to employ 200 workers who were allegedly MR partisans.
    During the year the governmental Independent Commission Against 
Corruption (ICAC) registered 73 complaints of corruption against police 
officers: 35 cases were rejected for irrelevancy, 15 cases remained 
under investigation, one case was referred to the director of public 
prosecutions, and 22 were discontinued for lack of substantiation.
    ICAC continued to investigate the following 2009 cases: the 
District Council of Pamplemousses-Riviere du Rempart overpayment for a 
cleaning contract, and bribery by the then director of the National Art 
Gallery.
    Ministers of the national government and commissioners of the 
Rodrigues Island Regional Assembly are required to make a public 
disclosure of family assets, including the assets of spouses, children, 
and grandchildren, upon taking office and at the dissolution of the 
National Assembly or of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly.
    There is no law that provides public access to government 
information; however, members of the public may request information by 
writing to the permanent secretary of the appropriate ministry. The 
government generally complied with requests from citizens and 
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were often cooperative and responsive to their views.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated 
with international organizations and permitted visits by U.N. 
representatives and other international organizations.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The president appoints an 
ombudsman to investigate complaints against public servants, including 
police officers and prison guards. Individual citizens, council 
ministers, or members of the National Assembly may request that the 
ombudsman initiate an investigation. The ombudsman makes 
recommendations to the appropriate government office for injustices 
committed by a public officer or authority carrying out official duties 
as an alternative to filing charges in the court system.
    The NHRC enjoyed the government's cooperation and operated without 
government or party interference. The NHRC had adequate resources and 
was considered effective. The commission did not issue a report during 
the year.
    In 2009 the Parliament established the Truth and Justice Commission 
(TJC). The mandate of the TJC is to conduct inquiries into slavery and 
indentured labor during the colonial period in Mauritius. On November 
25, the TJC presented a comprehensive report of its activities and 
findings based on factual and objective information and evidence.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law specifically prohibit discrimination on 
the basis of race, caste, place of origin, political opinion, color, 
gender, disability, or language. While the government generally 
enforced these provisions, some societal discrimination occurred.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape, 
including spousal rape, but police and the judicial system did not 
effectively enforce the law. According to women's rights NGOs, police 
were not always effective in protecting domestic violence victims who 
had been granted protection orders from the court. The penalty for rape 
is 20 years' imprisonment, with a fine not exceeding 200,000 rupees 
($6,920). As of November 2010, the police Family Support Bureau had 
received six reports of rape; 2010 statistics on prosecutions of rape 
were not yet available. However, rape was widespread, and most victims 
chose not to report or file charges against their attackers due to 
cultural pressures and fear of retaliation.
    The law criminalizes domestic violence; however, it was a major 
problem. Domestic violence activists stated that police did not 
effectively enforce the law. As of August 2010, more than 1,600 
domestic violence cases were reported during the year; no information 
was available on the number of abusers prosecuted during the year. 
Penalties for domestic violence that constitutes assault ranged from 10 
years' to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine not exceeding 200,000 
rupees ($6,920) depending on the extent of injuries involved. Anyone 
found guilty of violating a protection order under the Domestic 
Violence Act may be fined up to 25,000 rupees ($865) or imprisoned for 
up to two years. The local NGO SOS Femmes reported that women remained 
in abusive situations for fear of losing financial support and that few 
filed complaints against their abusers. The Ministry of Gender 
Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare maintained an abuse 
hotline and a Web site on legal protections for victims.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment was a problem, and the 
government was not effective at enforcing prohibitions against it. The 
law prohibits sexual harassment, which is punishable by up to two 
years' imprisonment. During 2010 the Sex Discrimination Division of the 
NHRC received 20 complaints; two involved sex discrimination, four 
involved sexual harassment, and 14 involved moral harassment, a term 
which refers to nonsexual harassment. At year's end four cases remained 
under investigation, authorities dismissed three for lack of evidence, 
plaintiffs withdrew one case, five cases were referred to other 
authorities for appropriate action, and the commission completed seven 
investigations.

    Reproductive Rights.--The law provides for the basic right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children, and to have the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. 
Couples and individuals were able to access contraception and skilled 
attendance during childbirth, which was provided free of charge in 
government run hospitals, which also provided free essential obstetric 
and postpartum care. The maternal mortality ratio was 22 per 100,000 
live births, according to a 2010 UNICEF report. Women were equally 
treated for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--Men and women enjoy the same rights under the 
constitution and the law, and these rights were upheld before the 
courts. The Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family 
Welfare is mandated to promote the rights of women. The National Women 
Entrepreneur Council, a semiautonomous government body, was set up in 
1999 to promote the economic empowerment of women, and operates under 
the aegis of the Ministry of Gender Equality.
    Cultural and societal barriers prevented women from playing a 
bigger role in society. For example, the first female firefighter was 
only recruited in 2011. There were few decision-making positions in the 
private sector filled by women; there were even fewer women sitting on 
boards of directors. A large majority of women were employed in 
unskilled labor jobs.
    However, women had equal access to education, employment, and 
government services. Women had equal access to credit and could own or 
manage businesses; however, in the private sector, women were paid less 
than men for substantially similar work. The law criminalizes the 
abandonment of one's family or pregnant spouse for more than two months 
and the nonpayment of court-ordered food support. The law affords women 
broadly defined wage protections, and authorities generally respected 
the law in practice. The law states that women should not be forced to 
carry loads above certain weight limits.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country's territory. Births were registered, and the law 
provides for late registration. Failure to register births resulted in 
denial of some public services.

    Education.--The law requires that children attend school until the 
age of 16, and tuition-free public education is available through the 
secondary level. Books and uniforms were required and provided.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was more widespread than the government 
acknowledged publicly, according to NGOs. The law criminalizes certain 
acts compromising the health, security, or morality of a child, 
although the government was unable to enforce complete compliance. The 
state-funded National Children's Council, the Ministry of Gender 
Equality, Child Development, and Family Welfare, and the Office of the 
Ombudsperson for Children provided counseling, investigated reports of 
child abuse, and took remedial action to protect affected children. The 
police unit for the protection of minors conducted public education 
programs on the sexual abuse of minors.
    The media reported that a seven-year-old girl, Patricia Martin, was 
found dead in Richelieu on September 13. The post mortem examination 
revealed that she was raped and burned alive. Police arrested her 
uncle, Marie Jose Tristan Casimir, on the same day. He remained in 
police detention pending trial at year's end.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Child prostitution was a problem, 
and the government targeted the practice as a law enforcement and 
prevention priority. The law prohibits child prostitution and child 
pornography and provides for a maximum penalty of 15 years' 
imprisonment for child trafficking. The minimum age for consensual sex 
is 16 years. Any person found guilty of statutory rape may face a 
sentence of up to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine not exceeding 
100,000 rupees ($3,460).
    The government assisted victims of child abuse by offering 
counseling at a drop-in center in Port Louis and referring victims to 
government-supported NGO shelters. Both medical treatment and 
psychological support were available at public clinics and NGO centers. 
For example, the National Children's Council operated a daycare center 
in Baie du Tombeau to help single mothers and abused children find 
employment.

    Anti-Semitism.--Approximately 120 Jews resided in the country. 
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts during the year.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services, and the Training and Employment of 
Disabled Persons Board effectively enforced it. The law requires that 
buildings be accessible for persons with disabilities; however, many 
older buildings remained inaccessible to persons with disabilities, 
making it difficult for organizations in those buildings to hire many 
persons with disabilities. The law requires organizations employing 
more than 35 persons to set aside at least 3 percent of their positions 
for persons with disabilities, and the government enforced this law. 
The government effectively implemented programs to ensure that persons 
with disabilities had access to information and communications. The 
state-run television station aired a weekly news program for persons 
with disabilities. The government does not restrict the right of 
persons with disabilities to vote or participate in civic activities; 
however, during the May 2010 legislative elections, private radio 
stations reported that a few persons with disabilities were not able to 
vote because the polling stations were not accessible.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not specifically 
criminalize same-sex sexual activity. It does criminalize the act of 
sodomy, and this prohibition is equally applied to homosexual and 
heterosexual couples.
    Sodomy cases that reach the courts almost exclusively involve 
straight persons, especially in divorce cases. The sodomy statute 
rarely is used against homosexuals, unless one of the partners claims 
sexual assault, including sodomy.
    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender victims of verbal abuse or 
violence within the family reported such incidents to local NGO 
Collectif Arc en Ciel; however, victims always refused to file 
complaints with police for fear of reprisal from family members.
    At year's end, there were no reports of societal or governmental 
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and 
occupation, housing, statelessness, or access to education or heath 
care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law provides that 
persons living with HIV/AIDS should be free from stigmatization and 
discrimination; however, there were reports of discrimination against 
such persons and their relatives.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that HIV-positive 
detainees at the Central Prison were forced to wear yellow badges so 
that they could easily be identified during routine medical checkups.
    During the year local NGO PILS recorded three cases of 
discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients and their relatives. PILS also 
reported that breaches of confidentiality regarding HIV/AIDS patients' 
medical records in public hospitals, including Rodrigues Island, 
remained a problem.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law provide for the rights of workers, including 
foreign workers, to form and join independent unions, conduct legal 
strikes, and bargain collectively. With the exception of police, the 
Special Mobile Force, and persons in government services who were not 
executive officials, workers were free to form and join unions and to 
organize in all sectors, including in the Export Oriented Enterprises 
(EOE), formerly known as the Export Processing Zone; however, the law 
grants authorities the right to cancel a union's registration if it 
fails to comply with certain legal obligations. The law provides for a 
commission to investigate and mediate labor disputes and a program to 
provide unemployment benefits and job training.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
government interference and provides for the right to strike; however, 
it also establishes a required process for declaring a legal strike. 
This process calls for labor disputes to be reported to the Commission 
for Conciliation and Mediation only after meaningful negotiations have 
occurred and a deadlock has been reached between the parties involved, 
a process that is not to exceed 90 days unless the parties involved 
agree. Worker participation in an unlawful strike is sufficient grounds 
for dismissal, but workers may seek remedy in court if they believe 
that their dismissals were unjustified. The law prohibits antiunion 
discrimination, but does not provide for reinstatement of workers fired 
for union activity. Dismissed workers can resort to the Industrial 
Relations Court to seek redress.
    National labor laws cover workers in the EOE; however, there are 
some EOE-specific labor laws that authorize longer working hours, 
including 10 hours per week of mandatory paid overtime at a higher wage 
than for ordinary working hours.
    The government effectively enforced applicable laws, and there were 
few delays in procedures and appeals.
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
generally respected in practice, and workers exercised these rights in 
practice. Most unions collectively negotiated wages higher than those 
set by the National Remuneration Board (NRB). Worker organizations were 
independent of the government and political parties. There were no 
reports of government interference in union activities, including 
targeted dissolving of unions and use of excessive force to end strikes 
or protests.
    Despite the law, antiunion discrimination remained a problem in the 
private sector. Some employers in the EOE reportedly continued to 
establish employer-controlled work councils for EOE workers, 
effectively blocking union efforts to organize at the enterprise level. 
Approximately 59,000 persons worked in the EOE; only 10 percent 
belonged to unions.
    On December 7, former trade unionist Rehana Ameer of the Mauritius 
Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) was reinstated. In August 2010, the 
governmental MBC had suspended her for allegedly sending an anonymous 
letter to MBC employees criticizing management practices. MBC dismissed 
Ameer in December 2010 for allegedly authoring the letter and for 
speaking to the media about her suspension. Ameer claimed that she was 
suspended as a result of her trade union activities. Since 2008 four 
MBC trade union activists were suspended or dismissed.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children. There 
were no reports of forced child labor during the reporting period.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of children below 16 years of age and 
prohibits the employment of children between 16 and 18 years old in 
work that is dangerous, unhealthy, or otherwise unsuitable for young 
persons. According to the law, the penalties for employing a child are 
a fine of no more than 10,000 rupees ($346) and imprisonment not to 
exceed one year.
    While the government generally respected this law, it did not 
effectively enforce this law.
    The ministry is responsible for the enforcement of child labor laws 
and conducted frequent inspections; however, it employed only 45 
inspectors to investigate all reports of labor abuses, including those 
of child labor. There were no statistics on the number of child labor 
cases fined during the reporting period.
    The ministry developed vocational training programs to prevent 
employment of underage children and conducted programs to identify and 
integrate street children in its vocational training program.
    However, child labor occurred. Children worked in the informal 
sector, including as street traders, in small businesses, in 
restaurants, in agriculture, and in small apparel workshops.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In the private sector, the NRB 
sets minimum wages for nonmanagerial workers outside the EOE. The 
established minimum wages varied by sector. The government mandated 
that the minimum wage rise each year based on the inflation rate. The 
minimum wage for an unskilled domestic worker in the EOE was 
approximately 607 rupees ($21) per week, while the minimum wage for an 
unskilled domestic factory worker outside the EOE was approximately 794 
rupees ($27) per week.
    The standard legal workweek in the EOE was 45 hours. By law no 
worker can be forced to work more than eight hours a day, six days a 
week. According to the Mauritius Labor Congress, 10 hours of overtime a 
week is nonetheless mandatory at certain textile factories in the EOE. 
Those who work more than their stipulated hours must be remunerated at 
one and a half times the normal salary. Those who work during their 
stipulated hours on public holidays are remunerated at double their 
normal salary. For industrial positions, workers are not permitted to 
work more than 10 hours a day. If the worker has worked until or past 
10 p.m., the employer cannot require work to resume until at least 11 
hours have elapsed. The law provides that, in cases of overtime 
violations, the ministry is required to investigate, and employers are 
encouraged to take remedial actions, failing which a court action is 
initiated.
    The government set occupational safety and health standards, and 
Ministry of Labor officials inspected working conditions. The ministry 
effectively enforced the minimum wage law. These standards were 
generally enforced for both foreign and domestic workers. However, the 
inadequate number of inspectors limited the government's enforcement 
ability. Penalties were sufficient to deter violations.
    Although the minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family, the actual market wage for most workers 
was much higher due to a labor shortage and collective bargaining. 
There were reports that full-time employees in the cleaning industry 
were not always paid the NRB-recommended minimum wage; they reportedly 
earned up to 1,500 rupees per month ($51).
    Unions have reported cases of underpayment for overtime in the 
textile and apparel industries due to differences in existing 
legislation and remuneration orders for the calculation of overtime 
hours.
    Employers did not always comply with safety regulations, resulting 
in occupational accidents. There were reports of foreign workers living 
in dormitories with unsanitary conditions. Workers had the right to 
remove themselves from dangerous situations without jeopardizing their 
continued employment, and they did so in practice.
    During the year there were three workplace fatalities. Major 
industrial accidents in which workers were injured or killed occurred 
mainly in the construction sector.

                               __________

                               MOZAMBIQUE

                           executive summary
    Mozambique is a constitutional democracy. In 2009 voters reelected 
President Armando Guebuza in a contest criticized by several national 
and international observers, including the EU and the Commonwealth, as 
lacking a ``level playing field'' and faulted for lacking transparency, 
integrity, impartiality, and independence. Domestic and foreign 
observers and local civil society expressed concern over the electoral 
procedures that preceded the balloting, particularly the exclusion of 
six of nine presidential candidates and the disqualification of one 
opposition party's parliamentary candidates from seven of 11 provinces. 
There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control.
    Incidents of serious human rights abuse occurred during the year; 
the three most important were unlawful killings by security forces, 
harsh and life-threatening prison conditions including beating of 
prisoners, and domestic violence.
    Other human rights problems included lengthy pretrial detention; an 
inefficient, understaffed, and inadequately trained judiciary 
influenced by the ruling party; and political and judicial decisions 
involving independent media outlets that constrained press freedom. 
Societal problems including domestic violence; discrimination against 
women; abuse, exploitation, and forced labor of children; trafficking 
in women and children; and discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS 
remained widespread.
    The government took some steps to punish and prosecute officials 
who committed abuses, but impunity remained a problem.
1Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were several 
reports by human rights activists and domestic media sources that the 
government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings; most 
concerned border security forces and prison guards.
    For example, in March police officers shot and killed a citizen in 
his home in Nampula while looking for his brother. There were no 
further developments by year's end.
    There were no reports of criminal or disciplinary actions against 
members of the security forces who shot and killed between 13 and 18 
protesters in September 2010 (see section 2.b.).
    There were a few reports of death resulting from police abuse. For 
example, in July the director of Cagore Open Prison in Barue, Manica 
Province, was arrested for beating a prisoner so severely that the 
prisoner succumbed to his injuries 48 hours later. The director was 
subject to an internal disciplinary procedure but remained in his post.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--While the constitution and law prohibit such practices, 
police frequently used excessive force and harsh physical abuse when 
apprehending, interrogating, and detaining criminal suspects and 
prisoners. Human rights advocates and the media reported occurrences of 
torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, including 
several cases involving sexual abuse of women, beatings, and prolonged 
detention.
    There were reports of beatings at several prisons. For example, in 
February, according to the weekly Publico, former inmates of a 
detention center in Sofala Province claimed to have been beaten and 
deprived of food, as well as forced to work for the financial benefit 
of the guards.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and potentially life threatening; overcrowding, inadequate 
nutrition, substandard sanitation, poor health facilities, and prisons 
in poor physical condition remained serious problems.
    The National Prison Service, under the Ministry of Justice, 
operated 184 prisons in 10 provinces. The Ministry of Interior is 
responsible for jails at police stations. In October the Justice 
Ministry reported there were 16,304 prisoners, but the jails and 
prisons were designed to hold only 6,654 prisoners. Slightly more than 
66 percent of prisoners had been convicted; the rest were awaiting 
trial. The National Prison Service spends approximately 3,600 meticais 
($133) per month to house, feed, clothe, educate, and provide medical 
care for each prisoner.
    Overcrowding remained the most serious problem. Prisons held more 
than twice as many prisoners as they were built for and prisoners often 
slept in bathrooms, standing up, or in shifts.
    The Mozambican League of Human Rights (LDH) made numerous visits to 
prisons and detention facilities. Based on those visits, the LDH 
continued to note the following conditions in the prisons and detention 
facilities: harsh treatment, inadequate food, poor hygiene, 
overcrowding, adults and juveniles held together, and prisoners kept 
beyond their sentences.
    In many cases prison officials did not provide even basic food to 
the prison population. It was customary for families to bring food to 
prisoners, but not all prisoners had families able to provide them 
food. In the prisons visited, the LDH characterized the food provided 
by the prison authorities as ``poor'' and generally ignored by 
prisoners if their families were able to provide them with something 
better. It was reported that the prison food consisted mainly of corn 
meal, rice, and beans lacking in both quality and quantity.
    Malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, and HIV/AIDS were commonplace among 
prisoners in nearly all prisons, and the Justice Ministry publicly 
acknowledged these problems. Other illnesses were caused by 
malnutrition, including paralysis and blindness. Both healthy and sick 
prisoners regularly were kept in the same cells. Provisions for 
sanitation, ventilation, temperature, lighting, basic and emergency 
medical care, and access to potable water were inadequate. Few prisons 
had healthcare facilities or the ability to transport prisoners to 
outside facilities. Prisons that do have healthcare facilities often 
lacked basic supplies and medicines, leaving most without medicine 
unless they could afford to buy them privately. Almost all prisons were 
constructed in the colonial era, and very few have been refurbished 
since, leaving many in an advanced state of dilapidation that puts the 
prisoners and staff at risk.
    Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners.
    There continued to be many reported deaths in prison, the vast 
majority due to illness and disease, at rates much higher than the 
general population.
    International and domestic human rights groups had access to 
prisoners, although at the discretion of ministries of justice and 
interior. In 2009 the LDH entered into a memorandum of understanding 
with the Ministry of Justice allowing it to visit prisons unannounced. 
In exchange, the LDH would submit to the government copies of its 
findings prior to release, although it would be free to publish its own 
independent findings. There were delays in obtaining the required 
credentials to visit prisons, but the LDH confirmed that by the 
beginning of the year, these delays had been resolved, and these 
visitation rights continued during the year. However, there is no such 
agreement with the Ministry of Interior, which controls detention 
facilities in police stations, making visits to those facilities more 
difficult for the LDH as it requires formal requests to the Ministry of 
Interior and a commitment of scarce time and resources on the part of 
the LDH.
    Prisoners generally were allowed access to visitors and permitted 
religious observances. On several occasions during the year, prisoners 
and detainees submitted complaints about their treatment to their 
prison directors, the LDH, and other authorities, although no formal 
system or ombudsmen exists for entering complaints or following through 
to see them resolved. Complaints were also reported in the local press.
    The Ministry of Justice and the National Prison Service 
acknowledged that pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping were 
inadequate and launched efforts in 2010 to improve their systems and 
lessen the possibility of prisoners serving time in excess of their 
sentences or maximum legal detention periods. These efforts were 
ongoing to improve prison conditions and reduce overcrowding, including 
the devotion of almost the entire annual leadership meeting of the 
Ministry of Justice in June to efforts to maintain prisoner's rights.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--While the constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, both practices continued to 
occur.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Forces under the 
Ministry of Interior, including the Criminal Investigative Police 
(PIC), the national police (PRM), and the Rapid Intervention Force 
(FIR), are responsible for internal security. The border security 
force, known as Forca Guarda-Fronteira, is also under the Interior 
Ministry and is responsible for protecting the country's borders and 
for conducting normal police patrol duties in areas within 24 miles of 
the borders. An additional security body, the State Information and 
Security Service, reports directly to the president. The Casa Militar 
(Presidential Guard) provides security for the president. The armed 
forces are responsible for external security.
    Civilian authorities generally maintained control over the PIC, 
PRM, and FIR, and the government has mechanisms to investigate and 
punish abuse and corruption. However, there were numerous reports of 
impunity involving security forces, and occasions when security forces 
acted without orders or exceeded their orders. Police routinely removed 
their identification at checkpoints after dark and refused to identify 
themselves or their police precincts.
    There were unconfirmed reports of several deaths when FIR was 
unable to contain a protest by workers of a private security company in 
April (see section 7.a.).
    Corruption by police was widespread (see section 4).
    The most common reasons for disciplinary action, according to 
Maputo's police chief, were collaboration with criminals, extortion of 
goods and money, excessive alcohol consumption, and abandonment of 
post.
    In January the daily Diario de Mocambique reported the arrest of 
five police officers for selling or renting out their guns and uniforms 
to criminals and being involved in robberies.
    Implementation of the 2003-12 strategic plan of action and 
modernization of the PRM continued; seven of its nine ``guiding 
principles'' emphasize respect for human rights. While the plan 
acknowledges the problem of abuse of police powers, it made no specific 
provision for ensuring greater accountability for such abuses.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Although the 
law provides that persons be arrested with warrants issued by a judge 
or prosecutor (except persons caught in the act of committing a crime), 
police continued to arrest and detain citizens arbitrarily. By law the 
maximum length of investigative detention without a warrant is 48 
hours, during which time a detainee has the right to judicial review of 
the case. The individual may be detained another 90 days while the PIC 
continues its investigation. When a person is accused of a crime 
carrying a sentence of more than eight years, the individual may be 
detained up to an additional 84 days without being charged formally. 
With court approval, such detainees may be held for two more periods of 
84 days each without charge while the police complete their 
investigation. The law provides that when the prescribed period for 
investigation has been completed and if no charges have been brought, 
the detainee must be released. In many cases the authorities either 
were unaware of these regulations or ignored them, often also ignoring 
a detainee's constitutional right to be informed of the charges against 
them within the period required by law, as well as the right to counsel 
and to contact relatives or friends. The law provides that citizens 
have access to the courts, as well as the right to representation, 
regardless of ability to pay for such services. However, due to a 
shortage of legal professionals, indigent defendants frequently had no 
legal representation.
    The bail system remained poorly defined. Prisoners, their families, 
and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to complain that 
police and prison officials demanded bribes to release prisoners.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary detention or false arrest occurred, 
although they were not commonplace. For example, in May a citizen in 
Nampula was handcuffed, taken to a police cell, and beaten by a police 
officer for allegedly disobeying orders by not responding to a 
question. The officer took the person's cell phone and money, told him 
to leave and that he would be shot if he looked back. The incident was 
confirmed to the press by the head of public relations at the Nampula 
Provincial Command Center, who also reported that the officer was 
interrogated by the PIC, would face disciplinary and likely criminal 
proceedings, as well as be made to return the goods and money and pay 
for the citizen's medical care. There were no further updates by year's 
end.

    Pretrial Detention.--Excessively long pretrial detention continued 
to be a serious problem, due in part to an inadequate number of judges 
and prosecutors and poor communication among authorities. Approximately 
35 percent of inmates were in pretrial detention. The LDH reported in 
many cases authorities held inmates far beyond the maximum allowed 
under law before their trials began and that in the city and Province 
of Maputo alone in the first half of September there were 532 detainees 
that were being held beyond the legal limit. In August the Ministry of 
Justice inaugurated a system of appeals courts with 25 judges, designed 
to reduce the burden on the Supreme Court, allow the court system to 
process cases more quickly, and reduce the length of pretrial 
detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, according to civil society 
groups, the executive branch and the ruling Front for the Liberation of 
Mozambique (Frelimo) party heavily influenced an understaffed and 
inadequately trained judiciary, particularly in the lower tiers. The 
judicial system continued to suffer from lack of transparency and often 
did not comply with the principles of promotion and protection of human 
rights. Civil society organizations also asserted inadequate training 
and corruption in the ranks of the PIC resulted in such poor quality of 
some criminal case files that trial judges were unable to find 
sufficient evidence for judgment.
    Alternative measures such as work brigades, conditional release for 
prisoners who have completed half of their sentences, and traveling 
tribunals continued to be employed.

    Trial Procedures.--In regular courts, accused persons are presumed 
innocent and have the right to legal counsel and appeal, but 
authorities did not always respect these rights. Although the law 
specifically provides for public defenders for the accused, such 
assistance generally was not available in practice, particularly in 
rural areas. In some instances prisoners were required to pay their 
legal aid attorneys to persuade them to provide ``free'' legal 
assistance. The government entity in charge of providing this free 
legal aid, the Mozambican Legal Aid Institute, significantly expanded 
its presence to several remote areas during the year.
    The LDH reported that many citizens remained unaware of the right 
to a legal counsel and had no such access. Some NGOs, including the 
LDH, offered limited legal counsel at little or no cost to both 
defendants and prisoners. According to the law, only judges or lawyers 
may confront or question witnesses, although in practice members of the 
community occasionally were allowed to question witnesses. All citizens 
have a right to self-defense and can present witnesses and evidence on 
their own behalf and have access to government-held evidence. Such 
rights were upheld during the year. There is no trial by jury.
    Persons accused of crimes against the government, including treason 
or national security cases, are tried publicly in regular civilian 
courts under standard criminal judicial procedures. Members of the 
media may attend trials, although space limitations excluded the 
general public. A judge may order a trial closed to the media in the 
interest of national security, to protect the privacy of the plaintiff 
in a sexual assault case, or prevent interested parties outside the 
court from destroying evidence.
    Outside the formal court system, local community courts and 
traditional authority figures often adjudicated matters such as estate 
and divorce cases. Local arbiters with no formal training presided over 
community courts, and sometimes overstepped legal limits. For example, 
in Manica Province in February a community court sentenced an alleged 
thief to be tied to a tree and beaten; he subsequently died from the 
beating.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--While the law provides for 
an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, in practice 
the judiciary was subject to political interference. Although in theory 
citizens have access to courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, 
or cessation of, human rights violations, in practice this did not 
occur.

    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. 
However, opposition party members alleged that government intelligence 
services and ruling party activists continued without warrants to 
monitor telephone calls and e-mails, conduct surveillance of their 
offices, follow opposition members, use informants, and disrupt party 
activities in certain areas.
    By law police are required to be in possession of a warrant to 
enter homes and businesses, but this practice was not always followed.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech including 
for members of the press, and the government generally respected these 
rights in practice.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could generally criticize the 
government publicly or privately without reprisal. Some individuals 
expressed fear that the government monitored their private telephone 
and e-mail communications.

    Freedom of Press.--By some estimates newspapers reached 
approximately one million of the country's 22.4 million citizens. The 
print media was published exclusively in Portuguese, making it 
inaccessible to a majority of the population. The government maintained 
majority ownership of Noticias, the main newspaper, while Diario de 
Mocambique and the weekly Domingo largely mirrored the views of the 
ruling party. Other publications reported news items critical of 
government policies.
    Numerous private community and regional radio stations operated 
throughout the country. Radio Mocambique, which received 60 percent of 
its operating budget from the government, was the most influential 
media service, offering programming to the largest audience in at least 
18 languages. Some commentators questioned the independence of Radio 
Mocambique due to majority government funding. Although it broadcast 
debates on important issues, Radio Mocambique tended to invite 
participants who were less critical of the government.
    The government supplied more than half of the operating budget of 
TVM, the television station that contends with STV for the largest 
viewership. TVM's news coverage demonstrated a bias favoring the 
incumbent government and ruling party Frelimo.

    Violence and Harassment.--Some journalists reported receiving 
threats. While most were anonymous, some were overt, such as the 
February threat to a journalist in the city of Xai-Xai, Gaza Province, 
by three police officers after the journalist reported the officers' 
beating of a man. The provincial police commander condemned the actions 
of the officers following news reports of the threat. In August the 
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) reported that a journalist 
from the weekly Publico received an undisclosed threat from the 
governor of the central bank, following Publico's report that the 
governor had been detained while in transit at a Paris airport. MISA 
also reported that in May, unknown assailants attacked a Radio 
Mocambique journalist in Chimoio, Manhica Province, for no apparent 
reason. Police were investigating the matter. In January, also 
according to MISA and press reports, computer equipment belonging to a 
Savana journalist was stolen from his home, while all other valuables 
were left.

    Censorship or Content Restriction.--Many journalists reported self-
censorship amongst media practitioners, while others were hesitant to 
report on sensitive topics. Some media officials stated critical 
reporting could result in cancellation of government and ruling party 
advertising contracts. The largest advertising revenue streams for 
local media came from ministries and state-controlled businesses, and 
MISA noted that progovernment media received more advertising contracts 
from the government than media critical of the government.
    Media analysts noted that, as a way of lessening self-censorship 
and negative government reaction to independent reporting, most 
independent media outlets adopted the practice of reporting potentially 
sensitive topics simultaneously. Such was the case in media reporting 
of the corruption case involving the then president of the 
constitutional court, Luis Mondlane, who later resigned from his 
position following extensive press coverage of the various charges 
against him.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--MISA reported that despite the press 
freedom provisions in the constitution and the 1991 Press Law, other 
legislation inhibits the media. For example, a clause in the law on 
crimes against state security treats libel against the president, prime 
minister, and other senior political and judicial figures as a security 
offense. These laws were not invoked during the year. In response to 
the September 2010 violent protests, the government temporarily 
disabled the local cell-phone texting system, the protesters' primary 
method of communication, and subsequently required that all purchasers 
and owners of prepaid cell phones register with cellular service 
providers.

    Internet Freedom.--Although there were no government restrictions 
on access to the Internet, opposition party members reported that 
government intelligence agents monitored e-mail. There were no 
confirmed instances of the government attempting to collect personally 
identifiable information. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail and 
through political blogs, as well as small-scale use of social media.

    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. 
Although the government generally respected this right in practice, 
there were some abuses during the year. In February police stopped a 
peaceful demonstration by former workers of a private security company 
in Zambezia Province and arrested several of the protesters.
    There were no reports of disciplinary or criminal proceedings 
resulting from police abuses during the September 2010 riots. Police 
used tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition, and shot and killed 
between 13 and 18 persons protesting price increases in basic 
foodstuffs in several cities.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law generally provide 
for freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--While the law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, the government sometimes infringed upon these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern in the Maratane Camp. 
However, at year's end, the government had not officially approved a 
smaller processing or transit center in Palma at the country's northern 
border, as the UNHCR had requested.

    In-country Movement.--Traffic checkpoints are under the 
jurisdiction of traffic police. Checkpoints occasionally limited 
freedom of movement, and according to press reports, authorities often 
abused and demanded bribes from citizens. Police sometimes stopped 
foreigners and ordered them to present original passports or resident 
papers, refused to accept notarized copies, and fined or detained those 
who failed to show proper documents. Police also routinely harassed, 
detained, and extorted bribes from foreigners for supposedly committing 
infractions or violations, and did the same to local citizens for 
failure to carry identity papers.

    Foreign Travel.--There are no requirements to obtain exit permits 
or reports of discriminatory issuance of passports.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--Locally based UNHCR officials 
reported that individuals living in Mozambican-heritage communities in 
South Africa, Zimbabwe, and other neighboring countries would have 
difficulty returning to Mozambique because they lacked identity 
documents. The government, however, had not placed restrictions on 
return of citizens.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. 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 UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting several thousand recognized refugees and 
asylum seekers.
    The government continued to work closely with UNHCR to implement a 
local integration program for refugees, primarily from Somalia, 
Ethiopia, and the Great Lakes Region, at the Maratane camp in Nampula 
Province. The government did not officially authorize a transit camp in 
Palma to screen potential asylum seekers, claiming that migrants 
arriving at the northern border were mostly or entirely economic 
migrants, so an additional transit camp was unnecessary.
    The government provided modest assistance to Zimbabwean citizens 
crossing the border into the country. Although it considered these 
Zimbabweans to be economic migrants, it supported UNHCR in providing 
assistance and protection to this group.

    Nonrefoulement.--There were no reports of the government forcing 
asylum seekers to return to countries where their freedom may be 
threatened. While the government did not officially close its borders 
to asylum seekers, there were numerous reports that police patrols near 
the Tanzanian border refused entry to migrants, forced thousands of 
migrants that were already in Mozambique over the border into Tanzania, 
or forced them to return in potentially life-threatening conditions at 
sea and in the wilderness borderlands. UNHCR called on Mozambican 
authorities to stop deporting asylum seekers, who included women, 
children, and elderly men.

    Refugee Abuse.--The government allows refugee movement within the 
country. Refugees must formally request authorization to move outside 
the geographic region in which they have been registered, but, if 
authorized, they are free to settle elsewhere in the country.

    Durable Solutions.--The government in practice allowed refugees 
from third countries to resettle, though it did not facilitate 
extensive integration efforts.

    Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection 
to individuals who may not qualify as refugees at the Maratane Camp and 
provided it to several thousand persons during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic elections held on the basis of universal suffrage. The 
2009 national elections were widely criticized for numerous 
irregularities and lack of transparency, including exclusion of several 
presidential and parliamentary candidates. The December 2011 special 
elections for mayors of three cities were boycotted by the largest 
opposition party, Renamo, but other opposition parties participated. 
There were concerns regarding use of government resources in support of 
Frelimo candidates, voter registration, and lack of transparency, but 
candidates were allowed to run freely.

    Elections and Political Participation--Recent Elections.--In the 
2009 elections, Frelimo secured approximately 75 percent of the 
presidential vote and more than 75 percent of the seats in parliament. 
Frelimo mayors were elected in 42 of 43 municipalities, and it was the 
largest party in municipal assemblies, controlling approximately 80 
percent of all seats. Frelimo gained a sufficient majority in the 
National Assembly to amend the constitution without the support of 
other parties.
    The main opposition parties, Renamo and the Democratic Movement of 
Mozambique (MDM), complained of election fraud and noted Frelimo 
agitators and provocateurs routinely disrupted campaign stops, drowning 
out speakers and candidates by revving motors, playing instruments, 
shouting, and occasionally throwing stones. They alleged local 
authorities failed to respond to such provocative acts and that Frelimo 
candidates suffered no such impediments during their campaigns. 
Independent reporting corroborated opposition parties' accusations that 
Frelimo used state funds and resources for campaign purposes, in 
violation of electoral law.
    In November 2009 the National Elections Commission (CNE) announced 
that Armando Guebuza of the ruling Frelimo party had been reelected 
president in the October general elections. While domestic and 
international observers noted that voting-day procedures generally 
followed international norms, they also documented irregularities 
during voter registration, the campaign, and in the vote count.
    The Electoral Institute for Sustainability of Democracy in Southern 
Africa questioned the transparency, integrity, impartiality, and 
independence of the CNE, noting that improvements were required to 
``level the playing field, afford equal opportunity to all, and improve 
the transparency of the electoral process.'' The CNE disqualified 
several political parties and candidates from participating in 
legislative elections. The MDM, for example, was prevented from running 
in nine of 13 legislative districts. The CNE's action, which included 
backdating documents and other questionable acts, provoked protests 
from the diplomatic community and civil society and extensive 
commentary in the media. Also the Constitutional Council (CC) 
disqualified six of nine presidential candidates for application 
irregularities. In contravention of law and its own past practice, the 
CC did not provide the rejected candidates with notice or an 
opportunity to respond.
    In response to these various actions by the CC and the CNE, local 
NGO the Center for Public Integrity (CIP) called for an independent 
audit of electoral processes while highlighting several significant 
flaws. The government granted MDM formal status in the National 
Assembly, which entitled its eight members of parliament to certain 
financial and logistical support, as well as the right to speak during 
parliamentary plenary sessions. The government also announced a two-
year legislative process to amend the electoral code and began 
consultations with civil society organizations as part of this process.

    Political Parties.--Frelimo continued to dominate the political 
process, and its influence continued to grow. Opposition political 
parties were permitted to operate but were sometimes subject to 
restrictions, including unlawful arrest, and other interference by the 
ruling party and the government. Membership in the ruling Frelimo party 
was widely perceived to confer advantages.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women and members of many 
ethnic groups held key positions in both the legislative and executive 
branches. There was no evidence that women or specific ethnic groups 
were excluded from participation in the political process. Eight of the 
29 ministers were women. Women held 98 of the 250 seats in the National 
Assembly. The National Assembly also had an office dedicated to raising 
awareness of women's issues, including family law, domestic violence, 
and trafficking in persons. While there were no women on the Supreme 
Court, the justice minister, two of the six assistant attorneys 
general, and 91 of the 279 judges were women.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    While the law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, 
the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials 
often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Corruption in the 
executive and legislative branches was generally perceived to be 
widespread. Some internationally respected organizations indicated that 
corruption was a serious problem. Petty corruption by low-level 
government officials to supplement low salaries and high-level 
corruption by politically and economically connected elites continued 
to be the norm. In some cases high-level bribery was related to 
narcotics trafficking.
    Under the governance initiatives introduced in March 2010, the 
government agreed to the adoption of a comprehensive set of 
anticorruption laws. Robust public debate continued throughout the year 
on anticorruption issues.
    On February 26, the former transport and communications minister 
was sentenced to 20 years in prison for embezzling 54 million meticais 
($2 million) from the Mozambican Airport Company. In May the sentence 
was reduced to four years and five months.
    On March 22, Almerino Manhenje was sentenced to two years in prison 
for embezzlement of government funds while he was the interior minister 
from1996 to 2005.
    In March Luis Mondlane, the former chairman of the Constitutional 
Council, resigned under pressure from the other judges on the council, 
as well as from the press and local NGOs, for abuse of office funds, 
including using them to pay the mortgage on his house.
    The Supreme Court reported that from 2010 until October 2011 
disciplinary proceedings were started against 12 judges. Two of the 
cases were dismissed for lack of evidence, two were ongoing, and the 
remaining eight cases resulted in penalties ranging from an official 
warning to dismissal.
    Corruption including extortion by police was widespread, and 
impunity remained a serious problem. Police regularly detained persons 
for arbitrary reasons and demanded identification documents solely to 
extort payments. Many crime victims reportedly declined to seek police 
assistance because of expected demands for bribes and a lack of 
confidence that the police would help. Corruption largely resulted from 
a lack of checks and balances, minimal accountability, and a culture of 
impunity. Local NGOs, such as the CIP, and media groups continued to be 
the main civic forces fighting corruption, reporting on and 
investigating numerous corruption cases.
    The law requires that all members of the government declare and 
report their assets to the Constitutional Council, but it does not 
require that such information be made available to the general public.
    The Central Office for Preventing and Combating Corruption 
functions as an autonomous unit under the Attorney General's Office 
with its own state budget. It investigates theft of state funds in the 
central government and in provincial administrations.
    There are no laws providing for public access to government 
information, and in practice the government failed to respond to 
citizens' requests for or restricted citizens' 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. Although at times 
slow, government officials often were cooperative and responsive to the 
views of domestic and international human rights groups. Activities of 
foreign NGOs were subject to governmental regulation. Some foreign NGOs 
and religious groups reported that registration regularly required 
several months. The government generally had good relations with human 
rights NGOs, including both local NGOs, such as LDH, and international 
NGOs, such as CARE and Save the Children, and was willing to work with 
them. However, some NGOs were concerned with an increase in government 
registration requirements of mainly foreign NGOs operating in the 
country, which the government claimed were intended to prevent 
duplication of efforts.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--In February Mozambique 
presented its report for the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism on 
Human Rights to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, and in October 
it hosted a public presentation and discussion of the report in Maputo.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--Despite a 2005 constitutional 
amendment creating an independent ombudsman position to investigate 
allegations of abuses, including human rights violations, no person had 
been named to the position by year's end.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, disability, language, or social status, but in practice 
discrimination persisted against women and persons with HIV/AIDS.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape, 
including spousal rape, but it was not effectively enforced, and the 
law was largely unknown in rural areas where the majority of rapes took 
place. Penalties range from two to eight years' imprisonment if the 
victim is 12 years of age or older and eight to 12 years' imprisonment 
if the victim is under the age of 12. While there were no official 
estimates as to the extent of spousal rape, it was regarded as a common 
problem. According to NGO reports, many families preferred to settle 
such matters privately through financial remuneration rather than 
through the formal judicial system. There were few reports of rape 
cases successfully prosecuted during the year. Judges commonly exercise 
strict confidentiality regarding these sorts of cases, accounting for 
limited media reporting of this issue.
    The law prohibits violence against women and nonconsensual sex, 
including between married individuals. The law also provides penalties 
of up to 12 years imprisonment for engaging in sexual activity while 
knowingly infected with a sexually contagious disease. The LDH reported 
that a few cases were being investigated at year's end but that there 
had been no arrests or formal charges.
    Domestic violence against women, particularly spousal rape and 
beatings, remained widespread, and despite the domestic violence law, a 
2008 Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) by UNICEF, the Ministry 
of Health, and the National Statistics Institute indicated that 36 
percent of women believed it was acceptable for their husbands to beat 
them, with greater acceptance in rural areas than urban. Cultural 
pressures discouraged women from taking legal action against abusive 
spouses. A national plan approved in 2008 to combat violence against 
women had been announced but not yet implemented in five provinces--
Niassa, Tete, Sofala, Inhambane, and Gaza, and in Maputo City--but was 
generally unknown in the rest of the country. During the year the 
Ministry of Women and Social Action carried out a national campaign on 
the radio and television to fight physical and sexual violence, as well 
as to educate women about the law and their rights. The messages were 
broadcast regularly, including at prime times.
    With the exception of some ethnic and religious groups, the groom's 
family provided a bride price to the bride's family, usually in the 
form of money, livestock, or other goods. Among Muslims, the bride's 
family usually paid for the wedding and provided gifts. Some believed 
that these exchanges contributed to violence against women and other 
inequalities, due to the perception that the women subsequently were 
``owned'' by their husbands.
    The government and NGOs often worked together to combat domestic 
violence. The PRM operated special women's and children's units in 
police squadrons that received high numbers of cases of domestic 
violence, sexual assault, and violence against children; the units 
provided assistance to victims and their families. All 30 police 
squadrons in Maputo had women's and children's centers. In addition all 
police squadrons in the country were in the process of installing 
``green lines'' (toll-free telephone lines) to receive complaints of 
violence against women and children.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal; however, it was 
pervasive in business, government, and schools. Although no formal data 
existed, the media reported numerous instances of harassment during the 
year. The relevant sexual harassment law is based on the 1920s 
Portuguese penal code; sexual harassment incidents are usually regarded 
as acts of ``indecency'' with a maximum penalty of two years' 
imprisonment.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government generally recognized the right 
of couples and individuals to decide the number and timing of their 
children. Health clinics and local NGOs were permitted to operate 
freely in disseminating information on family planning under the 
guidance of the Ministry of Women and Social Action. There were no 
restrictions on the right to contraceptives, but the continued high 
rate of HIV/AIDS suggested that they were not sufficiently used. The 
2008 MICS estimated that 12 percent of married women between the ages 
of 15 and 49 used some form of contraception. There were few doctors 
and nurses in the country, but according to this survey, nearly 90 
percent of women received at least some prenatal care.
    The 2008 MICS estimated the maternal mortality ratio (the ratio of 
the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) to be 500 and 
that while approximately 55 percent of births in the previous two years 
were attended by skilled personnel, only 2 percent were attended by 
doctors. Factors in this high rate of maternal mortality included a 
severe lack of doctors and nurses in the country, especially in rural 
areas; poor infrastructure; a high HIV/AIDS rate; and a near total lack 
of ambulances outside of the major cities, resulting in medical care 
often being days away.
    Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The 2005 Family Law eliminated husbands' legal 
status as heads of family, and legalizes civil, religious, and common-
law unions. While the law does not recognize new cases of polygamy, it 
grants women already in polygamous marriages full marital and 
inheritance rights. The law more precisely defines women's legal rights 
with regard to property, child custody, and other issues. However, more 
than five years after taking effect, many women remained uninformed 
about the law.
    Women continued to experience economic discrimination and were 
three times less likely than men to be represented in the public and 
formal private employment sectors. They often received lower pay than 
men for the same work and were less likely to have access to credit. 
Customary law was practiced in many areas. In some regions, 
particularly the northern provinces, women had limited access to the 
formal judicial system for enforcement of rights provided under the 
civil code and instead relied on customary law to settle disputes. 
Under customary law women have no rights to inherit an interest in 
land.
    ``Purification,'' whereby a widow is obligated to have unprotected 
sex with a member of her deceased husband's family, continued to be 
practiced, particularly in rural areas. A Save the Children report on 
inheritance practices noted that 60 percent of women cited 
discrimination in the inheritance process and highlighted cases in 
which women lost inheritance rights for not being ``purified'' 
following the death of their husbands.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship can be obtained by 
birth either in the country or birth to a citizen parent. Particularly 
in rural areas, births often were not registered immediately. Children 
who wish to start school at age six must be registered. Failure to 
register can also prevent one from obtaining health care and public 
documents, such as identity cards or passports.

    Education.--Education is compulsory through completion of primary 
school, grades one to seven. However, primary school completion 
remained beyond the reach of many families, especially in rural areas, 
as geographical coverage of upper primary school (grades six and seven) 
does not match the almost full national coverage of lower primary 
school (grades one to five). While public primary school education is 
officially free, there are indirect costs associated with supplies and 
uniforms. Despite joint government-NGO initiatives in some localities 
and districts to improve girls' school attendance, it continued to be 
significantly lower than for boys, especially at the secondary and 
higher levels.

    Child Abuse.--UNICEF noted that child abuse was a growing concern. 
Most child abuse cases involved sexual abuse, physical abuse, or 
negligence. Several cases of fathers sexually abusing their daughters 
were reported. Sexual abuse in schools was a growing problem. There 
were press reports during the year about the large numbers of high 
school-age girls coerced into having sex by their teachers in order to 
pass to the next grade. In July, in response to these abuses, the 
Ministry of Women and Social Action launched a nationwide radio 
campaign against sexual abuse of children, with influential members of 
society calling for an end to the abuse of minors. The LDH reported 
that there were many court cases and several convictions for sexual 
harassment and abuse by teachers during the year, but could not provide 
numbers.
    While the government continued to stress the importance of 
children's rights and welfare, significant problems remained. A 2008 
law on child protection contains sections dealing with protection 
against physical and sexual abuse; removal from parents who are unable 
to defend, assist, and educate them; and the establishment of minors' 
courts to deal with matters of adoption, maintenance, and regulating 
parental power. The LDH reported successful resolution of cases in 
juvenile courts regarding support for children after divorces or the 
end of relationships and that the courts, in the LDH's estimation, had 
ruled according to the rights and best interests of the children.
    The Network against the Abuse of Minors continued its efforts to 
put into practice the child protection law's provisions. It maintained 
a hotline call center and responded to hundreds of calls but lacked the 
resources to deliver meaningful assistance on a large scale.

    Child Marriage.--The 2005 Family Law sets the minimum age of 
marriage for both genders at 18 for those with parental consent, and 21 
for those without it. Local custom, primarily in the northern provinces 
and in Muslim and South Asian communities, allowed underage marriage. 
According to UNICEF data collected between 2000 and 2009, approximately 
38 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before 
the age of 18.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Without specifying prison terms 
or fine amounts, the law prohibits pornography, child prostitution, and 
sexual abuse of children under 18; however, exploitation of children 
below the age of 18 and child prostitution remained problems. While the 
law on protecting children is being implemented, regulations for many 
sections of the law had not been fully drafted by year's end. For 
example, during the year there were prosecutions for sexual abuse of 
children, although no prosecutions for pornography or child 
prostitution were reported. Child prostitution appeared to be most 
prevalent in Maputo, Nampula, Beira, at border towns, and at overnight 
stopping points along key transportation routes. Child prostitution 
reportedly was growing in the Maputo, Beira, Chimoio, and Nacala areas, 
which had highly mobile populations and a large number of transport 
workers. Child prostitution also was reported in Sofala and Zambezia 
provinces. Some NGOs provided health care, counseling, and training in 
other vocations to children, primarily girls, engaged in prostitution.

    Displaced Children.--Zimbabwean children, many who had entered the 
country alone, continued to face labor exploitation and discrimination. 
They lacked protection due to inadequate documentation and had limited 
access to schools and other social welfare institutions, largely due to 
lack of resources. Coercion, both physical and economic, of Zimbabwean 
girls into the sex industry was common, particularly in Manica 
Province.
    Child beggars, who appeared to be living on the streets, were 
visible in major urban areas, but no nationwide figures were available.
    Several government agencies, including the Ministry of Health and 
the Ministry of Women and Social Action, implemented programs to 
provide health assistance and vocational education for HIV/AIDS orphans 
and other vulnerable children, but as parents continued to die, the 
number of orphans increased.
    The Maputo City Office of Women and Social Action continued its 
program to rescue abandoned orphans and assist single mothers who 
headed families of three or more persons, but their scope of action was 
limited due to lack of funding. It also offered special classes in 
local schools to children of broken homes. NGOs sponsored food, 
shelter, and education programs in all major cities.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was a very small Jewish population, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law stipulate that 
citizens with disabilities shall fully enjoy the same rights as all 
other citizens. However, the government provided few resources to 
implement this provision, and persons with disabilities frequently 
could be seen begging at traffic intersections. There were an estimated 
300,000 persons with disabilities in the country. Discrimination was 
common against them in employment, education, access to health care, 
and the provision of other state services. Unequal access to employment 
was often cited as one of their biggest concerns. The law does not 
mandate access to buildings for persons with disabilities, and although 
the Ministry of Public Works and Habitation worked to ensure that 
public buildings in Maputo city provided access for persons with 
disabilities, progress has been very slow. Electoral law provides for 
the needs of voters with disabilities in the polling booths.
    Concerns of persons with disabilities included lack of access to 
socioeconomic opportunities and employment, limited access to buildings 
and transportation, and a lack of wheelchairs. Facilities with special 
access were rare. There were few job opportunities for persons with 
disabilities in the formal sector.
    The country's only psychiatric hospital was overwhelmed with 
patients and lacked the means to guarantee basic nutrition, medicine, 
or shelter. Doctors at the hospital also reported that many families 
abandoned members with disabilities.
    Veterans with disabilities continued to assert non-receipt of 
pensions.
    The Ministry of Women and Social Action is responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. The four-year 
National Action Plan in the Area of Disabilities announced in 2006 had 
not received any financing for implementation by year's end.
    The city of Maputo offered free bus passes to persons with 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were reports of 
discrimination by police against Zimbabwean and Somali immigrants 
during the year.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws 
criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity. However, there were 
occasional reports of discrimination based on sexual orientation, and 
the LDH reported cases of discrimination against gay men and lesbians 
in the courts. The Workers Law includes an article that prevents 
discrimination in the workplace based on a number of factors, including 
sexual orientation.
    The government does not track and report discrimination or crimes 
against individuals based on sexual orientation or gender identity, nor 
were such abuses reported in the media.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits 
discrimination against workers on the basis of HIV/AIDS status, and the 
Ministry of Labor generally intervened in cases of perceived 
discrimination by employers. With an increased public awareness of this 
law, there have been no public reports of people being dismissed 
because of their HIV status.
    Reports continued of many women expelled from their homes and/or 
abandoned by their husbands and relatives because they were HIV-
positive. Some women widowed by HIV/AIDS were accused of being witches 
who purposely killed their husbands to acquire belongings, and in 
retribution they were deprived of all possessions.
    Because some traditional healers assert that the body parts of 
persons with albinism contained special curative or sexual strength, 
such persons could be subjected to violent attacks that resulted in 
mutilation or death.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law provide that all workers are free to form and 
join a trade union of their choice without previous authorization, or 
excessive requirements as well as to conduct legal strikes and bargain 
collectively. Public sector workers require government permission to 
form unions, which has not been granted, although a number of employee 
associations do exist, and these organizations present grievances and 
pursue the interests of their members. The law prohibits antiunion 
discrimination. Unions were responsible for negotiating wage increases. 
No group of workers is excluded from these legal protections.
    Workers exercised some of these rights in practice. For example, 
concerted work actions, such as strikes, were infrequent but did occur. 
In April the PRM was unable to contain a protest by workers of a 
private security company over unpaid wages and overtime, as well as 
improper deductions from wages. Some of the strikers engaged in violent 
acts including destruction of company property, resulting in the FIR 
being called in and subsequently beating several workers and attempting 
to obstruct the work of reporters at the scene. There were unconfirmed 
reports of several deaths. These actions were later condemned by the 
interior minister, who reported that the FIR had received no 
instructions from their commanders to employ excessive force and that 
several officers would be disciplined.
    Similarly, although the law provides for the right of workers to 
organize and engage in collective bargaining, such contracts covered 
less than 2 percent of the work force. Furthermore, there were reports 
that many companies continued to engage in antiunion discrimination by 
replacing people at the end of contracts, dismissing workers for 
striking, and not abiding by collective bargaining agreements.
    The country's leading trade union organization, OTM-Central 
Sindical, was widely perceived to be biased in favor of the government 
and the ruling party, Frelimo, but during the year it acted more 
independently than in the past. For example, in April OTM-Central 
Sindical criticized the government for not consulting with it on plans 
for measures to alleviate the rising cost of living, despite the 
organization's membership in the tripartite forum on cost of living 
issues.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including that of children. Nonetheless, 
forced labor of adults and children occurred. There were numerous 
reports of forced child labor in the domestic and agricultural sectors. 
Women and girls from rural areas, lured to cities with promises of 
employment or education, were exploited in domestic servitude as well 
as forced into prostitution. Women and girls from Zimbabwe and Malawi 
who voluntarily migrate to Mozambique were subsequently exploited in 
domestic servitude. Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in 
Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor remained a problem. In the formal economy, the minimum 
working age without restrictions is 18 years of age. The law permits 
children between ages 15 and 18 to work, but the employer is required 
to provide for their education and professional training and ensure 
that conditions of work are not damaging to their physical and moral 
development. Children between the ages of 12 and 15 are permitted to 
work under special conditions authorized jointly by the ministries of 
labor, health, and education. For children under the age of 18, the 
maximum workweek is 38 hours, the maximum workday is seven hours, and 
they are not permitted to work in occupations that are unhealthy, 
dangerous, or require significant physical effort. Children must 
undergo a medical examination before beginning work. By law children 
must be paid at least the minimum wage or a minimum of two-thirds of 
the adult salary, whichever is higher.
    Although the law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, it 
was a common problem, especially in rural areas. Out of economic 
necessity, especially in rural areas, parents often forced their 
children to work, particularly in commercial agriculture, as domestic 
employees, or in prostitution.
    Children, including those under age 15, commonly worked on family 
farms in seasonal harvests or on commercial plantations, where they 
picked cotton, tobacco, or tea leaves and were paid on a piecework 
basis for work completed rather than an hourly minimum wage.
    Trade unions indicated that in the northern provinces of Zambezia, 
Nampula, and Cabo Delgado, adults hired to work in tobacco cotton, 
cashew, and coconut plantations routinely had their children work also 
to increase their income. These children worked long hours and were 
prevented from attending school.
    The Ministry of Labor regulates child labor in both the informal 
and formal sectors. Labor inspectors may obtain court orders and use 
police to enforce compliance with child labor provisions. However, 
there were no mechanisms in place for making complaints about hazardous 
and forced child labor. Violations of child labor provisions are 
punishable with fines ranging from one to 40 months of the minimum wage 
salary. Enforcement mechanisms generally were adequate in the formal 
sector but remained poor in the informal sector. The labor inspectorate 
and police forces lacked adequate staff, funds, and training to 
investigate child labor cases, especially in areas outside the capital 
where a majority of the abuses occurred. There were 130 labor 
inspectors, none of whom specialized in child labor issues. Inspectors 
receive low wages, making them vulnerable to bribes. The inspectors 
often do not have the means to travel to sites independently and are 
therefore reliant on the company that they are investigating for 
committing violations to provide travel to the site of an alleged 
violation. Although the government provided training for police on 
child prostitution and abuse, there was no specialized child labor 
training for the labor inspectorate. The government disseminated 
information and provided education about the dangers of child labor to 
the general public. Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the 
Worst Forms of Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/
tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Trade unions estimated that a 
minimum livable monthly wage to provide for a family of five was 7,250 
meticais ($268). The minimum wage varies by sector from 1,681 meticais 
($62) to 5,320 meticais ($197). In April the government updated the 
minimum wage for various sectors, however, many employers had not 
implemented these minimum wages by year's end. For example, there were 
threats of a strike in July by employees of state-owned Radio 
Mocambique and a government public transport company, TPM, who 
complained they had not yet received the increases. The strike was 
called off after negotiations and an agreement for future raises, 
dependent on economic performance.
    Although the industrial sector frequently paid above minimum wage, 
there were few industrial jobs outside of the Maputo area. In addition, 
less than 10 percent of workers held salaried positions, and the 
majority of the labor force worked in subsistence farming. Many workers 
used a variety of strategies to survive, including holding a second 
job, maintaining their own gardens, or depending on the income of other 
family members.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage 
rates in the private sector, and the Ministry of Finance does so in the 
public sector. Violations of minimum wage rates usually were 
investigated only after workers registered a complaint. Workers 
generally received benefits, such as transportation and food, in 
addition to wages. The standard legal workweek is 40 hours but can be 
extended to 48 hours. After 48 hours overtime must be paid at 50 
percent over the base hourly salary. Overtime is limited by law to two 
hours per day and 100 hours per year. The law provides for one hour of 
rest per day. Foreign workers are protected under the law.
    Frequent worker complaints included failure by employers to deposit 
social security contributions that had been deducted from wages, 
inability to obtain social security benefits, unlawful firings, and 
intimidation of union members.
    In the small formal sector, health and environmental laws were in 
place to protect workers, but the Ministry of Labor did not effectively 
enforce these laws, and the government only occasionally closed firms 
for noncompliance. There continued to be significant violations of 
labor laws in many companies and services.
    In theory workers have the right to remove themselves from 
situations that endangered their health and safety without jeopardy to 
their employment; in practice, threats of dismissal and peer pressure 
restricted this right. There were no special provisions for foreign and 
migrant workers.

                               __________

                                 NAMIBA

                           executive summary
    Namibia is a multiparty democracy. The presidential and 
parliamentary elections held in November 2009 resulted in the re-
election of President Hifikepunye Pohamba and the retention by the 
ruling South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) of its large 
parliamentary majority. SWAPO is a multiethnic party, but it is 
dominated by the large Ovambo ethnic group. Despite some reported 
irregularities and a legal challenge by nine opposition parties that 
was ongoing at year's end, international observers characterized the 
election as generally free and fair. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    Three predominant human rights abuses in the country included 
police use of excessive force, poor detention center conditions, and 
violence and discrimination against women and children, including rape, 
child abuse, and child labor.
    Other human rights problems included prolonged pretrial detention 
and long delays in trials, harassment and political intimidation of 
opposition members, and official corruption. Other societal abuses 
included discrimination against ethnic minorities and indigenous 
people; child trafficking, mostly for use as labor; and discrimination 
and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
    The government took steps to prosecute or punish officials who 
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the 
government, although impunity occurred.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were few 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings. Namibian Rights and Responsibilities, Inc. 
(NamRights), a local human rights organization, reported that police 
allegedly shot and killed Matheus Shipanga on February 6 when he failed 
to stop at a roadblock. A case of murder was opened against the police 
officers, but no trial had begun by year's end.
    Police reported that in March, four police officers allegedly 
assaulted a suspect, Albert Shinvula, during his arrest in Katima 
Mulilo in the Caprivi Region. Shinvula died from his injuries. Police 
continued to investigate the matter. All four suspects were arrested 
and released on bail.
    The government took no action during the year to investigate five 
of six mass graves discovered in 2008 along the country's border with 
Angola that contained, among others, the remains of five political 
activists who allegedly were killed without trial by South African 
security forces in 1972. On May 4, President Pohamba claimed an 
additional seven people were buried in the same grave as the activists.

    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, 
police sometimes used excessive force when apprehending, interrogating, 
and detaining criminal suspects. Human rights bodies and prison 
officials reported the detention of both pretrial and convicted 
prisoners in overcrowded conditions. The country's main penal code does 
not define ``torture,'' potentially leading to legal ambiguity over any 
claims.
    According to NamRights, in September 2010 Windhoek City police 
assaulted and beat John Haufila until he lost consciousness at the 
Wanaheda Police Station. The attack occurred in view of Namibian Police 
Force (NAMPOL) officers, who did not intervene, according to Haufila. 
NAMPOL officers subsequently instructed city police to take Haufila to 
the hospital, where, according to Haufila, police told doctors his 
injuries occurred in a fall. Police later opened a case against 
Haufila, claiming he had prevented them from executing their duties. In 
September 2010 police released Haufila on bail. The case was pending at 
year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons were generally 
overcrowded, and some prison buildings were dilapidated; however, the 
government continued to make significant improvements, working to 
renovate and expand overcrowded prisons and holding cells. Renovations 
and extensions were completed in 2010 and 2011 in half of the 13 
prisons. Windhoek Central Prison, the second largest prison, made 
significant improvements over the past three years, including the 
introduction of a case management system that classifies inmates 
according to risk and assigns accommodations, training, and counseling 
based on this model. The prison also oversees five vocational skills 
training workshops targeting unemployment and reducing recidivism.
    According to the Ombudsman's Office, which had criticized prison 
conditions throughout the country in earlier years, general prison 
conditions have risen to ``acceptable'' levels in the last one or two 
years. Authorities try to comply with minimum standards of sanitation, 
provide three meals per day (although resource limitations mean they 
have problems providing special diets when needed), water, space, 
bedding, toiletries, and washing facilities. Each prison has a medical 
clinic with a registered or enrolled nurse, and inmates with serious 
health conditions are referred to state hospitals.
    Conditions in detention centers and police holding cells--sometimes 
located inside prisons--remained poor. The country's prisons were built 
to hold 4,475 inmates. According to the Ombudsman's Office, there were 
4,314 inmates in October. Although total figures indicated balance, 
overcrowding remained a problem in some of the country's largest 
prisons, especially since many pretrial detainees were co-located with 
convicted inmates. For example, Windhoek Central Prison was designed to 
hold 912 inmates but, according to prison authorities, at year's end 
held approximately 2,000 inmates and pretrial detainees.
    Conditions in police holding cells were poor, and overcrowding was 
a serious problem in Windhoek, Ondangwa, Swakopmund, Oshakati, and 
Otjiwarango. After a June 2010 visit to police holding cells in the 
South, Margaret Mensah-Williams, the vice chairperson of the National 
Council, characterized conditions as inhumane. Mensah-Williams cited 
dirty and cold cells, insufficient blankets, poor food, unhygienic 
kitchen utensils and pots, poor lighting in cells, and improperly 
functioning toilets. The Ombudsman's Office reported that many inmates 
were confined to a small space with minimal ventilation and washing 
facilities. In October there were 3,456 suspects in holding cells 
designed to hold a maximum of 3,515 persons. The cabinet took action to 
address the need for additional space by authorizing the Ministry of 
Safety and Security to include funding for new remand prisons in its 
budget.
    Conditions for women are generally better than for men. Female 
prisoners in Windhoek were moved to less crowded facilities in outlying 
areas, although this made family visits more difficult. The space they 
vacated was used to accommodate the increasing male prisoner 
population. The Windhoek-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) Legal 
Assistance Center (LAC) reported female prisoners can keep their babies 
with them for two years and are provided food and clothing for them.
    Under the law, juvenile offenders may not be housed with adults. 
Prison authorities reported this law was being upheld, but there were 
reports that juveniles in rural police holding facilities were 
sometimes held with adults.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted to participate in religious observances. Victims of prison 
abuse were able to pursue legal remedies, although lengthy delays were 
common.
    The Ombudsman's Office investigated credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions, documented results, and made written 
recommendations; however, it was not authorized to intervene in 
individual cases. The government investigated and monitored prison and 
detention center conditions.
    The government required NGOs and the media to apply to the 
Commissioner General of Prisons for permission to visit prisons. The 
government continued to grant both local and international NGOs access 
to prisons and prisoners. The International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC) and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) visited 
prisons and detention centers during the year. The government rarely 
acceded to such requests from the media.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest or detention. In contrast to previous years, 
there were no reports that the government did not observe these 
prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--NAMPOL, which has 
approximately 12,000 employees, is under the Ministry of Safety and 
Security; the Namibian Defense Force (NDF), which has approximately 
15,000 to 20,000 active duty members, is under the Ministry of Defense. 
Both NAMPOL and the NDF were responsible for internal security. NAMPOL 
is highly centralized with regional commands responsible to the 
inspector general of police. Approximately half of NAMPOL's overall 
complement is assigned to the Special Field Force (SFF), a paramilitary 
unit composed primarily of combatants from the former People's 
Liberation Army of Namibia. SFF members were assigned to guard duty, 
checkpoints, and the maintenance of public order. Police corruption and 
impunity caused some problems (see section 4). NAMPOL lacked the 
resources, training, and personnel to effectively deter or investigate 
street crime.
    Police continued to receive human rights training designed by LAC. 
Some officers attended training programs with human rights components, 
including human trafficking, at the International Law Enforcement 
Academy in Gaborone, Botswana. NAMPOL invited guest speakers to lecture 
on human rights at the police college, and more than 20 officers 
completed a three-month certificate course on human rights at the 
University of Namibia.
    According to various civil society organizations, including at 
least two committed to the protection of sex workers, police officers 
continued to threaten prostitutes with arrest, or to abandon them in 
remote areas, if they did not provide free sex.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrest 
warrants are not required in all cases, such as when a suspect is 
apprehended while committing a crime. Persons arrested must be informed 
of the reason for their arrest and brought before a magistrate within 
48 hours of their detention, but the government did not always follow 
these provisions in practice. Detainees generally were promptly 
informed of the charges against them. The constitution stipulates that 
the accused are entitled to defense by legal counsel of their choice. 
For indigent defendants, the state-funded Legal Aid Directorate 
provides free legal assistance in criminal cases, and as resources were 
available in civil matters, particularly divorces. Local human rights 
NGOs reported the Legal Aid Directorate faces severe resource 
constraints that hampered its ability to provide effectively services 
in all cases. However, many prisoners could not afford counsel, and 
indigent persons were not always provided counsel, primarily due to an 
insufficient number of public defenders. There is a functioning bail 
system, and detainees generally were allowed prompt access to family 
members. Under a state of emergency, the constitution permits detention 
without trial, although the names of detainees must be published in the 
government's gazette within 14 days, and an advisory board appointed by 
the president must review their cases.
    Lengthy pretrial detention remained a significant problem. In 2010 
approximately 8 percent of the general prison population was awaiting 
trial. The lack of qualified magistrates and other court officials, 
high cost of legal aid, slow or incomplete police investigations, and 
continued postponement of cases resulted in a serious backlog of 
criminal cases and delays of years between arrest and trial. During the 
year the High Court and Prosecutor-General's Office continued searching 
for and implementing proposals to improve the pace of administering 
justice, including granting increased case management powers to judges, 
and considering the introduction of new case management and plea 
bargaining systems. The lack of a plea bargaining system to expedite 
case conclusion and poor case management systems generally slowed the 
pace of trials, which can take years to complete.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the courts continued to act independently 
and at times made judgments and rulings critical of the government. 
Inefficiency and a lack of resources hampered the judicial system.
    Military courts try members of the military only and do not provide 
the same rights as civil criminal courts. Customary courts heard most 
civil and petty criminal cases in rural areas. The law delineates which 
offenses may be dealt with under the customary system.
    Most rural citizens first encountered the legal system through the 
customary courts, which deal with infractions of local customs among 
members of the same ethnic group. The law delineates the role, duties, 
and powers of traditional leaders and provides that customary law is 
invalid if it is inconsistent with the constitution.
    In some instances, cases which had been resolved in customary 
courts were tried a second time in government courts. In at least one 
case negotiated by a customary court, a teacher accused of impregnating 
his underage student paid a settlement to the victim's family, only to 
face criminal charges in a government court.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right 
to a fair trial, but this right was limited by long delays in hearing 
cases in the regular courts and the uneven application of 
constitutional protections in the customary system. The law provides 
for public trials but not the use of juries. Defendants have the right 
to be present at trial, to consult with an attorney in a timely manner, 
and, with their attorneys, to have access to government-held evidence. 
Indigent defendants are entitled to a lawyer provided by the state in 
criminal and divorce cases; however, this often did not occur due to an 
insufficient number of public defenders. LAC reported that even though 
the Supreme Court found that the state must provide legal assistance 
where gross injustice would occur otherwise, many cases of rape, 
murder, and other serious crimes continue without the accused having 
adequate legal representation, since the Legal Aid Directorate could 
not assist them all. Defendants are presumed innocent, can confront 
witnesses, can present witnesses and evidence on their behalf, and have 
the right of appeal. The law extends these rights to all citizens.
    More than a decade after Caprivi separatists attacked government 
facilities in the contested region in 1999, 112 surviving Caprivians 
accused of treason had yet to have their cases resolved. The enormity 
of the state's case, resource constraints, and legal wrangling 
continued to delay the Caprivi trial, which consisted of five trials or 
hearings.
    The main trial originally had131 detainees alleged to have 
participated in the 1999 attacks charged with a total of 278 counts 
related to treasonous activities. At least 19 of the accused have died 
in prison, including one during the year who died from natural causes. 
The trial of two ethnic Mafwe witnesses resumed in February with no 
notable developments; the individuals were part of the main Caprivi 
treason trial and appeared in court in 2006 on charges of perjury and 
obstruction of justice for denying statements they had made to original 
investigators in the Caprivi case.
    Ten secessionists were convicted of treason in 2007 and sentenced 
to more than 30 years. However, the judge ruled in 2009 that the 10 
could appeal to the Supreme Court against the length of the sentences 
they received.
    The ``trial within a trial'' is a hearing that began in April 2009 
to determine the admissibility of allegedly self-incriminating 
statements made by 26 of the defendants before various magistrates. In 
September 2010 the Supreme Court turned down a request by the state to 
appeal part of a judgment in which presiding High Court Judge Elton 
Hoff ruled that alleged confessions made by 26 of the men being 
prosecuted in the treason trial cannot be used as evidence against 
them. In January Judge Hoff ruled evidence linking four suspects to the 
1999 secessionist attempt was inadmissible. Defense attorneys had 
argued the men were assaulted by police and not informed of their right 
to legal assistance at the time of their arrests. The Supreme Court 
justices called for the speedy resolution of the trial, now in its 
seventh year.
    In November the case of Albius Moto Liseli, whose 2009 arrest made 
him the last man arrested in connection with the Caprivi separatist 
plot, was postponed to April 2012, when the judge is expected to hear 
arguments.
    Civil suits were brought by defendants who claimed to have been 
tortured at the time of their arrests. During the year the High Court 
ruled in favor of the ministers of home affairs and defense in three 
more civil suits. To date, the High Court has dismissed eight civil 
claims against the ministers of home affairs and defense, 24 cases have 
been settled out of court, and 90 cases remained pending. LAC continued 
to represent detainees.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--NamRights has categorized the 
112 surviving Caprivi high treason detainees as ``political 
prisoners,'' while Amnesty International categorized 70 percent of them 
as ``prisoners of conscience.'' There were no other reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There exists in civil 
matters an independent judiciary, which is widely perceived as 
impartial. The law provides for access to a court to bring lawsuits 
seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights violations. The 
constitution provides for administrative justice as well as judicial 
remedies for alleged wrongs. Civil court orders were mostly well 
enforced.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. The 
Communications Act, popularly known as the ``Spy Bill,'' which was 
passed in November 2009, has not fully been implemented. The act allows 
the intelligence services to monitor e-mails and Internet usage with 
authorization from a magistrate. The legislation also permits the 
interception of telephone calls and cell phone text messages. Opponents 
of the law considered it an invasion of privacy and a violation of the 
right to free expression.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the 
press, and the government generally respected this right. Some 
independent and government journalists practiced self censorship. 
African Media Barometer reported that the level of free expression also 
varies among media, with broadcast media feeling more potentially 
threatened and, particularly in the case of government-owned media, 
leading to self-censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals generally could criticize the 
government publicly or privately without reprisal.

    Freedom of Press.--In its annual Press Freedom Index for 2010, 
Reporters Without Borders noted a significant rise in Namibia's ranking 
for respect for media freedom. However, NamRights and at least one 
newspaper editor reported that some journalists allegedly received 
threats or derogatory text messages for criticizing the government or 
the ruling SWAPO party. Minister of Youth, National Service, Sport, and 
Culture Kazenambo Kazenambo's threats in November against a journalist 
for questioning his travel expenses for an official trip to Germany 
were widely reported. Public reaction to Kazenambo's outburst was 
mixed, with many citizens arguing that the minister's conduct was 
inappropriate, while others dismissed the threat as empty. The Media 
Institute of Southern Africa issued an alert, condemning the minister's 
verbal attack on a journalist. The ruling SWAPO Party, however, 
remained publicly silent.
    There were five daily national newspapers, four of which were 
independent, and six independent weekly newspapers. The government ran 
one newspaper and an official press agency, whose boards were appointed 
by the minister of information and communication technology. The 
government shared equal ownership of a regional weekly newspaper with 
the Government of Zimbabwe. The ruling SWAPO party owned one 
publication.
    The government owned and operated the Namibian Broadcasting 
Corporation (NBC) Radio and Television, which was the most widely 
broadcast and influential medium in the country. NBC's television and 
nine radio services broadcast in English and indigenous languages. 
There were 12 private radio stations and two private television 
networks, One Africa TV and Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). SWAPO 
owned 51 percent of the country's sole cable and satellite television 
provider.
    In 2009 the Namibian Forum of Editors established--with the 
government's support-- the Office of the Media Ombudsman as an 
independent investigator and arbiter of complaints against the media. 
The Media Ombudsman has been appointed since by local newspaper editors 
and has continued to function free of any government interference. 
According to the Media Ombudsman, complaints against the press declined 
between 2010 and 2011.
    On August 30, the cabinet lifted a 10-year ban on government 
departments advertising in, or purchasing from, The Namibian daily 
newspaper. Former president Sam Nujoma had imposed the ban because of 
the newspaper's perceived antigovernment bias. NBC also announced it 
would reintroduce call-in programs that were terminated in 2009 because 
some callers allegedly were abusing their freedom of speech with 
derogatory comments directed at the government.
    The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) issued four media 
alerts on Namibia during the year, including the above-mentioned alert 
regarding the youth minister. The media alerts called attention to 
threats against the freedom of speech. The other three alerts included:
    The Hambukushu Traditional Authority fined NBC's Rundu-based 
reporter Wilfred Nyambe N$2,000 ($247) for allegedly reporting a biased 
story about the authority.
    A soccer official was accused of allegedly punching a journalist, 
when the journalist pressed for an answer on a player's eviction.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet; however, the Communications Act provides that the 
intelligence services can monitor e-mails and Internet usage with 
authorization from any magistrate.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Unlike in the previous year, 
there were no reports of government restrictions on academic freedom. 
However, all government-owned institutions of higher learning, 
including the University of Namibia, Polytechnic of Namibia, and the 
Windhoek College of Education, continued to ban the holding of 
political events on their campuses. In addition, the original draft of 
the Statistics Bill placed government controls on research, statistics 
collection, and the dissemination of information. In consultation with 
civil society, these restrictions were eased in the final iteration of 
the Statistics Act, as passed.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, 
and the government generally respected this right.
    SWAPO supporters continued to disrupt members of the leading 
opposition party Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) from 
campaigning in some towns and villages. In one incident, SWAPO 
supporters staged a series of soccer matches at the site of a planned 
RDP rally in Omusati Region in November, preventing the RDP from taking 
the field.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and 
the government generally respected these rights in practice. The 
government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in protecting and assisting refugees, returning refugees, 
asylum seekers, and other persons of concern, with one exception during 
the reporting period. In the final months of the year, UNHCR tried and 
failed to prevent the government from ordering the deportation of 13 
Somali asylum seekers. The government assessed them to be ``illegal'' 
migrants, not asylum seekers. The case was ongoing at year's end.
    The government continued to limit the freedom of travel of Cuban 
doctors working in the country under a Cuban bilateral assistance 
program. These doctors generally were not allowed to travel within or 
from the country without consent from the Cuban embassy, which held 
their passports.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees.
    According to the UNHCR, approximately 7,766 refugees and asylum 
seekers resided in Osire Settlement, formerly called the Osire Refugee 
Camp, while 1,228 lived outside the settlement. Angolans represented an 
estimated 66 percent of the refugee/asylum seeker population, with the 
remaining estimated 34 percent coming from the Democratic Republic of 
Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Cameroon, and other African 
countries. The government continued to issue identification cards to 
all refugees to facilitate travel outside the settlement. Nevertheless, 
some refugees complained they were still prevented from working outside 
the settlement. Only six Angolans have opted to repatriate, and a UNHCR 
study concluded that all remaining Angolan refugees wish to integrate 
locally or be awarded some alternative status.
    Refugees enjoy the same protection and benefits of the law as 
Namibian citizens do. UNHCR stated it was not aware of any incidents of 
reprisal, arrest, or deportations as a result of refugees wanting to 
assert their rights or seek recourse under the law. During the summer, 
13 Somalis requested asylum in Namibia, but the government issued a 
notice to deport them after deciding they were instead ``illegal 
migrants.'' By year's end, the Somalis remained in two local jails. 
UNHCR had not provided them refugee status but urged the government not 
to deport them.
    The government continued to maintain strict control over civilian 
access to the Osire Settlement; however, the ICRC, UNHCR, and the 
UNHCR's NGO partners had regular and unrestricted access to the camp. 
International Refugee Day was commemorated at Osire; the prime minister 
and numerous foreign diplomats attended the ceremony.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary 
protection to certain individuals who may not qualify as refugees under 
the 1951 refugee convention or its 1967 protocol.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change 
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in 
practice through periodic and free elections held on the basis of 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In the 
2009 presidential and parliamentary elections, SWAPO candidate 
Hifikepunye Pohamba was elected to a second term as president with 76 
percent of the vote. SWAPO candidates won 54 of 72 elected National 
Assembly seats (there are also six appointed seats). International 
observers characterized the election as generally free and fair, 
despite an inefficient vote tabulation system and unequal access to 
media coverage and campaign financing. Nine opposition parties, 
however, claimed the election was marred by irregularities. The Supreme 
Court finished hearing their arguments in October but had not issued a 
decision by year's end.

    Political Parties.--Individuals and political party nominees could 
declare their candidacies freely and stand for election in accordance 
with the law. The government did not officially restrict the right of 
political opponents to organize, seek votes, or publicize their views, 
but SWAPO supporters sometimes disrupted rallies and campaigns of 
opposition parties, particularly the RDP. The majority Ovambo ethnic 
group dominated the majority SWAPO Party. There continued to be reports 
that individuals who were not members of SWAPO had difficulty finding 
civil service employment or winning government tenders.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women held 19 seats in the 
78-seat National Assembly, which included 72 elected seats and six 
appointed ones. There were seven women in the 26-seat National Council. 
There were five female ministers and four female deputy ministers among 
the 41 ministerial and deputy ministerial incumbents. There were two 
female judges among the 11 permanent judges on the High Court.
    Virtually all of the country's ethnic minorities were represented 
in parliament and in senior positions in the cabinet, except the San 
and Ovahimba. Historic economic and educational disadvantages limited 
the participation of the indigenous San and Ovahimba ethnic groups in 
politics. Although the ruling SWAPO party was dominated by Ovambos, 
members of smaller ethnic groups held the offices of deputy prime 
minister, speaker of the National Assembly, and deputy chairperson of 
the National Council.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law prohibits corruption, and the government took 
steps to address the problem, officials continued to engage in corrupt 
practices. During the year the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) 
continued with awareness campaigns and held workshops for government 
officials, politicians, civil society organizations, church leaders, 
and school children on the dangers of corruption. NAMPOL opened nine 
cases of corruption or extortion against members of the police, all 
ongoing at year's end. During the year the ACC conducted several 
investigations into corruption. Through government institutions like 
the ACC, Prosecutor-General's Office, Namibian Police, Auditor-
General's Office, and Office of the Ombudsman, the government took 
steps to prosecute or otherwise punish officials who engaged in 
corruption. Cases of corruption, abuse of authority, and conflict of 
interest still occurred. However, when these bodies investigated cases, 
they did so thoroughly.
    For example, according to the New Era daily newspaper, on August 
16, Melanie Theron, a magistrate in the northern town of Oshakati, 
appeared in court for allegedly collecting and pocketing money from 
traffic offenders whose fines were overdue. Offenders are supposed to 
pay their fines at the cash hall, and not directly to the magistrate. 
Theron was released on bail, and her case was ongoing at year's end. In 
July 2010 media sources reported that former State House deputy 
director Abisai Shaningwa used his new position as Omusati regional 
council director of planning to funnel for personal use nearly 1.5 
million Namibian dollars ($185,300) to build 27 public toilets in his 
region. The ACC conducted an investigation into the possible 
involvement of Omusati public officials in the scam, determined the 
case to have merit, and forwarded it to the Prosecutor-General's Office 
to consider for possible action.
    In December 2010 Prime Minister Nahas Angula confirmed that five 
senior managers of the Government Institutions Pension Fund had been 
asked to take voluntary leave to facilitate a probe into the 
Development Capital Portfolio (DCP), which had lent more than 661 
million Namibian dollars (81.67 million) to 21 Namibian companies 
through the DCP from the late 1990s until 2002. Many of the loans were 
never repaid. A 2006 audit revealed that the loans were fraught with 
irregularities, such as incomplete loan applications from politically 
connected businessmen, and were awarded shortly before their businesses 
failed. Namibian Police were investigating the 97 million Namibian 
dollars ($11.98 million) in unpaid loans that occurred before the ACC 
was created.
    Security force corruption and impunity were problems in the recent 
past, but not on a large scale. The ACC reported it had not observed 
any impunity in the security forces during the year. Whenever a case of 
corruption did arise, the Namibian Defense Force and Namibian Police 
chiefs were cooperative and provided their full support to the 
investigation.
    Members of Parliament were required under their Code of Conduct to 
declare their assets. However, the assets register has only been 
published twice since independence, in 2003 and 2009. The law outlaws 
public officials' conflict of interest and potential abuses of power, 
but enforcement mechanisms in the act are weak and internal only. Civil 
society organizations charged that the laws did not preclude government 
officials from engaging in private business that conflicted with their 
government duties. Government institutions, including the ACC, the 
Office of the Ombudsman, and the Office of the Auditor General, were 
responsible for combating public corruption.
    No law provides for public access to government information, and 
media outlets generally found the government unwilling to provide 
information, including salary scales, for public officials.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Although government 
departments have typically proven hesitant to provide assistance, the 
Ombudsman's Office, NamRights, and the ACC reported the Namibian Police 
have been cooperative and helpful in corruption and human rights 
investigations.
    NamRights and LAC, both independent organizations, were the primary 
human rights NGOs in the country, and the police regularly met with 
both. LAC often assisted police with human rights training, while 
NamRights reported allegations of police brutality and abuse of power.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
cooperated with international human rights organizations, and the ICRC 
and other international bodies made visits during the year.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--There was an autonomous ombudsman, 
with whom the government cooperated; he was considered effective in 
addressing some corruption and human rights problems. Between January 
and October, the Ombudsman's Office received 166 human rights-related 
complaints from the public. These included alleged violations of fair 
trial rights, illegal detention, delays in finalizing criminal appeals, 
alleged assaults by prison officials, and land-grabbing by surviving 
family members following a death.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
creed, gender, language, disability, social status, or religion, and 
specifically prohibit ``the practice and ideology of apartheid''; 
however, the government did not effectively enforce all these 
prohibitions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law defines rape in broad 
terms and allows for the prosecution of spousal rape. Numerous cases of 
rape were prosecuted during the year, and the government generally 
enforced rape penalties, which provide for sentences of between five 
and 45 years' imprisonment for convicted rapists. According to police 
statistics for 2010, 11,854 cases of gender-based violence were 
reported, 3,074 of which involved rape (a 294 percent increase from 
2009). The true extent of rape is thought to be higher, and only a 
minority of cases were prosecuted or resulted in a conviction.
    In 2009 LAC reported more than one-third of rape victims withdrew 
their cases, due to compensation from the accused, family pressure, 
shame, threats, or the length of time involved in prosecuting a case. A 
number of factors continued to hamper rape prosecutions, including lack 
of police transport, poor communication between police stations, lack 
of expertise in dealing with child rape complainants, and the 
withdrawal of cases by rape complainants after they filed charges. LAC 
argued additional training and raising awareness was required at all 
levels, and across all involved government ministries to better address 
child rape cases.
    According to a 2008 LAC study, approximately 70 percent of rape 
suspects are arrested, but only 18 percent ultimately are convicted in 
a court of law. Most cases are tried by traditional authorities, rather 
than in government courts. A January article in the Namibian Law 
Journal complained that judges are applying ``inconsistent and 
problematic'' approaches to sentencing rape perpetrators.
    The law prohibits domestic violence; however, the problem was 
widespread. Penalties for domestic violence, which includes physical 
abuse, sexual abuse, economic abuse, intimidation, harassment, and 
serious emotional, verbal or psychological abuse, ranged from a fine of 
300 Namibian dollars ($37) to10 years' imprisonment and a fine for 
assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. No information was 
available on enforcement of the law, except as it involved rape. When 
reported, the woman and child protection unit of the Namibian Police 
intervened in domestic violence cases.
    There were 15 women's and children's shelters staffed with police 
officers trained to assist victims of sexual assault. During the year, 
the People's Education, Assistance, and Counseling for Empowerment 
Center and other NGOs continued to provide training to these units. In 
some magistrates' courts, there were special courtrooms to protect 
vulnerable witnesses from open testimony; the courtrooms featured a 
cubicle made of one-way glass and child-friendly waiting rooms. During 
the year the government completed renovation of five shelters for 
victims of gender-based violence.

    Sexual Harassment.--The labor act explicitly prohibits sexual 
harassment in the workplace and requires employers to take reasonable 
steps to protect employees from such harassment. Employees who leave 
their jobs due to sexual harassment are entitled to reinstatement or 
compensation. No sexual harassment case has ever been filed.

    Sex Tourism.--Neither the government nor civil society keeps 
statistics on sex tourism, although there is anecdotal evidence that a 
small amount of it exists. However, sexual exploitation, including the 
sexual exploitation of children, does exist.

    Reproductive Rights.--There were no government restrictions on 
contraception, but abortion remained illegal. The government and NGOs 
provided for equitable access to contraception to all citizens, 
although those who lived in urban areas had better access to skilled 
attendance during childbirth and postpartum care than those who lived 
in rural areas. According to statistics released in 2010 by the 
Ministry of Health and Social Services, the country's maternal 
mortality ratio in 2006 was 449 per 100,000 live births, a near 
doubling of the rate in 1992; the high rate was attributed to the 
general lack of access to effective healthcare. UNICEF reported that 
unsafe abortions account for nearly 20 percent of maternal deaths. The 
government and NGOs continued to make a strong effort to educate men 
and women equally in the diagnosis and treatment of sexually 
transmitted infections, including HIV.
    The government has no policy to forcibly sterilize HIV-positive 
women. However, a 2008 case against the government, in which doctors at 
state hospitals allegedly sterilized 16 women following caesarean 
sections, was still awaiting judgment at year's end. Attorneys for the 
government claimed the women gave written consent to be sterilized 
before the procedures were carried out. The plaintiffs, who admit 
signing consent forms, charged that they were not properly informed of 
the consequences.

    Discrimination.--The law prohibits discrimination, including 
employment discrimination; however, men dominated positions in upper 
management in both the private and the public sectors. The Ministry of 
Labor and Social Welfare and the Employment Equity Commission, which 
report to the minister of labor, were responsible for addressing 
complaints of discrimination in employment; however, neither was 
effective due to the backlog of cases.
    The law prohibits discriminatory practices against women married 
under civil law, but women who married under customary law continued to 
face legal and cultural discrimination. Traditional practices that 
permitted family members to confiscate the property of deceased men 
from their widows and children continued.
    The custom by which a widow or widower was obliged to marry the 
brother or sister of the deceased to ensure that the surviving spouse 
and children were cared for was still practiced in some areas of the 
country. A Namibia Law Journal report from January found that the 
practice of widow inheritance (levirate) and widower inheritance 
(sororate) were still common among the Ovambo, Herero, Lozi, and to a 
lesser extent, the Kavango.
    The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare was responsible 
for advocating for women's rights. The Ministry of Justice's Law Reform 
and Development Commission advocated for women's rights in legislation.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--The constitution provides for 
citizenship by birth within the country's territory or from one's 
parents. According to a 2006-07 survey conducted by the government, 
approximately 33 percent of children--many of whom were born at home in 
rural areas--did not possess birth certificates, which are necessary to 
apply for social grants. Although prohibited by law, anecdotal evidence 
suggests teachers in regions bordering Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and 
Botswana sometimes refused to teach children who could not prove their 
citizenship. Namibian mothers who delayed registration of their 
children at birth often faced a difficult process and long delays. If a 
child's parents died before registering their child with the 
government, and if the child did not obtain the needed death 
certificates or other necessary documentation for his or her parents, 
the child faced still greater challenges in proving his or her 
citizenship and right to access government services.
    The Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration, in partnership with 
UNICEF, continued its efforts to provide birth certificates for 
newborns at clinics and hospitals throughout the country, including 
through mobile registration vans and establishing birth registration 
offices at 11 high-volume hospitals.

    Education.--Although the constitution provides children under the 
age of 16 with the right to compulsory, tuition-free, and universal 
primary and junior secondary education (grades one through 10), the 
numerous fees--including for uniforms, books, boarding costs, and 
school improvement--placed a heavy burden on poor families and 
precluded some children from attending. In general, more girls than 
boys were enrolled in secondary schools. Many San children and children 
from destitute families did not attend school, but the government 
continued to provide mobile schools for children who lived in semi-
permanent settlements. In 2010 approximately 1,500 girls dropped out of 
school due to pregnancy. In June the Ministry of Education hosted a 
conference to address the education system's deficiencies and the 
cabinet adopted the conference's recommendations in December.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a serious problem, and authorities 
vigorously prosecuted crimes against children, particularly rape and 
incest. According to police records and media reports, in 2010 at least 
800 children and juveniles were murdered, raped, or assaulted during 
the year. The true incidence of child abuse was thought to greatly 
exceed the number of reported cases.

    Child Marriage.--The law prohibits marriage before the age of 18; 
however, child marriage occurred.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Female genital mutilation rarely 
was practiced. The women's rights organizations Sister Namibia and the 
Women's Leadership Center continued to condemn cultural practices of 
initiation sex for young girls, including dry sex (the practice of 
applying astringents to the vagina before sexual intercourse to enhance 
male pleasure) and the stretching of the labia minora.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law criminalizes the actions 
of both the client and the pimp in cases of sexual exploitation of 
children under 18 years of age, and also criminalizes child pornography 
and child prostitution. The minimum legal age for consensual sex is 16, 
and the penalty for statutory rape is a minimum of five years in 
prison. Possession of, or international trade in child pornography is 
also illegal. The government continued to provide training for police 
officials to improve the handling of child sex abuse cases. Centers for 
abused women and children worked to reduce the trauma suffered by 
abused children.
    NGOs that work with sex workers reported that most child 
prostitution occurred without third-party involvement, as a means of 
survival among HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children. Often, 
children sold themselves in this way for food, clothing, or other items 
or money. The existence of HIV/AIDS orphans--although declining for the 
first time--increased the vulnerability of children to sexual abuse and 
exploitation.

    Infanticide.--During the year, the media reported numerous cases in 
which parents, usually young mothers, abandoned and sometimes killed 
newborns for whom they felt they were not able to care. For example, in 
December a leading newspaper reported that a young mother first tried 
to abandon her infant child and then buried it alive. In 2008 staff at 
a waterworks facility in Windhoek estimated they discovered an average 
of 13 newborn bodies every month amongst the human waste flushed down 
toilets. Anecdotal evidence suggests this trend continues. A 2011 
public survey conducted by the Government of Namibia, the Legal 
Assistance Center, and UNICEF indicated that the main reasons mothers 
abandon their babies was that the father denies paternity, the mother 
is a student, or the mother does not know about other options, such as 
adoption.

    Displaced Children.--During the year the government continued 
efforts to provide medical care, school fees, social grants, and other 
assistance to HIV/AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was a very small Jewish community, and no 
reports of anti Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/ j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
health care, education, or the provision of any state services. 
Enforcement in this area was ineffective, and societal discrimination 
persisted.
    The government does not require special access to public buildings, 
and some ministries remained inaccessible. However, during the year the 
government continued to require that all new government buildings 
include ramps. In addition, some street corners in the capital were 
outfitted with special signal crossings for the visually impaired.
    The Office of the Prime Minister's Disability Advisory Unit was 
responsible for overseeing concerns of people with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Despite constitutional 
prohibitions, societal, racial, and ethnic discrimination persisted. 
Some citizens continued to accuse the government of providing more 
development assistance and professional opportunities to the majority 
Ovambo ethnic group.

    Indigenous People.--Other ethnic groups have historically exploited 
the San, the country's earliest known inhabitants. By law all 
indigenous groups participate equally in decisions affecting their 
lands, cultures, traditions, and allocations of natural resources. 
However, the San and other indigenous citizens, such as the Ovatue, 
have been unable to exercise these rights fully as a result of minimal 
access to education, limited economic opportunities, and their relative 
isolation. Indigenous lands were effectively demarcated, but poorly 
managed. NGOs such as the Working Group of Indigenous Minorities and 
Southern Africa, LAC, and NamRights helped San communities assert their 
basic human rights during the year.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The Sodomy Act prohibits 
consensual same-sex sexual activity between men; however, all same-sex 
sexual activity was considered taboo by many citizens.
    Politicians publicly stated their opposition to legislation 
specifically protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) persons, but there were no reports that politicians 
made derogatory public comments about the LGBT community.
    OutRight Namibia, an organization that advocates for LGBT rights, 
reported that police generally did not take complaints of violence 
against LGBT persons seriously. OutRight Namibia claimed police often 
ridiculed LGBT persons when they reported cases of abuse, and this 
secondary victimization often dissuaded victims from reporting abuses. 
However, the organization reported the Office of the Ombudsman and the 
Ministry of Health's Department of Special Programs had strengthened 
their relations with the LGBT community, which was included as a focus 
for assistance in the National Strategic Framework.
    Societal discrimination against the LBGT community continued. For 
example, OutRight Namibia reported that in August, a transgender woman 
was stoned in the southern town of Keetmanshoop while running errands. 
She declined to report the incident to police, since they failed to act 
on similar complaints she made in the past.
    In another case, in September, a man stabbed a lesbian to death at 
a speakeasy in Windhoek's poor outskirts because she was having a 
conversation with another woman. Witnesses reported the man complained 
that ``men cannot get any women because the lesbians are taking them 
all.''
    In June the government rejected three U.N. Universal Periodic 
Review recommendations on LGBT rights. According to OutRight Namibia, 
the government argued that its religious and moral position would be 
compromised by discussions of the subject.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination 
against and stigmatization of persons living with HIV/AIDS remained a 
problem. However, there were no reports of employment discrimination 
based on HIV/AIDS status. The government supported the work of the 
Namibia Business Coalition against HIV/AIDS to eliminate discrimination 
in the work place. The trial concerning 16 HIV-positive women who 
claimed they were sterilized against their will by doctors performing 
their caesarean sections at state hospitals was ongoing at year's end 
(see section 6, Women).
    In contrast to 2010, there were no reports that persons with 
albinism were murdered and that their body parts were missing or 
mutilated, factors consistent with ritual killings.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right to form and join independent unions, 
conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively; however, workers in 
``essential services'' were prohibited from joining unions.
    Except for workers in public health, safety, and other essential 
services, workers have the right to strike once conciliation procedures 
are exhausted and 48-hours' notice has been given to the employer and 
labor commissioner. Strike action can be used only in disputes 
involving specific worker interests, such as pay raises.
    Disputes over worker rights, including dismissals, must first be 
submitted to conciliation and are then referred to a labor court for 
arbitration if conciliation is unsuccessful. The law provides for 
arbitration and conciliation to resolve labor disputes more quickly. 
The law prohibits unfair dismissal of workers engaged in legal strikes. 
Labor law also specifically prohibits employer retaliation against both 
union organizers and striking workers and provides for reinstatement 
for workers dismissed for union activity, as long as the worker's 
actions at the time were not in violation of other laws.
    The law provides employees with the right to bargain individually 
or collectively and to recognize the exclusive collective bargaining 
power of the union when a majority of the workers are members of that 
union. The labor code provides for the protection of all workers, 
including migrants, nonessential public sector workers, domestic 
workers, and those in export processing zones.
    The government generally enforced this law, but not always 
effectively. The Namibian Employers' Federation reported a shortage of 
labor inspectors and other resources constrained the government's 
ability to be fully effective in enforcing its laws, particularly in 
the area of minimum wages in the security, construction, and 
agriculture industries. The Ministry of Labor continued to cite lack of 
information and basic negotiation skills as factors hampering workers' 
ability to bargain with employers successfully. During the year, the 
government continued efforts to train labor inspectors and educate 
workers on their rights.
    In general, freedom of association and the right to collective 
bargaining were respected by the government and employers, and workers 
exercised these rights in practice. The majority of trade unions were 
officially affiliated with the ruling SWAPO party, which many argued 
limited their independence in promoting worker rights. In September 
following the prime minister's failed attempt at arbitration, President 
Pohamba intervened to resolve a labor dispute and end a lengthy strike 
at the country's leading diamond producer, Namdeb. Aside from mediation 
efforts, the government was not directly involved in union activities. 
Employers also did not appear to interfere in union activities.
    Farm workers and domestic servants working on rural and remote 
farms often did not know their rights, and in attempting to organize 
these workers, unions experienced obstacles, such as being prohibited 
from entering commercial farms. As a result, some farm workers 
reportedly suffered abuse by employers, including poor access to health 
care.
    Workers called strikes during the year in mining, tourism, and 
other sectors.
    Collective bargaining was not practiced widely outside the mining, 
construction, agriculture, and public service sectors. Almost all 
collective bargaining was at the workplace and company level. Employers 
respected the collective bargaining process, although discussions are 
ongoing around legitimizing ``labor hire'' (third party temporary 
contracts), and there were some accusations that some companies 
resorted to labor hire to avoid fringe benefits. Most labor hire 
companies provided such benefits anyway. In 2009 the Supreme Court 
declared unconstitutional a provision in the 2007 Labor Act that 
prohibited employers from hiring third-party temporary or contract 
workers. The government continued to make changes to the law to 
regulate private employment agencies.
    There were instances of companies failing to reinstate workers who 
were fired for legal union activities. In November China Jiangxi 
International fired workers who coordinated with a union to demand they 
be paid a minimum wage, as stipulated in the Namibian Labor Act. 
Ministry of Labor inspectors took part in the inconclusive negotiations 
on reinstating workers.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children. There 
were no formal reports of forced or compulsory labor, and child labor 
was investigated when reported. The Ministry of Labor makes special 
provisions in its labor inspections to look for underage workers, and 
it has prioritized such special investigations.
    Still, NGOs and the media alleged forced labor occurred. There 
continued to be media reports that farm workers on communal farms and 
domestic workers often received inadequate compensation for their labor 
and were subject to strict control by employers, including physical 
punishment and prolonged work hours. The alleged victims are usually 
women and (often migrant) children.
    Given the Ministry of Labor's resource constraints in vehicles, 
budget, and personnel, as well as difficulty in gaining access to some 
large communal and family-owned commercial farms and private 
households, labor inspectors sometimes found it difficult to 
investigate possible labor code violations. Inspections of family-owned 
farms continued to be problematic and controversial, since Namibia's 
constitution enshrines privacy as a fundamental right. The Labor Act, 
however, makes an exception to the right to privacy in the case of 
labor inspectors gaining access to family farms. NGOs complained access 
to private farms was one of the leading challenges in addressing child 
labor.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
minimum age for employment is 14, with higher age requirements for 
night work and in certain sectors, such as mining and construction. 
With certain exceptions, no employee may work more than 45 hours per 
week, or more than nine hours per day. Children between the ages of 14 
and 16 may not work in hazardous or harmful conditions; between the 
hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; or where the work is underground or 
in a mine, construction or area where demolition takes place, goods are 
manufactured, electricity is generated, transformed, or distributed, or 
machinery is installed or dismantled.
    All the same conditions apply to a child between the ages of 16 and 
18, except that of working under hazardous or harmful conditions. The 
minimum age was inconsistent with the age for completing education 
requirements. The law provides that persons found guilty of employing 
children can face a maximum fine of 20,000 Namibian dollars ($2,471) 
and/or up to four years' imprisonment.
    The Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare continued to 
conduct several programs aimed at encouraging parents and guardians to 
allow children to attend school. The government does not have a 
separate institution to implement and enforce child labor laws, but 
generally used regular labor inspections as well as other monitoring 
mechanisms for orphans and other vulnerable children. There were 
approximately 40 labor inspectors in 2011, specially targeting smaller 
towns and districts. All were trained in identifying the worst forms of 
child labor. Small-scale labor inspections continued on a regular 
basis, although--contrary to previous years--the Ministry of Labor was 
unable to secure the involvement of the ministries of security, home 
and immigration, and education in its inspections. This reduced the 
inspection teams' ability to immediately open legal cases against 
alleged abusers, verify legal immigration status, and secure a seat in 
school for child labor victims. No inspector focused exclusively on 
children's services, but the Ministry of Labor created a Child Labor 
Desk to manage this caseload. There were no prosecutions by year's end.
    The government continued several programs designed to help children 
stay in school and away from the labor market. The Ministry of Gender 
Equality and Child Welfare and the Ministry of Health and Social 
Services coordinated welfare programs for orphans, including those 
affected by HIV/AIDS, by providing grants and scholarships to keep them 
in school. In partnership with the International Labor Organization 
(ILO), the government also participated in a four-year program to 
withdraw and prevent children from entering exploitive labor in 
agriculture and adult-coerced criminal activity. The government 
continued to distribute a comprehensive guide on the labor law, which 
included a section on child labor. The government also continued to 
work with NGOs, such as Project Hope, to assist victims of child labor. 
The ILO reported it was helping draft regulations to combat child labor 
in hazardous sectors, which will be presented to the government in 
2012. In 2008 the government developed a national action plan on the 
elimination of child labor, and five key ministries were developing 
work plans that incorporated anti-child labor initiatives. The ILO 
further reported that the cabinet issued a directive for joint 
interministerial investigations where child labor allegations arise.
    However, child labor continued to be a problem. Children worked 
mostly on private and commercial farms; herded cattle, goats, and 
sheep; worked as child minders or domestic servants; and worked in 
family businesses. Some children assisted parents working in the 
charcoal industry. There continued to be media reports that children on 
communal farms and domestic workers were subject to strict control by 
employers, including physical punishment, long work hours, and not 
being allowed to attend school.
    Sectors in which children were involved in the worst forms of child 
labor included agriculture and livestock, domestic service, and the 
commercial sex industry.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no statutory minimum 
wage law, but the mining, construction, security, and agricultural 
sectors set basic levels of pay in each of their sectors through 
collective bargaining. Namibia's National Planning Commission (NPC) 
reported that in 2009-10, Namibians were considered ``poor'' if they 
earned Namibian dollars $395.89 ($48.91) per month, and ``severely 
poor'' if they earned Namibian dollars $286.84 ($35.44) per month. Per 
the NPC, 30 percent of Namibians were poor, and16 percent were 
extremely poor.
    The standard legal workweek was 45 hours, with at least one 36-
consecutive-hour rest period between workweeks. An employer may require 
no more than 10 hours per week of overtime, and the law requires 
premium pay for overtime work. The law mandates 20 workdays of annual 
leave per year for those working a five-day workweek, at least 30 
workdays of sick leave over a three-year period, and three months of 
maternity leave paid by the employer and the Social Security 
Commission.
    The Ministry of Labor mandates occupational safety and health 
standards, and the Labor Act empowers the president to enforce these 
standards through inspections and criminal penalties. The law requires 
employers to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. 
It provides employees with the right to remove themselves from 
dangerous work situations.
    Although these laws apply to all workers, in practice violations 
occurred. The Namibian Employers' Federation reported the biggest 
offender, with regards to employee rights and working conditions, was 
the informal sector, including the common informal bars known as 
``shebeens.'' During the year, the Ministry of Labor carried out a 
series of inspections in the retail sector of Katima Mulilo, in the 
Caprivi region. Most offenders were Chinese owners of retail shops, who 
underpaid and overworked their Namibian employees.
    The government did not always enforce labor laws effectively. 
Inspections occurred proactively, reactively and at random. The 
Ministry of Labor established a national task force on safety but 
lacked an adequate number of trained inspectors to monitor adherence, 
especially in small family-owned operations.
    Concerns continued that Chinese firms failed to adhere to the labor 
code, in part by allegedly hiring and firing workers at will, ignoring 
occupational health and safety measures, failing to pay established 
minimum wages and benefits in certain industries, failing to respect 
work-hour regulations for public holidays and Sundays, and requiring 
construction workers to sleep on site. Investigations into such 
allegations were ongoing at year's end. Despite the law, some workers 
could not exercise the right to remove themselves from dangerous work 
situations. Migrant workers have the same legal rights as citizens, but 
these may be less vigorously enforced.

                               __________

                                 NIGER

                           executive summary
    Niger is a multiparty republic. On March 14, voters elected 
opposition leader Issoufou Mahamadou president in a poll characterized 
by international observers as generally free and fair. National 
Assembly elections held on January 31 were also deemed free and fair. 
Issoufou replaced former interim president Salou Djibo, who had been 
appointed by the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy 
(CSRD) after it overthrew then president Mamadou Tandja in February 
2010. On May 10, the Niamey Court of Appeals ordered the release of 
Tandja, who had been detained since February 2010. Most former 
government officials also detained with Tandja were released during the 
year. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control 
of the security forces, there were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control. In July 
members of the military were arrested for an unsuccessful coup attempt, 
although details remained unclear at year's end.
    The most serious human rights problems in the country included 
harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center conditions, 
discrimination and violence against women and children, and forced 
labor and caste-based slavery among some groups.
    Other human rights problems included extrajudicial killings and use 
of excessive force by security forces. Attacks by armed groups also 
resulted in deaths. Arbitrary arrest and detention, prolonged pretrial 
detention, and executive interference in the judiciary occurred. The 
government restricted freedoms of press, association, assembly, and 
movement, although such incidents dramatically decreased from previous 
years. Official corruption was pervasive. Female genital mutilation 
(FGM), trafficking in persons, and child labor occurred.
    The government generally took steps to prosecute officials who 
committed abuses; however, impunity was a problem.
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 responsible for killing two demonstrators and for 
the deaths of two civilians during security patrols in the north.
    On January 12, security forces killed a civilian near Taddara Well, 
in Agadez Region, following a skirmish between government forces and 
purported drug traffickers or members of al Qaida in the Islamic 
Maghreb (AQIM) that resulted in the death of a soldier. Civilians in 
Arlit organized a protest march to condemn the incident, after which 
local authorities mediated a settlement with the victim's family.
    On September 15, in northern Air, a military detachment in pursuit 
of a truck suspected of carrying recruits for AQIM killed the driver of 
the truck. Authorities later determined the 59 suspected AQIM recruits 
were migrants en route to Algeria. On October 1, local officials 
offered the government's condolences and apology to the victim's 
family.
    On December 6, at the city courthouse in Zinder, police used 
batons, whips, and tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting the 
trial of a political activist. Laminou Mai Kanti, a student 
demonstrator, was struck in the head with a tear gas canister and died; 
numerous other demonstrators were injured, including 13 who were 
hospitalized. The officer suspected of firing the tear gas canister was 
arrested and placed in custody. On December 7, students and other 
demonstrators took to the streets to protest the previous day's 
violence. A female bystander was killed by a stray bullet fired by a 
police officer. An investigation into both incidents continued at 
year's end.
    Disputes between herders and farmers over land rights and grazing 
areas continued and resulted in several deaths.
    During the year armed bandits--most of whom entered the country 
from Mali on motorcycles--attacked herder camps in Tillabery Region, 
resulting in numerous deaths, injuries, and loss of livestock and other 
property. Two persons were killed in such an attack on January 26, in 
the village of Kosseye; six herders were killed on April 10, in Igaran; 
18 persons were killed on April 21, including women and children, in an 
attack in Innabaguel and Tingara; four persons, including two young 
children were killed on May 26 in the village of Sounka; 11 persons 
were killed on May 28 in northern Tillabery; and 10 herders were killed 
on June 17, in Holle Hamani, Tillabery. On June 22, the government 
announced a Nigerien-Malian joint security operation to eradicate the 
violence and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Nevertheless, no 
investigations or prosecutions were conducted during the year into any 
of the attacks, and several human rights and community groups 
criticized government inaction.
    On July 21, in Banibangou, Tillabery, the prime minister chaired a 
meeting between Nigerien and Malian officials and community leaders to 
find a sustainable solution to the problem. As a result, on July 29, 
the Daoussaq Tuareg community of Menaka and Ansongo, Mali, formally 
pledged to stop all acts of violence against the Nigerien Fulani 
community. On August 2, in Menaka, Mali, the Nigerien and Malian 
parties agreed to the accord, and there were no further attacks by 
year's end.
    On February 8, the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of 
West African States (ECOWAS) issued its verdict on the government's 
investigation into the army's 2007 killing of six civilians and an off-
duty police officer near Tiguidit. The court ruled that the soldiers 
accused of the killings had amnesty under Nigerien law, but that the 
government was responsible for the deaths and had violated the right of 
victims' families to seek legal recourse. The court set March 10 as the 
date by which victims' families, who brought the case, were required to 
file civil suit to seek compensation; however, the families decided 
against proceeding with such action.

    b. Disappearance.--On January 7, in Niamey, French citizens Antoine 
de Leocour and Vincent Delory were kidnapped and then taken to northern 
Mali. French and Nigerien troops launched two failed operations to 
rescue the hostages, who were found dead at the border between Niger 
and Mali. Four kidnappers and three members of Niger's security forces 
were killed in the operation. AQIM claimed responsibility for the 
abductions and for killing Leocour.
    On February 25, elements of AQIM believed to be resident in Mali 
released three hostages abducted in September 2010 in the mining town 
of Arlit. Four French hostages kidnapped at the same time remained in 
captivity in Mali; a fifth French hostage was killed in July 2010.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were reports that security forces beat and abused civilians (see 
section 2.b.).
    According to press reports, on May 31, National Guard members in 
Aderbissinat, a village south of Agadez, beat and injured several 
persons during a brawl between young villagers and National Guardsmen 
over a personal dispute. There was no reported action taken against the 
Guardsmen.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in the 
country's 38 prisons were harsh and life-threatening. Prisons were 
underfunded, understaffed, and overcrowded. The Niamey Civil Prison, 
built for 350, held 750 inmates. Nutrition, sanitation, and health 
conditions were poor, although prisoners had access to potable water 
and were allowed to receive supplemental food, medicine, and other 
items from their families. Basic health care was available, and 
patients with serious illness were referred to public healthcare 
centers. Ventilation and lighting were inadequate. Plans to improve 
recordkeeping were not implemented during the year.
    The country's prisons held approximately 7,000 inmates, an 
estimated 3.2 percent of whom were female. Deaths occurred during the 
year from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, although no statistics 
were available. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners.
    There were reports of corruption among prison staff. Prisoners 
could bribe officials to leave prison to run personal errands, and some 
prisoners bribed officials to serve their sentences in the national 
hospital in Niamey.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors. All 
penitentiaries had places of worship, and prisoners were permitted 
religious observance. Prisons had no ombudsmen, but authorities 
permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial 
authorities without censorship.
    Judicial authorities and the governmental Monitoring Unit on Human 
Rights and Fundamental Liberties (ONDHLF) investigated and monitored 
prison and detention center conditions and credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. Public and private media covered ONDHLF visits.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), ONDHLF, human 
rights groups, and media representatives were granted unrestricted 
access to prisons and detention centers and conducted visits during the 
year. ICRC visits were conducted in accordance with its standard 
modalities.
    The ONDHLF and human rights groups made recommendations to the 
government throughout the year on alternatives to incarceration for 
nonviolent offenders. The government established a law on the 
implementation of ``general interest work'' programs in juvenile 
courts.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the law prohibits 
detention without charge in excess of 48 hours; however, police 
violated these provisions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The armed forces, under 
the Defense Ministry, are responsible for internal and external 
security. The gendarmerie, also under the Defense Ministry, has primary 
responsibility for rural security. The National Guard, under the 
Interior Ministry, is responsible for domestic security and the 
protection of high-level officials and government buildings. The 
national police, also under the Interior Ministry, are responsible for 
urban law enforcement.
    The police were ineffective, largely due to a lack of basic 
supplies such as vehicle fuel, radios, and other investigatory and law 
enforcement equipment. Patrols were sporadic, and emergency response 
time in Niamey could be 45 minutes. Police training was minimal, and 
only specialized police units had basic weapons handling skills. 
Citizens complained that security forces did not adequately police 
border regions and remote rural areas. Corruption remained a problem.
    The gendarmerie is responsible for investigation of police abuses; 
however, police impunity was a widespread problem.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution and law require arrest warrants, and authorities generally 
respected this law in practice; however, some persons reportedly were 
arrested and subsequently charged during detention. The law allows 
individuals to be detained for an initial period of 48 hours without 
charge, and an additional 48 hours if police need more time to gather 
evidence, although detainees involved with sensitive cases were 
sometimes held longer than legally permitted. Security forces usually 
informed detainees promptly of the charges against them. There is a 
functioning bail system for crimes carrying a sentence of less than 10 
years. Those arrested must be notified of their right to a lawyer 
within 24 hours, and law enforcement officials generally observed this 
provision. Indigents in civil and criminal cases were usually provided 
a lawyer by the government; however, widespread ignorance of the law 
and lack of funds prevented many from fully exercising their rights to 
bail and an attorney.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Police arrested a journalist, military leaders, 
and occasionally conducted warrantless sweeps to detain suspected 
criminals (see sections 2.a. and 3).
    Police arbitrarily detained a journalist during the year (see 
section 2.a.).
    On March 4, the CSRD released former minister of interior Albade 
Abouba, who was arrested with other key members of Tandja's cabinet in 
February 2010. All but Abouba were released during the previous year.
    On May 10, the Niamey Court of Appeals ordered the release of 
former president Tandja, who had been detained since February 2010. The 
court dropped corruption charges against Tandja, although state 
prosecutors may review the case and initiate new action if they 
determine there is new evidence.
    On May 19, the State Court ordered the release of Colonel Abdoulaye 
Badie, former CSRD permanent secretary; Colonel Abdou Sidikou Issa, 
former commander of the National Guard; Colonel Amadou Diallo, former 
minister of equipment; and Colonel Aboubacar Amadou Sanda. The four had 
been arrested in October 2010 on charges of planning to overthrow then 
president Salou Djibo. The court ruled there were no grounds for 
prosecution. Other alleged plotters already had been released between 
December 2010 and March. Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. 
Although the law provides for maximum pretrial confinement of 30 months 
for serious crimes and 12 months for minor offenses (with special 
extensions in certain sensitive cases), some detainees waited as long 
as six years to be tried. During the year 60 of the prisoners in 
Niamey's Civil Prison were awaiting trial. Judicial inefficiency, 
inadequate resources, staff shortages, and corruption contributed to 
trial delays.

    Amnesty.--On May 18, the National Assembly adopted an amnesty law 
that includes a provision to cover the ``authors, coauthors, and 
accomplices'' of the February 2010 military seizure of power. The new 
law omits amnesty for persons involved in the 1996 and 1999 coups. No 
action had been taken on the complaint filed in 2010 by family members 
of former president Bare, who sought to bring to justice those 
responsible for his killing in 1999.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the executive branch sometimes 
interfered with the judicial process. Corruption and inefficiency 
remained problems. Unlike in previous years, however, no judges were 
reassigned to lower positions or remote areas because they rendered 
decisions unfavorable to the government. In civil matters, there were 
reports that family and business ties influenced lower court decisions. 
In some instances, judges granted provisional release pending trial to 
high-profile defendants, who were seldom called back for trial, had 
complete freedom of movement, and could leave the country (see section 
4).
    Customary courts and traditional mediation do not provide the same 
legal protections as the formal court system. Traditional chiefs can 
act as mediators and counselors. They have authority to arbitrate many 
customary law matters, including marriage, inheritance, land, and 
community disputes, but not all civil issues. Chiefs received 
government stipends but had no police or judicial powers.
    Customary courts, based largely on Islamic law and local tradition, 
are located only in large towns and cities and try civil law cases. A 
legal practitioner with basic legal training, advised by an assessor 
with knowledge of the traditions, heads these courts. The judicial 
actions of chiefs and customary courts are not regulated by formal law, 
and defendants can appeal a verdict in the formal court system. Women 
do not have equal legal status with men in customary courts and 
traditional mediation and do not enjoy the same access to legal 
redress.

    Trial Procedures.--The law affirms the presumption of innocence. 
Trials are public, and juries are used. Defendants have the right to 
counsel, which is at public expense for minors and indigent defendants 
charged with crimes carrying a sentence of at least 10 years. Those 
arrested must be notified of their right to a lawyer within 24 hours of 
detention. Defendants also have the right to be present at trial, 
confront witnesses, and present witnesses and evidence on their own 
behalf. The government has a legal obligation to inform defendants of 
all evidence against them, and defendants have access to government-
held evidence. Defendants may appeal verdicts, first to the Court of 
Appeals and then to the Supreme Court. However, widespread ignorance of 
the law prevented many accused from taking full advantage of these 
rights. In April 2010 the government disseminated information brochures 
throughout the country to advise the public on their legal rights and 
the court system.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.
    On September 4, at the request of the international community, 
security forces placed 32 Libyans connected to the Qadhafi regime under 
house arrest in Niamey. One was later released for medical reasons and 
left the country.
    On September 9, the gendarmerie arrested Colonel Abdoulaye Badie, 
former CSRD permanent secretary, and Colonel Hamadou Djibo, reportedly 
for authoring and disseminating a tract calling on the military to take 
up arms against the government. (On May 19, Badie had been released 
from prison after being detained in connection with the October 2010 
coup attempt against then president Djibo.) Some observers questioned 
any involvement by Badie and Djibo in the tract and suggested the men 
were more likely arrested for posing a potential threat of a military 
coup due to their popularity with the military. On November 10, Badie 
and Djibo were released; Badie subsequently was named to a foreign 
posting with the government.

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--On February 8, the ECOWAS 
Court of Justice gave its verdict on the government's investigation 
into the army's 2007 killing of six civilians and an off-duty police 
officer near Tiguidit (see section 1.a.). The government accepted the 
decision.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals or 
organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations; they 
can also appeal decisions to the ECOWAS Court of Justice.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law generally prohibit such 
actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions; 
however, police may conduct searches without warrants when they have 
strong suspicion that a house shelters criminals or stolen property.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
    In 2010 the government decriminalized press offenses and replaced 
the repressive High Council on Communication with the National 
Monitoring Unit for Communication (ONC), which subsequently reopened 
media outlets and issued new licenses and license extensions for 
several private television and radio stations. The government also 
opened a media center to train journalists and created a voluntary 
media ethics center to allow journalists to self-regulate the industry 
by monitoring broadcasts and publications.
    Despite these improvements, the government's control of media 
licensing, the requirement that journalists be accredited, and a biased 
judiciary remained in place and limited media freedom. During the year 
the government also suspended newspapers and detained a journalist. 
Journalists continued to practice self-censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals generally could criticize the 
government publicly or privately without reprisal.

    Freedom of Press.--The government published a daily newspaper, and 
there were approximately 45 private newspapers, some of which were 
affiliated loosely with political parties. The private press criticized 
government actions.
    On September 24, the government issued a public statement 
cautioning the media against ``manifest intention to undermine'' the 
state. The government called on media managers to be responsible and 
patriotic, and to comply with the rules of ethics governing the 
practice of journalism. The government took no further action.

    Violence and Harassment.--On July 8, the ONC temporarily suspended 
eight newspapers for ``unwarranted attacks on citizens by flagrantly 
violating the provisions of the charter of professional journalists.'' 
Most observers agreed that the articles in question contained 
exaggerations, but did not constitute libel. Complaints against the 
newspapers and journalists reportedly were lodged by various 
politicians, businesspersons, a foreign newspaper, and local newspapers 
Le Soleil, L'Actualite, Le Visionnaire, Le Courrier, L'Expression, Le 
Canard Dechaine, l'Evenement, and l'Enqueteur.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--On July 21, police detained Aliou 
Oumarou Modibo, journalist for the weekly Le Canard Dechaine, on libel 
charges for accusing the press attache of former CSRD president Salou 
Djibo of stealing a camera from the president's office. Several media 
associations denounced the detention as a violation of the law 
decriminalizing press offenses. An investigation later concluded that 
the press attache was guilty of stealing the camera.
    Radio was the most widely accessible medium. A government-owned 
radio station provided news and other programs in French and local 
languages. There were 15 private radio stations and they often 
criticized the government.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that the 
government prevented international media from operating freely, 
especially when covering events in the North. BBC World Service was 
available in Niamey and Zinder. Private radio stations carried Voice of 
America, Radio France International, and Deutsche Welle.
    Two government-owned television stations broadcast in French and 
the major national languages. Three private television stations 
broadcast local and foreign programming, including daily newscasts. A 
fourth private channel broadcast religious programming. International 
channels were available in Niamey.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Although individuals and groups could engage in 
the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, few residents had 
access to it.

    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; 
however, police forcibly dispersed demonstrators. The government 
retained authority to prohibit gatherings under tense social conditions 
or if organizers did not provide 48-hour advance notice.
    For example, on May 19, police beat several students and briefly 
detained six others during a protest at a mining school in Agadez. No 
reported action was taken against the police.
    Police use of excessive force to disperse demonstrators on December 
6 and 7 resulted in deaths and injuries (see section 1.a.).
    No action was taken against security force members who forcibly 
dispersed demonstrators in 2010.

    Freedom of Association.--Although the law provides for freedom of 
association, political parties based on ethnicity, religion, or region 
are not permitted.
    Unlike in the previous year, the government did not close civil 
society associations; in 2010 three were closed.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, the government restricted freedom of movement 
for some former government officials and political leaders.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons of concern.

    In-country Movement.--Security forces at checkpoints throughout the 
country monitored the movement of persons and goods, particularly near 
major population centers, and sometimes demanded bribes. Transportation 
unions and civil society groups continued to criticize such practices. 
During the year gunmen robbed and killed travelers.

    Foreign Travel.--During the year the government banned 32 former 
officials, political leaders, and businesspeople suspected of 
corruption from leaving the country (see section 4). The action was 
taken following the April 7 transfer of corruption cases from the 
transition government and pursuant to an audit of corruption in the 
previous government.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--During the year approximately 210,000 
persons--most of whom were Nigerien citizens--fled Libya as a result of 
the conflict there and returned to Niger. The government and 
humanitarian organizations provided assistance to returnees.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Food shortages and floods 
during the year resulted in the displacement of many persons.
    By October, after the rainy season, all persons displaced by floods 
in August 2010 had returned to their homes. Local authorities, with the 
help of humanitarian organizations, had resettled approximately 6,000 
persons displaced by flooding in Niamey and 11,000 IDPs from Goure, 
Zinder, during the previous year.
    International humanitarian organizations reported that community 
conflict between farmers and herders, and rural communities and 
bandits--especially in northern Tillabery Region--resulted in 
displacement. Because of the pressures of desertification and 
population growth on subsistence farming and livestock herding, the 
main activities in this region, competition among farmers and herders 
for limited natural resources contributed to conflict. In addition, 
incursions by members of AQIM in Mali into Nigerien territory and 
sporadic acts of banditry on main roads contributed to displacement.
    Efforts by the government and international organizations to assist 
IDPs during the year were severely taxed. The government provided 1.25 
billion CFA francs ($2.5 million) to help alleviate food shortages 
exacerbated by the return of thousands of citizens who fled Libya, and 
on October 6, parliament appealed to the international community for 
assistance. Some donors, such as the World Food Program, provided 
additional food assistance in response to the shortages.

    Protection of Refugees.--The government has not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees, and the government did not 
routinely grant refugee status or asylum. The government did, however, 
grant refugee status to approximately 300 people during the year; 147 
applications for refugee status were pending.

    Temporary Protection.--During the year the government provided 
temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees 
under the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On March 
14, citizens elected Issoufou Mahamadou to a five-year presidential 
term with 58 percent of the vote in an election that international 
observers described as generally free and fair. A coalition composed 
primarily of opposition parties--including Nigerien Party for Democracy 
and Socialism (PNDS), Movement for Democracy in Niger, Social 
Democratic Rally, Rally for Democracy and Progress, Nigerien Alliance 
for Democracy and Progress, and Union for Democracy and the Republic--
backed Issoufou and won 83 of 113 National Assembly seats in 
legislative elections held on January 31. The opposition National 
Movement for a Development Society won 26 seats, and the Social 
Democratic Convention and the Union of Independent Nigeriens obtained 
three seats and one seat, respectively. Issoufou appointed PNDS party 
member Brigi Rafini as prime minister.
    In November 2010 a new constitution was enacted and provides for 
new and strengthened democratic institutions. The new constitution also 
provides for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against 
women and introduces basic standards of respect for economic and social 
rights, such as the right to safe and adequate food and drinking water.

    Political Parties.--Political parties operated without restriction 
or outside interference. Individuals and political parties could freely 
declare candidacies and stand for election. A new law on the statute of 
the opposition confers official status and benefits to the opposition 
leader equivalent to the rank of state institution leader. The law also 
mandates that the president meet with the opposition leader every month 
to discuss matters of national interest.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The law mandates that women 
fill at least a quarter of senior government positions and at least a 
tenth of elected seats. There were six female ministers in the 26-
member cabinet and six of the country's 20 ambassadors were women.
    All major ethnic groups were represented at all levels of 
government. There were eight seats in the National Assembly designated 
for representatives of ``special constituencies,'' specifically ethnic 
minorities and nomadic populations.
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. The World 
Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption was a severe problem. The government publicly acknowledged 
corruption as a problem.
    Civil servants often demanded bribes to provide public services. A 
poorly financed and trained law enforcement system and weak 
administrative controls compounded corruption. Other underlying causes 
included poverty; low salaries; the politicization of the public 
service; the influence of traditional kinship, ethnic, and family ties 
on decision making; a culture of impunity; and a lack of civic 
education.
    In June the government revealed a case of massive fraud involving 
1.8 billion CFA ($3.6 million) from the National Treasury that resulted 
in the dismissal of several senior officials of the Ministry of 
Finance. In connection with this case, on August 9, authorities 
detained Alhassane Alkali, the former transition president's deputy 
cabinet director; Ibrahim Garba, former secretary general of the 
Ministry of Finance; Amadou Ganda Hamidou, budget director; Bassirou 
Adamou, financial controller; Abdoullahi Beidou, director general of 
the Treasury; Mahamane Lawan Sabo Mazadou, treasury accounting agent; 
Sidi Aissa Diallo, head of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries fund at 
the Ministry of Finance; and Abdou Mounkaila and Oumarou Akibi, 
employees of Zakou Djibo, a businessman and member of parliament who 
received payment the above amount. All but Djibo were transferred to 
prison to await trial. Djibo was charged with several fraud and 
corruption counts, but has immunity from prosecution while he is a 
member of the National Assembly. On December 23, the government 
requested the lifting of his immunity, along with seven other members 
of parliament suspected of involvement in separate corruption cases.
    In April the Court of Appeals granted provisional release to Amadou 
Dioffo, director general of Sonidep (fuel importation and distribution 
company), who was detained in November 2010 for the mismanagement of a 
government special account with a balance of 3.6 billion CFA ($7.2 
million). No date had been determined for his trial.
    No trial dates were set for the following individuals, all of whom 
were detained for corruption in 2010 and granted provisional release 
during the year: Hadia Toulaye Tandja, the son of former president 
Tandja; manager of Multimedia Communications Ibrahim Hamidou; former 
minister of mines Mohamed Abdoulahi; and former secretary general of 
the Ministry of Mines Massalabi Oumarou.
    There also were no developments in the 2010 embezzlement case of 
Seini Oumarou, party leader of the National Movement for a Development 
Society; Sala Habi, former minister of commerce; and two other 
officials of the Ministry of Commerce.
    During the year the government took steps to curb corruption.
    For example, on July 26, the government created the High Authority 
to Combat Corruption and Associated Crimes, under the oversight of the 
President's Office. Members of the High Authority, which is charged 
with monitoring the government's anticorruption programs, included 
government, private sector, and civil society representatives.
    On August 2, the National Assembly passed a bill amending the 
constitution to require transparency, equal access and treatment, and 
public-private partnership mechanisms in bidding for and implementing 
government contracts, in compliance with West African Economic and 
Monetary Union guidelines.
    On August 13, the government launched an anticorruption hotline as 
part of the Ministry of Justice's plan for the fight against corruption 
and influence peddling.
    The State Inspectorate and the courts are responsible for combating 
government corruption. In April 2010 the government created the State 
Audit Court to regulate public finances and provide for transparency in 
the management of public funds. The court oversees the management of 
all government agencies and development projects funded by external 
resources, as well as the implementation of the budget. It also 
oversees the accounts of political parties and government officials' 
statements of personal assets submitted to the Constitutional Court. If 
requested by the National Assembly, the State Audit Court may conduct 
investigations regarding the implementation of public revenues and 
expenses. The court also has authority to sanction any fraud in the 
management of public resources.
    The constitution requires the president of the republic, presidents 
of other government institutions, and cabinet members to submit written 
statements of their personal property and other assets to the 
Constitutional Court upon assuming office, and this occurred in 
practice. These statements are to be updated annually and at the end of 
an individual's tenure. Initial statements and updates are published in 
the National Register and the press. Copies of the statements are 
forwarded to the government's fiscal services. Any discrepancies 
between the initial and the updated statements must be explained. The 
Constitutional Court has authority to assess discrepancies. The 
designated officials are not allowed to purchase or rent, by themselves 
or through other parties, any government-owned property, or to bid for 
public or private government contracts.
    The law provides for access to public information and 
administrative documents, and this occurred in practice; many documents 
could also be obtained from individual ministries and the National 
Archives.
ection 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, but insecurity 
in the north limited the ability of human rights groups to investigate 
human rights violations there.
    The ONDHLF, established in May 2010, investigated and monitored 
prison and detention center conditions; however, it lacked resources to 
implement an action plan.
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 generally 
enforce these provisions, in large part because victims did not report 
discrimination or were pressured into handling it with traditional 
dispute mechanisms.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape was a widespread problem. 
It is punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison, depending on the 
circumstances and age of the victim. The Court of Appeals tried several 
criminal rape cases during the year, but most cases went unreported due 
to the victims' fear or shame. The law does not explicitly recognize 
spousal rape, which was not frequently prosecuted. Survivors often 
sought to resolve the issue within the family or were pressured to do 
so, and many victims did not report spousal rape due to fear of 
retribution or loss of economic support.
    Domestic violence against women was widespread, although reliable 
statistics were not available regarding numbers of occurrences, 
prosecutions, or convictions. Husbands commonly beat their wives. The 
law does not explicitly prohibit domestic violence; however, a woman 
can sue her husband or lodge criminal charges for battery, penalties 
for which ranged from two months in prison and a 10,000 CFA ($20) fine 
to 30 years' imprisonment. The government tried with limited success to 
enforce these laws; courts prosecuted cases of domestic violence when 
they received complaints. Charges stemming from family disputes were 
often dropped in favor of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. 
While women have the right to seek redress for violence in the 
customary or modern courts, few did so due to ignorance of the redress 
offered by the legal system and fear of repudiation, further violence, 
or stigmatization. The Ministry of Population, Women's Promotion, and 
Children's Protection, international organizations, nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs), and women's organizations conducted public 
awareness campaigns on violence against women through several events 
that received wide media coverage.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--(see section 6, Children--Harmful 
Traditional Practices.)

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is a crime punishable by 
prison sentences from three to six months and fines of 10,000 to 
100,000 CFA ($20 to $200). If the violator is in a position of 
authority over the victim, the prison sentence is three months to one 
year and the fine is increased to 20,000 to 200,000 CFA ($40 to $400). 
Sexual harassment was common. Courts enforced applicable laws in the 
small percentage of cases reported.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children; however, information regarding 
reproductive rights was not readily available. There were no 
restrictions on the right of access to contraceptives. Health clinics 
and local health NGOs were permitted to disseminate information on 
family planning freely under the guidance of the Ministry of Public 
Health. According to the Ministry of Public Health, use of 
contraceptives in the female population of childbirth age increased 
from 8.5 percent in 2006 to 16.5 percent in 2010.
    Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for 
sexually transmitted diseases. Since 2007 the government has provided 
free health care for children up to five years of age, which 
contributed to increased access to health centers for women's general 
and essential obstetric and postpartum care, including prevention of 
mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Due to a shortage of skilled 
health professionals and limited resources, many women used traditional 
midwives (matrones) during childbirth and were referred to hospitals 
only when the mother or child suffered more serious health 
complications. According to the Ministry of Public Health, in 2009 
skilled personnel attended 34.8 percent of births, and the maternal 
mortality ratio (the ratio of the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 
live births) dropped from 648 in 2006 to 554 in 2010. In 2008 a woman's 
lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 16. Major factors 
influencing maternal mortality included lack of prenatal care, diseases 
during pregnancy, infections after birth, malnutrition, and accidents 
during childbirth.

    Discrimination.--Although the constitution provides for equal 
rights regardless of gender, women do not have the same rights as men 
under family law, which is usually adjudicated in customary courts. 
Legal rights as head of household apply only to men; a divorced or 
widowed woman, even with children, was not considered to be a head of 
household. Traditional and religious beliefs resulted in discrimination 
in education, employment, and property rights. Discrimination was worse 
in rural areas, where women helped with subsistence farming and did 
most of the childrearing, cooking, water- and wood-gathering, and other 
work. In the absence of a formal will stating otherwise, women received 
one-third of a deceased parent's property. In the east, there were 
reports that some husbands cloistered their wives and prevented them 
from leaving their homes unless escorted by a male relative and, even 
with an escort, they were usually permitted to leave the house only 
after dark.
    The government had programs to provide microcredit, access to clean 
water, and access to health services for women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents. Birth registration, especially in remote rural areas and in 
nomadic communities, did not take place promptly due to parental 
poverty, lack of awareness, and distance from government services. With 
the support of UNICEF, the government worked to address this problem, 
and several NGOs encouraged birth registration. The government's 
failure to register births did not result in denial of public services, 
although it complicated the process of qualifying as a candidate for 
public office.

    Education.--In principle, the six years of elementary education 
were compulsory, tuition-free, and universal from the age of six; in 
practice, not all (63 percent in 2007-08) children attended school. 
Students were often required to buy their own books and supplies. 
According to the 2012 World Development Report, the primary school 
completion rate for girls was 75 percent lower than that for boys in 
2008. Most parents kept young girls at home to work, and girls rarely 
attended school for more than a few years. During his inauguration 
ceremony on April 7, the president announced that the government would 
provide free education to children until the age of 16, and that 
education through age 16 would be mandatory; however, no laws were 
promulgated during the year to enforce the president's pledges.

    Child Abuse.--Violence against and abuse of children was common.
    Each of the 10 district courts and 36 magistrate courts had at 
least one judge who addressed children's issues, including child labor. 
All judicial police sections at the regional and district levels may 
handle cases involving juveniles and refer them to judges. The 
government also collaborated with UNICEF and the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) in programs designed to improve enforcement of the 
law and to sensitize civil servants, parents, traditional chiefs, and 
other key actors on children's rights.

    Child Marriage.--Child marriage was a problem, especially in rural 
areas. The law allows a girl deemed to be ``sufficiently mature'' to 
marry at 15. Some families entered into marriage agreements under which 
rural girls as young as 12 or even younger were sent to their husband's 
families under the ``supervision'' of their mothers-in-law. The 
Ministry of Population, Women's Promotion, and Children's Protection 
cooperated with women's associations to sensitize traditional chiefs 
and religious leaders of rural communities to the problem of underage 
marriage.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--FGM is against the law and 
punishable by six months to three years in prison. If an FGM victim 
dies, the practitioner can be sentenced to 10 to 20 years' 
imprisonment. Certain ethnic groups practiced FGM, predominantly the 
Fulani and Djerma in western Niger. According to UNICEF, the FGM rate 
decreased from 5 percent in 1998 to 2.2 percent in 2006. A 2008 U.N. 
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report stated that 
circumcisers traveled from Burkina Faso to Niger to carry out FGM on 
nomadic Gourmantche girls as part of a rising trend of cross-border 
FGM. FGM was practiced on young girls, with clitoridectomy the most 
common form.
    The government continued its collaboration with local NGOs, 
community leaders, UNICEF, and other donors to distributed educational 
materials at health centers and to participate in educational events. 
On February 5, in Niamey, the minister of population, women's 
promotion, and child protection chaired the celebration of the 
International Day of ``Zero Tolerance'' of FGM, during which the 
minister handed over to the National Museum a set of tools used by 
women who in previous years had publicly pledged to abandon the 
practice of FGM. The tools were presented as evidence that FGM 
continued and to spur future generations to carry on the fight against 
the practice. The minister announced the establishment of 256 FGM 
vigilance groups and the production of information, education and 
communication aids on FGM. On July 1, as a result of the education 
campaign led by ministry and the NGO Committee for the Fight against 
Harmful Traditional Practices, several FGM practitioners pledged to 
abandon their activities.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Although the law criminalizes the 
procurement of a minor for the purpose of prostitution, child 
prostitution was a problem. The law does not provide a minimum age of 
consensual sex, although it prohibits ``indecent'' acts toward minors. 
It was left to judges to determine what constituted an indecent act. 
Such activity and a corollary statute against ``the incitement of 
minors to wrongdoing'' were punishable by three to five years in 
prison. This provision also applies to child pornography. There were 
reports that girls in particular were trafficked for forced 
prostitution along the main East-West highway, particularly between the 
cities of Birni n'Konni and Zinder along the Niger-Nigeria border. 
Families of victims were often complicit in child prostitution.

    Infanticide.--Infanticide occurred, and at least half of the female 
prison population was charged with this crime.

    Displaced Children.--Many displaced boys from rural areas were 
indentured to Islamic schools and begged on the streets of larger 
cities. For example, in June about 350 boys left their homes in Tahoua 
Region to accompany an Islamic teacher to the city of Agadez, where 
they were forced to beg. About half of them were later returned to 
their homes through the help of NGOs. Hundreds of children were 
displaced by floods in the Maradi and Tillaberi regions that destroyed 
homes and schools. Displaced children had access to government services 
(see section 2.d.).

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no significant Jewish community, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities in 
employment, education, and access to health care and other government 
services, and the government generally enforced these provisions. The 
law mandates that the state provide for such individuals, but there 
were no specific regulations mandating accessibility to buildings, 
transportation, and education for persons with disabilities. The 
government provided limited health care to persons with disabilities. 
Societal discrimination existed against persons with disabilities, 
particularly mental disabilities and leprosy. The Ministry of 
Population, Women's Promotion, and Children's Protection is responsible 
for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, including those 
with sensory or intellectual disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws 
criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity in general. However, 
the law states that an ``unnatural act'' with a person of the same sex 
who is under 21 is punishable by six months to three years in prison 
and a fine of between 10,000 and 100,000 CFA ($20-$200). Although there 
was no record of this law being applied, gay men and lesbians 
experienced societal discrimination. There were no known organizations 
of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons and no reports of 
violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation or 
gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
experienced societal discrimination, although there were strong 
government efforts to discourage such discrimination. The government 
continued its antidiscrimination campaign in conjunction with several 
other organizations working on HIV/AIDS issues.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law provide for the right of workers to form and 
join independent unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain 
collectively. The constitution and law provide for the right to strike, 
except for police and other security forces. The law restricts the 
right to strike by public servants, and workers in certain ``essential 
services,'' the scope of which term was broader than that originally 
envisioned by the ILO convention. Workers need to give employers at 
least three days' advance notice. The law allows unions to conduct 
their activities without interference. The law prohibits antiunion 
discrimination and provides for damages (instead of reinstatement) for 
workers dismissed for union activity.
    These rights were respected and workers exercised them in practice. 
Worker organizations were generally independent of the government and 
political parties. However, approximately 80 percent of the workforce 
was employed in the nonunionized subsistence agricultural and small 
trading sectors. During the year unions exercised the right to bargain 
collectively for wages above the legal minimum and for more favorable 
working conditions. There were no reports of antiunion activities or 
employer interference and no reports of violations related to 
collective bargaining during the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Article 4 of the 
Labor Code prohibits most forms of forced or compulsory labor. The term 
``forced or compulsory labor'' means ``any labor or service required of 
a person under the threat of punishment and for which the individual 
has not given full consent.'' The law does not specifically prohibit 
forced or compulsory labor by children. Per Article 333 of the Labor 
Code, violations of Article 4 are subject to fines from CFA 20,000 
($40) to 200,000 ($400) and six days' to one month's imprisonment. The 
government did not effectively enforce these laws.
    Forced labor remained a problem. On September 21, the Ministry of 
Labor and Civil Service chaired a ceremony to validate the results of a 
study conducted by the government and the ILO that concluded, based on 
the 2009 population, that the prevalence of adult forced labor was 1.1 
percent of the adult population nationwide (an estimated 60,000 
persons) and 2.8 percent of working children nationwide (an estimated 
55,000). This percentage was higher in the regions of Tillabery, 
Tahoua, and Maradi. A traditional form of caste-based servitude or 
bonded labor was still practiced by the Tuareg, Djerma, and Arab ethnic 
minorities throughout the country, particularly in remote northern and 
western regions and along the border with Nigeria.
    Persons born into a traditionally subordinate caste sometimes 
worked without pay for those above them in the social order. Estimates 
of numbers varied widely, from a 2004 estimate of 8,800 persons to a 
2003 estimate of 43,000. Such persons were forced to work without pay 
for their masters throughout their lives, primarily herding cattle, 
working on farmland, or working as domestic servants. Children became 
the property of their masters and could be passed from one owner to 
another as gifts or part of a dowry. Girls were forced to start work as 
domestic servants at a very young age. Girls could be sexually abused 
by men in the household or forced to marry at a young age.
    There were reports that some local religious teachers and loosely 
organized clandestine networks forced young boys to work as beggars and 
manual laborers and young girls to work as involuntary domestic 
servants, sometimes with the complicity of their families. Children 
were also forced to work in mines.
    The government, particularly the Ministry of Interior and the 
Ministry of Labor and Civil Service, made efforts to reach out to 
administrative heads and religious and traditional chiefs to discourage 
forced labor, especially traditional slavery. However, enforcement of 
the laws was sporadic. The National Committee to Combat Forced Labor 
and Discrimination did not develop an action plan.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Labor Code prohibits the use of child labor; however, the law was 
rarely applied to work performed by children in the nonindustrial/
informal sector. The law prohibits the employment of children under the 
age of 14, except as authorized by decree. A 1967 labor decree also 
regulates child labor. Children under the age of 12 are prohibited from 
working. Twelve- and 13-year-olds may perform nonindustrial light work 
for a maximum of two hours per day outside of school hours with a labor 
inspector's authorization, as long as such work does not impede their 
schooling. Light work is defined as including some domestic work, fruit 
picking and sorting, and other light, nonindustrial labor. Children 14 
to 18 years of age may work a maximum of 4.5 hours per day. Children 
may not perform work that requires force greater than their strength, 
may damage their health or development, is risky, or is likely to 
undermine their morality. The law requires employers to provide minimum 
sanitary working conditions for children.
    The government did not effectively enforce child labor laws, in 
part due to resource constraints that limited inspectors of the 
Ministry of Labor and Civil Service. The Ministry of Mining reportedly 
sought to make artisanal mining licenses contingent upon agreements not 
to use child labor, but this proposal was not adopted. The government 
also worked with international partners to provide relevant education 
as an inducement to parents to keep their children in school. The 
Ministry of Education conducted training sessions to help educators 
meet the special needs of child laborers. Despite the president's 
announcement that he would make schooling compulsory through age 16, 
the government did not create legislation to this effect. The 
government, however, continued its cooperation with ILO to eliminate 
child labor in the mining sector.
    The use of child labor was rampant. A study published during the 
year by the government and ILO indicated that in 2009, 50.6 percent of 
children between the ages of five and 17 years old were engaged in 
labor, and 42.1 percent of children in this age group were engaged in 
the worst forms of child labor.
    Children worked in the agricultural, commercial, handicraft, 
mining, and domestic service sectors. The majority of rural children 
regularly worked with their families from an early age helping in the 
fields, pounding grain, tending animals, gathering firewood and water, 
and doing similar tasks. Some boys were kept out of school to work as 
beggars alongside blind relatives. Others were sent to Islamic schools 
where their teachers made them beg and do manual labor. Child labor 
also occurred in largely unregulated artisanal gold mining operations, 
as well as in trona (a source of sodium carbonate compounds), salt, and 
gypsum mines. The artisanal gold mines at Komabangou, Tillabery Region, 
continued to operate using child labor, and artisanal gold mining at 
nearby M'Banga expanded. Young boys from neighboring countries were 
trafficked into the country to work in mines, in quarries, on farms, as 
mechanics, or as welders. Children were also procured for prostitution.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Labor Code establishes a 
minimum wage only for salaried workers in the formal sector with fixed 
(contractual) terms of employment. Minimum wages are set for each class 
and category within the formal sector. The lowest minimum wage was 
28,347 CFA ($57) per month, with an additional 1,000 CFA ($2) added per 
child per month. The government used 1,000 CFA ($2) per day as the 
poverty income level, and in 2010 the government reported that 59.5 
percent of citizens lived below that level.
    The formal sector legal workweek was 40 hours with a minimum of one 
24-hour rest period; however, the Ministry of Labor and Civil Service 
authorized longer workweeks of up to 72 hours for certain occupations 
such as private security guards, domestic workers, and drivers. Premium 
pay must be paid for overtime, although the rate is not set by law; 
employees of each enterprise or government agency negotiate with their 
employer to set the rate. The Labor Code establishes occupational 
safety and health standards. Workers have the right to remove 
themselves from hazardous conditions without fear of losing their jobs. 
There are no exceptions from such protections for migrant or foreign 
workers.
    The Ministry of Labor and Civil Service effectively enforced 
minimum wages and workweek laws only in the regulated formal sector. 
The ministry is responsible for enforcing these standards, although 
staff shortages caused inspectors to focus on safety violations only in 
the most dangerous industries: mining, building, and manufacturing. The 
government effectively enforced standards within these three 
industries, except that gold mining was largely unregulated.
    Violations of wage, overtime, and work conditions were reported in 
the petroleum and mining sectors, including gold mines, oil wells, and 
oil refining. Although generally satisfied with the safety equipment 
provided by employers, citing in particular adequate protection from 
radiation in the uranium mines, union workers in many cases did not 
receive information about the risks posed by their jobs. In the 
nonunionized, informal sector, despite the law, it was unlikely that 
they could exercise this right without jeopardizing their employment.

                               __________

                                NIGERIA

                           executive summary
    Nigeria is a federal republic of 36 states and the Federal Capital 
Territory (FCT). On April 16, President Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling 
People's Democratic Party (PDP), who had assumed the presidency in May 
2010 following his predecessor's death, won election to a four-year 
term, along with Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, also of the PDP. 
International and domestic election observers considered the April 
presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative elections to be generally 
credible, orderly, and a substantial improvement over the flawed 2007 
elections. However, there were reports of fraud and irregularities, 
including vote rigging and buying, under-age voting, ballot stuffing, 
and political violence. Immediately following the presidential 
election, supporters of the opposition Congress for Progressive Change 
(CPC) candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim, challenged the 
outcome of the election. Postelection violence in protest of Jonathan's 
victory erupted in the north and in the Middle Belt States, directed 
towards local grievances and political targets, resulting in loss of 
lives, property damage, and restrictions of movement. The April 9 
legislative elections produced major changes in the National Assembly, 
as only about one-third of the incumbents in both houses were 
reelected, and opposition parties gained many seats. While security 
forces generally reported to civilian authorities, elements of the 
security forces periodically acted independently of civilian control.
    The most serious human rights problems during the year were the 
abuses committed by the militant sect known as Boko Haram, which was 
responsible for killings, bombings, and other attacks throughout the 
country, resulting in numerous deaths, injuries, and the widespread 
destruction of property; abuses committed by the security services with 
impunity, including killings, beatings, arbitrary detention, and 
destruction of property; and societal violence, including ethnic, 
regional, and religious violence.
    Other serious human rights problems included sporadic abridgement 
of citizens' right to change their government, due to some election 
fraud and other irregularities; politically motivated and extrajudicial 
killings by security forces, including summary executions; security 
force torture, rape, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment 
of prisoners, detainees, and criminal suspects; harsh and life-
threatening prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary arrest 
and detention; prolonged pretrial detention; denial of fair public 
trial; executive influence on the judiciary and judicial corruption; 
infringements on citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedom of 
speech, press, assembly, religion, and movement; official corruption; 
violence and discrimination against women; child abuse; female genital 
mutilation (FGM); the killing of children suspected of witchcraft; 
child sexual exploitation; ethnic, regional, and religious 
discrimination; trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution 
and forced labor; discrimination against persons with disabilities; 
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; 
vigilante killings; forced and bonded labor; and child labor.
    Impunity was widespread at all levels of government. The government 
brought few persons to justice for abuses and corruption. Police 
generally operated with impunity. Authorities did not investigate the 
majority of cases of police abuse or punish perpetrators. Authorities 
generally did not hold police accountable for the use of excessive or 
deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody.
    The militant sect known as Boko Haram perpetrated killings and bomb 
attacks throughout the country. The sect continued to mount regular 
assaults and bombings in Borno and Bauchi states. The sect claimed 
responsibility for the January 1 bombing of the Mogadishu Barracks in 
Abuja, the July 16 suicide bombing of the police headquarters in Abuja, 
and the August 26 suicide bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Abuja. By 
the end of the year, the government and Boko Haram had not engaged in 
dialogue.
    Killings and kidnappings by militant groups in the Niger Delta 
continued, despite then president Yar'Adua's offer of amnesty in 
October 2009. However, most militant groups in the Niger Delta accepted 
the amnesty, and the level of violence there was lower.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or 
its agents committed numerous arbitrary or unlawful killings.
    During the year the Joint Task Force (JTF), a unit formed in 2003 
to restore stability in the Niger Delta and composed of elements of the 
military, police, and security services, conducted raids on militant 
groups and criminal suspects in the Niger Delta and Borno State, 
resulting in numerous deaths and injuries to both alleged criminals and 
civilians. According to credible eyewitness accounts, the JTF committed 
illegal killings during attempts to apprehend members of the extremist 
group Boko Haram (``Western education is anathema,'' in Hausa) in Borno 
State and surrounding areas. For example, on July 9 the JTF reportedly 
committed illegal killings in response to a Boko Haram bombing in 
Maiduguri, Borno State. Local residents, media, and the international 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Amnesty International (AI) reported 
that the JTF killed at least 23 and up to 40 persons, destroyed 
property, illegally detained residents, and raped women in the vicinity 
of the bomb blast.
    Credible reports also indicated that other uniformed military 
personnel and paramilitary mobile police carried out summary 
executions, assaults, and other abuses across the Niger Delta and Borno 
State (see section 1.g.). The national police, the army, and other 
security forces committed extrajudicial killings and used lethal and 
excessive force to apprehend criminals and suspects, as well as to 
disperse protesters. Authorities generally did not hold police 
accountable for the use of excessive or deadly force or for the deaths 
of persons in custody. Police generally operated with impunity in the 
illegal apprehension, detention, and sometimes execution of criminal 
suspects. The reports of state or federal panels of inquiry 
investigating suspicious deaths remained unpublished.
    For example, on September 12, members of the police unit Operation 
Famou Tangbei (OFT) raided the home of Freddie Philip Ockiya in 
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Members of the OFT arrested Ockiya and took him 
to the local police station. His family searched for him until 
September 21, when his body was discovered at the morgue. The family 
filed a suit against members of the police and government in a federal 
high court. The inspector general of police disbanded the OFT in late 
September, but authorities did not arrest any members of the OFT in 
connection with Ockiya's death by year's end.
    On October 15, the Special Task Force (STF) allegedly killed Ward 
Head Alhaji Ahmadu Ali Kazaure in Jos. The STF attacked the area after 
unknown assailants killed one soldier.
    The 2010 annual report of the Police Service Commission identified 
253 pending disciplinary cases for misconduct by police officers. The 
report also said that the commission had received 91 appeals and 
petitions during the year.
    In April 2010 the Maiduguri High Court found that in 2009 police 
detained and subsequently killed Baba Fagu, the father-in-law of then 
Boko Haram leader Muhammad Yusuf, following violent clashes between 
police and militant members of Boko Haram in four northern states in 
2009. The court ordered the federal and state governments to pay 100 
million naira ($617,000) as compensation to Fagu's family. The Borno 
State government challenged the Maiduguri High Court's decision and 
appealed the judgment. At year's end the case remained in the Court of 
Appeals in Jos, Plateau State.
    In 2009 soldiers arrested Muhammad Yusuf. Credible media reports 
claimed that police executed Yusuf, whose bruised body subsequently was 
seen at state police headquarters with multiple bullet wounds. While 
police initially admitted killing Yusuf in custody, they subsequently 
claimed he died while trying to escape. Buji Fai, a former state 
government official suspected of funding Boko Haram, also reportedly 
died in custody along with Fagu. Later that year, then president 
Yar'Adua pledged to conduct a full investigation of the Boko Haram 
uprising, including the circumstances surrounding Yusuf's death, but 
authorities had not publicly released the results of the investigation 
by year's end. On July 19, five police officers were arraigned in the 
federal high court in Abuja for the murder of Yusuf. The court granted 
bail to four of the officers, while one remained in custody. The case 
continued at year's end.
    In 2009 AI published Killing at Will: Extrajudicial Executions and 
Other Unlawful Killings by the Police in Nigeria, which documented 39 
cases of security force killings and enforced disappearances based on 
interviews and research conducted between July 2007 and July 2009. 
According to the report, national police were responsible for hundreds 
of extrajudicial executions, other unlawful killings, and enforced 
disappearances each year. In a country where ``bribes guarantee 
safety,'' those who could not afford to pay risked being shot or 
tortured to death. Authorities did not investigate the majority of 
cases or punish perpetrators. When investigations occurred, they did 
not comply with international standards, and officers suspected of 
extrajudicial executions generally were sent away on training or 
transferred to other states instead of being prosecuted. Police often 
claimed that the victim was an armed robber killed in an exchange of 
gunfire or a suspect killed while trying to escape police custody. AI 
charged that Police Force Order 237, which permits officers to shoot 
suspects and detainees who attempt to escape or avoid arrest, ``lets 
the police get away with murder.''
    A panel established by Plateau State to investigate the killings of 
approximately 700 civilians by security forces in the Jos North local 
government area in 2008 attributed the violence to provocation by 
religious leaders as well as violence by political parties and local 
government officials. The panel's full report, released in April 2010, 
linked persons wearing uniforms to impersonate police with many of the 
killings; the report did not find definitive evidence of police or 
military involvement in extrajudicial killings. By year's end 
authorities had neither charged nor punished anyone for the killings. 
In February 2010 President Jonathan called for a second investigative 
committee following an outbreak of violence earlier in the year. In 
September 2010 this body, known as the ``Lar Committee,'' submitted its 
recommendations, which included establishment of a truth and 
reconciliation committee, ending the indigene-settler dichotomy, and 
redesigning the Plateau State capital. Following further violence in 
August, President Jonathan announced that the government would work to 
harmonize all previous reports on the Jos crisis with the intention of 
publishing a white paper on the crisis. In addition the Plateau State 
Assembly called for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation 
committee, as recommended in the Lar Committee report. However, the 
committee's recommendations had yet to be implemented, and neither the 
federal nor the Plateau State government set up truth and 
reconciliation committees by year's end.
    Police use of excessive force, including live ammunition, to 
disperse demonstrators resulted in numerous killings during the year. 
For example, on February 11, Ekiti police reportedly shot and killed 
five persons protesting the announcement of the relocation of a federal 
university to Oye-Ekiti that the state governor previously had promised 
would be located in the Ado-Ekiti community. Authorities had neither 
charged nor punished anyone for the killings by year's end.
    Police used gunfire to control or disperse political rallies, 
resulting in numerous deaths and injuries. For example, on February 12, 
police attempting to control the flow of participants at a PDP rally in 
a Port Harcourt stadium fired into the air. The gunfire prompted a 
stampede resulting in the death of 20 persons. Authorities had neither 
charged nor punished anyone for the incident by year's end.
    In 2010 AI released the report Port Harcourt Demolitions: Excessive 
Use of Force Against Demonstrators, which documented an attack in 2009 
in which police and the JTF fired into a crowd of citizens peacefully 
protesting the proposed demolition of their homes. The report stated 
that the JTF shot and seriously injured at least 12 persons, and 
witnesses claimed that they saw six bodies in a police vehicle. 
Authorities had neither charged nor punished anyone for the killings by 
year's end.
    Violence and lethal force at unauthorized police and military 
roadblocks and checkpoints continued, despite numerous announcements by 
the police inspector general that independent police roadblocks would 
be eliminated and offenders punished. According to AI's 2009 report, 
police often stopped commercial drivers and asked them to pay bribes, 
the amount of which depended on the weight of the vehicle. Police shot 
drivers when they refused to pay, when a disagreement occurred over the 
price, or when it remained unclear whether they had paid. These police 
practices continued during the year.
    On August 14, police in Anambra State reportedly shot five persons 
at a roadblock after they would not pay a bribe of 20 naira ($0.13). 
One of the passengers reportedly died at the scene, while the other 
four were rushed to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead. 
Eyewitnesses stated that the driver claimed to already have paid 20 
naira but could not produce a receipt that the policeman demanded. When 
the driver attempted to leave, the police opened fire. A police 
representative confirmed that one person was killed and three were 
rushed to the hospital. There were no developments in the case by 
year's end.
    For example, on October 16, police reportedly shot and killed 
Victor Emmanuel in Bayesla State after he criticized the police for 
extorting money from passing motorists on the road from his church. On 
October 28, police officials announced that the accused officers 
received an ``orderly room trial'' that could lead to dismissal or 
prosecution; however, the case remained pending at year's end.
    Police sometimes shot bystanders by mistake. For example, on 
September 10, four federal police officers guarding a funeral 
procession in Akoko, Delta State, opened fire on mourners after 
drinking heavily, killing at least three persons. A police spokesman 
confirmed the incident but offered no explanation for the actions of 
the officers. The police force dismissed the four officers, and at 
year's end the four officers remained in custody awaiting the filing of 
criminal charges.
    Police and military personnel used excessive and sometimes deadly 
force to quell civil unrest and interethnic violence, and to deal with 
property vandalism. For example, on June 12, antiriot police reportedly 
shot protesters in Ogoni, Rivers State. After villagers gathered to 
protest excessive use of force by police during an earlier protest over 
the construction of a military base in a nearby village, police 
attempted to arrest the protesters. Police reportedly opened fire, 
killing three persons. The Rivers State government reportedly 
investigated, but there were no developments in the case by year's end.
    On October 20, police shot and killed a girl and injured her two 
sisters while they were working in the fields of their family's farm in 
Ekiti State. Local residents angered by the shooting protested outside 
the police station. When they would not disperse, police opened fire, 
injuring at least six individuals. On October 24, Ekiti State Governor 
Kayode Fayemi criticized the killing and called for an immediate 
investigation. An investigation remained pending at year's end.
    Boko Haram increased its attacks on police and security forces, 
banks, bars and restaurants, religious sites, and government buildings 
in the north and the FCT. Shootings and bombings in Maiduguri, Borno 
State, occurred on a weekly--and sometimes daily--basis throughout the 
year, and violence spread to neighboring Yobe, Bauchi, and Adamawa 
states by year's end. Targeted attacks on key institutions and 
buildings in the capital of Abuja contributed to an increase in the 
overall level of violence (see section 1.g.).

    b. Disappearance.--Continuing abductions of civilians by militant 
and criminal groups occurred in the Niger Delta, particularly in Port 
Harcourt (see section 1.g.).
    Other parts of the country also experienced a significant increase 
in abductions, some of which may have been politically motivated.
    On March 17, kidnappers abducted the 97-year-old mother of the PDP 
candidate for Delta Central senatorial district, Chief Ighoyota Amori. 
The kidnappers demanded that Amori either drop his bid for senate or 
pay 100 million naira ($617,000). On March 22, the Anti-Kidnapping Task 
Force of the Delta Waterways Security Committee freed Amori's mother. 
Whether Chief Amori paid the ransom was not known.
    On October 11-13, approximately 2,000 members of the country's two 
main national oil unions conducted a strike due to their concern about 
increased kidnappings in the oil-producing south.
    Earlier kidnappings involved international oil workers and 
perceived high-value targets; however, in recent years kidnappings 
evolved to include members of the middle class and family members of 
celebrities and politicians. The primary motivation for these 
kidnappings was economic (see section 6, Other Societal Violence or 
Discrimination).
    In recent years Akwa Ibom, Abia, Anambra, Imo, and Rivers states 
passed strict antikidnapping laws that prescribed long prison 
sentences, and sometimes the death penalty, for those found guilty of 
kidnapping. However, these laws resulted in few convictions. On March 
16, Minister of Police Affairs Humphrey Abah announced new measures to 
address the increasing number of abductions, including community 
policing, increased training of officers in handling kidnappings, 
provision of equipment to police, and deployment of specially trained 
officers to areas prone to kidnappings. However, the police had 
operated no known antikidnapping or abduction programs by year's end.
    Some kidnappings had links with terrorism. In May gunmen abducted a 
British and an Italian citizen working with an Italian construction 
company in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State. On August 4, a video appeared 
online in which the two engineers appeared bound and blindfolded with 
armed men who claimed to be affiliated with al-Qaida. The two men 
remained missing at year's end.
    On August 12, kidnappers abducted the father of Nigerian 
international soccer player John Mikel Obi's in Jos. On August 23, 
police in Kano rescued him and arrested seven kidnappers, including two 
soldiers. Authorities charged the seven kidnappers with kidnapping, 
conspiracy, and terrorism.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices 
and provide for punishment of such abuses, torture is not criminalized, 
and security service personnel, including police, military, and State 
Security Service (SSS) officers, regularly tortured, beat, and abused 
demonstrators, criminal suspects, detainees, and convicted prisoners. 
Police mistreated civilians to extort money. The law prohibits the 
introduction into trials of evidence and confessions obtained through 
torture; however, police often used torture to extract confessions.
    JTF's use of excessive force during raids on militant groups and 
criminal suspects in the Niger Delta and Borno State resulted in 
deaths, injuries, mass rape, displacement of civilians, and other 
abuses (see section 1.g.).
    During the year the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN) 
released a 486-page report, Through the Lens of the Media: A Report on 
Public Perception of the Nigeria Police 2010/2011. The report provided 
details on police extrajudicial killings, police brutality and torture, 
excessive use of force, rape, sexual violence, corruption, extortion 
and bribe taking, collusion with criminals, and other acts of 
misconduct during the period of January 2010 to September 2011. The 
report also detailed the funding of the police force and their 
unacceptably high casualty rate during the period.
    In May 2010 the Open Society Justice Initiative, together with the 
NOPRIN, released a 138-page report, Criminal Force: Torture, Abuse, and 
Extrajudicial Killings by the Nigeria Police Force, with first-hand 
reports from investigations at over 400 police stations. Describing 
summary executions of suspects, torture as a means of investigation, 
rape, and extortion, the report claimed that the government had 
acknowledged these problems but had actually allowed the abuse to 
continue with ``a stunning degree of impunity.''
    Police commonly used a technique called ``parading'' of arrestees. 
Parading involved literally walking the persons through public spaces, 
subjecting them to public ridicule and abuse. Bystanders often hurled 
taunts, food, and objects. Police defended this practice with the 
argument that public humiliation helped deter crime. For example, on 
September 23, the Plateau State government paraded 21 robbery suspects 
in various locations throughout the state.
    On August 1, the federal high court in Calabar ordered the police 
to pay 20 million naira ($123,000) in damages to Ottoh Obono, whom 
police had paraded in front of journalists in 2009 before arraigning 
him for alleged involvement in armed robbery. The court determined that 
such a form of punishment violated Obono's constitutional rights. 
Citing the NGO Social Justice and Advocacy Initiative, a 2009 AI report 
noted that ``intimidation, torture, and extortion of detainees'' 
remained ``entrenched practices'' in the criminal justice system. The 
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) claimed that most cases in 
court were prosecuted by the police ``based on confessions obtained 
under circumstances of torture.''
    Police and military use of excessive force in response to violent 
attacks by Boko Haram resulted in numerous deaths and injuries (see 
sections 1.a. and 1.g.).
    Security forces beat journalists during the year (see section 
2.a.).
    According to credible reports, during the year security forces 
committed rape and other forms of sexual violence against women and 
girls with impunity. In May 2010 the Open Society Justice Initiative 
reported that rape was ``a routine but unspoken aspect of policing'' 
and was ``one of the fringe benefits attached to night patrol.'' This 
report on corruption within the country's police force highlighted the 
problem of rape of arrested prostitutes by police. The report described 
police officers raping women who could not pay as little as 1,000 naira 
($6) for their release. Police allegedly raped women who came to report 
crimes at police stations. The report also claimed that officers, both 
male and female, sodomized women with bottles and metal pipes. In 
August 2010 Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report detailing 
widespread police abuse of power, including acts, or threats, of rape 
or sexual assault, as a means to extort bribes from female detainees or 
women traveling between road checkpoints.
    In early October a police officer raped homicide suspect Hafsat 
Manye while in detention in Ganjuwa, Borno State. The police command 
informed the Legal Aid Council that after conducting an investigation, 
authorities dismissed the officer, who was expected to face charges in 
court.
    AI reported in 2009 that police frequently raped women in detention 
but that victims did not report the abuse because of the social stigma 
attached to rape and the fact that police officers had committed these 
crimes.
    Varying sharia penal codes existed in 12 northern states, and 
sharia courts delivered ``hadd'' sentences. For example, such sentences 
included caning for minor offenses such as petty theft, public 
consumption of alcohol, and prostitution; it was unknown if any of the 
sentences were carried out during the year. Numerous sharia cases from 
previous years awaited appeal or implementation of sentence, including 
pending amputation sentences in Jigawa, Bauchi, Niger, Kano, and 
Zamfara states. To date the only amputation sentence carried out 
involved a victim who refused to appeal his 1999 conviction.
    Statutory law mandates that state governors either impose a stay or 
implement amputation or death sentences. Authorities often did not 
carry out sentences under sharia due to the lengthy process for 
appeals. Because no relevant case had been appealed to the federal 
level, federal appellate courts had yet to decide whether such 
punishments violated the constitution. Courts consistently overturned 
stoning and amputation sentences on procedural or evidentiary grounds, 
but the sentences had not been challenged on constitutional grounds. 
Caning is also a punishment under common law in the Northern Region 
penal code and was not challenged in the courts as a violation of 
statutory law. In some cases convicted persons paid fines or went to 
jail instead of being caned. Sharia courts usually carried out caning 
immediately, while the sharia criminal procedure code allows defendants 
30 days to appeal sentences involving mutilation or death. For example, 
on September 8, an Islamic court in Zamfara ordered the amputation of 
the right hands of two suspects found guilty of stealing a bull worth 
130,000 naira ($800). The suspects appealed the case. Appeals often 
took months or years to decide.
    Ethnic or communal clashes resulted in deaths and injuries during 
the year (see section 6).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions remained harsh and life threatening. Most of the 
country's 234 prisons, built 70 to 80 years earlier, lacked basic 
facilities. The system included 11 maximum security prisons, 80 
satellite prisons, 10 farm centers, eight zonal offices, and six 
directorates, all of which held prisoners and detainees.
    The Nigerian Prison Service released statistics at the end of May 
showing that the country's prisons held 48,124 inmates. In May 
Comptroller General of Prisons Olusola Ogundipe announced that the 
prisons held an additional 1,000 persons for alleged involvement in 
April postelection violence, most of whom subsequently gained their 
release. Individual prisons held as much as 500 percent of their 
designed capacity. For example, the Owerri Federal Prison had a 
capacity of 548 prisoners but held more than 1,635. Ogwuashi-Uku prison 
in Delta State, with a capacity of 64 prisoners, housed 358, while Port 
Harcourt prison, with a capacity of 804 prisoners, held 2,594. Of the 
inmate population, approximately 2 percent were female and 1 percent 
juveniles.
    Lack of potable water, inadequate sewage facilities, and severe 
overcrowding resulted in dangerous and unsanitary conditions. Disease 
remained pervasive in cramped, poorly ventilated prison facilities, 
which had chronic shortages of medical supplies. Inadequate medical 
treatment caused many prisoners to die from treatable illnesses. Prison 
illnesses included HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Inmates with 
these illnesses lived with the regular population. Although authorities 
attempted to isolate persons with communicable diseases, the facilities 
often lacked the space to do so. Prison authorities claimed that the 
death rate in prisons was 89 out of 1,500 prisoners per year; however, 
no reliable independent statistics existed on the number of prison 
deaths.
    Only those prisoners with money, or whose relatives brought food 
regularly, had sufficient food; prison officials routinely stole money 
provided for food for prisoners. Poor inmates often relied on handouts 
from others to survive. Prison officials, police, and other security 
forces often denied inmates food and medical treatment as punishment or 
to extort money.
    Prisoners with mental disabilities remained incarcerated with the 
general prison population. Individual prisons made efforts to provide 
mental health facilities, but most prisons did not provide mental 
health care.
    The federal government operated all the country's prisons but 
maintained few pretrial jail facilities. Of the total prison 
population, 70 percent were pretrial detainees.
    Authorities sometimes held female and male prisoners together, 
especially in rural areas, and prisons had no facilities to care for 
pregnant women or nursing mothers. Infants born to inmate mothers 
usually remained with the mother until weaned.
    Although the law precludes the imprisonment of children, minors 
lived in the country's prisons, many of whom were born there. A report 
by the African Union on the rights and welfare of the Nigerian child 
found that an estimated 6,000 children lived in prison and detention 
centers. Despite a government order to identify and release such 
children and their mothers, authorities had not solved the problem by 
year's end.
    Authorities held political prisoners with the general prison 
population, not separately.
    Prison authorities allowed visitors within a scheduled timeframe. 
Few visitors came due to lack of family resources and travel distance. 
Prisoners could attend religious observances, although prisons often 
did not have equal facilities for both Muslim and Christian worship. In 
some prisons outside clergy constructed chapels or mosques.
    Prisoner complaints centered on access to court proceedings, as in 
many cases inmates lacked transportation to attend a court hearing. No 
effective system existed for monitoring prisons for inhumane 
conditions. All prisons suffered from poor facilities, overcrowding, 
and lack of resources.
    There were no regular outside monitors of the prisons, and no 
statistics on the mistreatment of prisoners or availability of food or 
medical care.
    The government provided access to prisons for monitoring 
conditions, although few outside visits occurred. The local Red Cross 
made attempts to visit prisons but could not maintain a regular visit 
schedule. Authorities inconsistently maintained records for individual 
prisoners in paper form but without making them widely accessible.
    The country does not provide services of an ombudsman who can serve 
on behalf of prisoners and detainees to consider such matters as 
creating alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders to 
alleviate overcrowding; addressing the status and circumstances of 
confinement of juvenile offenders; or improving pretrial detention, 
bail, or recordkeeping procedures to ensure that prisoners do not serve 
beyond the maximum sentence for the charged offense.
    The government did not make widespread improvements to prisons 
during the year, but individual prison administrations attempted to 
collect donations to benefit the inmates. For example, benefactors 
contributed facilities to help alleviate overpopulated prisons. In 
October the Amazing Grace Pentecostal Church donated a multipurpose 
hall to the Kirikiri Female Prison in Apapa, Lagos.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, police and security 
forces continued to employ these practices. The JTF arbitrarily 
arrested hundreds of persons during sweeps for militants, and security 
forces made arbitrary arrests during the national elections.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police 
Force (NPF) reports to the inspector general of police, who is 
appointed by the president and responsible for law enforcement 
operations. An assistant inspector general commanded each NPF state 
unit. The constitution prohibits state and local governments from 
organizing their own police forces; however, state governors may direct 
federal police for local emergency actions. The SSS is responsible for 
internal security and reports to the president through the national 
security advisor. Due to the police's inability to control societal 
violence, the government continued to rely on the army in some cases. 
For example, in September President Jonathan ordered the deployment of 
1,300 soldiers to Plateau State after local police could not contain an 
outbreak of ethnoreligious violence in Jos.
    The NPF, SSS, and military reported to civilian authorities; 
however, these security services periodically acted outside of civilian 
control. The government lacked effective mechanisms to investigate and 
punish abuse and corruption. The NPF remained susceptible to 
corruption, committed human rights abuses, and generally operated with 
impunity in the apprehension, illegal detention, and sometimes 
execution of criminal suspects. The SSS also committed human rights 
abuses, particularly in restricting freedom of speech and press. In 
some cases private citizens or the government brought charges against 
perpetrators of human rights abuses in these units. However, most cases 
lingered in court and went unresolved after the initial investigation.
    According to AI's 2009 report, only a fraction of the NPF annual 
budget reached state and local police stations, and the lack of funding 
contributed to many police failures. Officers worked without basic 
equipment and sometimes made crime victims pay for the gasoline and 
stationery necessary to conduct an investigation. Such lack of 
resources contributed to corruption (see section 4).

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police and 
security forces have authority to arrest individuals without first 
obtaining warrants, if they have a reasonable suspicion that a person 
committed an offense, a power they often abused. By law police may 
detain persons for 48 hours before charging them with an offense. The 
law requires an arresting officer to inform the accused of charges at 
the time of arrest, transport the accused to a police station for 
processing within a reasonable time, and allow suspects to engage 
counsel and post bail.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Police routinely detained suspects without 
informing them of the charges or allowing access to counsel and family 
members. Provision of bail often remained arbitrary or subject to 
extrajudicial influence. Judges often set conditions of bail too 
stringent to be met. In many areas with no functioning bail system, 
suspects remained incarcerated indefinitely in investigative detention 
within the prison system. Authorities kept detainees incommunicado for 
long periods. Numerous detainees alleged that police demanded bribes to 
take them to court to have their cases heard. If family members wanted 
to attend a trial, police often demanded additional payment.
    Police held persons who happened to be in the vicinity of a crime 
for interrogation for periods ranging from a few hours to several 
months. After their release authorities frequently asked them to return 
for further questioning.
    Security forces arbitrarily arrested numerous persons during the 
year. During postelection violence in April and May, authorities 
arrested hundreds of persons across the country, many of them based on 
little or no evidence of involvement in violence (see section 1.a.). 
Most individuals gained their release within a few weeks; however, an 
unknown number of persons remained incarcerated without bail or charges 
at year's end.
    On October 19, the federal high court in Jos, Plateau State, 
discharged six suspects arrested on conspiracy and terrorism charges 
during the January 2010 violence in Jos. Security forces detained 
journalists and demonstrators during the year (see sections 2.a. and 
2.b.).
    Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials 
reportedly singled out political opponents of the governing party in 
their arrest and detention of state, local, and federal government 
officials on corruption charges during the year (see section 4).
    The rape of women in detention by police remained a problem (see 
section 1.c.).
    On September 29, police in Ebonyi arrested 100 members of the 
Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra for 
holding a peaceful meeting and wearing clothing and pins with a Biafran 
insignia. Police announced that they detained the group out of fear of 
a breach of the peace. Police released the members soon thereafter.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention remained a serious 
problem, and human rights groups reported that detainees awaiting trial 
constituted 70 percent of the prison population, with some awaiting 
trial more than 10 years. At year's end 33,692 pretrial detainees 
resided in the country's prisons, in a total of 48,124 prisoners. 
Serious trial backlogs, endemic corruption, and undue political 
influence continued to hamper the judicial system. Multiple 
adjournments in some cases resulted in serious delays. Many detainees 
lacked access to trials because police had insufficient vehicles to 
transport them to court on their trial dates.
    The NHRC reported that some detainees were held because authorities 
had lost their case files. Some state governments released inmates 
already detained for longer than the potential maximum sentences they 
would have received if found guilty. Although detainees had the right 
to submit complaints to the NHRC, the commission had yet to act on a 
complaint (see section 5). Detainees could try to complain to the 
courts but often found this approach impossible. Even detainees with 
legal representation often waited years to gain access to the courts.
    On September 22, the press reported that Attorney General and 
Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke gave the Prison Decongestion 
Committee, established in July, 90 days to free inmates who should not 
have been incarcerated. The nine-member committee headed by the 
permanent secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Abdullahi Yola, toured 
prisons in all 36 states as part of the process. By year's end there 
was no word of the release of any inmates.

    Amnesty.--In October the governors of Borno and Anambra states 
freed 42 and nine prisoners, respectively, in celebration of 
Independence Day. The governor of Borno State said that he granted 
amnesty to those who suffered from acute illness or old age.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the judicial branch remained 
susceptible to pressure from the executive and legislative branches and 
the business sector. Political leaders influenced the judiciary, 
particularly at the state and local levels. Understaffing, 
underfunding, inefficiency, and corruption continued to prevent the 
judiciary from functioning adequately. Judges frequently failed to 
appear for trials, often because they were pursuing other sources of 
income and sometimes because of threats against them. In addition court 
officials often lacked the proper equipment, training, and motivation 
to perform their duties, with lack of motivation primarily due to 
inadequate compensation. During the year Supreme Court judges called 
for a more independent judiciary.
    On August 18, the National Judicial Council (NJC) suspended the 
president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Isa Salami, after he 
refused the NJC's directive to apologize to the NJC and the chief 
justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu. Salami had accused 
Katsina-Alu of interfering in the proceedings of the 2007 Sokoto State 
gubernatorial court case. In an attempt to settle the dispute, the NJC 
set up three panels to investigate the disagreement. The panels 
declared neither justice was at fault, declared the issue resolved, and 
requested that Salami apologize to the NJC and Katsina-Alu. The 
Nigerian Bar Association reached contrary findings, and Salami refused 
to apologize. After the NJC suspended Salami, President Jonathan used 
his constitutional authority to recommend the compulsory retirement of 
Salami and appointed Justice Dalhatu Adamu as acting president of the 
Court of Appeals. The case raised questions regarding the partisan 
nature and level of independence within the judiciary. Salami appealed 
the ruling, and the court case continued at year's end.
    The Ministry of Justice implemented strict requirements for the 
education and the length of service for judges at the federal and state 
level; however, no requirements or monitoring bodies existed for judges 
at the local level, which resulted in corruption and miscarriages of 
justice in those courts.
    Military courts tried only military personnel.
    Sharia and customary (traditional) courts of appeal function in 12 
northern states and the FCT. The constitution also provides that the 
government establish a federal sharia court of appeal and a final court 
of appeal, but authorities had not done so by year's end.
    The constitution provides that states may establish courts based on 
common-law or customary-law systems. The law also provides that states 
may elect to use the sharia penal code in the courts. While sharia 
courts have operated throughout the north for centuries, in 2000 sharia 
courts received authority to also hear criminal cases and pass 
sentences based on the sharia penal code, which outlines hadd offenses 
and punishments, including caning, amputation, and death by stoning. 
For example, on October 10, an Abuja magistrate court ordered a 
punishment of 12 strokes of a cane to a man found guilty of stealing a 
cow.
    The nature of a case usually determined which court had 
jurisdiction. The return to the sharia courts stemmed at least in part 
from inefficiency, expense, and corruption in the regular court system.
    Defendants have the right to challenge the constitutionality of 
sharia criminal statutes through the common-law appellate courts; 
however, no challenges with adequate legal standing reached the common-
law appellate system. The highest appellate court for sharia remained 
the Supreme Court, staffed by common-law judges not required to have 
any formal training in the sharia penal code.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for public trials in 
the regular court system and individual rights in criminal and civil 
cases. The law does not provide for juries. A defendant is presumed 
innocent and has the right to be present, confront witnesses, present 
evidence and witnesses, be represented by legal counsel, and have 
access to government-held evidence. However, authorities did not always 
respect these rights. Although an accused person is entitled to counsel 
of his choice, no law prevents a trial from going forward without 
counsel, except for certain offenses for which the penalty is death. 
The Legal Aid Act provides for the appointment of counsel in such cases 
and stipulates that a trial should not go forward without it. 
Defendants have the right of appeal.
    In both common-law and customary courts (including sharia), 
indigent persons without representation were more likely to have their 
sentences carried out immediately, although all convicted persons have 
the right to appeal. The federal government instituted a panel of legal 
scholars in 2003 to draft a uniform sharia penal code to replace 
divergent sharia codes adopted by various northern states; however, the 
panel did not produce a report, and states continued to apply their 
individual codes.
    No legal provisions in common law barred women or other groups from 
testifying in civil or criminal proceedings or gave their testimony 
less weight, but the testimony of women and non-Muslims usually was 
accorded less weight in sharia courts. Some ``qadis'' (sharia court 
judges) allowed separate evidentiary requirements to prove adultery or 
fornication for male and female defendants. For women, pregnancy 
represented permissible evidence in some sharia courts. By contrast men 
could be convicted only by confessing to the crime or by eyewitness 
testimony. Sharia courts provided women with certain benefits, 
including increased access to divorce, child custody, and alimony, 
because it remained significantly easier, faster, and cheaper to get an 
audience in a sharia court than in a common-law court.
    There was a lack of due process in numerous trials. For example, in 
2009, the army convicted 27 enlisted soldiers who had served as U.N. 
peacekeepers of mutiny and sentenced them to life in prison; the 
soldiers had protested after officers had stolen their stipends during 
deployment. After the case garnered international media attention, 
prison guards took reprisals against the jailed soldiers. The army 
reduced the sentences of the 27 to seven years. Meanwhile, the army 
found the officers guilty of theft and reassigned them or forced them 
to retire; however, none received a prison sentence. In September 2010 
the defense attorney appealed to the new army chief of staff to review 
these sentences. There were no developments in the case by year's end.
    A Lagos court continued aspects of the case of Major Hamza Al-
Mustapha, who had been held since 1998. Authorities arrested him on 
treason charges for, among other allegations, the assassination 
attempts on former president Olusegun Obasanjo and other prominent 
prodemocracy activists. In December 2010 the judge discharged Al-
Mustapha and acquitted him of these charges, stating that the 
prosecution had not made its case. However, the court continued to 
pursue charges against him for his alleged role in the killing of 
Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of former president-elect Chief Moshood 
Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. During the examination by the prosecution, 
Al-Mustapha claimed his confession of involvement in the death of 
Kudirat Abiola occurred under duress and therefore remained 
inadmissible as evidence. The judge rejected the motion of the defense, 
and the court case continued at year's end.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees; however, persons arrested in previous 
years for alleged treason remained in detention at year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary in civil matters. The executive, 
the legislature, and business interests, however, exerted undue 
influence and pressure in civil cases. Official corruption and lack of 
will to implement court decisions also interfered with due process. The 
law provides for access to the courts for redress of grievances, and 
courts can award damages and issue injunctions to stop or prevent a 
human rights violation. However, the decisions of civil courts were 
difficult to enforce.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but authorities 
infringed on these rights during the year, and police raided homes 
without warrants.
    Between January and June, activities leading to evictions and 
displacements of persons across the country were less frequent due to 
the April general elections. Politicians in states such as Lagos and 
Rivers avoided development projects that required demolition of homes 
due to fear of becoming unpopular with the electorate.
    In Abuja the Federal Capital Development Authority continued to 
threaten eviction of residents in communities not deemed in compliance 
with the Abuja city plan. The FCT government typically claimed that 
demolished homes, businesses, or churches lacked proper permits, even 
if owners were able to produce paperwork indicating that the structures 
were built legally. No transparent legal process existed for deciding 
which homes would be demolished, and persons who lost homes lacked 
recourse to appeal and received no compensation. Many observers viewed 
the demolitions as motivated primarily by corruption and discrimination 
based on socioeconomic class, since mostly lower- and middle-class 
persons lost their homes and property. Once vacated, authorities sold 
these properties to wealthy persons with connections to government 
officials.
    The government threatened to evict residents of 23 communities in 
the Ketti and Kabusa districts of Abuja, which housed almost 50,000 
persons. AI reported that on June 25 and 27, the Task Force on 
Environmental Sanitation, accompanied by soldiers and police, set fire 
to buildings in the Apo district of Abuja. Police reportedly shot in 
the air and arrested persons trying to flee the area, resulting in the 
reported death of three persons and the forced eviction of an estimated 
100 others.
    In 2010 authorities in Port Harcourt forcibly displaced residents 
on the waterfront in an area slated for redevelopment, an action that 
left thousands of residents homeless. Demolitions in Port Harcourt 
lessened during the year due to sustained civil society intervention 
and public debate. However, the government often paid compensation only 
to landlords, who did not reside in these communities, leaving the 
tenants homeless and without compensation. The effort by the Rivers 
State governor to demolish slums on 21 Port Harcourt waterfront sites, 
which would displace 200,000 residents, came to the courts in July 
2010, when members of the Ijaw ethnic group filed a suit to stop the 
demolition and resettlement. The government sought to clear out 
``poorly built structures'' and to replace them with schools and 
commercial and residential buildings in an urban renewal program paid 
for by investors. Residents protested evictions without adequate 
planning for replacement housing for the poor.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Niger Delta.--The Niger Delta region is home to a large oil industry 
that produced approximately 2.6 million barrels of crude oil per day at 
year's end. Particularly since 2006, militant groups have used 
violence, including kidnapping oil company workers, to demand greater 
control of the region's resources. Kidnapping for ransom, armed 
robberies, gang wars, and fighting connected to the theft of crude oil, 
known as illegal oil bunkering, continued during the year and 
contributed to the region's general insecurity and lack of economic 
vitality. In June 2009 the government announced a general and 
unconditional amnesty for militants in the Niger Delta, and almost all 
major militant leaders accepted the offer by the October 2009 deadline.
    Authorities established a training camp for former militants in 
Obubra, Cross River State, and by September 24, 20,192 former militants 
had completed training in nonviolence. Many militants expressed 
interest in vocational training and received stipends during 
rehabilitation. By year's end 5,280 former militants were undergoing 
vocational training, with 1,538 attending courses abroad. The amnesty 
program resulted in a decline in militant violence in the region. Some 
observers expressed concern, however, that the militants used amnesty 
payments to purchase more arms.
    The government's amnesty program reduced the level of conflict for 
much of the year. Disagreements arose between former militants and the 
government concerning who qualified for the amnesty program, the amount 
of cash payments, the availability of vocational training, and 
continued possession of arms by former militants.
    Criminal gangs, called ``cults'' in some parts of the region, have 
copied the methods of more sophisticated militants to amass wealth and 
power. In a recent trend, kidnappings targeted businessmen, doctors, 
teachers, religious leaders, foreign residents, and others. Gangs 
extended their reach beyond the core Niger Delta states, where they 
originated as politically sponsored thugs to intimidate opponents and 
aid election rigging. Kidnappings committed primarily for ransom 
increased throughout the country, including in the north (see section 
6, Other Societal Violence or Discrimination). In recent years power 
struggles between gangs resulted in extensive property damage and 
hundreds of deaths, including of civilian bystanders.

    Killings.--Niger Delta.--From May 11-18, members of the JTF and 
Niger Delta militants led by John Ipoko (aka John Togo) waged a series 
of battles at Obubu creek, in Delta State. Media reported that the JTF 
sustained numerous casualties, and Togo may have died of a fatal 
gunshot wound after the battle. On May 18, the JTF shot and killed one 
of two militants thought to be accomplices of Togo during a pursuit.

    Boko Haram.--The JTF and STF committed numerous killings during the 
year but conducted no investigations.
    The JTF was linked to numerous killings in Maiduguri Borno State 
after attacks by Boko Haram. On July 14, in one of the largest such 
incidents, the JTF allegedly killed 20 to 40 persons following a Boko 
Haram bombing.
    Boko Haram committed drive-by shootings and bombings; targeted 
killings of security personnel, religious leaders, and political 
figures; coordinated attacks on police stations and banks; and 
conducted suicide bombings during the year, which resulted in the death 
of hundreds of persons.
    For example, on June 16, a car bomb that detonated in the parking 
lot of the National Police Force Headquarters killed at least three 
persons and destroyed or damaged at least 50 vehicles. Boko Haram 
claimed responsibility.
    On August 26, a suicide bomber attacked the U.N. House compound in 
Abuja, killing 24 persons and injuring more than 120 others, primarily 
Nigerian citizens. Boko Haram claimed responsibility.
    On November 4, Boko Haram launched a series of bomb attacks and 
coordinated assaults in Damaturu and Potiskum, Yobe State, and 
Maiduguri, Borno State. The bombs and subsequent gun battles with 
security forces resulted in the death of 100 to 200 police officers, 
Boko Haram fighters, and bystanders, as well as the destruction of the 
Yobe police headquarters and six churches.
    On December 25, a car bomb that detonated at the St. Theresa 
Catholic Church in Madella, outside of Abuja, killed at least 37 
persons and wounded another 50 to 60. Boko Haram claimed 
responsibility.

    Abductions.--Niger Delta.--Government authorities responded to 
kidnappings in the Niger Delta by deploying the JTF, which reportedly 
used excessive force and engaged militants and criminals in gun 
battles.
    In some areas tensions remained high between oil-producing 
communities and oil company employees and contractors. Criminals 
abducted foreign oil company contractors for ransom, including the 
capture of five foreign workers from an offshore oil rig on October 24.
    While militant groups used kidnappings generally for ransom, they 
sometimes publicized the acts as an expression of grievances about lack 
of economic development, local control of oil revenues, or prisoner 
releases. During the year criminals continued to kidnap the relatives 
(usually children or parents) of prominent state politicians for ransom 
or to force payment for services such as protection details and voter 
intimidation during elections.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--Niger Delta.--In August the U.N. 
Environmental Program released a report that found that damage from oil 
industries in Ogoniland amounted to $1 billion and would take 25 to 30 
years to clean up.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of 
speech, including for members of the press, the government sometimes 
restricted these rights in practice. Security forces beat, detained, 
and harassed journalists, sometimes for reporting on sensitive issues 
such as elections and political corruption. Journalists practiced self-
censorship, and local NGOs claimed that newspaper editors and owners 
did not report some killings and other human rights abuses, due in part 
to intimidation by security forces.

    Freedom of Speech.--The constitution entitles every individual to 
``freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to 
receive and impart ideas and information without interference.'' 
Federal and state governments generally respected this right; however, 
there were reported cases in which the government abridged the right to 
speech and expression.
    For example, on November 22, a Bauchi State chief magistrate court 
sentenced Mukhtar Abdu and Quwalu Mohammed to three years in prison or 
payment of a 10,000 naira fine ($62) for the composition of an abusive 
song about the secretary to the Bauchi State government. The two men 
had 30 days to appeal the case. The case continued at year's end.

    Freedom of Press.--On May 2, Freedom House released its annual 
survey of media independence, Freedom of the Press 2011, which 
described the press in Nigeria as ``partly free.'' Nonetheless, a large 
and vibrant private domestic press frequently criticized the 
government. There were more than 100 national and local publications, 
including 15 privately owned major daily newspapers; one national, 
government-owned daily newspaper; six weekly newsmagazines; and several 
sensationalist evening newspapers and tabloid publications. State and 
local governments also owned daily or weekly newspapers, which tended 
to be poorly produced, had limited circulation, and required large 
state subsidies. There were 25 independently owned, private radio 
stations. The government owned one radio network with 43 stations. 
There were 15 independently owned private television stations and four 
privately owned direct-to-home satellite network stations. The 
government owned one television network, the Nigerian Television 
Authority, with 48 affiliate stations. Because newspapers and 
television were relatively expensive and literacy levels low, radio 
remained the most important medium of mass communication and 
information.

    Violence and Harassment.--Security forces beat, detained, and 
harassed journalists. On numerous occasions security forces and police 
arrested and detained journalists who criticized the government. At 
times reporting on issues such as elections and political corruption 
proved to be particularly sensitive.
    For example, on March 10, the SSS arrested and detained for three 
days three journalists in Plateau State. The SSS accused the 
journalists of distributing leaflets criticizing Plateau State Governor 
Jang.
    On July 2, the SSS detained former FCT minister Nasir El-Rufai at 
the Abuja airport. El-Rufai had published an opinion article that cited 
and criticized budget figures for the government's spending on security 
services.
    On October 11, police arrested four senior editors of The Nation 
newspaper on charges of forgery. The editors of the The Nation had 
included in an October 4 cover story a copy of a letter purportedly 
from former president Obasanjo to President Jonathan recommending the 
firing of certain officials. When police did not locate the editors 
they sought to arrest, they arrested four other editors ``by proxy.'' 
Police released the editors during the following two days after 
pressure from the media, politicians, and civil society groups. The 
House of Representatives Committee on Justice filed a report demanding 
that the police and the Jonathan administration explain the reason 
behind the arrest of the journalists and issue apologies to the 
employees of The Nation. The federal government and former inspector 
general of police Ringim did not provide an apology by year's end.
    Politicians and political parties harassed and attacked journalists 
perceived as reporting in a negative manner. During local and national 
elections, journalists were intimidated or attacked for covering 
election events.
    For example, on April 5, prior to national assembly elections, 
unknown assailants attacked Daily Trust correspondent Joseph Hir 
outside his home in Lafia, Nasarawa State. Hir previously had written 
an article criticizing politicians.
    On April 9, during national assembly elections, PDP officials beat 
African Independent Television cameraman Tamunoemi Kingdom and another 
crew member in Ozoro, Delta State. The officials had attempted to stop 
the crew from filming the harassment of a man entering a polling 
station.
    Election officials also participated in attacks on journalists. For 
example, on March 22, state electoral commissioner Rufus Akeju 
allegedly attacked Leadership correspondent Sefiu Ayanbimpe in Oshogbo, 
Osun State. Ayanbimpe had investigated charges by the opposition 
Conference of Nigerian Political Parties that Akeju received payments 
from the state government. Akeju invited Ayanbimpe to his office in 
Oshogbo to discuss the allegations. When Ayanbimpe arrived, Akeju beat 
him before handing him over to the SSS, which briefly detained him.
    Journalists received death threats during the year. For example, in 
July University of Uyo professor Des Wilson went into hiding after 
persons connected to Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio 
threatened his life. Wilson served as an officer of the Independent 
National Electoral Commission (INEC) for Ikot-Ekpene Federal 
Constituency during the presidential election and submitted a report 
detailing massive irregularity and fraud connected to Governor 
Akpabio's administration.
    Journalists also were at risk of abduction. There were no 
developments in the January 2010 case in which armed police abducted 
Internet journalist Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha from his home, on the 
orders of Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State. Iwuoha filed a lawsuit 
against Ohakim for his beating and mistreatment while in custody.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists practiced self-
censorship. Local NGOs claimed that security forces intimidated 
newspaper editors and owners, which led them to censor some reports of 
killings and other human rights abuses.
    The law requires local television stations to limit programming 
from other countries to 40 percent and restricts foreign content of 
satellite broadcasting to 20 percent. In 2008 National Broadcasting 
Commission (NBC) chief executive Yomi Bolarinwa ordered that all local 
prime-time news broadcasts contain no more than 20 percent foreign 
content and that international news be broadcast live. The 2004 NBC's 
prohibition of live broadcasts of foreign news and programs remained in 
force but did not apply to international cable or satellite services.
    The government controlled much of the electronic media through the 
NBC, which was responsible for monitoring and deregulating broadcast 
media.
    Radio stations remained susceptible to political censorship and 
attacks by political groups. For example, on January 19, Oyo State 
Governor Alao Akala (PDP) banned the state-owned Broadcasting 
Corporation of Oyo State from giving broadcast time to opposition 
parties.
    On January 20, the Nigerian Union of Journalists claimed that the 
opposition CPC paid persons to attack the offices of two progovernment 
radio stations, Bauchi Radio Corporation and FRCN Globe FM.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Libel is a civil offense and 
requires defendants to prove the truth of opinion or value judgment 
contained in news reports or commentaries, or pay penalties. This 
limited the circumstances in which media defendants could rely on the 
defense of ``fair comment on matters of public interest'' and 
restricted the right to freedom of expression. Penalties for defamation 
of character included two years' imprisonment and possible fines.

    Nongovernmental Impact.--Boko Haram threatened media outlets and 
killed members of the press. During the year the group threatened to 
kill journalists who failed to report what Boko Haram believed to be 
authentic stories about the group. On October 23, suspected Boko Haram 
gunmen shot and killed Zakariya Isa, a cameraman for the Nigerian 
Television Authority, at his residence in Maiduguri, Borno State. Boko 
Haram took credit for the killing, stating that it was retribution for 
Isa spying for the secret police and JTF; Boko Haram did not say he was 
killed for being a journalist.
    Mob violence occasionally inhibited freedom of expression. For 
example, in January a crowd of armed persons arrived in Makurdi, Benue 
State, and attacked newspaper vendors to retrieve copies of a national 
newspaper that had published a negative story about a local politician.

    Internet Freedom.--There were few government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups generally engaged 
in expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, with few 
exceptions.
    Several Internet news sites critical of the government experienced 
server problems, which site owners attributed to government 
interference. Such disruptions usually lasted a few hours.
    In January Jigawa police arrested and detained Moukhtari Ibrahim 
Aminu after he insulted Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido on his Facebook 
page. Police detained Aminu for 10 days, after which he was arraigned 
and remanded in prison until February 7. There were no new developments 
in the case by year's end.
    In March 2010 a Kaduna sharia court ordered the immediate 
suspension of all debates on blogs and the online social networking 
sites Facebook and Twitter regarding the 1999 amputation of Bello Buba 
Jangebe's right hand as punishment for stealing a cow. The court issued 
a restraining order to prevent an NGO, the Civil Rights Congress, from 
discussing the decade-old case in its online forums. The presiding 
judge stated that the defendants, as Muslims, had no right to question 
any judgment given by a sharia court. The judge's order represented the 
first of its kind restricting Internet freedom. There were no reports 
of government attempts to collect or disclose personally identifiable 
information in connection with a person's peaceful expression of 
political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The federal government 
continued to restrict academic freedom by controlling elementary and 
secondary curriculums, including mandating religious instruction.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; 
however, the government occasionally banned gatherings when it 
concluded that their political, ethnic, or religious nature might lead 
to unrest. In areas that experienced societal violence, police and 
security forces permitted public meetings and demonstrations on a case-
by-case basis. Security forces used excessive force to disperse 
demonstrators during the year, resulting in numerous deaths and 
injuries (also see section 1.a.). Open-air religious services held away 
from places of worship remained prohibited in many states, due to fear 
that they might heighten interreligious tensions. During national 
elections numerous states banned or cancelled political rallies, citing 
fears that the organizers planned to incite violence.
    For example, on March 21, the state government and police in Jos, 
Plateau State, attempted to block the formation of a political rally 
for presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari. The state government and 
police argued that the city remained too volatile for a political 
rally. When the rally still attempted to form, police fired into the 
crowd, killing six persons.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for the 
right to associate freely with other persons in political parties, 
trade unions, or special interest organizations, and the government 
generally respected this right in practice. The constitution and law 
allow the free formation of political parties. There were 56 parties 
registered with the INEC by year's end. On August 18, the INEC 
deregistered seven political parties that did not meet the requirements 
for the establishment of a political party.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, security officials restricted freedom of 
movement at times by enforcing curfews in areas experiencing 
ethnoreligious violence. They also routinely set up roadblocks and 
checkpoints, sometimes every few miles, to extort money from travelers. 
Security officials continued to use excessive force at checkpoints and 
roadblocks.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees and asylum seekers through the National 
Commission for Refugees (NCFR), its federal commissioner, and the 
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The Eligibility Committee, 
on which the UNHCR had observer status, governed the granting of 
refugee status, asylum, and resettlement, and it also reviewed refugee 
resettlement.

    In-country Movement.--During the year state officials imposed dusk-
to-dawn curfews in response to sectarian conflicts. For example, 
authorities imposed curfews in August and September in areas of Kaduna 
State and Plateau State, following ethnoreligious violence. In some 
cases state and local governments, such as Yobe State and Maidugiri, 
Borno State, imposed curfews or otherwise restricted movement in the 
aftermath of Boko Haram attacks.

    Exile.--There are no legal grounds for forced exile, and there were 
no examples of formal legal proceedings to exile a citizen. However, 
some citizens chose self-exile for political reasons. For example, Nuhu 
Ribadu, former chairman of the EFCC, left the country in 2009 after 
threats on his life. Ribadu voluntarily returned to the country in June 
2010 and ran as an opposition candidate for the presidency in the April 
election.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--There was no national 
registration of internally displaced citizens and no accurate count, 
although the NCFR estimated the number to be approximately one million. 
The NCFR estimated that Edo, Akwa-Ibom, Jigawa, and Plateau states each 
contained at least 200,000 IDPs. There were many causes of 
displacement, including boundary and border disputes, sectarian and 
communal violence, localized political violence, postelection violence, 
forced evictions, conflict in the Niger Delta and Plateau State, the 
government's use of force in its efforts to eliminate extremist sects, 
altered cattle grazing patterns due to climate change, and major 
flooding in the northwest. The government's response to IDPs remained 
uneven, depending on the state affected. Federal NCFR budgets did not 
cover the need, and state and federal emergency management resources 
were inadequate. The NCFR estimated that postelection violence resulted 
in the displacement of more than 33,000 persons. For example, clashes 
in Kafanchan in southern Kaduna State caused up to 14,000 persons to 
flee their homes for relative sanctuary in other villages in Kaduna 
State.
    The NEMA worked with civil society and religious groups to provide 
food and shelter to IDPs. The Kaduna State government, charitable 
organizations, and religious institutions offered homes to families 
fleeing the violence and assisted with integrating them into small 
communities throughout the state. Most of these IDPs either moved back 
to their villages or took up residence with family members in nearby 
villages, and the Kaduna State government continued to work on 
developing housing options for those still displaced at year's end.
    Ethnic disputes over land and political power along the borders of 
Benue, Taraba, and Nassarawa states resulted in violence, destruction 
of property, and the displacement of hundreds of persons. The federal 
government deployed mobile police units to affected areas to prevent 
further violence. For example, in November and December the government 
deployed security forces after an eruption of violence between Fulani 
and Tiv ethnic groups in Benue State near the Nasarawa border. Press 
reports estimated at least 50 people killed and 5,000 people displaced 
as a result of the violence.
    Beginning in early 2009, as many as 1,000 fishermen and their 
families from the Bakassi Peninsula sought refuge near Calabar due to 
reported violence by Cameroonian police forces. This area formed part 
of the lands that the International Court of Justice awarded to 
Cameroon pursuant to the 2007 Greentree agreement to settle the 
disputed land border between the two nations. Rivers State emergency 
services tried to provide permanent housing and services for displaced 
citizens at year's end.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion.
    According to the UNHCR, the country had 8,806 refugees, with 
another 1,529 refugee applications pending at year's end. Most of these 
refugees came from Liberia, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of 
the Congo.
    An office operated by the NCFR in Maiduguri, Borno State, assisted 
refugees from Chad.

    Access to Basic Services.--The UNHCR provided food, education, and 
job skills training, and refugees could move and work freely in the 
country. However, refugees, like citizens, had poor access to the 
police and courts and few opportunities for employment.

    Durable Solutions.--As a result of repatriation and local 
integration, overcrowding in refugee camps decreased during the year. 
Authorities decommissioned the camp at Oru, near Lagos, although 
refugees continued to occupy buildings without permission. Some of the 
2,500 refugees in the camp received 75,000 naira ($463) to integrate 
into the local community. At year's end others still sought to 
repatriate or resettle in third countries.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary 
protection to a few hundred individuals who may not qualify as 
refugees.
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 through periodic, free, and fair elections 
held on the basis of universal suffrage. Overall, authorities conducted 
credible general elections in April. Some candidates alleged fraud and 
filed petitions before election tribunals, which upheld some results 
while overturning others. Such fraud and continued election 
irregularities abridged citizens' right to change their government to a 
limited extent.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 
government held presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative elections 
in April. The elections were scheduled to begin on April 2, but 
logistical challenges caused the INEC to delay them until April 9. 
Thirty-seven parties participated in the legislative elections. The 
INEC initially estimated a voter turnout as high as 75 percent, 
although this number varied from 20 to 60 percent in different regions. 
The legislative elections produced major changes in the National 
Assembly, with only about one-third of the incumbents in the Senate and 
the House of Representatives returning and the opposition parties 
gaining many seats. International observers witnessed generally calm 
and orderly voting at many polling stations.
    The presidential election was held on April 16. President Goodluck 
Jonathan, who had assumed the presidency in May 2010 following his 
predecessor's death, and Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo were 
elected to a new four-year term. Twenty parties were listed on the 
ballot in the presidential election. The INEC estimated a voter turnout 
of 35 percent of the country's 70 million registered voters. According 
to the INEC, President Jonathan, the PDP candidate, tallied 58.9 
percent of the vote, while CPC candidate Muhammadu Buhari won 32 
percent. Project Swift Count (PSC) 2011, a group of four Nigerian civil 
society organizations, conducted parallel vote tabulations and reported 
that President Jonathan received 58.7 percent of the vote and Muhammadu 
Buhari received 30.8 percent. The PSC deployed field observers to 1,497 
polling units in all 774 local government areas in 36 states and the 
FTC. Election observers judged the presidential election to be more 
organized than the legislative elections and largely free, fair, and 
transparent. However, observers reported that some election precincts 
experienced fraud and electoral irregularities including vote rigging 
and buying; under-age voting; ballot stuffing; late openings and 
overcrowding of polls; insufficient voting materials; and intimidation 
and political violence.
    Some violence occurred during the campaigns and on election day. On 
April 6, a bomb killed a PDP official preparing to distribute election 
materials in Kaduna. On April 8, outside the INEC office in Suleja, 
Niger State, a bomb blast killed as many as 13 persons. In September 
six suspected members of Boko Haram were arraigned at a federal high 
court in Abuja for allegedly bombing the election office in Suleja, as 
well as for the bombing of a PDP political rally, a church, and 
detonation of a bomb that killed security agents. On October 20, the 
hearing commenced and continued at year's end.
    On election day a bomb explosion at a polling station in Maiduguri, 
Borno State, killed two persons, and in Delta State police shot and 
killed two individuals during an interparty dispute at a polling 
station.
    Political violence occurred at federal, state, and local levels, as 
well as within political parties. In some cases before and after the 
election period, violence stemmed from rivalries and competition 
between political candidates. However, immediately following the April 
16 presidential election, supporters of opposition CPC candidate Buhari 
began protests of President Jonathan's victory that led to an outbreak 
of violence in the north and in the Middle Belt states. The northern 
states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, 
Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara experienced violent riots. Incidents 
ranged in severity and included mass protests, machete attacks, prison 
breaks, and the burning of businesses, places of worship, houses, and 
government offices. Rioters targeted local opponents, political rivals, 
and innocent bystanders. The violence claimed lives, damaged property, 
and led to restrictions of movement. HRW stated that election-related 
violence resulted in more than 800 deaths and displaced 65,000 persons 
in the 12 northern states. The police put the total at 520 deaths.
    Gubernatorial elections for 26 states occurred on April 26 amid 
postpresidential election violence. Ten states did not hold 
gubernatorial elections due to a series of court decisions that 
extended the tenure of the incumbent governors. Kogi State held 
gubernatorial elections on December 4. The remaining nine states 
planned to hold gubernatorial elections off cycle in the coming years.
    On October 10, the government released the report on postelection 
violence of the Presidential Committee on the 2011 Election Violence 
and Civil Disturbances. Retired grand qadi Sheikh Ahmed Lemu led a 
panel in the investigation of the causes of postelection violence and 
developed recommendations to prevent such occurrences in the future. 
The panel found that the root causes of the violence included 
widespread desire for change following failed promises to fix 
infrastructure; corruption; zoning policies that turned the election 
into an ethnoreligious contest; rumor mongering and negative 
campaigning; the failure of the government to enact previous panel 
recommendations; and the individual actions of some candidates. The 
report specifically identified CPC candidate Buhari as contributing to 
the violence. The panel found that his comment to supporters to ``guard 
their vote'' was ``misconstrued by many voters to include recourse to 
violence which they did.''
    During the year the courts continued to hear and adjudicate cases 
related to the April elections. Following the elections the CPC filed a 
petition challenging President Jonathan's victory in court. The CPC 
petitioned to have election results overturned in 20 states. On 
November 1, the Presidential Election Tribunal upheld the presidential 
election results.
    In April election rioters in Giade, Bauchi State, killed seven 
National Youth Service Corps members who manned polls on election duty, 
a policewoman, and two businessmen. A Bauchi magistrate court presided 
over the case, which included 20 suspects connected with the killings, 
as well as 21 others suspected of other postelection murders. The case 
remained in court at year's end.
    In October violence between PDP and Action Congress of Nigeria 
(ACN) supporters erupted in Ugba, Benue State. Although accounts 
varied, the violence appeared to start after assailants attacked the 
home of a traditional leader in the town, killing four members of his 
family. The ensuing clash between supporters of the two parties 
resulted in as many as 30 deaths, and 60 houses also were destroyed.
    On March 4, 10 people died and others suffered injuries when a bomb 
exploded at a political rally for Niger State governor Mu'azu Babangida 
Aliyu (PDP) in Suleja, Niger State.
    Extremists also contributed to the political violence. For example, 
on January 29, Boko Haram gunmen killed the Borno State All Nigeria 
People's Party gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Modu Fanmani Gubo, and 
six others in Maiduguri, Borno State.

    Political Parties.--Establishing a political party remained 
relatively easy if supporters paid the required fees. Parties generally 
formed around individuals rather than on ideological grounds. 
Allegations continued that the PDP established new parties to confuse 
voters with large numbers of candidates.
    Membership in the majority party, PDP, conferred advantages, 
primarily in employment. Police arbitrarily arrested opposition 
leaders.
    On October 25, police in Kogi State arrested 28 members of the 
opposition ACN party while they traveled to Abuja on an Osun State 
government bus. The police commissioner in Osun stated that police 
arrested the ACN members because they could not explain their 
``mission'' to Abuja.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Men continued to account 
for more than 90 percent of the country's appointed and elected 
officials in more than 500 ministerial and national assembly positions.
    To promote national unity and loyalty, the law mandates that the 
composition of the federal, state, and local governments and their 
agencies, as well as the conduct of their affairs, reflect the diverse 
character of the country. The Jonathan administration demonstrated this 
diversity. President Jonathan is an Ijaw from the southern state of 
Bayelsa, the vice president is a Hausa Fulani from the northern state 
of Kaduna, the senate president is an Idoma from the central state of 
Benue, and the speaker of the house is from the northwest state of 
Kebbi. The government attempted to balance other key positions among 
the different regions and ethnic groups; however, with more than 250 
ethnic groups, ensuring representation of every group in the government 
was difficult.
    The majority PDP also engaged in ``zoning'' for many key positions, 
a practice of rotating positions within the party among the different 
regions and ethnic groups to ensure that each region was given adequate 
representation. The practice of zoning became an issue because 
Jonathan's transition from vice president to president after the death 
of former president Yar'Adua, a northerner, upset the prior rotational 
scheme.
    On June 6, the National Assembly elected Aminu Waziri Tambawal as 
speaker of the house, disrupting the practice of zoning and countering 
the wishes of the majority PDP party, which hoped to retain a member 
from the southwest in the position of speaker. The PDP attempted to 
thwart Tambuwal's election as speaker both before and on the day of the 
election of principal officers of the House of Representatives. 
Security agents laid in wait to arrest Tambuwal on arrival at the 
National Assembly on the day of the election; however, he was able to 
evade arrest and enter the National Assembly, where he was elected 
speaker.
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. 
Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of 
government and the security forces. The constitution provides immunity 
from civil and criminal prosecution to the president, vice president, 
governors, and deputy governors while in office.
    There was a widespread perception that judges were easily bribed 
and that litigants could not rely on the courts to render impartial 
judgments. Citizens encountered long delays and alleged requests from 
judicial officials for bribes to expedite cases or obtain favorable 
rulings.
    Police corruption remained rampant, particularly at highway 
checkpoints. Police routinely stopped drivers who did not commit 
traffic infractions, refusing to allow them to continue until they paid 
bribes. The Office of the Inspector General of Police attempted to 
strengthen the Police Monitoring Unit, which was charged with visiting 
police stations to search officers for signs of accepting bribes; 
however, the unit remained ineffective and made no arrests by year's 
end. Citizens could report incidents of police corruption to the NHRC; 
however, the NHRC did not act on such complaints during the year, and 
no other mechanism existed to investigate security force abuse (see 
section 5).
    In August 2010 HRW released Everyone's in on the Game, a report on 
corruption and human rights abuses by the police. HRW compiled 
information from 145 interviews and documented pervasive police 
extortion with impunity committed by police officers throughout the 
country. Police demanded bribes, threatened arrest and physical harm, 
and enforced a system of ``returns'' in which officers must pay up the 
chain of command a share of the money they extorted from the public. 
This system undermined the rule of law and created a large disincentive 
for superior officers to hold their subordinates accountable for 
extortion and other abuses.
    Public officials, including the president, vice president, 
governors, deputy governors, cabinet ministers, and legislators (at 
both federal and state levels), must comply with financial disclosure 
laws, including the requirement to declare their assets before assuming 
and after leaving office. Violators risked prosecution, but cases 
rarely came to conclusion. On October 26, the Code of Conduct Tribunal 
commenced the trial of former governor of Lagos State Asiwaju Bola 
Ahmed Tinubu, who allegedly failed to disclose multiple foreign bank 
accounts he operated while serving as governor. There was no decision 
in the case by year's end.
    The EFCC's anticorruption efforts were largely ineffectual. The 
2008 replacement of its internationally respected chairman, Nuhu 
Ribadu, and transfer of many of its senior personnel raised questions 
about the government's commitment to fighting corruption. On November 
23, President Jonathan removed EFCC Chair Farida Waziri after credible 
allegations appeared that she was engaged in corrupt practices.
    On August 25, HRW released Corruption on Trial, a report on the 
record of the EFCC. The report examined the EFCC's record of conviction 
and prosecution of members of the political elite implicated in 
corruption under Ribadu and his replacement Waziri. The report found 
that, although the EFCC had done a competent job of prosecuting 
apolitical financial crimes, it had less success in high-profile 
political corruption cases.
    Despite the arrest of several high-ranking officials by the EFCC, 
allegations continued that agency investigations targeted individuals 
who had fallen out of favor with the government, while those who were 
in favor continued their activities with impunity. Since 2005 the EFCC 
prosecuted 26 nationally prominent public officials and recovered 1.7 
trillion naira ($10.5 billion). However, only four of these officials--
former inspector general of police Tafa Balogun, former Bayelsa State 
governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, former Edo State governor Lucky 
Igbinedion, and PDP chieftain and former Nigerian ports authority 
chairman Olabode George--were convicted. The courts granted bail to all 
the others.
    In May the EFCC arrested former minister of works and housing 
Hassan Lawal for the mismanagement of 50 billion naira ($308 million). 
Their trials continued at year's end. In June the EFCC arrested Dimeji 
Bankole, former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Deputy 
Speaker Usman Nafada for the alleged misappropriation of one billion 
naira ($6.2 million) and 40 billion naira ($247 million), respectively.
    In October the EFCC arrested four former governors who vacated 
office earlier in the year, including former Ogun governor Otunba 
Gbenga Daniel, former Oyo governor Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, former 
Nasarawa governor Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma, and former Gombe governor 
Muhammed Danjuma Goje. The four allegedly misappropriated or stole 58 
billion naira ($358 million), 25 billion naira ($154 million), 18 
billion naira ($111 million), and 12.8 billion naira ($79 million), 
respectively. Their trials began in December and continued at year's 
end.
    Former Delta State governor James Ibori was acquitted on 170 counts 
of corruption charges. He continued to face court charges in the United 
Kingdom for money laundering and other financial crimes stemming from 
embezzlement during his government tenure. The United Arab Emirates 
extradited Ibori to the United Kingdom, where he was scheduled to stand 
trial in February 2012.
    In May 2010 authorities arraigned former PDP national chairman 
Vincent Ogbulafor on 17 criminal counts of corruption and money 
laundering in the amount of 2.3 billion naira ($14 million). Ogbulafor 
filed a petition to dismiss the charges. There were no new developments 
in the case by year's end.
    In August 2010 Attorney General Mohammed Adoke announced that the 
government could not authenticate the Pius Okigbo Panel report on 
former military president and general Ibrahim Babangida, which charged 
that Babangida mismanaged 12.4 billion naira ($76 million) during his 
administration. The civil society group Socio-Economic Rights and 
Accountability Project (SERAP) accused the attorney general of a cover-
up. A federal high court was scheduled to announce a ruling on July 28, 
but did not do so by year's end.
    On October 20, the federal high court in Ado-Ekiti, rearraigned 
former Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayos. In 2006 he was accused of 
laundering 1.4 billion naira ($8.6 million) while in office. The case 
continued at year's end.
    On May 28, President Jonathan signed into law the Nigerian Freedom 
of Information Act (FOIA). The law allows any person to request 
information from a government office. The office must grant access to 
the information or explain why access is denied within seven days of 
receiving the request, or transfer the request to the appropriate 
office within three days. The FOIA makes it the responsibility of all 
public offices to keep records and provides immunity for public 
officers against any form of civil or criminal proceeding for 
``disclosure in good faith of any information'' pursuant to the FOIA. 
The act provides a 30-day window within which anyone denied access by 
any public institution can bring the matter to court for a judicial 
review. The act includes a fine of 500,000 naira ($3,083) for any 
institution or public officer who wrongfully denies access to 
information or records. Destruction of records is a felony punishable 
with a minimum penalty of one year's imprisonment under the act.
    Civil society groups introduced a number of cases at the national 
and state level to test the FOIA during the year. For example, in 
September the SERAP brought a case against the Oyo State government 
after being denied access to information on state funding for primary 
education. The case continued at year's end.
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 
sometimes cooperated and responded to their views. The government did 
not interfere with international human rights organizations that 
visited the country to research human rights violations, police abuses, 
and ethnic conflicts.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The NHRC, which the government 
tasked with monitoring and protecting human rights, maintained zonal 
affiliates in the country's six political regions. The commission 
published periodic reports detailing specific human rights abuses, 
including torture and poor prison conditions. The NHRC's operations 
were limited by insufficient funding. The commission also lacked an 
independent budget and judicial authority and could only make 
nonbinding recommendations to the government. However, in March the 
president signed the National Human Rights Commission Amendment Act. 
The law, which had remained in the National Assembly for six years 
awaiting presidential signature, secures the independence and funding 
of the NHRC through the Human Rights Fund. The law also provides 
greater recognition and enforcement of NHRC decisions. In September the 
NGO Human Rights Agenda Nigeria criticized the government for delayed 
implementation of the act, specifically for the failure to establish 
the Human Rights Fund or provide the NHRC and Legal Aid Council with 
sufficient funding for the promotion and protection of human rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on 
community, place of origin, ethnic group, sex, religion, or political 
opinion; however, the government did not enforce the law effectively. 
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on the circumstances of 
a person's birth. However, the constitution does not explicitly 
prohibit discrimination based on disability.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape and 
provides penalties of 10 years' to life imprisonment, as well as fines 
of 200,000 naira ($1,233) for those convicted of rape, but societal 
pressure and the stigma associated with rape reduced both the 
percentage of rapes reported and the penalties imposed for conviction. 
In 2006 AI issued a report criticizing the judicial system for a 
conviction rate of only 10 percent of the total number of rape 
prosecutions.
    The law recognizes spousal rape as a separate offense; however, 
spousal rape was difficult to prove in court, and no such prosecutions 
were reported during the year. According to the 2008 Nigeria 
Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 3 percent of married women 
between the ages of 15 and 49 experienced spousal rape.
    Rape remained rampant in universities. For example, in September a 
video allegedly showing five men gang-raping a female Abia State 
University student began circulating on the Internet. The video, which 
garnered extensive media coverage, led to criticism across the country. 
University and Abia State government officials initially denied the 
authenticity of the video. Police officials in Abia made initial 
arrests but eventually released the suspects without charge. Police 
stated that they could not prosecute the case unless the victim came 
forward. The House of Representatives Justice Committee and the NHRC 
both called for an investigation of the case, but there was no 
additional progress by year's end.
    No laws criminalize gender-based violence, and some federal laws 
allow such violence. For example, the penal code permits husbands to 
use physical means to chastise their wives as long as it does not 
result in ``grievous harm,'' which is defined as loss of sight, 
hearing, speech, facial disfigurement, or life-threatening injuries. 
Penalties for the sexual assault of a man exceed the penalties for the 
same offense against a woman.
    Domestic violence remained widespread and often was considered 
socially acceptable. In a survey released in 2009, 28 percent of women 
reported experiencing violence after age 15, the majority of which a 
husband or partner had inflicted. The Legislative Advocacy Coalition on 
Violence Against Women conducted a survey of gender-based violence in 
18 states from January through June of 2010. Of the 479 cases surveyed, 
44 percent involved cases of physical violations, 21 percent sexual 
violations, 18 percent domestic violence, 12 percent harmful 
traditional practices, and 3 percent economic violations.
    Police did not intervene in domestic disputes. In rural areas 
courts and police remained reluctant to intervene to protect women who 
formally accused their husbands of abuse if the level of alleged abuse 
did not exceed customary norms in the areas. According to the 2008 
NDHS, 43 percent of women and 30 percent of men between the ages of 15 
and 49 agreed that a husband may justifiably hit or beat his wife for 
at least one of five specified reasons, including burning food and 
arguing.
    Project Alert on Violence Against Women, a local NGO, continued 
various outreach efforts to combat domestic violence, including 
training programs to sensitize police to domestic violence, support 
groups and programs for male abusers, and assistance to faith-based 
organizations in counseling victims of domestic abuse. Project Alert 
also operated a shelter, Sophia's Place, for victims of domestic 
violence, which offered services such as counseling, legal aid, and 
acquisition of skills. The Women's Rights Advancement and Protection 
Alternative also served as a leading voice in the campaign against 
violence against women and advocated passage of legislation to protect 
women's rights.
    In June 2010 the government deposed the traditional ruler of Akure 
Kingdom in Ondo State after he attacked one of his wives in the street 
in full view of witnesses. Police stated that they would press assault 
charges against the perpetrator, and many in Ondo State and Abuja 
criticized the actions of the traditional ruler. In a countermeasure 
the accused filed an injunction naming police and the courts and asking 
the court to drop the case. There were no developments in the case by 
year's end.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Purdah, the cultural practice of 
secluding women and pubescent girls from unrelated men, continued in 
various parts of the north. In some parts of the country, widows 
experienced unfavorable conditions as a result of discriminatory 
traditional customs. ``Confinement,'' which occurred predominantly in 
the northeast, remained the most common rite of deprivation for widows. 
Confined widows stayed under social restrictions for as long as one 
year and usually shaved their heads and dressed in black as part of a 
culturally mandated mourning period. In other areas communities viewed 
a widow as a part of her husband's property to be ``inherited'' by his 
family.
    Polygyny remained legal and widely practiced among many ethnic and 
religious groups.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment remained a common problem. No 
statutes prohibit sexual harassment, but authorities may prosecute 
violent forms of it under assault statutes. The practice of demanding 
sexual favors in exchange for employment or university grades remained 
common. Women suffered harassment for social and religious reasons in 
some regions.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals generally had the 
right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing 
of children; however, effective information and counseling on 
reproductive health was not widely available to women and couples. 
According to the 2008 NDHS, 70 percent of women knew about at least one 
method of family planning; however, only 15 percent used any kind of 
birth control, and only 10 percent used modern methods. Approximately 
50 percent of the population consisted of adolescents; many of them 
were sexually active, but few had access to contraceptives. The U.N. 
Population Fund reported the maternal mortality rate at 840 deaths for 
every 100,000 live births in 2008, a high rate partially due to births 
to adolescents and women at high risk of complications from pregnancy. 
Approximately 54,000 women and 250,000 newborns died annually from 
complications of childbirth. A trained health professional assisted an 
estimated 39 percent of live births. Women married young and averaged a 
fertility rate of 5.7 children; 36 percent of mothers did not receive 
any prenatal care, and only 38 percent of new mothers received 
postnatal examinations within two days of delivery. Women and men 
received equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually 
transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The constitution provides for equality and freedom 
from discrimination; however, women experienced considerable economic 
discrimination. No laws barred women from particular fields of 
employment, but women often experienced discrimination under 
traditional and religious practices. The country's NGO coalition 
expressed concern over continued discrimination against women in the 
private sector, particularly in access to employment, promotion to 
higher professional positions, and salary equality. According to 
credible reports, many businesses operated with a ``get pregnant, get 
fired'' policy. Women remained underrepresented in the formal sector 
but played active and vital roles in the country's informal economy. 
The number of women employed in the business sector increased every 
year, but women did not receive equal pay for equal work and often 
encountered difficulty in acquiring commercial credit or obtaining tax 
deductions or rebates as heads of households. Unmarried women in 
particular endured many forms of discrimination.
    Some women made considerable progress in both the academic and 
business worlds, but women overall remained marginalized. No laws 
barred women from owning land, but some customary land tenure systems 
allowed only men to own land, and women could gain access to land only 
through marriage or family. Many customary practices also did not 
recognize a woman's right to inherit her husband's property, and many 
widows became destitute when their in-laws took virtually all the 
deceased husband's property.
    Women in the 12 northern states were affected to varying degrees by 
sharia law. In Zamfara State local governments enforced laws requiring 
the separation of Muslim men and women in transportation and health 
care. The Kano State prohibition on commercial motorcycle taxis taking 
women as passengers remained in place; however, authorities did not 
strictly enforce the prohibition.
    The testimony of women received less weight than that of men in 
many criminal courts. No law barred women from arranging surety bonds 
for bail for persons detained by the police, but in practice women 
could not provide such bail arrangements at most police detention 
facilities across the country.

    Children.--Birth registration.--Citizenship of a child is derived 
from the parents. The government did not require birth registration, 
and the majority of births remained unregistered; however, lack of 
documents did not result in denial of education, health care, or other 
public services.

    Education.--Public schools remained substandard, and limited 
facilities precluded access to education for many children. The law 
calls for the government--when practical--to provide free, compulsory, 
and universal primary education to age 12. However, authorities rarely 
provided compulsory primary education, and often charged numerous 
mandatory school fees. Most educational funding came from the federal 
government, with state governments required to pay a share; however, 
some states did not disclose their funding share. Of the country's 
estimated 30 million primary school-age children, seven million did not 
enroll in the conventional school system. As a result of the 
government's failure to pay them for months at a time, primary, 
secondary, and university teachers frequently went on strike. In many 
parts of the country, girls were discriminated against in access to 
education for social and economic reasons. When economic hardship 
restricted families' ability to send children to school, many girls 
became involved in activities such as domestic work, trading, and 
street vending. Many families favored boys over girls in deciding which 
children to enroll in elementary and secondary schools.
    In May the government released the findings of the 2010 Nigeria 
Education Data Survey, a follow-up report to the 2008 NDHS. According 
to the survey, attendance rates in primary school ranged from 35 to 80 
percent. The lowest attendance rates occurred in the northeast and 
northwest, where rates for boys and girls hovered around 43-47 and 35-
38 percent, respectively. Overall, 63 and 58 percent of boys and girls, 
respectively, attended school. According to UNICEF, for every 10 girls 
in school, more than 22 boys attended. For young persons between the 
ages of 17 and 25 years, 25 percent had fewer than two years of 
education.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse remained common throughout the country. 
The government criticized child abuse and neglect but did not undertake 
significant measures to combat it. Human rights groups reported sexual 
assaults and rapes of young girls, especially in the north.
    Children accused of witchcraft were abused in some states. Children 
accused of witchcraft suffered kidnapping, torture, and death. 
According to two local NGOs that operated shelters, Stepping Stones 
Nigeria (SSN) and the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN), 
attackers drove nails into children's heads, cut off fingers, tied 
children to trees, and abandoned them in the jungle. The state 
governor, reacting to international press stories of persecution of 
children accused of witchcraft in Akwa Ibom, issued arrest warrants for 
the leaders of the SSN and the CRARN for alleged misappropriation of 
funds and personal gain. The cases remained pending at year's end, with 
outstanding warrants for the shelter's directors.
    In June police raided a hospital in Aba, Abia State, and rescued 
girls being held to produce babies for sale in witchcraft rituals. The 
police rescued 32 of the girls, ages 15 to 17. Male babies reportedly 
sold for up to one million naira ($6,167) for use in trafficking rings 
or witchcraft rituals. The owner of the hospital claimed that the 
hospital served as a shelter for pregnant teenagers. Authorities held 
him for trial at year's end.
    On February 11, the NGO International Humanist and Ethical Union 
claimed that it rescued two children accused of witchcraft in Uyo, Akwa 
Ibom State. The NGO found the children living with a single man and 
working in the market as child laborers after their parents had 
abandoned them.
    In September 2010 media reported that public criticism and efforts 
by the government, particularly in Akwa Ibom State, had caused a drop 
in new cases of children abused for alleged witchcraft. In November 
2010 the government of Akwa Ibom State set up the Commission of Inquiry 
into Witchcraft Accusations and Child Rights Abuses. On May 10, the 
commission adjourned, but its findings were not available by year's 
end.
    Self-proclaimed ``bishop'' Sunday Williams publicly claimed to have 
killed 110 child witches and asserted that Akwa Ibom State had as many 
as 2.3 million witches and wizards among its population of 3.9 million. 
In 2008 authorities arrested Williams and charged him with torture and 
murder; authorities arraigned him in 2009, and the case continued at 
year's end.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law criminalizes the removal of 
any part of a sexual organ from a woman or girl, except for medical 
reasons approved by a doctor. According to the provisions of the law, 
an offender is any woman who offers herself for FGM; any person who 
coerces, entices, or induces any woman to undergo FGM; or any person 
who, for other than for medical reasons, performs an operation removing 
part of a woman's or a girl's sexual organs. The law provides for a 
fine of 50,000 naira ($308), one year's imprisonment, or both, for a 
first offense and doubled penalties for a second conviction.
    The federal government publicly opposed FGM but took no legal 
action to curb the practice. Twelve states banned FGM; however, once a 
state legislature criminalized FGM, NGOs found that they had to 
convince the local government authorities that state laws applied in 
their districts. The Ministry of Health, women's groups, and many NGOs 
sponsored public awareness projects to educate communities about the 
health hazards of FGM; however, underfunding and logistical obstacles 
limited their contact with health care workers.
    The 2008 NDHS reported that 30 percent of women in the country 
suffered FGM. While practiced in all parts of the country, FGM remained 
most prevalent in the southern region among the Yoruba and Igbo. 
Infibulation, the most severe form of FGM, infrequently occurred in 
northern states but was common in the south. The age at which women and 
girls were subjected to the practice varied from the first week of life 
until after a woman delivered her first child; however, most female 
victims suffered FGM before their first birthday.
    FGM often resulted in obstetrical fistula (a tearing of the vaginal 
area as a result of prolonged, obstructed labor without timely medical 
intervention). Most fistulas resulted in the death of the baby and 
chronic incontinence in the woman. The social consequences of fistula 
included physical and emotional isolation, abandonment or divorce, 
ridicule and shame, infertility, lack of economic support, and the risk 
of violence and abuse. The absence of treatment greatly reduced 
prospects for work and family life, and affected women had to rely on 
charity.

    Child Marriage.--The Child Rights Act, as passed by the National 
Assembly, stipulates a minimum age of 18 years for marriage. Most 
states, especially northern states, did not adopt the act, and those 
states did not uphold the federal official minimum age for marriage. 
The government did not take significant steps to stop traditional 
practices harmful to children, such as sales of young girls into 
marriage. According to credible reports, there were incidents of poor 
families selling their daughters into marriage to supplement their 
incomes. Families sometimes forced young girls into marriage as early 
as puberty, regardless of age, to prevent ``indecency'' associated with 
premarital sex or for other cultural and religious reasons.
    In March 2010 Zamfara Senator Sani Ahmed Yerima married a 14-year-
old Egyptian girl at the central mosque in Abuja, in violation of the 
2003 Child Rights Act adopted by the FCT. He maintained that he was not 
subject to civil laws, only sharia laws. The National Agency for the 
Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) investigated the case, 
but authorities did not prosecute Yerima.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There is no statutory rape law. 
Child prostitution is prohibited, with penalties of up to seven years' 
imprisonment for the adult involved. The minimum age of consensual sex 
is 18. The Child Rights Act, which provides penalties for pornography, 
was not implemented in all states.

    Displaced Children.--In June 2010 then acting president Jonathan 
stated that the country had 17.5 million vulnerable children, including 
7.3 million orphans. According to 2009 U.N. statistics, 1.2 million 
children became orphans due to HIV/AIDS. UNICEF noted that 25 percent 
of children in the country, including orphans, suffered from inadequate 
nutrition, poor access to health care, and infrequent school 
attendance.
    Many children remained homeless and lived on the streets. The 
government did not have any statistics on their numbers. Major factors 
causing children to turn to the streets included instability in the 
home, poverty, hunger, abuse and violence by parents, and displacement 
caused by clashes in the community.
    In December 2010 the Ministerial Committee on Madrasah Education 
reported that 9.5 million children worked as ``almajirai,'' or children 
whose parents sent them from their rural homes to urban areas with the 
expectation that they would study and live with Islamic teachers. 
Instead of receiving an education, however, many almajirai became child 
beggars and were forced to work manual jobs or beg for money that was 
then turned over to their teacher. The religious leaders often did not 
provide the almajirai with sufficient shelter or food, and many of 
these children effectively became homeless.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts during 
the year. An estimated 700 to 900 members of the Jewish community, all 
foreign employees of international firms, resided in Abuja and 
worshipped together in one synagogue.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution does not prohibit 
explicitly discrimination based on disability; however, it prohibits 
discrimination based on the circumstances of one's birth. No laws 
prohibit discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, 
intellectual, or mental disabilities in employment, education, access 
to health care, or the provision of other state services. At year's end 
the president had not yet signed into law a disabilities bill passed in 
2007 that sought to ensure education and accessibility for persons with 
disabilities. Government responsibility for persons with disabilities 
falls under the supervision of the Ministry of Women's Affairs and 
Social Development.
    Mental health facilities remained almost nonexistent, although 
officials at individual prisons attempted to include specialized mental 
health facilities for prisoners with mental conditions. All disabled 
prisoners stayed with the general inmate population without regard to 
disability, and no additional services were available.
    Persons with disabilities faced social stigma, exploitation, and 
discrimination, and relatives often regarded them as a source of shame. 
Many families viewed children with disabilities who could not 
contribute to family income as liabilities and sometimes severely 
abused or neglected them. Many indigent persons with disabilities 
begged on the streets.
    The government ran vocational training centers in Abuja and Lagos 
to train indigent persons with disabilities. Individual states also 
provided facilities to assist those who were blind and other persons 
with physical disabilities to become self-supporting. Persons with 
disabilities established self-help NGOs, such as the Hope for the Blind 
Foundation in Zaria, Kano Polio Victims Trust Association, Joint 
National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Albino Foundation, 
and Comprehensive Empowerment of Nigerians with Disabilities. In 2008 
the federal Ministry of Education estimated that there were 3.25 
million school-age children with disabilities. Of these, only 90,000 
(2.76 percent) enrolled in primary school and 65,000 (1.85 percent) in 
secondary school.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's ethnically 
diverse population consisted of more than 250 groups. Many were 
concentrated geographically and spoke distinct primary languages. Three 
major groups--Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba--jointly constituted 
approximately half the population. Members of all ethnic groups 
practiced ethnic discrimination, particularly in private-sector hiring 
patterns and the segregation of urban neighborhoods. A long history of 
tension existed between some ethnic groups.
    Many groups complained of insufficient representation in 
government.
    The law prohibits ethnic discrimination by the government, but 
claims of marginalization continued, particularly by members of 
southern groups and Igbos. Ethnic groups of the Niger Delta continued 
their calls for senior representation on petroleum agencies and 
committees and within security forces.
    The constitution requires that the government have a ``national 
character,'' meaning that cabinet and other high-level positions are 
distributed to persons representing each of the 36 states, or each of 
the six geopolitical regions. Traditional relationships were used to 
pressure government officials to favor particular ethnic groups in the 
distribution of important positions and other patronage.
    All citizens have the right to live in any part of the country, but 
state and local governments frequently discriminated against ethnic 
groups not indigenous to their areas, occasionally compelling 
individuals to return to a region where their ethnic group originated 
but to which they no longer had personal ties. The government sometimes 
compelled nonindigenous persons to move by threats, discrimination in 
hiring and employment, or destruction of their homes. Those who chose 
to stay sometimes experienced further discrimination, including denial 
of scholarships and exclusion from employment in the civil service, 
police, and military.
    For example, in Plateau State, the predominantly Muslim and 
nonindigenous Hausa and Fulani faced significant discrimination from 
the local government in land ownership, jobs, access to education, 
scholarships, and government representation.
    Religious differences often mirrored regional, ethnic, and 
occupational differences. For example, in many areas of the Middle 
Belt, Muslim Fulani tended to be pastoralists, while the Muslim Hausa 
and Christian Igbo and other ethnic groups tended to be farmers or work 
in urban areas. Consequently, ethnic, regional, economic, and land use 
competition often correlated with religious differences between the 
competing groups.
    Incidents of communal violence between ethnic groups in the Middle 
Belt, also divided along Christian-Muslim lines, resulted in numerous 
deaths and injuries, the displacement of thousands of persons, and 
widespread property destruction.
    Ethnoreligious violence, often triggered by disputes between 
farmers and herders, resulted in numerous deaths and significant 
displacement during the year. The most deadly examples of such conflict 
occurred in Jos and the farmland surrounding the city. In January as 
many as 100 persons were killed in violence that followed the 2010 
Christmas bombings in Jos that killed and injured Christians, and in 
clashes between Christian and Hausa Fulani youths and the STF around 
the University of Jos. HRW estimated that more than 200 persons, both 
Muslim and Christian, died in reprisals and counterreprisals, which 
continued throughout the year.
    Land disputes, ethnic differences, settler-indigene tensions, and 
religious affiliation all contributed to these attacks. Determining 
motives behind any single attack remained difficult. ``Silent 
killings'' occurred throughout the year, in which individuals 
disappeared and later were found dead. Reprisal attacks at night in 
which assailants targeted and attacked individual homes or communities 
occurred frequently. For example, on September 4, unknown assailants 
killed a family of eight, including a four-month-old baby, during the 
night in a village outside of Jos. In late August at the end of 
Ramadan, a dispute between Muslim and Christian youths over the 
location to hold Eid prayers led to violence in and around Jos that 
resulted in the death of up to 100 Muslims and Christians. Authorities 
did not convict any perpetrators of such violence during the year or 
those involved in attacks by Muslim Fulani herders in March 2010 that 
left 700 persons dead.
    The Presidential Advisory Committee on Jos Crisis delivered its 
report in August 2010. The report contained recommendations regarding 
land ownership, indigeneship, the creation of new local government 
areas, the establishment of a culture of nonviolence, the problem of 
youth unemployment, and community sensitization. Authorities had not 
implemented these recommendations by year's end. Ethnic groups cited 
economic exploitation, environmental destruction, and government 
indifference as their major problems in the oil-producing Niger Delta 
region. Incidents of ethnic conflict and confrontation with government 
officials and forces continued in the Niger Delta area (see section 
1.g.).
    Conflicts over land rights continued among members of the Tiv, 
Kwalla, Jukun, and Azara ethnic groups living near the convergence of 
Nassarawa, Benue, and Taraba states.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual 
activity is illegal under federal law and punishable by prison 
sentences of up to 14 years. In the 12 northern states that have 
adopted sharia, adults convicted of engaging in same-sex sexual 
activity may be subject to execution by stoning, although no such 
sentences have been imposed.
    Because of widespread societal taboos against homosexuality, very 
few persons openly revealed their orientation. The NGOs Global Rights 
and The Independent Project provided lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) groups with legal advice and training in advocacy, 
media responsibility, and HIV/AIDS awareness. Organizations such as the 
Youths 2gether Network also provided access to information and services 
on sexual health and rights for LGBT persons, sponsored programs to 
help build skills useful in social outreach, and provided safe havens 
for LGBT individuals.
    The government and its agents did not impede the work of these 
groups during the year.
    However, on November 29, the Senate passed the Same Sex Marriage 
(Prohibition) Bill, 2011, that would prohibit participating in or 
witnessing same-sex marriage ceremonies, criminalize public displays of 
affection between same-sex couples, and criminalize LGBT organizations. 
The bill includes penalties, including a 14-year prison sentence for 
individuals entering into a same-sex marriage, a 10-year sentence for 
public displays of same-sex affection, and a 10-year sentence for any 
individual who registers, operates, or participates in LGBT clubs, 
societies, organizations, processions, or meetings. The bill also calls 
for a 10-year sentence for any individual aiding, abetting, or 
witnessing the solemnization of a same-sex marriage. The House of 
Representatives conducted a first reading of the bill on December 7 but 
adjourned for the year before conducting a second and third reading and 
bringing the bill to a final vote.
    In March a gang of 10 boys beat and raped three girls they 
suspected were lesbians in Benin, Edo State. The boys videotaped the 
attack, and the footage circulated throughout the state. The girls went 
into hiding due to fear of further attacks and of harassment by the 
general public. There were no charges filed and no further developments 
in the case by year's end.
    Authorities took no action against persons who stoned and beat 
members of the House of Rainbow Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBT-
friendly church in Lagos, in 2008. The attacks occurred after four 
newspapers published photographs, names, and addresses of church 
members. During the year church members and the clergy continued to 
receive threatening e-mail messages, telephone calls, and letters from 
unknown persons. The church and partner groups cancelled conferences on 
sexual rights and health scheduled for Lagos and Abuja in December due 
to concerns about the safety of conference attendees after the proposed 
Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) bill refocused negative attention on 
the Church. The trial of 18 men, originally charged in 2008 with sodomy 
and subsequently charged with vagrancy, had been adjourned multiple 
times. All defendants had posted bail, set at 20,000 naira ($123), and 
gained their release. No resolution of the case had been announced by 
year's end.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was widespread 
societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. The public 
considered the disease a result of immoral behavior and a punishment 
for homosexual activity. Persons with HIV/AIDS often lost their jobs or 
were denied health care services. Authorities and NGOs sought to reduce 
the stigma and change perceptions through public education campaigns.
    Various reports indicated that street mobs killed suspected 
criminals during the year. There were no arrests reported from these 
mob actions and no developments in cases from previous years.
    Killings carried out by organized gangs of armed robbers remained 
common during the year. For example, on August 3, a gang stopped a bus 
travelling overnight from Lagos to Abuja and forced the passengers to 
lie down in the road while they robbed them of possessions. During the 
robbery a second bus travelling on the road ran over and killed 14 of 
the passengers. Between 10 and 30 of the other passengers remained 
missing. There were no arrests in the case by year's end.
    Kidnappings and related violence were a serious problem. For 
example, on August 28, kidnappers abducted Elder Tes Sorae, a 
businessman and chieftain of the PDP in Edo State. During the 
kidnapping the abductors shot and killed two police officers and 
Sorae's driver. The abductors also wounded his daughter and mortally 
wounded his wife, who died five days later. The captors released Sorae 
on September 5 after his family paid an undisclosed ransom.
    On September 7, kidnappers abducted and killed popular musician 
Bayo Ade in Benin City, Edo State. The abductors asked for 500,000 
naira ($3,083). Police reported that two suspected kidnappers remained 
in custody, but by year's end, there were no new developments in the 
case.
    In many regions groups of street youths, known as ``area boys,'' 
operated illegal highway checkpoints at which they demanded money from 
motorists.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides all citizens with the right to form or belong to any 
trade union or other association for the protection of their interests; 
however, some statutory limitations on the right of association and on 
trade unions restricted this right. Under the Trade Unions Act, labor 
unions must be registered with the government and must have a minimum 
of 50 members. It also provides that other trade unions may not be 
registered in the event that a trade union already exists. Workers, 
except members of the armed forces and employees designated under the 
Trade Unions Act as essential public sector workers, may join trade 
unions. Essential workers included government employees in the police, 
prison service, immigration and customs departments, mint, and Central 
Bank. Trade union federations, called in the Trade Unions Act ``central 
labor organizations,'' must register with the government. Each 
federation must consist of 12 or more affiliated trade unions, and 
trade union membership in a federation must be exclusive.
    The law generally does not ensure a union's ability to conduct its 
activities without interference by the public authority. The law 
narrowly defines what union activity is legal. The minister of labor 
has broad authority to cancel the registration of workers' and 
employers' organizations. In addition the registrar of Trade Unions has 
broad powers to supervise union accounts at any time.
    The law provides workers, except those in certain categories, with 
the rights to organize and bargain collectively. Certain categories of 
workers are denied these rights, including employees of the Customs and 
Excise Department, Immigration Department, Nigerian Security Printing 
and Minting Company Limited, prison service, and Central Bank of 
Nigeria. Workers and employers in export processing zones (EPZs) are 
subject to the provisions of the labor laws and the 1992 Nigeria Export 
Processing Zones Decree. Under this decree workers in the EPZs are 
allowed to organize and engage in collective bargaining, but there are 
no explicit provisions to ensure that workers in EPZs have the right to 
organize freely their administration and activities without 
interference by the public authorities. The law does not allow worker 
representatives to have free access to the EPZs to organize workers, 
nor does it allow workers to strike for 10 years following the 
commencement of operations within a zone. In addition the Nigerian 
Export Processing Zones Authority, which the federal government created 
to manage the EPZ program, has the exclusive authority to handle the 
resolution of disputes between employers and employees, thereby 
limiting the autonomy of the bargaining partners.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for monitoring and addressing 
reported cases of antiunion discrimination. There were two central 
labor organizations, the Nigeria Labor Congress and the Trade Union 
Congress of Nigeria.
    The law limits the right to strike to disputes of rights, including 
those arising from the negotiation, application, interpretation, or 
implementation of an employment contract or collective agreement, or 
those arising from a collective and fundamental breach of an employment 
contract or collective agreement, such as one related to wages and 
conditions of work. Strikers are prohibited from blocking airports or 
obstructing public highways, institutions, or premises of any kind. 
Strikes in ``essential services'' are prohibited. Under the Trade 
Disputes Act, essential services include, among others, services for, 
or in connection with, the Central Bank of Nigeria; Nigerian Security 
Printing and Minting Company Limited; any corporate body licensed to 
carry out banking business under the Banking Act; postal service; sound 
broadcasting; maintenance of ports, harbors, docks, or aerodromes; 
transportation of persons, goods, or livestock by road, rail, sea, or 
river; road cleaning; and refuse collection. Strike actions, including 
many in nonessential services, may be subject to a compulsory 
arbitration procedure leading to a final award, which is binding on the 
parties concerned. By granting dispute resolution authority to the 
authorities managing the EPZs, the 1992 EPZ decree removes the autonomy 
of the bargaining partners, since the zone authorities have the power 
to impose compulsory arbitration.
    Strikes are prohibited over national economic policy. Penalties for 
participating in an illegal strike include both fines and imprisonment 
for up to six months. The International Labor Organization (ILO) ruled 
that the law's restrictions on the right to strike contravened ILO 
conventions. The ILO recommended that the relevant laws be amended to 
ensure that workers enjoy the full right to strike, including recourse 
to protest strikes aimed at criticizing the government's economic and 
social policies, without sanction, particularly penal sanction, for 
participating in a peaceful strike. Instead of imposing an outright ban 
on strikes in such categories of services, the ILO recommended that the 
government establish a system of minimum service. Workers not defined 
as essential have the right to strike, although they have to provide 
advance notice. Workers under collective bargaining agreements cannot 
participate in strikes unless their unions complied with legal 
requirements, including provisions for mandatory mediation and referral 
of disputes to the government. Workers can bring labor grievances to 
the judicial system for review. Laws prohibit workers from forcing 
persons to join strikes, closing airports, or obstructing public 
byways, with violations subject to stiff fines and possible prison 
sentences.
    The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination and does not 
provide for reinstatement for workers fired for union activity. No laws 
prohibit retribution against strikers and strike leaders, but strikers 
who believe they are victims of unfair retribution can submit their 
cases to the Industrial Arbitration Panel with the approval of the 
Ministry of Labor. The panel's decisions are binding on the parties but 
may be appealed to the National Industrial Court. The arbitration 
process was cumbersome, time consuming, and ineffective in deterring 
retribution against strikers.
    Officials reported that union membership had declined in recent 
years. Many workers in the informal sector, where most workers find 
employment, belonged to thrift and cooperative societies, which helped 
with daily savings and with loans to meet business needs.
    While workers exercised some of these rights in practice, the 
government generally did not enforce the applicable laws effectively.
    According to labor representatives, in many cases workers' fears of 
negative repercussions inhibited their reporting of antiunion 
activities. On September 8, presidents of Nigeria Labor Congress and 
Trade Union Congress (NLC/TUC) along with other union officials were 
harassed and held hostage by security agents while preparing to lead a 
protest against nonimplementation of the minimum wage by the Enugu 
State government. They were later released due to public outcry.
    There were no reports of prosecution of the arrested members of the 
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria; their 
arrests were tied to the investigation of the alleged Halliburton 
bribery scandal involving top government officials.
    Courts did not ensure due process in protecting workers' rights to 
bring their grievances to the judicial system for review.
    Collective bargaining occurred throughout the public sector and the 
organized private sector but remained restricted in the private sector, 
particularly in the banking and telecommunications sectors. According 
to labor representatives, in many cases workers' fears of negative 
repercussions inhibited their reporting of antiunion activities. In 
August and September, officials of the NLC/TUC were detained in a hotel 
in Enugu State by a large crowd, believed to have been sent by the 
state governor to prevent the officials from addressing a labor rally 
regarding the new Minimum Wage Act. The officials eventually attended 
the rally.
    A local NGO reported that workers were required to sign, as a 
condition of employment, contracts that explicitly prohibited employees 
from attempting to join a union. Some employers dismissed workers 
involved in organizing unions. In September 2010 the management of an 
Abuja hotel dismissed workers involved in organization efforts. The 
fired workers initiated a complaint. The government had not taken 
action on the complaint by year's end.
    In December 2010 a bank withdrew recognition of an employees' union 
without following the legal process to determine whether the new union 
was a legal entity. The case continued in court between the parent 
union and the break-away union. The bank and employees entered into a 
reconciliation process.
    Chinese employers reportedly continued to fail to comply with labor 
laws pertaining to the protection of union organizing, especially in 
the construction and textile sectors.
    In December 2010 police broke up groups of unionized electrical 
workers protesting government efforts to privatize the Power Holding 
Company of Nigeria. These protests occurred in Lagos, Ondo, and Delta 
states. According to media reports, police arrested up to 20 members of 
the National Union of Electricity Workers in Ondo State. The workers 
were eventually released.
    There were no known arrests during the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children; 
however, some laws, including the Labor Decree of 1974, Merchant 
Shipping Act, the Trade Disputes Act of 1990, and Nigerian Press 
Council Act of 2002 (as amended), contain provisions for sanctions that 
include imprisonment with compulsory prison labor. The law provides for 
fines and imprisonment for individuals convicted of engaging in the 
practice of forced or compulsory labor. Enforcement of the law remained 
ineffective in many parts of the country. The government took steps to 
identify or eliminate forced labor, but its efforts were hampered by 
insufficient resources and complicated by jurisdictional issues between 
state and federal governments. Forced labor remained widespread, 
particularly bonded labor and domestic servitude. Children worked in 
agriculture, artisanal building stone and gravel mining, artisanal gold 
mining, petty trading, fishing, and domestic labor.
    UNICEF reported that children were sometimes encouraged to 
participate in ethnic conflicts, but forced involvement was difficult 
to prove. Children were forced into criminal activity, and poverty 
induced children to engage in crime and violent activities.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets a general minimum age for employment of 14 years. Young 
persons under age 15 may be employed only on a daily basis, must 
receive the day's wages at the end of each workday, and must be able to 
return each night to their parents' or guardian's residence; however, 
under the Labor Act these regulations do not apply to domestic service. 
The law also provides exceptions for light work in agriculture and 
horticulture if the employer is a family member. No young person under 
the age of 16 may work underground, in machine work, or on a public 
holiday. No young person may be employed in any job that is injurious 
to health, dangerous, or immoral. For industrial work and work on 
vessels where a family member is not employed, the minimum work age is 
15 years, which is consistent with the age for completing educational 
requirements. The law states that children may not be employed in 
agricultural or domestic work for more than eight hours per day. 
Apprenticeship of youths above the age of 12 is allowed under specific 
conditions.
    Despite the law, children were not adequately protected due to weak 
or nonexistent enforcement. During the year the Ministry of Labor and 
Productivity issued no citations nor collected any fines against 
employers of child labor. Child labor was widespread, and the Ministry 
of Labor and the NAPTIP estimated that more than 15 million children 
participated in child labor.
    The worst forms of child labor identified in the country included 
commercial agriculture and hazardous farm work; street hawking; 
exploitive cottage industries; hazardous mechanical workshops; 
exploitive and hazardous domestic work; commercial fishing; 
exploitative and hazardous pastoral and herding activities; 
construction; transportation; mining and quarrying; prostitution and 
pornography; forced and compulsory labor and debt bondage; forced 
participation in violence, criminal activity, and ethnic, religious, 
and political conflicts; and involvement in drug peddling.
    Many children worked as beggars, street peddlers, bus conductors, 
and domestic servants in urban areas. The government estimated that as 
many as 9.5 million children were engaged in street begging in the 
northern part of the country. Children also worked in the agricultural 
sector and in mines. Boys worked as bondage laborers on farms, in 
restaurants, for small businesses, in granite mines, and as street 
peddlers and beggars. Girls worked involuntarily as domestic servants, 
street peddlers, and commercial sex workers.
    In addition to children who were citizens, there were reports of 
thousands of trafficked Beninese children forced to work in granite 
mines in Abeokuta, Ogun State. An international NGO worked with state 
government officials to eliminate the number of child workers under age 
14 and acted as an ombudsman to advocate for 14- to 16-year-old 
workers. In Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, and near Lafia, in Nassawara 
State, children could be seen hammering down large pieces of rocks, 
stacking them into piles, and carrying them on their heads, but there 
were no official statistics on their state or country of origin. In 
Zamfara State children were employed in industrial facilities used to 
process gold ore, exposing them to hazardous conditions. International 
observers reported improvement in conditions later in the year.
    In an effort to withdraw children from the worst forms of child 
labor, the Ministry of Labor established and upgraded skills 
acquisition and vocational training centers in Kaduna, Ibadan, Enugu, 
and Lagos; four other centers were being developed. New centers in 
Calabar, Bauchi, and Warri were completed. NGO-run or state-run 
vocational training centers were also in operation.
    The Ministry of Labor dealt specifically with child labor problems 
and operated an inspections department to enforce legal provisions on 
conditions of work and protection of workers. From January to November 
the ministry reported 12,040 labor inspections by 441 officers. 
Although the inspectorate employed nearly 500 inspectors for all 
business sectors, there were fewer than 50 factory inspectors for the 
entire country. Victims or their guardians rarely made complaints due 
to intimidation and fear of losing their jobs. Labor inspections mostly 
occurred randomly but occasionally occurred when there was suspicion, 
rather than actual complaints of, illegal activity. The ministry 
conducted inspections mostly in the formal business sector, where the 
incidence of child labor was not reported to be a significant problem. 
A visit to the Nassawara State labor officer found staffing and 
resources well below the level needed for the task, and little capacity 
to address labor law issues in the large informal sector. The NAPTIP 
has some responsibility for enforcing child labor laws, although it 
primarily rehabilitates trafficking and child labor victims.
    The government's child labor policy focused on intervention, 
advocacy, sensitization, legislation, withdrawal of children from 
potentially harmful labor situations, and rehabilitation and education 
of children following withdrawal. The Labor Ministry is responsible for 
enforcing labor laws. The ministry reported that no training programs 
were held in 2010 due to budget constraints. The federal government 
passed the Child Rights Act in 2003, but it required state-level 
ratification for full implementation. Twenty-four states, plus the FCT, 
have passed the act. The remaining states are in the north, where 
sharia is in effect. UNICEF continued to advocate passage and 
enforcement in all other states.
    Private and government initiatives to eliminate child labor 
continued but remained mostly ineffective. The government gradually 
implemented the ILO/International Program for the Elimination of Child 
Labor (ILO/IPEC) Sustainable Tree Crop Program in the cocoa and other 
agricultural subsectors. A component of the ILO/IPEC project sensitized 
farmers to issues relating to hazardous child labor and child 
trafficking for labor exploitation. Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Cross River, and 
Abia states participated in the program during the year. In October the 
government launched an ILO/IPEC project to reduce child labor and 
trafficking in stone quarries in Ogun State.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--A new national monthly minimum 
wage of 18,000 naira ($111) was established by an amendment to the law 
in March. However, implementation of the act was slow, particularly by 
state governments, despite worker protests and warning strikes. 
Employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from provisions of 
the law, and the large majority of workers are not covered by the law.
    The Labor Act mandates a 40-hour workweek, two to four weeks of 
annual leave, and overtime and holiday pay, except for agricultural and 
domestic workers. The Labor Act does not define premium pay or 
overtime. The law prohibits excessive compulsory overtime for civilian 
government employees.
    The law establishes general health and safety provisions, some of 
which are aimed specifically at young or female workers. The 2010 
Employees Compensation Act raised the amounts paid to workers who 
suffered job-related injuries. The act also extended coverage to women 
involved in work not previously covered. The law requires employers to 
compensate injured workers and dependent survivors of those killed in 
industrial accidents. The Factories Act provides for the protection of 
factory employees in hazardous situations, including the right of 
employees to remove themselves from such situations. The law did not 
provide other, nonfactory workers with similar protections. The labor 
laws apply to legal foreign workers, but not all companies respected 
these laws in practice. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for 
enforcing these standards.
    Enforcement did not occur in the informal sector. No citations or 
fines were issued for child labor during the year.
    The Ministry of Labor did not properly monitor and enforce health 
and safety conditions due to insufficient inspectors. The inspectorate 
division of the Ministry of Labor inspects factories for compliance 
with health and safety standards. However, this division was 
underfunded, lacked basic resources and training, and consequently did 
not sufficiently enforce safety regulations at most enterprises, 
particularly construction sites and other nonfactory work locations. In 
addition the compensation law was not enforced strictly.

                               __________

                                 RWANDA

                           executive summary
    Rwanda is a constitutional republic dominated by a strong 
presidency. The ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) leads a coalition 
that includes six smaller parties. Three other registered political 
parties participate in elections. In August 2010 voters elected 
President Paul Kagame to a second seven-year term. Senate elections 
took place in September, with RPF candidates winning the majority of 
seats by wide margins. International observers reported the senate 
elections met generally recognized standards of free and fair elections 
in most respects but noted concerns regarding the independence of 
voters' decisions. State security forces (SSF) generally reported to 
civilian authorities, although there were instances in which elements 
of the security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The most important human rights problems were lack of respect for 
the integrity of the person, particularly illegal detention, torture, 
and disappearance of persons detained by SSF; unwarranted restrictions 
on the freedoms of speech and press, particularly harassment, violence, 
and arrest of journalists, political dissidents, and human rights 
advocates; and societal violence and discrimination against women and 
children.
    Other major human rights problems included allegations of attempted 
assassinations of government opponents, both within the country and 
abroad; conditions within prisons and detention centers that sometimes 
failed to comply with international standards; prolonged pretrial 
detention; irregularities in the judicial process; unwarranted 
restrictions on freedoms of assembly, association, and, to a lesser 
extent, religion; inadequate security for refugees; official 
corruption; trafficking in persons; discrimination and occasional 
societal violence against the Twa minority and lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
and transgender (LGBT) persons; restrictions on labor rights; and child 
labor.
    The government generally took steps to prosecute or punish 
officials who committed abuses, whether in the security services or 
elsewhere, but impunity involving civilian officials and SSF was a 
problem.
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 attempted to commit arbitrary or unlawful 
killings within the country and abroad. The government typically 
investigated security force killings and prosecuted perpetrators. The 
government investigated sporadic grenade attacks across the country and 
continued to prosecute individuals who threatened or harmed genocide 
survivors and witnesses.
    For example, United Kingdom police in May warned specific Rwandan 
exiles in London that they were the targets of an assassination plot by 
the Rwandan government. In June 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa, an 
unknown assailant shot and seriously wounded former army chief of staff 
Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who in January would be convicted in absentia 
by a Rwandan court of various security-related charges. According to a 
report by the Commonwealth Observer Group, the South African Foreign 
Ministry stated that foreign ``security operatives'' were involved and 
arrested several suspects. At year's end the South African trial 
against six Rwandan and Tanzanian defendants continued. On September 
22, the media reported that South African authorities had foiled 
another assassination attempt against Kayumba Nyamwasa. The Rwandan 
government repeatedly denied any involvement in the London and 
Johannesburg assassination plots and asserted that it does not condone 
violence.
    On September 15, security personnel shot Eric Nshimyumuremyi, a 
member of the opposition party PS-Imberakuri, in the chest, allegedly 
because he was armed and wanted to fight. A PS-Imberakuri spokesperson 
claimed that Nshimyumuremyi was not armed and was shot because he was a 
party member.
    On December 1, an unidentified gunman killed Charles Ingabire, a 
Rwandan journalist and government critic, in Kampala, Uganda. Both the 
press and human rights organizations reported that Ingabire had 
survived an earlier attack in September. Rwandan authorities alleged 
that he had embezzled from a microfinance company, orphans, and a 
genocide survivors' organization and was probably killed for that 
reason. On December 26, an unknown assailant killed FDU-Inkingi member 
Jerome Ndagijimana in Kampala. At year's end the Ugandan investigations 
were ongoing.
    Grenade attacks in January, March, and July in Kigali and along the 
border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) killed three and 
injured dozens. Shortly after the July 13 attack, the prosecution 
brought charges against more than 100 defendants grouped into three 
``grenade cases.'' Prosecutors charged the defendants, grouped loosely 
by date of arrest, with a range of security-related offenses.
    The government investigated and prosecuted individuals accused of 
threatening or harming genocide survivors and witnesses or of espousing 
genocide ideology. The law defines this as dehumanizing an individual 
or a group with the same characteristics by threatening, intimidating, 
defaming, inciting hatred, negating the genocide, taking revenge, 
altering testimony or evidence, killing, planning to kill, or 
attempting to kill someone. As of June a special protection bureau in 
the Office of the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) 
registered 103 cases of genocide ideology, 56 of which ended in 
conviction (see section 1.e.). According to genocide survivors' 
association Ibuka, there were only two cases of violence against 
genocide survivors or witnesses during the year, and police arrested 
one assailant.

    b. Disappearance.--There were numerous reports of disappearances 
and politically motivated abductions or kidnappings in 2011, as well as 
cases from 2010 that came to light during the year. Amnesty 
International, the Rwandan League for the Promotion and Defense of 
Human Rights (LIPRODHOR), and other observers alleged that SSF, 
including the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) J-2 Military Intelligence 
Directorate, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), 
and to a lesser extent the Rwanda National Police (RNP) Criminal 
Investigations Division, orchestrated the disappearances. The 
government occasionally made efforts to investigate occurrences but did 
not punish any perpetrators.
    For example, in June 2010 two Rwandan members of a local 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) disappeared along with approximately 
80 other people in Rusizi, according to several NGOs and media reports. 
Some of those who disappeared resurfaced in 2011 as defendants in the 
grenade attack cases (see section 1.a.), but according to local and 
international human rights organizations, many of the 80 abducted 
remained missing.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, but 
there were numerous reports of abuse of detainees and prisoners by 
military and intelligence officials and some reports of abuse by police 
or prison guards. Authorities dismissed or disciplined some police 
officers for use of excessive force and other abuses during the year. 
Police investigations led to formal criminal charges filed in court in 
more serious cases.
    In a May 10 press release, LIPRODHOR described the arraignment of 
John Bosco Ngarama on security-related charges, in which the defendant 
alleged he had undergone severe physical and psychological torture 
during 10 months of military custody. A number of defendants in the 
``grenade cases'' voiced similar allegations of torture in open court 
during their arraignments. Former detainees reported systematic torture 
and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of 
civilians held at military detention facilities.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions were harsh, but prisons generally complied with 
international standards. The government permitted visits by independent 
human rights observers. There were continued improvements in treatment 
of the general prison population, and new or upgraded facilities 
increased capacity by more than 30 percent. According to the Rwanda 
Correctional Services (RCS), each prison had dormitories, toilets, 
sports facilities, a health center, a guest hall, a kitchen, water, and 
electricity, as required by a 2006 presidential order governing 
conditions in prisons. In previous years prisoner deaths resulted from 
anemia, HIV/AIDS, respiratory disease, malaria, and other diseases. The 
rates of such deaths were similar to those found in the general 
population.
    Provision of food in prisons and detention centers was inadequate, 
and prisoners and detainees relied on family members to supplement 
their diets. On October 3, the Ministry of Internal Security took full 
responsibility to provide food for prisoners and detainees through 
canteens and prison gardens after it issued a directive banning members 
of the public from taking food to inmates. Ventilation and temperature 
conditions improved as overcrowding continued to decline. Medical care 
in prisons was commensurate with care for the public at large. The 
government enrolled all prisoners in the national health insurance 
plan.
    Conditions in police and military detention centers varied. 
Overcrowding was common in police detention centers, and poor 
ventilation often led to high temperatures. Provision of food and 
medical care was inconsistent, and some detainees claimed to have gone 
for several days without food. There were complaints regarding 
inadequate sanitation in some detention centers. There were numerous 
reports of substandard conditions for civilians held in military 
detention centers.
    There were unconfirmed reports that police sometimes beat newly 
arrested suspects to obtain confessions. There were numerous reports 
that J-2 Military Intelligence personnel employed torture and other 
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment to obtain 
confessions in military detention centers (see section 1.c).
    One prison riot reportedly occurred during the year. Prisoner 
family members claimed that on July 8, a fight broke out at Huye Prison 
between newly transferred prisoners from Rusizi and longstanding Huye 
inmates. Prison guards killed five of the inmates, according to one 
inmate witness, and transferred all witnesses to other prisons across 
the country. Prisoners alleged that this was to suppress knowledge of 
the incident. Prison officials denied knowledge of the incident.
    At year's end the prison population was 58,461, consisting of 
49,995 men and 8,466 women, of which 224 were juveniles. The system was 
designed for 56,900. Men and women were housed in separate but 
approximately equal conditions. Fewer than 100 children under the age 
of three lived with their parents in prison. The RCS provided nursery 
schools and fresh milk for such children. All juveniles were held at 
Nyagatare Rehabilitation Center. There were no reports of abuse of 
juveniles, and the RCS continued to improve access to lawyers, 
education, and job training for juveniles. Individuals convicted of 
genocide-related offenses comprised a majority of the adult prison 
population. Authorities generally separated pretrial detainees from 
convicted prisoners and prisoners convicted of serious crimes from 
those convicted of lesser ones. However, there were numerous exceptions 
due to the large number of genocide-related detainees awaiting trial. 
The government continued to hold eight prisoners of the Special Court 
for Sierra Leone in a purpose-built detention center, which the U.N. 
deemed met international standards for incarceration of prisoners 
convicted by international criminal tribunals.
    Prisoners and detainees had weekly access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance.
    Prison staff held regular meetings with prisoners and detainees to 
listen to inmates' complaints and take action to resolve them when 
possible.
    Kigali's Gikondo Transit Center, where authorities held street 
children, vagrants, suspected prostitutes, and street sellers, 
continued to operate despite a Senate committee's 2008 call for its 
closure due to substandard conditions (see section 1.d.). Two other 
transit centers, where conditions met basic international standards, 
operated as well. Many transit center detainees and at-risk youth were 
transferred to the Iwawa Rehabilitation and Vocational Development 
Center, which observers reported generally met international standards 
and provided job training.
    The law provides for an ombudsman who has the power to carry out 
investigations of prisons. The ombudsman also receives and examines 
complaints from individuals and independent associations relating to 
civil servants, state organs, and private institutions. Domestic and 
international human rights organizations reported numerous instances of 
long delays and failures to locate prisoners and detainees. There were 
reports of forgotten detainees and of prisoners who remained 
incarcerated beyond their release date due to misplaced records.
    The National Prisons Service merged with the Works for General 
Interest (TIG) community service program in July to form the RCS and 
began to shift its focus from penal to rehabilitative detention. The 
Nyagatare Rehabilitation Center for juveniles undertook renovations 
with the assistance of UNICEF to align with rehabilitative priorities. 
The Ministry of Justice (MINIJUST) instructed judges to utilize 
alternative sentencing to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. The 
RCS also commuted the sentences of more than 1,000 prisoners, expanding 
the use of community service as an alternative to time in prison.
    The government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by diplomats, as well as the International Committee of the 
Red Cross, which reported unimpeded access on an unannounced basis to 
all the prisons, police stations, and military facilities that it 
visited during the year. The government stated no local human rights 
NGOs applied for permits to visit prisons in 2011. LIPRODHOR claimed it 
had followed up on a 2009 application for access and was awaiting 
approval. Human Rights Watch (HRW) similarly claimed it was unable to 
obtain access to prisons during the year. Journalists may access 
prisons with a valid press card but must request permission to 
interview or take photos from the RCS commissioner.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. However, SSF regularly 
arrested and detained people arbitrarily and without due process.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The RNP, under the 
Ministry of Internal Security, is responsible for internal security. 
The RDF, under the Ministry of Defense, is charged with providing 
external security. Authorities generally maintained control over the 
RNP and RDF, and the government had mechanisms to investigate and 
punish abuse and corruption. However, there were reports that elements 
of the SSF may have acted independently of civilian control. There were 
several reports of impunity involving the military and intelligence 
forces involving disappearances, illegal detention, and torture in 
military detention centers.
    There were reports of abuse of suspects by SSF and local defense 
members. The Inspectorate General of the RNP generally disciplined 
police for excessive use of force and prosecuted acts of corruption, 
and the RDF normally displayed a high level of military 
professionalism. However, there were numerous reports that the J-2 
Military Intelligence Directorate tortured and abused detainees with 
impunity.
    The police lacked sufficient basic resources such as handcuffs, 
radios, and patrol cars, but observers credited the RNP with generally 
strong discipline and effectiveness. There were reports of police 
arbitrarily arresting and beating individuals, engaging in corrupt 
activities, and demonstrating a lack of discipline. During the year the 
RNP took steps to institutionalize training in community relations, 
which included appropriate use of force and human rights. In December 
the National Police Academy graduated its first undergraduate class in 
professional police studies.
    Communities chose volunteers to serve in the local defense forces 
(LDF), a statutorily established law enforcement organization of 
approximately 20,000 members under the Ministry of Local Government 
(MINALOC) that assisted the police. The RNP exercised tactical control 
of LDF, while local officials had responsibility for operational 
oversight. LDF performed basic security guard duties throughout the 
country including at gacaca court (a village-level justice system) 
proceedings and chased illegal street vendors, petty criminals, and 
prostitutes from public areas. LDF were ordinarily unpaid and received 
less training than RNP officers. They did not have power of arrest but 
made arrests on orders from local officials and on their own authority.
    During the year the government repeatedly warned LDF against 
involvement in criminal activity and prosecuted members who committed 
crimes. However, some human rights groups accused the government of not 
taking sufficiently strong action against some members and considered 
LDF abusive.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires authorities to investigate and obtain a warrant before 
arresting a suspect. Before arrest, police may detain suspects for up 
to 72 hours without a warrant, and prosecutors must bring formal 
charges within seven days of arrest. Authorities sometimes disregarded 
these provisions, particularly in security-related cases. SSF held some 
suspects incommunicado or under house arrest. At times police employed 
nonjudicial punishment when minor criminals confessed and the victims 
agreed to the police officer's recommended penalty, such as a week of 
detention or restitution. The law permits investigative detention if 
authorities believe public safety is threatened or the accused might 
flee. Such detention must be reviewed by a judge every 30 days, but in 
practice SSF held numerous suspects indefinitely after the first 
authorization of investigative detention. The government attributed 
such continued detention to judicial backlog and delays in obtaining a 
court date, and said investigations generally were completed within 30 
days. After the formal filing of the prosecution's case, detention is 
indefinite unless bail is granted. Bail exists only for crimes with a 
maximum sentence of five years or less, but authorities may release a 
suspect pending trial if satisfied there is no risk that the person may 
flee or become a threat to public safety and order. Authorities 
generally allowed family members prompt access to detained relatives.
    By law detainees are allowed access to lawyers. However, defendants 
are not allowed formal representation in the gacaca court process. In 
practice the scarcity of lawyers (there were 784 attorneys in the 
country, of which 175 were trainees, mostly located in Kigali) limited 
access to legal representation. The government did not provide indigent 
people with legal representation. A Legal Aid Forum composed of 31 
organizations, including domestic and international NGOs, the Rwandan 
Bar Association, the Corps of Judicial Defenders, and university legal 
aid clinics, provided legal aid services to indigents and vulnerable 
groups, although such resources were insufficient to provide lawyers 
for all those in need. The law requires the government to provide 
minors with legal representation, which judicial observers cited as a 
factor in juvenile trial delays. The government continued to hold an 
annual Legal Aid Week, in which it processed as many juvenile cases as 
possible to reduce backlog.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Police arbitrarily arrested members of 
opposition parties, journalists, and members of Jehovah's Witnesses 
(see sections 2.a., 2.c., and 3).
    In 2009 government authorities arrested Laurent Nkunda, leader of a 
Congolese armed entity, while he was in the country. At year's end 
Nkunda remained under house arrest without charge.
    In August 2010 SSF arrested Lt. Col. Rugigana Ngabo, brother of 
Kayumba Nyamwasa, and held him for more than a year without charge. 
Ngabo's trial before a military tribunal finally began on November 28, 
just before the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) ruled that his 
detention was illegal.
    On numerous occasions police and LDF detained street children, 
vendors, beggars, and undocumented people in Kigali and other towns and 
charged them with illegal street vending or vagrancy. Authorities 
released adults who could produce identification and transported street 
children to their home districts, to shelters, or for processing into 
vocational and educational programs.
    Despite a 2008 Senate committee report that called for the closure 
of Kigali's Gikondo Transit Center for violations of detainee rights 
and lack of social services, the facility continued to operate as a 
temporary detention facility for street children, vagrants, and street 
vendors. Government officials asserted they held people for no more 
than three weeks. However, some detainees reported waiting several 
months before release. Relatives often reported that authorities denied 
them access to detainees.
    The government continued to operate Iwawa Rehabilitation and 
Vocational Development Center on Iwawa Island in Lake Kivu to provide 
vocational and technical training to approximately 1,500 men between 
the ages of 18 to 35, some of whom were homeless or petty criminals. In 
May the first group of 752 young men graduated from year-long courses.

    Pretrial Detention.--There were serious problems of lengthy 
pretrial detentions, including the detention of people whose unresolved 
cases dated from 1994, a consequence of the large number of people 
suspected of committing genocide who continued to be held in prisons 
and detention centers. The law permits the detention of genocide 
suspects until they face trial either in an ordinary court or in the 
gacaca court system. Authorities permitted the majority of convicted 
prisoners (those who had confessed their genocide crimes) to return to 
their families, with prison time to be served after the suspended and 
community service portions of their sentences. The law did not provide 
for compensation for those acquitted or require credit for time served 
prior to conviction. Defendants sometimes remained in prison after 
serving their sentences while waiting for an appeal date or due to 
problems with prison records.
    Except for genocide suspects, the government made strides toward 
eliminating the case backlog and reducing the average length of 
pretrial detention. During the year the Inspector General of the NPPA 
began sanctioning government officials who abused regulations on 
pretrial detention with penalties such as fines and suspensions.
    Despite progress in shortening pretrial detention in the majority 
of cases, there were numerous reports of lengthy pretrial detention and 
illegal detention of defendants facing charges of threatening state 
security, terrorism, genocide ideology, divisionism, defamation, 
contempt for the head of state, and other security-related sensitive 
crimes. Such cases were also more likely to experience repeated delays 
after trials began.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the judiciary operated in most cases 
without government interference. However, there were constraints on 
judicial independence and government officials sometimes attempted to 
influence individual cases. Authorities generally respected court 
orders.
    In June there were 8,119 criminal and 11,264 civil cases pending in 
the regular courts, compared with 38,676 cases in October 2010.

    Trial Procedures.--In the ordinary court system, the law provides 
for public trials, although courts closed proceedings in cases 
involving minors, to protect witnesses, or at the request of 
defendants. The law provides for a presumption of innocence, but 
government officials did not always adhere to this in practice. Judges, 
rather than juries, try all cases. Defendants have the right to be 
present, question witnesses against them, and present witnesses and 
evidence on their own behalf. Defendants also have the right to consult 
with an attorney, although few could afford private counsel. Minors are 
guaranteed legal representation by law. The law provides for the right 
to appeal, and this provision was generally respected. Lawyers without 
Borders, the Rwandan Bar Association, and the Legal Aid Forum provided 
legal assistance to some indigent defendants but lacked the resources 
to provide defense counsel to all in need. The law does not provide for 
an attorney at state expense for indigent defendants. Defendants and 
their attorneys have the right to access government-held evidence 
relevant to their cases, but courts did not always respect this right. 
The numbers of prosecutors, judges, and courtrooms were inadequate to 
hold trials within a reasonable period of time.
    The RDF routinely tried military offenders in military courts, 
which rendered sentences of fines, imprisonment, or both. Military 
courts provided defendants with the same rights as civilian courts, 
including the right of appeal and access to government-held evidence 
relevant to their cases. The law stipulates military courts can try 
civilian accomplices of soldiers accused of crimes. Through October 
2010 military courts had tried 62 civilians as coperpetrators or 
accomplices of military personnel during the year. The government did 
not release figures for 2011.
    Gacaca courts served as the government's primary mechanism for 
adjudicating genocide cases. Gacaca defendants are presumed innocent 
until proven guilty, and gacaca courts normally decide a case on the 
same day a trial begins. There is no bail in the gacaca system. 
Defendants are informed of the charges against them at trial, not 
before. Defendants can present witnesses and evidence on their own 
behalf, although witnesses were sometimes reluctant to testify for fear 
of reprisals, particularly accusations of complicity in the crimes 
alleged. Defendants can appeal gacaca proceedings to sector-level 
courts. Defendants are not entitled to legal representation.
    Genocide law is designed to encourage confessions in exchange for 
reduced sentences, except for Category I crimes (the most severe 
crimes, including rape, ``infamous murder,'' genocide instigation, or 
playing a leadership role in the planning or commission of genocide). 
The majority of individuals are charged with Category II crimes (such 
as murder or assault with intent to murder) or Category III crimes 
(property crimes). Category II cases are tried in gacaca courts and 
Category III cases resolved through gacaca mediation. Since 2007 all 
persons convicted by gacaca courts were permitted to serve the 
community service and suspended portions of their sentences first, in 
order to alleviate prison overcrowding. Category II defendants who 
confessed usually served no more than one-sixth of a 15- or 20-year 
sentence. Suspects who do not confess and are convicted may face 
decades in jail.
    In 2008 the law was further amended to move approximately 6,900 
Category I cases, most involving rape, from ordinary courts to the 
gacaca system. According to an HRW report released in May, the lack of 
confidentiality in the gacaca system negatively impacted rape victims, 
who had stronger privacy protection in the ordinary courts. The 2008 
law also provides for the transfer of approximately 1,200 Category I 
genocide cases, already begun in the ordinary courts, to the gacaca 
courts. The 2008 law builds on the 2007 law by replacing remaining 
prison terms with additional community service once the original 
community service portion of a sentence is completed.
    By year's end gacaca officials reported having concluded nearly all 
gacaca cases, which numbered more than 1.2 million. Fewer than 50 
appeals remained pending at year's end.
    Poorly qualified judges and ill-defined rules on evidence and 
hearsay presented problems. There were reports that local gacaca 
officials and citizens abused the process to pursue personal matters, 
including making false accusations to acquire land.
    According to the May HRW report, which provided a compilation of 
the NGO's findings on gacaca courts after observing more than 350 cases 
from 2001 through May 2011, fair trial violations also included 
instances of trumped-up charges, judges' and officials' intimidation of 
defense witnesses, and corruption by judges and parties. Other human 
rights observers also voiced concern that witnesses might have given 
false testimony and that some suspects falsely confessed to avoid 
lengthy prison terms.
    Because the government has not authorized gacaca courts to consider 
allegations of human rights abuses committed by the RPF during the 1994 
genocide, some human rights groups criticized the gacaca courts for 
rendering incomplete or one-sided justice and for being biased against 
those who acted on behalf of the former government. In response the 
government reported that it had prosecuted 46 RPF soldiers, that civil 
and military authorities also addressed RPF abuses, and that such 
abuses could not be equated with the genocide. HRW claimed that only 36 
RPF soldiers had faced trial for crimes committed against civilians 
during the genocide and attributed the low number to government 
reluctance to try RPF soldiers for such crimes. No charges related to 
the genocide were brought against RPF soldiers during the year.
    The government held local communities responsible for protecting 
gacaca court witnesses and relied on LDF, local leaders, police, and 
community members to protect witnesses. A task force continued efforts 
to monitor those genocide survivors deemed most at risk and genocide 
suspects considered most likely to commit violent attacks. According to 
the genocide survivors' organization Ibuka, threats and violence 
against survivors continued to decrease. During the year the task force 
supervised joint patrols in rural areas by survivors and security 
personnel, employed preventive detention of genocide suspects to 
prevent attacks deemed imminent by security officials, utilized 
hotlines, and expedited gacaca hearings for those cases deemed most 
likely to involve the risk of violence against survivors and witnesses. 
Ibuka continued to call for increased cooperation among police, 
ordinary courts, and mediators and for the creation of a survivors' 
compensation fund.
    The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based in 
Tanzania, continued to prosecute genocide suspects during the year (see 
section 5).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports that local 
officials briefly detained some individuals who disagreed publicly with 
government decisions or policies.
    The remaining political prisoner, former minister of transportation 
Charles Ntakirutika, was confined to a special section of Kigali's 
``1930'' prison.

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Rwanda has acceded to the 
jurisdiction of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights 
(ACHPR) and the EACJ and has three judges serving on the courts. On 
December 1, the EACJ found Rwanda in breach of the East African 
Community Treaty with regards to the illegal detention of Rugigana 
Ngabo, brother of Kayumba Nyamwasa, and ordered the government to begin 
the trial immediately and pay costs. Rwanda began Ngabo's trial before 
a military tribunal on November 28, in advance of the ruling. Rwanda 
had no other pending cases before the ACHPR or EACJ.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary was 
generally independent and impartial in civil matters. Mechanisms exist 
for citizens to file lawsuits in civil matters, including violations of 
their constitutional rights. They can appeal to the ACHPR and the EACJ, 
but none did so. The Office of the Ombudsman processes claims of 
judicial wrongdoing on an administrative basis.

    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. 
However, there were some reports that the government monitored homes, 
telephone calls, and e-mail. Media and NGOs reported the government 
violated due process requirements in evicting some residents under the 
``Guca Nyakatsi'' or ``Goodbye Thatched Roofs'' program to phase out 
grass-thatched houses, and under city development projects in Kigali 
and Bugesera (see section 2.d.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press ``in 
conditions prescribed by the law.'' The government at times restricted 
these rights. The government intimidated and arrested journalists who 
expressed views that were deemed critical on sensitive topics or who 
were believed to have violated the law or journalistic standards. 
Numerous journalists practiced self-censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--The law prohibits the propagation of ideas 
based on ``ethnic, regional, racial, religious, language, or other 
divisive characteristics.'' Public incitement to ``divisionism,'' which 
includes discrimination and sectarianism, is punishable by up to five 
years in prison and fines of up to five million Rwandan francs 
($8,300). Other statutes forbid displaying contempt for the head of 
state or other public officials and carry sentences of up to five years 
in prison and fines of up to 10,000 Rwandan francs ($17). Individuals 
could criticize the government publicly or privately on most topics. 
However, the laws prohibiting divisionism, genocide ideology, and 
genocide denial continued to discourage citizens from expressing 
viewpoints that might be construed as promoting societal divisions.
    In December 2010 authorities arrested and charged Roman Catholic 
priest Emile Nsengiyumva with threatening state security after he gave 
a sermon criticizing government family planning programs and the ``Guca 
Nyakatsi'' housing program. On July 29, the court convicted Nsengiyumva 
and sentenced him to a year and a half in prison.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that organized 
groups targeted and killed genocide survivors or witnesses. However, 
police investigated at least two cases of violence against genocide 
survivors and witnesses. The government asserted the genocide ideology 
law was necessary to prevent reincitement to violence, but NGOs and 
human rights organizations criticized the law as overly broad and 
recommended its repeal or reform.

    Freedom of Press.--Vendors sold both private and government-owned 
newspapers, published in English, French, and Kinyarwanda. There were 
31 newspapers, journals, and other publications registered with the 
government, although fewer than 10 published regularly. Sporadically 
published independent newspapers maintained positions contrary to and 
critical of the government. There were 23 radio stations (six 
government-owned and 17 independent) and one government-run television 
station.
    Under the current Media Law, the Media High Council (MHC) has the 
power to suspend newspapers. The law also provides that the following 
crimes committed by the media are punishable with penalties provided 
for by the penal code: being an apologist for the genocide and genocide 
ideology, incitement to discrimination of any form, contempt of the 
head of state, and inciting the army or national police to 
insubordination. A court may order journalists to reveal their sources 
when deemed necessary to carry out criminal investigations or 
proceedings. The law also requires journalists to have either an 
associate's degree in journalism or communication, a certificate 
obtained from an institute of journalism and communication, or a 
university degree with training in journalism. Previously practicing 
journalists without one of these qualifications must obtain them by 
2015 to continue in their positions.
    On February 4, the government sentenced Umurabyo newspaper 
journalist Saidati Mukakibibi to seven years' imprisonment for 
defamation, inciting public disorder, and divisionism, and Umurabyo 
editor Agnes Uwimana to 17 years for incitement to civil disobedience, 
contempt for the head of state, spreading rumors to cause public 
disorder, denying the genocide, and likening President Kagame to Adolf 
Hitler.

    Violence and Harassment.--Journalists continued to be subject to 
arrest and imprisonment, and some journalists reported government and 
nongovernment agents harassed and intimidated them due to their 
reporting.
    For instance, police arrested Joseph Bideri, managing director of 
the progovernment English-language daily The New Times, on November 14. 
Bideri claimed his arrest resulted from articles published that exposed 
corruption in government tenders surrounding a hydropower plant. The 
police chief alleged Bideri was called in for questioning because the 
news reports were interfering with police and parliamentary 
investigations, but that during questioning he was arrested for 
``disrespecting and abusing'' the police. Bideri was released the next 
day and either resigned or was fired from The New Times in December.
    The government did not expel members of the press from the country. 
However, several journalists fled the country. For instance, Nelson 
Gatsimbazi, Umusingi newspaper general director, left in June after the 
state prosecutor filed charges against him for using divisionist 
language in a personal altercation with the editor of another 
newspaper.
    On September 15, a court convicted Didace Nduguyangu of the June 
2010 murder of Umuvugizi journalist Jean Leonard Rugambage and 
sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The court acquitted a second 
defendant, police officer Antoine Karemera. Authorities reported that 
Nduguyangu confessed that he killed Rugambage to avenge Rugambage's 
alleged murder of his brother during the 1994 genocide. Some observers 
asserted the killing was politically motivated, as it occurred the same 
day Rugambage's article alleged Rwandan government involvement in the 
assassination attempt against Kayumba Nyamwasa (see section 1.a.).

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The law provides for 
censorship and content restrictions relating to some government 
documents, individual privacy, slander, and defamation.
    On January 18, the government printing house ORINFOR refused to 
print an edition of Umusingi that included an interview with former 
chief of external security services Patrick Karegeya, whom a Rwandan 
military court convicted in absentia on January 14 of divisionism, 
threatening state security, forming a terrorist group, undermining 
public order, and contempt for the head of state, along with Kayumba 
Nyamwasa and two other former government officials.
    There were several reports that private printing houses declined to 
print newspapers or charged more for sensitive issues. For example, on 
August 18, a private printing house, NICA, told Umusingi chief editor 
Stanley Gatera that it would not print the paper without payment of an 
additional 200,000 Rwandan francs ($333) because of two sensitive 
articles. In one article exiled Umusingi owner Nelson Gatsimbazi 
reported on diaspora opposition claims that only Tutsi children went to 
universities and got scholarships to study abroad, and he countered 
that inequality in Rwanda was a problem between rich and poor, not 
between Tutsi and Hutu. He agreed with opposition claims that people 
disappeared mysteriously or were killed extrajudicially. A second 
article by another writer claimed that the government did not protect 
worker rights and warned that youth unemployment could lead to 
protests.
    Government officials did not pressure government institutions and 
local businesses to withhold advertising from newspapers critical of 
the government.
    The law authorizes private radio and television broadcasting, 
subject to the approval of the government, although some media 
practitioners complained that the licensing fees were prohibitively 
high. The government owned and operated the country's only television 
station.
    Radio stations broadcast criticism of government policies, 
including through the use of popular citizen call-in shows.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Defamation (libel and slander) is a 
criminal offense punishable by fines and imprisonment. Courts convicted 
journalists and others on the charge of threatening state security and 
related crimes.

    Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--On March 30, the cabinet adopted 
a media policy document outlining major reforms to the sector, 
including the following: the semiautonomous MHC will no longer be 
responsible for media regulation, but rather media development and the 
promotion of media freedom; print journalists will self-regulate under 
a mechanism to be determined; the government-run broadcasting agency 
ORINFOR will transform into the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), which 
will be regulated by its own board made up of civil society and private 
sector individuals; and the Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA) 
will have such regulatory authority over electronic media (under the 
supervision of the RBA's board of directors) as is necessary for the 
allocation and use of the electromagnetic spectrum but will devolve 
content regulation to the yet-to-be determined self-regulatory 
mechanism. The cabinet ordered these reforms to be enacted through new 
legislation and changes to existing media legislation. The Office of 
the Government Spokesperson replaced the Ministry of Information on 
June 30, and on July 1, the cabinet approved new draft legislation on 
Access to Information and on the RBA, as well as amendments to the 
Media Law, Media High Council Law, and the law governing RURA. These 
were introduced before Parliament on August 2. At year's end, all draft 
legislation remained under debate in Parliament. The ad hoc committee 
finalized amendments to the journalists' code of ethics in September 
and took steps to develop a self-regulatory mechanism.

    Internet Freedom.--The law does not provide for government 
restrictions on access to the Internet, but restrictions such as 
website blocking are in place nonetheless. There were reports that the 
government monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms. Individuals and 
groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the 
Internet, including by e-mail, but were subject to monitoring. There 
were a few reports that monitoring led to detention and interrogation 
by SSF.
    The government blocked access to at least three Web sites within 
the country, including http://umuvugizi.com, http://leprophete.fr, and 
http://africandictator.org. All three sites were critical of the 
government. The MHC first ordered Umuvugizi blocked in April 2010 prior 
to seeking a court order. It used communication companies to block the 
sites.
    In June a court convicted journalist Jean Bosco Gasasira of 
displaying contempt of the head of state and incitement to civil 
disobedience and sentenced him in absentia to two and a half years in 
prison for his writings in the online publication Umuvugizi.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government generally did 
not restrict academic freedom or cultural events. However, on February 
9, police arrested university lecturer Lambert Havugintwari on charges 
of threatening state security and smuggling grenades into the country 
after he gave a controversial lecture. At year's end he remained in 
jail and his case was pending. Authorities frequently suspended 
secondary and university students for divisionism or engaging in 
genocide ideology.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly, 
and the government generally respected this right in practice. However, 
there were exceptions. Authorities legally may require advance notice 
for outdoor rallies, demonstrations, and meetings. The government 
limited the types of locations where religious groups could assemble, 
at times citing municipal zoning regulations as the reason.

    Freedom of Association.--While the constitution provides for 
freedom of association, the government limited this right in practice. 
The law requires private organizations to register, and the government 
generally granted licenses without undue delay. However, the government 
impeded the formation of new political parties and restricted political 
party activities (see section 3). Also the government imposed difficult 
and burdensome NGO registration and renewal requirements, as well as 
time-consuming requirements to submit annual financial and activity 
reports.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government generally cooperated with the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other people of concern.

    Exile.--The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not 
use it. Some political dissidents, journalists, and social activists 
who claimed harassment and intimidation by the government departed the 
country during the year in self-imposed exile.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--Through mid-December Rwanda accepted 
7,045 nationals returning from other countries, according to the UNHCR, 
most of whom settled in their districts of origin. From 2009 until the 
end of 2011 almost 4,000 civilian noncombatants who had been living in 
areas of the DRC controlled by the rebel militia group Democratic 
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) returned, according to the 
Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (RDRC). The 
government worked with the UNHCR and other aid organizations to assist 
the resettled returnees.
    The government continued to accept former combatants who returned 
from the DRC as part of the ongoing rapprochement between the two 
countries. During the year the government demobilized 766 adult former 
combatants from armed groups and rehabilitated 52 children, reuniting 
21 with their families. The RDRC, with international support, placed 
adult former combatants in a three-month reeducation program at Mutobo 
Demobilization Center in Northern Province. The Muhazi Child 
Rehabilitation Center treated former child combatants in Eastern 
Province. After the three-month reeducation period, each adult former 
combatant received approximately 60,000 Rwandan francs ($100) and 
permission to return home. Two months later each received an additional 
120,000 Rwandan francs ($200).

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--As part of the ``Guca 
Nyakatsi'' housing program, the government demolished approximately 
47,000 rudimentary grass-thatched huts deemed unsuitable for habitation 
and replaced them with mud brick housing with corrugated metal roofs. 
Local government officials reportedly demolished a large number of huts 
before constructing replacement houses, leaving hundreds homeless for 
several months or forcing them to move. According to the Community of 
Rwandan Potters (COPORWA), an organization that focused primarily on 
Twa community needs, the program disproportionately affected the Twa 
minority.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's 
constitution and laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee 
status, and the government has established a system for providing 
protection to refugees.
    The UNHCR, with government support, continued to assist refugees 
and asylum seekers. At year's end it had provided temporary protection 
to approximately 55,530 refugees, 99 percent of whom were from the DRC. 
Other refugees were from Angola, Burundi, Chad, Somalia, and Uganda.
    In a joint effort by the UNHCR, Directorate General of Immigration 
and Emigration, and Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee 
Affairs, all refugees underwent reregistration to verify the size of 
the refugee population and expel Rwandans and other illegitimate 
claimants to refugee status. As a result of this effort, the refugee 
population was expected to decrease significantly. However, statistics 
from the reregistration process were not available at year's end.

    Refugee Abuse.--Authorities failed to provide adequate security or 
physical protection within refugee camps. The RNP stationed one police 
officer part-time at each camp. Camp and RNP officials acknowledged the 
camps faced higher crime rates than the rest of the country. Refugees 
were free to file complaints with area police stations. While police 
issued arrest warrants against some perpetrators, they refused to enter 
the camps to execute warrants. When police in Gicumbi arrested a male 
refugee from the Gihembe camp on charges of domestic violence, camp 
leaders mobbed the police station and successfully demanded the 
suspect's release. This incident contributed to a general sense of 
impunity within the refugee community, especially in relation to 
gender-based violence (GBV).

    Employment.--There were no laws restricting refugee employment, but 
few were able to find jobs on the local economy. Refugee camps offered 
periodic job training programs to assist refugees in finding or 
creating income-generating opportunities.

    Access to Basic Services.--The government noted it had difficulty 
controlling camps that had no fences and populations that regularly 
crossed borders. Refugees had access to public education, public health 
care, public housing within the refugee camps, law enforcement, courts 
and judicial procedures, and legal assistance. The government funded 
primary education but did not provide tuition at the secondary and 
university levels. Access to law enforcement was limited by the lack of 
police presence in the refugee camps.

    Durable Solutions.--Rwanda is not a resettlement country for 
refugees from third countries. The government assisted the safe, 
voluntary return of refugees to their homes but did not facilitate 
local integration or naturalization of refugees in protracted 
situations.
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. However, the ruling RPF controlled the 
government and legislature, and its candidates continued to dominate 
elections at all levels.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Senate 
elections in September were peaceful and orderly, with high turnout. 
International observers reported the senate elections met the generally 
recognized standards of free and fair elections in most respects but 
noted concerns regarding the independence of voters' decisions. The 
elections were technically nonpartisan in that candidates could not 
identify or exploit party affiliation during the campaign season and 
included numerous candidates. Winning candidates typically received 80 
percent of the vote. The RPF dominated the Senate elections, winning 11 
of 14 seats up for election.
    International and local observers noted that election procedures 
appeared generally well organized, transparent, and calm. Observers 
recorded four unregistered voters casting ballots, a late-sealed voting 
box, and a skipped vote for a winning candidate. Several successful 
candidates, including non-RPF candidates, remarked that the RPF asked 
them to run for office and gave assurances that they would win. Some 
voters claimed that they and all other voting RPF members received a 
text message from provincial RPF headquarters on the morning of the 
election instructing them to vote for particular RPF and non-RPF 
candidates. Observers reported a large number of identical ballots.
    Observers were able to monitor provincial vote consolidation during 
the Senate elections. Observers commented that media coverage was 
generally professional and educated citizens on the laws and the 
electoral process.

    Political Parties.--The constitution outlines a multiparty system 
but provides few rights for parties and their candidates. There were 
reports that the RPF pressured youth into joining the party during 
mandatory ``Ingando'' civic and military training camps held after 
secondary school graduation. Some parties were not able to operate 
freely, and parties and candidates faced legal sanctions if found 
guilty of engaging in divisive acts, destabilizing national unity, 
threatening territorial integrity, or threatening state security. The 
government's enforcement of laws against genocide ideology and 
divisionism discouraged debate or criticism of the government and 
resulted in occasional detentions.
    The constitution requires all political organizations to join the 
National Consultative Forum for Political Organizations (Party Forum), 
which promoted consensus at the expense of political competition. To 
register as a political party, an organization must demonstrate 
membership in every district, reserve at least 30 percent of its 
leadership positions for women, and provide a written party statute 
signed by a notary.
    Attempts in 2009 and 2010 by the Democratic Green Party (DGP) to 
register were impeded. Government officials charged that DGP president 
Frank Habineza organized the party as a splinter group of the RPF with 
the support of Ugandan intelligence. In July 2010 DGP vice president 
Andre Kagwa Rwisereka was killed. Police initially suspected robbery 
but later indicated his death may have been over a financial dispute. 
Some human rights organizations claimed the killing could have been 
politically motivated and called for an independent autopsy by foreign 
experts. As of October the investigation continued, but the RNP had not 
identified a suspect. Following Kagwa Rwisereka's death, Habineza fled 
to Sweden. The DGP thereupon discontinued activities in Rwanda.
    Police arbitrarily arrested some members of the DGP, PS-Imberakuri, 
and FDU-Inkingi, and members also reported receiving threats because of 
their association with those parties.
    In accordance with the constitution, which states a majority party 
in the Chamber of Deputies may not fill more than 50 percent of cabinet 
positions, independents and members of other political parties held key 
positions in government including that of prime minister. PS-Imberakuri 
was the only registered political party not represented in cabinet.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The constitution requires 
at least 30 percent of the seats in Parliament's Chamber of Deputies be 
reserved for women. At year's end there were 10 women in the 26-seat 
Senate and 45 women in the 80-seat Chamber of Deputies. Women filled 
eight of 26 cabinet positions.
    There was one member of the Twa minority in the Senate and none in 
the Chamber of Deputies or cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government continued to make implementation of these laws a 
national priority. However, corruption remained a problem.
    On July 27, NPPA Inspector General Julius Marius Ntete announced 
that the government was prosecuting 223 people, including unidentified 
government ministers, directors of national institutions, university 
heads, and national researchers, for stealing public funds totaling 
approximately three billion Rwandan francs ($5 million). The government 
issued 22.8 million Rwandan francs ($38,000) in fines and recovered 
17.9 million Rwanda francs ($30,000) from officials who voluntarily 
returned funds. At year's end the government had successfully 
prosecuted 145 individuals, resulting in prison terms of up to 10 years 
as well as fines. Prosecutors continued to investigate some cases and 
scheduled others for trial.
    In September LIPRODHOR reported that a local official in Bugarama, 
Rusizi, evicted a number of rice farmers without compensation and 
redistributed the land to military and police officers and others who 
assisted in the evictions. By year's end the RNP had not responded to 
the report.
    The NPPA, under MINIJUST, is responsible for prosecuting police 
abuse cases. During the year the RNP Inspectorate of Services 
investigated 250 cases of police misconduct. The RNP suspended 68 
police officers for corruption, abuse of power, or misconduct and 
imposed administrative punishment for indiscipline on 176 officers. The 
RNP referred criminal offenses committed by police to the NPPA, and 
several prosecutions were underway at year's end. The RNP advertised a 
toll-free hotline number in the local radio and press and provided 
complaint and compliment boxes in many communities to encourage 
citizens to report both positive and negative behavior by police and 
LDF members.
    The Office of the Auditor General worked to prevent corruption, 
including by investigations of improper tendering practices at 
government ministries. The RNP and the NPPA used the auditor general's 
annual report to pursue investigations into government businesses. The 
Office of the Ombudsman led the National Anti-Corruption Council and 
had an active good governance program and several local level 
anticorruption units. The office pursued many corruption cases, the 
majority of which involved misuse of public funds. The Rwanda 
Governance Board (RGB), formerly the Rwanda Governance Advisory 
Council, monitored good governance more broadly and promoted mechanisms 
to control corruption. The Rwanda Revenue Authority's Anti-Corruption 
Unit had a code of conduct and an active mechanism for internal 
discipline. The National Tender Board, RURA, and the National Bureau of 
Standards also enforced regulations.
    The law provides for annual reporting of assets by public officials 
but not public disclosure of those assets. The government reported that 
most officials complied with this requirement.
    The law does not provide for access to government information, and 
it was difficult for citizens and foreigners, including journalists, to 
obtain access to government information. However, the annual budget was 
available publicly, both in electronic form and in print.
    The government implemented a ``bagging and tagging'' system to 
comply with anticipated due diligence requirements of a foreign 
government related to conflict minerals. The government banned the 
purchase or sale of undocumented minerals from neighboring countries in 
March and made efforts to seize smuggled minerals at the border and 
within the country. However, observers and government officials 
reported that smugglers succeeded in trafficking an unquantifiable 
amount of undocumented minerals through the country. A December U.N. 
Group of Experts report on the DRC alluded to SSF complicity in such 
smuggling, noting that ``RDF soldiers had sentry posts all along the 
border'' and charging that ``nothing could cross without their 
knowledge.'' Government officials confiscated more than 80 metric tons 
of smuggled minerals during the year and returned the minerals to the 
DRC government.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of international NGOs and several domestic NGOs operated 
in the country, investigating and publishing their findings on human 
rights cases. Some domestic NGOs reported relations with the government 
were generally positive. However, others indicated the government was 
intolerant of criticism and suspicious of local and international human 
rights observers, often rejecting their criticism as biased and 
uninformed. During the year some NGOs expressed fear of the government 
and self-censored their activities and comments.
    Various domestic NGOs, including LIPRODHOR and the League for Human 
Rights in the Great Lakes Region (LDGL), focused on human rights 
abuses. LIPRODHOR and the LDGL published their findings and discussed 
them with government officials.
    In February LIPRODHOR's president reported receiving accusations 
and threats regarding the organization's reports. In May one of its 
members claimed he had been abducted, interrogated, and tortured by 
SSF. In July another member fled the country after allegedly receiving 
death threats. The NGO's former executive secretary remained outside 
the country.
    In August border officials arrested LDGL's president and acting 
executive secretary on embezzlement charges. After questioning, the RNP 
ordered their release. LDGL's executive secretary remained outside the 
country and claimed to continue receiving death threats related to his 
work with the organization.
    The law on nonprofit associations permits government authorities to 
review budgets and the hiring of personnel. Local and international 
NGOs often found the registration process difficult. A domestic NGO 
must present its objectives, plan of action, and financial information 
to local authorities of every district in which it would like to work. 
Domestic and international NGOs must reapply to RGB and Directorate 
General for Immigration and Emigration, respectively, for registration 
each year and must submit yearly financial and activity reports. NGOs 
complained these requirements strained their limited resources. The 
government threatened legal action against organizations that did not 
submit reports or registration paperwork on time. Many organizations 
complained that government delays and unpublished requirements caused 
late submissions and that the regulatory environment worsened during 
the year.
    The government generally cooperated with international NGOs. 
However, it criticized HRW, Reporters without Borders, Freedom House, 
and Amnesty International as being inaccurate and biased. The 
government reportedly conducted surveillance on certain international 
and domestic NGOs. Some NGOs reported that authorities pressured 
individuals affiliated with them to provide information on their 
activities.
    Several international organizations complained that the government 
used the Law on Immigration and Emigration and a May ministerial order 
implementing the law improperly to deny visas to some personnel.
    A progovernment NGO, the Civil Society Platform, managed and 
directed some NGOs through umbrella groups, which theoretically 
aggregated NGOs working in particular thematic sectors. Many observers 
believed the government controlled some of these groups.
    The government completed the country's first Universal Periodic 
Review (UPR) with the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human 
Rights. The government accepted 67 of 73 UPR recommendations.
    Government Human Rights Bodies: The Office of the Ombudsman 
operated with government cooperation and took action on cases of 
corruption and other abuses, including of human rights (see sections 
1.e. and 4). The Office of the Ombudsman was independent and its 
resources adequate.
    The government cooperated with the National Human Rights Commission 
(NHRC). However, the NHRC did not have adequate resources to 
investigate all reported violations and remained biased in favor of the 
government, according to many observers.
    The ICTR in Tanzania continued to prosecute genocide suspects. 
Since 1994 the ICTR had completed 70 cases, with 45 convictions, 15 
convictions pending appeal, and 10 acquittals. At year's end there were 
five persons on trial, one person awaiting trial, and nine fugitives. 
The ICTR approved its first case transfer to Rwanda. The ICTR had tried 
no RPF members by year's end, and none were under indictment. The 
government continued to claim that calls by human rights groups or 
opposition figures for investigation of alleged RPF war crimes 
constituted attempts to equate the genocide with much more minor abuses 
committed by RPF soldiers who stopped the genocide.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides that all citizens are equal before the 
law, without discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin, tribe, clan, 
color, sex, region, social origin, religion or faith opinion, economic 
status, culture, language, social status, or physical or mental 
disability. The government generally enforced these provisions. 
However, problems remained.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape and 
spousal rape, and the government handled rape cases as a judicial 
system priority. Penalties for rape ranged from 10 years' to life 
imprisonment. Penalties for spousal rape ranged from six months' to two 
years' imprisonment. During the year prosecutors reported receiving 
1,056 cases of adult rape, and police reported investigating 287 cases. 
Among those 1,056 cases, 433 were filed in courts, 201 were dropped, 
and 422 were pending investigation at year's end. From January through 
May, the courts adjudicated 1,090 cases of adult rape and child 
defilement, convicting 750 and acquitting 340. Among those convicted, 
the courts sentenced 71 to life in prison. Rape and other crimes of 
sexual violence committed during the genocide are classified as 
Category I genocide crimes.
    Domestic violence against women, including wife beating, was 
common. Figures from the National Institute of Statistics from 2006 
indicated 31 percent of women and girls over the age of 15 were victims 
of domestic violence, and 10.2 percent of women and girls experienced 
domestic violence during pregnancy. Police investigated 3,585 cases of 
gender-based violence (GBV) during the year. Prosecutors received 363 
cases of spousal harassment, exclusive of other forms of GBV, of which 
177 were filed in court, 18 were dropped, one was reclassified, and 167 
were pending investigation at year's end. Conviction statistics were 
unavailable.
    The law on the prevention and punishment of GBV provides for 
imprisonment of six months to two years for threatening, harassing, or 
beating one's spouse. However, most incidents remained within the 
extended family and were not reported or prosecuted. Police 
headquarters in Kigali had a hotline for domestic violence, an 
examination room, and trained counselors who provided access to a 
police hospital for more intensive interventions. Several other 
government ministries also had free GBV hotlines. Each of the 75 police 
stations nationwide had its own gender desk, trained officer, and 
public outreach program. The national gender desk in Kigali also 
monitored nationwide investigations and prosecutions of GBV.
    During the year the RDF opened a gender desk, and many ministries 
established gender focal points. The Isange Center provided one-stop 
medical, psychological, and police assistance at no cost to victims of 
domestic violence at the Kigali police hospital. The first public 
hospital with a one-stop center opened in October near the northwest 
border in Rubavu. In May the government hosted training for Rwandan SSF 
and others from the region on the prevention, assessment, and treatment 
of GBV. In August the RNP concluded a year-long, high-profile campaign 
against GBV. In October the government launched a whole-of-government, 
multistakeholder campaign against GBV, child abuse, and other types of 
domestic violence to coincide with the elevation of the RNP gender desk 
to the directorate level. In November the RNP trained two additional 
GBV investigators per police station. During the year GBV became a 
required module of basic training for all police and military.

    Female Genital Mutilation.--The law prohibits female genital 
mutilation, and the practice was not known to occur.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment by 
employers and provides for penalties of two to five years' imprisonment 
and fines from 100,000 to 300,000 Rwandan francs ($165 to $500). 
Nevertheless, sexual harassment remained common. According to a 
Transparency Rwanda study, 21 percent of female respondents believed 
that their salary determination was not objective, and some claimed 
their salaries were determined by their willingness to have sex with 
company executives. The effectiveness of government enforcement efforts 
was unknown.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government encouraged citizens not to 
have more than three children but respected the right of couples and 
individuals 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. The government made 
available reproductive health services and contraceptives for all 
citizens, regardless of age, sex, and ethnicity. More than 90 percent 
of the population had some form of health insurance, with free coverage 
provided to the poorest of the population. Insurance plans did not 
provide adequate coverage for more expensive medical care.
    There was a small copayment for obstetric services, but this fee 
was waived for women who completed the recommended four antenatal care 
visits. Women and men received equal access to diagnostic services and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections. According to the U.N., 
the estimated maternal mortality ratio in 2008 was 540 maternal deaths 
per 100,000 live births. Major factors influencing maternal mortality 
included lack of skilled attendance at birth and unhygienic conditions. 
Between the 2005 and 2010 Demographic and Health Surveys, the use of 
modern contraceptives increased from 10 percent to 45 percent and 
skilled attendance at birth rose from 39 to 69 percent. The proportion 
of babies delivered at a health facility increased from 45 percent in 
2007-08 to 69 percent in 2010. The government provided 21 percent of 
available contraceptives.

    Discrimination.--Women have the same legal status and are entitled 
to the same rights as men. The law allows women to inherit property 
from their fathers and husbands, and couples may make their own legal 
property arrangements. However, women had serious difficulties pursuing 
property claims due to lack of knowledge, inheritance issues, polygyny, 
and the threat of GBV. After the 1994 genocide, which left many women 
as heads of households, women assumed a larger role in the formal 
sector, and many operated their own businesses. According to the U.N. 
Development Program, nearly one-third of households in the country were 
headed by women, and 62 percent of these households were below the 
poverty line, compared to 54 percent of households headed by men. 
Despite the election in 2008 of a Chamber of Deputies with a female 
majority, women continued to have limited opportunities for employment 
and promotion. According to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce 2011 
Establishment Census, women managed approximately 26 percent of all 
formal enterprises. However, men owned key assets of most households, 
particularly those at the lower end of the economic spectrum, making 
formal bank credit inaccessible to many women and rendering it 
difficult to start or expand a business. According to the 2005 
Demographic and Health Survey, more than 85 percent of working women 
were engaged in agriculture. Seventy-two percent of these women were 
self-employed, and 64 percent received no payment for their work.
    The government-funded Women's Council served as a forum for women's 
issues and consulted with the government on land, inheritance, and 
child protection laws. The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion led 
government programs to address women's issues and coordinated programs 
with other ministries, police, and NGOs. This included implementation 
of the National Action Plan for the Implementation of U.N. Security 
Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. The government 
provided scholarships for girls in primary and secondary school and 
loans to rural women. A number of women's groups actively promoted 
women's and children's concerns, particularly those of widows, orphaned 
girls, and households headed by children. The government-run Gender 
Monitoring Office tracked the mainstreaming of gender equality and 
women's empowerment throughout all sectors of society and collected 
gender-disaggregated data to inform policy processes.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents. Children born to two Rwandan parents automatically receive 
citizenship. Children with one Rwandan parent must apply for 
citizenship before turning 18 years old. Children born in the country 
to unknown or stateless parents automatically receive citizenship. 
Births are registered at the sector level upon presentation of a 
medical birth certificate. There were no reports of unregistered births 
leading to denial of public services.

    Education.--Primary education is compulsory. Parents are not 
required to pay tuition fees through nine years of basic education. 
However, most parents were required to pay unofficial fees to support 
basic school operations.

    Child Abuse.--Statistics on child abuse were unavailable. However, 
such abuse was common. The government began a high-profile public 
campaign against GBV and child abuse in October and conducted training 
for police and investigators in November.

    Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage is 21. There were no 
statistics available on child marriage. However, it occurred 
occasionally in rural areas and refugee camps.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Due to the genocide and deaths 
from HIV/AIDS, there were many households headed by children, some of 
whom resorted to prostitution to survive. The law provides that any 
sexual relations between an adult and a child under 18 years old is 
considered defilement and is punishable by 20 years to life in prison 
and a fine of 100,000 to 500,000 Rwandan francs ($165 to $830). During 
the year prosecutors received 1,219 cases of child defilement, of which 
612 were filed in court, 168 were dropped, two were reclassified, and 
437 were pending investigation. From January through May, the courts 
adjudicated 1,090 cases of adult rape and child defilement, convicting 
750 and acquitting 340. Among those convicted, the courts sentenced 71 
to life in prison.
    During the year the government continued a high-profile public 
campaign to discourage intergenerational sex and sexual procurement.
    The law prohibits commercial sexual exploitation of children and 
child pornography, with penalties of between five and 10 years in 
prison and a fine of 200,000 to 500,000 Rwandan francs ($330 to $830). 
Police reported investigating one case of forcing a child into 
prostitution. Conviction statistics were not available.

    Child Soldiers.--The government continued to support the Muhazi 
Child Rehabilitation Center in Eastern Province, which provided care 
and social reintegration preparation for 52 children who had previously 
served in armed groups in the DRC. At year's end 21 of the former child 
soldiers were reunited with their families. UNICEF concluded a project 
at the center to provide literacy and numeric education, psychosocial 
support, recreational and cultural activities, an improved medical 
unit, and increased nutrition through gardens and fish farming.

    Displaced Children.--Approximately 18 percent of the estimated 
55,000 refugees in the country were under the age of 18. They had 
access to primary education and health care (see section 2.d.).
    There were numerous street children throughout the country. 
Authorities gathered street children and placed them in foster homes or 
government-run facilities, including: eight rehabilitation centers, 
which offered psychosocial counseling, education, and reintegration 
services; Iwawa Rehabilitation and Vocational Development Center, where 
young adults received job training; and three transit centers, where 
street children, vagrants, and street sellers were held in substandard 
conditions (see section 1.d.).

    Institutionalized Children.--The government supported 34 child-care 
institutions across the country that provided shelter, basic needs, and 
rehabilitation for 3,830 orphans and street children during the year. 
The government worked with international organizations and NGOs to 
provide vocational training and psychosocial support to orphans and 
street children, reintegrate them into their communities, and educate 
parents on how to prevent their children from becoming street children. 
In August the government announced plans to downsize and eventually 
phase out orphanages by integrating orphans and street children with 
families.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was a very small Jewish community, consisting 
entirely of foreigners, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disability and 
establishes the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) 
to assist in coordinating government efforts to provide for the rights 
of persons with disabilities. The law prohibits discrimination against 
people with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities in 
regard to employment, education, access to health care, and the 
provision of other state services, and the government generally 
enforced these provisions. The law also mandates access to public 
facilities, accommodations for taking national exams, provision of 
medical care by the government, and monitoring of implementation by the 
NHRC. The government generally implemented all of the foregoing 
provisions. The NCPD designated one member in the Chamber of Deputies. 
The National Union of Disability Organizations in Rwanda (NUDOR) 
provided an umbrella civil society platform for advocacy on behalf of 
persons with disabilities.
    In December 2010 MINALOC conducted a census to establish a database 
of persons with disabilities, to be used as a planning tool for 
development projects, training for therapists, medical practitioners, 
and teachers in special education, including vocational training 
programs.
    On August 22, the government launched a campaign to enable people 
with disabilities to have a barrier-free environment. However, handicap 
accessibility remained a problem throughout the country.
    Some Rwandans viewed disability as a curse or punishment, which 
could result in social exclusion and sometimes abandonment or hiding of 
children from the community. From November 26 to December 3, the NCPD 
organized the first annual Disability Week, culminating in National 
Disability Day on December 3, to sensitize Rwandans to problems faced 
by persons with disabilities. On December 23, the NCPD followed up with 
the country's first National Day of Children with Disabilities.
    There was one government psychiatric referral hospital in Kigali, 
with district hospitals providing limited psychiatric services. All 
other mental health facilities were nongovernmental. In general 
facilities were underequipped and understaffed. Individuals can be 
committed by a judge to Ndera Psychiatric Hospital involuntarily but 
must be referred by district officials after counseling and 
consultations with family members.
    There were numerous claims of employment discrimination against 
people with disabilities. For example, a recent graduate of the School 
of Finance and Banking filed a complaint against the brewery Bralirwa 
after it allegedly refused her a job because she was deaf. NUDOR worked 
with the NCPD on the resolution of such claims.
    Institutes of higher education admitted students with disabilities, 
but only the National University of Rwanda and the Kigali Institute of 
Education were able to accommodate students with visual disabilities. 
However, few disabled students could reach the university level because 
many primary and secondary schools were unable to accommodate their 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Long-standing tensions in the 
country culminated in the 1994 state-orchestrated genocide, in which 
Rwandans killed between 750,000 and one million of their fellow 
citizens, including approximately three-quarters of the Tutsi 
population. Following the killing of the president in 1994, an 
extremist interim government directed the Hutu-dominated national army, 
militia groups, and ordinary citizens to kill resident Tutsis and 
moderate Hutus. The genocide ended later the same year when the 
predominantly Tutsi RPF, operating out of Uganda and northern Rwanda, 
defeated the national army and Hutu militias and established an RPF-led 
government of national unity that included members of eight political 
parties. President Kagame was elected in the 2003 elections.
    Since 1994 the government has called for national reconciliation 
and abolished policies of the former government that created and 
deepened ethnic cleavages. The government removed all references to 
ethnicity in written and nonwritten official discourse and eliminated 
ethnic quotas for education, training, and government employment. The 
constitution provides for the eradication of ethnic, regional, and 
other divisions in society and the promotion of national unity. In 
practice most Rwandans knew the regional or ethnic origin of their 
fellow Rwandans. Some individuals continued to accuse the government of 
favoring Tutsis, particularly English-speaking Tutsis, in government 
employment, admission to professional schooling, recruitment into or 
promotion within the army, and other matters.

    Indigenous People.--Beginning in the 1920s, colonial authorities 
formally assigned ``racial'' categories to all citizens and required 
them to carry identity cards indicating their designated ethnicity: 
Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa. Government authorities continued this practice 
until after the 1994 genocide. The postgenocide government banned 
identity card references to ethnicity and prohibited social or 
political organizations based on ethnic affiliation as divisionist or 
contributing to genocide ideology. As a result the Twa, purported 
descendants of Pygmy tribes of the mountainous forest areas bordering 
the DRC and numbering approximately 34,000, lost their official 
designation as an ethnic group. The government no longer recognizes 
groups advocating specifically for Twa needs, and some Twa believed 
these government policies denied them their rights as an indigenous 
ethnic group. However, the government recognized the COPORWA, an 
organization that focused primarily on Twa community needs, as an 
advocate for the most marginalized. Most Twa continued to live on the 
margins of society with very limited access to health care or education 
and were viewed generally as second-class citizens by other Rwandans 
(also see section 2.d.).

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws that 
criminalize sexual orientation or consensual same-sex conduct. However, 
some members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
community reported societal discrimination and abuse. One local LGBT 
rights group, the Horizon Community Association (HOCA), opened an 
office in Kigali in April but was evicted in August after the landlord 
reported pressure from community members. HOCA leaders and staff 
reported receiving threats, and several fled the country. There were 
some violent physical attacks with anti-LGBT overtones.
    The RNP investigated reports of threats to LGBT activists. On March 
22, the government signed a U.N. Human Rights Council statement on 
``Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.''

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Discrimination against 
people living with HIV/AIDS occurred, although such incidents remained 
rare. The government actively supported public education campaigns on 
the issue, including the establishment of HIV/AIDS awareness clubs in 
secondary schools and making public pronouncements against 
stigmatization of those with the disease.
    According to RDF policy and in keeping with U.N. guidelines, 
members of the military with HIV/AIDS are not permitted to participate 
in peacekeeping missions abroad but may remain in the military.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides all salaried workers, except for certain public 
servants, the right to form and join independent unions, conduct legal 
strikes, and bargain collectively. These rights were sometimes 
abrogated by other provisions of law.
    All unions must register with the Ministry of Public Service and 
Labor (MIFOTRA). The application process was cumbersome and required 
unions to disclose their membership and property.
    The law provides some workers the right to conduct strikes, as long 
as numerous restrictions are observed. Public servants are not allowed 
to strike, and participation in unauthorized demonstrations could 
result in employee dismissal, nonpayment of wages, and civil action 
against the union. A union's executive committee must approve any 
strike, and the union must first try to resolve its differences with 
management through complex, compulsory arbitration, conciliation, and 
mediation processes prescribed by MIFOTRA. The law also allows unions 
to negotiate with employers for an industry-level minimum wage in 
certain sectors. The law allows unions to conduct their activities 
without interference, prohibits antiunion discrimination, and requires 
employers to reinstate workers fired for union activity.
    The government did not enforce applicable laws effectively and 
restricted these rights in practice. Government-led aggregation of 
small and medium enterprises into sector-specific cooperatives 
precluded unionization and led to the shutdown of unions for moto-taxi 
drivers and bus drivers, among others. In addition, local government 
officials and employers routinely impeded the right to join or form 
unions in practice. Employers often harassed union members and 
prevented organized workers from meeting by prohibiting meetings during 
work hours. Approximately 30 percent of the total workforce, including 
agricultural workers, belonged to unions.
    The government severely limited the right to collective bargaining. 
The government was heavily involved in the collective bargaining 
process since most union members worked in the public sector. The 
government also controlled collective bargaining for cooperatives. No 
labor unions had an established collective bargaining agreement with 
the government, and despite the law, no unions negotiated with 
employers for an industry-level minimum wage during the year.
    Between December 2010 and February, workers at textile manufacturer 
Utexrwa went on strike to protest excessive compulsory unpaid overtime. 
MIFOTRA worked with the Central Union of Rwandan Workers (CESTRAR) and 
the Congress of Labor and Brotherhood of Rwanda to negotiate an 
agreement between Utexrwa and its employees. However, some employees 
were fired or laid off during the strike, and their grievances remained 
unresolved at year's end.
    In August employees at auto dealership Akagera Motors held a strike 
to protest unrealized promises to increase salaries. According to union 
representatives, President Kagame and several ministers personally 
pressured CESTRAR and Akagera Motor employees to preclude a strike. 
Akagera Motors eventually agreed to collective bargaining with its 
employees.
    There were no functioning labor courts or other formal mechanisms 
to resolve antiunion discrimination complaints. According to CESTRAR, 
employers in small companies frequently intimidated unionists through 
the use of transfers, demotions, and dismissals.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
most forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the government generally 
enforced the law. However, forced labor occurred in practice. Prison 
authorities assigned prisoners to work details that generally involved 
uncompensated public maintenance duties, and community leaders 
monitored participation in a monthly community service day called 
umuganda. The government required citizens to participate in three 
hours of umuganda community service and public works per month as a way 
to bring the country together to rebuild from the 1994 genocide. There 
were reports that some localities required umuganda more than once a 
month. Jehovah's Witnesses performed additional umuganda in exchange 
for exemption from LDF commitments.
    There were no reports that children in refugee camps were recruited 
as combatants in eastern DRC, but children in refugee camps were 
sometimes trafficked to Uganda and Kenya as forced laborers. Statistics 
on the number of victims removed from forced labor were not available. 
The government prosecuted one case of slavery, and the case continued 
at year's end. Other forced labor cases may have been tried under 
different laws. Government efforts to prevent and eliminate forced 
labor focused on trafficking in persons and child labor (see section 
7.c.).
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children. The law does not 
prohibit children younger than 16 from working without their parents' 
or guardians' permission in the subsistence agriculture sector, which 
accounted for an estimated 85 percent of child labor. In other sectors 
the law prohibits children younger than 18 from participating in night 
work (between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.), the worst forms of child labor as 
defined under International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 182, or 
any work deemed difficult, unsanitary, or dangerous by MIFOTRA. The 
2010 ministerial order on the worst forms of child labor prohibits 
children from working at industrial institutions and in domestic 
service, mining and quarrying, construction, brick making, or applying 
fertilizers and pesticides. Other laws prohibit children in military 
service, prostitution, or pornography, as well as child trafficking and 
slavery. Children must have a rest period of at least 12 hours between 
work periods. The minimum age for full-time employment is 18 (16 for 
apprenticeships), provided that the child has completed primary school. 
The law provides six months to 20 years' incarceration and/or fines of 
500,000 Rwandan francs ($830) to 5 million Rwandan francs ($8,300) for 
violations. The law applies to contractual employment, but not 
unregistered employment such as in agricultural cooperatives, and thus 
leaves most working children unprotected. In addition to the national 
laws, some districts enacted laws against hazardous child labor, 
sanctioning employers and parents for violations.
    However, the government did not enforce the law effectively, and 
forced child labor and trafficking of children for sexual exploitation 
occasionally occurred. Police and labor inspectors received training to 
identify potential trafficking victims.
    The National Advisory Committee on Child Labor, National Commission 
on Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Inter-Ministerial Committee on 
Child Rights, and National Commission on Children each have specific 
roles in designating responsible agencies and establishing actions to 
be taken, timelines, and other concrete measures in relation to the 
various national plans and policies related to child protection. By 
year's end the National Advisory Committee on Child Labor had not 
finalized its 2008 National Policy for the Elimination of Child Labor 
and 2007 Five Year Action Plan to Combat Child Labor. At the local 
level, 149 local child labor committees monitored incidents of child 
labor. The government supported 30 labor inspectors, one in each 
district. Although the government was unable to provide them with 
adequate resources to identify effectively and prevent the use of child 
labor, the inspectors regularly trained employers and local authorities 
on child labor issues. The RNP continued to operate a Child Protection 
Unit. Child labor reduction and school attendance benchmarks were 
enforced as part of district government officials' performance 
contracts.
    The government continued to work with NGOs to raise awareness of 
the problem and to identify and send to school or vocational training 
children involved in child labor. The government fined those who 
illegally employed children or sent their children to work instead of 
school. On August 18, the government closed the Comar Mining 
Cooperative and arrested eight persons after discovering 11 children 
illegally employed in the mines. Teachers and local authorities 
continued to receive training on the rights of children and human 
rights. MIFOTRA raised public awareness of the worst forms of child 
labor through radio shows, television announcements, and skits. The 
government continued efforts to stop child prostitution through a high-
profile public campaign to discourage intergenerational sex and sexual 
procurement.
    Child labor persisted throughout the agricultural sector, among 
household domestics, in small companies and light manufacturing, in 
cross-border transportation, and in the brick-making, charcoal, rock-
crushing, and mining industries. Children received low wages and abuse 
was common. In addition child prostitution and trafficking of children 
were problems. According to a report released in June by the ILO, 
UNICEF, and the World Bank Group in partnership with the government, 
approximately 260,000 children (9 percent of children between the ages 
of five and 17) engaged in child labor.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no national minimum 
wage, but MIFOTRA set industry-specific minimum wages in the country's 
small formal sector. For example, in 2010 the minimum wage in the tea 
industry ranged from 500 to 1,000 Rwandan francs per day (approximately 
$0.83 to $1.66), while in the construction industry it ranged from 
1,500 to 5,000 Rwandan francs a day ($2.50 to $8.30), depending on the 
skill level. Minimum wages provided a higher standard of living than 
that of the approximately 80 percent of the population relying on 
subsistence farming. The government, as the country's largest employer, 
effectively set most other formal sector wage rates.
    The law provides a standard workweek of 45 hours and 18 to 21 days 
paid annual leave, in addition to official holidays. Maternity leave is 
set at six weeks with full salary, and an optional additional six weeks 
at 20 percent of salary. The law does not provide for premium pay for 
overtime, but there are prohibitions on excessive compulsory overtime. 
The law provides employers with the right to determine daily rest 
periods. In practice most employees received a one-hour lunch break. 
The law regulates hours of work and occupational health and safety 
standards in the formal wage sector. Workers do not have the right to 
remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing 
their jobs. However, the government established a list of dangerous 
professions subject to heightened safety scrutiny. The same labor 
standards apply to migrant and foreign workers as to Rwandan nationals. 
There are no effective labor standards for the informal sector, which 
accounted for 89 percent of all establishments according to the 2011 
Establishment Census.
    MIFOTRA supported 30 labor inspectors, one in each district, but 
the inspectors did not enforce these standards effectively. Penalties 
helped to deter the worst forms of child labor as indicated by the 
continuing decrease in child labor, the high level of media attention 
to arrests for the worst forms of child labor, and action by some key 
industries to eliminate child labor. However, the government did not 
enforce the law consistently. With regard to adult labor, the many 
violations reported to labor unions compared with the relatively few 
actions taken by the government and employers to remedy substandard 
working conditions suggested that penalties were insufficient to deter 
violations.
    Some workers accepted less than the minimum wage. Families 
regularly supplemented their incomes by working in small businesses or 
subsistence agriculture. Most workers in the formal sector worked six 
days per week. Violations of wage, overtime, and occupational safety 
and health standards were common in both the formal and informal 
sectors. Workers in subcontractor and business process outsourcing 
sectors were especially vulnerable to hazardous or exploitative working 
conditions. Statistics on workplace fatalities and accidents were not 
available. There were no major industrial accidents during the year.

                               __________

                         SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE

                           executive summary
    The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe is a multiparty 
constitutional democracy. The head of state is President Manuel Pinto 
da Costa, who was elected on August 7. The head of government is Prime 
Minister Patrice Emery Trovoada, whose party won the most seats in 
legislative elections held in August 2010. International observers 
deemed both elections free and fair. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    Human rights abuses included difficult prison conditions, official 
corruption, and violence and discrimination against women.
    While the government took some steps to punish officials who 
committed abuses, impunity was a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and 
there were no reports that government officials employed them.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
difficult, but not life threatening. Medical care was poor, and food 
often was inadequate. Extremely high temperatures were frequent and 
ventilation was insufficient.
    Pretrial prisoners were held with convicted prisoners. There was 
one prison and no jails or detention centers. Police stations had a 
small room or space to incarcerate offenders for brief periods.
    There were a total of 185 prison inmates, of whom 65 were pretrial 
detainees and three women. As a result of closure of half the facility 
due to building deterioration, there was some overcrowding in the 
prison, which was built for 260 prisoners. There were no reports of 
prison deaths.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to potable water and 
visitors on a weekly basis. They were permitted religious observances. 
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to 
judicial authorities without censorship and request investigation of 
credible allegations of inhumane conditions, although there was no 
prison ombudsman. Legal representatives from the prosecutor's staff and 
court personnel were available to address prisoner grievances. There 
was no provision for authorities to use alternatives to sentencing for 
nonviolent offenders. Little information was available on prison 
recordkeeping.
    The Ministry of Justice, Government Reform, and Public 
Administration investigated and monitored prison and detention center 
conditions.
    The government permits human rights monitors to visit the prison, 
but there were no such visits 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.--In August 2010 the 
national police and immigration service were put under the control of 
the Ministry of Defense and Public Security. The ministry continues to 
supervise and control the military. Despite increased personnel and 
training offered throughout the year, police were widely viewed as 
ineffective and corrupt.
    Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security 
forces. While the government has effective mechanisms to investigate 
and punish abuse and corruption, impunity was a problem, and efforts to 
reform the Criminal Investigation Police, a separate agency under the 
Ministry of Justice, Government Reform, and Public Administration, were 
hampered by inadequate resources.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires arrest warrants issued by an authorized official to apprehend 
suspects, unless the suspect is caught committing a crime. It requires 
a determination within 48 hours of the legality of a detention, and 
authorities generally respected this right. Detainees are informed 
promptly of charges against them and are allowed prompt access to 
family members. Detainees are allowed prompt access to a lawyer and, if 
indigent, to one provided by the state. There was a functioning bail 
system.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention greatly hindered 
investigations in criminal cases. Inadequate facilities and a shortage 
of trained judges and lawyers were additional factors leading to 
lengthy pretrial detention.
    According to the director of the Sao Tome prison, 35 percent of the 
country's prisoners were awaiting trial during the year, and 
approximately 58 pretrial detainees had been held for more than a year. 
The majority of prisoners were 18 to 35 years old.

    Amnesty.--Two amnesties were granted to prisoners charged with 
nonviolent crimes, once at the end of 2010 and again in August at the 
end of former president Menezes' final term in office.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, at times the judicial system was 
subject to political influence or manipulation. Judicial salaries 
remained low, and judges reportedly accepted bribes.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair public trial by a judge (juries are not used), the right of 
appeal, the right to legal representation, and, if a person is 
indigent, the right to an attorney provided by the state. Defendants 
are presumed innocent, have the right to confront their accusers, 
confront witnesses, access government evidence, and present evidence 
and witnesses on their own behalf.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The same courts consider 
both criminal and civil cases, but different procedures are used in 
civil cases. Plaintiffs may bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or 
cessation of, a human rights violation; there are also administrative 
remedies for alleged wrongs.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respected these prohibitions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech 
including for members of the press, and the government generally 
respected these rights in practice. The law grants all opposition 
parties access to the state-run media, including a minimum of three 
minutes per month on television.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could privately or publicly 
criticize the government, including specific officials, without fear of 
reprisal. There were no reports of the government impeding criticism.

    Freedom of Press.--Two government-run and seven independent 
newspapers and newsletters were published sporadically, usually on a 
monthly or biweekly basis, when resources permitted. The independent 
media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without 
restriction.
    International media operated freely. The government operated 
television and radio stations. Several foreign broadcasters also were 
rebroadcast locally.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists occasionally 
practiced self-censorship.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
and law provide for freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and 
the government generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not specifically provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status and the government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened. 
During the year there were no known requests for refugee or asylum 
status.
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 and generally free and fair elections based on 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Presidential elections were held on July 17 with a runoff election 
August 7. Citizens elected former President Manuel Pinto da Costa with 
52.88 percent of the vote. International observers deemed the election 
generally free and fair.
    The August 2010 legislative elections gave a plurality of seats in 
the National Assembly to the Independent Democratic Action (ADI) party. 
The ADI subsequently formed a government headed by Prime Minister 
Trovoada. International observers deemed the election generally free 
and fair.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women held 10 seats in the 
55-seat National Assembly, one of 13 cabinet positions, one seat on the 
five-member Supreme Court, and six of the 12 judgeships on the circuit 
courts.
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 some 
officials were widely viewed as corrupt. The World Bank's 2010 
Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a 
problem. The police were viewed as ineffective and corrupt.
    While no laws provide for public access to government information, 
there were no reports that the government restricted access to 
information by citizens or noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    In the past a small number of domestic human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Because of the general 
respect for human rights, such groups generally remained inactive. 
Government officials were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for the equality of all citizens 
regardless of gender, race, social origin or status, political views, 
creed, philosophical convictions, disability, or language; 
nevertheless, women faced societal discrimination.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape, 
is illegal and punishable by two to 12 years' imprisonment. Rape 
occurred, with prosecution most likely in cases where there was 
evidence of violent assault as well as rape or the victim was a minor. 
However, no statistics on prosecutions were available. A government 
family planning clinic and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) sought 
to combat rape by raising awareness of the problem.
    Widespread reports of domestic violence continued.
    Although women have the right to legal recourse, including against 
spouses, many were reluctant to bring legal action because of the cost 
and a general lack of faith in the legal system to address their 
concerns effectively. Women often were ignorant of their legal rights. 
Tradition inhibited women from taking domestic disputes outside the 
family. The law specifically addresses domestic violence cases. If the 
victim misses fewer than 10 days of work, the penalty for assault is 
six months in prison. If the victim misses 10 to 20 workdays, the 
penalty is one year, and so forth. The law was strictly enforced, but 
there was no data on the number of prosecutions or convictions for 
domestic violence.
    The Office of Women's Affairs and UNICEF maintained a counseling 
center with a hotline. The hotline did not receive many calls, but the 
counseling center received numerous walk-ins.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, 
and it was a problem. No data were available on its extent.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children. Health clinics and local NGOs 
were permitted to operate freely in disseminating information on family 
planning under the guidance of the Ministry of Health. There were no 
restrictions on the right to access contraceptives, but they were not 
widely used. NGOs and the Ministry of Health had insufficient supplies 
of contraceptives, leading to a decrease in availability and use. The 
government provided free childbirth services, but the lack of doctors 
obliged many women, especially in rural areas, to rely on nurses or 
midwives during childbirth, unless the mother or child suffered more 
serious health complications. Pre- and post-natal care outside the 
family was provided only in the government clinic. Men and women 
received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually 
transmitted infections, but women were more likely than men to seek 
treatment and refer their partners. No information was available on 
incidence of maternal mortality.

    Discrimination.--The constitution stipulates that women and men 
have equal political, economic, and social rights. Women did not 
experience economic discrimination. While many women had access to 
opportunities in education, business, and government, women in general 
continued to encounter significant societal discrimination. Traditional 
beliefs left women with most child-rearing responsibilities and with 
less access to education or opportunity to enter a profession. A high 
teenage pregnancy rate further reduced economic opportunities for 
women. The Gender Equality Institute within the Office of Women's 
Affairs held numerous seminars and workshops to raise awareness of 
discrimination against women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is acquired either 
through parents or by being born within the country. Either parent, if 
a citizen, can confer citizenship on a child born outside the country. 
The law requires all children born in the country to be registered in 
the hospital where they are born. If not born in a hospital, the child 
must be registered at the nearest precinct office. Failure to register 
a birth can be penalized by a fine.

    Education.--By law education is universal, compulsory through sixth 
grade, and tuition-free to the age of 15 or sixth grade.

    Child Abuse.--Mistreatment of children was not widespread; however, 
there were few protections for orphans and abandoned children.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There were no reports of children 
engaged in prostitution. There is no statutory rape law or specific 
legislation to prohibit child pornography. However, the government uses 
other laws such as kidnapping or unlawful forced labor, as well as its 
existing rape-related laws, to address instances of sexual exploitation 
of children.

    Displaced Children.--The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs 
operated a social services program that collected street children in 
three centers where they attended classes and received training. 
Conditions at the centers were good; however, because of overcrowding, 
some children were returned to their families to sleep at night, and a 
few of these children ran away.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There is no known Jewish community and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--In 2011there were no confirmed reports 
that persons were trafficked to, from, or within Sao Tome and Principe.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, mental, or 
intellectual disabilities. Nevertheless, there were no reports of 
discrimination against such persons. The law does not mandate access to 
buildings, transportation, or services for persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--No law criminalizes consensual 
same-sex sexual activity, but there were occasional reports of societal 
discrimination based on sexual orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
often were rejected by their communities and shunned by their families. 
However, there were no reports of discrimination due to HIV/AIDS 
status. There were a number of government-sponsored workshops and 
awareness campaigns to reduce such discrimination. The government 
provided free HIV/AIDS testing and distributed antiretroviral drugs to 
all recognized patients.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law allow workers to form and join unions of their 
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements. The 
law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination. The constitution 
provides for the freedom to strike, including by government employees 
and other essential workers; however, the laws do not prohibit 
retaliation against strikers. The provisions regulating strikes require 
that a majority is needed to call a strike, and replacement workers can 
be hired without consultation with the trade unions to perform 
essential services in the event the enterprise is threatened by a 
strike. Under the provision concerning ``minimum services,'' in the 
event of disagreement in determining such services, the matter will be 
determined by the employer (instead of an independent body). The law 
also requires compulsory arbitration for services, including postal, 
banking, and loan services. The constitution and law state that workers 
may organize and bargain collectively. No particular groups of workers 
were excluded from the aforementioned legal protections.
    The government effectively enforced the laws and workers generally 
exercised these rights in practice. For example, there were no reports 
that antiunion discrimination occurred. Although the law provides for 
the right to strike, no strikes occurred during the year.
    Workers' collective bargaining rights remained relatively weak due 
to the government's role as the principal employer in the formal wage 
sector and key interlocutor for organized labor on all matters, 
including wages. There were no attempts by unions or workers to 
negotiate collective agreements during the year.

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

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the formal 
sector workplace. The law sets the minimum age for normal work at 14 
years and the minimum age for hazardous work at 18 years. The law 
prohibits minors from working more than seven hours a day and 35 hours 
a week, and the government effectively enforced the law. Employers in 
the formal wage sector generally respected the legally mandated minimum 
employment age of 18. Children worked in informal commerce, including 
street work and begging. Children also reportedly performed light work 
in agriculture and domestic service. The law states that employers of 
underage workers can be fined. The Ministry of Health and Social 
Affairs is responsible for enforcing child labor laws.
    A media campaign aimed at preventing child labor continued during 
the year. The Ministry of Education mandated compulsory school 
attendance through the sixth grade, and the government granted some 
assistance to several low-income families to keep their children in 
school. The Ministry of Labor utilized teams of labor inspectors to 
inspect work sites.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum 
wage. The legal minimum wage for civil servants was 750,000 dobras 
($40) per month. The legal workweek is 40 hours, with 48 consecutive 
hours mandated for rest. However, shopkeepers could work 48 hours a 
week with eight hours of overtime or in shifts. The law provides for 
compensation for overtime work. The law prescribes basic occupational 
health and safety standards. Working two or more jobs was common. The 
labor law specifies occupations in which civil servants may work if 
they pursue a second job. Civil servants in ``strategic sectors,'' such 
as the court system, the ministries of finance, customs, and education, 
the Criminal Investigation Police, and the military, earned up to 400 
percent more than other public sector employees.
    Working conditions on many of the largely family-owned cocoa 
farms--the largest informal wage sector--were unregulated and harsh. 
The low purchasing power of average salaries for agricultural workers 
was further eroded by inflation.
    The Ministry of Justice, Government Reform, and Public 
Administration and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, which 
covers labor issues, did not monitor labor conditions sufficiently, and 
enforcement of these standards seldom occurred. Reliable data on 
workplace fatalities or accidents was not available. Employees have the 
right to leave unsafe working conditions, but none sought to do so, and 
enforcement of the right was very limited. Government is the largest 
employer, and the standards on hours of work and health and safety were 
effectively enforced in that sector.

                               __________

                                SENEGAL

                           executive summary
    Senegal is a moderately decentralized republic dominated by a 
strong executive branch. In 2007 Abdoulaye Wade was reelected president 
for a five-year term in an election generally viewed as free and fair, 
despite sporadic incidents of violence and intimidation. Also in 2007 
the ruling Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) won the majority of seats 
in National Assembly elections that were boycotted by the leading 
opposition parties. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The most significant human rights problems included reports of 
physical abuse and torture; limits on freedoms of speech, press, and 
assembly; and corruption.
    Other major human rights problems included the following: inhuman 
and degrading treatment of detainees and prisoners, including 
overcrowded prisons; questionable investigative detention and long 
pretrial detention; lack of an independent judiciary; rape, domestic 
violence, sexual harassment of and discrimination against women; female 
genital mutilation (FGM); child abuse; child marriage; infanticide; 
trafficking in persons; and child labor.
    Rebels associated with the Movement of Democratic Forces of the 
Casamance (MFDC) killed civilians and military personnel, committed 
robberies, fought with the army, and harassed local populations while 
fighting each other.
    Impunity existed for security forces and other actors. No 
prosecutions or investigations of government officials, including law 
enforcement or security officials, who allegedly committed abuses, were 
closed during the year.
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 was one report of an arbitrary killing by a security force 
member.
    On May 30, the commander of a paramilitary police (gendarmerie) 
station in Sangalkam shot and killed protestor Malick Ba during a 
demonstration against a government decision to replace local elected 
officials with government appointees. Samba Sarr, the police station 
commander who shot Ba, was moved to another police station; however, no 
charges were filed in the case.
    Park ranger Yaya Sonko, who shot and killed fisherman Moustapha 
Sarr in July 2010, was provisionally released in February pending his 
trial by a military tribunal, which began in October.
    On April 11, the prosecutor ordered an investigation into the death 
of Abdoulaye Wade Yinghou, who died in July 2010 while in police 
custody. A postmortem indicated that Yinghou suffered a broken cervical 
vertebra, wounds from sharp instruments, and lung injuries.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were occasional reports that government officials employed them.
    Human rights groups noted examples of physical abuse committed by 
security forces, including cruel and degrading treatment in prisons and 
detention facilities. In particular they criticized strip-search and 
other interrogation methods. Police reportedly forced detainees to 
sleep on bare floors, directed bright lights at detainees, beat them 
with batons, and kept them in cells with minimal access to air. During 
the year authorities took no action against police involved in these 
abuses.
    Human rights organizations highlighted the lack of supervision and 
impunity with which security forces treated persons in police custody. 
While abuses occurred, the government claimed that these practices were 
not widespread and that it usually launched formal investigations into 
cases of abuse. However, the investigations were often lengthy and 
rarely resulted in charges or indictments of suspects.
    On April 16, three human rights groups called for an investigation 
into the death of Aladji Konate in the town of Bakel. Following 
Konate's arrest by gendarmerie forces, his body was found naked on the 
banks of the Senegal River and exhibited evidence of torture. As of the 
end of the year, authorities had opened no formal investigation.
    On May 6, the African Assembly for Human Rights (RADDHO), a local 
human rights organization, accused officers at the Nord Police Station 
in St. Louis of torturing Yatma Fall, who had been arrested for 
gasoline theft along with an accomplice. According to RADDHO, 
investigators extracted confessions from Fall under torture; RADDHO 
also cited a report by a doctor at St. Louis Hospital which concluded 
that Fall had suffered physical abuse. In April the prosecutor dropped 
charges against Fall, who later filed a suit against police that 
remained pending at the year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions were harsh, and no new prisons have been built since 
1960. The local nongovernmental organization (NGO) National 
Organization for Human Rights identified overcrowding and lack of 
adequate sanitation as major problems. There were 37 prisons with a 
designed maximum capacity of 3,000 prisoners. According to Ci-Biti, an 
NGO specializing in prisoners' rights, 7,300 individuals were held in 
prison facilities in 2010, approximately 3,000 of whom were in pretrial 
detention. A U.N. study group on pretrial detention visited the country 
in 2009 and found that Dakar's main prison facility, known as 
``Rebeuss,'' housed 1,592 inmates while its designed capacity was 800. 
The group criticized long pretrial detention, prolonged police custody 
beyond the legal time limit, and detainees' lack of access to attorneys 
for 48 hours after arrest.
    Men and women were held in separate facilities. The conditions in 
which women prisoners were held were generally considered to be 
superior to the conditions in which males were held. Authorities did 
not permit prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial 
authorities without censorship or request investigation of credible 
allegations of inhumane conditions. Prisoners were generally allowed 
reasonable access to visitors and were permitted religious observance.
    Local NGOs reported that prisoner separation regulations were not 
always enforced. Pretrial detainees were occasionally held with 
convicted prisoners, and juveniles were occasionally held with adults.
    Prisons lacked doctors and medicine. There was one mattress for 
every five detainees. Prisons experienced drainage problems and 
stifling heat. They were infested with insects, and food was of low 
quality. Prisons usually were tied into the local water supply, and 
prisoners had access to potable water.
    During the year the government permitted prison visits by local 
human rights groups. Members of the International Committee of the Red 
Cross also visited prisons in Dakar and Casamance, where 20 MFDC 
members were held on various criminal charges.
    In September 2010 Abdoulaye Babou, chairman of the Law Committee of 
the National Assembly, and 10 other members of parliament visited the 
prisons of Louga and Fatick. They regretted cases of long pretrial 
detention and stated that some members of the group who are attorneys 
would represent detainees involved in the longest delayed cases. They 
also noted the poor conditions of the prison in Fatick, with bad 
hygiene, crumbling buildings, and overcrowding. They called on the 
government to increase prison budgets. Currently prisons are allocated 
500 francs CFA ($1.00) per prisoner per day; 450 francs CFA ($0.90) for 
daily meals and 50 francs CFA ($0.10) for hygiene.
    The parliamentary group also called on the government to build a 
new prison in Louga to replace the old warehouse used as a prison, 
which they termed inappropriate and overcrowded.
    There were no significant efforts to modernize record keeping 
during the year. In general, efforts at computerizing record keeping 
were impaired by the irregular power supply at many government 
facilities and inadequate training of government personnel on 
computerized systems. A lack of funding precluded significant 
modernization or improvement of prison facilities.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. The government generally 
observed these prohibitions, although NGOs and the media reported that 
police often forcibly dispersed unauthorized marches, arbitrarily 
arrested individuals, and released them several hours later.
    On March 19, immediately prior to a scheduled day of protest, the 
minister of justice announced that a coup plot had been uncovered and 
that four youths had been arrested for planning actions around the 
capital ``to create panic and cause fatalities.'' However, on March 22, 
the government announced there was no concrete evidence the four 
detainees intended to overthrow the government, and the individuals 
were released.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police and gendarmes 
are responsible for maintaining law and order. The army shares that 
responsibility in exceptional cases, such as during a state of 
emergency. The police force includes 10 departments, which constitute 
the Directorate General of National Safety. In each of the country's 14 
regions, there is at least one police station and at least one mobile 
safety brigade. Dakar has 16 police stations. The police force 
effectively maintained law and order.
    The gendarmerie is under the aegis of the Ministry of Defense and 
is primarily employed in rural areas where there is no police presence.
    Impunity and corruption were pervasive problems. An amnesty law 
covers police and other security personnel involved in ``political 
crimes'' committed between 1983 and 2004, except those who committed 
assassinations in ``cold blood.''
    The Criminal Investigation Department (DIC) is in charge of 
investigating police abuses. The DIC did not close any investigations 
in 2011 and was not effective in addressing impunity or corruption 
among police.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Although the 
law specifies that warrants issued by judges are required for arrests, 
in practice police often lacked warrants when detaining individuals. 
The law grants police broad powers to detain prisoners for long periods 
before filing formal charges. The DIC may hold persons up to 24 hours 
before releasing them. Many detainees were not promptly informed of the 
charges against them. Police officers, including DIC officials, may 
double the detention period from 24 to 48 hours without charges, but 
they must obtain authorization from the prosecutor. Investigators can 
request that a prosecutor double this period to 96 hours. For cases 
involving claimed threats to state security, the detention period can 
be further doubled. Thus, someone accused of plotting to overthrow the 
government or undermining national defense can be held up to 192 hours 
(eight days) without being formally charged.
    The detention period does not formally begin until authorities 
officially declare that an individual is being detained, a practice 
human rights groups criticized for resulting in unjustly long detention 
periods. Bail is rarely available. In the first 48 hours of detention, 
the accused has no access to an attorney but has the right to a medical 
examination and possibly access to family; however, family access was 
not allowed generally. The accused has the right to an attorney, and an 
attorney is provided at public expense in felony cases to all criminal 
defendants who cannot afford one, after the initial period of 
detention. Attorneys are not always provided for defendants in 
misdemeanor cases. A number of NGOs also provided legal assistance or 
counseling to those charged with crimes.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--The government used security forces, especially 
the DIC, to harass journalists and arrest political opponents and civil 
society leaders (see sections 2.a. and 2.b.).

    Pretrial Detention.--Judicial backlogs and absenteeism of judges 
contributed to long pretrial detention. The law states that an accused 
person may not be held in pretrial detention for more than six months 
for minor crimes; however, persons were routinely held in custody until 
a court demanded their release. Despite the six-month limit on 
detention for most crimes, the average time between charging and trial 
was two years. In many cases persons are freed without charges being 
filed. In such circumstances, the state paid no compensation. In 2009 a 
U.N. study group on pretrial detention criticized the country for its 
use of long pretrial detention.
    In July several human rights activists expressed concern about the 
government's decision to postpone, allegedly for financial reasons, 
pretrial sessions for 41 detainees held under felony charges. Human 
rights activists maintained that the postponement was in breach of the 
2008 code of criminal procedure that mandates such sessions should be 
held every four months, and that it would unduly prolong the pretrial 
detention of the 41 detainees in Dakar, Kaolack, Ziguinchor, and 
Tambacounda.
    In cases involving murder, threats to state security, and 
embezzlement of public funds, there are no limits on the length of 
pretrial detention. Judges are allowed the time necessary to 
investigate these more serious cases but with the prosecutor's consent 
may order release pending trial. If a prosecutor opposes release, the 
order is frozen until an appeals court decides whether to grant 
release. By law the prosecutor has total discretion to deny provisional 
release pending trial for cases involving threats to state security, 
murder, and embezzlement of public funds. However, since judges lacked 
sufficient time to review all cases, orders to extend detention were 
often signed without consideration of the facts to avoid releasing 
potentially guilty detainees.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary was subject to 
corruption and government influence.
    Magistrates continued publicly to criticize their working 
conditions, including overwhelming caseloads, lack of adequate space 
and office equipment, and inadequate transportation. Magistrates also 
openly questioned the government's commitment to judicial independence.
    Besides the formal civil court system, some citizens relied on 
traditional leaders to settle family and community disputes.
    The Regional Court of Dakar includes a military tribunal, which has 
jurisdiction over crimes committed by military personnel. The tribunal 
is composed of a civilian judge, a civilian prosecutor, and two 
military assistants to advise the judge, one of whom must be of equal 
rank to the defendant. The tribunal may try civilians only if they were 
involved with military personnel who violated military law. The 
military tribunal provides the same rights as a civilian criminal 
court.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent. All defendants 
have the right to a public trial, to be present in court, confront 
witnesses, present evidence and witnesses, and have an attorney, at 
public expense if needed, in felony cases.
    Evidentiary hearings may be closed to the public and the press. 
Although the defendant and counsel may introduce evidence before the 
investigating judge who decides whether to refer a case for trial, they 
do not always have access to all evidence against a defendant presented 
prior to trial. Police or prosecutors may limit access to evidence. A 
panel of judges presides over ordinary courts in civil and criminal 
cases since a law passed in July eliminated trials by jury. The right 
of appeal exists in all courts, except for the High Court of Justice. 
These rights extend to all citizens.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--On July 25, Oumar Cyrile Toure 
(also known as Thiat), a rapper and leader in the ``Y En a Marre'' 
movement, was detained following a speech he gave at a July 23 rally in 
which he said that ``a 90 year old liar cannot lead the country.'' 
Following a 25-hour detention by the DIC, Toure was released without 
charge on July 26 (see section 2.b., Freedom of Assembly).
    On October 20, opposition figure Malick Noel Seck was sentenced to 
two years in prison for contempt of court and issuing a death threat in 
an open letter he wrote to the Constitutional Council protesting 
President Wade's running for a third term. Numerous human rights groups 
considered Seck's conviction to be politically motivated and disputed 
the charges were legitimate.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens may seek 
cessation of and reparation for human rights violations in regular 
administrative or judicial courts. Administrative remedies also can be 
sought by filing a complaint with the High Commission for Peace and 
Human Rights in the Office of the President. However, corruption and 
lack of independence hampered judicial and administrative handling of 
these cases. At times prosecutors refused to prosecute security 
officials, and violators often went unpunished. In addition there were 
problems in enforcing court orders, since the government can ignore 
court orders without legal consequences.

    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; 
however, human rights organizations stated that illegal telephone 
monitoring by security services was common practice.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The level of violence increased during the year in the Casamance 
Region. There were numerous instances of combat between MFDC and army 
soldiers, as well as between MFDC factions. The army conducted several 
sweeps in the area of Sindian in northern Casamance, close to the 
Gambian border, around the regional capital Ziguinchor, and in the area 
of Oulampane in northern Casamance. An estimated 83 people were killed 
as a result of the Casamance conflict during the year: 36 Senegalese 
soldiers, 14 civilians, and approximately 33 MFDC rebels.
    No civilian landmine-related deaths were noted during the year, 
indicating that awareness campaigns about land mines have been somewhat 
effective. However, some observers noted an increased use of land mines 
by the MFDC. Two civilian women were injured in a landmine attack on 
March 27 in Diankadiou, North Sindian. Handicap International continued 
work on an antimine campaign under the supervision of and in 
coordination with the National Mine Action Center, a governmental 
organization.
    Several landmine accidents killed soldiers.
    MFDC rebels committed several highway robberies in the Casamance. 
Two civilians were killed in suspected MFDC robberies or attacks during 
the year.
    On January 19, a 30-year-old Senegalese woman was kidnapped, 
beaten, and raped by suspected MFDC rebels near the village of 
Teidouboune. Senegalese soldiers found her body with fatal gunshot 
wounds the following day.
    On January 28, a motorcyclist was ambushed and killed by suspected 
MFDC rebels near Bignona.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech 
including for members of the press; however, the government limited 
these rights in practice, and security forces and politicians 
intimidated or harassed journalists during the year.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals generally could criticize the 
government publicly or privately without reprisals.

    Freedom of Press.--There were a large number of independent and 
three government-affiliated newspapers. Due to high illiteracy rates, 
radio was the most important medium of mass information and source of 
news.
    There were approximately 80 community, public, and private 
commercial radio stations. Although an administrative law regulates 
radio frequency assignments, community radio operators claimed there 
was a lack of transparency in the allocation of frequencies. Radio 
stations were occasionally controlled by a single religious, political, 
or ethnic group.
    Although the government continued to maintain a firm grip on 
locally televised information and opinion through Radio Television 
Senegal (RTS), five privately owned television channels broadcast 
during the year. By law the government must hold a majority interest in 
the RTS, and the president directly or indirectly controlled selection 
of all members of the 12-person RTS executive staff. Several human 
rights and journalist groups criticized the ability of some religious 
leaders to broadcast on government-controlled television and radio 
without charge, while other groups were obliged to pay.
    Government failure to enforce regulations on establishing media 
outlets and government's selective provision of media assistance 
resulted in an increase of unprofessional and politicized media. 
Journalists and human rights groups maintained that some media outlets, 
such as the daily newspaper Le Messager, and radio stations Anur FM and 
Radio Municipale de Dakar, were created solely to refute antigovernment 
criticism.
    The international media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction.

    Violence and Harassment.--The government continued to perceive some 
media organizations as a threat, and during the year journalists were 
detained for several hours by the DIC. The police often pressured 
journalists who reported government scandals, waste, or fraud to reveal 
their sources. The law allows police to arrest and imprison journalists 
and private citizens for libel.
    For example, on July 13 four journalists affiliated with the 
independent Wal Fadjiri media network (Abdourahmane Camara, Charles 
Gaiky Diene, Yakhya Massaly, and Mohamed Mboyo) were detained by the 
DIC following the publication in the Wal Fadjiri newspaper of an 
article entitled ``Liars, Abusers, Hijackers: The Thugs of the 
Republic.'' They were released without charge after several hours.
    On September 25, three journalists of the newly established 
privately owned daily newspaper La Tribune were released after being 
detained overnight at the police headquarters. Felix Nzale, managing 
director, Ahmet Bachir Ndiaye, reporter, and Mamadou Diop, a 
photojournalist, were accused of discrediting the police in a front-
page story on September 23 and its accompanying photographs that 
accused the police of using high-handed measures in the quelling of a 
demonstration. Police said the photographs were fake; the journalists 
claimed the pictures were genuine.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists practiced self-
censorship, and selective government media assistance appeared to favor 
those outlets more friendly to the administration.
    Government efforts to control media content by selectively granting 
or withholding state subsidies, which were routinely given to both 
government-affiliated and private independent media, were of concern to 
journalists. The government frequently used subsidies, and in a few 
cases threats and intimidation, to pressure the media not to publicize 
certain issues.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The law criminalizes libel and the 
law is used to harass and discourage investigative reporting.
    The NGO Reporters Without Borders reported that on April 14, Abdou 
Latif Coulibaly was given a suspended jail sentence of three months and 
fined 10 million francs CFA ($20,000) for investigative journalism 
accusing a businessman close to the president of fraudulent dealings 
with the government. This was the second suspended sentence and fine on 
Coulibaly since 2010, when a libel charge was brought by a presidential 
advisor.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet, or reports that the government monitored e mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of 
assembly, the government interfered with this right in practice. During 
the year the government repeatedly denied public permits for civil 
society and political opposition demonstrations. Opposition groups 
complained of undue delays when waiting for a government response to 
authorization requests.
    On May 26, police used teargas to disperse a meeting called by the 
Postal Workers Union (SNTPT) at its Medina office.
    On June 5, police arrested four leaders of the ``Y En a Marre'' 
movement and their local coordinator in Mbacke. The group of rappers 
and journalists were on a countrywide tour to promote voter 
registration, particularly among youth. The group's initial request for 
permission to hold a concert and an awareness campaign was denied. 
Following a radio interview by the group, four leaders of the movement 
were arrested by police, but released without charge several hours 
later (see section 1.e., Political Prisoners and Detainees).
    On June 23 and 27, large demonstrations and riots took place to 
protest proposed constitutional changes and power outages. On June 23, 
police employed teargas and concussion grenades to control a large 
crowd that had assembled downtown in front of the National Assembly. On 
June 27, widespread riots developed in Dakar and its suburbs. Thousands 
of rioters blocked major roads, ransacked homes of government 
officials, and set fire to dozens of vehicles. Police attempted to 
disperse the crowds in Dakar and Mbour with teargas, but the riots were 
largely uncontrolled. For the first time in more than 20 years, the 
military was deployed for possible crowd control purposes but did not 
directly engage the demonstrators on June 27.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government generally cooperated with the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons.

    Foreign Travel.--Some public employees, including teachers, are 
required by law to obtain government approval before departing the 
country; however, this law was not generally enforced.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--During the 29-year Casamance 
conflict, tens of thousands of persons left villages in the region due 
to fighting, forced removal, and land mines. Many persons reportedly 
became newly displaced during the year. The government estimated that 
10,000 IDPs remain in the Casamance, although this number tended to 
fluctuate with the ebb and flow of the conflict. Some international 
humanitarian assistance agencies estimated the IDP number to be as high 
as 40,000. Some IDPs who attempted to return to their villages in rural 
communities south of Ziguinchor met with hostility from MFDC 
combatants, who survived on the same natural resources as returning 
IDPs.
    During the year the government supplied food to and enrolled 
children of IDPs in local schools in Ziguinchor.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. Since the president must approve each case, delays of one to 
two years in granting refugee status remained a problem. The government 
generally granted refugee status or asylum and provided refugees with 
food and nonfood assistance.
    The government violated the rights of some asylum seekers by not 
offering them due process or security, since appeals filed by denied 
asylum seekers are examined by the same committee that examined their 
original case and a denied asylum seeker can be arrested for staying 
illegally in the country. Those arrested sometimes remained in 
``administrative detention'' for up to three months before being 
deported. According to UNHCR, as of January there were 2,177 asylum 
seekers in the country.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion.

    Durable Solutions.--Since 1989 the country has offered temporary 
protection to Mauritanian refugees, who generally lived in dispersed 
locations in the Senegal River valley along the Mauritanian border and 
enjoyed free movement within the country. However, most refugees could 
not obtain refugee documents from authorities and sometimes encountered 
administrative difficulties when using their expired refugee 
application receipts. Following discussion with UNHCR, the government 
agreed to issue identification cards. The government and UNHCR 
completed the registration process, and new refugee cards were issued 
in October.
    In 2008 UNHCR began a repatriation program of Afro-Mauritanians to 
Mauritania. According to UNHCR, an estimated 34,000 Afro-Mauritanians 
were registered for voluntary repatriation and by January approximately 
20,500 had been repatriated. Repatriations were temporarily stopped in 
January 2010 due to the internal sociopolitical situation in Mauritania 
but resumed in October 2010. Repatriations halted again briefly in 
December 2010 but resumed in January. UNHCR reports that 380 
Mauritanian refugees were repatriated during the year.
    The government continued to permit generally unsupervised and 
largely informal repatriation of Casamance refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change 
their government peacefully, and citizens generally exercised this 
right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2007 
President Wade was reelected to a constitutional five-year second term 
with approximately 55 percent of the vote. International observers 
declared the voting to be generally free and fair; however, there were 
irregularities, especially in the issuance of voter cards, and pre-
election violence. Many opposition parties did not accept the election 
results and unsuccessfully petitioned the Constitutional Council to 
void the election.
    In the 2007 legislative election, President Wade's PDS coalition 
won 131 of 150 National Assembly seats. International observers 
declared the elections to be generally free and fair. Because 
opposition parties, organized under the umbrella coalition ``Front 
Siggil Senegal,'' boycotted the elections, the turnout of 34.7 percent 
was historically low. In the 2007 indirect elections for the Senate, 
local officials and members of parliament chose PDS candidates for 34 
of the 35 contested seats. The remaining 65 Senate seats were filled by 
presidential appointment. The main opposition parties boycotted the 
Senate elections, since the president appoints the majority of Senate 
seats.

    Political Parties.--The 150 registered political parties generally 
operated without restriction or outside interference.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--In May 2010 the National 
Assembly passed a law on gender parity that provides women equal access 
to all elected assemblies and management boards of totally or partially 
owned government companies. At year's end, there were 37 women in the 
150-seat National Assembly and nine women in the 40-member cabinet. 
Only 13 percent of locally elected leaders were women. The 100-member 
Senate included 40 women.
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. Public 
officials were subject to financial disclosure laws only in cases of 
investigations. The president is the only official required by law to 
disclose assets at the beginning of his term.
    The World Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators 
reflected that corruption was a serious problem, and there was 
widespread public perception of government corruption. Officials' 
granting themselves, members of the National Assembly, and civil 
servants salary increases, vehicles, and land over the previous few 
years exacerbated the perception.
    Impunity and corruption among police were pervasive problems. 
According to human rights groups, attorneys, and victims, security 
forces regularly extorted money from detainees in exchange for release, 
and from prostitutes to overlook noncompliance with prostitution 
regulations.
    The National Commission to Fight Non-transparency, Corruption, and 
Government Fraud had no authority to investigate or prosecute. It 
remained inefficient in fighting corruption and prosecuted no 
government officials for the crime. Despite recurrent allegations of 
corruption in the media, the commission and the judiciary undertook no 
investigations.
    Several meetings to decide matters of great import to the people of 
Senegal were held behind closed doors and without stakeholder or civil 
society participation in decision making or access to the proceedings. 
The NGO Article 19 reported on November 15 that the public and civil 
society groups were excluded from participating in the decision-making 
process for privatization of water resources.
    During the year the Agency for Regulation of Public Markets (ARMP) 
published on the Internet its investigations into procurement code 
violations that occurred in 2009. The investigation reports were long 
and detailed, but did not result in any criminal prosecutions. ARMP has 
a mandate to publish its investigation report findings regardless of 
government consent.
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to access 
government information freely; however, the government rarely provided 
access in practice.
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 but rarely responsive to their findings. Some 
human rights organizations alleged that their telephones were regularly 
tapped during the year and violence against human rights leaders 
occurred (see section 1.c.).
    Death threats against leaders of opposition political parties, 
unions, journalists, NGOs, and senior officials were common and 
generally were believed to originate from the ruling party.
    For example, Alioune Tine, the head of RADDHO, was attacked and 
brutally beaten by individuals thought to have been paid by the 
government. Tine claims the attack was organized by Farba Sengor, a 
well-known associate of President Wade, and that Sengor participated in 
the attack. Tine was hospitalized after the beating and remained in a 
coma for several days.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--In 2008 the constitution was 
amended to allow retroactive prosecution on charges of torture and 
crimes against humanity of former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre, who 
has lived in exile in the country since 1990. Donors worked with the 
government to formulate a feasible budget and, in November 2010, 
pledged approximately $11,350,000 to finance the trial. At the same 
time, the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African 
States (ECOWAS) released a ruling that concurred with charges brought 
by Habre's lawyers against Senegal, arguing that Senegal made its 
criminal laws retroactive for the sole purpose of prosecuting Habre and 
thus had violated his rights. The African Union and the EU urged that 
the trial should proceed despite ECOWAS' decision.
    In a February 7 interview with a French newspaper, President Wade 
expressed his opposition to trying Habre in Senegal, saying he was 
``finished'' with the case following the ECOWAS court decision. On July 
8, President Wade's office announced that Habre would be expelled to 
Chad on July 11. However, on July 10, the Foreign Ministry declared 
that Habre's expulsion had been ``suspended'' based on a request by the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government's National 
Committee on Human Rights (NCHR) includes government representatives, 
civil society groups, and independent human rights organizations. The 
NCHR has authority to investigate abuses; however, it lacked 
credibility, was poorly funded, did not meet regularly, did not conduct 
investigations, and last released its annual report in 2001.
    According to the NCHR, the government met regularly with civil 
society and human rights NGOs to discuss topics including 
discrimination (racial, gender, and religious), migration, and domestic 
violence. The government was somewhat responsive to NGO inquiries and 
held meetings with them to discuss human rights issues such as torture, 
domestic violence, and the case against Habre.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides that men and women are equal under the 
law and prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status. However, gender discrimination was 
widespread in practice, and antidiscrimination laws, in particular laws 
against violence against women and children, generally were not 
enforced.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape was widespread. Spousal 
rape remained difficult to quantify since it was a taboo subject and 
seldom reported. The law prohibits rape, but not spousal rape; however, 
the government rarely enforced the law. Penalties against rape range 
from five to 10 years' imprisonment. NGO's criticized the lack of 
shield laws for rape; the law allows the common practice of using a 
woman's sexual history to defend men accused of rape. Prosecutions for 
rape remained minimal since judges seldom had sufficient evidence that 
rape occurred, especially when rape happened within a family. It was 
common to settle rape cases out of court to avoid the publicity and 
costs associated with prosecution. The Ministry of Justice estimated in 
2009 that 47 percent of accused rapists went unpunished and were 
released without trial, but was unable to provide more recent 
estimates.
    On August 8, up to 15 local human rights organizations publicly 
called for a halt to gang rape and the end of impunity for such crimes. 
They denounced the fact that, during violent protests on June 27, a 
group of men took advantage of the lack of electricity and unrest to 
rape several women present at a bar/restaurant in the Dakar 
neighborhood of Dieupeul. The group also condemned a separate incident 
that took place on July 31 in the Guediawaye suburb of Dakar. Following 
a wrestling match and subsequent power shutdown, a group of men 
reportedly raped a number of female fans who had gathered in front of 
the house of wrestler Balla Gaye to celebrate his victory. At the end 
of the year no arrests had been made in the two incidents.
    Domestic violence, including spousal abuse, was a widespread 
problem. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for combating domestic 
violence. Several women's groups and the NGO Committee to Combat 
Violence Against Women and Children (CLVF) reported a rise in violence 
against women during the year. The CLVF reported that domestic violence 
cases accounted for 65 percent of all reported cases of violence 
against women in 2009.
    Violence against women is against the law, but the law was not 
enforced. The law criminalizes assaults and provides for a punishment 
of one to five years in prison and a fine. If the victim is a woman, 
the prison term and fine are both increased. Domestic violence that 
causes lasting injuries is punishable with a prison sentence of 10 to 
20 years; if an act of domestic violence causes death, the law 
prescribes life imprisonment. The CLVF criticized the failure of some 
judges to apply the law, citing cases where judges claimed lack of 
adequate evidence as a reason to issue lenient sentences. CLVF also 
noted that the government authorized civil society organizations to 
represent victims of trafficking in civil cases but continued to deny 
them the right to do so in rape cases. The media reported several cases 
of incest. Domestic violence against women is punishable by one to 10 
years in prison and fines ranging from 30,000 francs CFA ($60) to 
500,000 francs CFA ($1,000), depending on the degree of maltreatment. 
When violence leads to death, the perpetrators are imprisoned for life 
with forced labor. Police usually did not intervene in domestic 
disputes, and most victims were reluctant to go outside the family for 
redress. There were no statistics available on the number of abusers 
prosecuted under the law. Close, older family members often committed 
rape and pedophilia within the household, making it difficult for 
victims to file lawsuits.
    Organizations combating violence criticized the government's 
failure to permit associations to bring suits on behalf of victims. The 
Ministry of Women, Family, Social Development, and Women's 
Entrepreneurship was responsible for ensuring the rights of women.
    The government-run Ginddi Center provided shelter to women and 
girls who were victims of rape or early marriage, in addition to street 
children.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--FGM is a criminal offense under 
the law, carrying a prison sentence of six months to five years for 
those directly practicing it or ordering it to be carried out on a 
third person. However, many persons still practiced FGM openly and with 
impunity. Prevalence of the practice in those over 10 years of age is 
reported to be less than 6 percent (see ``Children'' later in this 
section).

    Sexual Harassment.--The law mandates prison terms of five months to 
three years and fines of 50,000 to 500,000 francs CFA ($100 to $1,000) 
for sexual harassment; however, the practice was common. The government 
did not effectively enforce the law, and women's rights groups claimed 
victims of sexual harassment found it difficult, if not impossible, to 
present sufficient proof to secure prosecutions.

    Sex Tourism.--There were instances of sex tourism. For example, 
there were reports that European tourists in the Saly district of Mbour 
sought sexual services.

    Reproductive Rights.--The law provides for the right of all 
individuals to be informed about and to choose methods for spacing 
births. It also provides for the right to medical services for all 
women during pregnancy and to a safe delivery. The law considers the 
right to reproductive health to be a ``fundamental and universal right 
guaranteed to all individuals without discrimination.'' The law further 
provides that ``all couples and individuals have the right to freely 
decide to have children, to determine the number of children they wish, 
and the spacing of these children.''
    In practice poor medical facilities constrained these rights, 
particularly in rural areas and in some urban areas where lack of funds 
led to closing maternity wards and operating rooms. According to 
Demographic Health Surveys, skilled personnel attended approximately 65 
percent of births and prenatal care was provided in 93 percent of 
cases. According to UNICEF, the maternal mortality ratio (the ratio of 
the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) was 410 in 2008. 
The Ministry of Health estimated that a majority of maternal deaths in 
childbirth could be prevented through the assistance of skilled 
personal and the availability of emergency obstetrical services. Social 
and cultural pressures to have large families reportedly led some 
husbands to ask health workers to terminate the use of contraceptives 
by their spouses. This reportedly led women to be discreet in the use 
of contraception. The U.N. Population Fund estimated that 12 percent of 
all girls and women between the ages of 15 and 45 used some form of 
contraception. Men and women were diagnosed and treated equally for 
sexually transmitted diseases.
    In an effort to improve maternal and infant mortality rates, on 
February 3 the Ministry of Health announced that costs for cesarean 
sections within the district of Dakar would be covered by the 
government.

    Discrimination.--Women faced pervasive discrimination, especially 
in rural areas where traditional customs, including polygyny and 
discriminatory rules of inheritance, were strongest. The law requires a 
woman's approval of a polygynous union, but once in such a union, a 
woman neither needed to be notified nor to give prior consent if the 
man took another wife. Approximately 50 percent of marriages were 
polygynous. Although protected under the law, marriage rights were not 
enforced due to sociocultural pressures and judicial reluctance to 
enforce the law.
    The family code's definition of paternal rights remained an 
obstacle to equality between men and women, as men are considered the 
head of household and women cannot take legal responsibility for their 
children. Women can become the legal head of household only when the 
father formally renounces his authority before the authorities. 
However, it was also possible for women to take charge of their 
children and husband, if he was medically unable to do so. Problems in 
traditional practices also made it difficult for women to purchase 
property in rural areas.
    Men and women have equal rights to apply for a job. Women 
represented 52 percent of the population, but they performed 90 percent 
of domestic work and 85 percent of agricultural work.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is acquired by birth or 
naturalization. Only the father can automatically transmit nationality 
to legitimate children; a woman can if her husband is stateless. 
Legitimate children born to Senegalese women with foreign husbands have 
the option to acquire citizenship between the ages of 18 and 25. 
Illegitimate children acquire the citizenship of the first-known parent 
at birth Children are not registered at birth unless a parent requests 
it be done, but failure to do so does not result in the denial of 
public service. In many rural areas parents seldom registered births. 
The process of registering births only required a local judge to make a 
ruling based on oral testimonies.

    Education.--The law provides for tuition-free education through the 
compulsory ages of six to 16; however, many children did not attend 
school due to lack of resources or available facilities. Students must 
pay for their own books, uniforms, and other school supplies. The 
historical gap in enrollment levels between boys and girls has been 
closed, and during the year there were more girls than boys enrolled in 
elementary education.
    Girls encountered greater difficulties in continuing in school, 
however. When families could not afford for all their children to 
attend school, parents tended to remove daughters rather than sons from 
school. Sexual harassment by school staff and early pregnancy also 
caused the departure of girls from school. According to the most recent 
UNICEF data, 45 percent of girls and women ages 15-24 were literate, 
compared with 58 percent of boys and men of the same ages. While 
roughly equal numbers of boys and girls were enrolled in primary 
education, UNICEF reported that 28 percent of boys were enrolled in 
secondary education compared with 22 percent of girls.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was common. Poorly dressed, barefoot 
young boys, known as talibes, begged on street corners for food or 
money for themselves and their Qur'anic teachers, known as marabouts. 
Many of these children were exploited by their teachers and exposed to 
dangers. Physical abuse of talibes was widely reported. A 2008 joint 
study by UNICEF, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the World 
Bank, and the NGO Partnership for the Withdrawal and Reinsertion of 
Street Children identified an estimated 7,800 child beggars in the 
Dakar area. A report issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in April 2010 
estimated 50,000 child beggars in the country. Most were approximately 
10 years old, although some as young as two years old were reported. In 
general they were undernourished and prone to sickness. Since they 
begged full time, they devoted almost no time to Qur'anic studies. They 
were forced to give the proceeds of their begging to their teachers. 
Each child was expected to collect an average of 400 francs CFA ($0.80) 
per day.

    Child Marriage.--Officials from the Ministry of Women, Family, 
Social Development, and Women's Entrepreneurship and women's rights 
groups stated that child marriage was a significant problem in parts of 
the country, particularly in rural areas, although it is against the 
law. Girls, sometimes as young as nine, were married to older men.
    Under national law women have the right to choose when and whom 
they marry, but traditional practices restricted a woman's choice. The 
law prohibits marriage of girls younger than 16, but this law was 
generally not enforced in most communities where marriages were 
arranged. Under certain conditions a judge may grant a special 
dispensation for marriage to a person below the age of consent. 
According to UNICEF data, 39 percent of women between the ages of 20 
and 24 were married before the age of 18.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Almost all girls in the country's 
northern Fouta Region were FGM victims before adulthood, as were 60 to 
70 percent of girls in the South and Southeast. Sealing, one of the 
most extreme and dangerous forms of FGM, was sometimes practiced by the 
Toucouleur, Mandinka, Soninke, Peul, and Bambara ethnic groups, 
particularly in rural and some urban areas. According to a survey on 
health and demographics by the National Institute for Statistics, the 
practice of FGM decreased slightly from 28 percent in 2005 to almost 26 
percent in 2011.
    The government collaborated with the NGO Tostan and other groups to 
educate persons about FGM's inherent dangers. Tostan reported no real 
improvement over 2010 with 817 communities still practicing FGM. Tostan 
worked with 522 villages.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides that convicted 
sexual abusers of children receive five to 10 years' imprisonment. If 
the offender is a family member the maximum is applied. Any offense 
against the decency of a child is punishable by imprisonment for two to 
five years and in certain aggravated cases up to 10 years. Procuring a 
minor for prostitution is punishable by imprisonment for two to five 
years and a fine of 300,000 to four million francs CFA ($600 to 
$8,000). If the crime involves a victim younger than 13, the maximum 
penalty is applied. However, the law was not effectively enforced.
    Rape of children remained a problem. The director charged with 
protection of children's rights reported an estimated 400 cases of rape 
between 2008 and 2009; however, this figure likely greatly 
underestimated the reality. No more recent data was available.
    On May 9, Jean Delhoune, a 72-year-old French citizen, was arrested 
in Mbour on charges of pedophilia after having been caught assaulting 
three underage girls in a villa. The media reported that Delhoune had 
been caught in the course of a larger investigation into an underage 
prostitution network.
    On May 17, media reported that Oumar Gallo Ba, a leader in the 
youth wing of the ruling party, was arrested in the eastern city of 
Tambacounda for the rape and subsequent pregnancy of an underage female 
student. After his arrest, Ba agreed to marry the girl after she gave 
birth and pay her a monthly stipend. The prosecutor recommended the 
case proceed to trial, and the case was pending at year's end.
    Due to social pressures and fear of embarrassment, incest remained 
taboo and often went unreported and unpunished.
    While prostitution is legal procuring a minor for prostitution is 
punishable by imprisonment for two to five years and a fine of 300,000 
to four million francs CFA ($600 to $8,000).
    Pornography is prohibited and pornography involving children under 
the age of 16 is considered pedophilia.

    Infanticide.--Women's rights groups highlighted infanticide, 
usually due to poverty or embarrassment, as a continuing problem. 
Domestic workers or women from villages working in cities who became 
pregnant sometimes killed their babies since they could not care for 
them. Others, who were married to men working outside the country, 
killed their infants out of shame. In some cases the families of the 
women shamed them into killing their own babies. If the identity of the 
mother was discovered, police arrested and prosecuted her.

    Displaced Children.--Many children displaced by the Casamance 
conflict often lived with extended family members, neighbors, in 
children's homes, or on the streets. The government failed to support 
these children effectively. According to NGOs in Casamance, displaced 
children suffered from the psychological effects of conflict, 
malnutrition, and poor health.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were approximately 100 resident Jews in the 
country; there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to 
health care, and the provision of other state services, and the 
government somewhat effectively enforced it. The law also mandates 
accessibility for persons with disabilities; however, there remained a 
lack of infrastructure to assist them, including in appropriately 
accessing voting sites. The Ministry of National Solidarity is 
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
    The law reserves 15 percent of new civil service positions for 
persons with disabilities. However, according to the Senegalese 
National Association of People with Physical Disabilities, as of year's 
end the government failed to issue the executive decree required to 
make the law operational. The government operated schools for children 
with disabilities, provided grants for persons with disabilities to 
receive vocational training, and managed regional centers for persons 
with disabilities to receive training and funding for establishing 
businesses.
    Several government programs that appeared to be earmarked for 
persons with disabilities offered services to other vulnerable 
populations, reducing resources for persons with disabilities. Due to a 
lack of special education training for teachers and facilities 
accessible to children with disabilities, only 40 percent of such 
children were enrolled in primary school.
    Mental health treatment was not generally available, and incidents 
of abuse of the mentally disabled were common.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--While the country's many ethnic 
groups have coexisted relatively peacefully, interethnic tensions 
between the Wolof and southern ethnic groups played a significant role 
in the long-running Casamance rebellion that has been characterized by 
grievous human rights abuses.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex activity, 
which is indirectly referred to in the law as ``unnatural sexual 
intercourse,'' is a criminal offense. In the recent past gays, 
lesbians, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons often faced criminal 
prosecution and widespread discrimination, social intolerance, and acts 
of violence.
    The media failed to report acts of hatred or violence against LGBT 
persons. In November 2010 HRW released a report entitled ``Fear of 
Life: Violence against Gay Men and Men Perceived as Gay in Senegal.'' 
The report discussed cases of violence against gay men and the legal 
and cultural milieu that fostered such violence. While the cases cited 
in the report were from 2009 and earlier, NGO observers speculated that 
the drop in cases reported during the year was due to several factors. 
First, violence against gay men and lesbians might have caused many 
LGBT persons in the country to go underground. Second, increased 
international attention might have caused the government to curtail 
prosecutions and other official discrimination. A report by the Panos 
Institute West Africa released on July 20 found that local media 
contributed to negative societal attitudes toward LGBT persons. 
Finally, successful legal challenges to the law used to prosecute gays 
and lesbians for consensual sexual activity may have helped curtail its 
use by prosecutors.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--As a result of 
government and NGO HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, persons with HIV or 
AIDS increasingly were accepted in society.
    The law protects persons with HIV/AIDS against all forms of 
discrimination. The law also allows medical doctors to inform spouses 
of persons with HIV/AIDS of their partners' status if the latter fail 
to do so after a reasonable time.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
By law all workers except security forces, including police and 
gendarmes, customs officers, and judges, are free to form and join 
unions. The labor code requires the Ministry of Interior to give prior 
authorization before a trade union can exist legally. The government 
can also dissolve and disband trade unions by administrative order. 
Antiunion discrimination is prohibited by law.
    The law allows the right to strike; however, certain regulations 
restrict this right in practice, and the law was not effectively 
enforced. The constitution seriously undermines the right to strike by 
stipulating that a strike must not infringe on the freedom to work or 
jeopardize an enterprise. The law states that workplaces may not be 
occupied during a strike. Unions representing members of the civil 
service must notify the government of their intent to strike at least 
one month in advance; private sector unions must notify the government 
three days in advance. The right to strike is further restricted by the 
power of authorities to requisition workers to replace those on strike. 
The labor code does not apply to the informal sectors, and thus 
excludes the majority of the workforce, including subsistence farmers 
and those employed in many family businesses.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
interference, and workers exercised the right to form or join unions in 
practice. However, antiunion sentiment within the government was 
strong.
    The law provides for the right to collective bargaining. However, 
collective bargaining agreements only apply to an estimated 44 percent 
of union workers. Trade unions organize on an industry-wide basis, very 
similar to the French system of union organization. Trade unionists 
were reportedly frequently subjected to harassment. In addition the ILO 
has raised questions regarding the country's full adherence to worker 
rights, particularly, the right of association. Nevertheless, there 
were no confirmed reports of antiunion discrimination activities during 
the year. Some newspapers have reported legal action against union 
leaders, for example in the telecommunications industry, but there were 
no reports of people being harassed for being a union member. 
Transportation, health, lawyers, telecommunication workers, waste 
collection workers, and fishermen staged several strikes during the 
year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children; 
however, such practices occurred. The predominant type of forced labor 
was forced begging by talibes, where young boys were forced to beg for 
food/money by the teachers at Islamic schools. Parents living in 
villages sent their children to these schools to get an Islamic 
education, but in a cruel bait-and-switch, the children wound up 
begging instead. Many religious instructors in Qur'anic schools brought 
talibes from rural villages to urban areas and held them under 
conditions of servitude, forcing them to beg on a daily basis in 
unsanitary and dangerous conditions or to work in the agriculture 
sector under the threat of physical punishment. Talibes occasionally 
worked in small-scale agriculture and harvested cashews, mangoes, and 
oranges. In the Casamance region, talibes working in the fields were 
exposed to land mines left from the war.
    To reduce the incidence of exploitive begging, the Ministry of 
Women, Family, Social Development, and Women's Entrepreneurship 
implemented a program to help support 48 Qur'anic schools whose 
teachers do not force their students to engage in begging. The Ministry 
of Education provided funds to schools operated by religious 
institutions that met national education standards. During the year 40 
new elementary schools were opened throughout the country; 10 middle 
schools were also established. These schools were bilingual, teaching 
in French and Arabic. This program removed thousands of children from 
street begging and exploitation. The Ministry of Education also worked 
on a secular curriculum for use in Qur'anic schools. Funding continued 
to be available for existing schools but was insufficient to allow the 
opening of additional schools, although the budget for the Ministry of 
Preschool, Elementary School, Middle and Secondary Schools and National 
Languages rose over the last three years.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law bans many forms of child labor exploitation. However, the law 
includes exceptions. For example it may allow a 12-year-old to work in 
a family environment so long as it is morally acceptable, and it also 
allows all boys under 16 to work in underground mines and quarries 
doing ``light work.'' Given the nature of the dangers associated with 
mining, ``light work'' activities do not prevent their exposure to 
hazards. Regulations on child labor set the minimum working age, 
working hours, and working conditions, and prohibit children from 
performing particularly dangerous jobs.
    The minimum age for employment is 15. In general work is 40 hours 
per week or 2,080 hours per year. Night work is performed between 10:00 
p.m. and 5:00 a.m. and should receive a supplementary rate. Extensive 
language on occupational health and safety regulations exists in the 
labor codes. Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor are charged with 
investigating and initiating lawsuits in child labor cases. 
Investigators from the Ministry of Labor can visit any institution 
during work hours to verify and investigate compliance with labor laws 
and can act on tips from trade unions or ordinary citizens.
    Labor laws prohibiting child labor largely were unenforced. For 
example the Ministry of Labor sent investigators to investigate formal 
work places. However, they were not trained to deal with child labor 
problems, and many of the child labor abuses took place in the informal 
economy, where there were no inspections. The Child Labor Division in 
the Ministry of Labor was eliminated in May. Inspectors did not 
initiate visits to investigate child labor violations because they 
lacked adequate funding and expertise to handle child labor cases. 
There was no specific system in place to report child labor violations 
largely due to inadequate funding of the Child Labor Office and the 
Ministry of Labor. Instead the ministry relied on unions to report 
violators.
    The government raised awareness of the dangers of child labor and 
exploitive begging through seminars with local officials, NGOs, and 
civil society. The government also participated in an ILO project to 
combat child labor. The government was implementing the Child Labor 
Plan, which focused on better management of child labor issues. While 
the training created more awareness of child labor issues in local 
communities, there were no further outcomes.
    In August 2010 the Ministry of Justice announced the formation of 
an office to combat the mistreatment of women and children. However, 
the office received no funding for the year 2011 and was eliminated in 
May.
    Child labor was a problem, including in the gold mining sector, and 
most instances occurred in the informal economy where labor regulations 
were not enforced. Economic pressures and inadequate educational 
opportunities often pushed rural families to emphasize work over 
education for their children. Child labor was especially common in the 
regions of Tambacounda, Louga, and Fatick. Child labor was prevalent in 
many informal and family-based sectors such as agriculture (millet, 
corn, and peanuts), fishing, artisanal gold mining, garages, dumpsites, 
slaughterhouses, production of salt, and metal and woodworking shops. 
There were also reports of children working on family farms or herding 
cattle. Children also worked as domestics, in tailoring shops, as 
garage mechanics, in metal and wood working shops, and in other areas 
of the informal economy, such as fruit and vegetable stands.
    In August 2008 (the most recent year for which such data was 
available) a national child labor survey published by the National 
Agency of Demography and Statistics measured the economic activities of 
children during the prior 12 months. According to the survey, 1,378,724 
of the country's 3,759,074 children (37 percent) between the ages of 
five and 17 worked.
    One of the worst situations of child labor was in the mining and 
rock quarry sector. Child gold washers, mostly between the ages of 10 
and 14, worked approximately eight hours a day without training or 
protective equipment. Children also worked long hours in rock quarries, 
crushing rock, and carrying heavy loads without protection. Both types 
of work resulted in serious accidents and long-term illness. The NGO La 
Lumiere reported an increase in children working in gold mines in the 
Kedougou area during the year due to an increase in the price of gold.
    According to a 2007 government survey, 90 percent of children in 
Kaolack, Fatick, and Ziguinchor carried out tasks detrimental to their 
health and education. The study also found that 75 percent of girls 
were responsible for domestic chores, forcing many to leave school.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/PDF/2010TDA.pdf.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum hourly wage 
was 209 francs CFA ($0.42) and 183 francs CFA ($0.37) for agricultural 
workers. In campaign speeches President Wade pegged the poverty income 
level at 100,000 francs CFA ($200) per annum. The Ministry of Labor was 
responsible for enforcing the minimum wage. Labor unions also acted as 
watchdogs and contributed to effective implementation of the minimum 
wage in the formal sector. The minimum wage provisions apply to foreign 
and migrant workers as well.
    Within the formal sector the law mandates for most occupations a 
standard workweek of 40 to 48 hours with at least one 24-hour rest 
period, one month per year of annual leave, enrollment in government 
social security and retirement plans, safety standards, and other 
measures. Premium pay for overtime was required in the formal sector. 
The law does not cover the informal sector. Legal regulations on 
occupational health and safety (OSH) exist, and the government sets the 
OSH standards. There was no explicit legal protection for workers who 
file complaints about unsafe working conditions. Workers, including 
foreign or migrant workers, had the nominal right to remove themselves 
from situations that endangered health or safety without jeopardy to 
their employment. The Ministry of Labor, through the Labor Inspection 
Office, enforced labor standards. The minimum wage was not respected in 
the informal sector, especially for domestic workers. Enforcement of 
the workweek standard was irregular. Labor inspectors had very poor 
working conditions and lacked transportation to conduct their mission 
effectively.
    Workers seldom exercised their nominal right to remove themselves 
from situations that endangered health or safety due to high 
unemployment and a slow legal system.

                               __________

                               SEYCHELLES

                           executive summary
    Seychelles is a multiparty republic. In elections held May 19-21, 
voters reelected President James Michel. International observers deemed 
the process credible, although there were complaints of unfair campaign 
practices. The president and the People's Party, formerly the 
Seychelles People's Progressive Front, dominated the country through a 
pervasive system of political patronage and control over government 
jobs, contracts, and resources. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    The most significant human rights problems in the country were an 
inefficient and politically influenced judiciary, and restrictions on 
freedom of assembly and labor rights.
    The following human rights problems also were reported: poor prison 
conditions; prolonged pretrial detention; restrictions on speech, 
press, and association; restrictions on political participation; 
official corruption; violence against women and children; and 
trafficking in persons.
    The government took steps to punish officials who committed abuses, 
whether in the security services or elsewhere in the government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.
    On February 23, the Supreme Court sentenced police officer Nelson 
Rose to 12 years in prison and acquitted another police officer in 
connection with a 2009 case in which a man was found dead in a cell 
while in police custody. On December 9, the Court of Appeals acquitted 
Rose.

    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 police or prison officers were accused of 
inhumane treatment of detainees.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Montagne Posee Prison, the 
country's main prison, did not meet international standards, and 
conditions were poor. Access to potable water remained a problem. 
Sanitation and hygiene were poor, although a full-time doctor and nurse 
were on staff to provide medical treatment and oversee dietary needs. 
The prison system had limited rehabilitation programs and organized 
activities for prisoners, according to nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs).
    As of November 30, there were 471 prisoners and detainees, 
including 450 men, 20 women, and one juvenile. Prison conditions for 
female inmates were no worse than for male inmates.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Prison authorities also provided Muslim Somali 
pirates being held in Montagne Posee Prison with access to imams and 
permitted daily prayers and religious observances, such as Ramadan. 
Prison authorities allowed prisoners and detainees to submit complaints 
to appropriate authorities and request investigation of credible 
allegations of inhumane conditions. The government investigated on a 
case-by-case basis and monitored prison conditions regularly.
    The government generally permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by local and international human rights groups. The 
International Committee of the Red Cross made no requests for prison 
visits.
    During the year 51 inmates considered to be low-risk prisoners were 
sent to the Coetivy Island Prison as part of a voluntary rehabilitation 
program. While visitors were not allowed on Coetivy Island, facilities 
reportedly were adequate, and inmates were allowed to circulate freely 
on the island.
    An ombudsman may make recommendations to the National Assembly and 
the president to improve conditions for prisoners and detainees, 
although the ombudsman has no power to enforce such recommendations. 
The ombudsman generally issues an annual report that includes 
complaints of and investigations into cases of human rights abuse and 
corruption. According to the 2010 annual report, 25 complaints alleging 
human rights abuses were filed, of which 21 were retained for further 
investigation, and four were dismissed for having no merit.
    Authorities did not use alternatives to sentencing for nonviolent 
offenders, and no steps were taken during the year to improve record 
keeping.
    In partnership with the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the 
government provided training for prison guards in tradecraft, 
leadership, fire safety, and emergency response.
    On September 9, a new prison wing for Somali pirates opened at 
Montagne Posee Prison. At year's end the wing, which was designed for 
60 prisoners, held 63 Somali pirates.

    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 president has 
complete control over the security apparatus, which includes the 
Seychelles People's Defense Forces (SPDF), Presidential Protection 
Unit, Coast Guard, and police. During the year the National Guard was 
dissolved and its officers redeployed to other units. The police 
commissioner, who reports directly to the minister for Home Affairs, 
Environment and Transport, commands the unarmed police and the armed 
paramilitary Police Seychelles Support Unit, which together have 
primary responsibility for internal security. When necessary, the SPDF 
assisted police on matters of internal security.
    Security forces were effective, although corruption, particularly 
the solicitation of bribes, was a problem. The Enquiry Board, a police 
complaint office, was rarely used. In practice private attorneys filed 
complaints or published them in opposition party newspapers Regar and 
Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly.
    Although human rights was included as a core precept in officer 
training, such training was limited.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants are 
required by law, except for persons being arrested under the Misuse of 
Drugs Act, which allows police to arrest and detain without a warrant. 
The law provides for detention without charge for up to 14 days if 
authorized by court order. Persons arrested must be brought before a 
magistrate within 24 hours, with allowances for boat travel from 
distant islands, although police did not always respect this 
requirement. The law provides that detainees be promptly notified of 
charges against them and allowed prompt access to family members, 
although these rights were not always respected. Detainees have the 
right to legal counsel, and free counsel was usually provided to 
indigent persons. Courts accepted bail for most offenses.

    Pretrial Detention.--The constitution provides that remand 
prisoners be released after six months of detention if their cases have 
not been heard within that period; however, prolonged pretrial 
detention was a problem. Prisoners often waited more than three years 
for trial or sentencing due to the inefficiency of the judicial system. 
Approximately 27 percent of the prison population consisted of pretrial 
detainees.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the judiciary was inefficient and 
subject to executive influence. Both civil and criminal court cases 
generally lasted years. There were no reports of judicial corruption, 
although there was a widespread public perception that some judges were 
corrupt. Authorities did not always respect court orders.
    Two Supreme Court judges, two appeals court judges, and four 
magistrate court judges were citizens by birth. There were allegations 
that some of the justices were appointed because of their affiliation 
with the People's Party. All other justices were either naturalized 
citizens or citizens of other Commonwealth countries. There were 
reports that the executive branch interfered in the recruitment of 
foreign justices, who sometimes were hesitant to rule against the 
executive branch for fear of losing their jobs.
    During the year the chief justice, who was appointed in 2009, 
continued efforts to increase judicial efficiency by increasing the 
number of judges, introducing alternative dispute resolution 
techniques, and automating judicial records.
    An 18-member part-time family tribunal heard and decided all 
matters relating to access to, care, custody and maintenance of 
children, domestic violence, family disputes, and other family related 
cases. Most members of the tribunal were not legally trained and were 
affiliated with the People's Party.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants have the right to a fair public 
trial, are considered innocent until proven guilty, and have the right 
to be present at their trials and to appeal. Cases involving murder or 
treason use juries. The constitution makes provision for defendants to 
present evidence and witnesses and to cross-examine witnesses in court. 
Defendants have the right to access government-held evidence; however, 
in practice such requests were often delayed. The law provides for 
defendants to consult with an attorney in a timely manner. These rights 
were enjoyed equally by all citizens.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law 
provide for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; 
however, case backlogs impeded judicial efficiency. UNODC funding was 
used to provide prosecutors to decrease the backlog in the Attorney 
General's Office. The National Human Rights Commission, which 
investigated allegations of human rights abuse, recommended cases for 
prosecution as well as for out of court settlements (see section 5).

    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. 
However, there remained widespread suspicion of government monitoring 
of private communications without legal process.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press; however, the government did not respect these rights in 
practice. Journalists from state-controlled media practiced self-
censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals who criticized the government 
publicly or privately sometimes suffered reprisals, such as harassment 
by police or the loss of jobs or contracts.

    Freedom of Press.--The government operated a daily newspaper, and 
there were two privately owned daily newspapers and three political 
party weeklies.
    On September 26, on the eve of legislative elections, police 
operating under orders of the Seychelles Licensing Authority seized 
opposition coalition campaign materials. The government claimed that 
the opposition did not have the appropriate license to publish the 
materials. The opposition claimed that the publications were flyers and 
did not require registration. The government countered that, according 
to the Newspaper Act, a flyer is considered a newspaper.
    The government owned the only television station and all radio 
stations. The law allows for independent radio and television, but the 
licensing fee of 800,000 rupees ($61,538) per year discouraged the 
opening of any independent broadcasters. Political parties and 
religious groups were prohibited from obtaining radio licenses. The law 
allows the minister of information technology to prohibit the broadcast 
of any material believed to be against the ``national interest'' or 
``objectionable.'' The law also requires telecommunications companies 
to submit subscriber information to the government. The law was not 
enforced during the year.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The law provides restrictions ``for 
protecting the reputation, rights, and freedoms of private lives of 
persons'' and ``in the interest of defense, public safety, public 
order, public morality, or public health.'' As a result, civil lawsuits 
could be filed to penalize journalists for alleged libel.
    For example, on July 23, a cabinet minister filed a libel suit 
against Regar newspaper for publishing allegations in June regarding a 
conflict of interest in a land sale. On July 24, police searched the 
house of Regar's publishing director. A trial was pending at year's 
end.
    On December 12, Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly chief editor Ralph 
Volcere appeared in court for allegedly discrediting a Court of Appeals 
judge in a December 9 newspaper article. The case was scheduled for 
January 2012.
    The Media Commission, a media regulatory body created as a result 
of December 2010 legislation, was composed of media professionals 
widely viewed to be ruling party supporters.

    Internet Freedom.--Opposition activists claimed that the government 
blocked access to their party Web sites. There also were reports that 
the government monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms.
    For example, on June 9, an opposition supporter was detained for 15 
days for having allegedly insulted the president on a social networking 
Web site. No charges were filed.
    On December 5, police detained a man after he allegedly criticized 
a senior government official on a social networking Web site. The man 
was released the same day, and no charges were filed.
    On October 28, a man was arrested, and later released, for posting 
negative comments against Air Seychelles. No charges were filed.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Opposition activists claimed 
that the government limited academic freedom by reportedly not allowing 
educators to reach senior positions in the academic bureaucracy without 
demonstrating at least nominal loyalty to the People's Party. The 
government controlled faculty appointments to the Polytechnic, the 
University of Seychelles, and boards of educational institutions.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; 
however, the government did not always respect this right in practice.
    For example, on October 7, police denied the opposition coalition 
permission to hold a political rally in Beau Vallon on the grounds that 
the meeting was going to take place in a residential area. Although the 
law does not prohibit the holding of rallies in residential areas, 
police have used the same excuse to deny permits for years.
    On November 17, police denied the opposition coalition permission 
to conduct a march in Victoria to protest the outcome of the 
legislative elections. No reason was given for the denial.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association; however, civil servants allegedly refrained 
from participating in opposition party activities for fear of political 
reprisal.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.

    Foreign Travel.--The law allows the government to deny passports to 
any citizen if the minister of defense finds that such denial is ``in 
the national interest,'' but the law was not invoked during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 
presidential elections held May 19-21, voters reelected incumbent and 
ruling People's Party candidate James Michel to a third term. Michel 
received 55percent of the vote, while opposition Seychelles National 
Party (SNP) candidate Wavel Ramkalawan received 41percent. 
International observers deemed the process credible, although they 
cited allegations of unfair campaign practices. The Francophonie 
Observer Group, the Commonwealth Expert Team, and the Southern African 
Development Community called for electoral reforms, such as a cap on 
campaign funding, a credible voters' register, and restrictions on the 
use of state resources.
    In National Assembly elections held on September 29, 30, and 
October 1, the People's Party won all seats due to an opposition 
boycott of the elections. Both the SNP and New Democratic Party opted 
out of the election, charging that the ruling party obstructed their 
activities, particularly in the National Assembly. Despite the boycott, 
international observers found the election credible and transparent. 
Citizens Democracy Watch, a local observation group, the first domestic 
observer group allowed to monitor an election, expressed concern about 
``the sudden dissolution of the National Assembly, the use of state 
funds and resources during the election period, intimidation of 
candidates and activists; media coverage of events during cooling-off 
period; and nonadherence to agreed rules and procedures during 
campaigning.''
    Remand prisoners were not allowed to vote in the legislative 
elections, despite a July 12 Constitutional Court ruling that provided 
them the right to vote.

    Political Parties.--The People's Party assumed power in a 1977 coup 
and continued to dominate the country through a pervasive system of 
political patronage and control over government jobs, contracts, and 
resources.
    Opposition parties claimed that they operated under restrictions 
and outside interference, especially in the National Assembly, where 
dissent was sometimes penalized. SNP members who walked out of the 
assembly in protest, for example, lost a day's pay. The speaker 
sometimes ordered individual opposition members to leave the chamber if 
debate tactics became contentious. Some members of opposition parties 
claimed that they lost their government jobs because of their political 
affiliation and were at a disadvantage when applying for government 
licenses and loans.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 14 women in the 
32-seat National Assembly, 11 elected by direct election and three 
appointed by proportional representation. Two of the 10 cabinet members 
were women.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the government did not always implement the law effectively, and 
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The 
World Bank's 2009 Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption was a problem.
    Police corruption remained a problem.
    Although public officials and citizens serving on boards were 
subject to financial disclosure laws upon taking office, this did not 
always occur.
    The ombudsman has legal authority to investigate and report on 
allegations of official fraud and corruption; however, no cases were 
reported or investigated during the year.
    There are laws allowing public access to government information, 
but the government did not comply with them. Citizens generally had no 
access to such information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A small number of international human rights NGOs and three 
domestic human rights groups--the Center for Rights and Development 
(CEFRAD), Association of Concerned Citizens of Seychelles (ACCESS), and 
Friends of Prison--generally operated without government restriction, 
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. 
Government officials generally were cooperative and responsive to the 
views of international NGOs but less cooperative with CEFRAD and 
ACCESS, which were perceived as aligned with the opposition. For 
example, the government refused to permit CEFRAD and other local groups 
to observe the May presidential election and prior elections.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The National Human Rights 
Commission investigated allegations of human rights abuse, including 
those committed by members of law enforcement agencies. The commission 
operated without government or party interference, had adequate 
resources, and was considered effective.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law affirm the right to be free from all types 
of discrimination but do not prohibit discrimination based on specific 
factors. In practice, there was no overt discrimination in housing, 
employment, education, or other social services based on race, gender, 
ethnicity, nationality, or disability.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, spousal rape, and 
domestic abuse are criminal offenses punishable by a maximum of 20 
years' imprisonment. Rape was a problem. The police registered 63 
sexual assault cases for the year, although most rape cases went 
unreported for fear of reprisal or social stigma. The Social Affairs 
Division of the Ministry of Social Development and Culture and the 
Women in Action and Solidarity Organization (WASO), a local NGO, 
provided counseling services to 15 domestic violence victims, including 
rape victims during the year. Nine sexual assault cases were prosecuted 
during the year, and 36 cases remained under investigation.
    Domestic violence against women was a problem. Police rarely 
intervened in a domestic dispute unless it involved a weapon or major 
assault. Authorities often dismissed the few cases that reached a 
prosecutor, and the court generally ordered light sentences for 
perpetrators. The Family Tribunal issued 268 restraining orders, 82 
eviction orders, and 124 referrals of persons on restraining order to 
probation services during the year.
    During the year GEM Plus, a local NGO that promotes awareness of 
domestic violence, worked on the Gender Justice Barometer and 
translated the Gender Protocol of the Southern African Development 
Community into Creole, one of the three official languages of the 
country.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, but 
enforcement was rare. The penal code provides no penalty for sexual 
harassment, although the court can order a person accused of such 
conduct to ``keep a bond of peace,'' which allows the court to assess a 
fine if the harasser fails to cease the harassment.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the 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 Social 
Development and Culture. There were no restrictions on the right to 
access contraceptives, but few couples reportedly used these measures. 
The government provided free childbirth services, although women 
traditionally preferred using nurses or midwives during childbirth as 
well as for prenatal and postnatal care, unless the mother or child 
suffered serious health complications. Men and women received equal 
access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. 
There were no legal, social, cultural, or other barriers that limited 
access to these services.

    Discrimination.--Women enjoyed the same rights as men, and the 
society was largely matriarchal. Unwed mothers were the societal norm, 
and the law requires fathers to support their children. There was no 
officially sanctioned discrimination in employment, and women were well 
represented in business. There was no economic discrimination against 
women in employment, access to credit, equal pay for equal work, or 
owning or managing a business. Inheritance laws do not discriminate 
against women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth in 
the country or from parents, and births were generally registered 
immediately. Failure to do so, however, did not result in denial of 
public services.

    Education.--The government requires children to attend school 
through the 10th grade and made free public education available through 
the secondary level until age 18.

    Child Abuse.--The law prohibits physical abuse of children, but 
child abuse was a problem. According to government social workers, 
sexual abuse of children, usually perpetrated by stepfathers and older 
brothers, occurred. According to WASO, most rapes of girls under age 15 
went unreported for fear of reprisal or social stigma. Authorities 
prosecuted very few child abuse cases in court due to lack of efficient 
working relations between government agencies. The strongest public 
advocate for young victims was a semiautonomous agency, the National 
Council for Children.

    Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage is 15, with parental 
consent. Girls were allowed to attend school while pregnant, and many 
returned to school after giving birth.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides a minimum 
punishment of seven years' imprisonment for persons found guilty of 
sexual assault on a person under age 15. There were reports of 
commercial sexual exploitation of children; however, no complaints were 
filed with the police, and no abusers were prosecuted during the year.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbered fewer than 10 
persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the constitution and law 
provide for the right of persons with disabilities to special 
protection, including reasonable provisions for improving quality of 
life, no laws provide for access to public buildings, transportation, 
or state services, and the government did not provide such services. 
There was discrimination against persons with disabilities. For 
example, there were reports that some employers did not pay their 
employees with disabilities because the latter were already receiving 
disability social aid. The National Council for Disabled, a government 
agency under the Ministry of Social Development and Culture, developed 
work placement programs for persons with disabilities, although few 
such employment opportunities existed.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex activity 
between men is punishable by 14 years' imprisonment; however, the law 
was not enforced. There were no reports of discrimination against gay 
men and lesbians.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. 
Nevertheless, government policies require a foreign citizen marrying a 
Seychellois to undergo an HIV test. If the test is positive, the couple 
will be refused the right to marry in the country. Citizens applying 
for loans and life insurance are also required to undergo an HIV test.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows all workers--excluding police, military, prison, and 
firefighting personnel--to form and join independent unions and to 
bargain collectively; however, strikes are illegal unless arbitration 
procedures are first exhausted. The legislation requires that two-
thirds of union members need to vote for a strike in a meeting 
specifically called to discuss the strike, and provides the minister 
with the right to call for a 60-day cooling off period before a strike 
starts. Anyone found guilty of calling for an illegal strike can be 
fined 5,000 rupees ($384) and up to six months' imprisonment. The law 
provides discretionary powers to the registrar to refuse the 
registration of unions; however, the legislation was not used during 
the year. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, but is silent 
regarding the rights of foreign or migrant workers to join a union. The 
government has the right to review and approve all collective 
bargaining agreements in the public and private sectors. The law also 
imposes compulsory arbitration in all cases where negotiating parties 
do not reach an agreement through collective bargaining. In the 
Seychelles International Trade Zone (SITZ), the country's export 
processing zone, the government did not require adherence to all labor, 
property, tax, business, or immigration laws. The Seychelles Trade Zone 
Act supersedes many legal provisions of the labor, property, tax, 
business, and immigration laws.
    The government did not always respect rights to union participation 
and collective bargaining or effectively enforce applicable laws. 
Between 15 and 20 percent of the workforce was unionized. Collective 
bargaining seldom occurred. In the public sector, which employed more 
than 50 percent of the labor force, the government set mandatory wage 
rates for employees. Private sector employers generally set wages 
through individual agreements with the employee, while the government 
set wage rates in the few larger businesses. There was little 
flexibility in setting wages.
    Although the law prohibits antiunion discrimination, there were 
unofficial reports that such discrimination occurred.
    The law authorizes the Ministry of Education, Employment and Human 
Resources to establish and enforce employment terms, conditions, and 
benefits, and in practice workers frequently obtained recourse against 
their employers through the ministry.

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

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law states that the minimum age for employment is 15, ``subject to 
exceptions for children who are employed part time in light work 
prescribed by law without harm to their health, morals, or education.'' 
It is otherwise a criminal offense punishable by a fine of 6,000 rupees 
($461) to employ a child under age 15. However, the law neither 
specifically prohibits children from engaging in hazardous work nor 
provides for a comprehensive list of hazardous work prohibited to 
children under age 18.
    In practice the government adhered to these requirements, and the 
Ministry of Education, Employment and Human Resources effectively 
enforced child labor laws. The ministry handled such complaints within 
its general budget and staffing and did not report any case requiring 
investigation. No children were reported to be working in the fishing, 
tourism, agricultural, boat-building, or processing industries; the 
ministry carried out regular checks to ensure that children were 
actually attending school. No cases involving the worst forms of child 
labor were reported during the year.
    Also see the Department of Labor's findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no official private 
sector minimum wage. The government encouraged but did not require the 
private sector to grant the minimum public sector wage. The minimum 
wage was 22.80 rupees ($1.75) per hour. Private employers generally 
paid higher wages than the government to attract and retain qualified 
workers.
    The legal maximum workweek varied from 45 to 55 hours, depending on 
the economic sector. Regulations entitled each full-time worker to a 
one-hour break per day and a minimum of 21 days of paid annual leave. 
Regulations permitted workers to work overtime up to 60 additional 
hours per month. The law requires premium pay for overtime work.
    The Ministry of Health has formal responsibility for drafting the 
government's comprehensive occupational health and safety regulations. 
The law allows workers to remove themselves from dangerous or unhealthy 
work situations, report the employer to the Health and Safety 
Commission of the Department of Employment, and seek compensation 
without jeopardizing their employment. Foreign workers are not covered 
by these laws.
    The government generally supported these standards but did not 
effectively enforce them in all sectors. Safety and health inspectors 
rarely visited job sites.
    In practice some workers worked up to 60 hours per week. Government 
employees worked fewer hours. Foreign workers--mainly employed in the 
construction and commercial fishing sectors-- enjoyed the same legal 
protections as citizens, even though they are not specifically 
identified in the labor law. However, companies in the SITZ sometimes 
paid foreign workers lower wages, forced them to work longer hours, and 
provided them with inadequate housing, resulting in substandard 
conditions. Occupational injuries were most common in the construction, 
marine, and port industries.

                               __________

                              SIERRA LEONE

                           executive summary
    Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected 
president and a unicameral legislature. In 2007, in peaceful multiparty 
presidential and parliamentary elections, the opposition All People's 
Congress (APC) won a majority in parliament, and citizens elected party 
leader Ernest Bai Koroma president. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    Major human rights problems included prolonged detention and 
imprisonment under harsh and life-threatening conditions in prisons and 
jails; widespread official corruption in all branches of government; 
and trafficking in persons, including for child labor.
    Other human rights problems included abusive treatment by police; 
arbitrary arrest and detention; some restrictions on freedoms of press 
and assembly; discrimination and violence against women and girls, 
including female genital mutilation; official and societal 
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 
individuals; discrimination against people with disabilities; and 
vigilante violence.
    The Anti-Corruption Commission aggressively investigated and 
prosecuted cases of corruption in a nonpartisan fashion and without 
political interference; however, impunity remained a serious concern.
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 12, Ibrahim Foday was killed while taking photographs for a 
story related to a land dispute; three suspects were detained, 
including police officer Musa Samura. None of the suspects had been 
charged by year's end.
    On September 9, Abdulai Sesay was killed when police fired into a 
crowd during a riot. No officer had been charged by year's end (see 
section 2.b.).

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however, 
there were reports that police and other security personnel continued 
to use excessive force. The law allows up to 36 lashes as punishment, 
although the nongovernmental organization (NGO ) Prison Watch noted 
that sensitization on human rights had led to a reduction in such 
incidents.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions were harsh and sometimes life threatening. 
Overcrowding was a major problem. Prison Watch stated that as of 
November 30, there were 2,537 prisoners in the country. At year's end 
Pademba Road Prison, which was designed to house 324 prisoners, held 
more than 1,200 inmates.
    In some cases cells measuring six feet by nine feet housed nine 
prisoners. According to Prison Watch's 2010 assessment of prisons, 
beatings, solitary confinement, reduction in or total denial of food 
rations, and forcing prisoners to sleep on a wet floor were routine 
disciplinary measures. In addition many prisoners reported being beaten 
by gangs of other prisoners at the incitement or explicit direction of 
prison officials to inflict punishment while shielding prison officials 
from charges of abuse.
    Human rights observers reported detention conditions remained below 
minimum international standards because of overcrowding, unhygienic 
conditions, and insufficient medical attention. Prison cells often 
lacked proper lighting, bedding, ventilation, and protection from 
mosquitoes. At all prisons wells were the only source of water. At some 
prisons the wells dried up during the dry season and inmates were 
required to purchase water themselves.
    One NGO noted an improvement in nutritional standards, but 
prisoners continued to receive inadequate portions of food. The Bureau 
of Prisons received only 2,500 leones ($0.63) per prisoner per day for 
food rations; further, the failure of the government to pay food 
vendors resulted in severe food shortages throughout the year.
    There are no prison ombudsmen to address prisoner concerns and 
grievances.
    There was no alternative sentencing program for diversion of 
nonviolent offenders.
    Conditions in holding cells in police stations were poor, 
especially in small stations outside Freetown. Cells were dark with 
little ventilation. Overcrowding in some police cells continued to be a 
problem, as there were only five roving magistrates covering the entire 
country, and any particular region would not see a magistrate for 
several months at a time.
    Few prisoners had access to adequate medical facilities, and 
clinics lacked supplies and medical personnel to provide basic 
services. The Pademba Road Prison had a clinic staffed by one doctor; 
prisons outside Freetown sent patients to local government hospitals 
and clinics. Authorities allowed only emergency patients to visit the 
clinic outside of the assigned schedule. Women were treated as 
outpatients or referred to local hospitals for special care. However, 
doctors and nurses in these hospitals often refused to treat prisoners 
or provided inferior care because of the government's failure to pay 
medical bills. The Prisons Department attempted to transfer mentally 
ill prisoners to the psychiatric hospital in Freetown, but the hospital 
declined to admit them due to lack of space and resources.
    Prison Watch reported a shortage of prison staff, resulting in a 
lack of security that endangered prisoners' safety.
    During the year through November 30, 50 prisoners died in custody. 
Prison Watch reported the main causes of death in Freetown were anemia 
and pneumonia, and for prisoners elsewhere malaria.
    Men and women were held in separate cells in all prisons except 
those in Kono District. During the year the 27 women prisoners held at 
Pademba Road Prison in Freetown were moved to detention facilities at 
the Special Court for Sierra Leone that were turned over to the 
government. No figure was available for female prisoners nationwide. 
Several prisons held infants, most of whom were born in prison and 
initially kept there with their mothers. Once weaned, these children 
were released to family members, or the Ministry of Social Welfare, 
Gender, and Children's Affairs placed them in foster care.
    Offenders under the age of 18 are sent to ``approved schools,'' or 
reformatory institutions. Although authorities made an effort to avoid 
detaining juveniles with adults, minors regularly were imprisoned with 
adult offenders. Prison Watch noted that young adults over 18 were 
often sent to the approved schools, while some children under 18 were 
sent to prison. Police officers had difficulty in determining a 
person's age, given the lack of documentation, and they often depended 
on circumstantial evidence, such as possession of a voter registration 
card or affidavits from parents who may have reasons to lie about their 
child's age. In some cases police officers inflated the ages of 
juveniles to escape blame for detaining them. Several boys reported 
they were victims of physical abuse, including sodomy, by older 
prisoners. In the three juvenile facilities, detainees did not have 
adequate access to food and education and sometimes were unable to 
attend court hearings due to lack of transportation. However, during 
the year vocational training and one year of formal education were 
offered to juvenile prisoners under a grant from the Justice Sector 
Development Program (JSDP), a government program funded by the United 
Kingdom (UK). Juvenile facilities were deteriorating and mismanaged by 
the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children's Affairs, which 
was responsible for all services but security. Violence among juvenile 
detainees, including small riots, occurred. Juveniles housed with 
adults and then moved to age-appropriate facilities were often 
instigators of violence, the JSDP noted.
    In most cases pretrial detainees were held with convicted 
prisoners. According to Prison Watch, only 1,084 of the 2,537 prisoners 
across the country had been convicted.
    The government permitted family visits to prisoners and detainees 
regularly during the year.
    International monitors, including the U.N. Integrated Peacebuilding 
Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), had unrestricted access to the 
prisons, detention centers, and police holding cells. Additionally, 
some NGOs such as Prison Watch, JSDP, and the Lawyers' Center for Legal 
Assistance (LAWCLA) monitored the prisons.
    Following a December 2010 prison break, steps were taken to improve 
the morale and efficiency of prison officials and prisoner treatment. 
The Prisons Department invited civil society organizations and other 
government agencies to inspect and comment on prison operations. For 
example, the Prisons Department forged ties with Prison Watch to help 
eliminate abuse and violence by guards against prisoners. Management of 
prison guards was strengthened to encourage greater accountability and 
security.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, police occasionally 
arrested and detained persons arbitrarily. The government allows both 
the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and the chiefdom police to hold suspects 
in police detention cells without charge or explanation for up to three 
days for suspected misdemeanors and up to 10 days for suspected 
felonies.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The SLP, under the 
Ministry of Internal Affairs, maintains internal security, but it was 
poorly equipped and lacked investigative, forensic, and riot control 
capabilities. The military is responsible for external security but 
also has some domestic military responsibilities through the ``Military 
Assistance to the Civil Power'' (MAC-P) program, which provides 
additional assistance to police in extraordinary circumstances upon 
their request.
    MAC-P assistance was last called out in September to help the SLP 
quell a riot in Bo in which supporters of the two rival political 
parties threw rocks at each other and set buildings on fire. An SLP 
officer caused one death while seeking to quell the riot.
    Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the SLP and 
the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), and the government 
has mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. However, 
impunity continued.
    For example, four SLP officers were identified as having shot and 
killed one demonstrator and injured several others during the September 
electoral violence in Bo. However, by year's end none had been arrested 
or charged, although several civilians had been charged and convicted 
for their roles in the violence. The local District Security Council 
and others believed political pressure shielded the four officers from 
accountability.
    As in previous years, cases of police brutality and police 
corruption remained a serious problem. Some police and guards stole 
from detainees, required bribes at checkpoints, falsely charged 
motorists with violations, impounded vehicles to extort money, and 
accepted bribes from suspects to drop charges or for having their 
rivals arrested and charged with crimes.
    In exchange for kickbacks, police reportedly arrested persons 
without charge for civil causes such as alleged breach of contract or 
failure to satisfy a debt.
    The Police Complaints, Discipline, and Internal Investigations 
Department (CDIID) heard complaints against police officers. A Police 
Council, which included the vice president, minister of internal 
affairs, inspector general, and others, accepted written complaints 
against senior police officers. The CDIID conducted all hearings and 
trials related to complaints against junior police officers. An appeals 
process was available and used often. After the CDIID imposed 
disciplinary measures on an SLP officer, the officer was also subject 
to trial in civilian court if criminal action was involved. During the 
year the CDIID received 1,791 complaints countrywide, resulting in 485 
officers being dismissed, demoted, suspended, or officially warned and 
593 officers being sent to ``corrective training.'' Of the remainder, 
229 cases were dismissed for lack of evidence or validity, 160 were 
resolved through dispute resolution, and 324 remained at various stages 
of investigation or review. Complaints most frequently lodged against 
police were for corruption, unfair treatment, lack of professionalism, 
and assault. Cases of officer dismissal most commonly involved criminal 
cases, such as officers fraudulently posing as landowners or 
businessmen to extort money.
    Police continued to receive professional, leadership, and human 
rights training, and new recruits received a six-month introductory 
course before deployment. The SLP retained a full-time U.N. technical 
advisor and U.N. Civilian Police advisors. As a result of training 
programs during the year and the introduction in 2010 of community 
policing conducted by the UK, the Commonwealth, and the JSDP, police 
professional conduct improved. The UK committed 19.4 million pounds 
sterling ($30.2 million) to establish the ``Access to Security and 
Justice Program,'' to run from 2011 to 2014. This new program began in 
September, replacing JSDP, which ended in August.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires warrants for searches and arrests; however, arrest without 
warrant was common. According to the U.N. Integrated Office in Sierra 
Leone's 2007 assessment of prison conditions, adjournment dates on some 
warrants were altered and not endorsed by the magistrate, while other 
warrants were signed but not by the presiding magistrate. Prison Watch 
and LAWCLA reported that most arrests were made without warrants and 
that the SLP rarely followed proper arrest procedures.
    Once arrested, a detainee must be told the reason for arrest within 
24 hours and be charged in court within 72 hours for suspected 
misdemeanors or within 10 days for suspected felonies. According to 
NGOs and prisoners, remanded prisoners routinely were brought to court 
on a weekly basis to be remanded again in order to bypass the legal 
restrictions.
    Detainees have the rights of access to family and to consult with 
an attorney in a timely manner. However, due to a lack of money, only 
an estimated 5 to 10 percent of inmates had access to legal 
representation, which was often delayed. Lawyers generally were allowed 
unrestricted access to detainees. Although the law provides for 
attorneys at public expense if defendants cannot afford their own, the 
government had instituted legal aid in Freetown only and had been able 
to serve only a few clients due to problems with establishing 
eligibility. Fewer than 10 state counsels served the entire country, 
and they were often overburdened, poorly paid, and available only for 
more serious criminal cases. In order to assist, several local NGOs, 
including Timap For Justice, Access To Justice Law Center, and 
AdvocAid, provided training to paralegals and established paralegal 
offices in 32 locations in eight districts through the Open Society 
Justice Initiative. Many indigent detainees did not receive legal 
advice prior to trial. Only defendants in the military justice system 
had automatic access to attorneys, whose fees were paid by the Ministry 
of Defense. For civilians, fewer than 10 attorneys provided legal aid 
outside of Freetown.
    Authorities permitted regular family visits, although frequency and 
duration of the visits varied from prison to prison. According to NGOs, 
family members often paid bribes to be permitted to visit.
    There were provisions for bail and a functioning bail system; 
however, authorities applied the system inconsistently and sometimes 
demanded excessive bail.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--In December officials from the Sierra Leonean 
Transnational Organized Crime Unit confiscated a 40-foot container at 
the Port of Freetown suspected of containing South American cocaine. At 
least 11 people, including Sierra Leonean and foreign nationals, were 
arrested and held without charge. By year's end three were charged with 
crimes unrelated to the container seizure, while the others were 
released without explanation as to why they had been held. Observers 
reported all the arrests were made with little intelligence or evidence 
to support them and that they were likely the result of political 
pressure on the SLP by senior officials to appear as though they were 
responding quickly and forcefully.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. 
Prison Watch reported that due to a severe shortage of legal 
professionals, 57 percent of prisoners were waiting to be either 
charged or tried or their trials were not completed. Pretrial and 
remand detainees spent an average of three to five years in pretrial 
detention before courts examined their cases or filed formal charges. 
According to the NGO Open Society Initiative for West Africa, remand 
prisoners frequently changed their pleas from ``not guilty'' to 
``guilty'' to be removed from the remand section to the less 
substandard areas of a prison.

    Amnesty.--During the year President Koroma granted 153 pardons, up 
from 96 the previous year.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary. However, the judiciary was at times 
believed to have acted under government influence, particularly in the 
dismissal or acquittal of some corruption cases.
    In addition to the formal civil court system, local chieftaincy 
courts administer customary law with lay judges; appeals from these 
lower courts are heard by the superior courts.
    The rotation system between wards in specific districts continued 
to improve magistrate presence. However, with inexperienced new 
magistrates, high court fees, and few lawyers, access to justice 
remained limited for most citizens.
    The RSLAF has its own military justice system, although soldiers 
can also be tried in civilian courts for some crimes. The decision of 
which justice system to use, sometimes ad hoc, was prone to pressure 
from RSLAF leadership. If a case remains in military channels, military 
police conduct an investigation and forward their findings to the 
Ministry of Defense Law Office. The Law Office then decides whether to 
handle the offense through a ``summary dealing'' process or a court-
martial.
    Summary dealing cases are limited to low-level military offenses, 
such as misappropriation of military property, unlawful possession of a 
firearm, and being absent without leave. The commanding officer 
determines the punishment, the most severe of which is a 28-day 
custodial sentence. The court-martial hears all civilian and serious 
military offenses committed by military personnel and cases involving 
senior officers. Such cases are tried before a civilian judge and 
board; the latter determines guilt or innocence, and the former the 
sentencing recommendation. The court-martial heard an average of four 
cases per year. The RSLAF had only two military lawyers.
    The military justice system has an appeals process. For summary 
dealing the defendant can appeal for the redress of complaint, which 
goes to the next senior ranking officer, while the civilian Supreme 
Court hears appeals in a court-martial. However, the redress system was 
fraught with corruption.
    Traditional justice systems also functioned, especially in rural 
areas. Paramount chiefs maintained their own police and courts to 
enforce uncodified local laws. Chieftaincy police and courts exercised 
authority to arrest, try, and incarcerate individuals and sometimes 
abused that power. However, growing numbers of paralegals were sent 
into rural areas to provide access to justice and training for chiefdom 
officials.
    On October 22, a 19-year-old man accused of stealing cacao pods in 
Kono District died while in the custody of the local chiefdom police. 
Although the official investigation was not concluded by the end of the 
year, according to Prison Watch the man may have died of injuries 
sustained during a severe beating by other villagers and subsequent 
neglect in the chiefdom police holding cell. He may have been beaten 
further or otherwise tortured while in custody. A Native Administration 
Court must sign a ``committal order'' before a person can be detained 
in a chiefdom police cell; no such order existed in this case.
    Trials were generally fair; however, there was credible evidence 
that corruption influenced many cases. Paramount chiefs acting as 
judges were notorious for accepting bribes and favoring wealthier 
defendants, although they showed a greater willingness to discuss 
issues and refer cases to magistrates than in previous years.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for a fair trial; however, in 
practice, the lack of judicial officers and facilities regularly 
resulted in repeated long delays. Some cases were reportedly adjourned 
40 to 60 times. Trials are public, and the accused have a limited right 
to a trial by jury in the magistrate courts. Juries were drawn from a 
list maintained by the master and registrar of active and retired civil 
servants and youth groups; however, the attorney general frequently 
exercised his power to determine that cases be heard by a judge alone. 
Defendants generally enjoyed a presumption of innocence. While 
defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney 
in a timely manner, access to counsel often was delayed. The law 
provides for attorneys at public expense if defendants could not afford 
their own; however, state-appointed attorneys often were overburdened 
and poorly paid, and indigent detainees usually did not receive legal 
advice prior to trial. Defendants can confront or question witnesses 
against them, present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf, and 
access government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Police 
officers, many of whom had little or no formal legal training, 
prosecuted a majority of cases on the magistrate level. Although the 
law provides defendants with the right to appeal, delays in the appeals 
process were excessive, sometimes lasting more than two years.
    Human rights NGOs noted wide disparities in sentencing patterns 
from district to district. Sentences imposed were often disproportional 
to the offense. Many prisoners served excessively long sentences for 
noncapital offenses, such as sacrilege (50 years), larceny (25 years), 
and burglary (45 years). Many attributed the harsh sentencing to the 
defendant's inability to pay a fine or bribe.
    Traditional justice systems continued to supplement the central 
government judiciary, especially in rural areas, in cases involving 
family law, inheritance, and land tenure. However, the customary law 
guiding these courts is not codified, and decisions in similar cases 
were inconsistent. Paramount chiefs sometimes referred cases to the 
police to give arrests for civil complaints the appearance of 
legitimacy. Local chieftains at times exceeded their mandates and 
administered harsh punishments.
    Although the government has passed several laws on gender equality, 
they were inconsistently enforced, and many traditional courts 
continued to ignore the rights of women regarding family law and 
inheritance. Juveniles are afforded few rights in the traditional 
justice system.
    The trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor for crimes 
against humanity, war crimes, and other serious violations of 
international law committed during the civil war continued throughout 
the year before the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in The Hague. 
Five people, including members of Charles Taylor's defense team, were 
indicted by the SCSL on contempt of court charges for threatening 
prosecution witnesses and coercing them into recanting their testimony.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Both the central 
government judiciary and customary law courts handled civil complaints; 
however, corruption influenced some cases and judgments, and awards 
were inconsistent. Administrative and judicial remedies were available 
for alleged wrongs, but enforcement was difficult. Victims of human 
rights abuses have access to the regular courts to seek redress for 
human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and laws prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. 
An independent press, a generally effective judiciary, and a 
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of 
speech and of the press.
    Seventy-four newspapers were registered with the Independent Media 
Commission (IMC), as well as 64 radio stations and five television 
stations covering a wide spectrum of interests and editorial opinion. 
Not all media outlets were in operation. During the year the IMC 
registered eight new newspapers. Most registered newspapers were 
independent, although several were associated with political parties. 
While sometimes subject to official pressure and restrictions, 
newspapers openly and routinely criticized the government and its 
officials as well as opposition parties. However, reporting was often 
politicized and inaccurate, in large part because of poor journalistic 
skills, insufficient resources, and a lack of professional ethics.
    Due to the low level of literacy and the relatively high cost of 
newspapers and televisions, radio remained the most important medium 
for public dissemination of information. The APC and the Sierra Leone 
People's Party (SLPP) radio stations that were shut down in the wake of 
the March 2009 riots remained closed. In June the High Court dismissed 
an appeal lodged by the SLPP to be permitted to reopen its radio 
station.
    International media could operate freely but were required to 
register with the Ministry of Information and Communications and the 
IMC to obtain a license. During the year there were no cases of local 
or international media being denied registration.

    Violence and Harassment.--Journalists generally were not subject to 
arrest or imprisonment, but some reported being intimidated or 
attacked.
    On September 4, several journalists were stopped by plain-clothes 
police associated with the Presidential Guards at State House as they 
attempted to enter the National Stadium near the end of a soccer match, 
despite the journalists' claims they had valid press identity cards. A 
fight broke out, and one journalist was injured. Although the incident 
remained under investigation, there were reports the journalists 
inadvertently walked in on the State House guards dividing up proceeds 
of possibly illegal ticket sales.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists practiced self-
censorship, and there was interference in reporting of some content.
    The IMC monitored all media organizations and generally 
demonstrated independence from government influence.
    In April the IMC fined the Awareness Times newspaper one million 
leones ($222) for having violated the media code of practice in 
publishing a series of articles criticizing President Koroma that were 
deemed to be ``indecent and vulgar'' because they discussed in 
salacious detail the color of the president's underwear.
    In December 2010 the Human Rights Commission-Sierra Leone (HRC-SL) 
and the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) condemned the 
arrests of journalists requested by the minister of lands and minister 
of agriculture, forestry, and food security in two instances. The 
minister of information and communications pledged in 2010 to 
investigate the incidents and to ``take necessary actions.'' However, 
no further action was reported.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The law criminalizes defamatory and 
seditious libel; however, the law rarely was applied. Punishment for 
first-time offenders can be up to three years' imprisonment, and 
subsequent seditious libel convictions are punishable by prison terms 
of up to seven years. Despite the IMC and SLAJ lobbying for 
decriminalization of libel, by year's end the government had not 
amended Part 5 of the 1965 Public Order Act, which criminalizes libel.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the 
government generally respected the right of freedom of association; 
however, there were some restrictions on freedom of assembly.

    Freedom of Assembly.--Both the APC and the SLPP continued to 
implement the Joint Communique after the 2009 riots between supporters 
of the two parties. The Shear-Moses commission of inquiry on the riots 
submitted its report to the government in 2009, in which it was 
critical of the ruling party and recommended disciplinary action, 
including dismissal from office, for several senior government 
officials. However, by year's end the government, in violation of the 
law, had not yet publicly released the report and took no action on 
those recommendations.
    On other occasions police forcibly dispersed demonstrators, most 
significantly during the riot in Bo in September during a ``Thank The 
Nation'' rally held by SLPP presidential nominee Julius Maada Bio. A 
panel convened after the violence concluded that APC supporters 
initiated the incident by throwing rocks at and injuring Maada Bio, 
whereupon SLPP supporters retaliated by throwing rocks and setting APC 
party buildings on fire. Police initially fired tear gas and live 
ammunition into the air, but as the crowd grew in both size and 
unruliness, they fired into the crowd, killing one and injuring nine. 
No police had been arrested for this incident by year's end.
    In the wake of the Bo incident, the SLP issued an open-ended ban on 
all political processions, rallies, and public meetings. Despite 
unofficial assurances that the ban would be limited, it remained in 
effect during the September State Opening of Parliament during which, 
in accordance with tradition, supporters of the political parties 
parade through the streets of Freetown escorting their parliamentarians 
to the House of Parliament. The SLPP parliamentarians boycotted the 
ceremony in protest. The government lifted the ban on December 12.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. However, there were reports police officers operating 
security roadblocks outside of the capital often extorted money from 
motorists.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    Foreign Travel.--The border shared with Liberia was officially 
open, and authorities generally allowed refugees, returnees, and other 
persons to move regularly between the two countries. However, police, 
customs, and army personnel demanded bribes at crossing points.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
    The law provides for refugee status as defined by international 
convention to be granted to eligible asylum seekers. The UNHCR worked 
with government authorities to develop standard operating procedures 
for refugee status determination.
    According to the UNHCR, the government did not provide temporary 
protection to certain individuals who may not qualify as refugees under 
the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol.

    Access to Basic Services.--There were no reports of discrimination 
against refugees in public services including elementary education, 
public health care, public housing, law enforcement, courts and 
judicial procedures, and legal assistance.
    At year's end Sierra Leone was host to 8,150 refugees, the great 
majority from Liberia. The Liberians' prima facie refugee status was 
set to expire June 30, 2012, upon implementation of the cessation 
clause by the government of Sierra Leone as recommended by the UNHCR. 
For Liberians claiming continued need for international protection, the 
government indicated it planned to provide individual refugee status 
determination.

    Durable Solutions.--The government offered to assist Liberian 
refugees requesting repatriation; by year's end, according to the 
UNHCR, 73 refugees had applied for asylum. The UNHCR acknowledged the 
government's efforts, through the National Commission for Social 
Action, to integrate refugees who are unwilling or unable to return to 
Liberia in accordance with the Refugees Protection Act of 2007.
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 and generally free and fair elections based on 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 
peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections held in 2007, the 
opposition APC won a majority in parliament; party leader Ernest Bai 
Koroma was elected president. However, there were multiple reports of 
harassment and intimidation of members of opposition parties and voter 
coercion by party bosses and traditional leaders. Domestic and 
international observers characterized the parliamentary elections as 
generally free and fair. However, the commissioner of the National 
Election Commission (NEC), who was appointed by the SLPP (the party in 
power at the time of the elections), invalidated the results from 477 
polling stations during the second round of balloting in the 
presidential election on suspicion that ballot boxes were stuffed. The 
SLPP, which lost the presidency, did not contest the results but 
initiated a court case against the commission.

    Political Parties.--The Political Party Registration Commission 
(PPRC), which oversees the behavior of political parties, does not have 
authority to sanction any political party for inappropriate behavior. 
It received one inter- and one intra-party complaint during the year 
and acted as a mediator to address the problems. The PPRC can use only 
moral suasion to convince persons and parties to act according to 
agreed-upon guidelines, such as the parties' constitutions. The PPRC 
provided material assistance such as vehicles, computers, office 
supplies, and Internet connectivity, funded by the U.N. Development 
Program (UNDP), to political parties to assist them with campaigning. 
However, a party must have met certain requirements to receive such 
assistance, including representation in parliament, visible political 
activity for at least two years, membership in the All Political 
Parties Women's Association and the All Political Parties Youth 
Association, and participation in a NEC-sponsored by-election since 
2008. The newly registered United Democratic Movement protested that 
its ineligibility for this assistance was undemocratic. However, the 
terms of the assistance were determined by the UNDP and the complaint, 
while noted, was dismissed.
    A parallel unit of local government is the paramount chief, who is 
elected for a life term. Candidates for the position are limited to 
members of local ruling houses. Only tribal authorities (those who 
collected local taxes from at least 20 taxpayers) were allowed to vote 
for paramount chief, and in the North only men could be designated as 
tribal authorities. Although paramount chiefs' authority exists 
independently of the central government and local councils, they 
frequently displayed party affiliations, were influenced by the party 
in power, and allegedly influenced the votes of their constituents. In 
turn, political parties were known to interfere with elections of 
paramount chiefs during the year. The election of paramount chiefs at 
times exacerbated ethnic tensions.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women have the right to 
vote, but husbands or other patriarchal figures were known to influence 
their decisions. Of the 124 parliamentarians, 16 were women. Women led 
two of the 22 ministries. There were four female judges out of seven on 
the High Court, and the chief justice was a woman. Three of six judges 
on the Court of Appeal were women.
    All citizens have the right to vote; however, citizenship at birth 
is granted only to persons of ``Negro-African descent,'' thus 
disenfranchising the significant number of Lebanese and other non-
``Negro-African'' persons who were born and continued to reside in the 
country. Persons of these groups may apply to be naturalized; if 
naturalized they are eligible to vote in all national and local 
elections, but no naturalized citizen may run for public office.
    Ethnic affiliations traditionally have strongly influenced 
political party membership for the two dominant ethnic groups, the 
Mende and Temne, each of which accounted for approximately 30 percent 
of the population. The Mende traditionally supported the SLPP and the 
Temne the APC. Other than ethnic Limbas, the third-most populous ethnic 
group, who traditionally have supported the APC, the other ethnic 
groups had no strong political party affiliations. During the year 
opposition parties accused President Koroma of filling key government 
positions only with persons from the North. Although the president did 
not respond directly to this concern, his early December cabinet shake 
up increased the number of ministers from the eastern and southern 
provinces from 20 percent to 30 percent. At year's end ministers from 
the North occupied 62 percent of cabinet offices; the remaining 8 
percent were held by ministers from the western peninsula.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government actively attempted to implement the law. Despite several 
well-publicized cases of corruption in the executive, legislative, and 
judicial branches, officials often engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity. Police and prison staff regularly extorted or solicited 
bribes from detainees and prisoners. The World Bank's most recent 
Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a severe 
problem.
    During the year the government continued to implement its five-year 
national action plan to combat corruption, and ministries began 
including anticorruption activities in their strategic plans. The Anti-
corruption Commission (ACC) conducted sensitization campaigns with the 
public and government ministries and enforced whistleblower protection 
measures.
    The ACC prosecuted 11 cases during the year, with nine convictions. 
In November the ACC charged the mayor of Freetown with 25 counts of 
corruption centered primarily on his failure to remit payroll taxes and 
social security contributions deducted from employee salaries to the 
National Revenue Authority and the National Social Security Investment 
Trust.
    The ACC was appealing several cases in which the defendants were 
acquitted. These included the case against the former commissioner of 
the national revenue authority, who was indicted in October 2010 on 57 
counts of abuse of office and misuse of public funds in awarding 
several contracts to his wife's company, as well as the indictment on 
194 counts, in February, of the executive director of the Sierra Leone 
Maritime Administration. In the former case, the former commissioner 
was acquitted of all charges. In the latter case, the executive 
director was indicted on only 13 charges and fined for only five of the 
13. It was reported that in all these cases, although the judges were 
not subject to political or government pressure, they may have been 
influenced by their own desire to ingratiate themselves with people 
perceived to have significant political influence.
    By year's end the ACC recovered approximately 2.5 billion leones 
($555,555) from public officers and private businesspersons in fines, 
restitutions, and settlements in corruption-related cases. Although the 
ACC does not proactively offer to settle cases out of court, suspects 
may request a settlement, and many cases were resolved in this way. 
Several defendants also chose to pay fines rather than face 
imprisonment. The ACC initiated 152 investigations during the year. The 
ACC has authority to prosecute cases directly without first having to 
refer them to the Ministry of Justice, and in practice did so. By the 
end of the year, 71 cases were under investigation; 11 had been 
prosecuted, leading to nine convictions; 39 cases were closed for lack 
of evidence; five were referred to other judicial branches for lack of 
evidence of corruption; and the remainder were still open.
    As of the end of September, all government ministers and members of 
parliament had complied with a 2008 law requiring public officers, 
their spouses, and children to declare their assets and liabilities. 
The particulars of individual declarations were not available to the 
public without a court order. However, the ACC published the number of 
declarations received in the Sierra Leone Gazette.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information; however, the government at times provided such access to 
citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The government, including security forces, was generally responsive 
to human rights concerns raised by the HRC-SL, the IMC, and other 
governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restrictions, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
often were cooperative and responsive to the views of local and 
international NGOs and generally acknowledged the problems raised. They 
often scheduled forums in conjunction with NGOs to discuss such topics 
as women's rights and the rights of the disabled.
    The independent National Forum for Human Rights served as an 
umbrella organization for human rights NGOs in the country. There were 
41 active human rights NGOs registered with the NFHR. Most domestic 
human rights NGOs focused on human rights education. A few NGOs, 
including the Campaign for Good Governance, LAWCLA, Timap for Justice, 
and Access to Justice, monitored and reported on human rights abuses.
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--In May the government 
participated in its Universal Periodic Review in the U.N. Human Rights 
Council in Geneva. The Working Group made 129 recommendations; the 
government accepted all but three that related to decriminalizing 
certain forms of sexual behavior.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Parliamentary Human Rights 
Committee operated without government or party interference. It focused 
on keeping human rights issues on the parliamentary agenda, paving the 
way for the passage of amended laws and ratification of international 
conventions, and doing public outreach.
    The HRC-SL generally operated without government interference. 
However, government agencies were slow to support the commission or 
implement its recommendations, and it was also hampered by lack of 
funds.
    The trial at the SCSL in The Hague of former Liberian president 
Charles Taylor for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sierra 
Leone continued at year's end.
    Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommendations continued 
to be implemented, providing a forum for publicly airing the grievances 
of victims and the confessions of perpetrators during the civil war. 
The government took steps to implement a reparations program for 
victims of the conflict as recommended by the TRC. However, many NGOs 
continued to criticize the delayed implementation of some TRC 
recommendations, such as the trust fund and separating the positions of 
attorney general and minister of justice, which requires a 
constitutional amendment.
    The U.N. and numerous domestic and international NGOs continued to 
educate the population about the TRC and the SCSL, and the government 
generally supported these efforts.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Citizenship is generally limited to persons of ``Negro-African 
descent,'' but in May the government announced new procedures whereby 
``non-Africans'' who have lived in Sierra Leone for at least eight 
years (two for foreigners married to Sierra Leonean citizens) may apply 
for naturalization. The president must approve all applications. The 
law otherwise prohibits discrimination based on race, tribe, sex, place 
of origin, political opinions, color, or creed.
    The government did not effectively enforce the prohibition of 
discrimination based on gender as it affected women and girls, and a 
number of legal acts and customary laws contravene the constitutional 
provision.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape, which 
is punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment; however, rape was common 
and viewed more as a societal norm than a criminal problem. The law 
does not specifically prohibit spousal rape. Cases of rape were greatly 
underreported and indictments were rare, especially in rural areas. A 
reluctance to use the judicial system on the part of both victims and 
law enforcement, combined with women's lack of income and economic 
independence, helped perpetuate violence against women and impunity for 
offenders. However, since the establishment of the Family Support Units 
(FSUs) and the passage of the Gender Acts in 2007, reports of rapes, 
especially involving child victims, steadily increased. Rapes of 
children under one year old were documented. Rape victims, especially 
when pregnancy occurred, were encouraged to marry their attackers, 
although some NGOs reported this practice appeared to be waning.
    From January to June, the FSU recorded 95 cases of sexual assault 
(assault with intent to ravish, indecent assault, rape, and sexual 
harassment). Data on convictions in the year was incomplete and 
unreliable, but perpetrators in only a very few of the reported cases 
were charged. Rape cases frequently were settled out of court or did 
not make it to trial because of inefficiencies and corruption in the 
judicial system. Most legal advisors assigned to prosecute rape cases 
had only three weeks' training and could not compete against well-
trained defense lawyers. Most perpetrators were known to their victims 
and included teachers, family friends, relatives, traditional leaders, 
and neighbors. The JSDP noted an increase in adolescent boys as 
perpetrators.
    Medical and psychological services for rape victims were limited. 
Such victims were required to obtain a medical report for the filing of 
charges, examinations, reports, and court appearances. Most government 
doctors charged 10,000 to 70,000 leones ($2.50 to $17.80), fees that 
were prohibitively expensive for most victims. The International Rescue 
Committee ran Rainbo Centers in Freetown, Kenema, and Koidu to perform 
medical examinations, provide counseling for victims of sexual assault, 
and offer legal assistance for victims who wanted to prosecute their 
cases. However, these Rainbo Centers were the only such centers in the 
country, and many victims had no access to medical attention or 
services.
    Domestic violence is an offense under the 2007 Domestic Violence 
Act, punishable by a fine of up to five million leones ($1,250) and up 
to two years in prison. However, violent acts against women, especially 
wife beating and spousal rape, were common and often surrounded by a 
culture of silence. Police were unlikely to intervene in domestic 
disputes except in cases involving serious injury or death. The SLP 
used mediation as its primary tool for handling domestic violence. 
Between January and June, the FSUs reported 999 cases of domestic 
violence. Of the 787 reported cases in the northern, southern, and 
eastern regions of the country, 133 perpetrators were charged but only 
seven were convicted. Of the 787 cases, 340 remained under 
investigation at year's end. Data on convictions in the 212 cases in 
the western region (including Freetown) was unavailable. The FSU does 
not maintain statistics on conviction rates, but NGOs indicated few 
perpetrators were convicted, due to poorly trained prosecutors and out-
of-court settlements. In addition NGOs observed in many cases that 
women withdrew rape or other violence complaints due to social stigma, 
fear of retaliation, or acceptance of payment in lieu of pressing 
charges to alleviate their extreme poverty. The lack of convictions 
resulted in a high degree of impunity for rape and other violence. 
Awareness of the law resulted in an increase in reported cases in urban 
areas; however, most human rights organizations noted domestic violence 
continued to be most prevalent and underreported in the northern 
provinces.
    According to the UNICEF, the majority of women felt that wife-
beating was justified for actions such as going out without telling a 
husband, neglecting the children, refusing sex, or burning food. Women 
suspected of marital infidelity often were subjected to physical abuse. 
Because husbands could claim monetary indemnities from their wives' 
partners, beatings often continued until the women named several men, 
even if there were no such relationships. There were also reports that 
women suspected of infidelity were required to undergo animistic 
rituals to prove their innocence.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--See section 6, Children.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not specifically prohibit sexual 
harassment in the workplace, and harassment was widespread.

    Reproductive Rights.--The Ministry of Health and Sanitation 
reported that between January and November, there were 262,437 clients 
for family planning services, including long-term and permanent 
treatments, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs), tubal ligation, 
implants, and injectables, as well as oral contraceptives and male and 
female condoms. Women and men generally were free to decide responsibly 
the timing, number, and spacing of their children. NGOs reported that 
70 percent of women of reproductive age participated in family planning 
decisions, including contraception. Most couples who practiced family 
planning made independent decisions, while some reported that other 
influences and pressures, such as family and religion, were determinant 
factors in family-planning decisions. The contraception prevalence rate 
ranged from 8 to 20 percent, and of the women using family planning 
methods, 51 percent did not discuss it with their partners.
    The Ministry of Health and Sanitation and NGOs made efforts to meet 
the demand for oral contraceptives. However, outreach teams rarely 
served rural women and families. Many parents refused contraceptives 
for their sexually active teenage children because of a 
misunderstanding that contraceptives would prevent pregnancy later in 
life.
    Between January and November, approximately 47 percent of women 
gave birth in hospitals and ``peripheral health units,'' grassroots 
health posts located primarily in rural areas. Health professionals 
assisted at 45 percent of births. However, few hospitals offered full 
obstetric and postpartum services. Most women did not have access to 
transportation to make regular doctor's visits or lived in locations 
with few services. Women also rarely had equal access to family 
finances, and male partners did not always see pre- and post-natal care 
as a priority.
    According to U.N. estimates, there were 970 deaths per 100,000 live 
births, and a woman's lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 21. 
With support from the international donor community, the government 
continued to implement the free healthcare initiative launched in April 
2010, and the number of women seeking prenatal care and giving birth in 
medical facilities increased. However, the program continued to be 
plagued with problems delivering drugs and other supplies to rural 
areas. Pilfering of pharmaceutical supplies for resale within Sierra 
Leone or smuggling across the border to Guinea was widespread.
    Women were diagnosed more frequently than men with sexually 
transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, because they were tested as 
part of their obstetric care. Men were more likely to wait for testing 
until they exhibited physical symptoms.

    Discrimination.--The law gives either spouse the right to acquire 
property and guarantees that gifts, payments, or dowries upon marriage 
are nonrefundable, allowing women in unhappy marriages to divorce 
without being forced to return dowries.
    The Devolution of Estates Act provides for intestate succession 
including the transmission of property to the deceased's spouse and/or 
children as well as to single persons who cohabited with the deceased 
for 10 or more years. However, the law defined ``property'' as mutually 
owned land; because land outside of Freetown is generally communal or 
family property, it was difficult to prove that a couple owned the land 
together and that the widow thus had a right to it.
    The Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children's Affairs 
continued to implement of the Sierra Leone National Gender Strategic 
Plan, a four-year (2010 to 2013) strategic framework drafted in 
conjunction with the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) and the U.N. 
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). By year's end several 
``sensitization programs'' had been conducted around the country, 
particularly in the areas of fighting sexual and gender-based violence 
and teaching rural women about their rights under the Devolution of 
Estates Act.
    Women faced widespread legal and societal discrimination, 
particularly in matters of marriage, divorce, property, and 
inheritance, which are guided by customary law in all areas except the 
capital. Formal laws apply in customary as well as formal courts, but 
customary judges had limited or no legal training and often were 
unaware of formal laws or could choose to ignore them. Chiefs sometimes 
colluded with men to evict women and children forcibly from their homes 
or to subject them to arbitrary detention. In some cases chiefs imposed 
arbitrary and exorbitant fines, imprisoned women unlawfully in their 
homes or ``chiefdom jails,'' and expelled them from the community. 
Women's rights and status under customary law varied significantly 
depending upon the ethnic group to which they belonged, but such rights 
and status were routinely inferior to that of men. Under customary law 
women's status in society is equal to that of a minor. A woman is 
frequently perceived to be the property of her husband, to be inherited 
on his death with his other property. In rural areas polygyny was 
widespread; UNICEF estimated in 2007 that 43 percent of women were 
involved in polygynous unions. All women in the Western (Freetown) 
Area, which is governed by general law, have a statutory right to own 
property in their own names. However, many women in the provinces, 
which are governed by customary laws that vary from chiefdom to 
chiefdom, do not.
    In the Temne ethnic group, women could not become paramount chiefs, 
subordinate chiefs, or chiefdom authorities; however, in the Mende 
ethnic group, there were several female leaders. Every local council 
had at least one female representative.
    Women did not have equal access to education, economic 
opportunities, health facilities, or social freedoms. In rural areas 
women performed much of the subsistence farming and had little 
opportunity for formal education. According to a 2008 government 
survey, 66 percent of women had never been to school, compared with 50 
percent of men. Women also experienced discrimination in access to 
employment, and it was common for a woman to be dismissed if she became 
pregnant during her first year on the job. Further discrimination 
occurred in access to credit, equal pay for similar work, and the 
ownership and management of a business.
    The Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children's Affairs has 
a mandate to protect the rights of women; however, most international 
and domestic NGOs complained that the ministry was not provided the 
resources, infrastructure, and support of other ministries to handle 
effectively its assigned projects. The ministry routinely relied on the 
assistance of international organizations and NGOs to help combat 
women's rights violations.
    Women were active in civic and philanthropic organizations. 
Domestic NGOs such as 50/50, the Forum for African Women 
Educationalists, and the Women's Forum raised awareness of gender 
inequality and other women's issues, and they encouraged women to enter 
politics as candidates for mayoral positions and local councils.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship derived by birth is 
restricted to children of parents of ``Negro-African descent.'' 
Children not meeting the criteria must be registered in their parents' 
countries of origin.
    Birth registration was not universal due to inadequate staffing and 
resources. The chief registrar also noted that a lack of registration 
materials (such as paper forms) also hindered new registrations. 
However, lack of registration did not affect access to public services, 
nor did it result in statelessness.

    Education.--Education is universal and compulsory through age 15, 
which includes six years of primary school and three years of junior 
secondary school. Although no tuition is charged, many parents were 
unable to put their children through primary school because they could 
not afford school uniforms, books, and fees charged by school 
authorities. The average educational level for girls was markedly below 
that of boys, and only 25 percent of women were literate. At the 
secondary level, pregnancy forced many girls out of school. The law 
allows girls to return to school after giving birth, but many 
communities did not respect that right.

    Child Abuse.--Sexual violence against children was a widespread and 
growing problem; however, the government took few steps to address the 
issue. FSU personnel are trained in dealing with sexual violence 
against children, and cases of child sexual abuse generally were taken 
more seriously than adult rape cases. However, in many cases of sexual 
assault against children, parents accepted payment instead of taking 
the perpetrator to court due to difficulties dealing with the justice 
system, fear of public shame, and economic hardship. Although the FSUs 
slightly improved their ability to prevent and respond to cases, the 
conviction numbers remained very low. From January to June, the FSU 
reported 411 cases of child abuse, which included abuse of young girls, 
unlawful carnal knowledge (a general term for child rape), child 
neglect, and child cruelty. Although perpetrators in many of these 
cases were charged and convicted, a large number were withdrawn or 
resolved through informal negotiation.
    Child rights laws also provide for the creation of family courts 
and child committees at the local government level, but NGOs reported 
that significant work remained to be done to establish such entities 
nationwide. There were 70 child welfare committees across the country, 
but they were not fully functioning.

    Child Marriage.--Although the law prohibits marriage of girls under 
the age of 18, including forced marriage, forced child marriage 
continued to be a problem. UNICEF estimated in 2008 that 56 percent of 
women had been married before age 18.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Female Genital Mutilation is 
performed predominantly by women's secret societies. In secret 
societies, ``sowies,'' the women who perform genital cutting, continued 
to advocate for the practice. According to UNICEF approximately 90 
percent of girls had undergone FGM.
    The 2007 Child Rights Act does not explicitly address FGM. However, 
the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children's Affairs 
interprets FGM to be covered within the section of the law that 
prohibits subjecting anyone under the age of 18 to harmful treatment, 
including any cultural practice that dehumanizes or is injurious to the 
physical and mental welfare of the child.
    Police occasionally detained or arrested practitioners on 
accusations of forced mutilation or manslaughter. For example, on 
December 19, SLP officers arrested two male suspects involved in the 
December 16 initiation ceremony of 10 young women in Kenema District; 
one 19-year-old woman died as a result of severe injuries during the 
cutting. However, human rights workers reported that police generally 
remained hesitant to interfere in cultural practices. There have never 
been any prosecutions for FGM.
    FGM ceremonies (``bondo'') are led by sowies, who are exclusively 
women, generally at the behest of mothers who themselves underwent the 
procedure when young and want their daughters initiated into a women's 
secret society. Although most sowies have other employment, performing 
FGM is a major source of income for many of them, so they object to FGM 
eradication programs on both cultural and economic grounds. At the 
community level, eradication efforts focused on providing opportunities 
to sowies to obtain other income, as well as ``sensitizing'' parents 
not to subject their daughters to the procedure. Simultaneously, the 
U.N. and local NGOs worked with traditional leaders and local chiefs on 
a range of interventions, including establishing ``sowie associations'' 
aimed at convincing sowies to increase the minimum age of initiations 
to 18 years or to eliminate FGM from initiation ceremonies, as well as 
efforts to persuade local chiefs to impose bylaws outlawing FGM for 
children, and include FGM eradication in district development plans. 
The U.N. also held or funded workshops for local social workers and 
traditional leaders on prevention measures, as well as health care and 
psychosocial support for victims, particularly girls who had run away 
from home to escape the cutting. However, groups of sowies continued to 
threaten health and social workers advocating for an end to FGM, 
particularly in Moyamba District in January and February.
    NGOs reported a decline in the practice of FGM, likely due to 
increased awareness and interventions. FGM was practiced on girls as 
young as two years old, and many NGOs reported cases in which toddlers 
underwent FGM because their very young age made it cheaper for parents.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Forced child prostitution 
continued to be a problem. A UNICEF analysis of Freetown and Bo 
indicated that more than half of the street children were forced to 
engage in prostitution. NGOs stated there appears to be little 
political will to address the problem. Statutory rape and child 
pornography are not addressed specifically in the law, but according to 
the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children's Issues, these 
crimes would be covered under the Child Rights Act of 2007, which 
prohibits ``cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment'' of any child, 
defined as persons under the age of 18. There was no record of charges 
or convictions for child pornography having ever taken place.

    Displaced Children.--Besides prostitution, many children were 
forced to engage in petty trading and other economic activities to 
survive and were vulnerable to trafficking and other exploitative 
practices.

    Institutionalized Children.--According to a 2009 UNICEF report, 
there were 54 residential homes for approximately 1,800 orphans. The 
quality of care at the facilities varied, but most of those that failed 
to meet UNICEF minimum standards were shut down. Each facility provided 
at least one meal a day, some health care, and some type of education.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The country's Jewish population is generally 
considered to be miniscule. There is no indigenous Jewish population, 
only a very small number of temporary residents such as employees of 
foreign diplomatic missions or NGOs. There were no reports of anti-
Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--In March Parliament passed the Persons 
With Disabilities Act of 2011, which prohibits discrimination against 
persons with disabilities in employment and provision of state 
services. It further calls for free health care and education for the 
disabled, equal access to government buildings, housing, and public 
transportation, and provision of rehabilitation services; however, at 
year's end only three rehabilitation centers existed. At year's end 
NGOs supporting persons with disabilities claimed the government had 
made no headway on implementing the act's provisions. Given the high 
rate of general unemployment, work opportunities for persons with 
disabilities were few, and begging by them was commonplace. Children 
with disabilities were also less likely to attend school than other 
children.
    There is considerable stigma associated with and discrimination 
against persons with mental health issues. The Sierra Leone Psychiatric 
Hospital in Kissy, the only inpatient psychiatric institution, had beds 
for 400 patients but housed only an estimated 100 patients due to staff 
and resource constraints, as the hospital was poorly funded by the 
government and received only small donations from private charities. 
Patients were generally released to their families or communities as 
soon as possible and received follow-up counseling on a regular basis. 
The hospital estimated that 100,000 people suffered severe depression, 
generally due to socioeconomic problems. Approximately 50,000 people 
suffered drug and alcohol-induced psychosis, or psychoses caused by 
diseases like malaria. There were an estimated 100,000 severe drug 
abusers using alcohol, marijuana derivatives, or cocaine. In addition 
the hospital estimated there were 25,000 mentally retarded persons and 
25,000 people suffering from epilepsy. The vast majorities of these 
people remained untreated and received no public services. The hospital 
lacked sufficient beds, and patients easily destroyed mattresses. 
Patients were not provided sufficient food. Patient restraints were 
primitive and dehumanizing. The hospital did not have running water and 
only sporadic electricity due to lack of funds. Basic medications were 
available, but many drugs targeted at specific problems were lacking. 
Hospital staff was poorly paid; in September nurses, caterers, and 
cleaners threatened to strike until their salaries were augmented and 
they were provided with uniforms and raincoats.
    In September, in an effort to expand mental health services to 
areas outside Freetown, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, in 
collaboration with the World Health Organization, certified 25 mental 
health workers in Bo.
    The Ministry of Health and Sanitation is responsible for providing 
free primary healthcare services to persons with polio and diabetic 
retinopathy as well as those who are blind or deaf. However, these 
services were not provided consistently, and organizations reported 
that many persons with disabilities had limited access to medical and 
rehabilitative care. The National Committee for Social Action provided 
some support through limited programs to vulnerable communities. The 
Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children's Affairs has a 
mandate to provide policy oversight for issues affecting persons with 
disabilities but had limited capacity to do so.
    Some of the many individuals maimed in the civil war, including 
those who had their limbs amputated, received special assistance from 
local and international humanitarian organizations. Such programs 
involved reconstructive surgery, prostheses, and vocational training to 
help victims acquire new work skills; however, amputees complained that 
they did not receive sufficient assistance compared to former 
combatants.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The ethnically diverse 
population consisted of 18 ethnic groups of African origin, and many 
spoke distinct languages and were concentrated outside urban areas. In 
addition there were significant ethnic Lebanese and Indian minorities, 
and small groups of European and Pakistani origin. Little ethnic 
segregation was apparent in urban areas, where interethnic marriage was 
common. The two largest ethnic groups are the Temne in the North and 
the Mende in the South. These groups each constituted an estimated 30 
percent of the population; however, the Krio, 7 percent of the 
population, have historically dominated the civil service and 
judiciary. Strong ethnic loyalties, bias, and stereotypes existed among 
all ethnic groups. The Temne and Mende have vied historically for 
political power, and the violence during the 11-year civil war had some 
ethnic undertones. Ethnic loyalty remains an important factor in the 
government, the armed forces, and business. Complaints of ethnic 
discrimination in government appointments, contract assignment, and 
military promotions were common under the former SLPP and current APC 
governments.
    Residents of non-African descent faced some institutionalized 
discrimination, particularly in the areas of citizenship and 
nationality. The 1973 Citizenship Act, as amended in 2006, restricts 
citizenship by birth only to persons of ``Negro-African descent,'' 
effectively denying citizenship to many locally born residents, most 
notably the six to seven thousand-strong Lebanese community. Non-
``Negro-African'' persons may apply for naturalization, but all 
applications must be approved personally by the president. No president 
has done so since the end of the civil war in 2002. In May the 
government announced new procedures whereby ``non-Africans'' who have 
lived in Sierra Leone for at least eight years (two for foreigners 
married to Sierra Leonean citizens) may apply for naturalization. The 
president must still approve all applications personally.
    A small percentage of the Lebanese population was naturalized 
during a previous period of government leniency, and they enjoy the 
full rights of citizenship, such as suffrage, access to health care and 
education, and the right to purchase freehold land. However, 
naturalized citizens not of ``Negro-African'' descent cannot transmit 
citizenship to their children born in the country; these children must 
apply for naturalization if they want to become citizens. While not 
entitled to the rights of citizens, nonnaturalized persons born in the 
country are entitled to a Sierra Leonean passport, and many Lebanese 
Sierra Leoneans travel on one without difficulty.
    The Lebanese community reported no cases of overt discrimination 
based on race or nationality, although community leaders stressed that, 
even though many Lebanese families have resided in the country since 
the 1880s, they still feel alienated from the indigenous population.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The constitution does not 
offer protection from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual 
orientation. A law from 1861 prohibits male homosexual acts 
(``buggery'' and ``crimes against nature''); however, there is no legal 
prohibition against female-to-female sex. The 1861 law carries a 
penalty of life imprisonment for ``indecent assault'' upon a man or 10 
years for attempting such an assault. However, the law was not enforced 
in practice. During Sierra Leone's Universal Periodic Review in May in 
the UNHRC, the attorney general and minister of justice told the 
Working Group that all persons in the country will be protected 
regardless of their sexual orientation. However, the government 
subsequently rejected three of 129 Working Group recommendations, two 
calling for decriminalizing all sexual activity between consulting 
adults and one calling for legislation to prohibit discrimination based 
on sexual orientation and gender identity.
    Despite the lack of enforcement of the 1861 law, police continued 
to harass, detain, and beat persons perceived to be of the gay, 
bisexual, lesbian and transgender (LGBT) community. For example, on 
July 9, a group called police to complain that neighbors were throwing 
stones and shouting homophobic epithets at them, but the police 
arrested eight victims instead because they were perceived to be gay. 
They were held overnight and released without charge.
    Men dressed as women were singled out for detention, harassment, 
and public humiliation but were not formally charged with any crime or 
misdemeanor.
    A few organizations, including DignitySL and the local chapter of 
Why Cant We Get Married.com, worked to support LGBT persons, but they 
maintained very low profiles. Gay pride parades and other public 
displays of solidarity could not safely take place.
    Social discrimination based on sexual orientation occurred in 
nearly every facet of life for known gays and lesbians, and many chose 
to have heterosexual relationships and family units to shield them. In 
the areas of employment and education, sexual orientation was the basis 
for abusive treatment, which led individuals to leave their jobs or 
courses of study. It was difficult for gay men and lesbians to receive 
the health services due to fear that their confidentiality rights would 
be ignored if they were honest about their ailments; many chose not to 
be tested or treated for sexually transmitted infections. Secure 
housing was also a problem for LGBT persons. Their families frequently 
shunned gay children, leading some to turn to prostitution to survive. 
Adults could lose their leases if their sexual orientation became 
public. Lesbian girls and women were also victims of ``planned rapes'' 
that were initiated by family members in an effort to change their 
sexual orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits 
discrimination based on actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status; 
however, persons with HIV/AIDS were stigmatized in society. There was 
no official discrimination against HIV/AIDS-positive persons, but NGOs 
reported children were denied access to education because of their HIV 
status. HIV/AIDS-positive adults lacked employment and promotion 
opportunities. There were also reports that men often divorced their 
HIV/AIDS-positive wives, leaving them without financial support.
    Reports of violence against HIV/AIDS-positive persons were 
uncommon; families were instead more likely to abandon them. NGOs noted 
that, due to discrimination and stigmatization, those living with HIV/
AIDS sometimes chose suicide rather than continue to suffer the 
rejection and stigma.
    Vigilante violence was common in urban areas, particularly for 
suspected thieves and unsettled debts. Police frequently were not 
present or chose not to intervene in vigilante attacks.
Section 7. Worker Rights

    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers in both the public and private sectors to join 
unions of their choice without prior authorization; however, it 
prohibits civil service employees, police, and members of the armed 
services from joining unions. The law allows workers to organize but 
does not prohibit antiunion discrimination against union members or 
prohibit employer interference in the establishment of unions. Unions 
have the right to strike, although the government could require 21 
days' notice, and workers exercised this right in practice. The law 
does not prohibit retaliation against strikers, even when a strike is 
lawful.
    The law provides for collective bargaining. Collective bargaining 
must take place in trade group negotiating councils, each of which had 
an equal number of employer and worker representatives.
    While the government generally protected the right of workers in 
the private sector to form or join unions, its enforcement of 
applicable laws was untested. According to the Ministry of Labor, 
approximately 35 to 40 percent of workers in the formal economy were 
unionized, including mainly agricultural, mine, and health workers. 
However, by year's end the government still had not granted a 
bargaining certificate to the Civil Servants' Union, whose application 
had been on file since 1986. All unions are independent of political 
parties and the government. However, in some cases, such as the Sierra 
Leone Teachers' Union, the union and the government had a close working 
relationship, and the Sierra Leone Labour Congress enjoyed a cordial 
relationship with the government.
    In some private industries employers were known to intimidate 
workers to prevent them from joining a union. There were no reports of 
violence, threats, or other abuses targeting union leaders and members 
by government or employers during the year.
    The government generally protected the right to collectively 
bargain in practice. Collective bargaining was widespread in the formal 
sector, and most enterprises were covered by collective bargaining 
agreements on wages and working conditions. No reliable data was 
available on the percentage of workers covered by collective 
agreements.
    The majority of industrial actions were taken against the 
government, primarily to protest unpaid salaries and reduced benefit 
packages. The government generally did not interfere with peaceful 
demonstrations and attempted to negotiate with workers and labor unions 
in good faith. However, tensions complicated negotiations.
    In February employees of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority 
continually threatened to stage violent protests against the government 
preceding the March 1 privatization of the Port of Freetown. Workers 
were concerned that Bollore, the French company that was awarded the 
government contract to operate the port, would lay off dockworkers but 
not pay them the full end-of-service benefit stipulated by the terms of 
employment in the Sierra Leone Gazette. Tense negotiations were held 
between the Sierra Leone Labour Congress, representing the Dock Workers 
Union and the Maritime & Waterfront Union; the government, represented 
by the Ministry of Labor & Employment and the Sierra Leone Ports 
Authority; and Bollore. All parties agreed the end-of-service benefit 
would be paid in installments over a period of five years, but the 
workers were not appeased. On February 25, the minister of labor and 
employment attempted to convince the workers at the port to accept the 
severance package, but the angry crowd threw stones, water, and garbage 
at him and threatened continued violence. On March 1, the first day of 
the port's privatization, the President's office warned workers not to 
riot, as they would be ``met with the full force of the law.'' On March 
25, workers staged another protest during which the SLP reportedly 
fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters, resulting in several 
injuries. By early April the situation had been resolved, and laid-off 
workers received their end-of-service benefits and redundancy payments.
    Simultaneously, early in the year the Sierra Leone Teachers' Union 
(SLTU) had been in long negotiations with the government over an 
increase in teacher salaries. In February a group of teachers who 
believed the SLTU was not being aggressive enough embarked on a wildcat 
strike and refused to return to their schools. Shortly thereafter the 
SLTU and the government agreed to a pay reform package to take effect 
on March 1, although the SLTU claimed the agreement was reached 
independently of the wildcat strike. During the intra-SLTU conflict, 
several irregularities in SLTU operations came to light, including 
illegal deduction of union dues from teacher salaries without prior 
agreement, misuse of funds, actions not in the interest of teachers, 
and generally nontransparent behavior. The Ministry of Labor & 
Employment requested an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission 
into the SLTU, which many perceived to be government interference in a 
labor union. At year's end results of the investigation were pending. 
Meanwhile, in September teachers in Freetown, unhappy with the new pay 
package, refused to return to their schools for the new school year, 
delaying the start of classes by nearly a month.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
most forms of forced and compulsory labor, including by children. Under 
a provision of the Chiefdom Councils Act, pending repeal or amendment 
since 1964, individual chiefs may impose forced labor as punishment and 
have done so in the past, although there were no reports of it during 
the year. Chiefs also may require villagers to contribute to the 
improvement of common areas, a practice that occurred in rural areas. 
There is no penalty for noncompliance.
    The government did not effectively enforce the law, and the 
practice of forced labor occurred. Forced child labor occurred 
primarily in artisanal diamond mining operations. Children, primarily 
boys, shoveled and carried sand and gravel to washing sites and often 
washed the sand and gravel. Younger children carried water and food to 
the miners and performed other errands. Many girls, particularly teens, 
were forced into prostitution. Work sites were often dangerous, with 
frequent collapses of pit walls, and basic sanitation was nonexistent, 
with children regularly contracting gastrointestinal infections.
    In remote villages children were forced to carry heavy loads as 
porters, resulting in stunted growth and development. Children were 
also exploited in sand mining, fishing, hawking, and granite quarrying. 
There were reports that children whose parents sent them to friends or 
relatives in urban areas for education were forced to work on the 
street where they were involved in street vending, stealing, and 
begging.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law limits child labor, allowing light work at age 13, full-time 
nonhazardous work at age 15, and hazardous work at age 18. The law 
states that children under 13 should not be employed in any capacity. 
Provided they have finished schooling, children age 15 may be 
apprenticed and employed full time in nonhazardous work. The law also 
proscribes work by any child under 18 between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. While 
the law does not stipulate specific conditions of work, such as health 
and safety standards, it prohibits children under the age of 18 to be 
engaged in hazardous work, that is, work that poses a danger to the 
health, safety, and ``morals'' of a person, including: going to sea, 
mining and quarrying; porterage of heavy loads; chemicals 
manufacturing; work in places where machines are used; and work in 
places, such as bars, hotels, and places of entertainment, where a 
child may be exposed to ``immoral behavior.''
    The Child Labor Unit of the Ministry of Labor is responsible for 
enforcing child labor laws and monitoring compliance. The Ministry of 
Mineral Resources enforced regulatory prohibitions against the worst 
forms of child labor. The ministry also was charged with protecting 
children working in the diamond mining areas. The Freetown City Council 
contributed nonfinancial support to programs that provided free 
schooling and other services to at-risk youth.
    During the year the ministry continued to implement the ``Tackling 
Child Labor Through Education (TACKLE)'' project with funding from the 
ILO's International Program for Elimination of Child Labor and the EU. 
In addition, the ministry, in conjunction with Statistics Sierra Leone 
and with ILO funding, conducted a nationwide cross-sector survey on 
child labor between May and August, but the results had not been 
released by year's end. Mitigation efforts had mixed results. UNICEF 
officials were reluctant to advocate against children working for 
school fees too strongly, since without those fees the children would 
not be able to attend school. In addition, local civil society 
organizations (CSOs) reported that attempts to mitigate this problem 
were often met with resistance, a sense that outsiders were trying to 
impose alien, ``Western'' values on traditional African society. Thus, 
child labor persisted with the full knowledge and endorsement of the 
children's families.
    Ministry officials admitted that the unit was ``not too 
functional'' due to lack of funding. The Ministry of Labor employed 20 
labor inspectors to ensure employee health and welfare and 15 factory 
inspectors to ensure factories met minimum technical standards for 
safety. All inspectors focused primarily on Freetown and covered all 
issues of labor and occupational safety and health in addition to child 
labor. At year's end the ministry had not set up branch offices to 
decentralize monitoring efforts, particularly in remote areas where the 
most egregious violations occurred. There were no reports that 
authorities conducted any child labor inspections during the year. 
Primarily used in the informal economy, child labor was often hidden 
from inspectors and other authorities. The government was unable to 
produce any statistics on arrests or prosecutions for violating child 
labor regulations.
    Child labor remained widespread. Almost half of children ages 14 
and 15 were engaged in some form of child labor. The rate varied from 
27 percent in urban areas to 57 percent in rural areas. Children were 
subjected to a variety of exploitative labor, including petty trading, 
carrying heavy loads, breaking rocks, harvesting sand, begging, deep-
sea fishing, agriculture, domestic work, the sex trade, scavenging for 
scrap metal and other recyclables, and other age-inappropriate forms of 
exploitative labor under often hazardous conditions. Larger companies 
enforced strict rules against child labor, but it remained a pressing 
issue in small-scale informal artisanal diamond and gold mining.
    In many cases children worked alongside parents or relatives and 
abandoned educational or vocational training. In rural areas children 
worked seasonally on family subsistence farms. Children also routinely 
assisted in family businesses and worked as petty vendors. There also 
were reports that adults asked orphanages for children to work as 
household help. Many girls engaged in prostitution as a means of 
support, particularly those displaced from their homes and with few 
resources. Because the adult unemployment rate remained high, few 
children were involved in the industrial sector or elsewhere in the 
formal economy.
    Tradition requires children to fulfill their traditional roles, 
which include working to help generate income for the family or village 
even if it means missing school. In subsistence farming families, many 
children did not attend school, in order to work as field laborers. 
UNICEF indicated many children, particularly in the towns, worked part 
time to earn money necessary to pay school fees. The Campaign for Just 
Mining stated this was equally true in the sand and stone quarries in 
the Western Area surrounding Freetown. While these children attended 
school, they were effectively denied the time and energy to study and 
complete homework during their off-hours.
    The paramount chiefs played varying roles in addressing child 
labor. CSOs pointed out that many were part of the problem. UNICEF 
mentioned that although many paramount chiefs enacted bylaws to 
strengthen existing national laws, for example, to prohibit children 
from being forced to carry heavy loads, no bylaws were passed 
specifically targeting child labor in the mining sector. In the mining 
areas, chiefs deferred child labor issues to the national government, 
since until 2009 all land used for mining was considered state 
property. Many mining companies worked directly with the Ministry of 
Mineral Resources without going through chiefs, so the chiefs did not 
see social problems associated with mining as their responsibility.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage, 
covering all occupations including in the informal sector, was set at 
25,000 leones ($6.35) per month. The Ministry of Labor is responsible 
for enforcing the minimum wage.
    Although not stipulated by law, the standard workweek was 40 hours 
(60 hours for security personnel). Employers negotiated work hours with 
employees at the time of hiring, and overtime was to be paid if an 
employee's work hours exceeded the standard workweek. There was no 
prohibition on excessive compulsory overtime.
    The Ministry of Health and Sanitation is responsible for setting 
and enforcing safety and health (OSH) standards. Initially a union 
could make a formal complaint about a hazardous working condition; if 
the complaint was rejected, the union could issue a 21-day strike 
notice.
    The law protects both foreign and domestic workers.
    According to government and NGO sources, laws and standards 
continue to be violated primarily due to lack of enforcement, rather 
than the deterrent effect, or lack thereof, of the penalties. Workers 
in the mining and road construction industries complained to their 
private employers about safety concerns, and companies took action 
before the government needed to intervene.
    Minimum wage compliance was particularly difficult to monitor in 
the informal sector. Most workers supported an extended family. It was 
common to pool incomes and to supplement wages with subsistence farming 
and child labor.
    The law provides for paid overtime. The law also requires employers 
to provide protective clothing and safety devices to employees whose 
work involves ``risk of personal safety or potential health hazard.'' 
Although compliance with the law was inconsistent, no formal complaint 
about a hazardous working condition was reported during the year. 
Workers who removed themselves from dangerous work situations without 
making a formal complaint risked being fired.
    Violations of wage, overtime, and occupational safety and health 
standards were most frequent within the unorganized artisanal diamond 
mining industry. Violations also commonly affected others, including 
street vendors and market stall workers, rock crushers, and day 
laborers, many of whom migrated to Freetown to seek employment but, out 
of desperation, were vulnerable to exploitation in order to earn enough 
for a day's meal. There were numerous complaints of unpaid wages and 
lack of attention to injuries sustained while on the job, but victims 
often did not know where to turn for recourse, or their complaints went 
unresolved.

                               __________

                                SOMALIA

                           executive summary
    Somalia is fragmented into regions led in whole or in part by 
different entities, including: the Transitional Federal Government 
(TFG) in Mogadishu, the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in the 
Northwest, Puntland in the Northeast, and Galmuduug in the central 
region. The TFG was formed in 2004 with a five-year mandate to 
establish permanent, representative governmental institutions and 
organize national elections. In 2009 a 550-member Transitional Federal 
Parliament (TFP), established under the internationally backed Djibouti 
Peace Process, extended the TFG's mandate until August 2011 and elected 
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as TFG president. On February 3, the TFP 
unilaterally extended its mandate by a further three years.
    On June 9, following a six-month stalemate between the TFP and the 
TFG (collectively referred to as the Transitional Federal Institutions, 
or TFIs) over ending the transitional period, both the president and 
the parliamentary speaker, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, signed the 
Kampala Accord. That accord extended the transition period to August 
20, 2012, and stated that elections for president and parliamentary 
speaker should take place prior to that date. On September 6, the TFIs 
as well as regional and political stakeholders endorsed a Roadmap for 
Ending the Transition that includes the key essential tasks to be 
completed before August 2012. On December 13, members of the TFP passed 
a vote of no confidence against parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan. 
The TFG, African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and 
Speaker Sharif Hassan himself all deemed the no-confidence vote to be a 
violation of the Kampala Accord and questioned whether the vote 
followed proper parliamentary procedure. At year's end Sharif Hassan 
remained in the speakership position.
    Conflict-related abuses, including killings, displacement, and 
restriction of humanitarian assistance continued to severely impact 
civilians. According to the U.N., there were 1.36 million internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) in the country and 955,000 persons had taken 
refuge in other countries, primarily due to conflict, famine, and 
drought. Approximately 300,000 Somali refugees arrived in Kenya, 
Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Yemen during the year. The rule of law was 
largely nonexistent. Al-Shabaab controlled most of the south and 
central regions, where it committed human rights abuses including 
killings, torture, restriction of humanitarian assistance, and 
extortion. On August 6, al-Shabaab withdrew from most areas of 
Mogadishu, but in the following months it continued attacks in the 
city.
    In Mogadishu, Puntland, and Somaliland, severe human rights abuses 
included killings by security forces, militias, al-Shabaab, and unknown 
gunmen; restrictions on freedom of the press, including violence 
against journalists; and discrimination and violence against women and 
girls, including rape and female genital mutilation.
    Other major human rights abuses included harsh and life-threatening 
prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; denial of a fair 
trial; restrictions on freedom of assembly and association; corruption; 
restrictions on the right of citizens to peacefully change their 
government; child abuse; recruitment of child soldiers; trafficking in 
persons; abuse of and discrimination against clan and religious 
minorities; restrictions on workers' rights; forced labor; and child 
labor. Al-Shabaab committed human rights abuses including extrajudicial 
killings; disappearances; cruel and unusual punishment; rape; 
restrictions on civil liberties and freedom of movement; restrictions 
on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian assistance; 
and use of child soldiers. Militias, including those affiliated with 
the TFG, also committed abuses. Pirates abducted and killed persons.
    TFG, Somaliland, and Puntland authorities generally did not take 
steps to prosecute or punish officials who committed abuses, and 
impunity was the norm.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The TFG and allied 
militias, Somaliland and Puntland forces, al-Shabaab, and pirates 
committed arbitrary killings. Conflict continued to kill civilians and 
humanitarian workers were also killed (see section 1.g.).
    TFG forces, affiliated militias, and persons in TFG uniform killed 
civilians, including a journalist (see section 2.a.), demonstrators 
(see section 2.b.), IDPs, and others.
    For example, on February 15, members of former Mogadishu mayor 
Mohamed ``Dheere's'' TFG-allied militia killed four people and injured 
12 others when they fired on a peace festival organized by the Benadir 
(Mogadishu) regional administration. On February 16, after pressure 
from the international community, TFG and African Union Mission in 
Somalia (AMISOM) forces arrested Dheere and four members of his militia 
suspected of being linked to the attack. On March 27, a court released 
Dheere due to lack of evidence. The four other suspects remained in 
detention without charge at year's end.
    TFG forces killed persons during food distribution. For example, on 
August 5, in Mogadishu, TFG-affiliated forces looted a food 
distribution site at the Badbaado IDP camp, killing IDPs waiting in 
line for their food rations. After the incident the TFG established a 
special task force to offer protection for IDPs and humanitarian aid 
workers; however, the task force did not function effectively.
    Defendants in many TFG military trials, which sometimes included 
civilian defendants, were not afforded legal representation or the 
opportunity to appeal (see also section 1.e.). Those sentenced to death 
were sometimes executed within hours of the court's verdict. The TFG 
stated that these severe sentences and immediate execution upon 
conviction were necessary to send a ``strong message'' in a culture of 
impunity. On March 16, a TFG military court ordered the execution of 
two soldiers found guilty of killing fellow soldiers. The two were 
executed 10 days later.
    On October 30, police in Somaliland fired on civilians while trying 
to forcibly evict more than 50 households near the Hargeisa General 
Hospital, killing a Hargeisa University student and injuring three 
others. The residents had been living in vacated government buildings 
for more than 20 years and had previously demanded that Somaliland 
authorities settle them on alternate land or adequately compensate them 
for the money that they had spent on renovations.
    The Puntland administration's use of force to respond to insecurity 
led to several deaths. On September 1-2, fighting broke out in the 
Garsoor neighborhood of North Galkacyo between Puntland police and the 
dominant local subclan after police attempted to arrest suspected al-
Shabaab members. The fighting killed several persons in North Galkacyo 
and in neighboring South Galkacyo, Galmuduug, where Puntland forces 
entered without authorization from Galmuduug.
    Al-Shabaab committed arbitrary and politically motivated killings, 
including of Puntland officials. On September 20, in Galkacyo, 
unidentified gunmen shot and killed parliamentarian Abdiweli Musa Shire 
``Dhuuke'' while he was driving to his house.
    Al-Shabaab attacks on local humanitarian workers, NGO employees, 
and foreign peacekeepers resulted in deaths during the year (see 
section 1.g.).
    Al-Shabaab forces killed prominent peace activists, community 
leaders, clan elders, and their family members for their roles in 
attempted peace building. It frequently issued death threats against or 
killed persons it suspected of working for or having links to the TFG.
    Al-Shabaab in the Juba, Bay, and Bakol regions arrested and 
beheaded several persons accused of spying. For example, on April 13, 
al-Shabaab ordered relatives of Hared Ali Durdur to collect his 
beheaded corpse from a Kismayo hospital two weeks after kidnapping him 
from his house. Al-Shabaab claimed Durdur had made telephone contact 
with TFG troops in Dobley, Gedo region.
    On August 14, al-Shabaab militants executed nine public transport 
workers--six drivers and three conductors--in the Afgoye corridor 
outside Mogadishu after they failed to comply with extortion demands.
    Pirates also killed persons during the year. For example, on 
February 22, pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden killed four American 
hostages they had kidnapped on February 4.
    During the year AMISOM forces killed a journalist, and unknown 
assailants also killed other journalists (see section 1.g. and 2.a.).
    Fighting between clans, typically over water and land resources in 
Puntland, resulted in the killing or displacement of hundreds of 
persons. Authorities investigated very few cases, and there were no 
reports that any investigations resulted in formal action by local 
justice authorities. There were also frequent clan-based armed clashes 
in Galkacyo, Puntland, and surrounding nomadic villages, despite local 
efforts to mitigate clan conflict. Intermittent clashes over resources 
were also reported in the Mudug and Bari regions of Puntland and in the 
Galgaduud region.
    Land mines throughout the country caused civilian deaths (see 
section 1.g.).

    b. Disappearance.--There were no confirmed reports that TFG, 
Puntland, or Somaliland authorities committed politically motivated or 
other disappearances during the year.
    Al-Shabaab abducted persons during the year, including 
businesspersons who resisted its extortion demands. For example, on 
August 25, al-Shabaab militia abducted a Somali businessman at the 
Elesha Biyaha IDP camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu after he resisted 
extortion demands. His whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
    The abduction of humanitarian and NGO workers, including by al-
Shabaab, was a problem (see sections 1.g. and 5). NGO workers were 
kidnapped during the year.
    The number of piracy-related kidnappings in the Gulf of Aden and 
the Indian Ocean declined from previous years as a result of 
international action and Puntland's antipiracy efforts. The 
International Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia 
indicated that pirates were holding approximately 19 vessels and 268 
persons at year's end.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that clans employed 
abduction as a tactic in their disputes.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) provides for the 
right to physical security. The Puntland constitution provides for the 
right to physical security and protection of personal dignity. The 
Somaliland constitution similarly prohibits physical punishment and any 
other injury to the person.
    There were reports that TFG forces and allied militias committed 
sexual violence, including rape, against women in and around Mogadishu 
IDP camps. Militias also reportedly raped women who were on their way 
to refugee camps in neighboring Kenya. In response the TFG prime 
minister announced on October 25 that he would form a task force on 
gender-based violence in the Prime Minister's office. Subsequently, he 
appointed a gender-based violence focal point. The focal point was not 
operational at year's end.
    Somaliland authorities beat journalists (see also section 2.a.). 
For example, on September 10, Somaliland police physically assaulted 
Saleban Abdi Ali, a reporter for the newspaper Waheen, and detained him 
for several hours as he tried to attend a press conference called by 
the Somaliland interior minister.
    On December 28, Puntland presidential security guards reportedly 
beat journalists attempting to cover a visit by the TFG president to 
Bosaaso.
    There were several cases throughout the year of al-Shabaab abusing 
and imposing harsh punishment on persons in areas under its control. 
For example, on April 12, at the Jowhar stadium, hooded al-Shabaab 
members amputated the right hands and left legs of three men alleged to 
have committed highway robbery. Al-Shabaab often forced members of the 
public to watch these types of punishment. Its interpretation of sharia 
(Islamic law) resulted in uneven, and in most cases, draconian 
sentencing (see section 1.e.). Canings, beatings, and other abuses were 
used to punish persons for activities such as participating in 
prohibited recreational activities and dressing in a way deemed 
improper. Al-Shabaab also employed intimidation, beating, and torture 
to extract confessions.
    There were widespread press reports throughout the year of al-
Shabaab combatants committing rape and forced marriages.
    Female genital mutilation (FGM) was widespread (see section 6).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions remained harsh and life threatening in all regions. 
Overcrowding; poor sanitation; lack of health care; and inadequate 
food, water, ventilation, and lighting were some of the harsh 
conditions that persisted in prisons and detention centers throughout 
the country. For example, in July a Puntland prison held some 500 
inmates in a facility with a capacity of 200. Tuberculosis and 
pneumonia were widespread. Detainees' families and clans were generally 
expected to pay the costs associated with detention. In many areas 
prisoners depended on family members and relief agencies for food. 
Information on the prevalence of death in prison and pretrial detention 
centers was not available.
    TFG prison officials reported that there were an estimated 400 
prisoners in Mogadishu central prison. In mid-November the Justice 
Ministry director general told media that there were approximately 
2,000 prisoners and detainees in Somaliland. Data on the number of 
prisoners and detainees in Puntland was unavailable.
    In prisons and detention centers, juveniles frequently were held 
with adults. Female prisoners were separated from males. Pretrial 
detainees were often not separated from convicted prisoners, 
particularly in the south and central regions. The incarceration of 
juveniles at the request of families who wanted their children 
disciplined continued to be a problem.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. The TFG denied the European Union and U.N. access 
to its national security detention center in Mogadishu. Puntland and 
Somaliland authorities permitted prison monitoring by independent 
nongovernmental observers. There were no known visits by the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to prisons in the 
country during the year; however, in Somaliland a prisons conditions 
management committee organized by the U.N. Development Program and 
composed of medical doctors, government officials, and civil society 
representatives continued to visit prisons. Prisons did not have 
ombudsmen and did not take steps to improve recordkeeping.
    In Somaliland authorities investigated credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. During an annual assessment of prison conditions 
conducted between July 13 and July 27, the House of Representatives' 
Judicial, Justice, and Human Rights Committee, with U.N. support, 
visited prisons/detention centers in four of the six Somaliland 
regions. In its report to parliament, the committee detailed 
congestion; inadequate water, food, and sanitation; and the lack of 
facilities to hold women and children.
    In Puntland a 2010 U.N. independent expert report referred to 
``terrible detention conditions of the central prison of Garowe, in 
particular keeping prisoners in shackles.''
    Al-Shabaab operated dilapidated detention centers in areas under 
its control in the south and central regions. No statistics were 
available, but observers estimated that thousands were incarcerated in 
inhumane conditions for relatively minor ``offenses'' such as smoking, 
listening to music, watching or playing soccer, or not wearing the 
hijab.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The TFG's national security 
forces, TFG allied militias, Somaliland and Puntland authorities, al-
Shabaab, and various clan militias across the country continued to 
engage in arbitrary arrest and detention, including of journalists (see 
section 2.a.).
    Local and international human rights organizations reported that 
the TFG made fewer arrests than in previous years and usually released 
detainees quickly.
    Security forces in Puntland arbitrarily arrested people immediately 
after security incidents. Most of those arbitrarily arrested were 
journalists and Somalis from the south and central regions.
    For example, on August 11, Puntland forces intercepted a convoy 
transporting Somaliland officials in the Sool region and arrested 19 
people. One of the Somaliland officials was killed in the altercation 
and several others sustained injuries. Puntland authorities released 
eight of those arrested after determining that they were not Somaliland 
officials. On August 24, a Puntland court sentenced eight of the 
officials to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years for 
``destabilizing Puntland.'' On November 24, Puntland's president 
pardoned the eight officials.
    Al-Shabaab militias across the south and central regions 
arbitrarily arrested persons for failing to pay levies it imposed upon 
them or support their actions against the TFG. For example, on May 17, 
al-Shabaab arrested 10 traditional elders in Kismayo for refusing to 
mobilize support against TFG forces. Al-Shabaab arrested 20 elders in 
El-buur on October 17 for collaborating with Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a 
(ASWJ) on a planned offensive against al-Shabaab. Residents of the town 
demonstrated against the arrests, prompting al-Shabaab to release the 
elders after one week in detention.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police forces in 
Somalia fall under a mix of regional administrations and the TFG. In 
Mogadishu two separate police forces operated, one under the control of 
the TFG and the other under the Benadir Regional Administration. The 
TFG police are designated as the national police force and fall under 
the Ministry of Interior. The overall TFG police commandant is 
appointed by the TFG president. At year's end the TFG police did not 
have a presence outside of Mogadishu. Somaliland and Puntland both 
maintain police forces in their areas of control. Their respective 
police forces fall under their interior ministries.
    Police were generally ineffective in the south and central regions, 
since much of the area remained under al-Shabaab's control. They were 
underpaid and corrupt. With the possible exception of a few UN-trained 
police known as the Somali Police Unit, members of the TFG police 
forces in Mogadishu often directly participated in politically based 
conflict and owed their positions largely to clan and familial links 
rather than to government authorities. As in previous years, there were 
some media reports that TFG troops engaged in indiscriminate firing on 
civilians, arbitrary arrests and detention, extortion, looting, and 
harassment.
    On October 29, the Somaliland House of Representatives passed the 
National Security and Public Order Law establishing national, regional, 
and district security committees chaired by the president, regional 
governors, and district commissioners, respectively, with the ministers 
of interior and defense and chiefs of security agencies as members. 
Unlike the former National Security Committee, abolished in July 2010, 
these committees do not have extrajudicial powers to arrest and 
sentence citizens; the new law prohibits the security committees from 
bypassing the formal judicial system.
    In the south and central regions, Puntland, and Somaliland, abuse 
by police and militia members was rarely investigated, and a culture of 
impunity remained a problem. Police generally failed to prevent or 
respond to societal violence.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Previously 
codified law required warrants based on sufficient evidence issued by 
authorized officials for the apprehension of suspects; prompt 
notification to arrestees of charges and judicial determinations; 
prompt access to lawyers and family members; and other legal 
protections. However, adherence to these procedural safeguards was 
rare. There was no functioning bail system or equivalent. TFG security 
forces and corrupt judicial officers, politicians, and clan elders 
reportedly used their influence to have detainees released.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--TFG, Somaliland, and Puntland authorities 
arbitrarily arrested and detained numerous persons, including persons 
accused of terrorism and of supporting al-Shabaab. They frequently used 
allegations of al-Shabaab affiliation to justify arbitrary arrests.
    Authorities in Somaliland at times arrested clansmen of persons 
accused of murder. For example, the minister of interior ordered the 
arrest of nine clan members in relation to a December 5 incident in 
which three men were killed in Gebilay. They remained in detention at 
year's end.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The TFC provides for an 
independent judiciary, but the judicial system remained largely 
nonfunctioning in the south and central regions. The TFC calls for a 
high commission of justice, a supreme court, a court of appeal, and 
courts of first instance. Some regions established local courts that 
depended on the dominant local clan and associated factions for their 
authority. The judiciary in most areas relied on some combination of 
traditional and customary law, sharia, and the penal code of the pre-
1991 Siad Barre government.
    Sharia was enforced in al-Shabaab-controlled areas.
    The Somaliland constitution provides for an independent judiciary, 
but the judiciary was not independent in practice. Functional courts 
existed, although there was a serious shortage of trained judges and 
legal documentation upon which to build judicial precedence. Untrained 
police and other unqualified persons reportedly served as judges. The 
Judicial, Justice, and Human Rights Committee of the House of 
Representatives reported widespread interference in the judicial 
process by government officials. International NGOs reported that local 
officials often interfered in legal matters and that the public order 
law was often invoked to detain and incarcerate persons without trial.
    On September 5, Somaliland police arrested Waheen reporter Ahmed 
Muse Mohamed ``Sagaro'' in the Togdheer region without a warrant. On 
September 7, a judge ordered him held in pretrial detention for a week. 
Sagarao was released on September 12, with the interior minister and 
chief public prosecutor as ``guarantors'' responsible for his future 
actions.
    The Puntland interim constitution provides for an independent 
judiciary; however, there were reports that the administration 
intervened and influenced cases involving journalists. It also provides 
for a Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and courts of first instance. 
Despite these courts having some functionality, they lacked the 
capacity to provide equal protection under the law.
    In many cases al-Shabaab relied on individuals with questionable 
knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence to administer its courts. Al-
Shabaab's interpretation of sharia resulted in hasty, uneven, and in 
most cases, draconian sentencing. For example, on August 22, in the 
Dayniile District of Mogadishu, al-Shabaab executed by firing squad 
three men for espionage. Al-Shabaab also beheaded 12 youths in the 
Huriwaa and Dayniile districts of Mogadishu between the second and last 
week of August. No reason for the beheading was given; it was suspected 
that al-Shabaab believed the youths to be TFG spies. There were reports 
of al-Shabaab amputating the limbs of persons suspected of minor theft 
and stoning persons to death for suspected adultery.
    Traditional clan elders mediated conflicts throughout the country. 
Clans frequently used traditional justice, which was swift. Traditional 
judgments sometimes held entire clans or subclans responsible for 
alleged violations by individuals.

    Trial Procedures.--The TFC provides for the right of every person 
to legal proceedings in a competent court. It also states that every 
person enjoys the presumption of innocence, the right to be present at 
trial and consult with an attorney at any time, and adequate time and 
facilities to prepare a defense. It also provides for free legal 
services for individuals who cannot afford them. While not explicitly 
mentioned in the TFC, there was a presumption of the right to a public 
trial and jury, as well as rights pertaining to witnesses, evidence, 
and appeal. Most of these rights were not respected in practice in 
those areas that applied traditional and customary practices or sharia.
    Although the public welcomed the establishment of a TFG military 
court in 2009 for its ability to address indiscipline and violations 
against civilians, concerns arose in 2011 over lack of due process and 
hasty sentences without fair trials handed down to both security 
personnel and civilians. Defendants in these military courts rarely had 
legal representation or the right to appeal. Those sentenced to 
execution were sometimes executed within hours of the court's verdict 
(see also section 1.a.). On August 8, a military court sentenced three 
soldiers to death by hanging within hours of their arrest, for stealing 
mobile phones from Mogadishu's Bakara Market. An August 13 state of 
emergency decree gave military courts jurisdiction over crimes, 
including those committed by civilians, in parts of Mogadishu from 
which al-Shabaab retreated.
    In December the military court's prosecutor general issued a press 
statement cautioning security personnel against holding detainees 
without presenting them for trial within 48 hours.
    In Somaliland defendants generally enjoyed a presumption of 
innocence, the right to a public trial, and the right to be present and 
consult with an attorney in all stages of criminal proceedings. 
Defendants could question witnesses and present witnesses and evidence 
and have the right to appeal. Somaliland provided free legal 
representation for defendants who faced serious criminal charges and 
were unable to hire a private attorney.
    In Puntland, clan elders resolved the majority of cases using 
traditional methods known as ``Xeer.'' Those with no clan 
representation in Puntland were subject to the administration's more 
formalized judicial system. In this system, as outlined in Puntland's 
interim constitution, defendants should have the presumption of 
innocence, the right to a public trial, and the right to be present and 
consult with an attorney at all stages of criminal proceedings. 
Defendants could question witnesses, present witnesses and evidence, 
and have the right of appeal. However, there were alleged instances of 
political and executive interference in the determination of high 
profile political and security cases (see section 2.a.).
    There was no functioning formal judicial system in al-Shabaab-
controlled areas. In sharia courts defendants were not given the right 
to defend themselves, produce witnesses, or be represented by an 
attorney.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--TFG, Somaliland, and Puntland 
authorities arrested journalists during the year (see section 2.a.). 
Puntland authorities detained Somaliland officials (see section 1.d.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The inability of the 
judiciary to handle civil cases involving such matters as defaulted 
loans or other contract disputes encouraged clans to address these 
cases. There were no lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of 
human rights violations in any region.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The TFC provides for the sanctity of private property 
and privacy. The Puntland interim constitution and the Somaliland 
constitution also recognize the right to private property. There were 
reports that TFG, Puntland, and Somaliland authorities infringed on 
these rights, as did al-Shabaab.
    On June 3, al-Shabaab entered the home of a family in Jowhar, 
Middle Shabelle, and confiscated television and satellite equipment it 
suspected of being used to watch the TFG-owned Somali National 
Television channel. In July al-Shabaab issued a formal edict forbidding 
Jowhar residents to watch Somali television channels, and there were 
numerous reports of al-Shabaab entering people's homes to enforce the 
ban. On August 10, al-Shabaab summoned all owners of satellite dishes 
and gave them three days to reposition their satellite to an eastward 
orientation, from which they could not receive Somali television 
channels, or have their dishes confiscated.
    On several occasions al-Shabaab forcibly evicted people from their 
homes in order to house al-Shabaab leaders. For example, on May 31, al-
Shabaab militia forcibly evicted homeowners in the Howlwadag 
neighborhood of Jowhar, including a prominent traditional elder.
    Al-Shabaab forces withdrew from most of Mogadishu on August 6, 
abandoning homes and land it had previously confiscated from Mogadishu 
residents or which had been evacuated during clashes between Ethiopian 
forces and extremists in 2007. People slowly began returning to their 
homes afterwards, causing some disputes over land ownership. There was 
no mechanism to address such disputes.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Killings.--Fighting during the year involving the TFG, its allied 
forces, and AMISOM against al-Shabaab resulted in the death and injury 
of thousands of civilians throughout Somalia and caused the 
displacement of many others. The NGO Elman Peace and Human Rights 
reported 1,400 civilian deaths in the first six months of the year in 
Mogadishu alone. UNICEF reported on November 15 that the conflict 
killed 100 children and injured 300 during the year. According to Human 
Rights Watch, al-Shabaab used schools as firing positions, with the 
students inside. Before August 6, al-Shabaab conducted almost daily 
attacks against the TFG and AMISOM in Mogadishu; there were numerous 
reports of civilian deaths from these attacks and from TFG and AMISOM 
responses. International human rights observers accused all parties to 
the conflict of indiscriminate attacks, deployment of forces in densely 
populated areas, and failure to take steps to minimize civilian harm. 
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) assessment, the three 
main hospitals in Mogadishu treated 7,799 weapon-related injuries 
between January 1 and December 18.
    For example, on April 12, al-Shabaab mortar attacks killed two 
civilians and wounded more than 30 others when several artillery rounds 
intended for the TFP building landed in a nearby settlement. On June 9, 
a remote-controlled device killed nine TFG police and several civilians 
in Mogadishu's Hamar Jajab District. On June 16, clashes between ASWJ 
militia and al-Shabaab in Mogadishu's Howlwadag District killed an 
estimated 10 civilians and injured 22. On June 21, a roadside bomb 
planted by al-Shabaab targeting AMISOM and TFG troops killed four 
civilians, including two women, in the Hodan District of Mogadishu.
    Artillery fire exchanges between AMISOM and al-Shabaab resulted in 
the death of more than a hundred civilians in Mogadishu's Bakara Market 
between January and June. Improved fire control and discipline by TFG 
and AMISOM forces in the second half of the year resulted in fewer 
deaths.
    After withdrawing from Mogadishu on August 6, al-Shabaab increased 
asymmetric attacks. On October 4, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive 
device exploded in a compound housing several TFG ministries. The 
explosion killed more than 100 people, including several university 
students who were waiting in line to receive examination results for 
Turkish government scholarships. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for 
the attack.
    On September 2, in Mogadishu, AMISOM troops killed Malaysian 
journalist Noramfaizul Mohd and wounded another after firing on the 
vehicle in which they were traveling. The journalists were accompanying 
a Malaysian charity that was conducting a humanitarian assessment. 
Following an inquiry into the incident, AMISOM issued an apology and 
recommended that the Burundian soldiers involved in the incident be 
tried under Burundian judicial processes. The Government of Burundi 
denied that its peacekeepers were involved in the shooting and 
requested an independent investigation through the African Union. At 
year's end the soldiers in question had not been tried, detained, or 
returned to Burundi and were still serving as peacekeepers in 
Mogadishu.
    The October Kenyan offensive across the Kenyan/Somalia border 
toward Afmadow resulted in the flight of significant numbers of 
civilians from communities in the path of Kenyan forces. UNICEF 
reported that disruptions caused by the fighting between Kenyan forces 
and al-Shabaab resulted in the death of 24 children and the injury of 
another 60 during October.
    On October 30, a Kenyan military airstrike in the town of Jilib, 
Middle Juba, reportedly hit an IDP camp. According to Doctors Without 
Borders, its clinic received five dead and 45 wounded, mostly women and 
children, from the incident. The Kenyan military spokesperson dismissed 
reports of civilian casualties and instead claimed the aerial bombs had 
hit al-Shabaab targets who used the IDPs as human shields.
    Fewer cases involving land mines and unexploded ordnance were 
reported than in previous years. On July 16, on the outskirts of Hudur, 
Bakol region, two children were killed and another wounded when 
ordnance they were playing with exploded.
    Militias fought among themselves in Mogadishu, particularly over 
the sharing of looted aid and extortion payments. For example, on 
August 30, armed clashes among TFG forces along Maka-al-Mukarama road 
killed 15 people, including six civilians. The clashes occurred after 
some TFG troops attempted to stop others from looting humanitarian food 
aid.
    At least five aid workers were killed during the year. For example, 
on December 23, in Matabaan, Hiran, a gunman killed three Somali aid 
workers, including two World Food Program employees after the workers 
uncovered fraud at an IDP camp. The ASWJ arrested the gunman who was 
still in their custody at year's end pending the conclusion of an 
investigation.

    Abductions.--Humanitarian workers were abducted during the year; at 
year's end several humanitarians remained captive.
    On December 14, al-Shabaab kidnapped three ICRC national staff 
members on the outskirts of Mogadishu. They had been summoned to a 
meeting with al-Shabaab in the Daynille district. Upon arrival, they 
were seized and held in a shipping container. They were released on 
December 15.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--There were reports of TFG 
forces and allied militias committing sexual violence, including rape, 
against women in and around Mogadishu IDP camps (see also section 1.a., 
2.d., and 6, Women). Irregular or clan militias also reportedly raped 
women who were traversing routes to refugee camps in neighboring Kenya.
    There were many cases throughout the year of abuses, including 
harsh ``punishment,'' by al-Shabaab in areas under its control (see 
sections 1.a., 1.b., and 1.e).
    On September 4, the bodies of two beheaded men dumped in the al-
Shabaab-controlled district of Huriwaa in Mogadishu were found. Deep 
cuts reportedly visible on their bodies indicated that they were 
physically abused before they were beheaded.

    Child Soldiers.--Reports continued of children being in the TFG's 
national security forces and allied militias. In the absence of 
established birth registration systems, it was often difficult to 
determine the exact age of recruits of national security forces. In 
Mogadishu military ``camps'' were not clearly defined, and soldiers 
lived and fought in close proximity to their families. Families--
including soldiers' children--were sometimes present in the ``camps.''
    According to a Human Rights Watch report, the TFG reportedly 
interrogated children who had been associated with al-Shabaab and 
escaped or were captured, detaining an unknown number of them in TFG 
camps and detention facilities.
    In January the then prime minister appointed a TFG focal point to 
address child soldiering. During her seven-month tenure, the focal 
point did little to address this issue, citing a lack of resources. On 
July 15, the army chief of staff issued an instruction to all Somali 
National Army commanders directing them to ensure children were not 
among their forces. Toward year's end the TFG appointed two new focal 
points to address the issue. In addition, in December the army chief of 
staff appointed a child protection point of contact to work with the 
international community on developing and implementing a child soldier 
action plan.
    TFG recruits trained by international partners in Bihanga, Uganda, 
were subjected to multiple levels of vetting, including interviews and 
medical screening. There were 960 recruits in the cohort that arrived 
in February, of whom 29 were rejected as too immature for training. The 
November cohort contained 650 recruits, none of whom were determined to 
be immature.
    U.N. Mine Action Somalia implemented a biometric database which was 
designed to improve registration of TFG soldiers. This process was 
based on payroll lists and involved a screening interview but not a 
physical exam.
    There were credible reports that children were included in 
Somalia's numerous clan and other militias. Pro-TFG militias, including 
ASWJ, frequently fought alongside or intermingled with Somali National 
Army troops and even wore similar uniforms.
    In May UNICEF and the U.N. special representative of the secretary-
general for children and armed conflict reported an increase in the 
recruitment of children, some as young as eight, in conflict areas in 
Somalia, largely in al-Shabaab-controlled areas. According to the U.N., 
al-Shabaab recruited children as young as eight from schools and 
madrassahs. The children were often used to plant roadside bombs and 
other explosive devices. In Kismayo, Baidoa, and Merka, al-Shabaab 
forced boys 15 and older to fight as ``Mujahideen'' or be executed.
    Human Rights Watch also reported forcible recruitment of children 
by al-Shabaab, with al-Shabaab often recruiting the children from 
schools or while they traveled to or from school. According to 
information from the NGO, children in al-Shabaab training camps 
underwent grueling physical training, weapons training, physical 
punishment, religious training, and had to witness the punishment and 
execution of other children. Al-Shabaab used children in combat, 
including by placing them in front of other fighters to serve as human 
shields, and also used them as suicide bombers. In addition, al-Shabaab 
used children in support roles such as carrying ammunition, water, and 
food; removing wounded and killed militants; gathering intelligence; 
and serving as guards.
    On March 18, the TFG minister of information reported that top al-
Shabaab leader Hassan Dahir Aweys admitted during a Friday mosque 
sermon that al-Shabaab was using children in the fight against the TFG. 
On January 12, the TFG reported it had reunited more than 20 minors 
with their families after they defected from al-Shabaab.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--A July 18 report of the U.N. 
Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea described the security context 
and humanitarian operational environment facing aid agencies as being 
``among the most prohibitive in the world.'' Approximately 55 security 
incidents related to humanitarian personnel or assets occurred from 
January to August.
    TFG forces and aligned militia looted and collaborated in the 
diversion of humanitarian aid from intended beneficiaries in Mogadishu. 
On August 21, in the Wajir District of Mogadishu, a TFG-allied militia 
attacked a distribution site and looted food aid. Other TFG forces 
intercepted the militia and recovered the food. On July 13, in the 
Hodan District of Mogadishu, TFG forces and members of the public 
looted food aid from a warehouse. On November 1, the TFG spokesperson 
announced the TFG had fired the district commissioners of Hamar Jajab 
(Mogadishu) and Karan (Mogadishu) because of missing and looted aid and 
assaults on women collecting food.
    Most international aid organizations evacuated their staff or 
halted food distribution and other aid-related activities in al-Shabaab 
controlled areas in prior years due to continued killings, extortion, 
threats, and harassment. An Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Somalia 
report released in October 2010 noted that ``between October 2008 and 
September 2010, 18 humanitarian organizations stopped activities due to 
their direct expulsion by armed groups or as a consequence of 
interference in their programs.'' Al-Shabaab harassed and attacked 
remaining aid workers and NGO staff and looted aid meant for the 
drought and famine response. For example, on February 2, al-Shabaab 
imposed a 10 percent ``tax'' on the salaries of local NGO staff in 
Merka, claiming the revenue would be used to support drought victims.
    Harassment hampered aid delivery, particularly in the south and 
central regions. International aid agencies increasingly relied on 
Somali staff and implementing partners to deliver relief assistance 
there.
    For example, on July 6, in response to the worsening drought, al-
Shabaab spokesperson Ali Mohamoud Raghe ``Ali Dheere'' announced that 
al-Shabaab would allow ``Muslims and non-Muslims to help the drought-
affected people.if they did not have other interests.'' On July 22, al-
Shabaab amended its announcement and stated only organizations not 
previously banned were allowed to come back. In November al-Shabaab 
banned 16 aid organizations and agencies, including the Office of the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNICEF, WHO, U.N. 
Population Fund, U.N. Office for Project Services, Food Security and 
Nutrition Analysis Unit, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee 
Council, Concern, Norwegian Church Aid, Cooperazione Internazionale, 
Swedish African Welfare Alliance, German Agency for Technical 
Cooperation, Action Contre la Faim, and Solidarity and Saacid. 
Simultaneously al-Shabaab shut down WHO offices in Hudur, Bu'aale, 
Wajid, and Belet Weyne; UNICEF, WHO, and NGO offices in Baidoa; WHO and 
NGO offices in Hiraan; and NGO offices in Merka.
    On December 15, the ICRC temporarily suspended the delivery of food 
assistance originating from Mogadishu to areas under al-Shabaab 
control. The suspension was in response to local al-Shabaab commanders 
stopping trucks carrying food assistance and demanding to check the 
cargo under the guise of inspecting the quality of the food, although 
in actuality attempting to extort money. At year's end al-Shabaab in 
Jowhar, Middle Shabelle continued to hold several ICRC trucks loaded 
with food aid.
    As a result of al-Shabaab's humanitarian access restrictions, 
taxation on livestock, and failed water redistribution schemes, many 
residents of al-Shabaab-controlled areas fled from their homes to 
refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia and to IDP camps in Puntland, 
Somaliland, and TFG-controlled areas of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab 
restricted such movements, often forcing those trying to flee its 
territories into al-Shabaab IDP camps. Al-Shabaab also attempted to 
block persons from fleeing the country. Those who left al-Shabaab areas 
typically carried very few possessions, thereby reducing the likelihood 
that al-Shabaab militia would identify them as fleeing. On October 15, 
al-Shabaab in Lower Shabelle Region announced the closure of the Ala-
Yasir IDP Camp in the Afgoye District. Al-Shabaab reportedly urged IDPs 
there to return to their places of origin in Lower Shabelle, Bay, and 
Bakool regions in order to cultivate abandoned fields during the Deyr 
rainy season. U.N. partners suggested that an estimated 4,000 IDPs, 
mainly women and children, may have been forced to return to their 
places of origin between October 13 and 18.
    In Somaliland humanitarian access was generally good. However, 
attacks on humanitarian staff and assets were reported in parts of 
Buhoodle, Togdheer Region, which was the scene of clashes between 
Somaliland forces and Sool, Sanaag, and Cayn militia. On March 29, 
armed militia looted food aid after attacking a truck traveling to 
Sanaag Region.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The TFC and the Somaliland constitution provide for freedom of 
speech and of the press. The Puntland interim constitution provides for 
press freedom ``as long as journalists respect the law.'' Nevertheless, 
journalists were subjected to violence, harassment, arrest, and 
detention in all regions. The National Union of Somali Journalists 
reported that four journalists were killed, seven were wounded, and 19 
were arrested during the year. It also reported on violent attacks 
against media houses, as well as the use of defamation laws against 
journalists.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals in TFG controlled areas were 
generally not restricted from criticizing the government. However, the 
speaker of the TFP prohibited the parliament from convening its four 
month fall session due to fear that members would want to discuss and 
possibly make changes to the Roadmap for Ending the Transition. In 
Somaliland and Puntland, individuals generally enjoyed the ability to 
criticize their governments publicly and privately without reprisal.

    Freedom of Press.--Print media consisted largely of short, 
photocopied dailies published in the larger cities. Several of these 
publications published criticism of political leaders and other 
prominent persons. In Somaliland there were seven independent daily 
newspapers and one published by the government. There were two English-
language weekly newspapers. There were three independent television 
stations and one government-owned station.
    Most citizens obtained news from foreign radio broadcasts, 
primarily the BBC's Somali Service and the Voice of America's Somali 
Service, which transmitted Somali-language programs daily. There were 
reportedly eight FM radio stations and one shortwave station operating 
in Mogadishu. A radio station funded by local businessmen operated in 
the south, as did several other small FM stations in various towns in 
the central and southern areas of the country. As in previous years, 
Somaliland authorities continued to prohibit the establishment of 
independent FM stations. The only FM station in Somaliland was 
government-owned. There were at least six independent radio stations in 
Puntland. Al-Shabaab continued to operate an FM radio station in 
Kismayo.
    On October 30, Puntland's president announced he was suspending 
Universal TV and Somali Channel TV for being obstacles to security. 
Puntland authorities lifted the ban on Universal TV on December 3, but 
Somali Channel TV remained closed at year's end.
    ASWJ and al-Shabaab closed broadcasting stations during the year. 
On June 2, ASWJ raided Dhusamareeb Radio, reportedly in reaction to the 
station's reporting on a rift in ASWJ leadership. ASWJ allowed 
Dhusamareeb Radio back on the air shortly after the incident. On June 
22, al-Shabaab militia raided Voice of Hiraan, arrested its staff, and 
forced the station off the air for five days.

    Violence and Harassment.--Four journalists were killed in Mogadishu 
during the year (see also section 1.g.). For example, on December 18, 
an unknown gunman dressed in a TFG military uniform shot and killed 
prominent freelance journalist Abdisalan Sheikh Hassan ``Xiis'' in 
Mogadishu. On December 13, Hassan had filmed the proceedings of a 
controversial parliamentary vote to remove Parliamentary Speaker Sharif 
Hassan from office. After his footage was broadcast on Somali 
television, he began receiving death threats. The TFG issued a press 
statement promising to investigate the killing. The TFG had made no 
arrests by the year's end.
    Journalists and media organizations in Mogadishu reported 
harassment by the TFG, including detention without charge and assaults 
on persons and property. On March 27, TFG security forces arrested 
Shabelle Radio manager Abdirashid Omar Qasse and news director Abdi 
Mohamed Ismail ``Oud'' in connection with the station's March 22 report 
that TFG President Sheikh Sharif had yet to visit areas of Mogadishu 
cleared of al-Shabaab during a recent offensive. The TFG claimed it 
arrested the journalists for ``broadcasting news that misrepresented 
the situation in Mogadishu and was detrimental to national security.'' 
Authorities released the journalists on March 30 after they reportedly 
apologized to the deputy minister of information.
    Somaliland police arrested and beat journalists (see also sections 
1.b. and 1.e). For example, on September 19, they beat and briefly 
detained Mustafe Sheik Omar Ghedi, editor of Saxafi newspaper, for 
taking pictures of citizens resisting forceful eviction in the Goljano 
neighborhood of Hargeisa. On October 27, according to the National 
Union of Somali Journalists, Somaliland police in Hargeisa beat Mohamed 
Abdi Kahin ``Boosh,'' who worked for Ramaasnews online news and the 
private station Royal TV, for taking pictures of protests.
    Puntland continued its harassment of journalists, typically blaming 
arrests on the need to protect the region's security interests (see 
also section 1.a.). For example, on November 15, Puntland security 
forces raided, without warrants, the private residences of Somali 
Channel TV cameraman Mahad Abdi Ali in Garowe and reporter Saido-Kin 
Ahmad Jama. They took Mahad Abdi Ali to the Garowe central police 
station for questioning. Saido-Kin Ahmad Jama, who learned of the raid 
beforehand, was in hiding at the time of the raid. The two had 
apparently covered a subclan conference in Taleh, Sool Region, after 
Puntland authorities banned the station from operating. Authorities 
released Mahad Abdi Ali on November 16 on bail paid by the Media 
Association of Puntland.
    Journalists were also attacked and injured in Puntland. For 
example, on August 26, a grenade attack on the privately owned Radio 
Daljir injured a security guard and damaged the station. On October 18, 
unknown assailants threw a hand grenade at the Radio Galkacyo station.
    In November 2010 Puntland's president pardoned Abdifatah Jama Mire, 
the director of Horseed Media. Puntland forces arrested him in August 
2010 for broadcasting an interview with a Muslim extremist leader.
    Al-Shabaab and other extremists continued to harass journalists. 
Journalists reported that al-Shabaab threatened to kill them if they 
did not report positively on antigovernment attacks.
    There were no arrests made in connection with previous killings or 
the attempted killing of journalists.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists engaged in 
rigorous self-censorship to avoid reprisals from governments and al-
Shabaab. Al-Shabaab banned journalists from reporting news that 
undermined ``Islamic law'' as it interpreted it and also told persons 
in areas it controlled that they were forbidden to listen to 
international media such as the BBC and Voice of America.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Both the TFG and Puntland 
administration cited national security concerns to justify their 
suppression of criticism. For example, during a July 2 press 
conference, Puntland's president threatened journalists with arrest if 
they broadcast reports the administration considered harmful to 
Puntland's security.
    Authorities in Somaliland prosecuted journalists for libel. For 
example, on January 23, a court in Hargeisa sentenced Waheen editor 
Mohamud Abdi Jama to three years of incarceration and a fine for libel 
in regards to a story involving a state electricity company manager 
hiring persons from his own clan.
    Somaliland senior officials and ministers used their positions to 
harass journalists who reported on official corruption. For example, in 
December 2010, then chief of cabinet Hersi Ali (who was the minster of 
the presidency at year's end) accused the Hargeisa Star and its chief 
editor Hassan Mohamed Yusuf of publishing false reports of excessive 
expenditures regarding a London trip by Somaliland president. 
Somaliland authorities summoned and briefly detained Hassan Yusuf; 
Hersi Ali later withdrew the charges against the newspaper and its 
editor in January.

    Nongovernmental Impact.--Al-Shabaab inhibited freedom of 
expression, including of the press.

    Internet Freedom.--The TFG and Somaliland authorities did not 
restrict access to the Internet; however, extremists in Mogadishu 
reportedly closely monitored Internet use and were believed to be the 
authors of anonymous e-mail threats to local journalists.
    There was one case of Puntland security forces arresting an online 
journalist. On June 28, Puntland security forces arrested Faysal 
Mohamed Hassan ``Boston'' of Hiiraan Online for reporting that two men 
found beheaded on the outskirts of Bossaso were Puntland security force 
members. A Puntland court sentenced him on July 2 to one year in prison 
for ``publishing false information.'' Puntland's president granted him 
and 90 other inmates amnesty on July 31 as part of Puntland's 13th-
anniversary celebration.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academics practiced self-
censorship. The Puntland administration required that individuals 
obtain government permits in order to conduct academic research. During 
the year there were no reported direct attacks on schoolchildren, 
teachers, or schools.
    With the exception of al-Shabaab-controlled areas, there were no 
official restrictions on attending cultural events, playing music, or 
going to the cinema. The security situation effectively restricted 
access to and organization of cultural events in the south and central 
regions. One cultural event, organized by the Benadir administration in 
Mogadishu, was interrupted when a militia of the former Mogadishu mayor 
shot into the crowd, killing and wounding several people (see section 
1.a.). In al-Shabaab-controlled areas, activities such as football and 
singing were banned.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The TFC and the Somaliland constitution provide for freedom 
of assembly. The Puntland interim constitution limits the right to 
assembly, including by prohibiting that which is considered to be 
against Islamic principles, or a risk to the public health, national 
security and stability, and moral dignity. General insecurity 
effectively limited this right in many areas.
    The TFG restricted public gatherings and killed protestors during 
the year. On June 10, following the signing of the Kampala Accord, TFG 
forces fired to disperse a demonstration against President Sheikh 
Sharif and the Speaker of Parliament in Mogadishu, killing three 
persons.
    On April 14, the Benadir regional administration banned public 
meetings and gatherings in Mogadishu that did not have its prior 
consent, citing security concerns. At the same time, the TFG reportedly 
paid demonstrators to participate in protests against a UN-sponsored 
consultative meeting on Somalia that was to be held in Nairobi, Kenya. 
On April 15, Benadir regional administration forces forcibly halted 
preparations for a rally in support of the Nairobi U.N. consultative 
meeting.
    Al-Shabaab did not allow gatherings of any kind without prior 
consent.

    Freedom of Association.--The TFC provides for freedom of 
association, and there were no reports that the TFG restricted this 
freedom. Persons in the south and central regions outside of al-Shabaab 
areas could freely join civil society organizations focusing on a wide 
range of issues. Civil society organizations were generally well 
respected by Somalis for their ability to deliver social services in 
the absence of functional government ministries.
    The Somaliland constitution provides for freedom of association, 
and this right was generally respected in practice. However, Somaliland 
authorities prevented civil society from participating in meetings 
related to the TFG or which it perceived as undermining Somaliland's 
sovereignty.
    The Puntland interim constitution prohibits associations that are 
secretly organized on a military model, based on tribal denominations, 
or contrary ``to the national interest.'' Some Puntland civil society 
members stated that oversight of and interference in their activities 
increased during the year. The Puntland administration prohibited civil 
society organizations from participating in activities related to the 
federal draft constitution process, including consultations with the 
drafting body and civic education activities.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The TFC guarantees the right of 
citizens to travel freely within the country. The Puntland interim 
constitution allows the law to restrict access to locations. The 
Somaliland constitution allows citizens and residents to move to any 
place of their choice and to leave and return to the country at will, 
subject to the law. In practice freedom of movement was restricted in 
some parts of the country.

    In-country Movement.--Ad hoc checkpoints operated by armed 
militias, clan factions, TFG-allied groups, and al-Shabaab inhibited 
movement and exposed citizens to looting, extortion, and harassment. 
There were reports of illegal checkpoints in Mogadishu run by warlords 
after al-Shabaab's August 6 withdrawal created a temporary power 
vacuum.

    Foreign Travel.--Few citizens had the means to obtain passports. 
Given widespread passport fraud, many foreign governments did not 
recognize the Somali passport as a valid travel document.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The humanitarian situation 
significantly deteriorated from the previous year. The UNHCR estimated 
that there were 1.36 million IDPs across the country. Conflict, 
drought, and famine during the year resulted in continued displacement 
and large-scale new displacements. The U.N. declared famine in six 
areas in the south and central regions; three regions were subsequently 
downgraded by year's end. By year's end more than 955,000 Somali 
refugees had fled to other countries in the region. Many of new IDPs 
lived without basic services, settling primarily in the Afgooye 
corridor between Mogadishu and Afgooye, Lower Shabelle region. Famine 
conditions in the south and central regions led to an increase in IDPs 
in Puntland, Galmuduug, and Somaliland regions during the year.
    Laws and policies were in place to protect IDPs in accordance with 
the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Authorities in 
the TFG, Somaliland, and Puntland provided some protection and 
assistance to IDPs, although the response in TFG areas was largely 
ineffective as a consequence of limitations on resources and capacity 
and poor coordination.
    The July 18 report of the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and 
Eritrea described the security context and humanitarian operational 
environment aid agencies faced in Somalia as ``among the most 
prohibitive in the world'' (see section 1.g.). TFG forces and aligned 
militia looted and collaborated in the diversion of humanitarian aid 
from intended beneficiaries in Mogadishu. Most international aid 
organizations evacuated their staff or halted food distribution and 
other aid-related activities in al-Shabaab-controlled areas due to 
continued killings, extortion, threats, and harassment. In November al-
Shabaab banned 16 aid organizations and agencies. Al-Shabaab restricted 
movement, often forcing those trying to flee its territories to enter 
al-Shabaab IDP camps. On October 30, a Kenyan military airstrike in the 
town of Jilib, Middle Juba, reportedly hit an IDP camp. According to 
Doctors Without Borders, its clinic received five dead and 45 wounded, 
mostly women and children, from the incident (see section 1.g.).
    Gender-based violence, including sexual assault of female IDPs, in 
Mogadishu was a problem, often with TFG-allied militias who were 
responsible for securing the camps as the alleged perpetrators (see 
also sections 1.a., 1.g., and 6, Women). For example, on August 21, TFG 
forces reportedly raped a woman in Badbaadho camp. Researchers of an 
international human rights organization noted there was significant 
evidence that the militia of the district commissioner in charge of 
Badbaadho was responsible for sexual violence there. The U.N. 
attributed the increase in such violence to the large number of 
unregistered, unpaid, and untrained forces charged with protecting the 
camps. Local NGOs reported that public washrooms in the IDP camps were 
the most common places for sexual assaults. Perpetrators of such acts 
were generally not held accountable.
    The Benadir administration acknowledged the rise of sexual violence 
in Mogadishu's camps and attributed the insecurity to a lack of 
perimeter fences around the IDP shelters, the result of a shortage of 
funds. On October 25, in response to pressure from the international 
community, the TFG prime minister announced that he would form a task 
force on gender-based violence in the prime minister's office. 
Subsequently he appointed an official to serve as focal point for the 
issue, but the new structure had not become functional by year's end.
    There were widespread reports that armed bandits robbed and 
sexually assaulted women traveling within Somalia in the direction of 
refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. Several women reported that al-
Shabaab members had committed the violence as part of its war strategy 
to prevent a high influx of women reaching refugee and IDP settlements 
and the consequent desertion of al-Shabaab-controlled areas.
    Puntland authorities sporadically engaged in forced return of 
individuals from the south and central regions, particularly those from 
Bay and Bakool. Puntland authorities arrested an estimated 400 young 
men from the south and central regions whom it suspected of being al-
Shabaab members or of being economic migrants rather than IDPs fleeing 
drought. According to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for 
Human Rights, more than 1,500 IDPs from the south and central regions 
of the country were in detention in Puntland in 2011.
    Al-Shabaab intercepted Somalis attempting to reach IDP camps in 
TFG-controlled areas in Mogadishu and refugee camps in Ethiopia and 
Kenya and forced them into al-Shabaab camps. Al-Shabaab also forced 
persons in al-Shabaab-controlled camps to move to the countryside, 
reportedly to raise cash crops for al-Shabaab.

    Protection of Refugees.--The UNHCR reported that 2,113 refugees and 
5,850 registered asylum seekers resided in Somalia. Most of them were 
persons from the Oromiya and Ogadeni regions of Ethiopia who arrived in 
the country between 1996 and 2000.

    Access to Asylum.--The TFC states that political asylum may be 
granted to persons who flee their or another country because of 
political, religious, and cultural persecution. However, there was no 
official system for providing such protection. The authorities provided 
some protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to 
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened, and in 
practice the authorities granted refugee status or asylum. Somaliland 
ended all registration of asylum seekers in 2008. According to the 
UNHCR, an unknown number of Ethiopians and others wanted to claim 
asylum in Somaliland.

    Nonrefoulement.--On September 4, the Somaliland deputy minister of 
interior issued an ultimatum demanding that foreigners residing in 
Somaliland illegally leave the area within 30 days. The deputy minister 
subsequently indicated that the directive would not affect conflict-
displaced people from the south and central regions. The directive was 
seen to be aimed at Oromo from Ethiopia. International aid agencies 
estimated the number of unregistered Ethiopian immigrants in Somaliland 
potentially affected by the expulsion threat to be between 15,000 and 
18,000. In anticipation of being forcibly removed, many refugees moved 
to border towns in Ethiopia.
    On December 28, Somaliland authorities returned 15 registered 
refugees and five registered asylum seekers to Ethiopia in what Human 
Rights Watch termed a violation of the fundamental international 
prohibition against ``refoulement.'' Police arrested the group on 
December 22 during a meeting between refugee leaders and Somaliland 
officials at the Interior Ministry in Hargeisa. They were discussing 
the situation of approximately 1,000 Ethiopians camped on premises 
known as the Social Welfare Centre, run by an international NGO for 
refugees and migrants in Hargeisa.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The TFIs largely failed to make progress during the year on key 
tasks necessary for a transition to a popularly elected federal 
government structure. Much of the south and central regions remained 
under the control of al-Shabaab. The Somaliland constitution provides 
citizens the right to change their government peacefully, and persons 
exercised this right in practice. The constitution of Puntland also 
provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully; 
however, this did not occur in practice as there has not been a direct 
election of representatives in Puntland.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The TFC 
originally operated under a five-year mandate scheduled to expire in 
2009; however, the TFP, under the Djibouti peace process, extended the 
initial mandate by another two years until 2011. Elections for 
president and parliamentary speaker, which should have occurred by 
August 2011, did not take place. On February 3, the TFP amended several 
articles of the TFC and unilaterally extended its mandate by three 
years to August 2014, despite calls from civil society and regional/
political entities for parliamentary reform and elections.
    On June 9, regional leaders backed the ``Kampala Accord,'' an 
agreement between the president and parliamentary speaker that included 
postponing elections to August 2012, the appointment of a new prime 
minister and cabinet, and holding a consultative meeting on ending the 
transition. On June 28, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali replaced Mohamed A. 
Mohamed ``Farmajo'' as prime minister, and on July 23, parliament 
endorsed a new cabinet. TFI, Puntland, Galmuduug, and ASWJ 
representatives gathered in Mogadishu for a ``High-Level Consultative 
Meeting'' where they endorsed a Roadmap for Ending the Transition on 
September 6. The roadmap contained key transitional tasks to be 
completed by August 2012 and an accompanying implementation and 
monitoring structure.
    On December 13, members of the TFP passed a motion of ``no-
confidence'' against Parliamentary Speaker Sharif Hassan. However, the 
TFG, Sharif Hassan, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental 
Authority on Development deemed the vote a violation of the Kampala 
Accord, which stated that the ``government and parliament will refrain 
from threats of impeachment of president, speaker, and deputies, as 
well as dismissal of parliament.'' They also questioned whether the 
vote was taken in accordance with proper parliamentary procedure. The 
parliamentarians argued, however, that the TFC, which the Kampala 
Accord enshrines as the preeminent law in Somalia, allowed them to 
remove the speaker. Sharif Hassan remained the speaker at year's end.
    Al-Shabaab prohibited citizens in areas it controlled from 
participating in the federal government structure or changing their al-
Shabaab administrators. Some al-Shabaab administrations, however, 
consulted local traditional elders on specific issues and allowed pre-
existing district committees to remain in place.
    Somaliland has a bicameral parliament with proportional clan 
representation and an elected president and vice president.
    Somaliland presidential elections in June 2010 were described by 
international and domestic observers as generally free and fair. 
Somaliland laws prevented citizens in its region from participating in 
the TFIs, the federal draft constitution process, or consultative 
meetings on ending the political transition in Somalia. In November 
Somaliland's House of Representatives amended the 2001 presidential and 
local elections law, changing the minimum age requirement to 
participate in local elections from 35 to 25. On December 13, 
Somaliland's president signed the amended law.
    In 1998 Puntland declared itself a semiautonomous regional 
government during a consultative conference of delegates from six 
regions that included traditional community elders, the leadership of 
political organizations, members of local legislative assemblies, 
regional administrators, and civil society representatives. Puntland 
has a single-chamber, quasi-legislative branch called the Council of 
Elders. In 2009 the council elected Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud 
``Farole'' as Puntland's president. Parliamentary representatives were 
seated by their respective clan elders in the six administrative 
regions, and the same 66 representatives announced in 2008 remained in 
office at year's end.

    Political Parties.--There were no official political parties in the 
south and central regions.
    In January Somaliland's National Electoral Commission, 
representatives from the three registered political parties, civil 
society, and prominent individuals began a series of discussions on 
whether to open registration of new political parties. On August 20, 
the Somaliland president signed the Regulation of Political 
Associations and Parties Law. On September 4, he submitted the names of 
seven nominees for the Committee for the Registration of Political 
Associations and the Approval of National Parties to the House of 
Representatives, which approved the nominees. With a five-year mandate, 
the committee's tasks include registering new political associations to 
take part, along with the existing three parties, in local district 
council elections scheduled for April 2012.
    Puntland's interim constitution limits the number of political 
parties to three and establishes conditions pertaining to their 
political programs, finances, and constitution with which they must 
comply. On July 12, the Puntland Parliament approved nine appointees to 
the Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission. The commission's 
mandate includes registering political parties to take part in 
preliminary district council elections in 2013.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The transition roadmap 
agreed to on September 6 specifically calls for women's participation 
on implementing bodies. The roadmap states that the committee to 
support the preparation of a draft constitution, the interim electoral 
commission, and the interim anticorruption commission should each have 
at least four female participants. The roadmap requires both the 
committee to undertake preparations for the adoption of the draft 
constitution and the committee charged with preparing recommendations 
and modalities for establishing a new federal parliament to have five 
female members. At year's end the committee to support the preparation 
of a draft constitution had been formed, and female inclusion adhered 
to the guidelines. The committee for establishing a new federal 
parliament did not adhere to the requirements.
    The Djibouti Peace Process mandated that 12 percent of the 550 
seats in the TFP be filled by women; however, the number of female 
parliamentarians was 37, or 6.7 percent. There were 60 members of 
minority ethnic groups in the TFP. There was one woman and one ethnic 
minority member in the TFG cabinet under Prime Minister Mohamed and one 
woman and two minorities under Prime Minister Abdiweli. Civil society 
and minority groups continued to call for the abolition of the ``4.5 
system'' under which minority clans were allocated a fixed and low 
number of parliamentary seats.
    Somaliland had two women in its 82-member House of Representatives 
and one woman in the 82-member Guurti (House of Elders). Women were 
traditionally locked out of the Guurti (Somaliland's Upper House of 
Representatives). Positions left vacant by members of the Guurti, 
mostly by death, are filled by next of kin through inheritance. The 
cabinet included two women and no minorities. On September 7, the 
Somaliland president appointed a nine-person commission made up of 
cabinet members and parliamentarians and charged it with recommending 
ways to strengthen women and minorities' political participation. The 
committee had not released its report by year's end. The Somaliland 
Human Rights Commission elected a woman as its chairperson.
    In Puntland there have never been any women on the Council of 
Elders. Traditional clan elders, who are exclusively male, select 
members of parliament leaving little opportunity for women to be 
selected. However, two women served in the 66-member parliament during 
the year. Each of Puntland's five regions was to nominate one female 
parliamentarian, but only two regions complied. The 18-person cabinet 
included one woman. It did not include members of minority groups. The 
nine-member Puntland Electoral Commission included one woman. The 
Puntland president appointed a woman as the Human Rights Defender.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    It was not known if the law provides for criminal penalties for 
official corruption. Officials engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity. There was no regulatory or penal framework in any region to 
combat or punish official corruption. There existed no financial 
disclosure laws or laws providing for public access to government 
information.
    Corruption was endemic within the TFIs. The July 18 Report of the 
U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea cited corruption in the 
TFG to be among the ``principal impediments to security and 
stabilization in southern Somalia.'' The International Crisis Group 
reported on February 21 a significant increase in the level of 
corruption, stating that ``a cabal within the regime presides over a 
corruption syndicate that is massive, sophisticated, and extends well 
beyond Somalia's borders.''
    The TFG established a Public Finance Management Unit in the prime 
minister's Office in 2010 and appointed Abdirazak Fartaag as its head. 
Its May 2011 report detailed discrepancies between TFG financial 
statements in 2009 and 2010 and the actual internal and external 
revenue received. The report claimed the TFG had received more than 
$75.6 million in revenue, mainly bilateral donations from Arab states 
and Sudan, but could account for only $9.4 million. After potential but 
unrealized revenue from the ports, Mogadishu airport, khat trade, and 
telecommunications sector were included, the TFG was missing 
approximately $300 million, according to the report. The TFG called the 
report fictitious and in his inaugural speech to the cabinet in July 
TFG, President Sheikh Sharif publically challenged those accusing him 
of corruption.
    In response to the management unit's report more than 120 
parliamentarians signed a motion, presented to the deputy speaker on 
July 25, calling for the establishment of an ad hoc investigatory 
committee to look into the conduct of President Sheikh Sharif, former 
prime ministers Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo and Omar Abdirashid 
Sharmarke, and former finance ministers Hussein Abdi Halane and Sharif 
Hassan (the TFP speaker during the year). According to parliamentary 
procedures, the motion received enough votes to be presented to the 
wider parliament for debate. At year's end this debate had not occurred 
because the speaker blocked parliament from holding official meetings 
during the August-December parliamentary session due to concern that 
members would want to discuss and possibly make changes to the 
transition roadmap to stall progress.
    The September 6 transition roadmap also called upon the TFG to 
complete tasks to increase transparency and accountability. The TFG was 
to: 1) enhance mechanisms for greater coordination and information 
sharing between Somali and international development and humanitarian 
agencies by September 19; 2) enact legislation and implement measures 
to fight corruption and abuse of public offices by October 19; 3) 
appoint ``competent members'' of an interim independent anticorruption 
commission by November 19; and 4) appoint a ``competent'' task force to 
prepare a report of all TFG revenue by December 19. To improve public 
finance management, the TFG was to formulate and approve a National 
Fiscal Budget for 2011-12 by December 31, review and update a Civil 
Service Code by January 2012, and initiate the process to develop a 
National Development and Recovery Strategy by February 2012. However, 
by year's end the TFG did not take significant action toward completion 
of these tasks.
    A number of TFG ministers were named in a March 2010 U.N. 
monitoring report as engaging in visa-related scams. In response the 
TFG pledged to investigate; however, by year's end there was no 
indication that this had occurred.
    During the year the TFG militia and allied forces continued to 
extort money from taxi, bus, and truck drivers, at times resulting in 
death.
    There were no specific corruption allegations made against the 
Somaliland administration.
    Al-Shabaab extorted increasingly high and unpredictable zakat and 
sadaqa taxes in the regions it controlled. It also diverted and stole 
humanitarian food aid.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of local and international human rights groups operated in 
areas outside of al-Shabaab-controlled territory, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. However, security 
considerations constrained their ability to operate freely in the south 
and central regions. International and local NGOs generally worked 
without major restrictions in Puntland and Somaliland.
    During the year attacks and incidents of harassment of 
humanitarian, religious, civil society, and NGO workers resulted in 
deaths. For example, on October 30, unidentified assailants in 
Galkacyo, Puntland, killed Abdikadir Yasin Jama, head of Mudug region's 
Puntland Development and Research Center. No one was arrested for 
Jama's killing by year's end. Abdikadir Yasin was the second center 
staff member killed during the year. On April 6, unknown assailants in 
Garowe killed the center's finance and administration manager, Mohamed 
Yasin Isse ``Ilka'asse.''
    The Mogadishu-based Dr. Ismael Jumale Human Rights Center (DIJHRC), 
Elman Peace and Human Rights Center (EPHRC), Peace and Human Rights 
Network, Isha Baidoa Human Rights Organization in the Bay and Bakol 
regions, Coalition of Grassroots Women's Organization (COGWO), and 
other local human rights groups were active during the year. The 
DIJHRC, EPHRC, and COGWO continued to investigate and document human 
rights violations, study the causes of the continuing conflict in the 
Mogadishu area, and conduct human rights monitoring. The Mogadishu-
based National Union of Somali Journalists continued to advocate for 
media freedom throughout the country. The Mogadishu-based Center for 
Research and Dialogue, the Puntland Development and Research Centre, 
and several women's NGOs and civil society organizations also played a 
role in promoting intraclan dialogue in Puntland and parts of the south 
and central regions.
    The TFG was sometimes cooperative and responsive to their views. 
The TFG took concrete measures to combat child soldiering after 
continuing reports from human rights organizations that child soldiers 
were in its forces (see section 1.g.). However, in matters related to 
official corruption the TFG frequently dismissed the findings of 
international and local NGOs. The TFG, in response to an Amnesty 
International report on TFG military courts, defended swift sentencing 
without access to legal representation of both security force members 
and civilians as necessary in the security environment and needed to 
challenge the culture of impunity.
    The Puntland administration repeatedly dismissed accusations it did 
not respect media freedom. The administration attributed its arrests of 
journalists to the journalists being irresponsible in their coverage of 
topics that threatened national security.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The TFG participated in a 
review of its human rights record through the U.N. universal periodic 
review process during the year. The TFG fully accepted 151 
recommendations from the process and partially accepted the remaining 
four.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--To tackle abuses and strengthen 
human rights in their regions, both Somaliland and Puntland developed 
their independent human rights bodies during the year. Members of the 
Somaliland Human Rights Commission's (established by a parliamentary 
act in 2009 and signed into law in December 2010) were approved by 
parliament in June. Although an interim chairperson was elected in 
July, limited resources as well as inexperienced commissioners 
prevented the commission from being effective during the year. In June 
the Puntland president appointed a woman to be the region's human 
rights defender. However, the position had no accompanying legislation, 
leaving the appointee's mandate unclear. At year's end the Puntland 
parliament had not approved her nomination.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The TFC provides equal protection and benefit in regards to race, 
birth, language, religion, sex, or political affiliation but does not 
prohibit other forms of discrimination. The Somaliland constitution 
provides for equal rights and obligations regardless of color, clan, 
birth, language, gender, language, property, status, and opinion and 
prohibits discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, clan affiliation, 
birth, and residence. The Puntland interim constitution states that all 
citizens are equal before the law and prohibits discrimination based on 
color, religion, citizenship, origin, financial status, opinion, 
political attitude, language, and ethnicity. It calls for women's 
independence and socioeconomic and political rights that are not 
contrary to sharia. However, antidiscrimination provisions were not 
effectively enforced in any of the regions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Laws prohibiting rape exist in 
Puntland, Somaliland, and TFG-controlled areas; however, they were 
almost never enforced. There are no laws against spousal rape. The 
UNHCR and UNICEF documented patterns of rape perpetrated with impunity, 
particularly of women displaced from their homes due to civil conflict 
or who were members of minority clans. TFG forces and militia members 
engaged in rape (see also sections 1.a., 1.g., and 2.d.). Traditional 
approaches to dealing with rape tended to ignore the victim's situation 
and instead communalized the resolution or compensation for rape 
through a negotiation between members of the perpetrator's and the 
victim's clans. The TFG, Puntland, and Somaliland prosecuted rape cases 
during the year. However, for the most part, formal structures were 
rarely used to address rape, particularly in TFG-controlled areas of 
the south and central regions. Victims suffered from subsequent 
discrimination based on the attribution of ``impurity.'' Women and 
girls in IDP camps were especially vulnerable to sexual violence. In 
Somaliland gang rape continued to be a problem in urban areas, 
primarily perpetrated by youth gangs and male students. Many of these 
cases occurred in poorer neighborhoods and among immigrants, refugee 
returnees, and displaced rural populations living in urban areas. In 
December the director of the Sexual Assault Referral Centre reported 
that the incidents of rape of women under the age of 20 were on the 
increase in Hargeisa. The center, which had its offices inside the 
compound of Hargeisa general hospital, reported recording 10 rape cases 
on average per month. Many cases were not reported.
    Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem. There 
were no laws specifically addressing domestic violence; however, both 
sharia and customary law address the resolution of family disputes. 
Sexual violence in the home was reportedly a serious problem, linked to 
general gender discrimination. Women suffered disproportionately as a 
result of conflict.
    In his August 29 report on the situation of human rights in 
Somalia, the U.N. independent expert cited increased sexual violence 
against women and noted that domestic violence, sexual violence, and 
harmful traditional practices such as FGM were common in all regions.

    Female Genital Mutilation.--See Section 6, Children.

    Sexual Harassment.--There were no laws pertaining to, data on, or 
government programs to address sexual harassment in any of the three 
regions. However, it was thought to be very widespread in all regions.

    Reproductive Rights.--In the country's overwhelmingly patriarchal 
culture, decisions regarding reproduction were often determined by a 
woman's husband. Women had very limited ability to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children. Women 
had very limited information about and little, if any, access to 
contraception. With inadequate health care, women rarely had skilled 
attendants during childbirth or essential obstetric and postpartum 
care. According to UNICEF, maternal mortality was extremely high (1,200 
per 100,000 live births) due to complications during labor that often 
involved anemia, FGM, and/or a lack of medical care.

    Discrimination.--Women did not have the same rights as men and were 
systematically subordinated. Polygamy was permitted. By law girls and 
women could inherit only half the amount of property to which their 
brothers were entitled. Similarly, according to sharia and the local 
tradition of blood compensation, anyone found guilty of the death of a 
woman paid to the victim's family only half the amount required for a 
male.
    Women formed a negligible part of those employed in both the formal 
public and private sectors because of girls' low education level. 
However, women were not discriminated against in owning or managing 
businesses, except in al-Shabaab-controlled areas. Al-Shabaab claimed 
women's participation in economic activities was anti-Islamic. There 
were no government programs in any region to combat economic 
discrimination against women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Under the TFC, citizenship is 
derived from birth in Somalia or from one's father or from being in 
Somalia at the time of the TFC's signing in 2004. In the absence of a 
functioning central authority, births were not registered in Puntland 
or in the south and central regions. Under the Somaliland constitution, 
citizenship is derived from being a descendant of a person residing in 
Somaliland on June 26, 1960 or earlier. Birth registration occurred in 
Somaliland for hospital and home births; however, limited government 
capacity, combined with the nomadic lifestyle of many persons, caused 
numerous births to go unregistered.

    Education.--Primary education was not compulsory, free, or 
universal. Since the collapse of the state in 1991, education services 
have been partially revived in various forms, including a traditional 
system of Koranic schools; public primary and secondary school systems 
financed by communities, foreign donors, and the administrations in 
Somaliland and Puntland; Islamic charity-run schools; and a number of 
privately run primary and secondary schools, universities, and 
vocational training institutes. In many areas children did not have 
access to schools other than madrassas.
    In al-Shabaab controlled areas, ``jihad'' was included in the 
curriculum of elementary schools. In at least one case al-Shabaab 
offered AK-47 rifles as prizes for academic achievement. There was a 
continued influx of foreign teachers to teach in private Koranic 
schools and madrassas. These schools were inexpensive and provided 
basic education; however, there were reports that they required the 
veiling of small girls and other conservative Islamic practices.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse and rape of children were serious 
problems, although no statistics on its prevalence were available. 
There were no known efforts by regional governments to combat this 
practice. Children remained among the chief victims of continuing 
societal violence.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--FGM was widespread throughout the 
country. As many as 98 percent of women and girls had undergone FGM; 
the majority were subjected to infibulation, the most severe form of 
FGM. In Somaliland FGM is illegal, but the law was not enforced. 
International and local NGOs ran education awareness programs on the 
dangers of FGM, but there were no reliable statistics to measure the 
success of these programs. On December 13, Puntland's president signed 
a bill into law that outlawed female circumcision with the exception of 
``Sunna circumcision,'' which consists of the removal of the prepuce 
(retractable fold of skin) and/or the tip of the clitoris.
    The practice of ``asi walid,'' a custom whereby parents placed 
their children in prison for disciplinary purposes and without any 
legal procedure, continued. Many of these juveniles were incarcerated 
with adults.

    Child Marriage.--Child marriage was prevalent. The minimum legal 
age for marriage was 15. However, in rural areas parents often married 
off their daughters as young as 12. In areas under al-Shabaab control, 
al-Shabaab arranged marriages between their soldiers and young girls 
and used the lure of marriage as a recruitment tool.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Child prostitution was illegal in 
all regions. In al-Shabaab areas the penalty was flogging or even death 
by stoning. There is no formal statutory rape law or minimum age for 
consensual sex. Child pornography is not expressly prohibited. Sexual 
exploitation of children occurred. For example, girls may have been 
subject to forced prostitution in Garowe, and girls were also 
reportedly placed in pirates' homes to be exploited in sexual 
servitude.

    Child Soldiers.--The use of child soldiers was a problem (see 
section 1.g.).

    Displaced Children.--There was a large population of IDPs and 
children who live and work on the street (see section 2.d.).

    Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague 
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There is no known Jewish community in the country, 
and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Neither the TFC, nor the Somaliland 
constitution, nor the Puntland interim constitution specifically 
addresses discrimination on the basis of intellectual or physical 
disabilities, although they discuss support and/or protection for 
persons with disabilities more broadly. Under the TFC the state is 
responsible for the welfare of persons with disabilities, along with 
orphans, widows, war heroes, and the elderly. According to the 
Somaliland constitution, the state is responsible for the health, care, 
development, and education of mothers, children, the disabled, persons 
who have no one to care for them, and persons with mental disabilities. 
The Puntland interim constitution safeguards and advocates for the 
rights of orphans, persons with disabilities, and whoever needs the 
protection of the law. There are no laws to ensure building access for 
disabled persons.
    In the absence of functioning governing institutions, the needs of 
most persons with disabilities were not addressed. Several local NGOs 
in Somaliland provided services for persons with disabilities and 
reported numerous cases of discrimination. Without a public health 
infrastructure, there were no specialized institutions to provide care 
or education for the mentally ill. It was common for such persons to be 
chained to a tree or restrained within their homes.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--More than 85 percent of the 
population shared a common ethnic heritage, religion, and nomad-
influenced culture. In most areas members of groups other than the 
predominant clan were excluded from effective participation in 
governing institutions and were subject to discrimination in 
employment, judicial proceedings, and access to public services.
    Minority groups and low-caste clans included the Bantu (the largest 
minority group), the Benadiri, Rer Hamar, Brawanese, Swahili, Tumal, 
Yibir, Yaxar, Madhiban, Hawrarsame, Muse Dheryo, Faqayaqub, and 
Gabooye. Intermarriage between minority groups and mainstream clans was 
restricted by custom. Minority groups, often lacking armed militias, 
continued to be disproportionately subject to killings, torture, rape, 
kidnapping for ransom, and looting of land and property with impunity 
by faction militias and majority clan members. Many minority 
communities continued to live in deep poverty and suffer from numerous 
forms of discrimination and exclusion.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws 
criminalizing homosexual acts. Sexual orientation was considered a 
taboo topic, and there was no public discussion of this issue in any 
region of the country. There were no reports of societal violence or 
discrimination based on sexual orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
continued to face discrimination and abuse in their local communities 
and by employers in all parts of the country. UNICEF reported that 
persons with HIV/AIDS were subjected to physical abuse, rejected by 
their families, and subjected to workplace discrimination and 
dismissal. Children with HIV-positive parents also suffered 
discrimination, which hindered prevention efforts and access to 
services.
Section 7. Worker Rights

    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The TFC grants workers the right to form and belong to unions and to 
strike. The Puntland interim constitution and the Somaliland 
constitution also protect workers' freedom of association, although the 
former limits the right to strike and the latter does not specifically 
mention the right to strike. The Somaliland constitution permits 
collective bargaining; collective bargaining is not addressed in the 
TFC or Puntland interim constitution. The TFC, Puntland interim 
constitution, and Somaliland constitution do not address antiunion 
discrimination or the reinstatement of workers fired for union 
activity, although the TFC states that ``no worker shall be 
discriminated.''
    The TFG, Somaliland, and Puntland authorities generally respected 
the right to belong to unions, although one instance was reported in 
which Somaliland police arrested a union leader. There were no reported 
strikes during the year. Collective bargaining was not usually 
employed. Worker organizations were independent of government and 
political parties.
    On December 7, Somaliland forces arrested and briefly detained 
Hassan Mohamed Yusuf, chairman of the Somaliland Journalist 
Association. Members of the Association linked Yusuf's arrest and the 
defamation charges subsequently filed to the organization's 
condemnation of the Somaliland attorney general's decision to suspend 
temporarily the registration of new private media houses.
    There were no reports of antiunion discrimination by employers in 
practice. However, union members were targets of violence, threats, and 
arbitrary arrest and detention by authorities and al-Shabaab in all 
regions of Somalia.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The pre-1991 penal 
code and the TFC prohibit all forms of forced and compulsory labor. 
However, TFG authorities lacked the capacity to enforce these laws, and 
forced labor occurred. Children and individuals from minority clans 
were reportedly used as porters in the khat trade as well as in farming 
and animal herding. The use of child soldiers was a problem (see 
section 1.g.). Al-Shabaab also forced persons in al-Shabaab-controlled 
camps to move to the countryside, reportedly to raise cash crops for 
al-Shabaab.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--It 
was unclear whether there was a minimum age for employment. The pre-
1991 labor code prohibits child labor, provides a legal minimum age of 
15 for most employment, prescribes different minimum ages for certain 
hazardous activities, and prohibits those under 18 from night work in 
the industrial, commercial, and agricultural sectors apart from that 
which engages family members only. However, the 2004 TFC states that 
the government shall establish by law the minimum age. The Somaliland 
Private Sector Act states that children younger than 18, if employed, 
must be given easy tasks which are not damaging to their health or 
mind.
    Child labor was widespread. Recruitment and use of child soldiers 
was a problem (see section 1.g.). Young persons were commonly employed 
in herding, agriculture, and household labor from an early age. 
Children broke rocks into gravel and worked as vendors of cigarettes 
and khat on the streets. UNICEF estimated that from 1999 to 2005, 36 
percent of children between the ages of five and 14were in the 
workforce--31percent of males and 41 percent of females. The actual 
percentage of working children was believed to be even higher.
    The TFG Ministries of Labor, and Social Affairs, Gender and Family 
Affairs are responsible for enforcing child labor laws. In Somaliland 
and Puntland, respectively, the Ministry of Family and Social 
Development and the Ministry of Labor, Youth, and Sports are 
responsible for such enforcement. In practice, however, none of these 
ministries enforced child labor laws.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no national minimum 
wage. During the year high inflation, continued insecurity, and other 
factors significantly decreased the standard of living in all areas of 
the country.
    Although the TFC and the Somaliland constitution both include 
provisions for acceptable working conditions, there was no organized 
effort to monitor working conditions.
    In Somaliland a standard workweek is 48 hours over five or six 
days. For intermittent work, the maximum amount an employee can work is 
10 hours a day for six days a week. Employees are entitled to one day 
of rest a week (usually Friday) and one month of paid annual leave in 
addition to 12 public holidays. Employees are entitled to 25 percent of 
their remuneration when they work two overtime hours per day, which 
cannot exceed 48 hours of overtime per month. There was no information 
on the existence or status of foreign or migrant workers in the 
country.
    In practice wages and working conditions were established largely 
on the basis of ad hoc arrangements based on supply, demand, and the 
influence of a worker's clan.

                               __________

                              SOUTH AFRICA

                           executive summary
    South Africa is a multiparty parliamentary democracy in which 
constitutional power is shared between the president and the 
parliament. In 2009 the country held a largely free and fair election 
in which the ruling African National Congress (ANC) won 65.9 percent of 
the vote and 264 of 400 seats in the National Assembly, which then 
elected ANC President Jacob Zuma as the country's president. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Principal human rights problems included police use of lethal and 
excessive force, including torture, against suspects and detainees, 
which resulted in deaths and injuries; vigilante and mob violence; and 
prison overcrowding and abuse of prisoners, including beatings and rape 
by prison guards.
    Other human rights problems included arbitrary arrest; lengthy 
delays in trials and prolonged pretrial detention; forcible dispersal 
of demonstrations; pervasive violence against women and children; 
societal discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and 
the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community; 
trafficking in persons; violence resulting from racial and ethnic 
tensions and conflicts with foreigners; and child labor, including 
forced child labor and child prostitution.
    The government investigated and prosecuted officials who committed 
abuses, but there were numerous reports of impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports of politically motivated killings by the government or its 
agents; however, police use of lethal and excessive force, including 
torture, toward suspects and detainees resulted in numerous deaths and 
injuries. Investigations into some of the killings committed during the 
year were ongoing, and some perpetrators had been punished by year's 
end.
    The country had a high crime rate, and criminals often were better 
armed than police. In 2009 then deputy police minister Fikile Mbalula 
called for changes to the Criminal Procedures Code to clarify and 
extend rules governing police use of deadly force in pursuing suspects. 
Media and civil society groups criticized the change as a police 
``shoot to kill'' policy; President Zuma denied the charge and 
attributed the use of excessive force to a lack of training and 
resources.
    On July 11, ANC eThekwini regional leader Sbu Sibiya was shot dead 
outside his home after returning from work. The South African Police 
Service (SAPS) was not able to determine a clear motive and did not 
rule out a political motivation. On September 9, police arrested Xolani 
Zulu in connection with the murder of Sibiya. SAPS officers killed 
another suspect, Zamani Sikhhane, while they attempted to apprehend 
him. On December 13, Zulu was released on bail. The trial was ongoing 
at year's end.
    According to the governmental Independent Complaints Directorate 
(ICD), a constitutionally mandated body significantly strengthened 
since 2010 through increased budget and staff, there were 257 deaths in 
police custody (not including prisons) and 540 deaths as a result of 
other police action from April 2010 through March 2011. The total of 
797 reported deaths was a 7 percent decrease from the 860 reported 
deaths for the same period in 2010. According to the ICD, of the 257 
deaths in police custody, 48 were considered deaths from unnatural 
causes, and police officials were implicated in eight of those cases.
    In November 2010 Riaan Velloen died while in detention at Florida 
police station in Johannesburg after being arrested for driving while 
intoxicated. Friends and family accused the police of beating him to 
death. According to a May news report by ICD investigators, the SAPS 
members allegedly responsible for the murder were sent for corrective 
counseling after being found guilty in a departmental hearing. 
According to the ICD, the case was later closed.
    In July 2010 Pretoria police officers shot and killed unarmed sound 
engineer Nkosinathi Ntuli after he allegedly drove headlong into 
oncoming traffic, narrowly avoiding crashing into several police 
officers and other motorists. Ntuli allegedly drove away from where he 
had been stopped and dared police to shoot him, after which police 
fired six shots at his vehicle. Captain Rosina Mabena, Sergeant Lillian 
Tlhapi, Sergeant Jaco Ngobeni, and warrant officer Enoch Makgamatha 
were accused of murder and attempted murder and denied bail. After a 
successful appeal to the North Gauteng High Court, and after agreeing 
to relinquish their passports, the four were each granted bail of 3,000 
rand ($371). The trial was ongoing.
    On February 22, the ICD, exercising its police oversight authority, 
arrested warrant officer Abel Baloyi of SAPS Mokopane on charges of 
assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, common assault, and 
corruption. In October 2010 Baloyi allegedly assaulted a foreign 
national working at a small store after taking merchandise without 
paying. The victim was then arrested on false charges. When the victim 
filed a complaint, Baloyi and a colleague allegedly coerced him into 
withdrawing the charges. The ICD took over the investigation, and as a 
result Baloyi was charged. After his arrest, Baloyi allegedly 
threatened key witnesses with violence and deportation. On March 28, 
Baloyi appeared before Mokopane Magistrates' Court for a bail 
application. The trial was ongoing at year's end.
    The trial of police officer Shadrack Malaka, who was charged with 
killing a three-year-old child in 2009, was postponed to April 2011; 
Malaka was released on bail of 1,000 rand ($124). The trial was ongoing 
at the end of the year.
    The 14 police officers from the Bellville South Directorate of the 
Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), who allegedly beat 
and whipped to death Sidwell Mkwambi in 2009, were neither suspended 
nor arrested during the year. Although the ICD passed a recommendation 
to the director of public prosecutions (DPP) in 2009 stating its 
investigation produced enough evidence to establish a murder case 
against the officers, the case was still under consideration by the 
DPP.

    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, 
police officers tortured, beat, raped, and otherwise abused suspects. 
According to the 2011 Amnesty International report, corroborated cases 
of torture included the use of electric shock and suffocation. Police 
also assaulted detainees with batons, fists, and boot-clad feet. Police 
torture and physical abuse allegedly occurred during house searches, 
arrest, interrogation, and detention, and sometimes resulted in death.
    During the year the ICD reported a 5 percent increase in the number 
of reported assaults with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm 
committed by police; there were 966 cases compared to 920 reported in 
2010. The report noted an increase in the number of allegations of 
torture cases from five to 41. Suspects in several cases were 
interrogated and assaulted while held, without any record being made of 
their arrest. Officers convicted of this charge were given sentences 
ranging from verbal and written warnings to fines and dismissal from 
service. The report stipulated that 501 recommendations for prosecution 
were made to the DPP and that 59 SAPS members received convictions for 
a range of crimes.
    The ICD also reported 46 complaints of rape committed by police 
compared with 24 complaints in 2010.
    On January 25, SAPS and Metro Police members arrested Nigerian-born 
Chinenye Jehu Onuegbu at his home. Onuegbu was not immediately charged 
and was transported to the Midrand police station. Onuegbu claims that 
during his two-day incarceration there, he was subjected to torture by 
five SAPS officers dressed in plain clothes; electrodes were attached 
to his ears and he received electric shocks several times. On January 
27, Onuegbu was charged with theft but was able to obtain bail. Onuegbu 
sued Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa; his lawsuit was ongoing.
    In May 2010 Zipho Richard Ndlovu claimed he was detained by two 
police officers at his workplace and taken to the Midrand police 
station, where he was tortured for allegedly participating in a 
robbery. Ndlovu claimed the two officers trussed him with a plank under 
his knees, put a bag over his head, and attached electrodes to his 
earlobes. Ndlovu sued the police for torture. His case was reported to 
the ICD and was ongoing.
    Incidents of police harassment of foreigners continued, 
particularly during coordinated police raids in areas where foreign 
nationals resided. In a 2010 report to the Portfolio Committee on 
Police, the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa 
asserted that police confiscated the legal documentation of foreign 
nationals, threatened them with arrest on spurious charges, and forced 
them to pay bribes to be released.
    Some state hospitals routinely refused emergency treatment to 
indigent foreigners, despite regulations requiring that hospitals 
provide such treatment. On August 4, a judge in the North Gauteng High 
Court ordered the Steve Biko Hospital, located in the capital city of 
Pretoria, to renew treatment for an undocumented four-year-old 
Zimbabwean girl with brain cancer. The hospital had ceased to treat the 
girl, and representatives told her father that they would not begin 
again unless he presented legal immigration papers or paid a 30,000 
rand ($3,713) fee.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The majority of the 249 
operational prisons did not meet international standards and did not 
always meet the country's minimum legal requirements. The Judicial 
Inspectorate of Correctional Services (JICS) received 2,276 complaints 
of assaults on prisoners by correctional officers for April 2010 
through March 2011, including physical and sexual abuse by both prison 
officials and prisoners. Some detainees awaiting trial reportedly 
contracted HIV/AIDS through rape. According to the JICS report, there 
were 879 prison deaths during the reporting period. Of these, 831 were 
from natural causes, including HIV/AIDS; the remaining deaths were the 
result of suicides, assaults, or accidents.
    For example, on August 27, Christopher Lockyer was arrested by SAPS 
officers of the Douglasdale Police Station for allegedly being drunk in 
public. An hour after his arrest, Lockyer was found hanging in a 
holding cell at the police station. Closed circuit television footage 
showed that Lockyer had hung himself. SAPS members attempted to 
resuscitate Lockyer without success. This was the second suicide 
reported in the Douglasdale Police Station within two months. The ICD 
opened an investigation into the matter. There were no further 
developments at year's end.
    On July 12, six prison officials using an electrified riot 
allegedly tortured Jonas Makhufola. The incident came to light after an 
audio recording was released to the media. There were reports the 
incident is not isolated but that ``the practice had been going on for 
some time.''
    The JICS reported there were 160,545 prisoners in facilities 
designed to hold 118,154. In a report to the parliament in October 
2010, inspecting judge Deon van Zyl reported that 18 prisons were 
critically overcrowded, some by as much as 254 percent, such as King 
William's Town Prison, while others held less than their capacity, such 
as Barkley West, which was at 22 percent of capacity. Of the 160,545 
prisoners, 3,750 were female and 1 percent were below the age of 18. 
Due to severe overcrowding, many prisoners had less than 13 square feet 
in which to eat, sleep, and spend 23 hours a day. The nominal allotment 
of floor space per prisoner was approximately 36 square feet for 
communal space and 60 square feet for single cells, although this 
standard was seldom met.
    Prisoners were provided with potable water; however, the JICS 
reported occasional fresh water shortages in the Thohoyandou, Kutama 
Sinthumule, and Makhado facilities. The JICS reported that all water 
shortage problems had been addressed and corrected by April.
    The government took measures to reduce overcrowding by transferring 
prisoners to facilities that were not at capacity. The JICS reported 
the prisoner transfer program resulted in a reduction in the total 
number of prisons rated as ``critically overcrowded'' (occupied at more 
than 200 percent capacity). During the year there were 18 critically 
overcrowded prisons, down from 45 in 2005.
    The JICS reported that the Department of Correctional Services 
(DCS) improved the quality of its investigations and reporting on the 
circumstances surrounding the deaths of inmates. The department now 
requires that reporting forms be fully and properly filled out by 
medical officers. The JICS stated that these requirements raise the 
quality of initial reporting done by prison wardens, and lessen the 
likelihood that a death caused by neglect will be reported as 
``natural.''
    Conditions for female prisoners were not reported to be worse than 
those for male prisoners.
    The 2010-11 DCS annual report indicated 19.1 percent of sentenced 
prisoners who were tested were HIV-positive. There were 21 health 
centers within prisons dispensing antiretroviral (ARV) therapy to 9 
percent of correctional facilities during the year. Correctional 
facilities without such centers were supposed to utilize public clinics 
for ARV therapy; however, this seldom occurred. There were no HIV 
screening programs on intake or discharge of prisoners, but the DCS 
conducted HIV prevention programs in prisons, including a condom 
distribution program and awareness sessions. During the year 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as The Aurum Institute and 
New Start supported correctional centers with HIV treatment and 
prevention services such as HIV testing and ARV therapy. The DCS annual 
report noted that 6,422 HIV awareness sessions were held in prisons 
throughout the country during the year. The JICS reported that the 
number of complaints filed by inmates regarding health care has gone up 
255 percent in recent years. In 2007 there were 11,227 complaints, and 
in 2010 there were 39,868.
    All detainees in police cells were provided with felt mattresses 
and blankets, and most cells had toilets and basins, but there were 
seldom chairs, and cells often had inadequate light and ventilation.
    In its 2010 report Monitoring Immigration Detention in South 
Africa, the local NGO Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) indicated the main 
abuses perpetrated in the Lindela Repatriation Centre, the largest 
detention facility for undocumented immigrants, included physical and 
verbal abuse, corruption and bribery, insufficient food, lack of 
reading and writing materials, lack of access to recreational 
facilities or telephones, lack of access to and poor quality of medical 
care, indefinite detention without judicial review, and detention of 
asylum seekers.
    Juvenile detainees were held in separate detention facilities; 
however, children up to three years old were sometimes held with their 
mothers. In 2010 the DCS launched the Imbeleko program to provide a 
home-like environment for children below the age of two and to place 
children above that age in facilities with sustainable family 
structures. Pretrial detainees generally were held with convicted 
prisoners. In 2010 the government took measures mandated in the Child 
Justice Act of 2008 to lower the number of children held in detention. 
These measures included diverting incarcerated children to secure care 
facilities, and increasing access to adequate legal representation. 
Between May and October 2010, the government reduced the number of 
children being held in detention from 1,155 to 922. Civil society 
organizations asserted the government needed to better capture accurate 
statistics on child rights issues so they could be properly addressed.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observances. 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 and documented the 
results of such investigations in a publicly accessible manner. The 
government investigated and monitored prison and detention center 
conditions.
    The DCS did not have an ombudsman to consider such matters as 
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders to alleviate 
inhumane overcrowding; addressing the status and circumstances of 
confinement of juvenile offenders; or improving pretrial detention, 
bail, and recordkeeping procedures to ensure prisoners did not serve 
beyond maximum sentences for charged offenses.
    The JICS, an independent office under the inspecting judge, 
appoints an independent visitor for each correctional center to monitor 
prison conditions. In 2010 the independent visitors collectively 
recorded 8,346 visits to the 249 prisons, during which time they 
conducted private consultations with 78,883 inmates. Visits were 
recorded in official registers kept at all correctional centers and 
were verified on a monthly basis. Independent visitors submitted 
monthly reports to the inspecting judge, listing the number and 
duration of visits, the number of inmates interviewed, and the number 
and nature of inmate complaints received.
    The government permitted some independent monitoring of prison 
conditions, including visits by human rights organizations to some 
facilities. Human rights organizations were allowed to visit prisoners 
if they had a registered attorney acting as legal representative for 
the prisoner; organizations could also request permission to visit 
prisons to conduct specific research. The government permitted 
International Committee of the Red Cross visits, but none were 
conducted during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, security forces 
arbitrarily arrested Zimbabwean and Somali migrants and trafficking 
victims during the year.
    On November 16, SAPS police officers arrested three Somali 
shopkeepers in Ivory Park, Gauteng. The shopkeepers reported that they 
presented their residency permits, but police refused to acknowledge 
them and told them they were charged with not possessing proper 
documentation. The shopkeepers claimed they were beaten while in 
custody and were forced to sign a declaration that they were selling 
fraudulent merchandise. The merchandise in their shop was then seized, 
and reportedly included more than 200,000 rand ($24,752) of mobile 
phone airtime credits. The shopkeepers were later released without 
being formally charged, and most of their merchandise was returned.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The South African 
Police Service (SAPS), under the Department of Police, has primary 
responsibility for internal security. The South African National 
Defense Force (SANDF), under the Department of Defense, is responsible 
for external security but also has domestic security responsibilities 
such as patrolling the borders. The Directorate for Priority Crime 
Investigation, also known as ``the Hawks,'' coordinates efforts against 
organized crime and official corruption. Despite continued efforts to 
professionalize, SAPS remained understaffed, ill equipped, and poorly 
trained. Law enforcement activities remained focused on wealthy 
residential and business areas.
    From September 2010 through August 2011, the ICD received 5,869 
complaints against the police, including allegations of killings, 
assaults, and other misconduct, compared with 6,377 complaints in the 
previous reporting period. The ICD noted 59 convictions of police 
officers for criminal conduct in the latest reporting period. The ICD 
made 501 recommendations to the DPP on criminal matters and 2,261 
recommendations to SAPS management with regard to misconduct offenses, 
such as unauthorized use of a state vehicle, leaking information, or 
dereliction of duty.
    SAPS provided annual training in corruption prevention, human 
rights, and ethics; it also provided officers with access to social 
workers, psychologists, and chaplains.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires arrest warrants based on sufficient evidence and issued by a 
magistrate or judge and requires that all detainees be informed 
promptly of the reasons for their detention, their right to remain 
silent, and the consequences of waiving that right. Detainees must be 
charged within 48 hours of arrest; held in conditions respecting human 
dignity; allowed to consult with legal counsel of their choice at every 
stage of their detention or provided state funded legal counsel when 
``substantial injustice would otherwise result''; and permitted to 
communicate with relatives, medical practitioners, and religious 
counselors. The government often did not respect these rights. 
Detainees must be released (with or without bail) unless the interests 
of justice require otherwise; however, bail for pretrial detainees 
often exceeded what suspects could pay.
    Human rights groups, judges, and judicial scholars continued to 
express concern about the Criminal Procedure Second Amendment Act, 
which mandates minimum jail sentences, allows pretrial detention of 
children, and prohibits bail in certain cases.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--There were cases of arbitrary arrest during the 
year.
    LHR reported that security forces continued to arbitrarily arrest 
Zimbabwean migrants, even those with documentation. LHR and other NGOs 
also reported that victims of human trafficking were arbitrarily 
arrested if not in possession of appropriate documents detailing their 
immigration status.
    In 2009, 40 local tavern owners in Durban ransacked and demolished 
the offices of Abahlali base Mjondolo (AbM), an organization that 
advocates for the rights of those who live in informal settlements; the 
AbM had been fighting the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government's 
attempts at forcibly removing inhabitants and demolishing the Kennedy 
Road informal settlement. Over two days the mob, allegedly composed of 
ANC cronies, also demolished the homes of several AbM members, 
reportedly in the presence of local police. Two persons were killed. 
Police subsequently arrested 13 AbM members, 12 of whom were charged 
with a range of crimes, including property destruction, public 
violence, and murder; one of the 13 was released without charge. None 
of the 40 tavern owners who demolished the AbM offices and homes were 
arrested. Critics charged that the government arrested the AbM members 
to prevent them from returning to the Kennedy Road settlement. The 
``Kennedy 12'' were all acquitted of all charges on July 18 in the 
Durban Regional Court.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem, and 
pretrial detainees constituted approximately 30 percent of the total 
prison population, or 47,880 inmates. The JICS report indicated that 
approximately 48 percent (23,032) of all remand detainees were held for 
a period exceeding three months. In 2010 the DCS signed a bail protocol 
with the ministers of police and justice to allow inmates who committed 
petty crimes and could not afford bail to be diverted through 
alternative programs.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected 
judicial independence in practice. However, the judiciary was 
understaffed and underfunded, and there were reports that legal 
documents used in trials were lost. According to the presidentially 
mandated criminal justice system working group, made up of ministers 
and deputy ministers, more than one million of the estimated two 
million criminal cases reported annually were never resolved. According 
to the group, a number of problems contributed to the low 10.3 percent 
conviction rate in criminal cases, including inadequate collection of 
evidence at crime scenes, insufficient investigation of crimes, long 
trials, and ineffective court processes. The government operated 63 
justice centers that provided legal assistance to the poor to speed the 
administration of justice, reduce the court rolls, and alleviate 
overcrowding in prisons. However, serious delays continued to be a 
problem.

    Trial Procedures.--Criminal defendants enjoy a legal presumption of 
innocence. The bill of rights provides for due process, including the 
right to a fair public trial within a reasonable time after being 
charged, and the right to appeal to a higher court. Judges and 
magistrates hear criminal cases and determine guilt or innocence. In 
lieu of juries, the law requires that a panel of lay assessors and a 
magistrate hear cases involving murder, rape, robbery, indecent 
assault, and assault leading to serious bodily harm. The two assessors 
may overrule magistrates on questions of fact. Magistrates also can use 
assessors in an advisory capacity in adjudicating bail applications and 
sentences. Detainees and defendants have the right to legal counsel 
provided and funded by the state when ``substantial injustice would 
otherwise result''; however, this right was limited due to a general 
lack of information regarding rights to legal representation and the 
government's inability to pay for such services. Defendants have the 
right to be present in court and can question witnesses in court and 
present their own witnesses and evidence. Defendants have access to 
government evidence before going to court. There is no automatic right 
to appeal, but courts may give defendants permission to do so. For 
certain cases, such as when the accused is younger than 16 years of 
age, permission is not required. Additionally, the law provides for an 
automatic review of all prison sentences longer than three months.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) 
claimed 384 of its members had been imprisoned since 1994 for political 
reasons, although international human rights organizations did not list 
such persons as political prisoners or detainees. In 2010 President 
Zuma announced he had considered and rejected 230 of the 384 IFP 
applications for pardon. The presidency was considering the remaining 
pardon requests on a case-by-case basis.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. There also was access to the 
courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human 
rights violation. The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, in 
partnership with the government, conducted a sensitization visit on 
October 25 to raise public awareness and encourage appeals to or other 
contact with the court.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions. 
However, there were allegations of police abuse during sweeps and home 
searches and criticisms of police and judicial procedures, including 
complaints that warrants were issued despite inadequate evidence.
    The law authorizes state monitoring of telecommunications systems, 
including cell phones, the Internet, and e mail, for criminal 
investigations. However, opposition parties and many civil society 
groups opposed such laws. In 2009 the Regulation of Interception of 
Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 
came into effect, requiring all mobile operators, service providers, 
and cell phone vendors to register on secure databases the identities, 
physical addresses, and telephone numbers of new and existing 
customers. All cell phone subscribers were required to show proof of 
identity and proof of residence to be registered.
    The Promotion of Access to Information Act allows any person to 
access information from the government or any other individual for the 
exercise or protection of any right. Authorities also can use the act 
to obtain personal information in connection with criminal 
investigations. Opposition parties and human rights NGOs objected to 
its broadly defined provision that enabled the government to access an 
individual's personal information.
    Farm owners continued to evict workers legally and illegally. An 
extensive national eviction survey by the NGO Nkuzi Development 
Association, which provided legal assistance to farm workers, indicated 
farm workers generally were unaware of their right to legal counsel 
during eviction proceedings.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of 
the press, and the government generally respected these rights. 
However, several laws remained in effect that posed a potential threat 
to media independence, and some journalists expressed concern over 
government involvement in the media sector.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals, organizations, and sectors of 
civil society were generally able to criticize the government openly 
without fear of reprisal.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide variety of views without restriction.
    The Film and Publications Board reviews written and graphic 
materials published in, or imported into, the country. The board has 
the power to edit or ban books, magazines, movies, and videos, and it 
regularly exercised that power, mostly regarding pornographic material. 
Journalists, media houses, and industry associations continued to 
criticize government efforts to extend the board's authority to 
newspapers and broadcast media.
    Although journalists were generally able to criticize the 
government openly without fear of reprisal, many journalists expressed 
concern in reports, columns, editorials, and public forums that the 
government increased its efforts during the year to control the media.
    The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), a government-
funded television and radio network, appointed individuals to key 
positions as a reward for their political allegiance.
    According to the South African Advertising Research Foundation, 
print media reached 48 percent of the population. Despite the number 
and diversity of publications, the concentration of media ownership in 
the hands of a few large media groups drew criticism from the 
government and some political parties, who complained that print media 
did not always adequately cover their points of view. The majority of 
citizens received news through radio broadcasts from the SABC and 
community radio stations. The SABC was the largest and most influential 
source of news for the majority of the population. It broadcast 
television and radio programs in the country's 11 official languages, 
with its signal received by an estimated 92 percent of citizens.
    Low power, nonprofit community radio stations continued to play an 
important role in informing the mostly rural public, although they 
often had difficulty producing adequate content and maintaining quality 
staff. Government broadcast regulators regularly issued new community 
radio licenses and withdrew others for noncompliance with the terms of 
issuance.

    Violence and Harassment.--Mzilikazi Wa-Afrika, a prominent 
investigative reporter, claimed that police harassed him on multiple 
occasions starting in August 2010 when he was arrested and charged with 
fraud and defeating the ends of justice for possessing an allegedly 
fraudulent resignation letter from the Mpumalanga Province premier. The 
charges were dismissed after two days for lack of evidence and he was 
released. Journalists and civil society organizations alleged the 
arrest was designed by SAPS to intimidate, since the arrest occurred 
shortly after Wa-Afrika published details of irregularities in the 
signing of a lease for a new, 500 million rand ($61.9 million) police 
headquarters. In July he submitted a sworn statement that in December 
2010 he had been pulled out of his car by two men wearing police 
uniforms, who then pointed a gun at his head before pushing him to the 
ground and driving away. In October Faith Radebe, the inspector general 
of intelligence, confirmed that the government was intercepting Wa-
Afrika's telephone calls, as well as those of journalist Stephen 
Hofstatter, for reasons ``pertaining to the allegations of crime, and 
not for the reason that he is a journalist.''

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Government and political 
officials often criticized the media for lack of professionalism and 
reacted sharply to media criticism, often accusing black journalists of 
disloyalty and white journalists of racism. Some journalists believed 
the government's sensitivity to criticism resulted in media self-
censorship.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Journalists and civil society 
organizations expressed great concern that proposed legislation could 
greatly restrict freedom of the press through the use of national 
security laws targeting access to and possession of information.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet; however, the law authorizes state monitoring of 
telecommunications systems, including the Internet and e mail, for 
criminal investigation. In 2009 the Regulation of Interception of 
Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 
came into effect, requiring all service providers to register on secure 
databases the identities, physical addresses, and telephone numbers of 
new and existing customers. Despite the law, there were no 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 by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; 
however, police forcibly dispersed several demonstrations during the 
year, which resulted in injuries.
    Several protests over poor delivery of basic services took place 
across the country, including illegal, violent demonstrations in 
Gauteng, North West, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal 
provinces. Police used batons and rubber bullets to control the 
demonstrations and quell the violence; several injuries were reported. 
For example, on April 13, residents of Meqheleng Township near 
Ficksburg in the Free State demonstrated to protest poor service 
delivery. Police used rubber bullets and a water cannon to disperse the 
protesters. During the protest, SAPS officers shot Congress of the 
People member Andries Tatane at close range with a rubber bullet when 
Tatane scuffled with them during the protest. He died minutes later. On 
April 17, six members of SAPS were arrested; two were charged with 
murder and four with assault. Two other SAPS members were later 
charged. The ICD conducted an investigation and recommended the case to 
the DPP. The trial was postponed twice and at year's end was scheduled 
for April 2012 in the Ficksburg Regional Court.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, 
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. 
However, refugee advocacy groups criticized the government's processes 
for asylum and refugee status determination, citing large backlogs of 
cases along with its susceptibility to corruption and abuse.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum and refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the government generally provided protection against the expulsion or 
return of those recognized as 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. Government policy allows for freedom of movement of refugees 
and asylum seekers with guarantees for the right to work, study, and 
access social services. Many NGOs criticized the government's 
commitment to these rights and actual implementation as inadequate.

    Nonrefoulement.--Observers reported there was a large increase in 
the number of asylum seekers who were refused access to South African 
territory during the reporting period. They reported that the 
government was now refusing asylum seekers who could not show positive 
identification and may also be denying asylum seekers who passed 
through a ``safe third country.'' Advocates worried these practices 
could result in refoulement if they were not coordinated with other 
countries, or may lead to an increase in illegal border crossings.
    In October the Department of Home Affairs ended a moratorium on 
deportations of undocumented Zimbabwean nationals, which began in 2009. 
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that during 
October and November the South African government deported 
approximately 5,000 of the estimated one to three million Zimbabweans 
living in South Africa. Press reports alleged that Zimbabweans with 
legal residency status had been arrested and deported along with 
undocumented migrants. Refugee and migrant advocacy groups criticized 
the government for beginning the deportations before it had finished 
issuing residency permits to Zimbabweans who had complied with a 
government program to register previously undocumented migrants, and 
stated that this increased the risk of legal residents being deported.

    Refugee Abuse.--Refugee advocacy organizations charged that police 
and immigration officials abused refugees and asylum seekers and 
forcefully repatriated some asylum seekers, particularly Zimbabweans.
    In October the government resumed deportations of Zimbabweans found 
to be in the country without legal documentation, with at least 5,000 
returned by year's end. Some Zimbabweans possessing legal documentation 
were reportedly included with those returned.
    Applicants for asylum and NGOs assisting refugees also reported 
that immigration authorities sought bribes from those seeking permits 
to remain in the country. The Department of Home Affairs adopted 
anticorruption programs and punished officials or contracted security 
officers found to be accepting bribes.
    Societal attacks on refugees and migrants occurred during the year.
    On October 13, a group of rioters in Atteridgeville, North West 
Province, gathered near a Somali shop with its owner inside and began 
to throw rocks at it. In response, the shop owner fired a gun and 
killed a bystander. Following the shooting, a larger riot formed and 
looted nine other Somali-owned shops in the area. The police arrested 
two of the rioters for theft and charged the shop owner with murder. 
The cases were ongoing at year's end.

    Access to Basic Services.--Although the law provides for access to 
basic services, education for refugee children, and access to police 
and courts, NGOs such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that asylum 
seekers, migrants, and refugees faced discrimination at health-care 
facilities and by law enforcement representatives.
    The government cooperated with the UNHCR and IOM to address issues 
relating to the discrimination and exclusion of migrants and refugees 
from the health-care system. The issue was most acute at health-care 
facilities with scarce financial and human resources.
    The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) is working to 
include refugee and migrant health issues into the National Strategic 
Plan for HIV and AIDS. For example, the Musina Municipality in Limpopo 
Province is working with the IOM to respond to emerging health 
challenges faced by Zimbabwean migrants.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also offered temporary 
protection to some individuals who may not have qualified as refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change 
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009 
the country held a largely free and fair national election in which the 
ruling ANC won 65.9 percent of the vote and 264 of 400 seats in the 
National Assembly, the dominant lower chamber of parliament. The 
parliament then elected ANC President Jacob Zuma as the country's next 
president. The leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), 
won 67 parliamentary seats, the Congress of the People (COPE) won 30, 
and the IFP won 18. The remaining 39 seats in the parliament were 
allocated to 10 other political parties based on election results. In 
the upper house of parliament, the National Council of Provinces 
(NCOP), the ANC held 35 seats, the DA 10, and COPE seven. The remaining 
two seats were allocated to the IFP and the Independent Democrats. The 
NCOP is primarily a reviewing chamber that has the power to send 
legislation back to the National Assembly for retooling and can vote on 
legislation affecting the rights of the nine provinces.
    Electoral violence occurred. In KwaZulu-Natal Province, for 
example, there were 162 violent incidents in the six weeks prior to the 
elections, including 25 cases of intimidation, four killings, four 
attempted killings, one case of arson, and one case of intimidation 
with a firearm. Other reported cases of election-related violence 
included 62 in the Northern Cape and 30 in Limpopo. There also were 
reports of electoral irregularities, including attempted vote rigging.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women held 14 of 34 
ministerial positions, including the ministerial portfolios of foreign 
affairs and defense, and 14 of 28 deputy ministerial positions. There 
were 184 women in the National Assembly and 15 women among the 54 
members of the NCOP. Women occupied two of four parliamentary presiding 
officer positions, including the deputy speaker of the National 
Assembly and deputy chair of the NCOP.
    There were an estimated 126 members of minorities (non-African 
citizens) in the National Assembly. There were 17 minority members 
among the 54 permanent members of the NCOP. The cabinet included 17 
members of minority groups.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government continued efforts to curb corruption; however, the World 
Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption remained a problem. In August 2010 President Zuma announced 
the start of an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) 
of five ministries, two provincial departments, and the South African 
Social Security Agency. The investigation was ongoing at year's end.
    In 2010 the Department of Public Works signed a controversial 500 
million rand ($61.9 million) lease agreement to house the new South 
African Police Services Headquarters. Allegations of improper 
procurement procedure involving police commissioner Bheki Cele and 
Minister of Public Works Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde arose and prompted the 
public protector to report the incident. The initial report of the 
probe indicated that both Cele and Mahlangu-Nkabinde were responsible 
for irregularities with the lease agreement. On March 3, SAPS members 
allegedly looking for evidence related to the controversial lease 
agreement raided the Cape Town offices of the public protector. Senior 
SAPS officials condemned the raid and claimed that they did not 
sanction it. On October 24, President Jacob Zuma replaced Mahlangu-
Nkabinde. The public protector accused her of wrongdoing for her role 
in a lease deal. President Zuma also announced the creation of a board 
of inquiry to investigate the allegations and suspended Commissioner 
Cele pending the outcome of the inquiry.
    On October 24, the president replaced Minister of Cooperative 
Governance Sicelo Shiceka. The Office of the Public Protector accused 
Shiceka of spending more than 500,000 rand ($61,880) on unsanctioned 
luxury travel, including visits to a girlfriend imprisoned in 
Switzerland for drug smuggling.
    In August 2010 Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale 
announced his department had recovered 44 million rand ($5.4 million) 
and arrested 1,910 government officials who were illegally benefitting 
from housing subsidies. In November 2010 President Zuma signed a 
proclamation authorizing an SIU investigation into alleged financial 
irregularities in all 24 municipalities in North West Province; the 
investigation was ongoing at year's end.
    Corruption remained a problem within prisons, although most 
correctional officials were either suspended or fired following an 
investigation. According to the 2010-11 DCS annual report, the 
department conducted 4,074 disciplinary hearings for various offences 
and dismissed 88 staff members. According to the 2010-11 JICS report, 
there were 2,646 complaints of corruption during its annual reporting 
period. At least 10 agencies, including the SIU, the Public Service 
Commission, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, and the Office of the 
Auditor General were involved in anticorruption activities.
    The SIU investigated corruption in government departments and 
identified civil servants alleged to have improperly received state 
housing subsidies. The government took administrative action to recover 
these subsidies. In 2009 the government announced that a special SIU 
team dedicated to investigating housing fraud would investigate 800 
officials at the national and provincial level and 123 in local 
government for corruption.
    SIU investigations into the Department of Public Works were 
ongoing. The SIU was investigating 41 tenders with a total value of 
three billion rand ($371 million).
    The Office of the Public Protector investigated government abuse 
and mismanagement and served as the office of last resort for citizens 
reporting unfair treatment by government entities. The office handled 
an increasing number of complaints but was hampered by severe resource 
constraints.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws, and 
most officials complied, although not always in a timely manner.
    The law provides for access to government information; however, the 
government did not always comply with the law. If a government 
department refuses to provide information, the requester can launch a 
formal appeal. If this also fails, the requester may appeal a decision 
to the High Court, a lengthy and expensive process. The Open Democracy 
Advice Center continued to report that many requests for information 
were answered outside the period provided for in the legislation or 
went unanswered.
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.
    The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which was 
created by the government but operates independently, is responsible 
for promoting the observance of fundamental human rights at all levels 
of government and throughout the general population. The SAHRC also has 
the authority to conduct investigations, issue subpoenas, and hear 
testimony under oath. The SAHRC enjoyed support from the government 
without interference, and the government reacted positively to SAHRC 
reports. During the year the SAHRC issued reports on child rights and 
the effects of mining on surrounding communities, as well as a public 
guide on using the Access to Information Bill.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated 
with international governmental organizations and permitted visits by 
U.N. representatives and other organizations.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--There were no parliamentary 
committees that dealt exclusively with human rights; however, certain 
parliamentary committees looked into human rights issues for their 
constituencies.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination on the grounds of 
race, disability, ethnic or social origin, color, age, culture, 
language, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or marital status. 
However, entrenched attitudes and practices exemplified in gender-based 
violence and employment inequities often resulted in the denial of 
these rights in practice.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape, 
is illegal but remained a serious and pervasive problem. Minimum 
sentencing for rape convictions is 10 years in prison for the first 
offense, 15 years for the second, and 20 for the third. Under certain 
circumstances--such as multiple rapes, gang rapes, or the rape of a 
minor or a person with disabilities--conviction results in a minimum 
sentence of life imprisonment (25 years), unless substantial and 
compelling circumstances exist to justify a lesser sentence. 
Perpetrators with previous rape convictions and perpetrators aware of 
being HIV-positive at the time of the rape also face a minimum sentence 
of life imprisonment, unless substantial and compelling circumstances 
exist to justify a lesser sentence. According to the 2010 11 SAPS 
annual report, there were 56,272 reported cases of rape and indecent 
assault during the year and a total of 66,196 reported sexual offense 
cases; many of the victims were elderly women. The true incidence of 
rape was thought to be much higher. According to a 2008 study by SAPS 
and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, only 4.1 
percent of reported rape cases resulted in conviction.
    In most cases attackers were friends or family members of the 
victim, which contributed to a reluctance to press charges. A poor 
security climate and societal attitudes condoning sexual violence 
against women contributed to the problem. Studies by the Medical 
Research Council (MRC) estimated that only 4 to 11 percent of rape 
victims reported the crime to SAPS. A 2009 Medical Research Council 
(MRC) report found that more than 25 percent of men interviewed in 
KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces admitted to committing at 
least one rape, and more than half of those persons admitted to raping 
more than one person. In a 2011 study conducted in Gauteng province by 
the MRC and Gender Links, 37.4 percent of men admitted to having 
committed one or more rapes.
    Allegations of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment of black 
and foreign female farm workers by farm owners, managers, and other 
farm workers were common.
    The government operated six dedicated sexual offenses courts 
throughout the country that included designated facilities such as 
waiting rooms, court preparation rooms, and closed caption television 
rooms for victims. Although judges in rape cases generally followed 
statutory sentencing guidelines, women's advocacy groups criticized 
judges for using criteria such as the victim's behavior or relationship 
to the rapist as a basis for imposing lighter sentences. Critics also 
charged that support for dedicated sexual offenses courts had eroded 
and that some of the previously dedicated courts were hearing other 
types of cases. As a result, sexual offense cases took longer to 
resolve, and conviction rates--which were previously the highest in the 
country--had decreased. However, the National Prosecuting Authority's 
Sexual Offenses and Community Affairs Unit (SOCA) reported that the 
dedicated sexual offenses courts functioned at a 38 percent higher 
conviction rate in comparison to nonspecialized courts during the year.
    SOCA operated 45 Thuthuzela Care Centers (TCC) that specialized in 
rape care and streamlined a network of existing investigative, 
prosecutorial, medical, and psychological services in the hospitals 
where they were located.
    Domestic violence was pervasive and included physical, sexual, 
emotional, and verbal abuse, as well as harassment and stalking by 
former partners. The law facilitates the serving of protection orders 
on abusers, requires the police to take victims to a place of safety, 
and allows police to seize firearms at the scene and to arrest abusers 
without a warrant. Violating a protection order is punishable by a 
prison sentence of up to five years, or 20 years if additional criminal 
charges are brought. Penalties for domestic violence include fines and 
sentences of between two and five years' imprisonment.
    According to NGOs, an estimated one in four women was in an abusive 
relationship, but few reported it. A 2009 report released by the 
Medical Research Council found that more than two-fifths of men 
interviewed in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces had been 
physically violent toward an intimate partner. In a 2011 report 
conducted by the MRC in Gauteng Province, more than 50.5 percent of men 
admitted to being physically violent towards women during their 
lifetime. TCC counselors also alleged that doctors, police officers, 
and judges often treated abused women poorly.
    The government financed shelters for abused women, but more were 
needed, particularly in rural areas. The government continued to 
conduct domestic violence awareness campaigns. In honor of Women's 
Month, the government hosted numerous events focused on empowering 
women in business, government, health, sports, and the arts.

    Sexual Harassment.--Although the law prohibits sexual harassment, 
it remained a widespread problem. The government left enforcement 
primarily to employers, with criminal prosecution a rare secondary step 
at the initiative of the complainant. The Department of Labor (DOL) 
issued guidelines to employers on how to handle workplace complaints, 
which allowed for remuneration of the victim's lost compensation plus 
interest, additional damages, legal fees, and dismissal of the 
perpetrator in some circumstances. Tougher punishments could be 
generated for assault, which carries a range of penalties depending on 
the severity of the act, but only if the complainant presses charges.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right, and 
were able in practice, to decide freely the number, spacing, and timing 
of their children, and to have the information and means to do so free 
from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Contraception was widely 
available, and women could access it for free at government clinics. 
According to the Department of Health (DOH), 94 percent of women had 
access to prenatal care while 84 percent had access to a skilled 
attendant at birth, except in the poorest communities where the rate 
was 68 percent. According to the U.N. Development Program, the maternal 
mortality ratio was 625 per 100,000 live births. To improve postnatal 
care, the DOH 2010-11 Annual Report indicated 72 percent of identified 
maternity facilities implemented the Basic Antenatal Care Program, up 
from 30 percent during the previous year. During the year 27 percent of 
women were reviewed within six postpartum days after being discharged 
from a health facility. Like men, women were diagnosed and treated for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    HRW released a report called ``Stop Making Excuses'' on August 8 
that diagnosed shortfalls in maternity care in the country and 
especially in the Eastern Cape Province. Its research suggested that 
the country's high maternal mortality rate was due to HIV/AIDS, poor 
administrative and financial management, poor quality of care, and lack 
of accountability in the health care system. The report documented 
alleged cases of neglectful and abusive behavior towards maternity 
patients by health-care workers, including cases where neglect caused 
the death of a patient.
    HIV/AIDS accounted for 43.7 percent of maternal mortality and 35 
percent of deaths of children under age five. During the year the 
government extended eligibility for antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to 
all infants less than 12 months old, pregnant women, and persons 
coinfected with TB, not previously covered, at all government clinics 
and hospitals. To reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and HIV 
transmission from mother to newborn to less than 5 percent, the 
government provided enhanced ARV regimens and postnatal prophylaxis to 
pregnant women and early treatment for at-risk or HIV-infected infants. 
During the reporting period, transmission rates fell from 8.5 percent 
to 3 percent.

    Discrimination.--Discrimination against women remained a serious 
problem despite their equal rights under the law governing inheritance, 
divorce, and child custody. Women experienced economic discrimination 
in areas such as wages, extension of credit, and ownership of land. For 
example, township housing transfer schemes favored existing 
titleholders, who tended to be men.
    Many rural areas were administered through traditional patrilineal 
authorities, such as a chief or a council of elders, who did not grant 
land tenure to women, a precondition for access to housing subsidies.
    Women, particularly black women, typically had lower incomes and 
less job security than men. Most women were engaged in poorly paid 
domestic labor and microenterprises, which did not provide job security 
or benefits. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provided 
incentive grants to promote the development of small- and medium-size 
businesses and microenterprises for women, young persons, and persons 
with disabilities. DTI also operated the Isivande Women's Fund to 
improve women's access to formal finance in the absence of personal 
savings and in the face of gender-biased institutions.
    According to the annual census covering 2010 conducted by the 
Businesswomen's Association, the number of women in top leadership 
positions remained essentially constant. Women held only 21.6 percent 
of executive-level and 15.8 percent of director-level positions. The 
Commission for Employment Equity released statistics showing that 63 
percent of top managers in private companies were white men, while 
black women comprised only 3 percent, and Coloured (a heterogeneous, 
mixed race ethnicity recognized by the government) and Indian women 
made up only 1 percent.
    Female farm workers often experienced discrimination, and their 
access to housing often was dependent on their relationship to male 
farm workers. Female farm workers on maternity leave who could not 
obtain timely compensation via the Unemployment Insurance Fund often 
had no choice but to return to work shortly after giving birth, 
according to NGOs working with farm workers in Limpopo Province.
    A number of governmental bodies, particularly the Commission for 
Gender Equality and the Ministry for Women, Children and Persons with 
Disabilities, and numerous NGOs monitored and promoted women's rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--The law provides for citizenship by 
birth, descent, and naturalization. However, registration of births was 
inconsistent, especially in remote rural areas or among parents who 
were unregistered foreign nationals. This resulted in lack of access 
for children to public services such as education, health care, and 
financial grants.

    Education.--The law mandates compulsory education from ages seven 
to 15 and ensures that children cannot be refused admission to public 
schools due to a lack of funds. The law provides for access to 
education for disadvantaged children (who traditionally are black 
children) through a uniform system for the organization, governance, 
and funding of schools. However, public education was fee based and the 
government did not fully subsidize education. Even when children 
qualified for fee exemptions, parents who were poor had difficulty 
paying for uniforms, books, and supplies. Some children who were 
enrolled did not attend school. Those not enrolled tended to be 
children with special needs.

    Child Abuse.--There continued to be reports of rape, sexual abuse, 
sexual harassment, and assaults at school of girls by teachers, 
students, and other persons in the school community. The law requires 
schools to disclose sexual abuse to the authorities; however, 
administrators often concealed sexual violence or delayed disciplinary 
action. The level of sexual violence in schools also increased the risk 
for girls of contracting HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted 
diseases, as well as unwanted pregnancies.
    Although the law prohibits corporal punishment in schools, there 
were reports that teachers used physical violence to discipline 
students. Student on student violence, including racially motivated 
violence, continued to be a major concern of educational authorities 
and parents. Teacher organizations, parents, and police worked together 
in the ``Safe Schools Program'' to address these problems. Many schools 
implemented ``Adopt a Cop'' programs, inviting SAPS officers into their 
schools for training and security.
    Violence against children, including domestic violence and sexual 
abuse, remained widespread. While there was increased attention to the 
problem, a lack of coordinated and comprehensive strategies to deal 
with violent crime continued to impede the delivery of needed services 
to young victims. According to the 2010-11 SAPS report, 54,225 children 
were victims of social contact crimes (where the perpetrator and victim 
were known to each other) or violent crimes between April 2010 and 
March 2011. Of that total, 906 were killed, 28,128 were sexually 
assaulted, and 11,018 were assaulted with intention to do grievous 
bodily harm. Observers believed these figures represented a small 
percentage of the actual incidence of child rape since most cases 
involving family members were not reported. According to the NGO 
Childline, 25 percent of girls and 20 percent of boys were at risk of 
being raped before age 16. According to a 2009 report released by 
Solidarity, the largest independent trade union, 45 percent of all 
rapes were perpetrated against children, and more than 88 percent of 
child rapes were never reported to the police.

    Child Marriage.--The traditional practice of ``ukuthwala,'' the 
forced marriage of girls as young as 12 to adult men, continued in 
remote villages in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal 
provinces.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Ritual circumcision of males, 
including children, often by medically unqualified practitioners, was 
still a prevalent initiation tradition in several provinces, 
particularly in Eastern Cape Province. The practice sometimes resulted 
in death. Circumcision was considered a precondition for adult status, 
which permits marriage, inheritance, and other societal privileges. The 
House of Traditional Leaders attempted to address unsafe initiation 
practices and designed strategies to prevent deaths and the spread of 
diseases, such as HIV/AIDS. However, discussing the practice was taboo 
in many communities, where it was considered a matter for chiefs to 
decide. Some traditional leaders spoke out against government 
interference in initiation and circumcision practices, while others 
declared moratoriums on circumcisions in parts of Eastern Cape Province 
in response to numerous deaths resulting from the practice.
    The government conducted a countrywide voluntary medical 
circumcision campaign, offering free circumcision by qualified medical 
personnel as an alternative to circumcision by unqualified 
practitioners. Nevertheless, hospitalizations and penis amputations at 
the hands of unmonitored practitioners were reported in Eastern Cape 
Province during the June initiation period, according to press reports. 
From 2001 through 2007, Eastern Cape Province recorded nearly 2,600 
hospital admissions, 156 genital mutilations or amputations, and 232 
deaths due to dehydration and infection from unsafe and unsterile 
procedures. In June Mtshiyelwa Mtshayina Ndoda, a 55-year-old 
unregistered traditional surgeon who had been arrested several times 
for operating an illegal initiation school, was again arrested for the 
offense. Neither this case, nor a pending case of operating an illegal 
initiation school, had been concluded by year's end.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law states that no child 
under the age of 12 can consent to any sexual activity and sets 16 as 
the lowest age for consensual sex with another minor. Statutory rape is 
defined as sexual intercourse between anyone under 18 and an adult more 
than two years older. The statutory sentence for rape of a child is 
life in prison; however, the law grants judicial discretion to issue 
more lenient sentences. The country had a low conviction rate for rape 
and child abuse.
    The law criminalizes all consensual sexual activities between 
minors under the age of 16, and defines sexual activities to include 
kissing and ``petting.'' Child rights advocacy groups complained that 
this effectively contradicted previous legislation that required the 
government to provide free contraceptives to minors and could prevent 
pregnant teens from seeking appropriate medical attention for fear of 
being criminally charged. They also asserted the law could deter child 
victims of sexual assault from reporting attacks perpetrated by other 
minors because, in the event of an acquittal, the victim would 
technically be considered a criminal for having sex underage.
    On August 12, Director of Public Prosecutions Menzi Simelane 
authorized the prosecution of six students from the Mavalani High 
School in Limpopo Province on charges of consensual sexual penetration 
while under the age of 16 years. The students were charged in court but 
were diverted to social programs in place of a full trial. Five of the 
accused were boys and one was a pregnant girl.
    Penalties for the sexual exploitation of a child include fines and 
imprisonment of up to 20 years. Some NGOs claimed the country was a 
destination for child sex tourism. The South African Department of 
Tourism, Department of Social Development, and Department of Trade and 
Industry, as well as 50 other tourism industry organizations were 
signatories to the Tourism Child Protection Code of Conduct, an 
international agreement endorsed by the U.N. World Tourism Organization 
designed to provide ``increased protection to children from sexual 
exploitation in travel and tourism.'' The law prohibits child 
pornography and provides for penalties including fines and imprisonment 
of up to 10 years. The Film and Publication Board maintained a Web site 
and a toll-free hotline during the year to enable the public to report 
incidents of child pornography.
    The high incidence of HIV/AIDS resulted in a large number of child-
headed households. A 2009 survey by the Children's Institute at the 
University of Cape Town estimated that there were 122,000 children 
living in child-headed households. These children sometimes turned to 
prostitution to support themselves and their siblings. Other children 
were trafficked and forced into prostitution. NGOs provided shelter, 
medical, and legal assistance for children in prostitution and a 
hotline for victims of child abuse.
    AIDS activists alleged that children were often highly sought after 
because of the widely held belief that sex with a virgin provided a 
cure for HIV/AIDS. SAPS officials, however, stated that perpetrators 
under questioning usually admitted they knew this claim was false.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was estimated to number 75,000 
to 80,000 people. There were no reports of serious attacks on Jewish 
persons or property, and the Jewish Council of Deputies NGO reported a 
40 percent drop in the number of anti-Semitic attacks compared to the 
previous year. There were, however, reports of verbal abuse, hate mail, 
and distribution of anti-Semitic literature.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination on the 
basis of physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disability; 
however, government and private sector discrimination existed. The law 
mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities, but such 
regulations were rarely enforced, and public awareness of them remained 
minimal.
    There were more than 100,000 students with disabilities in 
mainstream schools, and the Department of Basic Education allocated 
part of its budget for assistive devices, material resources, and 
assistive technology. In a 2010 speech, Minister of Basic Education 
Angie Motshekga stated eight schools had been converted to full-
service, inclusive schools, and 20 more identified for future 
conversion. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 
reported during the year that children with disabilities between the 
ages of seven and 15 were 20 percent less likely to attend school than 
children without disabilities.
    The law prohibits harassment of persons with disabilities and, in 
conjunction with the Employment Equity Act, provides guidelines on the 
recruitment and selection of persons with disabilities, reasonable 
accommodation for persons with disabilities, and guidelines on proper 
handling of employee medical information. Enforcement of this law was 
limited. The law also requires employers with more than 50 workers to 
create an affirmative action plan with provisions for achieving 
employment equity for persons with disabilities. Persons with 
disabilities constituted only an estimated 0.8 percent of the 
workforce. The Ministry for Women, Children, and Persons with 
Disabilities launched a Web site linking persons with disabilities with 
civil service job information, but the government did not meet its 
target of 2 percent of government positions occupied by persons with 
disabilities.
    The law does not allow persons identified by the courts as mentally 
disabled to vote. The Mental Health Information Center of South Africa 
noted that 20 percent of the population suffered from a mental illness 
that significantly impairs living.
    The Ministry for Women, Children, and Persons with Disabilities is 
charged with protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, 
enhancing their development opportunities, and monitoring government 
departments to ensure that disability issues are addressed in policies, 
hiring practices, building plans, and other matters. All provincial and 
local governments also have offices charged with protecting the rights 
of persons with disabilities, and there are representatives advocating 
for persons with disabilities at the Commission for Gender Equality and 
the SAHRC. NGOs also advocated for the rights of persons with specific 
disabilities such as blindness.
    At year's end there were 16 persons with disabilities with seats in 
the upper and lower houses of parliament.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Random xenophobic attacks on 
foreign African migrants and ethnic minorities occurred and sometimes 
resulted in death, injury, and displacement. Citizens who blamed 
immigrants for job and housing losses and increasing levels of crime 
generally perpetrated such attacks. The government sometimes responded 
quickly and decisively to xenophobic incidents, sending police and 
soldiers into affected communities to quell violence and restore order. 
However, civil society organizations criticized the government for 
failing to address the root causes of the violence, for not 
facilitating opportunities for conflict resolution in affected 
communities, and for failing to deter such attacks by vigorous 
investigation and prosecution of participants.
    For example, in July 2010 citizens attacked foreign-owned spaza 
shops (small retail enterprises) and looted homes in Mbekweni, Paarl 
East, Wellington, and Nyanga in Western Cape Province. Approximately 70 
foreign nationals sought refuge at the Mbekweni police station in 
Paarl, 22 at the Wellington police station, and about 100 at a campsite 
outside Wellington. In response, the government deployed police and 
SANDF troops to townships in Western Cape Province with instructions to 
take harsh action to stamp out xenophobic threats. Police Minister 
Nathia Mthethwa and Defense Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who flew to the 
province to survey the situation, determined that criminals using 
xenophobia to destabilize communities had orchestrated the attacks. All 
those who had fled their homes had returned to their communities or 
moved elsewhere by year's end. Police arrested seven men in the Nyanga 
area and charged them with public violence; there were no further 
developments.
    In February 2010 the SAHRC released its report on the 2008 
xenophobic attacks against foreign African migrants and ethnic 
minorities, which resulted in 62 deaths, injuries to 670 persons, and 
the displacement of 80,000 migrants, most of whom had reintegrated into 
their communities by the end of 2009 in Western Cape, Gauteng, and 
KwaZulu-Natal provinces. The report made more than 100 recommendations, 
including the development of an early warning system, better protection 
of foreign nationals, and prosecution of perpetrators. Field studies by 
the Institute for Security Studies and the Forced Migration Studies 
Program (FMSP) implicated local ward politicians in orchestrating 
attacks to gain political influence with residents, although no related 
arrests were made. According to the Department of Justice and 
Constitutional Development, more than 1,000 suspects were identified, 
resulting in the referral of 597 cases to court; 109 suspects were 
charged and the conviction rate was 16 percent. NGOs claimed none of 
the arrests or prosecutions was for murder, but the FMSP reported one 
suspect was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
    The continued killings of mostly white farm owners by black 
assailants sustained concern among white farmers that they were being 
targeted for racial and political reasons. There also were reports that 
white employers abused and killed black farm laborers and complaints 
that white employers received preferential treatment from the 
authorities. The Agricultural Union of South Africa called for the 
minister of police to keep closer track of ``farm violence'' statistics 
and issued its own report on April 1, alleging there had been 16 
attacks resulting in eight deaths during the period from January 1 to 
March 31.
    On February 2, Deon van Staden, 51, and Babs Strecker, 73, were 
found murdered in their home in Bethanie, North West Province. They had 
been stabbed multiple times and beaten with a shovel. The perpetrators 
fled with van Staden's truck.
    In April 2010 Eugene Terre'Blanche, leader of the extremist white 
right-wing Afrikaner Resistance Movement, was bludgeoned to death at 
his farm near Ventersdorp, North West Province. Two of Terre'Blanche's 
farm workers, Chris Mahlangu and a 15-year-old boy, later contacted 
police and claimed to have committed the crime. In April 2010 the two 
were charged with murder and the trial was ongoing at year's end.
    The law requires employers with 50 or more employees to ensure that 
previously disadvantaged groups, legally defined as ``Blacks'' 
(including ``Africans,'' ``Coloured,'' and ``Asians'' and collectively 
constituting more than 90 percent of the population) are represented 
adequately at all levels of the workforce. Notwithstanding 
antidiscrimination legislation, however, the DOL's 2010-11 Employment 
Equity Analysis reported that Blacks remained underrepresented, 
particularly at the professional and managerial levels. According to 
the report, Blacks held only 13.4 percent of top management positions, 
17.6 percent of senior management positions and approximately 31 
percent of all professional positions. However, the report also 
indicated that Black representation in the skilled labor sector had 
increased to 51 percent from 39.2 percent in 2006. Black women remained 
by far the most disadvantaged group in number and quality of management 
or skilled jobs.

    Indigenous People.--The NGO Working Group of Indigenous Minorities 
in Southern Africa estimated there were 6,000 indigenous San in the 
country, some of whom worked as farmers or as farm laborers. By law the 
San have the same political and economic rights as other citizens; 
however, the government did not always effectively protect those rights 
or deliver basic services to the San communities. Their formal 
participation in government and the economy was limited due to fewer 
opportunities, minimal access to education, and relative isolation.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The post-apartheid 
constitution outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation. There 
were no reports of official mistreatment or discrimination. However, in 
its annual Social Attitudes Survey released in 2008, the Human Sciences 
Research Council found widespread public intolerance of same-sex sexual 
activity, with 80 percent of respondents believing sex between two 
persons of the same gender to be ``wrong'' and ``un-African.''
    Rights groups reported that the LGBT community was subject to 
societal abuses including hate crimes, gender-based violence targeting 
lesbians, and killings. The Triangle Project, the country's largest 
lesbian and gay rights organization, reported it received each week in 
Cape Town on average 10 new cases of lesbians being targeted for 
``corrective'' rape, in which men raped lesbians to punish them for 
being lesbian and to attempt to change their sexual orientation.
    A December HRW report highlighted violence and discrimination faced 
by lesbians and transgender men. The report documented cases of 
``secondary victimization'' of lesbian victims, including cases where 
police harassed, ridiculed, and assaulted victims of homophobic 
violence when they reported crimes.
    Noxolo Nogwaza, a 24-year-old lesbian activist, was raped and 
murdered on April 24 in Kwa-Thema township after an altercation at a 
bar. Her body was discovered in an alley after she was killed with a 
large rock. Evidence also indicated she had been repeatedly raped and 
stabbed with glass shards. A police investigation continued and no 
suspects had been identified by year's end.
    Four of the nine men originally accused of the 2006 murder in Cape 
Town of Zoliswa Nkonyana, a lesbian, were convicted on October 7. 
Sentencing was pending at year's end.
    In May the government formed a task force led by the Department of 
Justice and Constitutional Development to consult with human rights 
advocates and LGBT rights activists on how to build the government's 
capacity to respond to homophobic violence. The task team includes 
representatives from several government departments as well as civil 
society organizations. The task force established a number of goals, 
including awareness training for law enforcement and victim service 
providers, statistical tracking, and possible new legislation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--According to anecdotal 
reports, the social stigma associated with HIV/AIDS has declined as a 
result of the availability of life-saving ARV treatment. Civil society 
organizations such as the Treatment Action Campaign and government 
campaigns have contributed to the reduction of the discrimination 
against persons with HIV/AIDS.
    The HIV/AIDS epidemic contributed to the number of households 
headed by children who supported themselves and often younger siblings. 
However, in its 2010-11 Child Gauge Report, the Children's Institute at 
the University of Cape Town stated there was little evidence of rapid 
growth in the orphan population due to HIV/AIDS. Child-headed 
households accounted for 0.5 percent of all households, or 
approximately 95,000 households in 2009, a decrease of 23,000 since 
2002.
    Incidents of vigilante violence and mob killings continued, 
particularly in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal provinces in 
the rural areas and townships. Unlike in previous years, police efforts 
to control vigilante violence did not result in killings by police.
    The trial of ANC municipal councilor Vusi Khoza and Sean Thabo 
Jacobs, Patricia Ballantyne, and Mzokuthoba Mngonyama for their roles 
in a mob attack that resulted in the 2009 deaths of a Zimbabwean 
citizen and a Tanzanian citizen was ongoing at year's end. Khoza was 
charged with public violence and conspiracy to commit assault; the 
other three were charged with murder. After a series of delays, the 
trial resumed in September and was ongoing at year's end.
    Xenophobic attacks on foreign African migrants remained a problem; 
however, attacks did not occur on the scale of previous years.
    Killings and other violent crimes against white farmers and, on 
occasion, their families, continued in rural areas.
    There were reports that persons accused of witchcraft were 
attacked, driven from their villages, and in some cases murdered, 
particularly in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and Eastern Cape 
provinces, where suspected witchcraft sometimes resulted in assault, 
forced exile, and killings, particularly of elderly women. Traditional 
leaders generally cooperated with government educational programs and 
reported threats against persons suspected of witchcraft.
    On March 21, Cynthia Lemaho (26) and Mupala Motopela (81) were 
stoned to death by a mob after being accused of practicing witchcraft 
in Bokgaga village outside Tzaneen, Limpopo. The two women were dragged 
from their home, stoned to death, and dragged back into the house, 
which was then burned. SAPS in the province responded swiftly and 
arrested 32 suspects, who appeared in the Naphuno Magistrate's Court on 
March 25. Two suspects, Leonard Mokhomole and Godfrey Senyolo were 
charged with murder and arson. They were scheduled to appear in court 
on January 31, 2012.
    Ritual killings (muthi killings), especially of children, to obtain 
body parts believed by some to enhance traditional medicine practices, 
remained a problem; specific muthi killing statistics were unavailable.
    For example, on February 6, the body of 74-year-old Tsatsawani 
Maria Maceke was found in her house. Her genitals, breasts, lips, and 
eyes had been removed. On February 9, SAPS were alerted to a discarded 
plastic bag containing body parts, which were believed to belong to 
Maceke. SAPS arrested five suspects, and they have been charged with 
murder in the Malamulele Magistrate's Court.
    In January 2010 the mutilated body of 10-year-old Masego Kgomo was 
found in a clump of bushes near her home in Shoshanguve. Five male 
suspects were arrested and charged with murder and abduction; a sangoma 
(an African practitioner of magic, medicine, and witchcraft) named Jan 
Maleka also was arrested, but then released for lack of evidence. 
Later, one male suspect, Brian Mangwale, was put on trial for murder. 
On November 28, Judge Billy Mothle sentenced Mangwale to six years' 
imprisonment for kidnapping and life imprisonment for murder. Speaking 
to the crowd outside the court after sentencing was passed, the 
minister for women, children, and people with disabilities, Lulu 
Xingwana, welcomed the judge's sentencing but cautioned listeners that 
Mangwale's accomplices were still at large. Xingwana urged community 
members to work with police in order to apprehend other suspects.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows all workers with the exception of members of the 
National Intelligence Agency and the Secret Service to form and join 
unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive 
requirements. The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
interference and provides for the right to strike; however, workers 
considered to be providing essential services were prohibited from 
striking, and employers are prohibited from locking out essential 
service providers. The government characterizes essential services as 
(a) a service, the interruption of which endangers the life, personal 
safety, or health of the whole or part of the population, (b) the 
parliamentary service, or (c) members of SAPS. The law protects 
collective bargaining and prohibits employers from discriminating 
against employees or applicants due to past, present, or potential 
union membership or participation in lawful union activities. The law 
provides for the automatic reinstatement of workers dismissed unfairly 
for conducting union activities. The law provides a code of good 
practices for dismissals, which includes procedures for determining the 
``substantive fairness'' and ``procedural fairness'' of a given 
dismissal. The constitution includes all groups of workers, including 
foreign residents, illegal or legal, in its worker protections. Labor 
laws also extend to farm workers. The National Defense Bill states that 
military unions cannot affiliate with any existing union federation and 
do not have the right to strike.
    The government effectively protected freedom of association and the 
right to collective bargaining, and workers routinely exercised these 
rights. A labor court and labor appeals court effectively enforced the 
right of association. The Food and Allied Workers' Union (FAWU) alleged 
that in isolated instances individual employees on small farms in the 
Western Cape and Northwest provinces were fired for union organizing 
activities. No actions were brought against employers in response to 
these firings. Worker organizations were independent of the government 
and political parties. There were no known cases of government 
interference in union activities.
    The right of workers to form and join unions was effectively 
enforced. No violations were reported.
    Workers frequently exercised their right to strike. Although 
workers considered to be providing essential services were prohibited 
from striking, strikes occurred throughout the year involving these 
individuals. Disputes between workers in essential services and their 
employers that were not resolved through collective bargaining, 
independent mediation, or conciliation were referred to arbitration or 
the labor courts.
    Strikes were sometimes marked by violence. Police in some instances 
used force to disperse demonstrators blocking main roads and blocking 
entrances to hospitals and schools. During the public-sector strike on 
August 19, police used rubber bullets, water cannons, and tear gas to 
disperse a strike by workers who were blocking entrances to public 
facilities.
    In December three FAWU officials who intervened in an unprotected 
strike at a poultry farm in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, were attacked 
by private security guards, who sprayed them with pepper spray and 
kicked them in the face while they were held to the ground. The victims 
claimed that although they were attempting to mediate the dispute, they 
were attacked once the guards recognized them as union officials, and 
that the guards' employer did not compel the perpetrators of the attack 
to report to the police as instructed.
    The Labor Relations Act was not consistently enforced. The Congress 
of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) alleged that employers 
frequently used temporary employment services, known locally as labor 
brokers, to circumvent the tenets of the Labor Relations Act protecting 
the rights of workers to bargain collectively. There were no lawsuits 
filed for antiunion discrimination during the year.
    COSATU and leading agricultural NGOs complained that labor 
conditions on farms remained harsh, including underpayment of wages and 
poor living conditions. Union officials stated that unionization of 
farm workers remained difficult. According to HRW, the government did 
not enforce labor laws fully in the agricultural sector.
    HRW cited cases in Western Cape where employers denied farm workers 
in the fruit and wine sector their constitutional right to unionize.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. However, the government did 
not consistently and effectively enforce the law. There were reports of 
isolated cases of forced labor involving children (see section 7.c.) 
and women, which occurred primarily in domestic and agricultural labor. 
Girls were subjected to domestic servitude and prostitution, and boys 
were forced to work in street vending, food service, begging, criminal 
activities, and agriculture. Women and girls from Thailand, Cambodia, 
the Congo, India, Russia, Ukraine, China, Taiwan, Mozambique, and 
Zimbabwe are recruited for legitimate work in South Africa, then 
subjected to prostitution, domestic servitude, and forced labor in the 
service sector. Migrant men from China and Taiwan are forced to work in 
mobile sweatshop factories in Chinese urban enclaves in South Africa. 
Young men and boys from Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe voluntarily 
migrate to South Africa for farm work. In some cases they labor for 
months with little or no pay in conditions of involuntary servitude 
before employers have them arrested and deported as illegal migrants.
    The DOL worked with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Child 
Unit on issues related to child labor and child trafficking, and during 
the year attended three court cases related to child labor from the 
steel and iron sector in the Vaal area. Each case takes 12 months to 
finalize at a minimum. The process involved coordination with SAPS, the 
Department of Social Development, the Department of Home Affairs, and 
embassies where necessary.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits employment of a child less than 15 years of age. Children 
over 15 but under 18 are also prohibited from work that places at risk 
the child's well-being; education; physical or mental health; or 
spiritual, moral, or social development. Underage children were allowed 
to work in the performing arts if their employer received Department of 
Labor permission and agreed to follow specific guidelines. Violation of 
laws regulating child employment is punishable by a maximum prison 
sentence of three years or a fine of 15,000 rand ($1,856).
    The government generally enforced child labor laws in the formal 
sector of the economy, which was monitored by strong and well-organized 
unions.
    Enforcement of child labor laws in the informal and agricultural 
sectors was ineffective. According to the DOL, during the year it 
increased the number of labor inspectors from approximately 650 to 986 
inspectors, close to its target of 1,000 inspectors. Exact figures on 
inspections were unavailable. In some cases DOL inspectors opted to 
resolve child labor cases by counseling of employers, parents, and 
children, or by enlisting the services of professionals in the welfare 
and education departments. There were reports that inspectors had 
difficulty gaining access to farms where child labor was reported.
    An important factor in reducing child labor was the government's 
250 rand ($31) per month Child Support Grant to primary caregivers of 
children under the age of 17. The age was scheduled to be increased to 
18 in January 2012. There were no other government efforts to reduce 
child labor, and penalties were not adequate to deter child labor.
    Although statistical information is lacking, child labor was 
reported in the informal sector and extralegal market, particularly in 
the agriculture sector, especially the former homeland areas, as well 
as in domestic work. The Children's Institute at the University of Cape 
Town reported periodic difficulty educating rural families about the 
rights of children enshrined in the law, given linguistic and cultural 
barriers.
    NGOs alleged that many children in rural areas carried water for 
their families for excessive hours under physically demanding 
conditions. Some children were exploited by adults and forced to sell 
drugs and commit robberies, including armed robbery.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no legally mandated 
national minimum wage, although the law gives the DOL authority to set 
wages by sector. There are wage standards for multiple economic sectors 
including the retail sector, farm laborers, domestic workers, and taxi 
(minibus) drivers. The minimum wage for farm workers was approximately 
6.31 rand ($0.78) per hour. The minimum hourly wages for domestic 
workers employed more than 27 hours per week ranged from 4.85 rand 
($0.60) to 7.06 rand ($0.87).
    The law establishes a 45 hour workweek, standardizes time and a 
half pay for overtime, and authorizes four months of maternity leave 
for women. No employer may require or permit an employee to work 
overtime except by agreement, and overtime may not be more than 10 
hours a week. The law stipulates rest periods of 12 consecutive hours 
daily and 36 hours weekly, which must include Sunday. The law allows 
for adjustments to rest periods by mutual agreement. A ministerial 
determination exempted businesses employing fewer than 10 persons from 
certain provisions of the law concerning overtime and leave. Farmers 
and other employers could apply for variances from the law by showing 
good cause. The rights of foreigners and immigrant workers are legally 
protected under the Labor Reform Act.
    The government set occupational safety and health (OSH) standards 
through the Department of Minerals and Energy for the mining industry 
and through the DOL for all other industries. The law provides for the 
right of mine employees to remove themselves from work deemed dangerous 
to health or safety. The law prohibits discrimination against an 
employee who asserts a right granted by the law and requires mine 
owners to file annual reports providing statistics on health and safety 
incidents for each mine. In addition a tripartite mine health and 
safety council and an inspectorate of mine health and safety were 
responsible for enforcing the law and monitoring compliance with its 
provisions.
    Employers are subject to heavy fines or imprisonment for the 
serious injury, illness, or death of employees due to unsafe mine 
conditions, and mine inspectors are allowed to enter any mine at any 
time to interview employees and audit records.
    Outside the mining industry, there were no laws or regulations that 
permitted workers to remove themselves from work situations deemed 
dangerous to their health or safety without risking loss of employment; 
however, the law provides that employers may not retaliate against 
employees who disclose dangerous workplace conditions.
    Depending on the province, compliance with the minimum wage rate 
generally ranged from 65 to 90 percent, according to 2007 DOL figures. 
Work hour and OSH standards were effectively enforced in the formal 
sector, and labor unions and labor courts focused on compliance. The 
number of labor inspectors was not sufficient to fully document 
nonconformance with safety regulations and labor laws. Labor inspectors 
on farms were inadequate. In Western Cape Province, for example, 107 
government labor inspectors had responsibility for more than 6,000 
farms.
    While labor conditions improved on large commercial farms, they 
remained harsh, especially for workers on small holdings, most of whom 
were black. Many owners of small farms did not measure working hours 
accurately. Twelve-hour work days were common during harvest time, and 
few farmers provided overtime benefits.
    Among the estimated 121,000 farm workers in the Western Cape, HRW 
documented widespread examples of exploitative work conditions and 
other human rights abuses. For example, one elderly couple was forced 
to live in a former outhouse for years, and another was forced to live 
in a pigsty without electricity, water, or protection from the elements 
for 10 years. Workers using pesticides were not provided with adequate 
safety gear. Employers routinely denied requests for sick and maternity 
leave, in contravention of the law.

                               __________

                              SOUTH SUDAN

                           executive summary
    The Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
typically covers the period from January 1 through December 31. 
However, the Republic of South Sudan (hereafter referred to as South 
Sudan) became an independent republic on July 9, when it completed its 
secession from the Republic of Sudan (hereafter referred to as Sudan). 
The creation of the new country followed a January referendum in which 
98 percent of citizens of Southern origin voted in favor of 
independence. International and national observers characterized the 
mostly orderly and peaceful balloting as consistent with international 
standards and representative of the genuine preferences of voters. 
Under a power-sharing arrangement established by the 2005 Comprehensive 
Peace Agreement (CPA), a simultaneous referendum on the status of the 
Abyei Area was also scheduled for January, but it was not held. At 
year's end the Abyei Area was jointly administered by Sudan and South 
Sudan, with its final sovereignty status unresolved pending 
negotiations. The CPA also called for popular consultations in the 
Sudanese states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile to determine whether 
constitutional, political, administrative, and economic preconditions 
for peace were satisfactory or needed to be renegotiated with the 
government of Sudan. However, this process had not concluded by the 
July 9 end of the CPA, was abandoned by Sudan, and resulted in armed 
conflict that triggered refugee flows into South Sudan. President Salva 
Kiir, who was elected in free and fair elections in April 2010, headed 
the government of South Sudan. On July 9, Independence Day, the 
president signed into law the transitional constitution, which provides 
for an executive branch headed by a president, a bicameral national 
legislature, and an independent judiciary.
    Prior to July 9, the territory that now comprises South Sudan was 
the sovereign territory of Sudan. Security forces operating in South 
Sudan were composed of both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)--the armed 
forces of Sudan--and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)--the 
armed forces of South Sudan--which were combined in 2007 to form the 
Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) under the joint control of the 
governments of Sudan and South Sudan. After independence on July 9, the 
SPLA became the national defense force of South Sudan and continued to 
be composed of various ethnic groups. Fighting between the JIUs and 
rebel militia groups (RMGs) resulted in numerous killings and 
abductions of civilians, especially of children and women. Fighting 
occurred along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, where disputes 
continued over claimed territories, in addition to RMG and interethnic 
conflicts in Upper Nile, Jonglei, Unity, and Warrap states. The zones 
of conflict were primarily in Jonglei, Unity, Warrap, Upper Nile, and 
Western Equatoria states. There were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The most serious human rights problems in the country included 
extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and other inhumane treatment of 
civilians as a result of conflict between the SPLA and SAF, RMG attacks 
on SAF and SPLA security forces, government counterattacks, clashes 
between security forces and civilians, interethnic and intercommunal 
conflict, and civilian clashes related to cattle rustling. Conflict 
also resulted in approximately 250,000 internally displaced persons 
(IDPs) during the year.
    Other human rights abuses included politically motivated abductions 
by ethnic groups; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
detention, including prolonged pretrial detention; and an inefficient 
and corrupt judiciary. The government restricted freedoms of privacy, 
speech, press, assembly, and association. Displaced persons were abused 
and harassed. Official corruption was pervasive. The government 
restricted the movement of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and 
NGO workers were attacked and harassed. Violence and discrimination 
against women were widespread. Violence against children included child 
abuse, child abduction, and harmful traditional practices such as 
``girl compensation.'' Police recruited child soldiers prior to 
independence in July, and RMGs recruited child soldiers throughout the 
year. Trafficking in persons; discrimination and violence against 
ethnic minorities and homosexuals; governmental incitement of tribal 
violence; and child labor, including forced labor, were problems.
    The government seldom took steps to punish officials who committed 
abuses, and impunity was a major problem.
    The jointly administered Abyei Area was the site of violence, 
widespread displacement, and human rights violations during the year.
    Attacks by RMGs, including those led by Peter Gatdet Yak, David Yau 
Yau, George Athor, and Gatluak Gai, resulted in deaths, injuries, 
property destruction, and civilian displacement in Jonglei, Unity, 
Warrap, and Upper Nile states. (During the year Yak and Yau Yau joined 
the government, and Athor and Gai were killed.) The South Sudan 
Liberation Army (SSLA) perpetrated numerous human rights abuses, 
including killings and politically motivated kidnappings and 
disappearances. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and SSLA abducted 
women and children and recruited child soldiers. LRA attacks also 
resulted in deaths, injuries, and the displacement of approximately 
7,400 persons in Western Equatoria. RMGs obstructed the delivery of 
humanitarian assistance.
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. The SPLA, RMGs, and ethnic groups were responsible 
for arbitrary killings in conflict zones during the year (see section 
1.g.).
    In August, in Juba, men wearing police and military uniforms 
reportedly killed and robbed civilians, including a priest in Jebel 
Kunjur. Some members of these groups were reportedly arrested, although 
no investigations were conducted. In response to this incident, police 
intensified night patrols and imposed restrictions on movements after 
midnight in areas in Juba witnessing increased crimes.

    b. Disappearance.--RMGs and ethnic groups abducted numerous 
persons, including women and children, in the conflict zones of 
Jonglei, Unity, Warrap, Upper Nile, and Western Equatoria during the 
year (see section 1.g.).
    On July 25, President Salva Kiir ordered the arrest of General 
Mariel, who was charged with involvement in the April disappearance of 
an engineer named John Luis Silvio. Silvio disappeared after being 
ordered to appear before General Mariel Nuor Jok, the former director 
of the Public Security and Criminal Investigation Department. Silvio 
had been summoned in connection with a disputed plot of land.
    On July 7, prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, the 
Muslim Brotherhood accused the state government in Wau of involvement 
in the disappearance of Al-Shayk Foud Richard, the secretary general of 
the South Sudan Islamic Council in Western Bahr el Gazal. The state 
government denied any involvement in this case.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The transitional constitution prohibits such practices; 
however, government security forces tortured, beat, and harassed 
political opponents, journalists, and human rights workers during the 
year (see sections 2.a. and 5). Government forces, RMGs, and tribal 
factions committed torture and abuse in conflict zones (see section 
1.g.).
    On July 7, prior to the country's independence, SPLA military 
intelligence personnel allegedly arrested, beat, and tortured eight 
members of the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Democratic 
Change party at their party headquarters in Juba. The government, which 
provided no explanation for its actions, did not punish the 
perpetrators.
    Police and SPLA personnel reportedly tortured and raped women 
during the year. For example, on July 22, at Juba's Malakia police 
station, police officers assaulted a female detainee, according to 
Radio Miraya, a station operated by the U.N. Mission in South Sudan 
(UNMISS). The victim told Radio Miraya the officers raped her with 
stones and bottles, including a beer bottle that the men drove into her 
uterus. The victim claimed she was held for a month in connection with 
a business dispute between her husband and another man. Police officers 
reportedly were detained in connection with the case.
    In late 2010, prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, the 
U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that 
police raped and abused female cadets at the John Garang Unified Police 
Academy in Rajaf. On March 25, President Kiir appointed an independent 
committee to investigate the allegations; no information had been 
released by the committee at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh and life threatening, and prisons were overcrowded. Rumbek Prison 
in Lakes State, for example, was designed for 200 inmates but 
reportedly held more than 550. Health care and sanitation were 
inadequate, and basic medical supplies and equipment were lacking. 
Prisoners generally received one meal per day and relied on family or 
friends for food. Potable water was limited. During the day prisoners 
usually stayed outside and participated in recreational activity; at 
night they slept in overcrowded, open hallways lined with bunk beds. 
Ventilation, temperature, and lighting were inadequate.
    Poor prison conditions, including malnutrition and lack of medical 
care, resulted in inmate deaths, although statistics were unavailable.
    At year's end there were 6,027 prisoners and detainees 
incarcerated. The Prisons Directorate of Southern Sudan generally 
provided separate cells for men and women; however, juveniles sometimes 
were not held separately from adults, and pretrial detainees were not 
held separately from convicted prisoners. Children, especially infants, 
were often held with adult female prisoners.
    Detention centers were under the control of local tribal or state 
authorities, and conditions were uniformly harsh and life threatening. 
Some were uncovered spaces where detainees were unsheltered from the 
sun and chained to a wall, fence, or tree. Sanitary and medical 
facilities were poor or nonexistent. Detention centers had limited 
potable water. Detainees sometimes spent days outdoors but slept inside 
in areas that lacked adequate ventilation, temperature, and lighting.
    There were no prison ombudsmen, but prisoners were allowed to 
submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to 
request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. 
Prison authorities investigated such allegations, although action was 
seldom taken. Prisoners were allowed access to visitors and permitted 
to take part in religious observances.
    The government permitted and encouraged visits by independent human 
rights observers, including the UNMISS human rights officer and 
independent nongovernmental observers, such as Human Rights Watch.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The transitional constitution 
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention without charge; however, the 
government continued to arbitrarily arrest and detain persons during 
the year. While not legally invested with the power to arrest or detain 
civilians, the SPLA arrested and detained persons.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The South Sudan Police 
Services (SSPS), under the Ministry of Interior, are responsible for 
law enforcement and maintenance of order within the country. The SPLA 
is responsible for providing security throughout the country and is 
under the Ministry of Defense and Veteran Affairs. The SSPS, many of 
whom were former SPLA members, were ineffective and corrupt. Illiteracy 
was a problem. Police reports were often incomplete, and files, if 
created, were often misplaced. Detentions were sometimes based on 
accusation rather than official investigation. Complaints of police 
abuse were rarely investigated, and impunity was a serious problem.
    The SPLA does not have law enforcement authority, unless acting at 
the request of civil authorities. Nevertheless, the SPLA detained 
persons, including in SPLA-run detention facilities, most notably in 
Lakes State. During the year the SPLA's conduct of internal security 
and civilian disarmament was often unsystematic and failed to 
simultaneously disarm rival communities. Citizens charged that the 
SPLA's lack of discipline and political neutrality contributed to 
tensions between communities. There were reports that the SPLA used 
indiscriminate and excessive force, particularly against women.
    The UNMISS police component trained SSPS personnel on a wide range 
of security-related subjects during the year, although training and 
personnel were insufficient, and lack of government resources impeded 
the effectiveness of the program.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Persons 
arrested must be brought before a public prosecutor, magistrate, or 
court within 24 hours; however, there were no available public 
prosecutors or magistrates in many regions. Police may detain 
individuals for 24 hours without charge; this may be extended up to one 
week with authorization from the public prosecutor and by up to two 
weeks with authorization from a magistrate. Nevertheless, detainees 
were not always informed of charges against them. There was a 
functioning bail system. Those arrested have a right to an attorney, 
but the country had few lawyers, and prisoners were not always informed 
of this right. The law allows detainees to contact their family.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Security forces arrested opposition members and 
journalists (see sections 1.c., 1.e., 2.a., and 3).
    During the year, prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, 
the commissioner of Juba ordered the arrest of young girls and women 
who wore clothing considered to be revealing (see section 6).

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. 
Estimates of the number of pretrial detainees in prison ranged from 
one-third to two-thirds of the prison population. The country's lack of 
lawyers and judges contributed to lengthy pretrial detention. During 
the year the UNMISS Rule of Law, Judicial Systems, and Prison Advisory 
Unit started a justice sector mapping project to collect data on 
pretrial detainees, including those held for more than one year.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The transitional constitution 
provides for an independent judiciary; however, the courts were subject 
to pressure from the government and the SPLA on sensitive matters, such 
as the possible illegal sale of government land. The court system did 
not function in many areas due to lack of infrastructure, 
communications, funding, and an effective police force. In areas where 
courts existed, they were understaffed, and judges handled many of the 
court's administrative tasks. Courts lacked resources and trained 
personnel. According to the U.N. human rights officer in Rumbek, some 
judges in formal courts reportedly continued to follow Sharia 
principles of tribal customary law in their rulings. Judicial 
corruption was a problem.
    In parts of the country where civil authorities and institutions 
did not operate, there were no effective judicial procedures beyond 
customary courts. The government recognized traditional courts or 
courts of elders, which applied customary law to most cases in remote 
and rural areas, including in domestic matters and criminal cases. The 
government continued efforts during the year to formalize and integrate 
tradition courts into the judicial system. According to credible 
reports, military units in those areas summarily tried and punished 
those accused of crimes, especially for offenses against civil order.

    Trial Procedures.--Under the transitional constitution, defendants 
enjoy a presumption of innocence, public trials, the right to be 
present in a criminal trial without undue delay, the right to confront 
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence, and the 
ability to access legal aid if they are unable to defend themselves 
against serious charges. These rights were rarely respected due to lack 
of attorneys and trained court personnel. No legal aid system existed 
in the country. Lack of due process was widespread, and observers 
expressed particular concern about lack of due process in the trials of 
persons sentenced to death.
    Persons tried in traditional courts did not always enjoy the same 
legal protections as those in the formal system. Defendants did not 
necessarily have access to counsel or the right of appeal, and 
discrimination against women was common. However, some customary 
courts, particularly those in urban areas, had fairly sophisticated 
procedures, and verdicts were remarkably consistent. At least one 
customary court judge (a Bari chief) in Juba kept records that were 
equal to or better than those kept in government courts.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The government held an 
undetermined number of political prisoners and detainees. Conditions of 
detention were harsh. The government permitted access to such persons 
by international humanitarian organizations. Security forces often 
detained without charge and abused political opponents.
    For example, on March 23, prior to the country's July 9 
independence, nine opposition members were arrested in connection with 
a document criticizing the Northern Bahr el-Ghazal governor and calling 
for antigovernment demonstrations in the state. At year's end the nine 
were reportedly being held without charge in Machar Kunyuk Prison, and 
no trial had been scheduled.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The legal system provides 
for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, 
civil courts were neither independent nor impartial. The courts 
provided the only option for those seeking to bring claims to address 
human rights violations and damages.
    Court orders were not always enforced due to the frequent lack of 
court documentation, such as arrest warrants.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The transitional constitution prohibits interference 
with private life, family, home, and correspondence, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions. However, there were reports 
that rural detention centers held family members in lieu of accused 
persons who had fled to induce the accused persons to turn themselves 
in.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Human rights abuses occurred throughout the conflict zones of Jonglei, 
Unity, Warrap, Upper Nile, and Western Equatoria states. Conflict 
between the SPLA and SAF along the northern border areas, RMG attacks 
on SAF and SPLA security forces, government counterattacks, clashes 
between security forces and civilians, interethnic and intercommunal 
conflict, LRA attacks, and cattle rustling resulted in widespread 
civilian deaths, injuries, kidnappings, and approximately 250,000 IDPs. 
SAF aerial bombardments in disputed territories along the border in 
November and December resulted in refugee flows into South Sudan and 
civilian deaths and injuries.
    South Sudan has a long history of cattle raiding, often resulting 
in territorial, ethnic, and communal conflicts over migration patterns, 
access to water, and land, in addition to theft. Following the decades 
of civil war, cattle rustling became more deadly because of the 
widespread use and availability of small arms. During the year 
interethnic fighting led to a series of violent, retributive attacks in 
Jonglei, Warrap and Lakes states.
    The lack of political reconciliation and a cohesive national 
identity exacerbated the violence, as did the inability of central and 
state governments to provide security or resolve internal conflict.
    Prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, following disputes 
over the scheduled referendum that did not occur, violence between SAF 
and SPLA forces in the jointly administrated Abyei Area resulted in the 
displacement of an estimated 110,000 persons. Most IDPs fled to 
Northern Bahr el Gazal, Unity, and Warrap states, where they remained 
at year's end. Since sovereignty over the Abyei Area remained in 
dispute, these persons were considered neither refugees nor IDPs, but 
rather ``displaced persons of concern'' for purposes of this report.

    Killings.--The use of excessive force by government forces resulted 
in civilian deaths. For example, prior to the July 9 independence of 
South Sudan, on April 23, in Jonglei and Unity states, the SPLA 
attacked forces loyal to RMG leaders Peter Gadet Yak and Gabriel 
Tanginya, resulting in 85 civilian deaths.
    Prior to the July 9 independence, fighting in May and June between 
SPLA and RMGs led by George Athor, Gatluak Gai, Peter Gadet Yak, David 
Yau Yau, and Olony resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries 
and widespread displacement. RMGs also distributed weapons to different 
ethnic groups to instigate violence among local ethnic communities 
involved in cattle-related disputes.
    RMG attacks decreased following the president's October executive 
order offering amnesty to RMG members who agreed to reintegrate into 
the SPLA; however, RMG attacks on security forces resulted in 
casualties during the year. For example, on March 12, prior to the July 
9 independence of South Sudan, armed persons under the command of RMG 
leader Olony attacked SSPS offices in Malakal. At least one U.N. 
official and 12 civilians were injured.
    Intertribal and intercommunal clashes, particularly in Jonglei and 
Upper Nile states, continued throughout the year and resulted in 
numerous deaths. According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1,698 persons were killed during the year 
in Jonglei State alone.
    On August 18, in Jonglei, conflict over cattle raiding between 
members of the Murle and Lou Nuer tribes resulted in an estimated 600 
deaths, the destruction of seven villages, and the abduction of nearly 
200 women and children. On December 20, interethnic and intercommunal 
fighting in Jonglei resulted in 51 deaths.
    Prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, LRA attacks 
occurring primarily in Western Equatoria but also in Western Bahr el 
Ghazal resulted in at least 18 deaths between January and March, 
according to OCHA.

    Abductions.--Intertribal and intercommunal clashes, particularly in 
Jonglei and Upper Nile states, resulted in abductions. For example, on 
August 18, approximately 200 women and children were kidnapped during 
conflict over cattle raiding between members of the Murle and Lou Nuer 
tribes.
    According to OCHA, the LRA abducted 49 civilians during the year. 
Most abductions occurred in Raga County, Western Bahr el Ghazal. For 
example, on September 4, LRA forces--reportedly accompanied by women 
and children they had abducted--attacked a village in Western Bahr el 
Ghazal and abducted two young men. According to the Raga County 
commissioner, the LRA attacked the Deim Jallabi police station, where 
they took three guns, and then attacked and robbed homes in the 
village.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--Government and RMG forces 
tortured and abused civilians during the year, often to extract 
information. Government and RMG forces also raped women, although 
victims seldom reported such incidents.
    Land mines planted by RMGs resulted in deaths and injuries. For 
example, on April 19, prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, 
the U.N. reported that an Adventist Development and Relief Agency truck 
carrying more than 56 metric tons of food detonated a land mine between 
Abeimnom and Mayom in Unity State. The driver and a passenger were 
injured.
    On August 19 and 20, the detonation of two land mines in Bentiu, 
Unity State, resulted in at least five civilian deaths and injuries to 
numerous others. The government continued to cooperate with the U.N. 
Mine Action Group and other demining groups to remove land mines in the 
South.

    Child Soldiers.--Government and RMG forces recruited children 
during the year. In April, prior to the July 9 independence of South 
Sudan, the SSPS in Unity State reportedly recruited persons forcibly 
into its ranks, including children. Some of these children ended up in 
the SPLA, when it subsequently tapped the SSPS for its own recruitment 
needs. The SPLA ordered local commanders to release underage children 
in their units. The SPLA also took steps during the year to remove 
child soldiers from RMGs. In collaboration with UNMISS, the SPLA 
conducted a workshop in November to develop a strategy for protecting 
children in armed conflict.
    When threatened by RMGs, tribal disputes, or natural disasters, 
women and children historically gravitated to SPLA military camps for 
protection, exacerbating the problem of child soldiers. From 2009 until 
2011, a total of 328 boys were observed in SPLA camps. Children 
``associated'' with the SPLA posed a dilemma for SPLA leadership as 
there were no other governmental agencies or institutes to receive the 
children, many of whom had either lost their parents or were displaced 
from their families due to conflict. The Demobilization, Disarmament, 
and Reintegration Commission (DDR) and the Ministry of Gender, Child, 
and Social Welfare continued to track and demobilize children 
associated with military organizations. The government conducted public 
relations campaigns to discourage families from sending their children 
to SPLA military camps to seek shelter, support, and financial 
compensation. UNMISS training emphasized that SPLA members would be 
liable for recruiting and keeping children in the barracks even if 
children are not recruited but return to the SPLA on their own 
volition.
    The reintegration process--the final stage of the DDR campaign that 
began in 2001 in Rumbek, Lakes State--aimed to demobilize children 
associated with the army following a Sudan People's Liberation Movement 
(SPLM) agreement with the U.N. Since 2005 more than 3,000 children were 
demobilized, mainly from the Bahr el Ghazal region consisting of 
Western and Northern Bahr el Ghazal states. The South Sudan DDR 
Commission managed the reintegration process after the signing of the 
CPA in 2005. At year's end most children had been reintegrated with 
their families and had attended vocational training, primary schools, 
and accelerated learning programs. In some cases UNICEF partnered with 
the South Sudan DDR to provide the families of demobilized children 
with goats to help pay for the children's needs until the family was 
able to support the child.
    The use of child soldiers was common throughout the two-decade 
Sudanese civil war, although the 2008 Child Act banned it as well as 
the employment of children in the military. The 2008 Act establishes 18 
as the minimum age for voluntary recruitment into the armed forces and 
requires the government to ensure that ``no child be used or recruited 
to engage in any military or paramilitary activities, whether armed or 
unarmed, including, but not limited to work as sentries, informants, 
agents or spies, cooks, in transports, as laborers, for sexual 
purposes, or any other forms of work that do not serve the interests of 
the child.''
    The SPLA released approximately 20,000 child soldiers in the past 
few years. While the SPLA no longer recruited children, UNMISS 
previously stated that there was still a problem with ``associated'' 
child soldiering by former child soldiers who spent much of their time 
in and around SPLA units.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--Security forces and RMGs operating 
in South Sudan restricted the movement of U.N. personnel and other 
humanitarian groups. Conflict in intertribal areas impeded the delivery 
of assistance to vulnerable populations, particularly prior to 
independence on July 9. Trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were 
vulnerable to land mines and hijackings. For example, a World Food 
Program truck on its way to deliver food to schools was hijacked during 
the year. Establishing the identity of perpetrators was often 
difficult.
    Conflict between the SPLA and SAF along the northern border areas, 
RMG attacks on SAF and SPLA security forces, government counterattacks, 
clashes between security forces and civilians, interethnic and 
intercommunal conflict, LRA attacks, and cattle rustling resulted in 
250,000 IDPs during the year.
    In Jonglei alone, 63,000 persons were displaced between August and 
December as a result of interethnic and intercommunal violence, much of 
it related to cattle raiding. In most cases the homes of IDPs who fled 
were burned, their cattle stolen, and their means of livelihood 
destroyed.
    Approximately 7,400 persons were displaced as a result of LRA 
attacks in Western Equatoria and Western Bahr el Ghazal. Approximately 
70,000 civilians were displaced in previous years by LRA attacks and 
had not returned to their homes by year's end.
    In addition to civilian displacement, massive refugee flows 
resulted from conflict during the year. Approximately 78,000 refugees 
from Sudan fled to South Sudan as a result of conflict between the 
SPLA-North (SPLA-N) and SAF along the disputed border areas. This 
number included 24,000 residents of Southern Kordofan and 54,000 
residents of Blue Nile State who fled SAF aerial bombings in November 
and December. Most refugees from Sudan settled in Unity and Upper Nile 
states.
    In early July, prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, the 
U.N. reported that more than 8,000 residents of Southern Kordofan fled 
SAF aerial bombing attacks in the Lake Jau area, a disputed and 
undemarcated border area between Unity State in South Sudan and 
Southern Kordofan in Sudan.
    The government's capacity to assist IDPs and refugees was extremely 
limited, and most humanitarian aid was provided by the international 
community or host families and communities. The U.N. High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR), other U.N. agencies, international NGOs, domestic 
NGOs, and other donors provided shelter, emergency health-care 
services, water and sanitation services, food assistance, nonfood 
items, and livelihood assistance for IDPs. However, conflict along the 
border, RMG activity, attacks, lack of infrastructure and road access, 
land mines, heavy rains, and flooding impeded the delivery of 
assistance to refugees inside and outside conflict zones. U.N. 
assessments consistently concluded that some areas of South Sudan's 
border with Sudan remained unsafe for the return of IDPs.
    Returnees suffered abuses, such as armed attacks, killings, gender-
based violence, recruitment of child soldiers, and forced labor, 
according to the UNHCR. Government forces, RMGs, and ethnic groups were 
responsible for such abuses. Returnees also faced delayed allocation of 
land, lack of basic services, inability to obtain transportation to 
their final destinations, and lack of employment.
    There were credible reports that the following armed groups 
perpetrated serious human rights abuses in South Sudan during the 
reporting period: the LRA and the SSLA.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The transitional constitution provides for freedom of speech 
and press; however, the government did not always respect these rights 
in practice.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government 
publicly or privately without reprisal, in large part because the 
government did not have the ability to impede criticism or regularly 
monitor political meetings.

    Freedom of Press.--Independent media in the country included four 
newspapers and 11 radio stations. The government occasionally 
interfered in the publication of articles. Due to the high price of 
television sets and poor electricity, the country had only one 
government-owned television station, Southern Sudan TV.
    At a dialogue forum during the year for the media and national 
security services, an SPLA spokesman warned reporters against covering 
sensitive topics, including any reporting on the army.

    Violence and Harassment.--Journalists were detained, intimidated, 
and harassed for criticizing security forces or the government. 
Security forces confiscated or damaged journalists' cameras and 
equipment, demanded photography permits from journalists, and 
restricted their movements, particularly prior to independence.
    For example, prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, Nhial 
Bol, the editor of The Citizen newspaper, was arrested, detained, and 
later released without charge. Security forces arrested Bol three times 
since 2007 following articles in The Citizen that accused officials of 
corruption and mismanagement.
    On November 2, security forces arrested without charge Ngor Aguot 
Garang, editor of the English-language daily Destiny, following an 
October 26 article in the newspaper that criticized President Kiir. The 
newspaper was suspended, and on November 5, Dengdit Ayok, the deputy 
editor of Destiny and author of the article, was also arrested and 
suspended from working as a journalist. On November 18, both 
journalists were released. Garang claimed that he was beaten and 
tortured while in detention.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Security forces accused journalists 
of espionage without any substantial evidence. For example, prior to 
the July 9 independence of South Sudan, on May 18, security forces 
arrested Mohamad Arkou Ali, a journalist from Sudan Radio Service in 
Wau, for taking photographs without a permit. Arkou, who was not in a 
military area at the time, was held for three weeks.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no restrictions 
on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The transitional constitution provides for freedom of 
peaceful assembly, and the government generally respected this 
protection. However, there were unconfirmed reports from opposition 
political leaders that they were not allowed to hold rallies or 
political events in some states.

    Freedom of Association.--The transitional constitution provides for 
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this 
right in practice. However, there were unconfirmed reports from 
opposition political leaders that their right of association was not 
respected in some states.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The transitional constitution 
provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, 
and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights 
outside the zone of conflict; however, the government obstructed 
movement within the zone of conflict (see section 1.g.) The 
transitional constitution does not provide for emigration. Conflict 
involving government forces, RMGs, and ethnic groups in conflict areas 
resulted in widespread displacement and restrictions on movement (see 
section 1.g.).
    The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, 
and persons of South Sudanese nationality living in Sudan who returned 
to South Sudan during the year. However, security forces and RMGs 
operating in South Sudan sometimes restricted the movement of U.N. 
personnel and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--During the year approximately 360,000 
persons of South Sudanese nationality living in Sudan returned to South 
Sudan through government-organized programs coordinated by the UNHCR 
and International Organization of Migration (IOM). The majority of 
returnees settled in Northern Bahr el Gazal, Unity, and Upper Nile 
states but continued to face violence, abuse, and lack of basic 
services. However, living conditions for returnees were almost 
indistinguishable from the general population due to the lack of 
development and livelihood activities throughout the country. The 
government faced enormous challenges in addressing the needs of the 
massive influx of returnees, in addition to those of the existing 
population. Challenges included implementation of a comprehensive 
development plan to assume control of and professionalize public sector 
services, particularly the health sector.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Conflict between the SPLA and 
SAF along the northern border areas, RMG attacks on SAF and SPLA 
security forces, government counterattacks, security forces clashes 
with civilians, interethnic and intercommunal conflict, LRA attacks in 
Western Equatoria, and cattle rustling resulted in approximately 
250,000 IDPs during the year (see section 1.g.).

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. However, the government allowed refugees to settle in the 
country.
    Approximately 78,000 refugees from Sudan fled to South Sudan as a 
result of conflict between the SPLA-N and SAF along the disputed border 
areas (see section 1.g.).
    Approximately 20,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR) fled to Western Bahr 
el Ghazal due to LRA attacks in their home countries.
    Approximately 5,000 Ethiopian refugees fled to South Sudan due to 
ethnic persecution in Gambella, Ethiopia.
    The government's capacity to assist refugees was extremely limited, 
and most humanitarian aid was provided by the international community 
or host families and communities. The UNHCR, the lead agency in 
providing and coordinating humanitarian assistance for refugees, worked 
closely with the South Sudanese Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. 
UNHCR support varied depending on refugee location and specific 
circumstances, but on a national level it provided physical protection, 
food, legal assistance, livelihood activities, and family 
reunification. The UNHCR also provided either direct or indirect 
support through numerous international NGOs contracted as implementing 
partners to provide humanitarian assistance and fill protection gaps. 
The International Committee of the Red Cross, IOM, and numerous NGOs 
provided relief assistance to refugees and IDPs throughout the country. 
However, fighting between the SAF and SPLA-North in disputed border 
areas, RMG attacks, lack of infrastructure and road access, land mines, 
heavy rains, and flooding impeded humanitarian access to many towns and 
villages.

    Refugee Abuse.--Refugees suffered abuse, such as armed attacks, 
killings, gender-based violence, recruitment of child soldiers, and 
forced labor, according to the UNHCR. Government forces, RMGs, and 
ethnic groups were responsible for such abuses. Returnees also faced 
delayed allocation of land, lack of basic services, inability to obtain 
transportation to their final destinations, and lack of employment.

    Stateless Persons.--While data was incomplete, there were reports 
of de facto stateless populations in South Sudan. During the week 
beginning July 25, state authorities in Western Bahr el Ghazal ordered 
3,000 to 5,000 members of the nomadic Mbororo population to leave the 
state; the Mbororo are a nomadic population who move between the DRC, 
CAR, and South Sudan. State authorities claimed that other ethnic 
communities living in Western Bahr el Ghazal feared an ``Arabization'' 
of Western Bahr el Ghazal by the Mbororo population and complained of 
land disputes and crop damage from Mbororo cattle. Most Mboboro members 
departed the state for South Darfur and the CAR; however, between 150 
and 160 Mbororo members remained in Western Bahr el Ghazal and were de 
facto stateless. Observers agreed that the Mbororo population posed no 
security threat and that action taken against the Mbororo was motivated 
by ethnic and political considerations.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The transitional constitution, which came into effect in July, does 
not address the right of citizens to peacefully change their 
government; however, citizens of Southern origin exercised this right 
in a January referendum in which they voted overwhelmingly to secede 
from Sudan to create the independent republic of South Sudan.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--South 
Sudan has not yet held elections as a new nation. Prior to independence 
on July 9, more than 98 percent of voters cast their ballots in favor 
of secession during the Southern Sudan Self-Determination Referendum on 
the status of Southern Sudan, held between January 9 and 15. Both 
international and domestic observers characterized the process as 
generally peaceful and fair, despite some irregularities. The Carter 
Center reported to the South Sudan Referendum Commission that incidents 
of assisted voting for illiterate and poorly educated voters occurred 
in all 10 states and could have undermined the secrecy of ballots, 
although in most cases it did not influence the will of voters. 
Security officials reportedly were present in some referendum centers, 
which could have intimidated some voters. The absence of large-scale 
voter education and civic education contributed to voters' limited 
understanding of the process and inhibited their ability to make 
informed decisions about the impact of continued unity as opposed to 
secession.
    Presidential and legislative elections were held in April 2010 and 
were dominated by the SPLM party. While the presidential election, 
which resulted in the election of President Salva Kiir Mayardit, was 
deemed generally free and fair by international observers, the SPLM 
imposed governors in some states. Voters in Unity State, for example, 
voted overwhelmingly for the independent candidate, but the incumbent 
SPLM governor was declared the winner. The imposition of SPLM governors 
in Jongei and Unity states triggered violence, resulting in deaths and 
injuries.
    In the months leading up to the April 2010 elections, security 
forces harassed, arrested, and detained persons thought to be opposed 
to the SPLM, including journalists and opposition members.

    Political Parties.--The SPLM enjoyed a near-monopoly of power and 
has been the most broadly recognized and supported political entity 
since the signing of the CPA in 2005. SPLM membership conferred 
political and financial advantages. In the new cabinet announced in 
August, opposition parties headed only four of 29 ministries. Many 
opposition members were dismissed from civil service employment at 
central and state levels during the year. Opposition parties lacked 
large constituencies, were not represented in many states, and had 
limited financial resources and poor infrastructure. Only a few had 
regular party conventions or established communication networks. 
Contrary to the principles adopted at the October 2010 Political 
Parties Conference--including the establishment of a National 
Constitutional Review Commission that would convene an all-party 
constitutional system and a broad-based transitional government during 
the transitional period--opposition representation was inadequate, 
according to civil society members. SPLM leaders alleged that 
opposition parties were financed by, and their leaders were loyal to, 
Sudan. Security threats and increased RMG activity exacerbated such 
suspicions.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The CPA stipulates at least 
25 percent female participation in the legislative and executive 
branches of government, and women held 90 of the 332 seats in the 
National Assembly; however, women occupied only five of the 50 seats in 
the Council of States. Fifteen female ministers, including five female 
ministers and 10 deputy ministers, served in the 56-member cabinet.
    The government made efforts to obtain representation from all 
ethnic groups; however, no formal mechanism to achieve such balance had 
been established by year's end.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The transitional constitution provides criminal penalties for acts 
of corruption; however, the government did not effectively implement 
the law, and officials continued to engage in corrupt practices with 
impunity. Although President Kiir publicly criticized corruption, it 
was a problem in all branches of government and was compounded by poor 
record keeping, lax accounting procedures, and the pending status of 
corrective legislation within the country.
    The South Sudan Anticorruption Commission (SSACC) was created in 
2009 under the authority of an amendment to the interim constitution of 
2005. The transitional constitution expanded SSACC responsibilities to 
include prosecuting as well as investigating allegations of corruption. 
However, the 2009 Southern Sudan Anticorruption Commission Act provides 
that the SSACC refer investigations suggesting criminal activity to the 
Ministry of Justice for prosecution. On September 6, the National 
Legislative Assembly adopted the 2010 SSACC annual report and noted 
that the transitional constitution mandates that the commission 
prosecute corruption suspects. In practice the commission had no 
authority to prosecute because the constitution does not repeal or 
amend the 2009 act, previous laws, or procedures vesting prosecutorial 
powers in the Ministry of Justice. Further complicating the prosecution 
issue, corruption is not defined in the constitution or criminal code. 
Since its establishment, the SSACC has submitted six cases of 
corruption for prosecution to the Ministry of Justice, none of which 
had been adjudicated by year's end.
    In June, prior to the July 9 independence of South Sudan, the SSLA 
called the ministers of finance and legal affairs to testify on a 
massive grain scandal in 2009. According to the SSLA Select Committee, 
in 2009 the Finance Ministry had asked contractors to build 132 
emergency grain stores at a cost of $34 million. Only 46 of the 132 
were built, and the rest of the money was either misappropriated or 
embezzled.
    Government officials of director general rank and higher are 
required to submit financial declaration forms, although there is no 
penalty for failure to comply.
    No law provides for public access to government information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Prior to independence in July, domestic and international NGOs were 
unable to work effectively due to conflict, flooding, and occasional 
government restrictions. Security forces and RMGs operating in South 
Sudan sometimes restricted the movement of U.N. personnel and other 
humanitarian groups, and conflict in intertribal areas also impeded the 
delivery of assistance to vulnerable populations (see section 1.g.).
    Following independence on July 9, a variety of domestic and 
international human rights NGOs generally operated without government 
restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human 
rights cases. During the year there were reports of increased visa and 
residency processing requirements for NGO employees. Government 
officials were generally cooperative and responsive.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
cooperated with representatives of the U.N. or other international 
organizations. However, on August 20, police officers beat the chief 
human rights officer for UNMISS after he refused to let police officers 
search his luggage at a hotel in Juba. The UNMISS official, who told 
reporters that he was beaten, kicked, and punched, was hospitalized for 
five days before being sent abroad for further medical treatment. Four 
police officers involved in the attack were stripped of their ranks and 
given extra work for seven days. The Ministry of Interior commissioned 
an investigation.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--Members of the South Sudan Human 
Rights Commission are appointed by the president, but the organization 
operated somewhat independently. The commission cooperated with 
international human rights advocates and submitted reports and 
recommendations to the government. Severe resource constraints 
prevented the commission from doing more than raising awareness of 
human rights issues during the year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The transitional constitution prohibits discrimination on race, 
gender, disability, language, and social status; however, the 
government did not effectively enforce the law.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is punishable by up to 14 
years' imprisonment and a fine; however, the government did not 
effectively enforce the law, and rape was thought to be widespread. 
Spousal rape is not addressed in the law. No information was available 
on the number of persons who were prosecuted, convicted, or punished 
for rape, and convictions of rape were seldom publicized. According to 
observers, sentences meted out to persons convicted of rape were often 
less than the maximum.
    The law prohibits domestic violence; however, the government did 
not enforce the law. Violence, including spousal abuse, against women 
was common, although there were no reliable statistics on its 
prevalence. Women were often reluctant to file formal complaints, and 
police seldom intervened in domestic disputes. Statistics on the number 
of abusers prosecuted, convicted, or punished were not available.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is punishable by up to three 
years' imprisonment and a fine; however, the government rarely enforced 
the law. Although no statistics were available, observers noted that 
sexual harassment was a serious problem throughout the country, 
particularly by police. In 2010 the local press reported that newly 
trained police in Juba harassed women for wearing jeans and short 
skirts. Victims of such harassment filed complaints against the police, 
and an investigation into the complaints continued at year's end.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples were not subject to coercion or 
violence in deciding the number, spacing, and timing of children; 
however, few couples had access to the information and means for 
responsible birth control methods. Contraception, skilled medical 
attendance during childbirth, and obstetric and postpartum care were 
not widely available. Reproductive choices were also limited by dowry 
since men who paid exorbitant dowries to marry believed they should 
have the final say in domestic decisions. High illiteracy rates among 
women also limited female access to accurate information concerning the 
right to healthy birth control. The maternal mortality rate was 2,000 
deaths per 100,000 live births. According to Doctors without Borders, a 
woman in South Sudan had ``a bigger chance of dying during childbirth 
than of going to high school.'' Women were not provided equal access to 
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases because there 
were no facilities to provide these services.

    Discrimination.--The transitional constitution provides for gender 
equality and equal rights for women; however, deep cultural prejudices 
continued to result in widespread discrimination against women. 
Communities often followed customary laws and traditional practices 
harmful to women. For example, women were arrested and detained for 
adultery. Women also experienced discrimination in employment, pay, 
credit, education, and owning and/or managing businesses.
    The government took steps to empower women in political, economic, 
and social arenas. For example, during the year the Ministry of Gender, 
Child, and Social Welfare used a World Bank grant to disseminate funds 
to 109 women, who started businesses in all 10 states. In April the 
government also launched the first women's vocational training 
institute in Yirol West County, Lakes State. The government also held 
an ``activism week'' to raise awareness about violence against women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--The transitional constitution 
states that persons born to a South Sudanese mother or father have the 
right to citizenship. The government did not register all births 
immediately.

    Education.--The law provides for tuition-free basic education up to 
grade eight, although education was not compulsory, and many children 
did not attend school. Lack of schools and muddy terrain during the 
rainy season made it difficult for children to attend school. Girls 
often lacked equal access to education. Many girls chose not to attend 
school or dropped out of school due to the absence of separate 
bathrooms in some schools and the preponderance of male teachers.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse, including sexual abuse, was widespread. 
Child rape was common but seldom reported due to fear among victims and 
their families of stigmatization. Child abduction also was a problem, 
and the Murle ethnic group often abducted women and children during 
cattle raids.

    Child Marriage.--The transitional constitution provides for a 
minimum marriage age of 18; however, the law was not enforced, and 
child marriage was a problem. No statistics were available on the 
extent of the practice. Many abducted children, especially girls, were 
forced into marriage.
    The practice of girl compensation--compensating the family of a 
crime victim with a young girl from the perpetrator's family--occurred 
in three counties of Eastern Equatoria State. Victims were generally 
between the ages of 11 and 15, were often physically and sexually 
abused, did not attend school, and served as servants for the victim's 
family. Local officials complained that efforts to curb the practice 
were impeded by the lack of security services and rule of law in many 
areas. However, during the year the advisor to the governor on gender 
and human rights formed an NGO to combat the practice in Eastern 
Equatoria State.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law does not provide for a 
minimum age of consensual sex, and commercial sexual exploitation of 
children was a problem. The law does not address child pornography. The 
perpetrators of child prostitution and child trafficking may be 
punished by up to 14 years' imprisonment; however, both crimes 
occurred, particularly in urban areas. In Juba numerous girls between 
ages 12 and 15 were involved in prostitution.

    Child Soldiers.--Children were used as soldiers in government 
forces and armed groups (see section 1.g.).

    Displaced Children.--During the year numerous children were 
displaced as a result of conflict and flooding; few had access to 
government services, such as education.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--It was unknown whether there were Jews among the 
Ethiopian community; there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, 
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health 
care, or the provision of other state services. The government has not 
implemented programs to ensure access to buildings for persons with 
disabilities. There were no mental health hospitals or institutions, 
and persons with mental illnesses were held in prisons.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Interethnic fighting was a 
serious problem (see section 1.g.). The country had more than 81 ethnic 
groups and a long history of interethnic conflict. Ethnic groups were 
broadly categorized into the Nilotic (Dinka, Nuer, and Shilluk ethnic 
groups), Nilo-Hamitic, and the Southwestern Sudanic groups. For these 
ethnic groups, cattle represented wealth and status, and competition 
for resources to maintain large cattle herds often resulted in 
conflict. Longstanding grievances over perceived or actual inequitable 
treatment and distribution of resources and political exclusion 
contributed to conflict.
    Several interethnic clashes occurred following independence in 
July, including a cycle of retaliatory attacks between the Murle and 
Lou Nuer ethnic groups in Jonglei State. Interethnic conflict spread 
throughout Lakes State with subgroups of the dominant Dinka group, 
Dinka pastoralists, and Jur Bel agriculturalists fighting for land 
resources. Interethnic clashes occurred in northeast Lakes State 
between the Nuer from Unity State and the Dinka in Lakes State. 
Longstanding tensions in Unity State between the nomadic Misseriya, the 
Nuer, and the Ngok Dinka communities resulted in a series of violent 
confrontations. Following the January referendum on secession, northern 
Arab groups, including the Misseriya from Southern Kordofan and Abyei 
Area, migrated into northern Unity State, increasing competition and 
tension over resources for cattle.
    Christians in South Sudan often discriminated against Arabs and 
Muslims.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits sodomy, 
which is punishable by death. There were no reports that this law was 
enforced during the year. Societal discrimination against gay men and 
lesbians was widespread. There were no known lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 
transgender organizations.
    In July 2010, prior to the July 9, 2011 independence of South 
Sudan, President Kiir remarked in an internationally broadcast radio 
interview that homosexuality would not be accepted in the South.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no credible 
reports of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
As a new nation, South Sudan continued to operate under select 
legislation inherited from Sudan. The 1997 Labor Act of Sudan remained 
in effect during the year. Under the act independent unions are 
permitted. The law is silent on the rights to strike and bargain 
collectively and does not explicitly prohibit antiunion discrimination 
or provide for reinstatement of workers fired for union activities. A 
new draft labor law was under review by the Ministry of Justice at 
year's end; it was expected to go before the National Assembly in 2012. 
Government enforcement of preexisting labor laws was little to 
nonexistent.
    The country had no industries or manufacturing sector, and 80 
percent of the population relied on subsistence farming or animal 
husbandry for their livelihood. The South Sudan Workers' Trade Union, 
the country's only trade union, had approximately 50,000 public sector 
workers.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. Government enforcement of the 
law was weak. According to the Ministry of Justice, neither the police 
nor labor inspectors referred cases of forced labor to the ministry 
during the year.
    Government forces and RMGs recruited child soldiers (see section 
1.g).
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits child labor and the act of exposing children to economic 
exploitation. The minimum age for paid employment in strenuous work is 
14, while the minimum age for ``light work'' is 12. Under the law 
strenuous work includes activities such as mining and quarrying, work 
in factories, graveyard shift work, or employment in prisons or the 
military. Light work is defined as work that does not harm the health 
or development of a child and does not affect the child's school 
attendance or capacity to benefit from such.
    The government did not enforce child labor laws. Child labor was 
concentrated in the agricultural sector (the majority of which was 
subsistence farming) and cattle herding. The Ministry of Labor 
estimated that approximately 2,000 children in Juba County were engaged 
in child labor of some kind.
    Government forces and RMGs recruited child soldiers.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--South Sudan continued to operate 
under select legislation inherited from Sudan. There were no new laws 
stipulating a national minimum wage, nor was there an official estimate 
of the poverty income level. The Civil Service Provisional Order 
applies to the public sector and outlines the rights and obligations of 
public sector workers, including benefits, salaries, and overtime. The 
law provides the Ministry of Labor, Public Service, and Human Resources 
with the right to issue the schedule of salary rates according to which 
all civil servants, officials, and employees are to be paid. Under the 
law only unskilled workers are to be paid overtime in excess of 40 
hours of work per week. Civil servants, officials, and employees 
working at higher pay grades are expected to work necessary hours 
beyond the standard work week without overtime pay. When exceptional 
additional hours are demanded, the department head may grant time off 
instead of reimbursement.
    The government set occupational safety and health standards for 
public sector workers through the Acceptable Conditions of Work laws. 
The government has not enacted similar legislation on wages, working 
conditions, or occupational safety and health for workers outside of 
the public sector.
    The Ministry of Labor, Public Service, and Human Resources is 
responsible for enforcement of laws on wages and working conditions. It 
had between seven and 10 labor inspectors. Standards were not 
effectively enforced, and the Ministry of Justice reported receiving no 
cases of labor violations. Penalties for violations of laws on wages 
and working conditions were not sufficient to deter violations. The 
International Labor Organization (ILO) attempted to train labor 
inspectors during the year but found most persons lacked professional 
training or were not actual employees of the Labor Ministry. During the 
year the Central Equatoria State labor ministry reportedly conducted 69 
labor inspections in Juba.
    No information was available on working conditions with respect to 
minimum wage, hours of work, and occupational safety and health. 
According to the ILO, less than 12 percent of workers were in the 
formal sector, which included a few security companies and a brewery. 
The majority of workers in the country were agricultural workers, of 
which 70 percent were agropastoralists, and 53 percent were engaged in 
unpaid subsistence family farming.

                               __________

                                 SUDAN

                           executive summary
    Sudan is a republic transitioning, after the secession of South 
Sudan in July, toward a new constitution from a power-sharing 
arrangement established by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
(CPA). The National Congress Party controls the government, with power 
concentrated in the hands of authoritarian President Omar Hassan al-
Bashir and his inner circle. In April 2010 the country held its first 
national, multiparty elections in 24 years. The elections, which 
several opposition parties boycotted, did not meet international 
standards. Observers reported restriction of civil liberties, 
intimidation, threats of violence, lack of transparency in vote 
tabulation, and other problems. President Bashir was reelected, and his 
political party won 323 of 450 seats in the National Assembly. There 
were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control, especially in the Darfur Region and 
the Three Areas.
    From January 9 to 15, citizens of South Sudanese origin voted in a 
referendum on the secession of South Sudan from Sudan. Ninety-eight 
percent voted for secession. International and national observers 
described the referendum process as consistent with international 
standards, peaceful, and orderly. The Republic of South Sudan formally 
gained its independence in July. Although required by the Comprehensive 
Peace Agreement, a simultaneous referendum on the status of Abyei was 
not held, and popular consultations in Southern Kordofan were 
indefinitely postponed. Blue Nile consultations were concluded, but the 
recommendations were not implemented by year's end. Conflict continued 
in Darfur, and conflict occurred in the three border areas of Abyei, 
Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile (the Three Areas). Abyei's final 
sovereignty status was not resolved, and the area was under joint 
administration by both Sudan and South Sudan.
    The main human rights abuses during the year included the 
following: government forces and government-aligned groups committed 
extrajudicial and other unlawful killings; security forces committed 
torture, beatings, rape, and other cruel and inhumane treatment or 
punishment; and prison and detention center conditions were harsh and 
life threatening.
    Other major abuses included arbitrary arrest and arbitrary, 
incommunicado, and prolonged pretrial detention; executive interference 
with the judiciary and denial of due process; obstruction of 
humanitarian assistance; restriction of freedoms of speech, press, 
assembly, association, religion, and movement; harassment of internally 
displaced persons; restrictions on privacy; harassment and closure of 
human rights organizations; violence and discrimination against women, 
including female genital mutilation; child abuse, including sexual 
violence and recruitment of child soldiers; trafficking in persons; 
violence against ethnic minorities; denial of workers' rights; and 
forced and child labor.
    Except in rare cases, the government took no steps to prosecute or 
punish officials in the security services and elsewhere in the 
government who committed abuses. Security force impunity remained a 
serious problem.
    Rebels in Darfur and the Three Areas also committed abuses during 
the year.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government and 
its agents committed arbitrary and unlawful killings.
    Government forces, government-aligned militias, rebels, and 
interethnic fighting killed civilians in connection with the conflicts 
in Darfur and the Three Areas (see section 1.g.).
    Security forces killed demonstrators. For example, on March 17, 
police opened fire on students protesting at the University of El 
Fasher in North Darfur, killing two, and dispersed others with tear 
gas. The students were protesting the government ban on all campus 
political activity.
    On June 17, National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) 
agents abducted and reportedly killed a Darfuri University of Khartoum 
student one day after he delivered a speech about the situation in 
Darfur. On June 18, his body was discovered with signs of severe 
torture. NISS authorities claimed he had been electrocuted at the 
bakery where he worked; witnesses, however, stated that NISS 
authorities had captured and tortured him.
    In February 2010 NISS agents arrested University of Khartoum 
student Mohamed Moussa Abdallah Bahr el Din. He was found dead the next 
day; his body showed signs of torture. At year's end there were no new 
developments in the case.
    Authorities did not prosecute any police officers for the May 2010 
killing of 17 and injuring of an estimated 200 during protests over a 
North Darfur Ponzi scam. As of year's end, there were no new 
developments.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports of politically and ethnically 
motivated disappearances during the year in nonconflict areas.
    In December armed elements in Khartoum, allegedly members of the 
South Sudanese Democratic Militia/Athor, conducted a series of raids 
against and kidnappings of at least 15 people of South Sudanese origin. 
Some were kidnapped for ransom, and others were reportedly pressed into 
the service of anti-South Sudanese government militias.
    The whereabouts of an unknown number of Zaghawa Darfuris detained 
in Khartoum following the Justice and Equality Movement's (JEM) attack 
on Omdurman in 2008 remained unknown.
    The government, as well as government-backed militias, were 
responsible for the disappearance of civilians during the year (see 
section 1.g.) in conflict areas.
    Gunmen in Darfur abducted humanitarian workers and African Union--
United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) personnel; this included 
criminal kidnappings for ransom and politically motivated kidnappings; 
some cases mixed both motives (see section 1.g.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The interim national constitution prohibits such 
practices; however, government security forces continued to torture, 
beat, and harass suspected political opponents and others. In Darfur 
and other areas of conflict, government forces, rebel groups, and 
tribal factions committed torture and abuse (see section 1.g.).
    In accordance with Sharia (Islamic law), the Criminal Act provides 
for physical punishments, including flogging, amputation, stoning, and 
crucifixion--the public display of a body after execution. In practice 
such physical punishment other than flogging was not frequently used. 
Traditional customary law commonly was applied to convicted defendants. 
Courts routinely imposed flogging, especially for production of 
alcohol.
    Government security forces beat and tortured persons in detention, 
including members of the political opposition, civil society activists, 
and journalists. These persons were often subsequently released without 
charge.
    For example, some of those arrested in the late January and early 
February antigovernment protests were subjected to torture and other 
forms of mistreatment while in detention. Safia Isaq, a recently 
graduated student allegedly involved in organizing protests through the 
Girifna movement on Facebook, was arrested by NISS on a separate 
occasion. Three security force members allegedly gang-raped her during 
detention (see section 1.d.).
    Public order laws, in force in Khartoum State only, prohibit 
indecent dress, which is punishable by a maximum of 40 lashes, a fine, 
or both. Authorities applied these laws more frequently against women 
than men. They were applied to both Muslims and non-Muslims.
    In December 2010 security forces arrested more than 44 persons, 
mostly women, demonstrating in reaction to a video that showed two 
police officers lashing a woman. Authorities later released the 
demonstrators on bail but charged them with public nuisance and 
disturbing the peace. As of year's end, there were no new developments.
    Police and NISS officers forcibly dispersed protesters, which 
resulted in serious injuries and deaths (see sections 1.a. and 2.b.).
    Security forces and armed nonstate actors raped women, including in 
connection with the conflicts in Darfur and the Three Areas (see 
section 1.g.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
throughout the country remained harsh, overcrowded, and life 
threatening. Health care often was below standard. Prisoners sometimes 
relied on family or friends for food. Officials continued to deny 
visits to prisoners arbitrarily.
    The government mistreated some persons in custody. Security forces 
held some political and nonpolitical detainees incommunicado; beat 
them; deprived them of food, water, and toilets; and forced them to 
sleep on cold floors. Prisoners died from lack of health care and poor 
prison conditions. Generally, food, water, and sanitation were provided 
for prisoners, although the quality of all three was basic. Families of 
prisoners usually were allowed to supplement the meals of prisoners 
with food from the outside.
    Most prisoners did not have access to beds; in general prisoners 
were provided with blankets in the winter. Ventilation and lighting 
conditions differed between prisons, and law enforcement figures 
reported that overcrowding was a problem.
    There were reports of negligent deaths in prisons and pretrial 
detention centers, but comprehensive figures were not readily 
available.
    On December 8 and 9, prisoners in El Fasher's Shala Prison rioted 
in protest of scheduled executions of Liberation and Justice Movement 
(LJM) and Justice and Equality Movement detainees. One prisoner was 
killed and 10 injured before the rioting ended. The prisoners from LJM, 
a movement that had signed a peace agreement with the government, were 
subsequently moved to Kober Prison in Khartoum.
    The Ministry of the Interior reported there were 20,000 total 
prisoners, with 2,427 awaiting trial and 17,573 already sentenced.
    Men and women were not held together. Incarcerated women reportedly 
received better quality food than men. In Khartoum juveniles were not 
held in adult prisons or jails but sometimes were held with adults 
elsewhere in the country.
    Political prisoners were held in special sections of prisons. The 
main prison in Khartoum, Kober Prison, contained separate sections for 
political prisoners, those convicted of financial crimes, and an 
unknown number of JEM detainees.
    Prisoners were allowed to take part in religious observance. There 
were locations in prisons for Islamic prayer but no dedicated areas for 
Christian observance. Christian priests were sometimes allowed to hold 
services in prisons, although access was not regular.
    Authorities permitted prisoners, but not all detainees, to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request 
investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions, which 
authorities investigated and documented. However, these rights were not 
always granted to pretrial detainees, political prisoners, and those in 
the custody of police or security forces.
    The government allowed some restricted visits to prisons by human 
rights observers, although it continued to deny unrestricted access. 
The International Committee of the Red Cross did not have access to 
government prisons during the year. The Ministry of Justice 
occasionally granted UNAMID access to government prisons in the Darfur 
area during the year.
    Prison officials in Darfur participated in U.N. Development 
Program-sponsored capacity-building training sessions during the year.
    Rebel groups in Darfur periodically detained people they kidnapped 
in isolated locations, but there were no reports of prisons run by 
local warlords, paramilitary groups, or rebel forces.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The interim national 
constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention without charge; 
however, the government continued to arrest and detain persons 
arbitrarily, often under the National Security Act. Throughout the 
country arbitrary arrests and detention were common, including of U.N. 
employees.
    For example, in January NISS agents arrested Hassan al-Turabi, head 
of the opposition Popular Congress Party, and nine other party members 
for calling on the government to carry out democratic reforms. All 10 
were released in May without charge.
    In January more than 100 persons, among them journalists, 
opposition members, and students, were arrested during protests 
inspired by events in Egypt and Tunisia. According to the U.N.' s 
independent expert, most were released quickly after their arrests and 
without charges. However, more than 30 were held for an extended period 
after the protests and reportedly suffered abuse at the hands of 
authorities. Most were released by late May.
    In Darfur at least 29 Darfuris were arrested during the year and 
remained in arbitrary detention. This number does not include 46 
Darfuris arrested between 2008-10 who continued in detention. On July 
12, the government released 25 Darfuri political prisoners after it 
publicly stated it planned to release all political prisoners.
    In August the wali of South Darfur granted amnesty to five sheikhs 
from Kalma Camp who had taken shelter in a UNAMID Community Policing 
Center inside the camp the prior year following a series of violent 
clashes within the camp. The five sheikhs were accused of killing 
supporters of the Doha peace process and faced death penalty charges. 
The wali also announced the release of 72 prisoners and state pardons 
for additional prisoners.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Several government 
entities have responsibility for internal security, including the 
police, NISS, Ministry of Interior, and Ministry of Defense. The NISS 
maintains security officers in major towns and cities. The Ministry of 
Interior controlled the Central Reserve Police (CRP). The Ministry of 
Defense's Border Intelligence Force (border guards), a loosely 
organized force composed largely of former Janjaweed Arab militia, 
operated in Darfur and elsewhere. The CRP also contains a number of 
former Janjaweed fighters. In November the CRP attacked the western 
section of the Zamzam internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in North 
Darfur, killing one IDP and injuring eight others.
    Security force impunity was a serious problem. The 2010 National 
Security Act provides NISS officials with legal protection for acts 
involving their official duties. Abuses by security forces generally 
were not investigated. Security force corruption was a problem, and 
security force members often supplemented their incomes by extorting 
bribes.
    On August 24, a military court tried three police officers accused 
of physically assaulting a doctor at the police hospital. The military 
court convicted both the three police officers and the doctor and 
sentenced them to one month in prison.
    During the year the government named a special prosecutor from the 
Ministry of Justice to monitor NISS detentions. Nonetheless, the U.N.' 
s independent expert remained concerned about weak judicial oversight 
of NISS arrests and detention and the failure of the security service's 
rules to take fully into account human rights principles and respect 
for the rule of law.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants are 
not required for an arrest. The criminal procedure law permits 
authorities to detain individuals for three days without charge, which 
can be extended for 30 days by order of the NISS director of security 
and another 15 days with the approval of the prosecuting attorney. 
Individuals accused of violating national security were frequently 
detained indefinitely without charge, although the National Security 
Act specifies such individuals may be detained without charge for three 
months, which the director of security may extend for another three 
months. The law provides for an individual to be informed of the 
charges at the time of arrest and for judicial determination without 
undue delay, but these provisions were rarely followed.
    The law allows for bail, except for those accused of crimes 
punishable by death or life imprisonment, and there was a functioning 
bail system.
    Although the law provides for access to a lawyer, government 
security forces often held persons incommunicado for long periods in 
unknown locations without access to lawyers or family members.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--The NISS, military intelligence, and Sudanese 
Armed Forces (SAF) arbitrarily arrested and detained persons. 
Authorities often detained persons for a few days before releasing them 
without charge, but many persons were held much longer.
    The Sudanese People's Liberation Movement--North (SPLM-N), whose 
military arm was fighting the SAF in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile 
states, reported military and intelligence forces abducted numerous 
civilian members of the movement during fighting in Blue Nile and 
Southern Kordofan during the year. Human rights groups were not able to 
verify most of these claims, although Human Rights Watch and Sudan-
based human rights activists confirmed the detention by national 
security personnel in Damazin, Blue Nile, on September 2 of Abdelmoniem 
Rahma, a well-known Sudanese writer, artist, activist, and former 
adviser on cultural affairs to the governor of Blue Nile State. Rahma 
remained in detention without charge at year's end. The SPLM-N 
controlled swathes of territory in the two states and denied access to 
human rights monitors. It was also accused of abducting civilians.

    Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention was common. The 
large numbers of detainees and judicial inefficiency, such as the 
failure of judges to appear for court, resulted in trial delays. For 
example, the individuals arrested for their association with Radio 
Dabanga were held in pretrial detention from October 2010 until their 
trial began on June 16. They were cleared of all charges in December.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the interim national 
constitution and the law provide for an independent judiciary, the 
judiciary was largely subservient to the president and the security 
forces, particularly in cases of alleged crimes against the state. On 
occasion courts displayed a degree of independence; however, political 
interference with the courts was commonplace, and some high-ranking 
members of the judiciary held positions in the Ministry of Interior or 
other ministries in the executive branch.
    A state of emergency, which allows for arrest and detention without 
trial, remained in place in Darfur and was extended to Blue Nile State. 
The special courts from 2010 ceased to exist; however, the Ministry of 
Justice appointed a series of three special prosecutors for Darfur 
during the year.
    The judiciary was inefficient and subject to corruption. In Darfur 
judges were often absent from their posts, delaying trials. Access to 
functioning courts was also a problem for residents in other remote 
areas.

    Trial Procedures.--The interim national constitution and law 
provide for fair and prompt trials as well as a presumption of 
innocence; however, this often was not respected. Trials are open to 
the public at the discretion of the judge. In cases of national 
security and offenses against the state, trials are usually closed. 
Juries are not used. The law stipulates the government is obligated to 
provide a lawyer for cases in which indigents are accused and for which 
the punishment might exceed 10 years' imprisonment or possibly 
execution. The accused can also request assistance through the legal 
aid department at the Ministry of Justice or the Sudanese Bar 
Association. Defendants and their attorneys generally have the right to 
present evidence and witnesses, be present in court, confront accusers, 
and have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. 
However, some defendants reportedly did not receive legal counsel, and 
counsel in some cases could only advise the defendant and not address 
the court. Persons in remote areas and in areas of conflict generally 
did not have access to legal counsel. There were reports the government 
sometimes did not allow defense witnesses to testify. Defendants have a 
right to appeal, except in military trials, where there is no appeal.
    Lawyers wishing to practice were required to maintain membership in 
the government-controlled Sudanese Bar Association. The government 
continued to arrest and harass members of the legal profession whom it 
considered to be political opponents.
    Military trials, which sometimes were secret and brief, did not 
provide procedural safeguards. For example, a defendant's attorney 
could advise the defendant but could not address the court.
    The Special Courts Act created special three-person security courts 
to deal with violations of constitutional decrees, emergency 
regulations, and some sections of the penal code, including drug and 
currency offenses. Special courts, composed primarily of civilian 
judges, handled most security-related cases. Defendants in these courts 
had limited opportunities to meet with counsel and were not always 
allowed to present witnesses during trial.
    Due to the long distances between court facilities and police 
stations, local mediation was often the first resort to try to resolve 
disputes. In some instances unofficial tribal courts operating outside 
the official legal system decided cases. Such courts did not provide 
the same protections as regular courts.
    While Islamic jurisprudence strongly influences the law, in 
domestic cases concerning Coptic Christians, such as divorce and other 
family matters, courts often allowed a Coptic priest, particularly the 
archbishop, to make the final ruling.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The government held hundreds of 
political prisoners and detainees. Some political detainees were held 
in isolated cells in regular prisons, and many were held without access 
to family or medical treatment. Human rights organizations asserted 
that the NISS ran ``ghost houses,'' where they detained opposition and 
human rights figures without confirming they were in detention by the 
state. Security forces detained without charge, tortured, and held 
incommunicado political opponents. Detentions of such persons were 
prolonged at times.
    The government continued to arrest members and leadership of the 
Popular Congress Party (PCP), SPLM-N, and other opposition parties.
    On September 12, shortly after the nationwide ban of the SPLM-N and 
following that party's public adoption of a regime change strategy in 
conjunction with armed Darfuri groups, police officials raided the 
house of prominent SPLM-N member Izdihar Guma. They arrested her and 
her husband and held them for five hours. Upon her release authorities 
put her under a travel ban limiting her movements to Khartoum. 
Approximately 26 members of the SPLM-N's leadership remained in 
detention at year's end. The NISS also confiscated SPLM-N property 
countrywide.
    The government detained persons who participated in political 
protests.
    The government severely restricted international humanitarian 
organizations' access to political detainees. The government allowed 
UNAMID extremely limited access to Darfuri political detainees in 
Khartoum and Darfur.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Those seeking damages for 
human rights violations had access to courts; however, the judiciary 
was not independent. There were problems enforcing domestic court 
orders.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The interim national constitution and law prohibit 
such actions, but the government routinely violated these rights in 
practice. Emergency laws in Darfur and Blue Nile State legalize 
interference in privacy, family, home, and correspondence.
    Security forces frequently conducted searches without warrants and 
targeted persons suspected of political crimes.
    Police often entered IDP areas without a warrant in search of 
illegal alcohol brewing and seized property unrelated to brewing. 
Police also extorted money from illegal alcohol brewers by threatening 
them with prison.
    The government monitored private communication and movement of 
individuals without legal process. A wide network of government 
informants conducted surveillance in schools, universities, markets, 
workplaces, and neighborhoods.
    By law a Muslim man may marry a non-Muslim, but a Muslim woman 
cannot marry a non Muslim unless he converts to Islam; this prohibition 
was not universally enforced. Non-Muslims may adopt only non-Muslim 
children; no such restrictions apply to Muslim parents.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Darfur.--In Darfur fighting involving government forces, government-
aligned militias, rebel groups, and ethnic groups continued. These 
groups killed, injured, and raped women and girls, used child soldiers, 
and displaced civilians. Darfur rebel factions, bandits, and 
unidentified assailants also killed, beat, and abducted civilians, 
humanitarian workers, and personnel of UNAMID. Interethnic violence was 
a severe problem and resulted in civilian deaths and displacement.
    Clashes between the SAF, associated militias, and rebel forces, as 
well as tribal fighting and violent criminality, led to the killing of 
an estimated 939 people in Darfur during the year. In 2010, 2,321 
confirmed killings occurred.
    As a result of conflict, an estimated 1,945,000 civilians remained 
internally displaced, and approximately 274,640 refugees remained in 
Chad. According to U.N. estimates, as many as 70,000 persons were 
displaced between January and October in Darfur by government and rebel 
fighting as well as increased tribal violence. During the year the 
Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) verified 
110,000 returns of IDPs and 30,000 refugees, mostly to areas in West 
Darfur.
    Fighting between government forces, irregular forces aligned with 
the government, and rebel groups particularly affected the area of 
Jebel Marra. In addition heavy fighting between government-supported 
militias and ethnic Zaghawa rebels, sometimes affiliated with the Sudan 
Liberation Movement/Minni Minnawi (SLM/MM), broke out in December 2010 
and continued through May. Intercommunal violence continued during the 
year in North and South Darfur. Conflicts in IDP camps also resulted in 
deaths. Rape as well as recruitment of child soldiers continued to 
occur.
    Government forces provided support, including weapons and 
ammunition, to government-aligned militias, and the government seldom 
took action against soldiers or militia members who attacked civilians. 
During the year the government began to provide weapons to African 
tribes to fight other African tribes; in past years the government 
primarily provided Arab tribes with weapons to fight against African 
tribes. Rebel forces reportedly received financial support from foreign 
sources during the year.
    Fighting, insecurity, bureaucratic obstacles, and government and 
rebel restrictions reduced the ability of peacekeepers and humanitarian 
workers to access conflict-affected areas. Armed persons attacked, 
killed, injured, and kidnapped peacekeepers and aid workers. 
Humanitarian organizations often were not able to deliver humanitarian 
assistance in conflict areas, particularly in Jebel Marra.
    Although different national and international nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) filled the void left when the government expelled 
13 international and three local humanitarian NGOs in 2009, security 
concerns and the Emergency Law, which gives the government the right to 
search humanitarian workers and bar access to areas in conflict zones, 
continued to hamper humanitarian intervention. Lack of access and fear 
of government retribution reduced reporting on human rights violations, 
especially sexual and gender-based violence, and humanitarian 
situations during the year.
    The government remained uncooperative with U.N. Security Council 
Resolution 1593 and with execution of the International Criminal Court 
(ICC) arrest warrants for President Bashir, Ahmad Muhammad Haroun, and 
Ali Muhammad Abd al-Rahman. In December the ICC's chief prosecutor 
requested the court issue a warrant for the arrest of Minister of 
Defense Abdurrahman Hussein for war crimes and crimes against humanity, 
stemming from his involvement in government efforts to suppress the 
violence in Darfur when he served as minister of the interior and 
special adviser to the president for Darfur. At year's end the court 
had not issued the requested warrant.
    Developments with respect to the ICC prosecutor's 2008 request for 
an arrest warrant for three rebel commanders, Bahr Idress Abu Garda, 
Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain, and Saleh Jerbo Jamus, for war crimes 
committed during the 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers at 
Haskanita, included the following: In February 2010 the ICC dropped 
charges against Abu Garda. In June 2010 Abdallah Banda and Saleh Jerbo, 
in response to summonses, appeared before the ICC Pretrial Chamber I. 
In November 2010 they waived their right to be present at the 
confirmation of charges hearing, which took place in December of that 
year. In March the ICC confirmed it would try Abdallah Banda and Saleh 
Jerbo, and the trial began in April.
    There were no developments regarding the recommendations of the 
African Union High-Level Panel on the 2009 report on Darfur, including 
its recommendation to create a hybrid court of Sudanese and 
international judges to prosecute the most serious crimes committed in 
Darfur and a truth and reconciliation commission. Discussions with the 
government on implementing the panel's suggestions remained stalled.

    The Three Areas.--The border region of Abyei was the site of 
violence, widespread displacement, and human rights violations 
throughout the interim period of the CPA. Abyei was scheduled to have a 
referendum at the same time as South Sudan to determine if it would 
join with a possible new independent South Sudan or remain a part of 
Sudan. Disputes over who could vote in the referendum prevented it from 
taking place. The Sudanese government stated the Misseriya, who migrate 
yearly through Abyei from the North, should be eligible to participate, 
while the government of South Sudan and the SPLM stressed the protocol 
called only for Dinka Ngok and other residents, but not nomadic groups, 
to vote. This delay in the referendum caused an increase in tensions 
among ethnic groups in the area, and violence soon broke out between 
the SAF and Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). An estimated 110,000 
people were displaced from the region, mostly into the South, and the 
town of Abyei was largely destroyed and looted for the second time in 
the interim period. On June 27, the U.N. Security Council unanimously 
adopted Resolution 1990, establishing the U.N. Interim Status Force in 
Abyei (UNISFA) and mandating the deployment of 4,200 Ethiopian 
peacekeepers. By year's end UNISFA had fully deployed, with 3,653 
troops on the ground. Ethiopian peacekeepers were carrying out the 
force's primary task of protecting the civilian population and 
establishing a safe and secure environment. Access to the Abyei area by 
international organizations and observers was not a problem following 
the deployment of UNISFA forces.
    The U.N. reported arbitrary killings, disappearances, displacement, 
and detentions in Abyei, although these reports dramatically decreased 
after the deployment of UNISFA.
    In June violence erupted in Southern Kordofan following the 
opposition SPLM-N refusal to accept the results of a closely contested 
election for state governor and government efforts to disarm elements 
of the SPLM-N's forces. Both SAF and SPLM-N forces were accused of 
targeting civilians and employing violence indiscriminately. According 
to the U.N.' s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the 
fighting created 300,000 ``IDPs or Otherwise Severely Affected 
Persons'' and 20,000 refugees from Southern Kordofan. The government of 
Sudan denied international humanitarian organizations access to the 
state, and international staff of NGOs operating there were expelled, 
making monitoring and verification of human rights abuses difficult.
    In September in Blue Nile State violence between the SAF and SPLM-N 
flared. SPLM-N declarations of intent to overthrow the national 
government and accusations the SPLM-N was receiving material support 
from the government of South Sudan led to the dismissal of the pro-
SPLM-N governor and the imposition of a national ban on the SPLM. The 
U.N. reported as many as 66,000 ``IDPs or Otherwise Severely Affected 
Persons'' and 67,000 refugees from Blue Nile at year's end. Continued 
denial of access for international humanitarian staff impeded reporting 
and verification of events.

    Killings.--In Darfur and the Three Areas, government forces and 
government-aligned militias killed civilians, including by repeated 
aerial bombardment of civilian areas. Ground attacks often followed 
aerial bombardments. Rebel forces also killed civilians during attacks. 
Attacks resulted in civilian displacement (see section 2.d.).
    Violence in Jebel Marra--a mountainous area that reaches into each 
of the Darfur states--killed and displaced numerous civilians. In 
eastern Jebel Marra, government forces and Arab militias launched 
offensives against rebel forces based in the mountains. In western 
Jebel Marra, the government also launched aerial bombardment campaigns 
against rebel-held towns.
    Fighting between the SAF and rebel forces in eastern Jebel Marra 
particularly affected Feina, Suni, Jawa, Golombai, and Fanga Suk 
villages. In western Jebel Marra, the villages of Nertiti, Sortony, 
Kaguro, and Rockero suffered from heavy fighting. In January the SAF 
launched an aerial and ground offensive around Shangil Tobaya, North 
Darfur, that caused deaths and large-scale civilian displacement. In 
April and May, heavy fighting broke out between government forces and 
rebels in the area around Muzbat and Um Baru, North Darfur, 
traditionally held by the SLM/MM. Humanitarian organizations lacked 
access to Jebel Marra, with the government permitting only brief day-
trips to certain areas, making it difficult to gather information on 
the fighting's impact on civilians. UNAMID documented gender-based 
violence in connection with the fighting in Jebel Marra.
    There were numerous reports of aerial bombardments.
    For example, on February 17, the government bombed Tukumare, North 
Darfur, killing at least three civilians and injuring three others.
    On April 10-12, the government launched numerous aerial bombardment 
campaigns around Muzbat, North Darfur, followed by ground attacks.
    From January to March, in South Darfur, fighting between government 
and Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minawi (SLA/MM) forces displaced tens 
of thousands of persons from Khor Abeche and Shaeria. Negeha and 
Jaghara villages, near Khor Abeche, were burned. Humanitarian staff was 
denied access to Khor Abeche. In North Darfur, fighting between 
government forces and rebel groups in Dar al-Salaam and Shangil Tobaya 
continued from December 2010 through March, and sporadically afterward. 
There were reports of civilian deaths, looting, and destruction of 
civilian property during the fighting in both North and South Darfur.
    On May 31, progovernment militia attacked the predominantly Zaghawa 
town of Abu Zerega, North Darfur, and killed two civilians, looted 
livestock, and took at least 14 civilians hostage. The hostages, with 
their hands tied behind their backs, were taken to a field and 
executed. During the government-led investigation that followed, one 
Zaghawa resident of Abu Zerega who had been an eyewitness to the 
looting and killings on May 31was reportedly taken out of his vehicle 
and shot.
    Inter- and intratribal conflict continued during the year, fueled 
by growing competition for resources exacerbated by desertification and 
population growth, the weakening of traditional mediation mechanisms, 
and the proliferation of arms. However, inter-Arab fighting markedly 
decreased during the year compared with a spike in incidents in 2010.
    The U.N. reported that between January and October, intertribal 
violence killed approximately 95 persons. This accounted for 11.5 
percent of violence-related deaths in Darfur. According to U.N. 
reports, fighting erupted in June between the Salamat and Habaniya 
tribes in Buram, South Darfur. The Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) 
confirmed 70 people were killed and an estimated 1,500 households were 
displaced as a result of the clashes.
    On August 5, a Sierra Leonean peacekeeper serving with UNAMID was 
killed and a second was seriously injured when their car was ambushed 
by four gunmen in Duma Village, northeast of Nyala, South Darfur.
    On October 10, unidentified assailants ambushed a UNAMID patrol in 
North Darfur's Zam Zam IDP camp. Two Rwandan soldiers, one Senegalese 
police advisor, and one attacker died during the ensuing firefight.
    In January government-backed Misseriya militia attacked police 
positions near Maker, Abyei, leaving dozens dead. In February and 
March, Misseriya militia continued to attack police and civilians in 
Abyei, leaving as many as 154 dead.
    Air raids resulted in civilian deaths throughout Southern Kordofan; 
similar tactics appeared to be employed in Blue Nile. For example, 
aerial bombardments occurred in Kadugli, Kauda, Dilling, Talodi, Um 
Durein, and other parts of Southern Kordofan. During the week of 
October 17, the U.N. reported nearly 2,000 refugees from Blue Nile 
State fled to Ethiopia to escape aerial attacks by the SAF. They fled 
bombings by Antonov planes on the towns of Bau, Sali, and Dinduro, all 
located between Kurmuk and Damazin.
    During the June fighting in Southern Kordofan, the U.N. reported 
the SAF carried out shelling of densely populated areas. On June 8, SAF 
soldiers pulled a contractor with the U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) out 
of his vehicle in front of the UNMIS Kadugli compound. Soldiers 
proceeded to remove him from the area, and soon thereafter witnesses 
reported hearing gunshots and finding his corpse.
    On May 19, SPLM forces attacked a U.N. convoy that was escorting 
withdrawing SAF forces from Kadugli, resulting in loss of life among 
the SAF forces.
    The U.N. reported both the SAF and Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army-
North (SPLA-N) allegedly laid antipersonnel land mines in Kadugli, 
resulting in civilian deaths.

    Abductions.--Unidentified assailants also abducted U.N. personnel 
in Darfur.
    For example, on January 13, three Bulgarian U.N. pilots were 
kidnapped in West Darfur; they were released on June 6.
    Anger about the Doha peace accords also led to abuses. Rebel forces 
outside of the process attacked those perceived to have collaborated 
with the government.
    On September 13, alleged members of SLA/Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW) 
kidnapped Hawa Mohammed Arbab, a member of the West Darfur Legislative 
Council who participated in the Doha negotiations. She was released on 
October 20.
    There were reports of several instances of forced disappearances in 
the Southern Kordofan conflict.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--All parties to the 
conflict in Darfur and in the Three Areas were accused of perpetrating 
torture and other abuse. The government abused persons detained after 
armed conflict as well as IDPs suspected of having links to rebel 
groups. There were continued reports government security forces, both 
pro- and antigovernment militias, and other armed persons raped women 
and children.
    Sexual and gender-based violence continued during the year 
throughout Darfur. Authorities often obstructed access to justice for 
rape victims. IDPs reported that perpetrators of such violence were 
often government force members, militia members, or unidentified men. 
Assailants assaulted, raped, threatened, shot, beat, and robbed women.
    According to U.N. and Radio Dabanga reports, both state and 
nonstate armed actors raped at least 115 Darfuri women between February 
and December. This number did not include several mass rapes reported 
by the U.N. and Radio Dabanga. In addition, two boys were reportedly 
raped in North Darfur. The majority of victims identified their 
perpetrators as belonging to government-affiliated militias.
    There were multiple reports of IDPs being harassed, arrested, and 
tortured by the NISS (also see section 2. d., IDPs), with UNAMID 
documenting cases of abuse, arbitrary arrest, and torture by security 
forces in Darfur, including the CRP.
    Government officials were accused of employing torture and violent 
tactics against civilians throughout the Southern Kordofan conflict.
    For example, on June 20, a young woman of Nuban descent was 
reportedly interrogated by police about her work with an international 
NGO; police beat her with their fists, sticks, rubber hoses, and 
electric cables. The U.N. confirmed her injuries shortly after the 
attack.
    On June 16, SAF personnel detained, interrogated, and subjected to 
cruel and degrading treatment four U.N. Military Observers (UNMOs). The 
U.N. reported that the UNMOs were lined up at gunpoint by an SAF 
captain when an SAF major entered the room and ordered him not to 
shoot.

    Child Soldiers.--The Armed Forces Act prohibits the recruitment of 
children and provides criminal penalties for perpetrators. However, 
eyewitness reports indicated child soldiers remained with most of the 
armed groups, including the SAF and Public Defense Forces, engaged in 
conflict; the problem was especially serious in Darfur and Southern 
Kordofan.
    A U.N. report covering 2009 stated more than 14 Sudanese and 
foreign armed forces and groups in Darfur recruited and used children, 
especially in West Darfur. These groups included the SAF, police 
(including the CRP and Border Intelligence Force), government-aligned 
militias, Chadian rebels, JEM, JEM/Peace Wing, Movement of Popular 
Force for Rights and Democracy, SLA/AW, SLA/Abu Gasim/Mother Wing, SLA/
Free Will, SLA/MM, SLA/Peace Wing, and SLA/Unity. Darfur rebel groups 
also recruited child soldiers in the Sudanese refugee camps in Chad in 
2009.
    Although UNICEF signed an action plan in 2007 with SLA/MM that 
committed the rebel group to identify locations where child soldiers 
operated, SLA/MM continued to use child soldiers. SLA/MM fighters 
reportedly raided Zam Zam IDP camp from time to time to capture youth 
allegedly involved in criminality and forcibly recruit them into the 
armed movement. JEM also reportedly used child soldiers during the 
year.
    In June the general commander of the Sudan Liberation Movement--
Abdel Wahid (SLM/AW), Mohammed Adam Abdel Salam Tarada, again issued a 
command prohibiting the use and recruitment of child soldiers.
    From February through April, 574 children were released by JEM-
Peace Wing, SLA-Peace Wing, and the Movement for Popular Forces for 
Rights and Democracy. In June 2010 JEM signed an action plan with 
UNICEF to end the use of child soldiers.
    On September 13, the Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization, and 
Reintegration (DDR) Program, in collaboration with the West Darfur DDR 
Commission, UNICEF, and UNAMID launched a demobilization campaign in El 
Geneina, West Darfur, with approximately 350 minor excombatants 
participating. The former child soldiers come from the Justice and 
Equality Movement/Peace Wing, Sudan Liberation Army/Mustafa Terab, and 
the Liberation and Reform Movement.
    There were no new developments in the 2008 case of children 
detained in connection with the JEM attack on Omdurman. As of December 
2009, 119 children received pardons and were released, but some 
children were sentenced to death and remained detained at year's end.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--All parties to the Darfur and Three 
Areas conflicts obstructed the work of humanitarian organizations, 
UNAMID, and UNMIS, increasing the displacement of civilians and abuse 
of IDPs. Violence, insecurity, and the denial of visas and refusal of 
access to international organizations reduced the ability of 
humanitarian organizations to provide needed services.
    Despite the 2007 joint communique between the government and the 
U.N., government forces frequently harassed NGOs that received 
international assistance, restricted or denied permission for 
humanitarian assessments, refused to approve technical agreements, 
changed procedures, copied NGO files, confiscated NGO property, 
questioned humanitarian workers at length and monitored their personal 
correspondence, delayed issuance of visas and travel permits, 
restricted travel, and publicly accused humanitarian workers of aiding 
rebel groups.

    Darfur.--During the year Operation Spring Basket, a UNAMID 
initiative in partnership with humanitarian organizations began, aimed 
at increasing secure access for humanitarian workers to Jebel Marra and 
areas of North Darfur previously inaccessible to them. The operation 
produced mixed results, as the NISS often denied flight permission to 
U.N. helicopters. Rebels also blocked access to areas under their 
control.
    For example, access to the Darfuri Kalma IDP camp was granted on a 
case-by-case basis. On May 20, UNICEF staff were denied access while 
other organizations such as Care International Switzerland and OXFAM 
America were granted access the same month.
    On February 10, security officials arrested 13 Medecins du Monde 
(MDM) local staff working in eastern Jebel Marra. By August all the 
employees were released. The government also expelled MDM from Darfur, 
allegedly for reporting false information regarding the security and 
humanitarian situations.
    On May 6, a UNAMID national staff member was arrested allegedly for 
proselytizing and being affiliated with the SLA/AW movement. She was 
released on July 12.
    Policy discrepancies between Darfur state-level and Humanitarian 
Aid Commission (HAC) officials in Khartoum adversely affected 
humanitarian operations.
    The HAC continued to require that NGOs refrain from interviewing or 
selecting staff unless they used a five-person government selection 
panel with HAC officials present, significantly delaying the hiring of 
new staff in Darfur. The HAC also continued to impose additional 
requirements on humanitarian organizations during the year on an ad hoc 
basis, often at the state level.
    Rebel forces and bandits obstructed humanitarian assistance, 
regularly attacked the compounds of humanitarian organizations, and 
seized humanitarian aid and assets, including vehicles. Kidnappings and 
attacks on humanitarian convoys continued during the year. Instability 
forced many international aid organizations to reduce their operations 
in Darfur.

    The Three Areas.--Since June and September, respectively, the 
government blocked access to Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile for 
international aid organizations.
    For example, in August a joint UN/Sudanese government mission to 
assess the humanitarian situation and provide critical food aid to 
displaced people arrived in Kadugli, but the Southern Kordofan governor 
told the group to return to Khartoum before it could carry out its 
mission. Since that time no international organizations have been 
permitted to return to Southern Kordofan.
    International aid organizations were similarly restricted from 
providing aid in Blue Nile State.
    The SAF reportedly carried out house-to-house searches, resulting 
in arbitrary arrests and detentions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The interim national constitution provides for freedom of 
thought, expression, and of the press ``as regulated by law''; however, 
the government severely restricted these rights in practice. The 
government, including the NISS, continued to censor print and broadcast 
media, arrest and torture journalists, and harass vocal critics of the 
government. Nightly prepublication censorship of newspapers occurred 
from May to August. The government controlled the media through the 
National Press Council, which administered mandatory professional exams 
for journalists and editors. Journalists also practiced self-
censorship.
    The government directly controlled radio and television and 
required that both reflect government policies. Some foreign shortwave 
radio broadcasts were available, and a private FM radio station 
continued to operate. The government restricted U.N. radio. In addition 
to domestic and satellite television services, there was a pay cable 
network, which directly rebroadcast uncensored foreign news and other 
programs.

    Freedom of Press.--The constitution guarantees freedom of press but 
newspapers, especially privately owned and pro-opposition ones, were 
frequently subjected to measures to prevent them from reporting on 
issues deemed sensitive by authorities. Those measures included direct 
prepublication censorship, confiscation, legal proceedings, and denial 
of state advertising. Confiscation, in particular, inflicted severe 
financial damages on newspapers that were already hard-pressed due to 
low circulation.
    On September 28, the government closed the independent newspaper Al 
Jarida for reporting on the Sudanese military presence in Abyei. The 
government authorized its reopening in late December, but it had not 
resumed publishing because the government-run National Publications 
Council refused to approve the paper's requests for new editorial staff 
hires.
    On September 14, NISS agents confiscated copies of the 
progovernment daily Akhbar Al-Yawm after it published statements by 
Khalil Ibrahim, the then leader of the rebel JEM. Sudanese security 
authorities instructed newspapers to refrain from reporting on 
statements by or activities of rebel groups in the country.

    Violence and Harassment.--Individuals who criticized the government 
publicly or privately were subject to reprisal, including arrest. The 
government attempted to impede such criticism and monitored political 
meetings. Authorities continued to target aggressively journalists and 
publications through contrived legal proceedings, politicized criminal 
charges, and confiscations.
    Journalists were subjected to arrest, harassment, intimidation, and 
violence due to their reporting.
    For example, on January 10, authorities in Khartoum detained two 
journalists from Bar'ut, a weekly publication in eastern Sudan. The 
journalists, Abouicha Kazem and Abdelgader Bakash, were accused of 
attacking the constitution because they had discussed the idea of a 
partition of the East of the country in the context of the referendum 
on self-determination in the South. Both were released without charge 
after three weeks.
    Three journalists, Abuzar Al-Amin, Al-Tahir Abu Jawhara, and Ashraf 
Abdelaziz, from the PCP-affiliated newspaper Rai-Al-Shaab, were 
detained and charged with crimes against the state in May 2010. 
Abdelaziz and Abu Jawhara were released on February 2 after serving 
their one-year sentences (originally two years but reduced by an appeal 
court). Al-Amin was released on bail on August 8 after serving one year 
of his original five-year sentence and was facing the possibility of 
life imprisonment or the death penalty on new charges including 
criminal conspiracy, criminal offences, attacks on the state aimed at 
undermining the constitutional system, and publishing false 
information.
    In October and November 2010, security forces arrested several 
Darfuri activists and an individual who worked for Radio Dabanga. 
Abdelrahman Adam, a freelance journalist detained since October 2010, 
and three other persons, who denied being Radio Dabanga employees, were 
detained for allegedly divulging state secrets, undermining the 
constitutional system, calling for resistance, and inciting sedition. 
They were later released, and charges were dropped in December.
    The NISS also required journalists to provide personal information, 
such as details on their tribe, political affiliation, and family.
    The government selectively restricted international media. Some 
foreign journalists were denied visas; others had regular access to 
opposition politicians, rebels, and civil society advocates.

    Internet Freedom.--The government monitored Internet 
communications, and the NISS read e-mail messages between private 
citizens. The National Telecommunications Corporation blocked some Web 
sites and most proxy servers deemed offensive to public morality. While 
there generally were no restrictions on access to news and information 
Web sites, authorities regularly blocked access to YouTube. During the 
2010 elections, the government blocked access to the Sudan Vote Monitor 
Web site.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted 
academic freedom. For public universities the government determined the 
curriculum and appointed the vice chancellors, who were responsible for 
administering the institutions. Some universities required students to 
participate regularly in progovernment rallies and other activities, 
and some professors exercised self-censorship. The government regularly 
arrested student activists. Security forces used tear gas and other 
heavy-handed tactics against peaceful protests occurring at 
universities or involving university students.
    Public Order Police continued to visibly monitor public gatherings 
and cultural events, often intimidating women and girls, who feared 
police would arrest them for ``indecent'' dress or actions.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Although the interim national constitution and law provide 
for freedom of assembly, the government severely restricted this right 
in practice. In 2010 the National Elections Commission issued a 
circular note requiring 72-hour prior notice for political rallies, 
which it later reduced to 36 hours.
    The government continued to deny permission to Islamic orders 
associated with opposition political parties, particularly the Anwar 
(Umma Party) and Khatmiya (Democratic Unionist Party), to hold large 
gatherings in public spaces, but parties regularly held opposition 
rallies on private property. Government security agents occasionally 
attended opposition political meetings, disrupted opposition rallies, 
and summoned participants to security headquarters for questioning 
after political meetings.
    During protests in late January and early February, NISS officials 
reportedly organized a fake burial for a student reported killed during 
demonstrations. Officials then arrested at least 20 people who came to 
the funeral.
    Police use of excessive force to disperse demonstrators resulted in 
deaths and injuries (see section 1.d.).
    Authorities generally took no action against security force members 
that used excessive force.

    Freedom of Association.--The interim national constitution and law 
provide for freedom of association, but the government severely 
restricted this right in practice. The law effectively prohibits 
political parties linked to armed opposition to the government. In 
September the government closed SPLM-N offices in Khartoum and other 
states and arrested several leaders; 16 other political parties were 
also banned in September for having links with South Sudan. There were 
approximately 52 registered political parties. The Umma Party, 
Democratic Unionist Party, and Communist Party were not officially 
registered with the government. The government continued to harass some 
opposition leaders who spoke with foreign organizations or embassies.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The interim national constitution and 
law provide for freedom of movement, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, but the government restricted these rights in practice.
    The government's encampment policy requires asylum seekers and 
refugees to stay in 12 designated camps. The government did not allow 
IDP camps to be established in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
    The government impeded the work of the UNHCR and delayed full 
approval of UNHCR activities, particularly in North and South Darfur, 
the Three Areas, and eastern Sudan. While in some cases it cooperated 
with the UNHCR and other humanitarian assistance organizations in 
assisting refugees and asylum seekers, the government restricted and 
harassed such organizations. The UNHCR confirmed the government 
continued to disregard international agreements and targeted refugees 
and asylum seekers for abuse. Although the government permitted most 
refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia to remain in the country, there were 
reports during the year that NISS agents forced some Eritrean refugees 
back across the border before the HAC could process them.
    In October the government reportedly handed over more than 300 
Eritreans to the Eritrean military without screening them for refugee 
status.

    In-country Movement.--In Darfur the government and rebels 
restricted the movement of citizens and U.N. and humanitarian 
organization personnel (see section 1.g.).
    While movement was generally unhindered for citizens outside 
conflict areas, foreigners needed government permission for domestic 
travel outside Khartoum, which was often difficult to obtain. 
Foreigners must register with the police on entering the country, 
obtain permission from the police to move more than 15.5 miles outside 
Khartoum or from one city to another, and reregister at each new 
location within three days of arrival.
    The government delayed issuing humanitarian and diplomatic visas 
and travel permits for Darfur to foreign NGO staff and denied access to 
international staff during ongoing violence in the Three Areas.

    Foreign Travel.--The government required citizens to obtain an exit 
visa if they wished to depart the country. Issuance was usually pro 
forma, and the government did not use the visa requirement to restrict 
citizens' travel during the year.
    Unlike in the previous year, the government did not restrict 
persons from traveling outside of the country to attend conferences.

    Exile.--The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not 
use it. However, opposition leaders and NGO activists remained in self-
imposed exile throughout northern Africa and Europe, and other 
activists fled the country during the year.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Large-scale displacement 
continued to be a severe problem. There were an estimated 1,945,000 
IDPs in Darfur, 1.5 million displaced South Sudanese, and 68,000 IDPs 
in the East. In Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan there were 81,000 and 
330,000 IDPs, respectively. Approximately 80 percent of the 130,000 
people initially displaced in Blue Nile had returned home. There were 
modest voluntary returns of IDPs in Darfur. An estimated 120,000 
persons were displaced from Abyei, mostly into the South.
    As of September there were 274,640 registered refugees from Darfur 
in Chad. There was no complete breakdown of refugee populations from 
Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan, but there were 85,000 refugees from 
Sudan in the Maban area of South Sudan, while the total number of 
refugees from Sudan in South Sudan was 102,900.
    While in previous years the U.N. estimated there were approximately 
2.7 million IDPs in Darfur, more recent data from the UNHCR indicated 
the number of IDPs in Darfur to be 1.945 million. In the first half of 
the year, the U.N. reported continued fighting between the government 
and armed rebels caused the displacement of 70,000 new IDPs.
    In West Darfur, humanitarian partners provided assistance to more 
than 20,000 returnees. In 2011 the UNHCR verified 110,000 returns of 
IDPs and 30,000 refugees, mostly to areas in West Darfur.
    The total number of returnees, including spontaneous returnees, may 
be much higher and was difficult to verify.
    IDPs in Darfur faced major humanitarian needs. Although other 
international humanitarian NGOs replaced 13 expelled by the government 
in 2009, the delivery of humanitarian services continued to suffer from 
logistical and security constraints.
    During the year the World Food Program cut food distribution by 
half in Darfur as it reassessed the number of IDPs requiring assistance 
and found it was lower than previous estimates. The organization 
reported no significant increase in malnutrition rates after the 
reduction in distributions.
    Government attempts to resettle IDPs were modest but generally 
successful. There were no reports of forced resettlement, and a 
significant number of IDPs resettled spontaneously.
    Government restrictions, harassment, and the threat of expulsion 
resulted in the continued closure of most gender-based violence 
programming. While gender-based violence programming was mainstreamed 
into other humanitarian efforts, reporting and reach were severely 
curtailed (see section 1.g.). Some U.N. agencies successfully worked 
with offices of Advisors on Women and Children to the Governor in 
Darfur to raise awareness on the issue of sexual and gender-based 
violence.
    There were numerous reports of abuses committed by security forces, 
rebels, and militias against IDPs, including rapes and beatings. Abuse 
of IDPs by government forces and government backed-militias in the 
Southern Kordofan conflict were reported.
    For example, according to the U.N., on June 8, four armed men 
entered an IDP area outside of the UNMIS perimeter in Kadugli. 
Witnesses claimed the men abducted three IDPs from the area on 
suspicion they were SPLM-N supporters.
    On June 7, three IDPs who had been assisting UNMIS personnel to 
load supplies were pulled out of a truck and beaten by SAF personnel. A 
UNMIS staff member who attempted to intervene was threatened at 
gunpoint by one of the soldiers.
    Outside of IDP camps, insecurity restricted IDP freedom of 
movement; women and girls who left the towns and camps risked sexual 
violence. Insecurity within IDP camps was also a problem. Conflicts 
regarding political representation in the Doha peace processes resulted 
in deaths and additional displacements during the year. This was 
exacerbated by the proliferation of arms in the camps. The government 
provided little assistance or protection to IDPs in Darfur. Most IDP 
camps had no functioning police force. International observers noted 
criminal gangs aligned with rebel groups operated openly in several IDP 
camps and operated back and forth across the border with Chad.
    In early June 10 people were killed in an internal conflict in 
Hassahissa Camp after they were accused of being government agents 
pretending to be SLA/AW supporters.
    Similar politically motivated violence erupted in Hamidiya and 
Hassahissa IDP camps in West Darfur in February, June, and August. 
There were multiple cases reported of IDPs being harassed, arrested, 
and tortured by the NISS. The government harassed IDPs in Darfur who 
spoke with foreign observers. For example, Ibrahim Jallab Izairg, an 
IDP activist from Hassahissa Camp, was arrested on May 8 after he met 
with a foreign diplomat.
    In September the government pardoned five sheikhs (tribal leaders) 
from Kalma IDP Camp who were accused of instigating violence in the 
camp in July 2010 that led to clashes between pro-Doha and anti-Doha 
factions within the camp and the deaths of at least 35 people. The 
sheikhs sought refuge at the UNAMID Community Policing Center in the 
camp in July 2010; the government sentenced them to death in 2010 but 
pardoned them in September after they spent more than a year in the 
center.
    Two IDPs who were arrested following a U.N. Security Council visit 
to Darfur in October 2010 were released on July 13, following President 
Bashir's decree to release all political prisoners.
    Between one and 1.5 million IDPs lived in Khartoum State, many of 
them in shantytowns rather than in the four formal camps. Many South 
Sudanese IDPs in Sudan have lived in the country for decades, formed 
families, and found mainly informal employment. At year's end Sudan and 
South Sudan had not reached an agreement regarding the status of South 
Sudanese in Sudan in the post-CPA period. At times government officials 
made statements supporting the expulsion of South Sudanese and at other 
times called for their protection.
    Displaced South Sudanese in and around Khartoum were subject to 
arrest, flogging, fines, warrantless searches, and imprisonment in 
relation to prohibitions against alcohol. The government restricted 
access to formal IDP camps around Khartoum.
    In the East the government continued to restrict humanitarian 
access. These restrictions significantly limited the ability of 
humanitarian organizations to provide services to vulnerable groups 
such as IDPs and refugees. Approximately 50 percent of IDPs and 
refugees in camps received food rations. According to the UNHCR, there 
were an estimated 70,000 Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees in eastern 
camps and another 26,000 in Khartoum.
    In Southern Kordofan 73,000 people were displaced in the June and 
July fighting. In Abyei approximately 110,000 were displaced, with many 
crossing the border into South Sudan. (See section 1.g. for information 
about abuse of IDPs in the Abyei, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile 
conflicts.)

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status. The government granted asylum 
to many asylum seekers, but there was no standard determination 
procedure or documentation. Officially, the government should grant 
prima facie refugee status to asylum seekers. However, during the year 
it required Eritreans to register as asylum seekers rather than 
automatically granting the appropriate refugee status, a policy 
contrary to national law governing refugee status. Most Eritreans who 
entered the country appeared to be familiar with the new steps required 
to register with the government as an asylum seeker. However, police 
reportedly arrested more than 300 Eritreans attempting to reach Egypt. 
Officials reportedly turned them over to Eritrean officials without 
screening them or allowing them to request asylum.
    Government officials routinely took up to three months to approve 
refugee status.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government did not provide 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion.

    Refugee Abuse.--Refugees were vulnerable to arbitrary arrest, 
harassment, and beatings because applicants did not receive 
identification cards while awaiting government determination of refugee 
status. Refugees could not become resident aliens or citizens, 
regardless of their length of stay.

    Employment.--Refugees are entitled to work permits but in practice 
rarely received them. A 2007 decree prohibits international NGOs from 
hiring refugees.

    Access to Basic Services.--Government-supervised primary education, 
while not free, was available to IDP and refugee children in Khartoum 
and in refugee camps outside Khartoum at a cost of 30 Sudanese pounds 
(approximately $10 at official rates) per month.

    Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection 
to individuals who might not qualify as refugees under the 1951 refugee 
convention and the 1967 protocol.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Sudan continued to operate under the CPA interim national 
constitution, but with all references to the South removed. The interim 
constitution provides citizens with the right to change their 
government peacefully. Post-CPA provisions relating to this right 
include those providing for a referendum on the status of Abyei and 
popular consultations in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan.
    The CPA called for a referendum in January for South Sudanese to 
vote either for unity with the country or secession, and for a 
concurrent referendum to determine if Abyei would remain part of Sudan 
or join South Sudan. The referendum for South Sudanese secession 
concluded on schedule with an overwhelming majority voting for 
separation in a process that international observers described as 
peaceful and credible. The results of that referendum were implemented 
on July 9 as the new Republic of South Sudan gained its independence--
the Republic of Sudan was the first to recognize the newly independent 
country. Preparations for the Abyei referendum remained stalled due to 
disagreement over voter eligibility and violence.
    The last national- and state-level executive and legislative 
elections were held in April 2010 but did not meet international 
standards (see Elections and Political Participation below).
    Sudan's executive leadership is made up of a three-member 
presidency consisting of a president, first vice president, and second 
vice president. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who won the election 
in 2010, promoted Ali Osman Taha (National Congress Party, NCP) to the 
position of first vice president in September and appointed El-Haj Adam 
Yousif (NCP), a Darfuri, as the second vice president. The appointment 
of Yousif came after the government signed the Doha Darfur Peace 
Document, which contained the condition of a vice presidential 
appointment from a Darfuri ethnic group.
    The interim constitution also provides a formula for allocating 
seats in the bicameral legislature (composed of a postsecession 340-
member National Assembly and 30-member Council of States) and cabinet 
prior to the elections. The formula reserved 52 percent of the 
positions for the NCP and 14 percent for northern opposition parties, 
including those from Darfur.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Following CPA guidelines, 
the Southern Sudan Self-Determination Referendum was held from January 
9 to15. Voters cast 3,851,994 ballots, reflecting almost 98 percent 
registered voter turnout; 98.8 percent of voters chose secession for 
the South. Observers reported the process was generally fair, despite 
some logistical, procedural, and security problems. Turnout for the 
referendum in the North was low due to distance from voting centers, 
limited awareness the vote would occur, and ambiguity about the future 
of Southerners in the North. Also a heightened security presence around 
polling centers in northern Sudan may have dissuaded voters from 
participation. On July 9, the South peacefully seceded from Sudan, 
becoming the new country of South Sudan.
    The CPA also provided for a popular consultation process to obtain 
the views of persons in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan on the CPA, so 
that their respective legislatures could negotiate any shortcomings in 
the constitutional, political, or administrative arrangements of the 
CPA with the government. The CPA stated the consultations were to be 
completed by July 8, prior to the secession of South Sudan. The 
National Assembly extended this process on July 20. In Blue Nile the 
first stage of consultations was held between January 14 and February 2 
at more than 100 hearing centers across the state. Further stages of 
the process, including review by the government in Khartoum, remained 
stalled at year's end. In Southern Kordofan popular consultations 
continued to be delayed as disputes remained over a census and due to 
violence in the area.
    Gubernatorial elections took place in Southern Kordofan from May 2 
to 7. NCP candidate and ICC indictee Ahmed Haroun won the vote amid 
allegations by the opposition SPLM of material irregularities. 
According to foreign election observers, the vote was ``peaceful and 
credible.'' However, they noted there existed a climate of insecurity 
and tension, and there were irregularities including lapses in voter 
identification procedures. The SPLM ultimately refused to accept the 
outcome of the elections, and violence soon erupted between NCP and 
SPLM supporters; popular consultations were not carried out.
    The proposed Abyei referendum, designed to allow the region's 
residents to vote to join South Sudan or remain unified with Sudan, was 
derailed by violence in January and June. Concerned parties could not 
agree on residency status for members of the nomadic Misseriya tribe--
who spend part of the year in Abyei--with Sudan supporting the right to 
vote of the Misseriya and Southerners rejecting it. The referendum 
process remained on hold.

    Recent Elections.--The country's first multiparty national and 
state-level executive and legislative elections in more than 24 years 
occurred in 2010. The SPLM candidate for president of Sudan, Yasir 
Arman, withdrew from the race just before the polling. The elections, 
which several opposition parties boycotted, did not meet international 
standards. Basic freedoms were circumscribed throughout the process. 
Despite significant technical and commodities assistance from the 
international community, logistical preparations were inadequate. 
Intimidation and threats of violence occurred. The conflict in Darfur 
did not permit a tranquil electoral environment. The counting and 
tabulation process was disorganized, not transparent, and did not 
follow procedural safeguards put in place by the National Elections 
Commission. According to a foreign NGO, problems with counting and the 
tabulation process raised ``questions about the accuracy of the 
election results.''
    President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (NCP) was reelected, as was first 
vice president (and later government of South Sudan president) Salva 
Kiir Mayardit (SPLM). Ali Osman Taha was reappointed to his position of 
second vice president. After the secession of South Sudan, the post of 
first vice president was vacant until Ali Osman Taha assumed it in 
September. El-Haj Adam Yousif, an NCP member from South Darfur, was 
appointed as the second vice president.
    In the National Assembly, the NCP won 323 seats, the SPLM 99 seats, 
and other parties and independents 24 seats; four constituencies were 
vacant. NCP gubernatorial candidates won all elected governor posts in 
Sudan with the exception of Blue Nile State, where the SPLM incumbent 
won. However, immediately after the start of hostilities in Blue Nile 
on September 1, Khartoum deposed the state's SPLM governor and 
installed a temporary military government.
    Observers noted numerous problems with the preelection environment. 
The legal framework did not protect basic freedoms such as assembly, 
speech, and press. Security forces restricted the actions of opposition 
parties, including through the arrest of opposition members and 
supporters. There was insufficient voter information, and logistical 
preparations for the vote were not adequate.
    During voting observers found incorrect or incomplete voter 
registries and noted this resulted in disenfranchisement. Location 
information for polling centers was not sufficiently clear. Many 
centers did not open on time and received polling materials late. 
Mistakes on ballots were a problem. Problems with safeguards at polling 
centers included not following procedures pertaining to indelible ink, 
voter identification, and ballot box seals. Observers also reported 
intimidation and harassment. A video posted to the Internet shortly 
after the elections showed what appeared to be a uniformed elections 
official stuffing a sealed ballot container with paper. In Darfur 
participation of IDPs in the election was low.
    The vote tabulation process was seriously flawed. During vote 
counting, officials did not follow proper procedures or properly 
reconcile ballots counted with those received. Logistical problems 
delayed the transport of materials such as ballot boxes and results 
forms. Officials did not follow the electronic tabulation process, 
which resulted in inability to verify results. Observers had difficulty 
getting access to tabulation centers. Observers noted ``parallel 
tabulation operations'' in Khartoum and South Darfur. In these cases 
observers were able to access official centers, but there were other 
places where access was denied while tabulation was underway.

    Political Parties.--The NCP dominated the government. Authorities 
impeded and monitored political party meetings and activities, 
restricted political party demonstrations, used excessive force to 
break them up, and arrested opposition party members. In September the 
SPLM-N leadership called for the overthrow of the government and was 
outlawed as a political party. Its offices in Khartoum and other states 
were closed after the outbreak of violence in Blue Nile State. The 
government confiscated party documents and property. In early September 
at least 25 SPLM members were arrested, including an SPLM-N member of 
Parliament, Ezdihar Goumaa. Following the suppression of the SPLM-N, 
the government banned16 other political parties for representing 
Southerners. At the end of the year, 26 SPLM-N employees remained in 
detention, according to the party.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women have the right to 
vote. The 2008 National Elections Law calls for 25 percent of the seats 
in the national and state assemblies to be filled from state-level 
women's lists. Women won 95 of the 340 seats in the National Assembly. 
Women held five of 30 seats in the Council of States and seven of 66 
cabinet positions in the newly formed government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law does not specifically address official corruption. However, 
officials are subject to the Financial Service Audit law that calls for 
a special anticorruption attorney to investigate and try corruption 
cases. Criminal law provides punishments for embezzlement that can 
include execution for public service workers. All bankers are 
considered public service workers. Officials frequently engaged in 
corrupt practices.
    There are no laws providing for public access to government 
information, and the government did not provide such access.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The government was uncooperative with, and unresponsive to, 
domestic human rights groups. Workers of both domestic and 
international human rights organizations were restricted and harassed.
    The government harassed, arrested, beat, and prosecuted human 
rights activists for their activities.
    For example, on June 25, the NISS arrested Bushra Gamar Hussein 
Rahma, a human rights activist from Southern Kordofan, in Omdurman. 
From the time of his arrest, he was held incommunicado and denied 
access to his family and his lawyer. At year's end Bushra remained in 
prison without charge.
    In December 2010 a court sentenced Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, former 
director of the Sudan Social Development Organization, to one year in 
prison and a fine of 3,000 Sudanese pounds ($1,000) for embezzlement. 
He was previously acquitted of those charges in 2009, a finding that 
the HAC appealed but regarding which it reportedly did not provide any 
new evidence. Authorities released Mudawi in January.
    The government restricted, harassed, and arrested NGO-affiliated 
international human rights and humanitarian workers, including in 
Darfur (see section 1.g.).
    The government refused and delayed the issuance of visas to 
international NGO workers and restricted their access to parts of the 
country.
    NGOs must register with the HAC, the government's entity for 
regulating humanitarian efforts. The HAC obstructed the work of NGOs, 
including in Darfur and the Three Areas (see section 1.g.). During the 
year the HAC often changed its rules and regulations without prior 
notification.
    The government continued to use bureaucratic impediments to 
restrict the actions of humanitarian organizations, contrary to 
provisions in the 2007 joint communique between the government and the 
U.N. This included delaying the issuance of visas and travel permits to 
humanitarian workers.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government's Advisory Council 
for Human Rights did not respond to requests by international 
organizations to investigate human rights violations and did not 
provide lists of detained individuals to the international community.
    The National Commission for Human Rights Act, purportedly created 
by law in 2009, had not been established by year's end.
    The government did not cooperate with the ICC (see section 1.g.).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The interim national constitution prohibits discrimination based on 
race and gender, but the government did not effectively enforce these 
provisions. The law does not address discrimination based on 
disability, language, or social status.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The punishment for rape varies 
from 100 lashes to 10 years' imprisonment to death; however, the 
government did not effectively enforce these provisions. Spousal rape 
is not addressed in the law. In most rape cases, convictions were made 
public; however, observers thought sentences often were less than the 
legal maximum. There was no information available on the number of 
persons who were prosecuted, convicted, or punished for rape.
    Rape of women and girls throughout the country, including in 
Darfur, continued to be a serious problem (see section 1.g.). 
Authorities often obstructed access to justice for rape victims.
    By law, if a woman accuses a man of rape and fails to prove her 
case, she may be tried for adultery. In practice victims sometimes 
refused to report their cases to family or authorities due to fear they 
would be punished or arrested for ``illegal pregnancy'' or adultery 
(see section 1.d.).
    The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence. Violence, 
including spousal abuse, against women was common, although there were 
no reliable statistics on its prevalence. Women who filed claims were 
subjected to accusations of lying or spreading false information, 
harassment, or detention, which made many women reluctant to file 
formal complaints, although such abuse constituted grounds for divorce. 
The police normally did not intervene in domestic disputes. Statistics 
on the number of abusers prosecuted, convicted, or punished were not 
available.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--See section 6, Children.

    Sexual Harassment.--No law specifically prohibits sexual 
harassment, although the law prohibits gross indecency, which is 
defined as any act contrary to another person's modesty. The penalty 
for gross indecency is imprisonment of up to one year and 40 lashes. 
There were frequent reports of sexual harassment by police in Darfur 
and elsewhere.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples were able to decide freely on 
reproductive issues. Contraception, skilled medical attendance during 
childbirth, and obstetric and postpartum care were not always 
accessible in rural areas. The U.N. Population Fund estimated the 
maternal mortality rate at 750 deaths per 100,000 live births. Women 
had equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted 
diseases.

    Discrimination.--The law discriminates against women, including 
many traditional legal practices and certain provisions of Islamic 
jurisprudence as interpreted and applied by the government. In 
accordance with that interpretation, a Muslim widow inherits one-eighth 
of her husband's estate; of the remaining seven-eighths, two-thirds 
goes to the sons and one-third to the daughters. Depending on the 
wording of the marriage contract, it is often much easier for men than 
women to initiate legal divorce proceedings. In certain probate trials, 
the testimony of women is not considered equivalent to that of men; the 
testimony of two women is considered equivalent to that of one man. In 
other civil trials, the testimony of a woman is considered equivalent 
to that of a man.
    A Muslim woman cannot legally marry a non-Muslim unless he converts 
to Islam. This prohibition usually was neither observed nor enforced 
among certain populations.
    To obtain an exit visa, children must receive the permission of 
both mother and father.
    Various governmental bodies have decreed women must dress modestly 
according to Islamic or cultural standards, including wearing a head 
covering. However, women often appeared in public wearing trousers or 
with their heads uncovered. In Khartoum persons known as Public Order 
Police occasionally brought women before judges for allegedly violating 
Islamic standards.
    The Ministry of Social Welfare, Women, and Child Affairs was 
responsible for matters pertaining to women.
    Women experienced economic discrimination in access to employment, 
credit, pay for substantially similar work, and owning or managing 
businesses. Women were accepted in professional roles; for example, 
more than half the professors at Khartoum University were women.

    Children.--The interim national constitution states that persons 
born to a Sudanese mother or father have the right to citizenship. 
Although the interim constitution eliminated gender discrimination in 
conferring nationality on children, the legal definition of 
``responsible parent'' used in the July amendment to the 1994 
nationality law remains the child's father. The term refers to a mother 
only in cases where she has been granted sole legal custody. This 
change means that a child of a Sudanese mother and South Sudanese 
father could lose his or her Sudanese nationality. The law passed the 
national legislature, and although the president failed to sign the law 
within the mandated 30-day limit, the law passed de facto into force in 
mid-August.

    Birth Registration.--Most Sudanese newborns had access to birth 
certificates, but some living in remote areas did not. Registered 
midwives, dispensaries, clinics, and hospitals could issue 
certificates. A Sudanese birth certificate does not automatically 
qualify a child for citizenship.

    Education.--The law provides for tuition-free basic education up to 
grade eight; however, students often had to pay school, uniform, and 
exam fees. In Darfur few children outside of cities had access to 
primary education.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse and abduction were widespread in conflict 
areas. Criminal kidnapping of children for ransom was reported on 
several occasions during the year.

    Child Marriage.--The law establishes the legal age of marriage as 
10 for girls and 15 or puberty for boys. There were no reliable 
statistics on the extent of child marriage, but it remained a problem.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Female genital mutilation remained 
widespread. A 2010 Sudan Household Health Survey, the most recent 
available, reported FGM incidence at 65.5 percent, a 5 percent decrease 
from 2006. Ministry of Health bylaws prohibit FGM by physicians and 
medical practitioners; however, midwives continued to perpetrate FGM. 
The government actively campaigned against it in partnership with 
UNICEF, civil society groups, and the High Council for Children's 
Welfare. Several NGOs also worked to eradicate FGM.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Child prostitution and 
trafficking of children also remained problems. Penalties for offenses 
related to child prostitution and trafficking varied and could include 
imprisonment and/or fines.
    There is no minimum age for consensual sex or a statutory rape law. 
Pornography, including child pornography, is illegal.

    Child Soldiers.--Armed groups continued to recruit and deploy child 
soldiers in internal conflicts (see section 1.g.).

    Displaced Children.--Internally displaced children often lacked 
access to government services such as education.

    Institutionalized Children.--The government operated reformatory 
camps for vagrant children. Police typically sent homeless children who 
had committed crimes to these camps, where they were detained for 
indefinite periods. Health care, schooling, and living conditions at 
the camps generally were very basic. All children in the camps, 
including non-Muslims, must study the Qur'an, and there was pressure on 
non-Muslims to convert to Islam. War Child and other international and 
domestic humanitarian NGOs were permitted to monitor the camps and 
sometimes assisted the government with certain aspects of camp 
operations.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community remained miniscule, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic violence during the year; however, 
government officials made anti-Semitic comments, and government-
controlled newspapers featured anti-Semitic caricatures.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--While the law does not specifically 
prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities, it 
stipulates ``the state shall guarantee to persons with special needs 
the enjoyment of all the rights and freedoms set out in the 
constitution, access to suitable education, employment, and full 
participation in society.'' The government has not enacted laws or 
implemented effective programs to ensure access to buildings for 
persons with disabilities. Credible sources noted prisoners with mental 
disabilities were chained 24 hours a day if they were considered a 
danger to themselves. Mentally disabled prisoners were not exempted 
from trial, although their cases could be deferred during treatment.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The population is a multiethnic 
mix of more than 500 Arab and African tribes with numerous languages 
and dialects. These designations are often self-identified, referring 
to language and other cultural attributes. Northern Muslims 
traditionally dominate the government. Interethnic fighting in Darfur 
was between Muslims who considered themselves either Arab or non-Arab 
and also between different Arab tribes.
    The Muslim majority and the government continued to discriminate 
against ethnic minorities in almost every aspect of society. Citizens 
in Arabic-speaking areas who did not speak Arabic experienced 
discrimination in education, employment, and other areas.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits sodomy, 
which is punishable by death; however, there were no reports of 
antisodomy laws being applied. There were no known lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) organizations.
    Official discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender 
identity occurred. Societal discrimination against LGBT persons was 
widespread. Vigilantes targeted suspected gay men and lesbians for 
violent abuse, and there were public demonstrations against 
homosexuality.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. Social taboos about 
discussing sex out of wedlock in a conservative society complicated the 
work of activists and the international community to confront the 
issue.

    Promotion of Acts of Discrimination.--The government and 
government-supported militias reportedly promoted hatred and 
discrimination, using standard propaganda techniques to incite tribal 
violence.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of association for economic and trade 
union purposes. The 2010 Trade Union Act established a single national 
trade union federation. The law allows workers to join independent 
international unions, but in some cases their membership was not 
officially recognized. Only the government-controlled SWTUF, which 
consists of 25 state unions and 22 industry unions, can function 
legally; all other unions were banned. The law requires all unions to 
be under the umbrella of the Sudan Worker's Trade Union Federation 
(SWTUF). The law denies trade unions autonomy to exercise the right to 
organize or to bargain collectively. The law defines the objectives, 
terms of office, scope of activities, and organizational structures and 
alliances for labor unions. The government's auditor general supervised 
union funds because they were considered public money.
    The constitution grants unions the right to strike. Nonetheless, 
the government restricted this right in practice. Some unions have 
bylaws that self-restrict their right to strike. Specialized labor 
courts adjudicated standard labor disputes, but the Ministry of Labor 
has the authority to refer a dispute to compulsory arbitration. 
Disputes can be referred to arbitration if this is stated in the work 
contract.
    The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination by employers. 
Labor laws apply to migrant workers with legal contracts and protect 
all Sudanese, regardless of regional or tribal identity. In practice 
migrant workers and some ethnic minorities suffered from 
discrimination, lack of knowledge of their legal rights, and lacked 
ready access to judicial remedies.
    Courts exist to look into labor complaints; however, bureaucratic 
steps mandated by law to resolve disputes within companies can be 
lengthy in practice. In addition, court sessions can involve 
significant delays and costs when appealing labor grievances.
    There were credible reports that the government routinely 
intervened to manipulate professional, trade union, and student union 
elections.
    For many years the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) 
raised concern over the following issues: trade union monopoly 
controlled by the government, denial of trade union rights in the 
export processing zone, and nearly nonexistent collective bargaining. 
The International Labor Organization expressed concern in a 2011 report 
over allegations of the ``brutal and fatal repression of workers in the 
oil sector, who demanded improved working conditions.''
    According to ITUC, in the oil-producing regions, police and secret 
service agents, in collusion with oil companies, closely monitored 
workers' activities. In addition, the government-controlled SWTUF was 
used as part of the government's strategy to control workers to ensure 
a regular flow of oil. However, there were no reports of murder, 
arrests, threats, or unfair dismissal of union leaders and members by 
government or employers during the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children. In 
practice enforcement proved challenging in rural areas and areas 
undergoing conflict.
    Although the government continued to deny that slavery and forced 
labor existed in the country, the government's Committee for 
Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC)--which ceased 
operations in August 2010--stated that up to 10,700 South Sudanese, 
Rizegat, and Misseriya abductees from the Second Sudanese Civil War 
possibly remained in captivity in Southern Kordofan and parts of 
greater Bahr al Ghazal. It was not clear to what extent those abductees 
were involved in forced labor.
    While noting the government's statement that after the end of the 
civil war abductions had stopped completely, the International Labor 
Organization's (ILO) Conference Committee on the Observation of 
Standards reported in 2011 that there was no verifiable evidence that 
forced labor had been completely eradicated in practice.
    The ILO continued to urge the government to address continuing 
violations in certain regions in which ``victims are forced to perform 
work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, under 
extremely harsh conditions, and combined with ill treatment which may 
include torture and death.'' The ILO also expressed concern over the 
lack of accountability of perpetrators and sufficient victim 
rehabilitation measures.
    Representatives of the Eritrean community in Khartoum stated 
undocumented Eritreans in the capital were subject to abusive work 
conditions. They also reported that many undocumented workers did not 
report abuse out of fear that authorities might deport them back to 
Eritrea due to their illegal status.
    The forcible recruitment of persons into armed groups continued 
(see section 1.g.).
    The government stated it investigated and prosecuted cases of 
forced labor during the year but did not compile comprehensive 
statistics on the subject.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
interim national constitution mandates protection of children from 
exploitation. The Child Act of 2010 defines children as persons younger 
than 18; however, the act does not explicitly prohibit child labor. The 
labor law does not clearly define the age for child labor, but its 
provisions suggest that 12 years is the minimum age for employment. The 
Ministry of Social Welfare, Women, and Child Affairs is responsible for 
enforcing child labor laws.
    The law forbids the employment of young persons in hazardous 
industries and jobs, or in jobs requiring significant physical effort 
or that are harmful to their morals. The law also forbids the 
employment of young persons between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., although 
authorities may exempt young persons between the ages of 15 and 16 from 
this restriction. It is illegal to employ children under the age of 12, 
except in state vocational training schools and training workshops and 
jobs performed under apprenticeship contracts. Work that is supervised 
by family members and does not include nonfamily members, such as on 
family farms, is also excluded from these provisions.
    The law allows minors to work for seven hours a day broken by a 
period of one paid hour of rest. It is illegal to make a young person 
work more than four consecutive hours, work overtime, or work during 
weekly periods of rest or on official holidays. To waive, postpone, or 
reduce annual leave entitlements is also prohibited. However, the 
government did not always effectively enforce such laws.
    Child labor was a serious problem, particularly in the agricultural 
sector where the practice was common. Most child labor occurred in the 
informal sector and in menial jobs that the government lacked the 
resources to monitor comprehensively. Children were engaged in shining 
shoes, washing and fixing cars, collecting medical and other resalable 
waste, street vending, begging, agricultural work, construction, and 
other menial labor.
    The use of child soldiers and child trafficking were problems.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage set by the High 
Council of Salary in the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs is 265 Sudanese 
pounds (approximately $90) per month for the public sector. The minimum 
salary in the private sector is set by agreement between individual 
industries in the private sector and the High Council of Salary, and it 
varies among industries.
    The law limits the workweek to 40 hours (five eight-hour days, 
which does not include a 30 minute to one hour daily break), with days 
of rest on Friday and Saturday. Overtime should not exceed 12 hours per 
week or four hours per day. There is no prohibition on excessive 
compulsory overtime.
    The laws also prescribe occupational safety and health standards. 
The right of workers to remove themselves from dangerous work 
situations without loss of employment is not recognized. Any industrial 
company with between 30 and 150 employees must have an industrial 
safety officer; any company over that size should have an industrial 
safety committee that includes management and employees. Committees and 
officers are supposed to report safety incidents to the Ministry of 
Labor. The law requires that the owner of an industrial company must 
inform workers of occupational hazards and provide means for protection 
against such hazards. Management is also required to take necessary 
precautions to protect workers against industrial accidents and 
occupational diseases. Some heavy industry and artisanal mining 
operations were reported to not have sufficient safety regulations.
    The above-mentioned safety laws do not apply to domestic servants 
as defined by the 1955 Domestic Servants Act; agricultural workers 
other than those employed in the operation, repair, and maintenance of 
agricultural machinery, enterprises that process or market agricultural 
products such as cotton gins or dairy product factories, or jobs 
related to the administration of agricultural projects including office 
work, accountancy, storage, gardening, and livestock husbandry; family 
members of the employee who live with the employee and who are 
completely or partially dependant on him for their living; and casual 
workers.
    The Ministry of Labor, which maintained field offices in most major 
cities, is responsible for enforcing these standards. There were 
various types of labor inspectors, including specialists on labor 
relations, labor conflicts, vocational/health practices, and 
recruitment practices. They operated on both federal and state levels.
    However, these standards were not effectively enforced in practice. 
Although employers generally respected the minimum wage law in the 
formal sector, in the informal sector wages could be significantly 
below the official rate. Since enforcement by the Ministry of Labor was 
minimal, working conditions generally were poor.

                               __________

                               SWAZILAND

                           executive summary
    Swaziland is an absolute monarchy. King Mswati III and Queen Mother 
Ntombi, the king's mother who rules as his co-monarch, have ultimate 
authority over the cabinet, legislature, and judiciary. There is a 
prime minister and partially elected parliament, but political power 
remained largely with the king and his traditional advisors. 
International observers concluded that parliamentary elections held in 
2008 did not meet international standards. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    In 2011 citizens remained unable to change their government. The 
three main human rights abuses were police use of excessive force, 
including use of torture and beatings; a breakdown of the judiciary 
system and judicial independence; and discrimination and abuse of women 
and children.
    Other significant human rights problems included extrajudicial 
killings by security forces; arbitrary arrests and lengthy pretrial 
detention; arbitrary interference with privacy and home; restrictions 
on freedom of speech, assembly, and association; prohibitions on 
political activity and harassment of political activists; trafficking 
in persons; societal discrimination against members of the lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community; harassment of labor 
leaders; restrictions on worker rights; child labor; and mob violence.
    In general, perpetrators acted with impunity, and the government 
took few or no steps to prosecute or punish officials who committed 
abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year 
there were several reports that the government or its agents committed 
arbitrary or unlawful killings. On May 17 the Times of Swaziland 
reported that members of the Royal Swaziland Police Service (RSPS) shot 
and killed Mathendele Mantfonsi in a remote forest in the Lomahasha 
area, near the Mozambique border, where he was tending his marijuana 
field. Police argued the shooting was in self defense as Mantfonsi 
attempted to resist arrest after being caught engaging in illegal 
activity. According to the RSPS, investigations in the case have been 
completed and the report will be sent to the Directorate of Public 
Prosecutions (DPP).
    On January 29, Mbongeni Masuku was dragged from his car by police 
officers and shot in the head. RSPS spokesperson Superintendent Wendy 
Hleta told reporters that Masuku was resisting arrest. Masuku's family, 
present at the time of the shooting, said Masuku knew the police 
officers and had been threatened by them. According to the RSPS, the 
case remained under active investigation.
    On March 4, authorities announced the results of the investigation 
of the death of Sipho Jele, who died in May 2010 while in custody at 
Sidwashini Prison. A government-appointed coroner stated Jele's death 
was a suicide. Civil society groups questioned the validity of the 
finding and impartiality of the coroner, a former police officer. Jele 
died in police custody three days after being arrested for wearing a T-
shirt from the banned political group People's United Democratic 
Movement of Swaziland (PUDEMO).
    According to the RSPS, cases of unlawful killing were investigated 
in line with the policy of investigating a case if a complaint is 
received, and referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions as 
appropriate. At year's end several cases were under investigation, but 
no officers had been prosecuted.
    During the year there were reports of killings by community police, 
who are volunteers with arrest authority operating under the 
supervision of chiefs in rural areas and of local civil authorities in 
urban centers.
    For example, on June 18, community police reportedly tortured and 
eventually killed Mxolisi Masuku, whom they accused of housebreaking 
and poultry theft. Masuku was allegedly a well-known member of a local 
gang notorious for causing trouble in the community. After the killing, 
community police burned Masuku's body.
    Authorities had begun to take some action against community police 
who commit abuses.

    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, the 
provision prohibiting law enforcement officials from engaging in 
torture is located in the ``policy'' section of the constitution and is 
not enforceable in any court or tribunal. The law does not specifically 
prohibit such practices. Security officials who engage in such 
practices may be punished, and some officers were brought to court on 
charges, but no convictions or punishments were reported during the 
year. Many cases of torture were investigated, but findings were not 
made public. Security officers reportedly used torture during 
interrogation, assaulted citizens, and used excessive force in carrying 
out their duties. Reported practices included beatings and temporary 
suffocation using a rubber tube tied around the face, nose, and mouth, 
or plastic bags over the head.
    On January 1, police beat an 18-year-old pregnant woman who had 
been brought to a police station by her father on suspicion that she 
had aborted an earlier pregnancy. According to the victim, who was 
interviewed by the Center for Human Rights and Development, a Swazi 
nongovernmental organization (NGO), she was forced to undress in front 
of a male police officer and then two officers, one male and one 
female, assaulted her with a knife. The victim claimed that, during the 
incident, one officer sat on her stomach while the other covered her 
face with a plastic bag. According to the RSPS, investigation continued 
at year's end.
    On March 9, 12 high school students were called individually into 
the school's staff room, where they were allegedly beaten by police 
with the approval, and in the presence, of school officials. The 
students were being investigated on suspicion they were ringleaders of 
a school boycott that had taken place the previous week. Students 
suffered injuries during the interrogation and sought medical 
assistance from Mkhuzweni Health Center.
    On September 7, police assaulted Swazi activists, including 
prominent members of local labor unions, after a rally in Siteki. Civil 
society activists sustained injuries when police forcibly disbanded the 
public gathering to prevent members of the Congress of South African 
Trade Unions from addressing the crowd.
    Police forcibly dispersed demonstrators, resulting in injuries (see 
section 2.b.).
    According to the RSPS, abuse cases were investigated in line with 
the policy of investigating a case if a complaint is received, and 
referred to the director of public prosecutions as appropriate. At 
year's end several cases were under investigation, but no officers had 
been prosecuted.
    There were credible reports of use of excessive force by community 
police during the year.
    For example, on March 23, during an investigation of a house break-
in and theft, community police of Mahlanya tortured Ndumiso Dlamini. 
Dlamini was told to remove his clothes and had his head submerged in 
water during interrogation.
    On July 29, community police brutally beat Kitso Dlamini until he 
lost consciousness. After the beating, Dlamini suffered memory loss and 
at year's end, still often spoke incoherently.
    In some cases, authorities took action against community police who 
committed abuses. Three community police officers--George Simelane, 
Sibusiso Mnisi, and Sikhumbuzo Dube--were sentenced to 15 months in 
prison after assaulting a burglar, Vusi Mavuso, in Manzini. A local 
magistrate sentenced the three, saying they did not have a right to 
beat the victim but only to apprehend a suspect and turn the individual 
over to the RSPS. In October the RSPS offered a three-day workshop to 
educate community police as to their roles and responsibilities in 
preventing crime and apprehending suspects. Community police were 
trained on how to apprehend suspects and warned against using excessive 
force.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions varied. Some facilities were overcrowded with 
generally poor living conditions, while other facilities were modern, 
and prisoners there were treated professionally.
    The government permitted limited independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by local human rights groups. Media were not allowed inside 
prisons. Statistics released by the Correctional Services in May 
revealed there were an estimated 3,000 inmates and an additional 764 
awaiting trial. Female inmates constituted 2.6 percent of the adult 
prison population and male inmates 97.4 percent. Correctional Services 
provided free formal education to juveniles while in jail, along with 
instruction in various trade skills to adult inmates. Inmates also 
engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry projects.
    In prisons women were held separately from men and juveniles from 
adults; however, there were reports that women and men were detained 
together in jails after arrest, due to space constraints. Juveniles 
attend Correctional Services schools. The Correctional Services bureau 
was short staffed, with one warder per approximately 30 inmates. 
Correctional Services was also in need of psychologists, nutritionists, 
dieticians, and social workers to provide appropriate care and 
counseling for inmates.
    Overcrowding in some prisons was a problem, exposing inmates and 
officers to diseases and infections such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and 
hepatitis. There were allegations of rape in prisons. Facilities were 
of mixed quality. While some were old and dilapidated, others were 
newer and well maintained. Independent monitoring groups found it 
difficult to secure access to prison facilities during the year, and 
none issued public reports during the year. International officials and 
NGOs working on programs to fight HIV were permitted entry to prisons 
and detention centers, although sometimes with difficulty.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors. 
Christian inmates were permitted religious observance. Chaplains and 
independent pastors from various denominations were allowed to 
minister, but other religious groups, although not explicitly 
prohibited, generally could not access inmates. Authorities 
investigated allegations of inhuman conditions and documented results 
of such investigations, but the reports were never made public. 
Ministry of Justice officials visited prison and detention centers 
during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, police arbitrarily 
arrested and detained numerous persons.
    For example, on May 14, approximately 10 union members from the 
Swaziland National Union of Teachers (SNAT), the Swaziland Federation 
of Trade Unions (SFTU), and the Swaziland Federation of Labor (SFL) 
were detained by armed police after holding a union meeting. The police 
declared the meeting illegal because no permission was sought from 
their office to hold such a meeting; however, there is no such legal 
requirement.
    In the days leading up to the ``April 12 Uprising''--several days 
of planned protest actions by unions, teachers, students, and political 
parties--police used heavy-handed intimidation tactics, including 
arbitrary searches and detentions. For example, on April 12, police 
picked up several activists gathered in a square in Manzini and took 
them to a local police station for questioning. Following the 
questioning, police loaded them into two military trucks and deposited 
them in a remote rural area.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The king is the 
commander in chief of the Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF), holds 
the position of minister of defense, and is the commander of the police 
and Correctional Services. He presides over a civilian principal 
secretary of defense and a commanding general. Approximately 40 percent 
of the government's workforce was assigned to security.
    The RSPS, under the authority of the prime minister, is responsible 
for maintaining internal security. The USDF, which reports to the king 
in his capacity as defense minister, is responsible for external 
security but also has domestic security responsibilities, including 
protecting members of the royal family and patrolling the borders. The 
principal secretary of defense and the army commander are responsible 
for day-to-day USDF operations. The Correctional Services are 
responsible for the protection, holding, and rehabilitation of 
convicted persons and keeping order within Correctional Services' 
institutions. However, they also routinely worked alongside police 
during protests and demonstrations. The RSPS, USDF, and Correctional 
Services were generally professional; however, members of all three 
forces were susceptible to political pressure and corruption. The 
government generally failed to prosecute or otherwise discipline 
security officers accused of abuses.
    No independent body had the authority to investigate police abuses. 
An internal RSPS complaints and discipline unit investigated reports of 
police abuse but did not release its findings to the public. When 
specifically approached for information on abuses, RSPS officials were 
cooperative. Police academy training for new recruits included human 
rights components in line with regional standards. Some officers 
attended additional training programs that included a human rights 
component.
    Traditional chiefs supervise volunteer rural ``community police,'' 
who have the authority to arrest suspects and bring them before an 
inner council within the chiefdom for trial for minor offenses. For 
serious offenses, community police are required to apprehend suspects 
and transfer them to the RSPS for further investigation; however, this 
did not always occur and, when it did, it often happened after suspects 
were subjected to ill treatment.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires warrants for arrests, except when police observe a crime being 
committed, believe that a person is about to commit a crime, or 
conclude that evidence will be lost if arrest is delayed. Detainees may 
consult with a lawyer of their choice, but the government pays for 
defense counsel only in cases in which the potential penalty is death 
or life imprisonment. Detainees must be charged with the violation of a 
statute within a reasonable time, usually within 48 hours of arrest or, 
in remote areas, as soon as the judicial officer appears. However, 
arresting authorities did not always charge detainees within the 
prescribed period. In general, detainees were informed promptly of the 
charges against them; their families had access to them and were 
allowed to consult with lawyers of their choice. There is a functioning 
bail system, and suspects can request bail at their first appearance in 
court, except in the most serious cases such as murder and rape.
    Lengthy pretrial detention was common. As of May pretrial detainees 
constituted an estimated 20 percent of the prison population. A 
judicial crisis beginning in July exacerbated the problem (see section 
1.e.). Judicial inefficiency and staff shortages also contributed to 
the problem, as did the police practice of prolonging detention to 
collect evidence and prevent detainees from influencing witnesses.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary; however, the king, on recommendation of 
the Judicial Services Commission, appoints the judiciary, limiting 
judicial independence. Judicial powers are based on two systems: Roman-
Dutch law and a system of traditional courts that follows traditional 
law and custom. Neither the Supreme Court nor the High Court, which 
interprets the constitution, has jurisdiction in matters concerning the 
office of the king or queen mother, the regency, chieftaincies, the 
Swazi National Council, or the traditional regiments system. All of 
these institutions are governed by traditional law and custom (see 
section 2.a.).
    Most citizens who encountered the legal system did so through the 
13 traditional courts. Each has a president appointed by the king. 
Authorities may bring citizens to these courts for minor offenses and 
violations of traditional law and custom. Traditional courts are not 
supposed to try cases involving non-Swazis, but in practice did hear 
cases involving nationals of other countries.
    The director of public prosecutions has the legal authority to 
determine which court should hear a case, and public prosecutors have 
delegated responsibility; however, police usually made the 
determination and often took cases not properly investigated to these 
traditional courts because the standard of evidence required for 
conviction was not as high as in the western-style courts. Persons 
convicted in the traditional courts may appeal to the High Court. 
Prolonged delays during trials in the magistrate courts and High Court 
were common.
    Military courts are not allowed to try civilians and do not provide 
the same rights as civil criminal courts. For example, military courts 
may use confessions obtained under duress as evidence and may convict 
defendants on the basis of hearsay.
    Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi, a Lesotho national, sparked the 
onset of a judicial crisis when, on June 28, he unilaterally suspended 
High Court Judge Thomas Masuku, accusing him of a dozen instances of 
misconduct, including insulting the king in a judicial opinion. 
Ramodibedi's initiation of disciplinary action over a judicial opinion 
offered by a colleague immediately called into question the judiciary's 
independence. The chief justice further undermined judicial 
independence when, in collusion with the court registrar, he began 
interfering with court administration. In protest of the chief 
justice's actions, the kingdom's lawyers filed complaints against him 
and initiated a boycott of the courts. Members of the International 
Commission of Jurists visited the kingdom and, in a series of public 
and private meetings, decried Ramodibedi's actions as unconstitutional 
and demonstrating a lack of judicial independence. Prime Minister 
Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini supported Ramodibedi throughout the crisis.
    Even though he acted outside his constitutional authority in 
unilaterally suspending Masuku, in August the chief justice held a 
disciplinary hearing for Masuku in which he acted as plaintiff, 
prosecutor, and judge. Although the constitution stipulates that, if a 
chief justice is party to a disciplinary action, he must recuse himself 
from that case, Ramodibedi presided over the hearing. He refused 
Masuku's requests that the hearing be public and he be allowed to 
present oral evidence or call witnesses. In a September 27 legal 
notice, King Mswati III fired Masuku for ``serious misbehavior.''

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair public trial, except when exclusion of the public is necessary in 
the ``interests of defense, public safety, public order, justice, 
public morality, the welfare of persons under the age of 18, or the 
protection of the private lives of the persons concerned in the 
proceedings.'' The judiciary generally enforced this right in practice. 
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, but juries are not used. 
Court-appointed counsel is provided at government expense in capital 
cases or if the crime is punishable by life imprisonment. Otherwise, 
defendants in superior and magistrate courts may hire counsel at their 
own expense. Defendants can question witnesses against them and present 
witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and their 
attorneys have access to relevant government-held evidence, generally 
obtained during pretrial consultations with the Public Prosecutor's 
Office. Defendants and prosecutors have the right of appeal up to the 
Supreme Court.
    In September, while the kingdom's attorneys were boycotting courts, 
Chief Justice Ramodibedi ordered magistrates to hear cases in the 
absence of counsel. In one case before the Industrial Court, Ramodibedi 
dismissed an appeal when attorneys for neither side appeared.
    The traditional courts serve the chiefs, who are appointed by the 
king, and have limited civil and criminal jurisdiction. They are 
authorized to impose fines of up to 240 emalangeni ($34.50) and prison 
sentences of up to 12 months. However, there were reported cases in 
which traditional courts exceeded their legal jurisdiction in passing 
sentences on accused persons.
    Traditional courts are empowered to administer customary law only 
``insofar as it is not repugnant to natural justice or morality'' or 
inconsistent with the provisions of any civil law in force; however, 
some traditional laws and practices do not comply with civil laws, 
particularly those involving women's and children's rights. Defendants 
in traditional courts are not permitted formal legal counsel but may 
speak on their own behalf, call witnesses, and be assisted by informal 
advisors. Sentences are subject to review by traditional authorities 
and can be appealed to the High Court.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--On March 4, authorities stated 
the death of political prisoner Sipho Jele, who died while in custody, 
was a suicide; however, civil society groups claimed the finding was 
not impartial (see section 1.a.). There were no reports of other 
political prisoners during the year.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary tries civil 
as well as criminal cases, including suits for damages against 
government agents. Administrative remedies are available under civil 
service rules and regulations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions except 
``in the interest of defense, public safety, public order, public 
morality, public health, town and country planning, use of mineral 
resources, and development of land in the public benefit''; however, 
the government did not always respect these prohibitions and broadly 
construed exceptions to the law. The law requires police to obtain a 
warrant from a magistrate before searching homes or other premises; 
however, police officers with the rank of subinspector or higher have 
the authority to conduct a search without a warrant if they believe 
delay might cause evidence to be lost.
    During the year police conducted random checks for irregular 
immigrants, weapons, stolen vehicles, and evidence of other criminal 
activities through roadblocks and searches in homes. Police also 
entered homes and businesses and conducted searches without judicial 
authorization.
    Police conducted physical surveillance of members of labor unions, 
political groups, religious groups, and others. For example, on April 
13, police escorted Muzi Mhlanga, secretary general of the SNAT, to his 
house, detained him there for seven hours, and confiscated his cell 
phone. On April 14, as he was leaving the country for a meeting in 
Zimbabwe, officers escorted him from Mbabane to Matsapha to ensure he 
did not communicate with any of the SNAT leadership.
    In 2008 the government designated PUDEMO, the Swaziland Solidarity 
Network (SSN), SWAYOCO, and the Swaziland People's Liberation Army 
(UMBANE) as ``specified entities'' under the 2008 Suppression of 
Terrorism Act. Persons who abetted, aided, sympathized with, sheltered, 
or provided logistical support to these organizations are subject to 
arrest and prison terms of 25 years to life.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, but 
the king may deny these rights at his discretion, and the government 
restricted these rights during the year. Although no law bans criticism 
of the monarchy, the prime minister and other officials warned 
journalists that publishing such criticism could be construed as an act 
of sedition or treason, and media organizations were threatened with 
closure for criticizing the monarchy. The law empowers the government 
to ban publications if they are deemed ``prejudicial or potentially 
prejudicial to the interests of defense, public safety, public order, 
public morality, or public health.'' Most journalists practiced self-
censorship.
    The broadcast media remains firmly in state control. There are two 
state-owned radio stations and one private station, owned by a 
Christian group. The majority of Swazis get their news from radio 
broadcasts. There are two Swazi television stations, one of which is 
state owned. Despite invitations issued by the existing regulator for 
parties to apply for licenses, no new licenses have been awarded. The 
content of broadcasts is censored as evidenced by the stations' refusal 
to broadcast anything that is perceived as critical of government or 
the monarchy. The king may suspend the constitutional right to free 
expression at his discretion, and the government severely restricted 
freedom of expression, especially regarding political issues or the 
royal family. Individuals and their family members who criticized the 
monarchy risked exclusion from the traditional regiments' (chiefdom-
based groupings of males dedicated to serving the king) patronage 
system that distributed scholarships, land, and other benefits.
    Swazi officials discouraged press freedom in public statements.
    For example, on June 13, Prime Minister Dlamini told the media to 
stop broadcasting or writing about a land scandal in which he and five 
cabinet ministers were implicated. After a months-long debate over the 
sale of government land to the six ministers, at steeply ``discounted'' 
prices, the king pronounced the matter closed and said no one should 
speak of it further. Reiterating the monarch's pronouncement, the prime 
minister said that media should cease covering the scandal; the media 
complied.
    On September 15, during the last day of a series of meetings aimed 
at promoting national dialogue, King Mswati III asked local journalists 
why they always reported negatively on issues in the country and 
accused media of being ``part of the problem'' instead of offering 
solutions. According to the state-owned Swazi Observer, the king said 
he expects the media to ``change its ways and come out of this dialogue 
with a new will to support national initiatives.''
    Daily newspapers criticized government corruption and inefficiency 
but generally avoided criticizing the royal family.

    Violence and Harassment.--Journalists continued to be harassed 
during the year. For example, on June 22, police detained one 
journalist for nine and a half hours, searched his home, and accused 
him of possessing ``highly seditious'' documents--downloads from a blog 
by a British academic that discussed royal expenditures. The 
journalist, who works for a South African newspaper and is one of very 
few Swazi reporters who openly criticizes the government and the 
monarch, indicated that the police, who were in possession of a search 
warrant, took down his passport number and told him not to leave the 
country.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no official government restrictions 
on access to the Internet. For the most part, individuals and groups 
could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, 
including by e-mail. Nevertheless, there were reports that the 
government monitored e-mail, Facebook, and Internet chat rooms, and 
that police were bugging certain individuals' telephones.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Restrictions on political 
gatherings and the practice of self-censorship affected academic 
freedom by limiting academic meetings, writings, and discussion on 
political topics. For example, professors at the University of 
Swaziland were requested by university administration to prevent 
certain academicians from speaking at workshops to which they had been 
invited. The professors objected on grounds of academic freedom but 
were forced to alter the program.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, 
the government severely restricted this right during the year. The law 
requires police consent and a permit from the municipal council to hold 
political meetings, marches, or demonstrations in a public place. 
Authorities routinely attempted to prevent meetings and demonstrations 
by withholding consent or taking civil society leaders to court. On 
several occasions, the Industrial Court upheld the right to freedom of 
assembly and allowed demonstrations to take place. However, when 
demonstrations did take place, Swazi security officials were deployed 
in force, on occasion outnumbering protesters.
    From September 5-9, civil society groups representing labor unions, 
students, teachers, school administration, and political parties held 
protest marches in urban areas around the country. The government 
attempted to prevent the marches by taking labor unions to court. The 
Industrial Court, however, upheld the right to freedom of assembly, and 
the protest action proceeded. During the first two days marchers 
adhered to agreed-upon routes, and security forces acted with 
restraint. On the third day, however, violence erupted in Mbabane when 
protesters threw bottles at police and corrections officers, who used 
tear gas to disperse the crowd and beat several students with batons.
    In the days leading up to the ``April 12 uprising'' --a series of 
planned demonstrations in commemoration of the day, in 1973, that King 
Sobhuza II announced the decree that abrogated the independence 
constitution and banned political parties--police, correctional 
services officers, and soldiers established roadblocks throughout the 
country, and security forces detained numerous activists in an attempt 
to prevent the demonstration. On April 12 and 13, soldiers used 
excessive force, tear gas, water cannons, preventive detentions, 
roadblocks, house searches, curfews, and physical intimidation to quash 
the protests.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, but the government severely restricted this right during 
the year. The constitution does not address the formation or role of 
political parties, and a 2006 High Court appeal of the 1973 ban on 
political parties had not been heard by year's end. However, in a 2008 
affidavit, the former prime minister reiterated that political parties 
were banned, and in 2008 Prime Minister Dlamini designated PUDEMO, 
SWAYOCO, the SSN, and UMBANE as ``specified entities'' under the 
Suppression of Terrorism Act. The act provides that persons found 
associating with any of the four illegal groups can be sentenced to 
prison terms of 25 years to life. According to the attorney general, 
persons or groups that abet, aid, sympathize with, shelter, or provide 
logistical support to these organizations invite the ``wrath of the 
law.''
    The government harassed and detained opposition members and 
conducted surveillance on members of labor unions, political groups, 
and groups considered potentially political (see sections 1.f. and 3).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. It also states that provisions of law and custom, which 
impose restrictions on the freedom of any person to reside in the 
country, shall not contravene the freedom granted by the constitution.
    By traditional law and custom, chiefs have power to decide who 
lives in their chiefdoms, and evictions due to internal conflicts, 
alleged criminal activity, or opposition to the chief occurred.
    Nonethnic Swazis sometimes experienced lengthy processing delays 
when seeking passports and citizenship documents, in part due to the 
country's history when mixed race and white persons were not considered 
legitimate citizens.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--Laws provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened. 
The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner 
for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing 
protection and minimal assistance to refugees and asylum seekers. 
Swaziland hosted an estimated 800 refugees, the majority from the Great 
Lakes region of Africa and Somalia.

    Durable Solutions.--The government accepted refugees for permanent 
resettlement, allowed them to compete for jobs, and granted them work 
permits and temporary residence permits without discrimination. The 
government also provided refugees with free transportation twice a week 
to buy food in local markets and to earn a living. Refugees who lived 
in the country more than five years qualified for citizenship; however, 
most refugees waited longer to apply, sometimes more than 10 years, due 
to lack of data regarding their immigration status.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens could not change their government peacefully, and 
political parties remained unable to register, to contest elections, or 
otherwise participate in the formation of a government. In February the 
attorney general, Majahenkaba Dlamini, dismissed claims that parties 
were ``banned.'' He said that the 1973 decree that banned political 
parties is superseded by the kingdom's constitution, and that political 
parties can exist because no law specifically bans their existence. The 
king retains ultimate executive and legislative authority; parliament 
has limited authority. Legislation passed by parliament requires the 
king's consent to become law. Under the constitution, the king selects 
the prime minister, the cabinet, two-thirds of the senate, 10 of 65 
members of the house, many senior civil servants, the chief justice and 
other justices of the superior courts, members of commissions 
established by the constitution, and the heads of government offices. 
On the advice of the prime minister, the king appoints the cabinet from 
among members of parliament. Although the constitution requires the 
king to consult with others (usually a traditional council) before 
making a major decision, he is not required to accept their advice.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 
September 2008 parliamentary elections were held, the first since the 
constitution went into effect in 2006; the king appointed a government 
in October 2008. International observers concluded the elections did 
not meet international standards. Political parties were not allowed to 
register or sponsor candidates of their choice. Ballots were cast in 
secrecy but could be traced by registration number to voters; some 
ballot boxes were not properly protected. Accusations of bribery were 
reported. There were widespread reports that citizens were advised if 
they did not register to vote, they would no longer receive government 
services.
    During the year the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), 
whose mandate is to ``ensure that elections are properly managed on 
behalf of the electorate,'' began preparations for the next round of 
elections, scheduled to be held in 2013. According to the EBC chairman, 
Chief Gija S.G. Dlamini, the commission was reviewing draft legislation 
to update existing electoral laws.

    Political Parties.--According to the government, when the current 
constitution took effect, the 1973 decree that banned political parties 
lapsed. The constitution provides for freedom of association but does 
not address how political parties can operate, including how they can 
contest elections. In 2006 the minister of justice and constitutional 
affairs stated political organizations could hold meetings at 
``tinkhundla'' (local government) centers if they obtained permission 
from the regional administrator and allowed a police officer to attend 
the meeting. However, political and civic organizations reported 
traditional authorities often denied them permission to meet.
    The constitution also states that candidates for public office must 
compete on their individual merit, thereby effectively blocking 
competition based on political party affiliation.
    The government harassed and detained opposition members.
    For example, on April 12 and 13, Mario Masuku, leader of the banned 
political party PUDEMO, was detained in his home to prevent his 
participation in demonstrations planned to commemorate the day on 
which, in 1973, King Sobhuza II issued the decree banning the operation 
of political parties.
    Participation in the traditional sphere of governance and politics 
is predominantly done through chiefdoms. Chiefs are custodians of 
traditional law and custom, report directly to the king, and are 
responsible for the day-to-day running of their chiefdoms and 
maintaining law and order. Local custom mandates that chieftaincy is 
hereditary. However, the constitution, while recognizing that 
chieftaincy is ``usually hereditary and is regulated by Swazi law and 
custom,'' also states that the king ``can appoint any person to be 
chief over any area.'' As a result, many chieftaincies were 
nonhereditary appointments, a fact that provoked land disputes, 
especially at the time of burials.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The constitution provides 
that 55 of the 65 seats in the House of Assembly be popularly contested 
and that the king appoint the remaining 10 members. Five of the 10 must 
be women, and the other five must represent ``interests, including 
marginalized groups not already adequately represented in the house.'' 
In 2008 the king appointed two women to the House of Assembly, instead 
of the required five, a constitutional violation that was not rectified 
during the year. The constitution also provides for an additional woman 
from each of the four regions if women do not constitute a third of the 
total members nominated by the elected house members from each region. 
The house had not nominated these members by year's end.
    The king appoints 20 members of the 30-seat Senate, and the House 
of Assembly elects the other 10. The constitution provides that at 
least eight of the king's nominees and five of the House of Assembly's 
nominees to the Senate be women. While house members elected the 
required five female members, the king appointed only seven female 
senators. The king had not rectified this constitutional violation by 
year's end. Women held 20 percent, rather than the mandatory 30 
percent, of parliamentary seats. The king appointed five women as 
cabinet ministers out of 20 ministerial positions.
    Widows in mourning (for periods that can vary from one to three 
years) were prevented from appearing in certain public places or from 
being in close proximity to the king. As a result, widows were 
effectively excluded from voting or running for office during those 
periods.
    There were almost no ethnic minority members in the government. The 
constitution provides that other appointees should represent 
``interests, including marginalized groups not already adequately 
represented in the House.'' However, most officials were from the royal 
Dlamini family or connected with royalty.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There 
was a widespread public perception of corruption in the executive and 
legislative branches of government and a general consensus that the 
government was doing little to combat it.
    In October Minister of Finance Majozi Sithole reiterated his 
earlier statement that an estimated 80 million emalangeni ($11.52 
million) in potential government revenue was lost each month due to 
corruption. The Anticorruption Commission, funded by the Ministry of 
Justice, is charged with fighting corruption by carrying out education 
and prevention programs as well as by investigating cases. It has the 
power to investigate cases, gather evidence, and arrest individuals for 
failure to respond to ACC requests. During the year it recorded 249 
complaints of corruption. After completing investigations, the ACC 
referred 18 cases to the director of public prosecutions, two of which 
resulted in convictions. Several cases were pending in the court 
system, and two cases were dismissed for lack of evidence.
    The ACC conducted dozens of sensitization workshops and meetings 
around the country, provided educational materials for schools, and 
appeared on numerous radio and television shows. One ACC representative 
acknowledged a widespread public perception that the ACC is ineffective 
and described the commission as being in ``start up'' mode despite 
being established in 2008; a fact largely attributable to a lack of 
financial and human resources and the general backlog of cases in the 
court system.
    Principals and teachers routinely demanded bribes to admit 
students.
    Credible reports continued that business contracts, government 
appointments, military recruitment, and school admissions were awarded 
on the basis of a person's relationship with government officials. 
Authorities rarely took action when incidents of nepotism were 
reported.
    For example, on September 18, the Times of Swaziland reported that 
the Ministry of Tinkhundla (Local Administration) entered into a deal 
for three million emalangeni ($432,276) to lease office equipment that 
should have cost approximately one million emalangeni ($144,092). The 
minister of tinkhundla reportedly violated procurement regulations when 
he unilaterally awarded the contract for office supplies without the 
approval of the Tender Board, a statutory body responsible for approval 
of government procurement. The prime minister promised to institute a 
forensic investigation of all tenders issued by the Ministry of 
Tinkhundla. By the end of the year, the investigation had been 
completed but the report awaited review and adoption by Parliament.
    In May 2010 the general manager and the senior mechanical engineer 
of the Central Transport Administration, Polycarp Dlamini and Mpumelelo 
Mamba, were arrested along with Sandile Dlamini, the manager of 
Protronics Networking Corporation, and Industrial Court judge Sifiso 
Nsibande, on charges of fraud. The four men were released on 50,000 
emalangeni ($7,204) bail each. On November 28, Dlamini pled guilty to 
and was convicted of defrauding the Swazi government of more than 12 
million emalangeni ($1.7 million) and, at year's end, awaited 
sentencing.
    The constitution prohibits government officials from assuming 
positions in which their personal interest is likely to conflict with 
their official duties. These officials are required to declare their 
assets and liabilities to the Commission on Human Rights and Public 
Administration. According to the commission, the majority of those 
required to declare assets and liabilities did so. The commission 
suspected underreporting in a number of cases. The commission has not 
made this information public.
    There is no law permitting public access to government documents, 
and public documents were difficult to access.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases; however, government 
officials rarely were responsive to their views. Human rights groups 
spoke out on a number of occasions, criticizing the lack of 
accountability and transparency in the government.
    The constitution provides for the independence of human rights 
NGOs; however, this provision falls within the ``policy'' section, 
which cannot be enforced in any court or tribunal.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
cooperated with international organizations and permitted visits by 
U.N. representatives. However, in May the government did not meet with 
visiting officials from international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW). 
Staff from HRW were told that officials were busy and not in a position 
to meet with them.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--In 2009 the government established 
the Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration. Since its 
establishment, the commission has received 26 complaints, seven of 
which it resolved - mainly through alternative dispute resolution. 
Nineteen complaints remained pending. The commission remained nearly 
powerless due to lack of funding and enabling legislation. The 
commission consisted of one commissioner and five deputy commissioners, 
although one of the deputies has been acting commissioner since 
September 14. It had no full-time staff. The commission is precluded 
from investigating any matter ``relating to the exercise of any royal 
prerogative by the Crown.'' A number of local NGOs, including Women and 
Law in Southern Africa, expressed concerns regarding the location of 
the commission's offices within the vicinity of royal residences--an 
area which women in mourning attire and in pants may not enter, 
according to custom and tradition.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, age, ethnicity, religion, political opinion, or social 
status; however, the government did not consistently enforce the law.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape; 
however, no law specifically addresses spousal rape. Rape was common, 
and the government did not always enforce the law effectively. 
According to the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA), one in 
three Swazi women between the ages of 13 and 24 has been the victim of 
sexual violence. Many men regarded rape as a minor offense. According 
to the 2010 RSPS Annual Report, 617 rape cases were reported in 2010, 
but there were no data available on the number of prosecutions, 
convictions, or punishment. The number of reported cases is likely far 
lower than the number of actual cases. A sense of shame and 
helplessness often inhibited women from reporting such crimes, 
particularly when incest was involved. The maximum sentence for 
aggravated rape is 15 years; however, the acquittal rate for rape was 
high, and sentences were generally lenient.
    In November 2010 Minister of Sports, Youth, and Culture Hlob'sile 
Ndlovu reportedly said during a parliamentary session that when women 
say ``do not touch me,'' they actually mean ``touch me further.'' When 
called upon to retract her statement, the minister refused.
    Domestic violence against women, particularly wife beating, was 
common and sometimes resulted in death. Domestic violence is illegal; 
however, police efforts to combat the crime were inadequate. According 
to a 2008 survey by the government's Central Statistics Office, 60 
percent of men believed it was acceptable to beat their wives, and 18 
percent of females between 13 and 44 years old had contemplated 
suicide, primarily as a result of domestic violence. The special police 
units established in 2008 for domestic violence, child abuse, and 
sexual abuse reported an increase in cases received during the year; 
however, there were no data available on the number of cases, 
prosecutions, convictions, or punishments.
    Women have the right to charge their husbands with assault under 
both the Roman-Dutch and traditional legal systems, and urban women 
frequently did so, usually in extreme cases when intervention by 
extended family members failed to end such violence. Penalties for men 
found guilty of assault not involving rape against a woman depended on 
the court's discretion. Rural women often had no relief if family 
intervention did not succeed, because traditional courts were 
unsympathetic to ``unruly'' or ``disobedient'' women and were less 
likely than modern courts, which use Roman-Dutch-based law, to convict 
men of spousal abuse. The Roman-Dutch legal system often gave light 
sentences in cases of conviction for abuse against women. SWAGAA has 
hotlines and shelters to assist victims of abuse.

    Sexual Harassment.--Legal provisions against sexual harassment were 
vague, and government enforcement was ineffective; no cases have ever 
been brought to court. There were frequent reports of sexual 
harassment, most often of female students by teachers. Numerous 
teachers and some principals were fired during the year for 
inappropriate sexual conduct with students. Some teachers threatened 
students with poor grades if they did not provide sexual favors to 
them.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government upheld 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. There was wide 
access to contraception, including at public restrooms, clinics, and 
workplaces throughout the country. Women were equally diagnosed and 
treated for sexually transmitted infections. Skilled attendance during 
childbirth, including essential obstetric and postpartum care, was 
estimated at 69 percent but was limited in rural areas. A 2011 U.N. 
Fund for Population report indicated the maternal mortality rate was 
420 per 100,000 live births; the proportion of maternal deaths due to 
HIV/AIDS was 75 percent in 2008. An estimated 47 percent of girls and 
women ages15-49 used a modern method of contraception in 2010.

    Discrimination.--Women occupy a subordinate role in society. The 
dualistic nature of the legal system complicates the issue of women's 
rights. Since unwritten law and custom govern traditional marriage and 
matters of inheritance and family law, women's rights often are unclear 
and change according to where and by whom they were interpreted. 
Couples often marry in both civil and traditional ceremonies, creating 
problems in determining which set of rules apply to the marriage and to 
subsequent questions of child custody, property, and inheritance in the 
event of divorce or death.
    The constitution provides that women can open bank accounts, obtain 
passports, and take jobs without the permission of a male relative; 
however, these constitutional rights often conflict with customary law, 
which classifies women as minors. Women routinely executed contracts 
and entered into a variety of transactions in their own names; however, 
banks still refused personal loans to women without a male guarantor. 
The constitution provides for equal access to land; however, customary 
law forbids women from registering property in their own names. The law 
requires equal pay for equal work; however, the average wage rates for 
men by skill category usually exceeded those of women.
    In February 2010 the High Court overturned section 16(3) of the 
Deeds Registry Act, which prohibited women from registering property in 
their own names. In May 2010 the Supreme Court amended the High Court's 
ruling but maintained its finding that the law was unconstitutional and 
stated parliament needed to enact appropriate legislation within 12 
months. Pending such legislation, the Supreme Court ruled that women 
should continue to register property jointly with their husbands. At 
year's end the law remained unchanged.
    In traditional marriages a man may take more than one wife. A man 
who marries a woman under civil law may not legally have more than one 
wife, although in practice this restriction was sometimes ignored. 
Traditional marriages consider children to belong to the father and his 
family if the couple divorces. Children born out of wedlock are viewed 
as belonging to the mother, unless the father claims the children. 
Inheritances are passed to and through male children only. Traditional 
authorities still exercised the right to fine women for wearing pants 
in their constituencies.
    The constitution states that ``a woman shall not be compelled to 
undergo or uphold any custom to which she is in conscience opposed''; 
however, adherents of traditional family practices may treat a woman as 
an outcast if she refuses to undergo the mourning rite, and a widow who 
does not participate may lose her home and inheritance. When the 
husband dies, tradition dictates that the widow must remain at her 
husband's family's residence in observance of a strict mourning period 
for one month, during which time she cannot leave the house, and the 
husband's family can move into the homestead and take control of its 
operations. In some cases the mourning period can last three years. 
During the year the media reported that widows and children heading 
households sometimes became homeless as a result of the custom and were 
forced to seek public assistance. Women in mourning attire generally 
were not allowed to participate in public events and were barred from 
interacting with royalty or entering royal premises.
    In November 2010 a woman was assaulted by a group of men 
identifying themselves as members of the ``water party,'' a group of 
men who are commissioned by royalty to traverse the country ahead of 
the annual incwala ceremony, after she refused to pay a fine for 
wearing slacks.

    Children.--Under the constitution, children derive citizenship from 
the father, unless the birth occurred outside marriage and the father 
does not claim the child, in which case the baby acquires the mother's 
citizenship. A foreign woman who marries a citizen can become a citizen 
by lodging a declaration with the proper authorities. If a Swazi woman 
marries a foreign man, however, even if he has become a naturalized 
citizen, their children are assumed to carry the father's birth 
citizenship.

    Birth Registration.--Birth registration is not automatic, and lack 
of birth registration can result in denial of public services.
    Government efforts to protect children's rights and welfare were 
inadequate, due in part to the growing number of orphans and vulnerable 
children (OVC), which made up an estimated 16 percent of the 
population.

    Education.--Despite a constitutional mandate that children be 
provided tuition-free primary education by 2009, the government had not 
completely complied. In addition students' families must pay for 
uniforms and other supplies. The government claimed it could not afford 
to enact tuition-free primary education immediately; however, after a 
2009 lawsuit brought by the Ex-Miners' Association to obtain the 
benefit on behalf of the country's children, the government began to 
implement the mandate gradually and offered tuition-free primary 
education through grade three. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 
received an annual budget allocation to pay school fees for OVCs in 
primary and secondary school; however, some schools continued to 
complain of delayed payment and expelled OVCs for nonpayment of fees. 
Individual schools sometimes needed to raise supplemental money for 
building maintenance, including of teachers' housing. Rural families 
favored boys over girls if they could not send all their children to 
school. Principals and teachers routinely demanded bribes to admit 
students.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse, including rape of children and incest, 
was a serious problem, but the crime was rarely reported, the 
government seldom punished perpetrators of abuse, and penalties seldom 
matched the crime. Many children became HIV positive as a result of 
rape. Most sexual assaults on girls occurred at home; fewer than half 
of sexual assaults were reported. Children with disabilities, children 
out of school, and orphans were at particular risk. According to a 
recent report by the Swaziland Violence Surveillance System, at least 
2,619 children were reported abused from January to June this year. 
Punishment for child abuse was minimal, and even perpetrators of abuse 
that resulted in death were generally fined no more than 200 emalangeni 
($29).
    On September 12, NGOs Family Life Association of Swaziland (FLAS) 
and Save the Children raised concerns about virginity testing for young 
girls. In the lead-up to the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, an annual 
celebration in which tens of thousands of girls pay homage to the queen 
mother and celebrate chastity, an organization called Liphupho Lendlovu 
reportedly conducted virginity testing on more than 40 girls. In a 
joint statement, FLAS and Save the Children called the practice,'' 
humiliating, degrading, and a gross violation of the fundamental rights 
of children and girls to privacy and bodily integrity.'' Liphupho 
Lendlovu called this year's testing a pilot program and vowed to 
continue the testing next year.
    Corporal punishment by teachers and principals is legal and 
routinely practiced. School regulations state a teacher can administer 
a maximum of four strokes with a stick on the buttocks to a student 
younger than age 16, and six strokes to students older than 16; 
however, teachers often exceeded these limits with impunity.
    At the end of March pupils at Mpofu High School boycotted classes 
in protest of what they viewed as excessive corporal punishment. On 
March 31, students told the Swazi Observer they are made to lie on a 
bench and strip naked from the waist down so that blows can be 
administered to the bare flesh.

    Child Marriage.--The legal age of marriage is 18 for both men and 
women. However, with parental consent and approval from the minister of 
justice, girls can marry at the age of 16. The government recognizes 
two types of marriage: civil marriage and marriage under traditional 
law and custom. Traditional marriages can be with girls as young as 13. 
Critics of the royal family said the king's many wives and young 
fiancees, some of whom were 16years old, set a poor example in a 
country with an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 26 percent among persons 
between 15 and 49 years of age.
    On August 17, the Swazi Observer reported that on August 12, an 18-
year-old girl from Herefords, in the Hhohho Region, was forced to enter 
into a customary ``kuteka'' marriage with a high school teacher.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Minors were victims of 
prostitution and trafficking, and girls, particularly OVCs, were 
victims of commercial sexual exploitation, including at truck stops and 
in bars and brothels.
    No law specifically prohibits child prostitution. Penalties for 
child pornography are six months' imprisonment and a fine of 100 
emalangeni ($14.50). The law sets the age of sexual consent at 16 and 
prohibits the sexual exploitation of children under age 18, which is 
considered statutory rape. The penalty for statutory rape is six years' 
imprisonment and a fine of 1,000 emalangeni ($145). During the year the 
number of street children in Mbabane and Manzini continued to grow. A 
large and increasing number of HIV/AIDS orphans were cared for by 
relatives or neighbors, or they struggled to survive in child-headed 
households. Some lost their property to adult relatives. Various 
governmental, international, and religious organizations and NGOs 
provided some assistance to HIV/AIDS orphans. However, the government 
failed to pay school fees for orphans and vulnerable children, 
resulting in protest marches and petitions from school principals 
against the government.
    With more than 4,000 child-headed households in the kingdom, UNICEF 
supported school feeding programs, operated a number of neighborhood 
care points, and provided nutritional support to children weakened by 
AIDS.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community is very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution provides for the 
rights of persons with disabilities, but it does not differentiate 
between physical and mental disabilities and requires parliament to 
enact relevant implementing legislation, which parliament has not done. 
Parliament had not passed laws to prohibit discrimination against 
persons with disabilities in employment or to provide access to health 
care or other state services by year's end. Persons with disabilities 
complained of government neglect. No law mandates accessibility for 
persons with disabilities to buildings, transportation, or government 
services, although government buildings under construction included 
some improvements for those with disabilities, including access ramps. 
Public transportation was not user friendly for disabled persons, and 
the government does not provide any means of alternative accessible 
transport.
    The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its Department of 
Social Welfare are responsible for protecting the rights of persons 
with disabilities.
    On February 11, the Swazi Observer reported that police officers 
turned away Shadrack Nyaka, a person with disabilities who had come to 
register a charge of assault against his landlord. According to police, 
Nyaka was turned away because he could not speak, and police could not 
understand him since there are no sign language experts in the police 
stations.
    There is one school for the deaf and one special education 
alternative school for children with physical or mental disabilities. 
Only 25 percent of adults with disabilities were employed, mostly in 
the private sector, according to a 2006 study conducted by the Ministry 
of Health and Social Welfare. The hospital for persons with mental 
disabilities, located in Manzini, was overcrowded and understaffed.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution forbids 
discrimination on the grounds of race, color, ethnic origin, tribe, or 
birth; however, governmental and societal discrimination was practiced 
against nonethnic Swazis, generally white persons and persons of mixed 
race. Although there were no official statistics, an estimated 2 
percent of the population was nonethnic Swazi. Nonethnic Swazis 
experienced difficulty in obtaining official documents, including 
passports, and suffered from other forms of governmental and societal 
discrimination, such as needing special permits or stamps to buy a car 
or house, delays in receiving building permits for houses, and 
difficulties in applying for a bank loan.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Societal discrimination 
against the LGBT community was prevalent, and LGBT persons generally 
concealed their sexual orientation and gender identity. Colonial-era 
legislation against sodomy remains on the books; however, it has not 
been used to arrest gay men. Gay men and lesbians who were open about 
their sexual orientation and relationships faced censure and exclusion 
from the chiefdom-based patronage system, which could result in 
eviction from one's home. Chiefs, pastors, and members of government 
criticized same-sex sexual conduct as neither Swazi nor Christian. 
Societal discrimination exists against gay men and lesbians, and LGBT 
advocacy organizations had trouble registering with the government. One 
such organization, House of Pride, was affiliated with another 
organization dealing with HIV/AIDS. It is difficult to know the extent 
of employment discrimination based on sexual orientation because 
victims are not likely to come forward, and most gay men and lesbians 
are not open about their sexual orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Vigilante violence 
continued and in some cases resulted in deaths.
    For example, on February 9, two men stabbed a woman suspected of 
witchcraft, two days after a ``prophet'' hired by the community had 
claimed she was responsible for killing some members of the community 
through ``muti'' or witchcraft.
    On April 19, a mob demolished a house in Malkerns, alleging their 
son was a gangster and had been terrorizing the area, committing crimes 
including murder and robbery.
    There was social stigma associated with being HIV positive, a fact 
that discouraged persons from being tested. Nevertheless, there were 
often long lines, especially of young persons, waiting to be tested 
during prevention campaigns. The armed forces encouraged testing and 
did not discriminate against those testing positive.
    On February 15, at the Mbabane Government Hospital, an HIV-positive 
woman lost her baby during childbirth after being neglected by nurses 
claiming that her complaints of labor pains were as a result of her HIV 
status.
    There was social stigma attached to albinism. Several people with 
albinism stated they were discriminated against, called names, and were 
at risk of being killed for ritual purposes. The government condemned 
such acts but took no further action.
Section 7. Worker Rights.--a. Freedom of Association and the Right to 
        Collective Bargaining
    The constitution and law provide that workers have the right to 
form and join independent unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain 
collectively. However, these rights are either restricted or strictly 
regulated. The Industrial Relations Act of 2000 as amended governs 
employee and employer organizations. The law explicitly provides for 
the registration of unions and federations but grants far-reaching 
powers to the labor commissioner with respect to determining 
eligibility for registration. Unions must represent at least 50 percent 
of employees in a work place to be automatically recognized; otherwise, 
recognition is left to the discretion of employers. Unions and 
federations are prohibited from carrying out political activities or 
activities that may be interpreted as political. Employees in essential 
services, which included police and security forces, correctional 
services, firefighting, health, and many civil service positions, may 
not form unions. There were extensive provisions allowing workers to 
seek redress for alleged wrongful dismissal.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
government interference, and prohibits antiunion discrimination. 
However, the 1973 Decree/State of Emergency Proclamation and the 1963 
Public Order Act were reportedly used to interfere with trade unions' 
affairs or to repress trade unions' lawful and peaceful activities 
during the year.
    The law permits strikes; however, the right to strike was strictly 
regulated. Strikes and lock-outs are prohibited in essential services, 
while the minister has the power to modify the list of these essential 
services, which provides for broad prohibition on strikes in 
nonessential sectors, including posts, telephone, telegraph, radio, and 
teaching. The logistical requirements involved in registering a legal 
strike makes striking difficult in practice. The procedure for 
announcing a protest action requires advance notice of at least 14 
days. The law details the steps to be followed when disputes arise and 
provides penalties for employers who conduct unauthorized lockouts. 
When disputes arose with civil servant unions, the government often 
intervened to reduce the chances of a protest action, which may not be 
called legally until all avenues of negotiation have been exhausted and 
a secret ballot of union members has been conducted. The law imposes 
disproportionately harsh sanctions for damages caused by strike 
actions. For example, the trade union faces civil liability and 
criminal liability for any damage caused and other ``unlawful 
behavior'' during strikes.
    The constitution and law provide for the right to organize and 
bargain collectively; however, the right is subject to various legal 
restrictions. The law requires that for a union to be authorized to 
exercise collective bargaining rights, it must first represent more 
than 50 percent of the workers. The law provides for the registration 
of collective agreements by the Industrial Tribunal, which is empowered 
to refuse registration if the agreements do not take into account the 
instructions on wages and wage levels published by the government. The 
Industrial Relations Act (as amended) confers on the commissioner of 
labor or labor inspectors the power to ``intervene'' in labor disputes 
before being reported to the commission, if there is reason to believe 
that they could have serious consequences for the employers, the 
workers, or the economy if not resolved promptly.
    The government did not effectively enforce these laws. In practice 
workers who attempted to exercise the rights to organize and bargain 
collectively faced difficulties or risks due to a harsh legal 
environment imposed by many provisions in the labor and the security 
laws. Correctional Services staff continued to be denied the right to 
collective bargaining, and there were reportedly problems in the 
banking sector with respect to such right. There were reports of acts 
of antiunion discrimination in the textile sector.
    Government interference in union affairs has consistently been an 
issue under examination by the International Labor Organization (ILO), 
particularly those unions in the public service. The International 
Trade Union Confederation reported that trade union activities 
continued to be repressed in Swaziland. Repeated arbitrary arrests, 
intimidation, and beatings were reportedly used to silence activists. 
Union leaders and members of the SFTU were arrested several times 
during the year.
    In the days leading up to the ``April 12 Uprising''--several days 
of planned protest actions by unions, teachers, students, and political 
parties--police used heavy-handed intimidation tactics, including 
arbitrary searches and detentions. On April 12, police picked up 
several activists gathered in a square in Manzini and took them to a 
local police station for questioning. Following the questioning, police 
loaded them into two military trucks and deposited them in a remote 
rural area.
    On May 14, police briefly detained approximately 10 union members 
from the SNAT, SFTU, and SFL unions after the detainees held a union 
meeting in Siteki. The police declared the meeting illegal because no 
permission was sought from their office to hold such a meeting; 
however, there is no such legal requirement.
    On September 19 and 20, commuters including pupils in Mbabane and 
Manzini were left stranded when transport operators, including drivers 
and their assistants, engaged in strike action. In Manzini the 
demonstration turned violent with protesters burning tires and throwing 
stones at police. Some businesses were forced to close. According to 
the RSPS, during the skirmish 10 police officers were seriously 
injured.
    On October 31, labor organizations decided not to proceed with a 
planned protest related to the country's ongoing judicial and fiscal 
crises when the kingdom's Industrial Court ruled they needed first to 
work through the national Labor Advisory Board. Having agreed to 
postpone the protest marches, labor instead organized a prayer vigil 
for the same evening at a local primary school. When unionists arrived 
at the school, they were turned away by local authorities and told that 
they would not be allowed to use the school as they had not secured 
prior permission to use the premises. The labor leadership moved the 
gathering to a local church but were met there by Swazi police who said 
that they could not allow the vigil to take place.
    During the year there were allegations that employers used labor 
brokers to hire individuals on contracts to avoid hiring those who 
would normally be entitled to collective bargaining rights. There are 
no laws governing the operation of labor brokers.
    Antiunion discrimination continued to occur. Workers frequently 
invoked the antiunion discrimination and reinstatement provisions 
during the year. Employer interference with representatives of workers' 
councils trying to negotiate rules and conditions of work contributed 
to the failure of some trade unions to negotiate or promote collective 
bargaining agreements.
    In the case of unfair dismissal, the court can order reinstatement 
and compensation for the employee, as well as fine the employer. Union 
leaders made credible charges that private sector management in various 
industries dismissed workers for union activity, but no cases were 
pursued through the courts. Other concerns identified by unions were 
undefined hours of work and pay days; assaults on workers by 
supervisors; surveillance by hired security officers of trade union 
activity, both at the workplace and outside; and the use of workers' 
councils stacked with employer-picked representatives to prevent 
genuine worker representation. Allegations of antiunion discrimination 
were most common in the mostly foreign-owned textile and apparel 
industry.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports 
that such practices occurred. The ILO and the SFTU characterized the 
1998 Administrative Order, Act No. 6 as a form of forced labor, noting 
that it reinforced the tradition of residents performing uncompensated 
tasks for chiefs, who could penalize those who did not participate. 
Although the High Court had declared the order null and void, the 
government did not officially repeal it as recommended by the ILO, 
stating the order was automatically overridden by the constitution. 
Victims of forced labor included women and children forced into 
domestic servitude, agricultural labor, herding livestock, portering, 
and market vending.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
constitution and the Employment Act prohibit child labor; however, such 
laws were not effectively enforced, especially outside the formal work 
sector, and child labor was a problem. The law prohibits hiring a child 
younger than age 15 in an industrial undertaking, except in cases where 
only family members were employed in the firm, or in technical schools 
where children worked under supervision. However, children joined the 
workforce early to survive or support their families. The law limits 
the number of night hours children may work on school days to six and 
the overall hours per week to 33.
    Employment of children in the formal sector was not common, but 
children were found doing unpaid labor and often exposed to harsh 
conditions of work. In agriculture children pick cotton, harvest 
sugarcane, and herd livestock. This work may involve activities that 
put at risk their health and safety, such as using dangerous machinery 
and tools, carrying heavy loads, applying harmful pesticides, and 
working alone in remote areas.
    Child domestic servitude was also believed to be prevalent. Such 
work can involve long hours of work and may expose children to physical 
and sexual exploitation by their employer.
    Children also work as porters, bus attendants, taxi conductors, and 
street vendors. Children working on the streets risk a variety of 
dangers, such as severe weather and automobile accidents; they also may 
be vulnerable to exploitation by criminals. Other children reportedly 
worked 14-hour days in textile factories.
    Children's exploitation in illicit activities was a problem. 
Children served alcohol in liquor outlets and grow, manufacture, and 
sell drugs.
    The Ministry of Labor, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 
through the National Children's Coordination Unit and Department of 
Social Welfare, and the RSPS are responsible for enforcement of laws 
relating to child labor. The government's effectiveness in combating 
child labor was limited, however, due to a lack of baseline information 
about the scope of the problem and a lack of dedicated resources for 
identifying and punishing violators. Through the Office of the Deputy 
Prime Minister, the government pays school fees for orphans and 
vulnerable children to provide additional social support and keep these 
children from engaging in child labor.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor and Social 
Security sets wage scales for each industry. There was a legally 
mandated sliding scale of minimum wages depending on the type of work 
performed. The minimum monthly wage for a domestic worker was 
approximately 531.6 emalangeni ($76.50), for an unskilled worker 420 
emalangeni ($60.50), and for a skilled worker 600 emalangeni ($86.50). 
An estimated 69 percent of the population lives below the poverty line 
of 57 emalangeni ($7.80) and 104 emalangeni ($14.32) per month for 
rural and urban areas respectively.
    There was a standard 48-hour workweek for most workers and a 72-
hour workweek for security guards; however, public transportation 
workers complained that they were required to work 12 hours a day or 
more without any overtime compensation. It was not clear whether there 
were specific exceptions for female workers. The law permits all 
workers at least one day of rest per week and provides for premium pay 
for overtime. Most workers received a minimum of 12 days of annual 
leave. Workers receive 14 days of sick leave with full pay and 14 days 
with half pay after three months of continuous service; these 
provisions apply only once per calendar year. No sick leave is granted 
if an injury results from an employee's own negligence or misconduct.
    The law provides for some protection of workers' health and safety. 
The government set safety standards for industrial operations and 
encouraged private companies to develop accident prevention programs. 
Workers have no legal right to remove themselves from dangerous 
workplaces without jeopardizing their continued employment, and 
collective bargaining agreements do not address the matter. All workers 
in the formal sector, including migrant workers, are covered by the 
wage law.
    The labor commissioner conducted inspections in the formal sector 
but was hampered, by budgetary constraints, to meet its goals in terms 
of number of inspections and to fully enforce standards in all sectors.
    Wage arrears, particularly in the garment industry, were a problem. 
The minimum wage laws did not apply to the informal sector, where many 
workers were employed.
    Although policies exist regarding maternity leave, women often 
believe they are compelled to keep working from economic need, which 
sometimes resulted in giving birth in unsafe environments, for example, 
on the way to work.
    The Labor Commissioner's Office conducted few safety inspections 
because of staffing shortages.
    The Ministry of Health revealed that HIV/AIDS prevalence among 
female factory workers led to staffing shortages. As all standards are 
voluntary and there is no centralized quality assurance function, there 
were no credible records to identify sectors in which violation of the 
OSH standards occurred.
    According to the Times of Swaziland, preliminary findings of a 
study of workers in Matsapha found 50 percent to be HIV positive. 
Female workers complained they felt obligated to engage in risky sexual 
behavior--mostly having multiple, concurrent partners who provide extra 
cash or in-kind assistance.

                               __________

                                TANZANIA

                           executive summary
    The United Republic of Tanzania is a multiparty republic consisting 
of the mainland and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago, whose main 
islands are Unguja and Pemba. The union is headed by a president, 
Jakaya Kikwete, who is also the head of government; its unicameral 
legislative body is the National Assembly (parliament). Zanzibar, 
although part of the union government, has its own president, court 
system, and legislature and exercises considerable autonomy. Tanzania 
held its fourth multiparty general elections in October 2010 in which 
voters on Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar elected a union president and 
their respective representatives in the union legislature.
    In Zanzibar, where past elections were marked by violence and 
widespread irregularities, the 2010 elections proceeded peacefully 
after a power-sharing agreement was reached between the ruling Chama 
cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF). 
The Zanzibar electorate chose Ali Mohamed Shein, the immediate past 
union vice president, as president of Zanzibar and also elected members 
of its House of Representatives. The union and Zanzibar elections were 
judged to be largely free and fair. Union security forces reported to 
civilian authorities, but there were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The three most widespread and systemic human rights issues in the 
country were the use of excessive force by police, prison guards, and 
military personnel, which resulted in deaths and injuries; harsh and 
life threatening prison conditions; and mob violence.
    Other human rights problems included restrictions on freedoms of 
press and assembly; some limitations on religious freedom, primarily in 
Zanzibar; restrictions on the movement of refugees; official 
corruption, including judicial corruption and inefficiency, 
particularly in the lower courts; societal violence against women and 
persons with albinism; child abuse, including female genital mutilation 
(FGM); and discrimination based on sexual orientation. Trafficking in 
persons, both internal and international, as well as child labor were 
problems.
    In some cases the government took steps to prosecute those who 
committed abuses, but impunity also existed.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Neither the 
government nor its agents committed any politically motivated killings; 
however, on occasion security forces killed civilians during the year. 
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local news agencies documented 
several cases of police officers mistreating, beating, and causing the 
deaths of civilians.
    A researcher with the Legal and Human Rights Center (LHRC) 
announced at the launch of its biannual report that police brutality 
and extra judicial killings were on the rise. By December a total of 25 
persons were killed and more than 40 were injured at the hands of 
police and other security officers.
    For example, on January 5, police officers shot and killed two 
persons during an antigovernment protest in the Arusha region. The 
Party of Democracy and Development (CHADEMA) opposition party organized 
the protest to dispute the results of the Arusha mayoral elections. 
Arusha Regional Police Commander Tobias Andengenye confirmed the deaths 
and stated that nine persons were injured, including three police 
officers. Police arrested 13 senior CHADEMA officials for inciting the 
violence. CHADEMA objected that the case was politically motivated. At 
year's end the case was pending in court.
    In May police shot and killed at least five and possibly as many as 
seven persons attempting to invade African Barrick's gold mine in North 
Mara, leading to demonstrations in which a number of journalists and 
opposition party politicians were arrested. Authorities took no action 
against those responsible for the killings.
    Reports continued concerning police and private security force 
shootings of trespassers in corporate gold mining areas near Lake 
Victoria. On February 5, the LHRC reported that game rangers and 
wardens shot and killed poacher Mohamed Suta in the Selous Game Park 
and injured Hamisi Rashid. Rashid was subsequently unable to identify 
the suspects in a lineup of the rangers and wardens. At year's end the 
investigations into the shooting and killing continued.
    There were no further developments in the following 2010 shooting 
deaths by police: the January killing of Swetu Fundikira, the March 
death of Musa Juma,--both of which took place in police custody--and 
the April killing of Ndekirwa Palangyo.

    b. Disappearance.--Unlike in the previous year, there was at least 
one report of a politically motivated disappearance.
    On September 3, the Daily News, a government newspaper, reported 
the disappearance of human rights activist Eustace Nyarugenda, who 
disappeared for eight days from his home in the district of Bariadi, 
Shinyanga region, before a travelling herdsman found him drugged. 
Police were investigating the incident, but his abduction reportedly 
was connected to his work on theft and urban crime.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, but 
there were reports that police officers, prison guards, and soldiers 
who abused, threatened, and otherwise mistreated civilians, suspected 
criminals, and prisoners faced limited accountability. The abuse most 
commonly involved beatings.
    For example, in March Eliasi John of the Temeke region complained 
that a police officer injected acid into his eyes causing permanent 
blindness. John claimed that the officer arrested him at a pub, tied 
him up at a nearby police station, and injected the solution into his 
eyes. Police later took John to Temeke District Court on charges of 
robbery. John, who claimed innocence, stated that the court ignored his 
allegation that he was tortured.
    On April 4, in a visit to express concern to the office of 
Inspector General of Police (IGP) about the increase in extrajudicial 
killings, police brutality, and protracted investigations, the LHRC 
Monitoring Union made specific reference to the case of Eliasi John. 
The IGP forwarded the complaint to the Attorney General's Office for 
further action.
    According to human rights activist Christopher Lilai of Nachingwea 
district in Lindi region, a police officer beat Ally Ahmed when he was 
caught trying to attend a soccer match without paying, until he lost 
consciousness and required hospitalization. Lilai reported the incident 
in his blog on May 14 and posted pictures of Ahmed unconscious.
    Local government officials and courts occasionally used caning as a 
punishment for both juvenile and adult offenders. For example, in 
January the Bukoba district magistrate ordered the deportation of John 
Maitiland, a British citizen, after immigration authorities determined 
that he was in the country unlawfully. Before deportation the court 
ordered Maitiland to pay a fine of 80,000 TZS (Tanzanian shillings) 
($50) and subjected him to 10 strokes of the cane.
    On June 4, on the mainland, the Sumbawanga District Court sentenced 
Polikalipo Mwisua to 30 years in prison and 24 strokes of the cane for 
raping a 12-year-old schoolgirl.
    On August 23, the Arusha Resident Magistrate's Court finalized a 
second autopsy report on Juma Lissu, who died in the Arusha Central 
Police remand prison in 2009. Lissu's wife told human rights activists 
that police officers beat her husband at their house and took him to 
the police office, where he died the next day. Relatives disputed the 
initial autopsy report, which described the cause of death as malaria 
and lung disease. They also rejected the second report, which stated 
that Lissu died of natural causes. Human rights activists complained 
that failure to conduct the first autopsy in a timely fashion made it 
physiologically impossible for the coroner to make a proper ruling on 
the cause of death.
    The spokesperson for the Tanzanian Police Force (TPF) reported that 
police training curricula included sessions on protecting human rights, 
including combating human trafficking, which were later reinforced by 
additional training on the same topic.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Despite some improvements 
prison conditions remained harsh and life threatening. Inadequate food, 
overcrowding, poor sanitation, and inadequate medical care were 
pervasive. There were allegations that authorities engaged in torture. 
For example, according to the Jambo Leo newspaper's December 7 edition, 
Ayub Yusuf told the Singida regional court that police officers 
arrested him and two others for attacking a traffic police officer. 
Yusuf claimed the police pressed a gun to his neck and inserted the end 
of a second gun into his rectum, causing him severe pain and injury.
    The behavior of prison officers was at times itself a threat to the 
life and health of prisoners. For example, in Mwanza region police 
questioned some officers at the Kwimba district police station over the 
death of Maganza Kasanga, who was allegedly beaten to death while in 
police custody on September 6. Police officials promised to take action 
against the perpetrators, but there were no further developments by 
year's end.
    On September 10, the Habari Leo reported that Donasian Mafuru, a 
cook at the Ukonga prison mess, complained to reporters that he was 
beaten, tortured, and injured by 10 prison officials. He claimed they 
attacked him after he accused them of stealing his cooking utensils. An 
investigation continued at year's end.
    The Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) 
reported in September that in their visits to 75 prisons, they found 
that the quality of food, size of cells, availability and quality of 
inmate uniforms, and distribution of mosquito nets had improved. Murder 
suspects spent less time in pretrial detention due to the expansion of 
the judiciary. However, the average time awaiting trial remained 
between three and four years, and prisoners complained of delays in 
hearing their cases. CHRAGG reported that despite some improvements, 
sanitation and overcrowding remained problems that encouraged the 
spread of disease. The most common were malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/
AIDS, and other diseases related to poor sanitation. Prison 
dispensaries offered only limited treatment, and friends and family 
members of prisoners generally had to provide medications or the funds 
to purchase them.
    According to the principal commissioner of prisons, 15 deaths in 
prisons due to HIV/AIDS were reported during the year.
    Prison staff complained of water shortages and a lack of 
electricity as well as inadequate medical supplies. Limited 
transportation also affected the ability of prison staff to take 
prisoners to health clinics and hospitals. Foreign prisoners complained 
it was difficult for embassy officials to visit them and that they 
waited long periods before being transferred to their home countries.
    CHRAGG reported that children were held together with adults in 
several prisons due to a lack of detention facilities. There was one 
prison for children in the Mbeya region and five remand homes across 
the country. Officials attributed the shortage to a lack of 
coordination between the judiciary, police, and prison department. The 
number of probation officers also remained inadequate.
    According to the October prison's report of the Tanganyika Law 
Society (TLS), women were held separately and their conditions were 
generally better than those of men. There were fewer female prisoners, 
and each one had a bed, two blankets, a mosquito net, and sweaters to 
wear during the cold season. The report stated that due to 
overcrowding, every three male prisoners often had to share two 
mattresses.
    Some inmates were reportedly forced to worship in denominations 
chosen for them by prison wardens. Seventh-day Adventists complained 
they had to work on Saturday. Generally, however, prisoners and 
detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were allowed to worship 
freely.
    The union Ministry of Home Affairs Public Complaints Department and 
a Prison Services Public Relations Unit responded to public complaints 
and inquiries sent to them directly or through the media about prison 
conditions.
    On the mainland prisoners were permitted to submit complaints to 
judicial authorities, but it was alleged that the letters were 
censored. Prisoners were also able to submit complaints to CHRAGG 
during its prison visits. CHRAGG also served as the official ombudsman.
    On the mainland the law allows judges and magistrates to grant 
parole or impose alternative sentences such as community service as a 
means of reducing overcrowding, but these options were rarely used. 
Only 3,057 prisoners on the mainland have been granted parole since the 
parole law was enacted in 1999. According to the LHRC, the law 
authorizes early release for good behavior but has burdensome 
evidentiary requirements.
    As of December the prisons held 38,568 inmates, of whom 18,797 were 
convicts (49 percent) and the remainder pretrial detainees (51 
percent). An estimated 1,206 inmates were women. The principal 
commissioner of prisons claimed that there were no children in the 
prison system. The 2011 TLS prison's report, however, stated that there 
were some prisons that mixed adult prisoners with children due to 
overcrowding. In one prison TLS officials found two 12-year-old 
children who complained that they had to do the same work as the older 
inmates and were punished when they were unable to work as fast as 
them. Discrepancies in prison reporting may be due in part to 
inadequate recordkeeping in the prisons.
    In Zanzibar juveniles were held with adults, and remand prisoners 
were held with convicted prisoners.
    The Zanzibar Legal Services Center reported that there had been no 
investigation on the 2009 allegations of sexual abuse by prison 
officers in Zanzibar.
    On the mainland authorities often moved prisoners to different 
prisons without notifying their families.
    Serious threats to life continued in detention centers. For 
example, in Mwanza Region police questioned some officers at the Kwimba 
district police station about the death of Maganza Kasanga, who was 
allegedly beaten to death on September 6 while in police custody. 
Police officials promised to take appropriate action against the 
perpetrators.
    Between August and September, the LHRC, TLS, and CHRAGG visited 
local prisons. International organizations, such as the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), visited five prisons in May, 
September, and December to provide family message exchange and tracing 
services to refugees and noncitizens.

    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.--Under the union 
Ministry of Home Affairs, the TPF has primary responsibility for 
maintaining law and order both on the mainland and in Zanzibar. The 
Field Force Unit is a special division in the national police force and 
has primary responsibility for controlling unlawful demonstrations and 
riots. The TPF is staffed by nearly 40,000 personnel with multiple 
divisions and specialties throughout the country. It was overstretched 
and underfunded, as characterized by a reactive response to incidents. 
Excessive force, police corruption, and impunity were reported 
throughout the year. Low pay contributed to perceived corruption in 
certain units, as reported widely by citizens and the press. Newspaper 
articles, civil complaints, and reports of police corruption from the 
Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) and Ministry of 
Home Affairs also continued.
    Sungusungu citizens' patrols are traditional neighborhood anticrime 
groups that exist throughout the mainland. The People's Militia Act of 
1973 grants them the power to make arrests. In general, these groups 
provide neighborhood security at night. Sungusungu members are not 
permitted to carry firearms or machetes, but they carry sticks or 
clubs. They work with municipal governing authorities as well as police 
but operate independently from police. They are formed or disbanded 
based on the perceived local need. In areas surrounding refugee camps, 
Sungusungu members have authority to arrest refugees who travel outside 
the camps without permission. Within the camps groups composed of 
refugees act as security forces, supplementing the police. At times 
Sungusungu patrols beat criminal suspects before turning them over to 
police.
    Mainland police sometimes acted as prosecutors in lower courts, 
which allowed police to manipulate evidence in criminal cases. The 
spokesperson for the TPF reported that police officers acted as 
prosecutors in nine regions.
    TPF leadership was committed to training and improvement, but 
ground-level officers often failed to meet these commitments. Police 
continued to hold educational seminars for officers to combat 
corruption and took disciplinary action against police officers 
implicated in wrongdoing. During the year 22 police officers were 
dismissed for unethical behavior and an additional two demoted.
    The mainland community policing initiative that was launched in 
2009 to mediate local disputes and reduce police corruption continued. 
The community police received standardized training, and police 
conducted awareness campaigns for citizens on how to assist community 
policing units.
    Police arrested and detained journalists during the year (see 
section 2.a.).
    In Zanzibar the Zanzibar Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) 
replaced police prosecutors with civilian prosecutors in all but four 
districts of the isles. This initiative, together with efforts to 
increase the use of mediation and ensure thorough investigations before 
suspects were placed in detention, reduced the case backlog 
significantly and eliminated it in some courts.
    In Zanzibar ``special units'' are deployed at the district level 
for activities that would fall under police jurisdiction on the 
mainland. Recruitment, training, and command and control of the 
``special units'' are opaque and influenced by the ruling party in 
Zanzibar. These units, including the fire brigade and prison guards, 
were often activated during political activities, such as voter 
registration or voting itself. Until the formation of a Government of 
National Unity in Zanzibar after the October 2010 elections, they 
reported to the Zanzibar minister of regional administration. 
Subsequently, the Government of Zanzibar pledged to review the role of 
Zanzibar's ``special units.'' Representatives from the Zanzibar 
President's Office reported that they were not aware of this review.
    The Ministry of Defense is responsible for external security on the 
mainland and Zanzibar; it also has some limited domestic security 
responsibilities.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--On the 
mainland the law requires that persons be apprehended openly with 
warrants based on sufficient evidence, and authorities generally 
complied with the law. The law also requires that a person arrested for 
a crime, other than a national security detainee, be charged before a 
magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, but police failed to comply with 
this requirement consistently. The law gives accused persons the right 
to contact a lawyer or talk with family members, but at times they were 
denied this right. Prompt access to counsel was often limited by the 
lack of lawyers in rural areas, lack of communication systems and 
infrastructure, and illiteracy and poverty of the accused. Generally, 
authorities promptly informed detainees of the charges against them. 
The government provided legal representation for some indigent 
defendants and for all suspects charged with murder or treason. The law 
does not allow bail for suspects in cases involving charges of murder, 
treason, drugs, armed robbery, or other violent offenses where the 
accused might pose a public safety risk. In some cases courts imposed 
strict conditions on freedom of movement and association when they 
granted bail. In the primary and district courts, bribes sometimes 
determined whether or not bail was granted.
    By law the president may order the arrest and indefinite detention 
without bail of any person considered dangerous to the public order or 
national security. The government must release such detainees within 15 
days or inform them of the reason for their continued detention. The 
law also allows a detainee to challenge the grounds for detention at 
90-day intervals. The mainland government has additional broad 
detention powers under the law, allowing regional and district 
commissioners to arrest and detain for 24 hours anyone who ``disturb[s] 
public tranquility.'' As was the case the previous year, this act was 
not invoked.

    Pretrial Detention.--CHRAGG estimated that more than 51 percent of 
the prison population consisted of pretrial detainees. Detainees 
charged with criminal matters generally waited three to four years for 
trial due to a lack of judges to hear cases, an inadequate judicial 
budget, and the lengthy time required to complete police 
investigations.
    Prisoners continued to protest the length of time it took to hear 
their cases.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, but the judiciary remained underfunded, corrupt 
(see section 4), inefficient (especially in the lower courts), and 
subject to executive influence. Court clerks took bribes to decide 
whether or not to open cases and to hide or misdirect the files of 
those accused of crimes. According to news reports, magistrates of 
lower courts occasionally accepted bribes to determine guilt or 
innocence, pass sentences, or decide appeals of cases coming from the 
primary courts to district courts.
    In Zanzibar there were six high court judges and four magistrates 
for the land tribunal. In 2010 the land tribunal only had three 
magistrates which caused a backlog in cases. The backlog in cases 
declined in Pemba, which has two magistrates, but not in Unguja, which 
also has two. Zanzibar High Court Officials asked authorities to 
allocate two more magistrates to Unguja.

    Trial Procedures.--With some exceptions criminal trials were open 
to the public and the press. Courts that hold closed proceedings (for 
example, in drug trafficking cases and sexual offenses involving 
juveniles) generally are required to provide reasons for closing the 
proceedings. In cases involving terrorism, the law provides that 
everyone except the interested parties may be excluded and that 
witnesses may be heard under special arrangements for their protection. 
The law prohibits lawyers from appearing or defending clients in 
primary-level courts whose presiding officers are nondegree holding 
magistrates.
    Juries are not used. The law provides for the presumption of 
innocence. Defendants or their lawyers have access to evidence held by 
the government, the right to question witnesses, and the right to 
present evidence on the defendant's behalf. All defendants charged with 
civil or criminal matters, except parties appearing before Zanzibar 
kadhi courts (traditional Muslim courts that settle issues of divorce 
and inheritance), could appeal decisions to the respective mainland and 
Zanzibar high courts. Defendants in Zanzibar can appeal decisions to 
the union Court of Appeal.
    On the mainland the law provides a right to free counsel for 
defendants accused of murder and treason as well as for indigent 
defendants in other serious cases. Most indigent defendants charged 
with lesser crimes, however, did not have legal counsel. In both 
Zanzibar and on the mainland, most defendants could not afford legal 
representation. In Zanzibar there were no public defenders.
    On the mainland and in Zanzibar, police acted in some cases as 
prosecutors in lower courts, but this practice was being phased out. 
The mainland Ministry of Justice began hiring and training state 
prosecutors to handle the entire mainland caseload. Judicial experts 
had criticized the practice of police acting as prosecutors because it 
allowed police to manipulate evidence in criminal cases. The mainland 
government was able to phase out police prosecutors in the regions of 
Tabora, Mwanza, Moshi, and Shinyanga during the year. However, 
financial constraints and staffing issues slowed the process. In 
Zanzibar police prosecutors had been phased out in all but four 
districts.
    There were approximately 1,300 registered lawyers in the country, 
80 percent of whom practiced in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and Mwanza. 
According to the Zanzibar Legal Services Center, there were only 43 
registered lawyers residing and working in Zanzibar, primarily 
concentrated in and around the city center, and only one resident 
lawyer on Pemba. Most defendants in urban areas who could not afford 
professional representation represented themselves in court, but the 
government and some NGOs, such as the Tanzania Women Lawyers 
Association (TAWLA) and the National Organization for Legal Assistance 
(NOLA), provided women and the economically needy with free legal 
assistance.

    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. Civil proceedings are 
administered in the high court or at the magistrate or district level. 
Persons may bring lawsuits seeking damages or the cessation of human 
rights violations. Civil judicial procedures, however, were often slow, 
inefficient, and corrupt.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law generally prohibits such actions without a 
search warrant, but the government did not consistently respect these 
prohibitions.
    While only courts can issue search warrants, the law also 
authorizes searches of persons and premises without a warrant if 
necessary to prevent the loss or destruction of evidence, or if 
circumstances are serious and urgent.
    The law relating to terrorism permits high-ranking police officers 
to conduct searches without a warrant in certain urgent cases; there 
were no reports that this provision of the act has ever been invoked.
    It was widely believed that security forces monitored telephones 
and correspondence of some citizens and foreign residents. The actual 
nature and extent of this practice were not known.
    In March President Kikwete admonished Ministry of Works' officials 
for demolishing homes without warning to make way for road 
construction. He called for compensation to individuals whose homes 
were destroyed and decried 48-hour notice of demolition as inhumane. He 
suggested the ministry should give notice up to two years before 
planned demolition. By year's end the government had not paid 
compensation but was attempting to make a determination of eligibility 
for compensation.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech but does not 
explicitly provide for freedom of the press. The independent media on 
the mainland were active and generally expressed a wide variety of 
views. On Zanzibar the government maintained control of most of the 
media outlets, but independent mainland newspapers were available.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government both 
publicly and privately without reprisal, although some persons 
expressed concern about doing so in public.

    Freedom of Press.--On the mainland there were an estimated 13 daily 
newspapers. Of these, two were owned by the government, one by the 
ruling CCM party, and another by the chairman of an opposition party, 
CHADEMA. The remaining newspapers were independent, although some were 
owned by close associates of ruling party members. Registering 
newspapers remained difficult and was at the discretion of the 
registrar of newspapers at the Ministry of Information on both the 
mainland and Zanzibar.
    Many radio stations and all but one television station were 
privately owned. There were government restrictions on broadcasting in 
tribal languages. The government operated newspaper, radio, and 
television outlets, as did private corporations.
    In Zanzibar the only daily newspaper was owned by the Zanzibar 
government. However, there were four periodic newspapers, of which 
three were privately owned.
    National newspapers were sold in Zanzibar without restriction. The 
Zanzibar government controlled all content of radio and television 
broadcasts, whether privately or publicly owned. Even in the case of 
state television broadcast from the mainland, there was a delay in the 
feed, allowing Zanzibar censors to intervene. However, the Zanzibar 
radio stations operated relatively independently, often reading the 
content of national dailies, including articles critical of the 
Zanzibar government.
    Although the media were officially government-controlled in 
Zanzibar, the political opposition continued to enjoy increased access 
after the reconciliation process between the two political parties 
began in November 2009. However, observers noted that in spite of 
improved coverage of opposition rallies, CCM continued to get more 
coverage.
    The mainland government allowed political opponents unrestricted 
access to the media; however, the ruling party had far more funding to 
purchase airtime. This meant that opposition parties did not receive as 
much publicity as the ruling party.

    Violence and Harassment.--Authorities arbitrarily arrested 
journalists during the year.
    For example, in December police arrested Absalom Kibanda, editor of 
the Tanzania Daima newspaper, and Theophil Makunga, executive director 
of Mwananchi, the newspaper group that published the piece, for 
allowing the newspaper to publish an allegedly seditious article. The 
article in question urged Tanzania security and armed forces to 
question ``unreasonable orders'' and respect the will of the people. 
Kibanda and Makunga were released on bail the same month. Their case 
was pending at year's end.
    In January police arrested journalists attempting to cover 
antigovernment demonstrations in Arusha. Journalists also reported that 
police beat them, confiscated their cameras, and destroyed their 
equipment.
    Journalists were threatened and assaulted during the year.
    For example, in January police in the Shinyanga region reportedly 
beat Tanzania Daima journalist Ali Lityawi for taking pictures without 
permission.
    In the same month, Zanzibar municipal police officers beat Channel 
Ten TV journalist Munir Zakaria, who was reportedly filming an 
evacuation exercise in Darajani. Police accused him of rallying locals 
against the exercise.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--A permit was required for 
reporting on police or prison activities, and journalists needed 
special permission to attend meetings in the Zanzibar House of 
Representatives. Anyone publishing information accusing a Zanzibar 
member of parliament of involvement in illegal activities was liable to 
a fine of not less than 250,000 TZS ($156), three years' imprisonment, 
or both. Nothing in the law specifies whether this penalty stands if 
the allegations were proven to be true. The law also empowers the 
government to fine and suspend newspapers without warning. Zanzibar 
Ministry of Information officials reported that these provisions were 
not invoked during the year.
    Media outlets often practiced self-censorship to avoid conflict 
with the government. Editors withheld stories that they felt would be 
overly critical of government representatives. This practice served to 
promote the longevity of the media outlet and curry the favor of 
politicians.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The law provides for arrest, 
prosecution, and punishment for the use of ``seditious,'' abusive, or 
derogatory language to describe the country's leadership. The law 
allows police to raid and seize materials from newspaper offices 
without a warrant and allows the minister of information to close media 
outlets for reasons of undefined ``public interest'' or ``the interest 
of peace and good order.''

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet; however, the government monitored Web sites that 
criticized the government. Police also monitored the Internet to 
prevent trafficking in persons and other illegal activities. In 
general, individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression 
of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, 
the government did not always respect this right in practice. The 
government requires organizers of rallies to obtain police permission. 
Police may deny permission on public safety or security grounds or if 
the permit seeker belongs to an unregistered organization or political 
party.
    In early December LHRC Executive Director Helen Kijo Bisimba listed 
the denial of the constitutional right of demonstration and lawful 
assembly as one of the country's key human rights problems.
    During the run-up to the November parliamentary discussion on 
constitutional reform and the subsequent preparations for the December 
celebration of 50 years of the country's independence, the government 
and the police increasingly limited the issuance of permits for public 
demonstration and assembly. Police denied demonstration permits to 
political parties, NGOs, and religious organizations.
    Police worked with limited resources and generally lacked the 
equipment and training to respond to large crowds. As such, previous 
attempts to control crowds, particularly in Arusha, were characterized 
by violent conflict (see section 1.a.).
    In November police placed an indefinite ban on CHADEMA 
demonstrations countrywide. On November 8, CHADEMA conducted a 
demonstration in Arusha to protest the arrest and temporary detention 
of several party leaders. Police claimed they received information that 
the protest was going to become violent, so they sent in units to 
forcefully put an end to the event, resulting in the injury and arrest 
of participants. In response, CHADEMA planned another demonstration for 
November 10, but on the previous day, police banned all public CHADEMA 
assemblies. The police commissioner announced that the ban would remain 
in place until police were convinced CHADEMA's assemblies would be 
peaceful.
    Later in November police denied the request of NGO Jukwaa la Katiba 
(``Constitutional Forum'') to demonstrate in Dar es Salaam. The group 
wished to protest in order to convince President Kikwete not to sign 
the constitutional reform bill passed in parliament. Jukwaa la Katiba 
is an umbrella organization comprised of representatives from more than 
180 civil society organizations. The Mwananchi newspaper reported on 
November 23 that police denied the demonstration permit due to security 
concerns. Jukwaa la Katiba representatives later alleged that the 
grounds for refusal cited by the police were illegitimate. At year's 
end Jukwaa la Katiba continued to pursue the permit.
    In December church leaders reported that police also denied their 
requests to hold public assemblies. Historically, some churches hold 
public prayer meetings at the end of each year to pray for the coming 
year. The church leaders claimed that police cited the risk of an Al-
Shabaab attack on a large group of Christians as the reason for denial.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right in 
practice.
    Political parties were required to register, and there were some 
requirements as to distribution and composition of their membership 
(see section 3).
    The process of registering NGOs was slow, but there were thousands 
on the mainland. The approval process was more difficult in Zanzibar. 
It took an average of four years to register a religious NGO.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government generally cooperated with the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees and 
asylum seekers, but it also encouraged the repatriation of many 
refugees and limited the influx of additional refugees.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
    Since February more than 1,200 irregular migrants from Ethiopia and 
Somalia were reportedly arrested in Tanzania en route to Mozambique. 
During the year the UNHCR was engaged in processing these individuals 
for possible asylum. Police continued to hold them in prisons, as there 
were no separate holding facilities for asylum seekers.
    Asylum Access, an international NGO with an office in Dar es 
Salaam, reported that a large number of ``urban refugees'' lived 
outside Tanzania's two refugee camps. The government often treated 
these individuals as undocumented immigrants, deporting or imprisoning 
them if they faced criminal charges. Arrest was often the only 
situation in which the government came into contact with urban 
refugees. Urban refugees differ from undocumented immigrants, as many 
are able to demonstrate protection concerns that would qualify them for 
refugee status. Since they are not formally registered, they have 
limited access to employment, health care, and education. There was no 
policy or infrastructure to serve this group, but the Ministry of Home 
Affairs reported that it was working to address the issue. Although the 
size of the urban refugee population was difficult to determine, the 
ministry estimated that as many as 10,000 urban refugees were living in 
Dar es Salaam alone. Asylum Access reported that this number may be as 
high as 20,000.

    Nonrefoulement.--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. The UNHCR reported, however, that during the year 
the Ministry of Home Affairs forcibly returned asylum seekers to the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi without offering 
proper refugee status determination procedures. As these reports were 
irregular, the UNHCR did not have an accurate count.

    Refugee Abuse.--The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reported 
that in June police forces uprooted gardens in the Mtabila refugee camp 
and destroyed a market in the Nyarugusu camp that they claimed was not 
built according to regulation.
    It remained illegal for refugees to live outside their camps or 
settlements or to travel more than two and one-half miles outside the 
camps without permits. An exit permit could be obtained from the 
Ministry of Home Affairs office within the camps. Refugees were able to 
obtain permits to leave the camp with relative ease as long as they 
were able to provide a credible reason for exiting (e.g., attending 
legal procedures or obtaining wire money transfers). Refugees 
apprehended outside the camps without permits often were sentenced to 
community service rather than imprisonment and deportation, as was the 
case previously. By law, however, the infraction carries a fine and a 
three-year prison sentence. The UNHCR reported that when police 
apprehended refugees found outside the camps without permits, they 
usually placed them in a prison facility within the camps. Unless the 
infraction was connected with another criminal issue, police generally 
released these individuals back into the camps within a short amount of 
time.
    Local government authorities policed the camps with support from 
refugee volunteers. The UNHCR reported that the most frequent crimes 
were connected to domestic violence and abuse, physical aggression, 
sexual abuse, and intimidation within both family units and the broader 
refugee community. The UNHCR reported that there were 1,200 incidents 
of gender-based violence in the camps during the year.
    The UNHCR worked with local authorities as well as individuals 
working in the camps to strengthen coordination and their ability to 
address issues of sexual violence and violence against minorities. 
During the year the government investigated, prosecuted, and punished 
perpetrators of abuses in the refugee camps; most cases of refugees 
involved in crime and abuse outside the camps were handled by local 
authorities. Residents of refugee camps suffered delays and limited 
access to courts, common problems faced by citizens as well. NOLA, 
sponsored by the UNHCR, provided legal assistance to 433 refugees in 
the camps during the year.

    Access to Basic Services.--Although public education was provided 
in the Nyarugusu camp, children living in the Mtabila camp were not 
permitted access to public elementary education. NGOs working within 
the camp provided informal education and recreational activities.

    Durable Solutions.--In 2010 the Ministry of Home Affairs announced 
it was conferring citizenship upon 162,000 of the more than 200,000 
refugees who had arrived from Burundi in 1972. However, by year's end 
the ministry had not issued any citizenship documentation to most of 
these individuals. The status of another 22,000 Burundi refugees 
settled in the Kigoma region remained in question. At year's end an 
estimated 39,000 Burundi refugees, 62,000 Congolese refugees, and 300 
refugees of other nationalities lived in the Mtabila and Nyarugusu 
refugee camps in Kigoma.
    During the year the return of refugees from the 1993 events in 
Burundi slowed to a trickle, despite encouragement from a tripartite 
commission composed of representatives from the UNHCR and governments 
of Tanzania and Burundi. With government assistance, approximately 91 
refugees returned to the DRC.
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 on the mainland and in 
Zanzibar.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Tanzania 
held its fourth multiparty general elections in October 2010 in which 
voters in both the union and Zanzibar elected new presidents and 
legislative representatives. The union and Zanzibar elections were 
judged to be largely free and fair. However, CCM benefited from vastly 
superior financial and institutional resources.
    In the 2010 elections, CCM retained its absolute majority in 
parliament with nearly 80 percent of the seats. CHADEMA replaced CUF as 
the leading opposition party and selected its chairman, Freeman Mbowe, 
as the parliamentary opposition leader.
    Separate elections are held for the union and for Zanzibar, 
ordinarily on the same day, in which citizens of the two parts of the 
union elect local officials, members of the national parliament, and a 
union (national) president. In addition, Zanzibaris separately elect a 
president of Zanzibar and members of the Zanzibar House of 
Representatives. District and regional leaders in Zanzibar and on the 
mainland are appointed by their respective presidents.

    Political Parties.--The law requires that persons running for 
office must represent a registered political party. There were 18 
registered parties in the country.
    The registrar of political parties has sole authority to approve 
registration of any political party and is responsible for enforcing 
regulations on registered parties. Parties granted provisional 
registration may hold public meetings and recruit members. To secure 
full registration and be eligible to field candidates for election, 
parties must submit lists of at least 200 members in 10 of the 
country's 26 regions, including two of the five regions of Zanzibar, 
within six months.
    Political parties are required by law to support the union between 
Tanganyika and Zanzibar; parties based on ethnic, regional, or 
religious affiliation are prohibited. Unregistered parties and 
independent candidates are prohibited from participating in elections. 
In general, political parties could operate without restriction or 
outside interference, although there were occasional restrictions on 
the parties' right to call for a demonstration. Unregistered parties 
and independent candidates are prohibited from participating in 
elections. In general, political parties could operate without 
restriction or outside interference, although there were occasional 
restrictions on the parties' right to call for demonstrations. No new 
political parties were registered or deregistered during the year.
    The election law provides a ``gratuity'' payment of 40,000,000 TZS 
($25,000) to parliamentarians completing a five-year term. Incumbents 
can use these funds in reelection campaigns. Several NGOs and 
opposition parties criticized this provision for impeding aspiring 
parliamentary candidates from opposition parties to mount an effective 
challenge.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The unicameral union 
parliament has up to 357 members including the attorney general, the 
speaker, five members elected from and by the Zanzibar House of 
Representatives, 102 special women's seats apportioned among the 
political parties based on their election results, 239 constituent 
seats (including 50 from Zanzibar), and up to 10 members nominated by 
the president.
    Political parties appoint women to serve in seats set aside for 
them according to the percentage of votes their parties win. After the 
October 2010 elections, there were 102 special seats for women, and at 
the beginning of the year there were 126 women in the parliament. This 
means 24 women won seats in parliament as a result of direct 
competition in an election. After taking office President Kikwete 
appointed eight women ministers (compared with four in the former 
administration) and three women deputy ministers.
    There were two members of parliament of Asian origin in parliament.
    Following the 2010 elections, the new parliament selected Anne 
Makinda as the country's first female speaker of parliament.
    Twenty-five of the 62 high court judges were women, and five of the 
16 Court of Appeal judges were women.
    The Zanzibar House of Representatives has 50 elected seats, 20 
women's special seats, and eight appointed at-large seats. Two of the 
eight appointed seats were given to women. There were two women 
ministers and four deputy ministers. There were three elected seats in 
Zanzibar won by women.
    There were three persons with disabilities in the Zanzibar House of 
Representatives.
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. The World 
Bank's Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a serious 
problem.
    The government continued to use specialized agencies to fight 
corruption, but their effectiveness was limited. A three-person unit 
within the President's Office, headed by a minister of state for good 
governance was charged with coordinating anticorruption efforts and 
collecting information from all the ministries for publication in 
quarterly reports.
    There was little accountability in most government entities; senior 
government officials estimated that 20 percent of the government's 
budget in each fiscal year was lost to corruption, including theft and 
fraud, fake purchasing transactions, and ``ghost workers,'' i.e., names 
on government payrolls that do not correspond with any actual employee. 
In 2010 the Director General of the National Identification Authority 
(NIDA) Dickson Mwaimu told parliamentarians that the government was 
losing billions of shillings annually through fraudulent salary 
payments. According to Mwaimu the government lost 26.6 billion TZS 
($16.6 million) in salaries to ghost workers in seven institutions in 
the previous three years.
    In one of the most high-profile corruption cases of the year, 
Beatrice Shellukindo, CCM member of parliament, alleged in July that 
David Jairo, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and 
Minerals, had ordered offices and departments under his supervision to 
contribute funds to be used to bribe members of parliament to support 
his ministry's budget request. Shelukindo claimed that Jairo ordered 
the leadership of public organizations such as the Tanzania Electric 
Supply Company, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, and the 
Energy and Water Regulatory Authority to each contribute 50 million TZS 
($31,250) to the fund. As a result of these claims, Philemon Luhanjo, 
chief secretary, suspended Jairo from his position for 10 days and 
ordered the controller and auditor general to conduct an investigation. 
The investigation revealed that Jairo collected almost 580 million TZS 
($362,500), but it did not uncover concrete evidence that this money 
was to be used as a bribe. Luhanjo therefore lifted Jairo's suspension 
in August and cleared him of any wrongdoing. Shortly thereafter 
President Kikwete reordered Jairo's suspension and a new investigation 
into the case. The parliamentary investigation concluded in November; 
it determined that Jairo misused his position. Jairo was removed from 
his position as permanent secretary.
    The PCCB is responsible for investigating suspected corruption 
cases, prosecuting offenders in coordination with the Zanzibar Director 
of Public Prosecution (DPP), and educating the public about corruption. 
The PCCB has 24 regional offices and an office in every district on the 
mainland. As of September 30, the PCCB had received 3,423 allegations 
of corruption, investigated 573 cases, brought 156 new cases to court, 
and prosecuted 98 cases from which there were 37 convictions. There 
were 35 ongoing grand corruption cases as of September. According to 
the PCCB, most corruption investigations concerned government 
involvement in mining, land matters, energy, and investments. NGOs 
reported that allegations of corruption involved the Tanzania Revenue 
Authority, local government officials, the police, licensing 
authorities, hospital workers, and the media.
    The PCCB's mandate does not extend to Zanzibar. A special unit of 
the police force in Zanzibar is responsible for corruption cases. 
However, according to police there were no investigations as no 
complaints were received during the year. Zanzibar Legal Services 
Center officials indicated that as in the previous year, there were no 
corruption investigations as no complaints were filed.
    Judicial and police corruption were problems. For example, in May 
the Legal and Human Rights Center launched its Tanzania Human Rights 
Report, 2010. The report noted that the police force, judiciary, and 
prisons department were among the most corrupt institutions in the 
country.
    Although a number of high-profile corruption cases were in 
progress, the media and public continued to criticize the government 
for slow progress on these grand corruption cases.
    The 2010 corruption case against former ambassador Mahalu began in 
August but was adjourned until January 2012 due to the absence of the 
prosecution counsel.
    The corruption cases against former cabinet ministers Mungai, 
Mramba, and Yona were pending in court, and an investigation continued 
at year's end.
    Government ministers and members of parliament, as well as other 
public servants, are required to disclose their assets after being 
sworn into office, both at year-end and upon leaving office; however, 
there was no enforcement mechanism or means to determine the accuracy 
of such disclosures. The Ethics Secretariat distributed 8,972 forms to 
politicians and civil servants during the year, and by year's end 4,071 
politicians and 3,210 civil servants met the deadline for disclosure. 
Secretariat officials stated the 1,691 individuals who failed to meet 
the deadline were asked to show cause for the delay. Those with 
unsatisfactory explanations must appear before a tribunal.
    There is no law providing for public access to government 
information, and such access remained limited. Government officials 
routinely refused to make information available. Civil service 
regulations effectively allow only a handful of high-level government 
representatives to communicate information to the media. Media groups 
continued to press the government and parliament to adopt a freedom of 
information act and revise the bill governing the media industry.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    On the mainland more than 5,000 NGOs were registered and entered 
into the database maintained by a government-appointed NGO coordination 
unit within the Vice President's Office. The registration process was 
slow, taking two to five years. International NGOs may operate both on 
the mainland and Zanzibar. However, NGOs in Zanzibar must apply through 
the local government for approval, and all religious NGOs must seek 
approval from the Office of the Mufti, the Muslim religious authority. 
The Zanzibar Legal Services Center was one of the few active human 
rights organizations in Zanzibar.
    CHRAGG, which is financed by the government, operated without 
government interference on the mainland and in Zanzibar. By December 
CHRAGG had received 1,105 complaints for the year. CHRAGG classified 
175 of these complaints as potential human rights violations. The other 
930 complaints concerned government administration, labor disputes, 
pension problems, and private institutions. CHRAGG leaders complained 
that, due to budgetary restraints, the organization had little real 
ability to follow up on complaints. Furthermore, CHRAGG has no legal 
authority to prosecute cases. It can only make recommendations to other 
government offices or call media attention to human rights violations.
    In January CHRAGG conducted a training session on human rights 
investigations. More than 55 representatives attended from government 
and NGO communities, both from the mainland and from Zanzibar.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--During the year the ICRC 
visited prisoners at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 
(ICTR) in Arusha.
    The government continued to host the ICTR in Arusha and was 
supportive of, and cooperated with, the international court. At year's 
end one detainee was on trial, two were awaiting trial, and 13 were on 
appeal.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The union parliamentary committee 
for constitutional, legal, and public administration is responsible for 
reporting and making recommendations regarding human rights. Although 
the majority of committee members were from the ruling CCM party, the 
committee nevertheless acted independently of government and political 
party influence, and most observers viewed it as an unbiased 
institution. The committee worked closely and cooperated well with 
CHRAGG.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on nationality, 
ethnicity, political affiliation, race, social status, or religion. 
Discrimination based on gender, age, or disability was not explicitly 
prohibited by law but was discouraged publicly in official statements 
and by government policies. Discrimination against women, refugees, 
minorities, and persons with HIV/AIDS or disabilities persisted, and 
ethnic tensions continued in some parts of the country.
    For example, in July the deputy minister of community development, 
gender, and children told parliament that incidents of discrimination 
and abuse against women and children were on the increase. She claimed 
that 39 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 had been 
affected since 2009. The government was reviewing policies and creating 
strategies to provide women with various economic empowerment funds and 
seeking ways to place more of them in decision-making positions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law provides for life 
imprisonment for persons convicted of rape, including spousal rape, but 
rape continued to be a serious problem. The law stipulates that a woman 
wishing to report a rape must do so at a police station before seeking 
medical help. Only after obtaining a release form from the police may a 
woman be admitted to a hospital. This process contributed to medical 
complications, incomplete forensic evidence, and failure to report. 
Victims often feared that if they took their case to the police that it 
would be made public. According to the 2010 Demographic and Health 
Survey and the 2009 Tanzania Violence Against Children Survey, 45 
percent of Tanzanian women had experienced physical or sexual violence, 
and nearly three out of 10 girls had experienced at least one act of 
sexual violence before the age of 18.
    Police maintained gender and children desks to support victims and 
address relevant crimes.
    Domestic violence against women remained widespread, and police 
were often reluctant to pursue such cases. The law prohibits assault 
but does not specifically prohibit spousal battery or protect women 
from gender-based violence. There is no unified legal code protecting 
women. Disparate provisions of various statutes offer ineffective 
safeguards against gender-based violence. Cultural, family, and social 
pressures often prevented women from reporting abuses, and authorities 
rarely took action against persons who abused women.
    According to a 2005 Department of Statistics survey, 46 percent of 
male Tanzanian respondents believed that a husband has the right to 
beat his wife if she disobeys him, and 20 percent responded that a 
husband may beat his wife if she burns food.
    The courts recognized domestic violence as grounds for divorce. 
However, women often tolerated prolonged domestic abuse before seeking 
a divorce. Women in urban areas who sought advice from legal aid 
clinics most commonly cited domestic abuse as the reason for seeking a 
divorce.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment of women in 
the workplace, but no statistics existed on the extent of its 
occurrence or on effectiveness of enforcement. There were reports that 
women were asked for sexual favors in return for promotions.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government generally recognized the right 
of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children. There were no restrictions on 
the right to access contraceptives. Only 26 percent of women ages 15-49 
used a modern form of contraception, in part due to cultural factors, 
lack of transportation to health clinics, and shortages of 
contraceptives. The government provided free prenatal, childbirth, and 
postpartum services but lacked sufficient qualified health care 
professionals as well as medical supplies. Due to budgetary 
restrictions and a shortage of skilled personnel, an estimated 60 
percent of positions within the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare 
remained unfilled. This impeded the work of small, rural clinics. 
Pregnant women giving birth at government health-care facilities 
throughout the country often had to purchase their own medical 
supplies. Few women took advantage of postpartum care. According to the 
2010 Demographic and Health Survey, the maternal mortality ratio was 
454 deaths per 100,000 live births, and a woman's lifetime risk of 
maternal death was one in 23. These statistics have improved steadily 
in recent years. An estimated 43 percent of births were attended by 
skilled personnel. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--Inheritance and marriage laws do not provide for 
equality for women, and women's rights often were not respected. The 
mainland Ministry of Community Development, Women, and Children and the 
mainland Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs as well as 
their counterpart ministries on Zanzibar were responsible for 
protecting the legal rights of women. Discrimination against women was 
most acute in rural areas. Rural women had little opportunity to attend 
school or obtain wage employment.
    Women in the private sector sometimes faced discrimination from 
employers who believed that household obligations were a professional 
liability.
    The law gives individuals the right to use, transfer, and occupy 
land without distinction of gender and recognizes women's occupancy 
rights (all land in Tanzania legally belongs to the government), but 
implementation was difficult because most women were unaware of the 
law. Historically, rural women have not acted as primary land occupants 
or managed businesses because of cultural constraints and lack of 
education. Civil society activists reported widespread discrimination 
against women in property matters related to inheritance and divorce. 
This was particularly the case in Zanzibar, but also in some parts of 
the mainland, where activists maintained that judges relied on 
customary and Islamic law in discriminatory fashion. Women were 
particularly vulnerable if they initiated the separation from their 
partners or if their partners died.
    In Zanzibar women between the ages of 18 and 21 who became pregnant 
out of wedlock could be sentenced to perform community service set by 
the Zanzibar director of public prosecution. The provision was not 
applied during the year.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country's territory, or if abroad, from one's parents. 
Tanzania's Registration, Insolvency, and Trusteeship Agency estimated 
that only about 20 percent of the population of more than 40 million 
had birth certificates.
    Registration of births within three months is free; however, 
parents who register their babies after three months must pay a fee. To 
encourage registration, children enrolling in preschool must present a 
registration certificate. However, this stipulation was not strictly 
enforced and public services were not withheld if a child was not 
registered.

    Education.--Primary education is compulsory and universal on both 
the mainland and Zanzibar until the age of 15. Tuition is free, but 
parents are required to pay for books, uniforms, and school lunches. 
Beginning in Form One, the equivalent of the first year of high school, 
parents are required to pay fees for enrollment. As a result, many 
children did not attend secondary school. There were inadequate numbers 
of teachers, books, and other educational materials to meet the demand, 
which affected the quality and availability of education.
    Girls represented roughly half of all those enrolled in primary 
school but were absent more often than boys due to household duties.

    Child Abuse.--The law allows head teachers to cane students, and 
corporal punishment in schools remained a problem, although less so 
than in previous years.

    Child Marriage.--The law provides that girls as young as 15 can 
marry with the consent of parents or guardians, although no consent is 
required for orphaned girls without guardians. The courts also have 
discretion to allow the marriages of 14-year-old girls in the case of 
pregnancy. Additionally, the law allows Muslim and Hindu girls to marry 
as young as 12 as long as the marriage is not consummated until the 
girl reaches 15 years of age. To circumvent these laws, offenders 
bribed police or paid a bride price to the family of the girl to avoid 
prosecution. An estimated 38 percent of women between the ages of 20 
and 24 were married before the age of 18, according to UNICEF data 
collected between 2000 and 2009.
    On Zanzibar there are multiple laws that define the legal age of a 
child, including the penal code, which defines a child as an individual 
under the age of 18 who is not married or has not given birth. The 
Children and Young Person's Decree was amended during the year to 
become the Children's Act of 2011. It defines a child as being under 
14. Under Islamic law, however, the age at which a child reaches 
puberty determines whether he or she is still a child.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law prohibits female genital 
mutilation (FGM); however, some tribes and families continued to 
practice it. Statutory penalties for performing FGM on girls under 18 
range from five to 15 years' imprisonment, a fine of 300,000 TZS 
($188), or both. Prosecutions were rare. Many police officers and 
communities were unaware of the law, victims were often reluctant to 
testify, and some witnesses feared reprisals from FGM supporters. Some 
villagers reportedly bribed local leaders not to enforce the law in 
order to carry out FGM on their daughters. The media reported that 
others conducted the procedure in hiding, even on babies, to avoid 
detection by the law.
    According to 2005 data, the Ministry of Health estimated that 5 to 
15 percent of women and girls underwent FGM, a decrease from a rate of 
18 percent in 1995. The average age of FGM victims was less than 10 
years. FGM was practiced by approximately 20 of the country's 130 
tribes and was most prevalent in the mainland regions of Arusha, 
Singida, Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, and Dar es Salaam.
    The government continued to implement the 2001-15 National Plan of 
Action for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and 
Children, which enlisted the support of practitioners and community 
leaders in eradicating FGM. The Anti Female Genital Mutilation Network 
(AFNET) worked with education officers in the Serengeti to increase 
awareness about the negative effects of FGM. AFNET worked specifically 
with a group of students between the ages of 10 and 13 to help them 
gain the confidence to refuse the practice.
    In April police in the Tarime District, Mara region, called for the 
government to provide human rights education to combat FGM. The Rogoro 
Roman Catholic Parish in nearby Masanga village continued to serve as a 
shelter for girls between the ages of 10 and 16 who fled from family or 
societal pressures to undergo FGM. In addition to supporting these 
children, the shelter conducted community training on the dangers of 
FGM, including a predilection toward fistula.
    Despite these efforts residents of the Tarime district continued to 
perform FGM openly on mature girls. In February the ``Women Wake Up'' 
organization conducted a rally against FGM in Tarime. During the 
campaign young men with machetes, clubs, and other weapons marched 
around villages to keep out FGM activists and threatened to kill anyone 
who tried to prevent village girls from undergoing FGM. The media 
reported that the government took no action in response.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides that sexual 
intercourse with a child under 18 years is rape regardless of consent. 
The law was not always enforced, however. During the year human rights 
activists and NGOs complained that the Law of Marriage Act, which 
provides for marriages of 14-year-old girls, needed amendment to 
reflect the criminality of sexual intercourse with a child.
    The Morogoro Resident Magistrate's Court sentenced Hashimu Nunda to 
30 years in prison, 12 strokes of the cane, and a one million TZS 
($625) fine for raping an eight-year-old school girl on June 20.
    The law criminalizes child pornography and child prostitution. 
Nevertheless, sexual exploitation and trafficking of children for the 
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation were problems. Persons found 
guilty of such offenses were subject to a fine ranging from one million 
TZS ($625) to 500 million TZS ($312,500), a prison term of one to 20 
years, or both.

    Infanticide.--Infanticide continued to be a problem, especially 
among poor rural mothers who believed themselves unable to afford to 
raise a child.

    Displaced Children.--There were significant numbers of street 
children in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, and Arusha. In July the deputy 
minister of health and social development told parliament that 
approximately 802,000 children were living in adverse conditions. 
Approximately 668,000 street children had limited access to health and 
education services because they lacked a fixed address or money to 
purchase medicines, school uniforms, and books. They were also 
vulnerable to sexual abuse. The government identified centers where 
orphans and street children could have access to these services in 89 
out of 133 municipalities.
    Following a February 18 explosion at the Gongo la Mboto military 
weapons depot, which killed 25 persons and injured 145 others, children 
and their families in the area were temporarily displaced. For more 
than a month, children had limited access to schools and safe housing. 
According to the December 6 edition of the Mwananchi newspaper, more 
than 200 victims of the explosion threatened to protest due to the 
government's failure to compensate them for the loss of their houses 
and other property. Those who received compensation complained that the 
amount was not enough to rebuild.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population is very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with disabilities. In 2010 the 
government passed the Persons with Disability Act to address the 
overall protection of disabled persons. Previous implementing 
legislation focused on specific, disjointed areas such as employment 
and access to healthcare, but most employers believed that disabled 
individuals were incapable of working, and most persons with 
disabilities remained unemployed. Approximately 9 percent of the 
population consisted of persons with a disability, and persons with 
physical disabilities were effectively restricted in employment, 
education, access to health care, and other state services by physical 
barriers and inadequate financial resources. Although the government 
mandates access to public buildings, transportation, and government 
services for persons with disabilities, few buildings were accessible. 
New public buildings were being built in compliance with the law, but 
funds to retrofit existing structures were unavailable.
    There were five members of mainland parliament with disabilities. 
One member of parliament elected in 2010, Salum Bar'wan, was the first 
with albinism. During the election campaign, his opponents repeatedly 
claimed that people with albinism lack vitamin C and therefore do not 
have the ability to think clearly.
    The Ministries of Education, Justice, and Labor are responsible for 
enforcing the rights of persons with disabilities for education, legal 
claims, and labor rights, respectively. The Department of Social 
Welfare has responsibility for coordinating matters related to persons 
with disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--Indigenous pastoralists increasingly find it 
difficult to maintain their way of life on the land, as competing 
interests and population pressures squeeze their traditional animal 
grazing areas. In September pastoralists living near Katavi National 
Park accused rangers of the Tanzania National Park Authority (TANAPA) 
of shooting and killing 150 of their cattle that were drinking from the 
Kavuu River, which serves as the border between the park and the 
pastoralists' village. According to media reports, the cattle were 
valued at 900 million TZS ($562,500). TANAPA denied the claims.
    Indigenous Maasai residents of the Loliondo Game Controlled Area, 
Arusha region, continued to accuse police, military, and officials of 
the Ortello Business Company (OBC) of intimidation, harassment, 
arbitrary arrest, and torture. The government previously issued OBC a 
license to conduct tourist hunting expeditions in the area. Hunting 
practices of OBC clash with Maasai traditional beliefs.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex activity 
is illegal on the mainland and in Zanzibar. On the mainland acts of 
``gross indecency'' between persons of the same sex are punishable by 
up to five years in prison. Same-sex intercourse carries a prison 
sentence of 30 years to life. The law in Zanzibar establishes a penalty 
of up to 14 years' imprisonment for men who engage in same-sex sexual 
activity and five years for women. Since the burden of proof in such 
cases is significant, the law was rarely applied, and there were no 
reports that anyone was punished under the law during the year. In the 
past individuals suspected of being gay or lesbian have instead been 
charged with loitering or prostitution. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) persons faced societal discrimination that 
restricted their access to health care, housing, and employment.
    Beginning in November discussions about the possibility of donor 
countries linking their aid packages to gay rights issues triggered a 
public outcry from government and society leaders. The rights of LGBT 
people are not often a topic of public dialogue in the country, but 
this item revealed the antigay stance of a number of public figures.
    Organizations such as the Tanzania Network of Women Living with 
AIDS worked with LGBT persons and commercial sex workers to provide 
education to combat HIV and AIDS transmission. Dar es Salaam-based 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Support Unit launched 
a public education and health advocacy project to reduce the stigma 
attached to sexual relations between persons of the same gender to 
reduce their fears about seeking medical counsel. This project was 
meant to both contribute to the fights against HIV and AIDS and gather 
support for a repeal of anti-LGBT laws.
    In December 2010 a young lesbian woman was assaulted by her uncle 
who attempted to rape her as a means of ``correcting'' her sexual 
behavior. The woman escaped and found shelter elsewhere; however, when 
the uncle informed the landlord of her sexual orientation and activist 
work, the landlord threatened to report the woman to the police, 
forcing her to take refuge with a friend. In July her neighbors 
attempted to set her house on fire. They believed she was actively 
recruiting young people to become gay. The woman was forced to vacate 
the property and rely on friends for support.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Despite efforts by the 
government and NGOs to reduce mob violence through educational outreach 
and community policing, mobs stoned, beat, immolated, and hacked to 
death a number of suspected criminals. According to the spokesperson 
for the TPF, 637 incidences of mob violence were reported through June.
    In December the LHRC recorded over 1,000 deaths due to mob violence 
and witchcraft-related killings. In its midyear report, the LHRC also 
stated that the regions of Shinyanga and Mwanza led in the number of 
incidents of mob violence where mobs killed 53 persons on allegations 
of stealing. Between 2005 and 2010, mobs killed approximately 2,775 
persons in the country due to beliefs in witchcraft, accusations of 
theft, and other reasons.
    On April 7, residents of Madale village, Dar es Salaam region, 
clashed with a group of approximately 50 employees of a brokerage firm 
sent to demolish the villagers' houses. The firm claimed that the 
houses were illegally constructed on private property. When police 
arrived, five of the firm's employees were found dead as a result of 
beatings by sticks, machetes, and axes. A member of parliament accused 
the police of failing to take action to prevent the violence as 
residents had previously complained that the firm was encroaching on 
their land. Police arrested 10 persons, including the owner of the 
property, Daniel Chacha, and the village chairman, Deogratias 
Kamugisha. There were no further developments in the case by year's 
end.
    During the year mobs turned on police whom they accused of failing 
to administer justice. For example, on August 30, press reported that 
the Mbeya regional police arrested 12 residents of Inyala village for 
storming a police post and demanding the release of a group of murder 
suspects.
    There were no further developments in the following 2010 mob 
killings: the July death of Siajabu Bernard for stealing maize and the 
August death of Kastoli Mkamula for breaking into a house.
    Mobs, persons claiming to be victims of witchcraft, or relatives of 
alleged victims killed persons whom they alleged to be witches. The 
spokesperson for the TPF reported 306 such cases through June. 
Prosecutions were often impeded by the reluctance of witnesses to 
testify.
    Between January and June, according to a report by LHRC, 142 
persons were killed in Shinyanga on allegations of bewitching others.
    Following death sentences given to 10 persons in 2010 for killing 
persons with albinism, this type of violence decreased significantly. 
In the Lake Zone, practitioners of witchcraft previously sought albino 
body parts in the belief that they could be used to create power and 
wealth. During the year, however, police confirmed only one killing 
connected to albinism. CHRAGG reported that it did not receive any 
complaints concerning albinism issues.
    In March the district commissioner of Muheza intervened in the case 
of a young woman with albinism whose parents had kept her locked in a 
room for three years. The district commissioner negotiated her release 
and treatment in a local hospital.
    On October 14, a man in the Geita region attacked Adam Robert, a 
12-year-old with albinism. The assailant used a machete to sever three 
of Robert's fingers. At year's end the assailant was missing, but the 
police arrested five persons in connection with the attack, including 
Robert's father, stepmother, and a witch doctor who allegedly planned 
the attack. At year's end the case was pending in court.
    The law prohibits discrimination against any person ``known or 
perceived'' to be HIV positive and establishes medical standards for 
confidentiality to protect persons living with HIV/AIDS. The law also 
criminalizes the deliberate transmission of HIV.
    According to a founding member of the Parliamentarians' AIDS 
Coalition, parliamentarians and others were more open to discussing 
HIV/AIDS than in the past.
    The government, working with NGOs, continued to educate the public 
about HIV/AIDS-related discrimination and create safeguards for HIV/
AIDS patients' human rights. A network of lawyers, policymakers, and 
doctors continued lobbying efforts and other activities to deal with 
legal, ethical, and human rights problems associated with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The union and Zanzibar governments have separate labor laws. Workers on 
the mainland have the right to form and join independent trade unions, 
conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. In practice, however, 
some private mining and construction companies did not allow workers to 
form unions and in some cases terminated their employment. During the 
year the Tanzania Mines, Energy, Construction and Allied Workers' Union 
(TAMICO) recorded more than 200 unfair terminations of active unionized 
workers. Trade unions must consist of more than 20 employees and are 
required to register with the government. A trade union or employers' 
association must register within six months of its establishment; 
failure to register is a criminal offense. The law provides the 
registrar in the Ministry of Labor with significant control over trade 
unions, including the right to deregister unions if there is overlap 
within an enterprise. Unions have to submit financial records and a 
membership list to the registrar annually. The registrar can suspend a 
trade union if it determines that the union violates the law or 
endangers public security. Association with an international trade 
union requires government approval. Although the law does not 
specifically prohibit antiunion discrimination, in practice it is 
treated like other forms of legally defined discrimination (based on 
disability, religious affiliation, etc.). Trade Union Congress of 
Tanzania (TUCTA) officials stated that there were many instances of 
discrimination of union workers, particularly in mining companies. 
Disputes on grounds of antiunion discrimination must appear before the 
Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA). Reinstatement is not 
mandatory.
    While mainland workers have the legal right to strike, employers 
have the right to a lockout after complying with certain legal 
requirements and procedures. For example, all parties to a dispute may 
be bound by an agreement to arbitrate, and neither party may then 
engage in a strike or a lockout until that process has been completed.
    On the mainland, disputes are regulated and resolved by mediation 
through the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration. If the mediator 
fails to resolve a dispute within 30 days, or any longer period agreed 
upon in writing by both parties, either party to the dispute may give 
notice of its intention to commence a strike or lockout. If the 
mediation fails to resolve the complaint, the commission may refer it 
to the labor court. A lawful strike or lockout is protected and does 
not constitute a breach of contract, nor can it be considered a 
criminal offense. An employer may not terminate the employment of an 
employee for participating in a lawful strike or terminate an employee 
who accedes to the demands of an employer during a lockout.
    The law restricts the right to strike when to do so would endanger 
the life and health of the population. Workers in certain ``essential'' 
sectors (water and sanitation, electricity, health services and 
associated laboratory services, firefighting, air traffic control, 
civil aviation telecommunications, and any transport services required 
for the provisions of these services) may not strike. Workers in other 
sectors may also be subject to this limitation as determined by the 
Essential Services Committee. This tripartite committee composed of 
employers, workers, and government representatives has the authority to 
periodically determine which services are essential.
    The Zanzibar labor law requires a union with 50 or more members to 
be registered and sets literacy standards for trade union officers. The 
labor law in Zanzibar applies to both public and to private sector 
workers. They may not join mainland-based labor unions. Zanzibar 
government workers have the right to strike as long as they follow 
procedures outlined in labor law.
    The law provides for collective bargaining in the private sector. 
Public sector employees also have the right to bargain collectively 
through the Trade Union of Government and Health Employees.
    In practice many private sector employers adopted antiunion 
policies or tactics even though case law discourages discriminatory 
activities by an employer against union members. During the year 
employees of private security firms, mining companies, major shopping 
chains, and international banks complained to the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) that their employers had strongly advised them 
against unionization. The ILO reported that employees came to them 
during the year with allegations of threats of violence against union 
leaders, and the ILO referred these individuals to the CMA and the 
Ministry of Labor. For example, in August the chairman and secretary 
general of a mining union were fired due to their actions on behalf of 
their members. Although the CMA mediated, the case was resolved in 
South Africa (where the company is based) on appeal and the union 
officials were reinstated.
    In practice some employers used hiring practices such as 
subcontracting both to decrease overall costs and to avoid hiring 
workers with bargaining rights. The ILO reported that industry leaders, 
particularly in the banking and mining sectors, strongly discouraged 
employees from collective bargaining and union membership. TUCTA 
reported that many skilled workers were hired as day laborers without a 
contract.
    Approximately 50 former employees of the Geita Gold Mine reported 
to LHRC officials they had been terminated from employment after 
falling sick and could not organize because the mine did not allow 
trade unions. Even though mine officials refused to meet with the LHRC, 
the NGO reported the matter to TUCTA. On May 1, the LHRC met with 
President Kikwete, who made a public statement that denying a group of 
workers permission to form a union was a criminal offence.
    Strikes were very infrequent on both the mainland and Zanzibar.
    While workers and employers freely practiced the right to 
collective bargaining during the year, many workers did not have 
employment contracts after working for many years. The ILO referred 
their case to relevant authorities and asked TUCTA to pursue legal 
action against these employers. TUCTA's common practice is to support 
mediation instead of legal action.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
most forms of forced or compulsory labor. Statistics about enforcement 
were not available, and the ILO reported that it had no record of 
government enforcement actions during the year. There were reports that 
such practices, especially involving children, occurred. In some 
instances girls from rural areas were forced into domestic servitude, 
while boys were subject to forced labor on farms, in mines, and in the 
informal business sector.
    The law allows prisoners to work without pay on construction and 
agriculture projects within prisons both to ostensibly develop the 
skills of the prisoners and to reduce the costs of operating the 
prisons. Prisoners were also used as labor on projects outside of the 
prison, such as road repair and government construction projects. The 
law deems as acceptable any such work of a convicted person as long as 
that person is supervised by a public authority and his work is not for 
the benefit of any private party.
    The law establishes criminal penalties for employers using forced 
labor. Offenders may be fined up to five million TZS ($3,125), 
sentenced to one year in prison, or both.
    See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the exploitation of children in the workplace. By law the 
minimum age for contractual employment is 14. Children over 14 (but 
under 18) may be employed to do only light work unlikely to harm their 
health and development or attendance at school. Children under age 18 
may not crew on a ship or be employed in a mine, factory, or any other 
worksite where working conditions could be hazardous. The law does not 
specifically limit working hours for children but establishes the same 
fines and criminal penalties for employers of child labor as for 
employers of forced labor, i.e., a fine not exceeding five million TZS 
($3,125), imprisonment for one year, or both.
    On the mainland the Ministry of Labor was responsible for 
enforcement of labor laws, together with the CMA and the labor court. 
Several government ministries, including the Ministry of Labor, had 
special child labor focal persons.
    Child labor remained an issue as the laws were not often enforced. 
Although the Ministry of Labor reportedly conducted inspections and 
issued warnings to violators of child labor statutes, no reported child 
labor cases were brought to court during the year. Likewise, Zanzibar's 
Ministry of Labor, Youth Development, Women, and Children did not take 
legal action related to child labor.
    A shortage of inspectors on the mainland and in Zanzibar resulted 
in limited enforcement of child labor provisions, and child labor 
continued to be widespread. By one estimate, approximately 30 percent 
of children ages five to 14 years were engaged in child labor.
    Children work as domestic help, street vendors, and shopkeepers as 
well as in small-scale agriculture (e.g., coffee, sisal, tea, and 
tobacco), family-based businesses, fishing, and artisanal mining of 
gold and tanzanite gems. In Zanzibar children work primarily in 
transportation, fishing, clove picking, domestic labor, small 
businesses, and gravel making.
    During the year the government worked with stakeholders to reduce 
child labor especially at the district, ward, and village level. Some 
government leaders were committed to ending child labor in their 
localities and worked in collaboration with international NGOs to 
withdraw children from the workplace during the school year. For 
example, a TAMICO official reported that during the year, his 
organization worked with a Norwegian NGO to remove 100 children from 
tanzanite mines for placement in schools. TAMICO gave 75 mothers small 
loans and entrepreneurial training to increase family income while the 
children attended school.
    In Iringa a local radio station began a project called Mwanga wa 
Watoto (Children's Light) to create awareness of the problem of child 
labor in the region by broadcasting coverage on child labor issues for 
two hours every week.
    Other measures to ameliorate the problem included ensuring that 
children of school age attended school, imposing penalties on parents 
who did not enroll their children in school, and sensitizing employers 
in the formal sector against employing children below the age of 18.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Tanzania has an industry-based 
minimum wage. The new minimum wage standards, established in July 2010 
for employees in both the public and private sectors in the mainland, 
were divided into eight employment sectors. The lowest minimum wage was 
70,000 TZS ($44) per month for workers in the agricultural sector, and 
the highest was 350,000 TZS ($212) per month for workers in the mineral 
and aviation sectors. These monthly wages were above the poverty line 
of 13,998 TZS ($9) per month per person established by the 2006/07 
Household Budget Survey. The labor laws cover all workers, including 
foreign and migrant workers. The minimum wage rate in Zanzibar is 
100,000 TZS ($63), an increase from 80,000 TZS ($50) in 2010.
    There was no standard legal workweek for private sector workers, 
but most private employers retained a six-day, 44- to 48-hour workweek. 
A five-day, 40-hour workweek was in effect for government workers. 
Under most circumstances it is illegal to employ women to work between 
10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
    Several laws regulate safety in the workplace. The Ministry of 
Labor managed an inspection system; however, its effectiveness was 
limited due to lack of resources and the small number of labor officers 
available to conduct the inspections. TAMICO officials complained that 
mining companies did not allow surprise visits, and union officials 
were not taken to the lowest levels of the mines where the miners 
worked.
    Workers could sue an employer if their working conditions did not 
comply with the Ministry of Labor's health and environmental standards. 
Disputes were generally resolved through the Commission for Mediation 
and Arbitration. There were no exceptions for foreign or migrant 
workers.
    Labor standards were not effectively enforced, particularly in the 
informal sector, where most of the workforce was employed. The World 
Bank estimated the size of the informal sector to be more than 50 
percent of the total workforce.
    Tanzania's labor standards laws are taken from the international 
convention on labor standards. The convention does not name specific 
penalties, and the government did not often enforce penalties for such 
violations. Other than continuing negotiations on the minimum wage, the 
government did not undertake specific actions to improve working 
conditions. For example, many injured and diseased workers did not 
receive compensation due to the lack of regulations for the 2008 
Workman's Compensation Law. TUCTA officials complained that during the 
year government officials made no response to questions of when the 
regulations would be implemented.
    Employers frequently ignored the restriction on employment of women 
during late night hours.
    In traditionally dangerous industries such as construction, 
employees often worked without protective equipment such as helmets, 
gloves, or harnesses. TAMICO reported that in the mining industry, 
where accidents are common, disease leads to more death and disability 
than accidents. Mine workers were regularly exposed to polluted air and 
poisonous gases underground. TUCTA reported that women in the hotel 
industry were often the target of sexual assault and harassment. Due to 
the limited capacity of the Ministry of Labor's inspection system, 
there were no published statistics on sectors with working conditions 
violations.
    The April-May LHRC newsletter reported that employees of Geita Gold 
Mine in Mwanza region complained their employers forced them to operate 
heavy-duty machinery for 12 hours, causing them back and knee injuries.
    Newspapers reported the workplace accident of Mwombeki Joseph 
Barukaki, who fell, broke his arm, and injured his head and hip on 
August 31 while working on a construction project at Metro Steel Mills 
in Dar es Salaam. While he was hospitalized, company officials asked 
him to explain why he should not be fired for failure to report to 
work. Barukaki complained that company officials did not call an 
ambulance when he fell, so he asked other employees to pay for his taxi 
to a hospital. The company allegedly refused to pay his hospital bill 
and instead accused him of being drunk on duty.

                               __________

                                  TOGO

                           executive summary
    Togo is a republic governed by President Faure Gnassingbe, who was 
reelected in March 2010 in a process characterized by international 
observers as generally free and fair. The ruling Rally of the Togolese 
People (RPT) party dominated politics and maintained firm control over 
all levels of the highly centralized government. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities.
    The main human rights problems reported during the year included 
security force use of excessive force, including torture; official 
impunity; and harsh and life-threatening prison conditions.
    Other human rights abuses included arbitrary arrest and detention, 
including lengthy pretrial detention, and executive influence over the 
judiciary. The government infringed on citizens' privacy rights and 
restricted freedoms of press, assembly, and movement. Official 
corruption was pervasive. Discrimination and violence against women 
were problems. Child abuse, including female genital mutilation (FGM) 
and sexual exploitation, occurred. Trafficking in persons and societal 
discrimination against persons with disabilities were problems. 
Official and societal discrimination persisted against persons with 
disabilities; regional and ethnic groups; and members of the lesbian, 
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Societal discrimination 
against persons with HIV was significant. Child labor, including forced 
child labor, was a problem.
    The government took few steps to prosecute or punish officials who 
committed abuses, and impunity--especially in the security services--
was widespread.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings during the year.
    No action was taken against security forces that killed striking 
demonstrators in 2010.
    Despite the 2009 establishment of the Truth, Justice, and 
Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) in response to public and 
international pressure to account for the complaints lodged by victims 
of political violence between 1958 and 2005, impunity remained the rule 
(see section 5).

    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, the 
criminal code contains no provision defining and criminalizing torture, 
and security force abuse, including torture, was a problem. Amnesty 
International (AI) and local human rights organizations reported that 
police and gendarmes abused detainees during interrogation, guards beat 
prisoners, and young persons and children were at risk of corporal 
punishment while in detention. The government did not prosecute 
officials for such abuses, and impunity remained a problem.
    In March the Human Rights Committee of the U.N. High Commissioner 
for Human Rights released a report expressing concern about allegations 
of torture and mistreatment in detention, notably on the premises of 
the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). The report criticized the 
government for failing to investigate allegations of torture and 
failing to define and criminalize torture. Local journalists who 
covered the report were subsequently threatened with torture (see 
section 2.a.).
    The 33 persons arrested in 2009 for suspected coup plotting, 
including the president's half brother Kpatcha Gnassingbe, were tried 
and convicted by the Supreme Court in September. Several of those 
convicted claimed they were tortured while in NIA custody. Kossi 
Adjinon, an army captain, said his hands were tied to a bar from which 
he was suspended for three days. Former police chief Olivier Amah 
Other, who suffered from hypertension, claimed he was kept in solitary 
confinement for three months and denied medical services. Other 
suspects claimed they were chained naked to walls, beaten, and denied 
food. Gnassingbe and former army chief Assani Tidjani were sentenced to 
20 years' imprisonment. Sentences for the other suspects ranged from 12 
months to 20 years.
    Most of the detainees were held by the NIA and charged with 
offenses against the security of the state, conspiracy, rebellion, and 
``voluntary violence.'' According to AI, some of the detainees 
initially were held incommunicado, and several were denied family 
visits. Lawyers sometimes were denied access to their clients. The 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other human rights 
organizations were initially denied access to the detainees, but 
subsequently were granted access.
    The allegations of NIA torture made by the prisoners at their trial 
subsequently were referred to the governmental National Commission for 
Human Rights, which published its report on February 17. The report 
confirmed most of the allegations and issued recommendations, including 
punishing the individuals responsible, compensating victims, and 
improving oversight of the NIA.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and life threatening with serious overcrowding, poor sanitation, 
and unhealthy food. At year's end the expanded Central Prison of Lome, 
which was built for 666 prisoners, held 1,964 prisoners. In 2009 the 
media reported that prisoners were dying of hunger and received 
typically one meal a day worth 150 CFA francs ($0.31). In 2010 the 
warden of the central prison confirmed that adult prisoners received 
one meal a day, and juveniles were provided three. Prisoners had access 
to potable water, but medical facilities were inadequate, and disease 
and drug abuse were widespread. Sick prisoners reportedly had to pay 
1,500 CFA francs ($3.12) to guards before being allowed to visit the 
infirmary. There were reports that prison officials sometimes withheld 
medical treatment from prisoners. Lawyers and journalists reported that 
prison guards charged prisoners a small fee to shower, use the toilet, 
or have a place to sleep. Local press reported that prison guards 
sexually harassed female prisoners.
    While there were no official statistics on the number of prison 
deaths, the warden of the central prison confirmed 23 prisoner deaths 
during the year from various causes, including asthma, hypertension, 
and tuberculosis.
    As of October 28, there were 4,334 prisoners in the country's 12 
prisons and jails, of whom 92 were female. There were 30 juveniles held 
in the Brigade for Minors during the summer, six of whom were released 
at the start of the school year. Infants of female prisoners and 
detainees were placed in the care of private nurseries, which received 
government support. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted 
prisoners.
    Prisoners and detainees were granted reasonable access to visitors 
and were permitted religious observance.
    Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities without censorship and request investigation of 
credible allegations of inhumane conditions. However, authorities 
rarely investigated such complaints and did not publicly document such 
investigations. The government monitored and investigated prison and 
detention center conditions only rarely, and official impunity was a 
problem.
    There were no ombudsmen who served on behalf of prisoners and 
detainees. There were no alternatives to incarceration, and no 
improvements were made to the status and circumstances of juvenile 
confinement, pretrial detention, or recordkeeping procedures. However, 
the Ministry of Justice continued to work on ameliorating these 
problems through its multiyear reform program financed by the European 
Union.
    Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) accredited by the 
Ministry of Justice could visit prisons anytime, although the 
accreditation process could take up to a year. International NGOs are 
required to negotiate an agreement with the government to gain similar 
access to prisons. During the year the ICRC and other international 
human rights organizations were allowed prison access. Only 
internationally recognized groups such as the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the ICRC were granted access to 
NIA detention facilities.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the government did 
not always respect these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security forces 
consist of the army, navy, air force, national security service 
(including the national police and investigation bureau), and the 
gendarmerie. The NIA is responsible for domestic and foreign 
intelligence and security, including criminal investigations. The 
police are under the direction of the Ministry of Security and Civil 
Protection, which reports to the prime minister. The Ministry of 
Defense, which reports directly to the president, oversees the military 
and the gendarmerie. Police and gendarmes are responsible for law 
enforcement and maintenance of order. The army is in charge of external 
security. Approximately 80 percent of the army's officers and soldiers 
were from the Kabye ethnic group, which constituted 23 percent of the 
population and to which the current and previous presidents belonged.
    Police generally were ineffective and corrupt, and impunity was a 
problem. Abuses by security forces were subject to internal 
disciplinary investigations and criminal prosecution by the Ministry of 
Justice, but this rarely occurred. The government generally neither 
investigated nor punished effectively those who committed abuses. 
Police often failed to respond to societal violence.
    In June the army created a special unit of military police to 
enforce discipline among soldiers in Lome. Although no official figures 
were published, numerous soldiers were jailed for various infractions.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
authorizes judges, senior police officials, prefects, and mayors to 
issue arrest warrants; however, persons were detained without warrants 
arbitrarily and secretly. Although detainees have the right to be 
informed of the charges against them, police sometimes ignored this 
right. The law allows authorities to hold arrested persons 
incommunicado without charge for 48 hours, with an additional 48-hour 
extension in cases deemed serious or complex. The law stipulates that a 
special judge conduct a pretrial investigation to examine the adequacy 
of evidence and decide on bail; however, in practice detainees often 
were held without bail for lengthy periods with or without the approval 
of a judge. Family members and attorneys officially had access to a 
detainee after 48 or 96 hours of detention, but authorities often 
delayed, and sometimes denied, access.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Security forces arbitrarily arrested persons 
during the year.
    For example, on December 10, security forces arrested Adou Seibou, 
the president of MEET (a University of Lome student group leading 
demonstrations) and 10 other students. Seibou and the other 10 were 
released the same day.
    Demonstrators were arbitrarily arrested during the year (see 
section 2.b.).
    The law prohibits arrest for civil debt; however, according to the 
Togolese League of Human Rights, an unknown number of persons were 
arrested for outstanding debts and detained in gendarmeries and police 
stations for more than 48 hours.
    The 33 persons arrested in 2009 for suspected coup plotting, 
including Kpatcha Gnassingbe, one of the president's half brothers and 
a national assembly member, were convicted and sentenced during the 
year (see section 1.e.).

    Pretrial Detention.--A shortage of judges and other qualified 
personnel, as well as official inaction, resulted in lengthy pretrial 
detention and confinement of prisoners for periods exceeding the time 
they would have served if tried and convicted. Almost 80 percent of 
inmates were pretrial detainees.

    Amnesty.--On January 5, the president pardoned 270 prisoners, most 
of whom were pretrial detainees who had served the same time in prison 
or longer than they would have served if convicted.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, the executive branch continued to exert 
control over the judiciary, and corruption was a problem. Lawyers often 
bribed judges to influence the outcome of cases. The court system 
remained overburdened and understaffed.
    There were three associations of magistrates in the country: the 
Union of Magistrates of Togo (SMT), the National Association of 
Magistrates (ANM), and the Professional Association of Magistrates of 
Togo (APMT). A majority of the APMT members were supporters of the 
ruling RPT party and reportedly received the most prestigious 
assignments, while judges who advocated an independent judiciary and 
belonged to the ANM or SMT often were assigned to second-tier 
positions.
    A military tribunal exists for crimes committed by security forces, 
and its proceedings were closed. The military court cannot try 
civilians and does not accord military defendants the same rights as 
civilians.

    Trial Procedures.--The judicial system employs both traditional law 
and the Napoleonic Code in trying criminal and civil cases. Defendants 
do not enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials were open to the 
public, juries were used, and judicial procedures generally were 
respected. Defendants have the right to be present at their trials and 
have the right to counsel and to appeal. All defendants have the right 
to an attorney, and the bar association sometimes provided attorneys 
for the indigent in criminal cases. Defendants may confront witnesses 
and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. The preceding 
rights were respected in practice. Defendants have the right to access 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases, but in practice that 
right was not respected.
    The law did not extend these rights to persons tried in the 
military court. Women who were uneducated or came from rural areas 
tended not to be aware of or feared claiming their rights.
    In rural areas the village chief or a council of elders is 
authorized to try minor criminal and civil cases. Those who reject the 
traditional authority may take their cases to the regular court system, 
which is the starting point for cases in urban areas.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The 33 persons arrested in 2009 
for suspected coup plotting, including the president's half brother 
Kpatcha Gnassingbe, were tried and convicted by the Supreme Court in 
September (see section 1.e.). Several of those convicted claimed they 
were tortured while in NIA custody (see section 1.c.).

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--In November 2010 the 
Constitutional Court ruled that nine parliamentary deputies were 
properly stripped of their seats for changing political party 
affiliation from the Union for Forces of Change (UFC) to the National 
Alliance for Change (ANC). The nine deputies, including prominent 
opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre, appealed the decision to the 
Inter-Parliamentary Union and the court of the Economic Community of 
West African States, both of which ruled in favor of the ANC during the 
year. However, neither the government nor the Constitutional Court had 
reinstated any of the nine by year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Both the constitution and 
the law provide for civil and administrative remedies for wrongdoing, 
but the judiciary did not respect such provisions, and most citizens 
were unaware of them.

    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. In 
criminal cases a judge or senior police official may authorize searches 
of private residences. In political and national security cases, 
security forces need no prior authorization.
    Citizens believed that the government monitored telephones and 
correspondence, although such surveillance was not confirmed.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the constitution provides for freedom of speech and 
press, the law imposes severe penalties on journalists responsible for 
``serious errors.'' The government restricted these rights in practice, 
although less so than in previous years. Impunity for past crimes 
against journalists and defamation suits encouraged self-censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--Unlike in previous years, there were no reports 
that persons were reluctant to criticize the government publicly or 
privately due to past violent reprisals by government agents and the 
possibility of civil liability.

    Freedom of Press.--The government owned and operated one daily 
newspaper, and there were two independent dailies. Approximately 30 
privately owned newspapers were published with some regularity. There 
was a lively independent press, most of which was heavily politicized, 
with some newspapers highly critical of the government.

    Violence and Harassment.--During the year journalists formed a 
group called ``SOS Journalists in Danger'' after receiving an anonymous 
note--allegedly from the government--threatening 10 prominent 
journalists because of their critical reporting on the government and 
the NIA. The note, which was widely reported in the local press, quoted 
a senior official as saying that the 10 journalists were under 
surveillance and would ``soon come to taste the torture they are 
talking about.'' The note added that the journalists would be 
physically harmed by ``faked accidents, poisoning, and made-up 
stories.'' The 10 journalists cited had covered a March report by the 
Human Rights Committee of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights 
expressing concern about allegations of torture and mistreatment in 
detention, particularly at the premises of the NIA. Colonel Dokisime 
Gnama Latta, the minister of security and civil protection, said the 
allegations in the note represented ``an outrageous campaign'' of 
``fantastic cock-and-bull stories'' and called the list ``fictitious.'' 
None of the journalists threatened had been harmed by year's end.
    Information surfaced during the year that in August 2010 gendarmes 
assaulted Didier Ledoux, a journalist with the daily Liberte Hebdo, 
while he was photographing the main Lome law courts, where defamation 
suits were being heard against two newspapers. According to Ledoux, the 
gendarmes dragged him to one of their vehicles, beat him, forced him 
into the vehicle, and took him to a nearby gendarmerie barracks. Within 
minutes of the arrest, the Union of Independent Journalists of Togo and 
the Committee of Newspaper Owners telephoned the head of the 
gendarmerie, who subsequently released Ledoux.
    In November 2010, plain-clothes gendarmes shot cameraman Tony 
Sodiji with a tear gas grenade at close range. Sodiji was filming a 
demonstration. In September 2010 gendarmes stabbed Sodji while he was 
covering a demonstration.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The High Authority of 
Audiovisuals and Communications (HAAC) was established to provide for 
freedom of the press, ensure ethical standards, and allocate 
frequencies to private television and radio stations. Although 
nominally independent, in practice the HAAC operated as the 
government's censorship arm. The HAAC has the power to impose severe 
penalties--including suspending publications for up to six months, 
withdrawing press cards, and seizing equipment from journalists--for 
vaguely defined ``crimes.'' Unlike in the previous year, the HAAC did 
not suspend any publications or withdraw press cards.
    On August 29, the Tribune d'Afrique, a newspaper based in Benin but 
with a bureau in Lome, resumed distribution after it had been banned. 
In August 2010 a criminal court judge banned indefinitely the 
distribution of the newspaper, which had published an investigative 
series on the alleged involvement of Mey Gnassingbe, a half brother of 
the president, in drug trafficking. Regarded as a critic of the 
government, Tribune d'Afrique often has been targeted by government 
authorities in recent years and has been summoned by the HAAC 
approximately 20 times since it published a 2009 article on the 
president's weekend palace in Agou. The resumption of distribution in 
Togo was the result of a July 14 decision by a Lome appeal court 
reducing the damages against the newspaper from 60 million CFA francs 
($125,000) to 10 million CFA francs ($20,800) and limiting the 
distribution ban to a period of three months, which expired in November 
2010.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--On November 2, a Lome criminal court 
ordered the privately owned weekly L'Independant Express to pay 200 
million CFA francs ($415,000) in damages and a fine of 800,000 CFA 
francs ($1,663) to Julie Beguedou, the CEO of the rice-import company 
Elisee Cotrane. On August 16, an article in the newspaper accused 
Beguedou of planning to flood the local market with toxic rice. In a 
letter to the justice minister, Reporters without Borders (RSF) 
characterized the story as harsh and damaging, but said the damages 
were exorbitant and likely to bankrupt the newspaper. RSF underscored 
that lawsuits against the media should not be motivated by the goal of 
intimidating journalists into self-censorship.
    Radio remained the most important medium of mass communication, and 
there were approximately 100 radio stations, most of which were 
privately owned.
    On February 2, the National Press Owners Committee, the Togo Union 
of Independent Journalists, and the Togolese Media Monitoring Center 
launched a campaign to draw attention to the November 2010 closure of 
three independent radio stations by the Posts and Telecommunications 
Regulation Agency (ART&P). The campaign included ``Togo without media'' 
days of action, sit-ins outside government agencies, and protest 
marches in various cities. The three stations--Providence, Metropolys, 
and X-Solaire--were closed for not having proper operating permits or 
meeting technical requirements. On March 16, the ART&P ordered the 
closure of Carre Jeune, a community radio station, on the grounds of 
``nonrespect for professional standards.'' By year's end, Providence, 
Metropolys, and Carre Jeune radio stations had obtained the required 
documentation and were permitted to resume broadcasting. Radio X-
Solaire, however, remained closed.
    The government-owned Togo Television was the only major television 
station. Eight smaller television stations operated during the year.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no known government restrictions on 
access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail 
or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government intimidated 
academics by maintaining a security force presence at the University of 
Lome. According to students and professors, a government informant 
system continued to exist, and undercover gendarmes attended classes.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; 
however, the government generally restricted this right. The government 
prevented opposition supporters from meeting and forcibly dispersed 
demonstrations on several occasions during the year.
    On May 16, the National Assembly passed a law to strengthen the 
right to peaceful protest. The law extends the advance notification 
requirement to obtain a permit to demonstrate from 48 hours to 72 
hours, but provides for default permission to demonstrate in the 
absence of a governmental response and provides the right to appeal any 
denial of permission to a court. While originally supportive of the 
law, the ANC subsequently charged that the law was a maneuver to stifle 
the right to demonstrate because of a provision holding protest 
organizers responsible for any damage to property resulting from the 
protest. Observers noted that although the law strengthened the right 
to protest and reduced the prospect of violent government crackdowns on 
demonstrators, it was not widely understood or applied, particularly 
outside of the capital.
    On March 17, security forces in Lome fired rubber bullets and 
canisters of tear gas at supporters of ANC leader Jean-Pierre Fabre, 
who had called for a demonstration against the government's attempt to 
regulate public protests. Several demonstrators were injured and some 
were arrested. Colonel Yark Damehane, commander of the National 
Gendarmerie, said the demonstrations were ``unauthorized and therefore 
illegal.''
    Several times during the year, government security forces prevented 
Jean-Pierre Fabre from leaving his home to join ANC protest marches.
    In May and June, gendarmes at the University of Lome used tear gas 
to break up peaceful student demonstrations against changes to the 
curriculum. Some students were injured.
    The results of an inquiry into the violent dispersion of a June 
2010 demonstration to protest rising fuel prices were not released by 
year's end. The gendarmerie used live ammunition, batons, and tear gas 
to disperse demonstrators, resulting in several deaths and numerous 
injuries.

    Freedom of Association.--Under the constitution and law, citizens 
have the right to organize associations and political parties, and the 
government generally respected this right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, the government restricted some of these rights 
in practice. 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.

    In-country Movement.--Checkpoints with armed security personnel and 
arbitrary searches of vehicles and individuals were common. There were 
four official checkpoints in the country as well as numerous unofficial 
checkpoints where security forces solicited bribes and impeded 
movement.

    Exile.--The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the government 
did not employ it. Several opposition and human rights workers remained 
in self-imposed exile, claiming they feared arrest. However, many who 
fled in the early 1990s returned, including the current foreign 
minister.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws do not provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, but the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
    More than 7,000 Ivoirian refugees entered Togo to flee the 
political violence following presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire in 
December 2010. The government initially granted automatic refugee 
status and built a camp at the site of a former hotel outside Lome. As 
the number of new arrivals slowed and others returned to Cote d'Ivoire, 
the government began screening new arrivals during the year to 
determine refugee status.
    In March and again in April of 2010, approximately 300 Ghanaian 
refugees fled a violent land dispute in northeast Ghana and crossed the 
border into Togo. Many of the refugees initially lived in schools and 
other public buildings or stayed in tents provided by the government. 
The refugees remained in Togo and by year's end had settled in tents 
and more permanent shelters constructed with UNHCR and government 
support.

    Temporary Protection.--The government continued to provide 
temporary protection to approximately 521 individuals who may not 
qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of 
Refugees and its 1967 protocol.
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 the March 
2010 presidential election. The government remained highly centralized.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In March 
2010 president and ruling RPT candidate Faure Gnassingbe was reelected 
with 61 percent of votes cast. The Constitutional Court rejected 
opposition claims of fraud and vote buying, citing lack of evidence. 
International and national observers monitoring the election declared 
it generally free, fair, transparent, and peaceful. Unlike the 2005 
presidential election, which resulted in approximately 400 deaths and 
the flight from the country of an estimated 40,000 persons, the March 
election occurred with minimal violence.
    The national government appointed officials and controlled the 
budgets of government entities at all levels, including prefectures and 
municipalities, and influenced the selection of traditional chiefs.

    Political Parties.--The RPT party dominated politics and maintained 
firm control over all levels of government. RPT membership conferred 
advantages, such as better access to government jobs. While the legal 
restrictions on demonstrations nominally applied to all parties, they 
were enforced primarily on opposition parties. Security forces banned 
and dispersed opposition demonstrations and arrested participants (see 
section 2.b.).
    During the year the government refused to reinstate nine opposition 
parliamentary deputies who were stripped of their seats for changing 
political party affiliation in 2010 (see section 1.e.).

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were eight female 
members in the 81-seat National Assembly and seven female ministers in 
the 32-member cabinet.
    Members of the southern ethnic groups remained underrepresented in 
both the government and military.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
According to the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators for 2010, 
government corruption was a severe problem.
    Corruption was common among prison officials, police officers, and 
members of the judiciary.
    During the year a former prime minister and two former ministers 
were convicted in absentia of embezzlement.
    In July 2010 a disciplinary committee was established to 
investigate corruption in the customs administration, and 
investigations and disciplinary actions were conducted during the year, 
although statistics were unavailable.
    An independent court with an autonomous budget to oversee public 
expenditures began operations in July 2010 and continued its audit of 
government expenditures in previous years, working its way to the 
present.
    Officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
    Although the press code provides for public access to government 
information, the government in the past did not permit access for 
either citizens or noncitizens, including foreign media; however, the 
government provided some information during the year, including 
postings on its Web site.
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 
sometimes cooperated, but typically were not responsive to NGO 
recommendations.
    There were several domestic human rights groups, including the 
Togolese League of Human Rights, the Center for Observation and 
Promotion of the Rule of Law, and the Togolese Association for the 
Defense and Protection of Human Rights.
    Information surfaced during the year that in November 2010, 
security forces forcibly dispersed a march organized by several human 
rights organizations to protest the government's repeated violations of 
the right to peaceful assembly. Several demonstrators were injured.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
cooperated with international governmental organizations and permitted 
visits by U.N. representatives or other organizations such as the ICRC 
(see section 1.c.).
    The TJRC, which has no power to prosecute or grant amnesty, was 
established in 2009 in response to public and international pressure to 
address the complaints lodged by victims of political violence between 
1958 and 2005. By the end of 2011, the TJRC had collected more than 
20,000 statements, opened 7,936 case files, and held numerous public 
hearings around the country. Although the commission can recommend 
prosecutions, no such recommendations had been issued by year's end, 
nor had the commission issued its recommendations concerning 
reparations. The commission held public hearings and continued taking 
individual statements during the year, but no victims of human rights 
violations received any reparations.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--A permanent human rights committee 
exists within the National Assembly, but it did not play any 
significant role in policymaking or exercise independent judgment.
    The governmental National Commission for Human Rights investigated 
numerous allegations of human rights abuses, including torture at the 
NIA.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, religion, disability, language, or social status; however, the 
government did not enforce these provisions effectively.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape and 
provides for prison terms of five to 10 years for those convicted. The 
prison term is 20 years if the victim is a child under 14, is gang-
raped, or if the rape results in pregnancy, disease, or incapacitation 
lasting more than six weeks. The law does not specifically outlaw 
spousal rape. Although the government was diligent in investigating 
reports of rape and prosecuting suspects, victims were reluctant to 
report rape due to the social stigma associated with being raped and 
fear of reprisal. Rape was thought to be a widespread problem 
throughout the country. During the year more than 50 persons were 
arrested for rape. At year's end 46 were in prison awaiting trial, 
awaiting convictions to be formalized, or serving sentences.
    The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and 
domestic violence against women continued to be a widespread problem. 
Police generally did not intervene in abusive situations, and women 
were not aware of the formal judicial mechanisms designed to protect 
them. Although there were no official efforts to combat domestic 
violence, several NGOs were active in educating women on their rights.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--(see section 6, Children).

    Sexual Harassment.--A 1984 presidential decree prohibits sexual 
harassment and specifically mentions harassment of female students; 
however, authorities did not enforce the decree, and sexual harassment 
was a problem. While the law states that harassment is illegal and can 
be taken to court, no specific punishment is prescribed.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children. Health clinics and local NGOs 
were permitted to operate freely in disseminating information on family 
planning under the guidance of the Ministry of Health. There were no 
restrictions on the right to access contraceptives, but according to 
estimates from the U.N. Population Fund, only 11 percent of women 
between 15 and 49 years old used a modern method of contraception. 
Approximately 62 percent of births were attended by skilled healthcare 
personnel. In May the government began providing free cesarean sections 
in response to the high mortality rate of mothers and babies in 
cesarean births. However, the government did not provide free 
childbirth services generally, and the lack of sufficient doctors meant 
most women only used midwives for childbirth as well as for prenatal 
and postnatal care, unless the mother or child suffered serious health 
complications. Maternal mortality was estimated at 350 deaths per 
100,000 live births in 2008, according to U.N. statistics from 2010. 
Only heterosexual men and women received equal access to diagnosis and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections, but women were more 
likely than men to seek treatment and refer their partners.

    Discrimination.--Although the law declares women equal under the 
law, women continued to experience discrimination in education, pension 
benefits, and inheritance. This was a consequence of traditional law, 
which applied to the vast majority of women. A husband legally can 
restrict his wife's freedom to work or control her earnings. In urban 
areas women and girls dominated market activities and commerce; 
however, harsh economic conditions in rural areas, where most of the 
population lived, left women with little time for activities other than 
domestic tasks and agricultural fieldwork. The labor code requires 
equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender, but this provision 
generally was observed only in the formal sector. There are no 
restrictions on women owning property. Under traditional law a wife has 
no maintenance or child support rights in the event of divorce or 
separation and no inheritance rights upon the death of her husband. 
Otherwise, women can own property with no special restrictions. 
Polygyny was practiced. Women did not experience economic 
discrimination in access to employment, credit, or managing a business.
    The Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity, along with 
independent women's groups and concerned NGOs, campaigned to inform 
women of their rights. In September 2010 President Faure launched a 
campaign to improve women's health and reduce infant mortality. The 
president also increased financial support to the effort, although at a 
lower level than originally promised.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived either from 
birth within the country's borders or from the parents.

    Education.--School attendance is compulsory for both boys and girls 
until the age of 15, and the government provides tuition-free public 
education from nursery through primary school; however, parents were 
required to pay for books, supplies, uniforms, and other expenses. 
According to UNICEF, although 92 percent of boys and 85 percent of 
girls started primary school, only an estimated 58 percent of boys and 
41 percent of girls finished. For secondary school, the net enrollment 
was 34 percent for boys and 12 percent for girls, but only 19 percent 
of boys and 9 percent of girls completed secondary school.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a widespread problem. Although the 
law explicitly prohibits sexual exploitation of children and child 
prostitution, the law was not effectively enforced. There was no 
statutory rape law. The government continued to work with local NGOs on 
public awareness campaigns to prevent exploitation of children.
    The government maintained a toll-free line for persons to report 
cases of child abuse and to seek help. The line provides free 
information on the rights of the child and legal procedures. The 
government also established school curricula to educate children on 
human rights and, working with UNICEF, trained teachers on children's 
rights.

    Child Marriage.--According to several international organizations, 
child marriage, especially in the north and among Muslims, existed on a 
small scale. Cases often were not reported as parents willingly gave 
their children in marriage.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law prohibits FGM, which was 
perpetrated on approximately 1 percent of girls, according to UNICEF. 
It was believed the practice had decreased significantly in urban areas 
since the 1998 anti-FGM law was passed. The most common form of FGM was 
excision, which was usually performed on girls a few months after 
birth. Most of the larger ethnic groups did not practice FGM. Penalties 
for practitioners of FGM ranged from two months to five years in prison 
as well as substantial fines. However, the law rarely was applied 
because most FGM cases occurred in rural areas where awareness of 
rights was limited. Traditional customs often took precedence over the 
legal system among certain ethnic groups. The government continued to 
sponsor educational seminars against FGM. Several NGOs, with 
international assistance, organized campaigns to educate women of their 
rights and on how to care for victims of FGM. NGOs also worked to 
create alternative labor opportunities for former practitioners.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law prohibits the sexual 
exploitation of children and provides penalties of between one to five 
years' imprisonment and fines from 100,000 to one million CFA francs 
($208 to $2,080) for offenders. For violations involving children under 
15, prison sentences can be up to 10 years. The minimum age of 
consensual sex is 16. The law prohibits child pornography and provides 
for penalties of five to 10 years in prison. Minors engaged in 
prostitution.

    Displaced Children.--Orphans and other needy children received some 
aid from extended families or private organizations but little from the 
government. There were social programs to provide free health care for 
poor children.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, mental, and sensory disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, or in the provision of 
other state services, but the government did not effectively enforce 
these provisions. There was no overt government discrimination against 
persons with disabilities, and such persons held government positions, 
but societal discrimination against persons with disabilities was a 
problem. The government does not mandate accessibility to public or 
private facilities for persons with disabilities, although some public 
buildings had ramps. While the law nominally obliges the government to 
aid persons with disabilities and shelter them from social injustice, 
the government provided only limited assistance.
    The Agency for Handicapped Persons, under the Ministry of Social 
Action and National Solidarity, is responsible for protecting the 
rights of persons with disabilities. During the year the ministry held 
awareness campaigns to fight discrimination and to promote equality; it 
also distributed food and clothing and provided some skills training to 
persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The dominance in private sector 
commerce, professions, and public/ military service of members of 
southern ethnic groups of the former and current presidents' ethnic 
group Kabye and other northern groups were sources of political 
tension. Political parties tended to have readily identifiable ethnic 
and regional bases. The RPT party was more represented among northern 
ethnic groups than among southern groups; the reverse was true of the 
UFC and CAR opposition parties.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law provides that a person 
who engages in a consensual same-sex sexual act may be punished by one 
to three years' imprisonment and fined 100,000 to 500,000 CFA francs 
($208 to $1,041). There were no prosecutions for homosexuality or the 
often related charge of indecent assault. The eight persons arrested 
for same-sex sexual conduct in 2010 remained incarcerated.
    Societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender 
identity occurred, and there were no known lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender organizations.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits 
discrimination against persons infected with HIV/AIDS, and the 
government sponsored broadcasts aimed at dissuading discrimination. 
However, persons infected with HIV/AIDS continued to face significant 
societal discrimination.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law provide workers, except security forces 
(including firefighters and police), with the right to form and join 
unions and bargain collectively. Workers have the right to strike, 
including government health workers, although striking health care 
workers may be ordered back to work as necessary for the personal 
security and wellbeing of the population. The law prohibits retribution 
against strikers by employers, and antiunion discrimination was 
prohibited. The law provides exemptions from some provisions of the 
labor code. For example, the law does not recognize the trade union 
rights of workers in the export processing zones (EPZs). Unions 
generally are not allowed free access to EPZs or the freedom to 
organize workers. The law does not provide EPZ workers with protection 
against antiunion discrimination, notably with regard to hiring and 
firing.
    The right to collective bargaining is recognized by law, but is 
limited to a single nationwide agreement, to be negotiated and endorsed 
by representatives of the government, labor unions, and employers. All 
formal sector employees were covered by the collective bargaining 
agreement that set nationwide wage standards for all formal sector 
workers. The government participated in this process both as a labor-
management mediator and as the largest employer in the formal sector, 
managing numerous state-owned firms that monopolized many sectors of 
the formal economy. Individual groups in the formal sector could 
attempt to negotiate agreements more favorable to labor through sector-
specific or firm-specific collective bargaining, but this option was 
rarely used.
    While freedom of association and the right to organize were 
generally respected, particularly outside the EPZs, the Ministry of 
Labor, Employment, and Social Security often failed to enforce the 
prohibition against antiunion discrimination. Employees of EPZ firms 
did not enjoy the same protection against antiunion discrimination as 
did other workers, although two unions representing EPZ workers were 
created in late 2009.
    Worker organizations were independent of the government and 
political parties.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The labor code 
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children; however, the government did not enforce the law effectively.
    Forced labor occurred in practice. Children sometimes were 
subjected to forced labor, primarily as domestic servants, porters, and 
roadside sellers. Children were also forced to perform agricultural 
work and beg. Women and girls were subject to forced labor as domestic 
servants. Children were trafficked into indentured servitude.
    According to government statistics, 278 victims of trafficking were 
removed during the year. In 2010 the government doubled the number of 
workplace inspectors to 62. During the year the government conducted 
training and awareness activities with various officials, such as 
police and customs inspectors as well as private businesses. In 
addition, work increased with local committees that serve both to raise 
awareness of trafficking and forced labor and to report instances of 
either. With help from UNICEF, during the year the government began 
providing funds to poor families with very young children considered at 
risk for trafficking.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor code prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15 in 
any enterprise or type of work, prohibits the employment of children 
under age 18 from working at night, and requires a daily rest period of 
at least 12 hours for all working children. For some types of 
industrial and technical employment, the minimum age is 18. The child 
code of 2007 prohibits the employment of children in the worst forms of 
child labor, including trafficking, prostitution, pornography, and the 
use of children in armed conflict. However, the law also authorizes the 
employment of children 16 years and older in sectors likely to harm 
their health, safety, or morals.
    The Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity was 
responsible for enforcing the prohibition against the worst forms of 
child labor. However, the government did not effectively enforce child 
labor laws. Ministry inspectors enforced these age requirements, but 
only in the formal sector in urban areas. Due to limited resources, the 
enforcement of child labor laws was weak, and penalties were 
insufficient to deter violations. The ministry funded a center for 
abandoned children and worked with NGOs to combat child trafficking. 
The ministry frequently held workshops in collaboration with UNICEF, 
ILO, NGOs, labor unions, and other partners to raise awareness of child 
labor in general and forced labor in particular.
    Child labor was a problem. According to UNICEF, 29 percent of 
children between the ages of five and 14 years were engaged in work. 
Some children started work at age five and typically did not attend 
school for most of the school year. Children worked in both rural and 
urban areas, particularly in family-based farming and small-scale 
trading, and as porters and domestic servants. In some cases children 
worked in factories. In agricultural sectors, children assisted their 
parents with the harvesting of cotton, cocoa, and coffee. Children were 
involved in the production of foodstuffs, such as beans and corn, for 
consumption by the family.
    The most dangerous activity involving child labor was in the 
quarries, where children assisted their parents in crushing rock by 
hand and carrying buckets of gravel on their heads. Such labor was not 
sanctioned by the government and occurred only in small, privately-
owned quarries. Reputable local NGOs reported that while quarry work 
was strictly a weekend and holiday activity for most children, others 
dropped out of school to work full time in the quarries.
    In both urban and rural areas, particularly in farming and small 
scale trading, very young children traditionally assisted their 
families. In rural areas parents sometimes placed young children into 
domestic work in other households in exchange for one-time fees as low 
as 12,500 to 17,500 CFA francs ($26 to $36).
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government sets minimum 
wages for different labor categories, ranging from unskilled through 
professional positions. During the year the minimum wage was raised to 
35,000 CFA francs ($73) per month. The Ministry of Labor, Employment, 
and Social Security is responsible for enforcement of the minimum wage 
system, especially in the private sectors.
    Working hours of all employees in any enterprise, except for the 
agricultural sector, normally are not to exceed 40 hours per week; at 
least one 24-hour rest period per week is compulsory, and workers are 
expected to receive 30 days of paid leave each year. Working hours for 
employees in the agricultural sector are not to exceed 2,400 hours per 
year (46 hours per week). The law requires overtime compensation, and 
there are restrictions on excessive overtime work. A technical 
consulting committee in the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social 
Security sets workplace health and safety standards. It may levy 
penalties on employers who do not meet the standards, and employees 
have the right to complain to labor inspectors of unhealthy or unsafe 
conditions without penalty. Workers have the legal right to remove 
themselves from unsafe conditions without fear of losing their jobs. 
Labor laws also provide protection for legal foreign workers. Workers 
in the informal sector and EPZ workers, however, were not covered by 
these laws.
    The Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security, which had 
62 labor inspectors, did not effectively enforce the law.
    Employers often ignored applicable laws. Employers often paid less 
than the official minimum wage, mostly to unskilled workers. Many 
workers supplemented their incomes through second jobs or subsistence 
farming.
    In October the government implemented for the first time a health 
insurance plan for public sector employees. Large enterprises are 
obliged by law to provide medical services for their employees and 
usually attempted to respect occupational health and safety rules, but 
smaller firms often did not.

                               __________

                                 UGANDA

                           executive summary
    Uganda is a constitutional republic led since 1986 by President 
Yoweri Museveni of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. 
Voters reelected Museveni to another five-year term in February. While 
the elections marked an improvement over previous elections, they were 
marred by irregularities. State security forces (SSF) generally 
reported to civilian authorities.
    The three most important human rights problems in the country were 
lack of respect for the integrity of the person (including unlawful 
killings, torture, and other abuse of suspects and detainees); 
unwarranted restrictions on civil liberties (freedom of assembly, the 
media, and association); and violence and discrimination against 
marginalized groups (women, including female genital mutilation 
victims; children, including victims of sexual abuse and ritual 
killing; persons with disabilities; and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender community).
    Other human rights problems included mob violence; harsh prison 
conditions; official corruption; arbitrary and politically motivated 
arrest and detention; incommunicado and lengthy pretrial detention; 
restrictions on the right to a fair trial; electoral irregularities; 
trafficking in persons; and forced labor, including child labor.
    The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), driven out of the country in 
2005, continued to hold children forcibly abducted from the country. 
The governments of Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic 
(CAR), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continued 
military actions against the LRA.
    SSF and other government agents committed human rights abuses, 
generally with impunity. The government took minimal steps to hold 
perpetrators accountable.
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, as SSF killed opposition party demonstrators and 
other citizens.
    SSF's use of excessive force and live ammunition to disperse 
antigovernment demonstrations in April and May resulted in at least 10 
deaths, including a two-year-old girl in Masaka. Authorities arrested 
reserve police officer Paul Mugenyi for the April 20 killing of the 
two-year-old girl but held no one accountable for the nine other 
killings. Police also arrested police officers Aggrey Arineitwe and 
James Babaranda for the April 11 killing of a 16-year-old-girl in 
Kabale, who was shot and killed by police using live ammunition to 
disrupt a strike at a secondary school. Arineitwe was released for lack 
of evidence, and charges against Mugenyi and Babaranda were pending at 
year's end.
    Excessive force and the indiscriminate use of live ammunition by 
SSF, including the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF), resulted in 
deaths during cattle recovery and disarmament operations in the 
Karamoja Region in the East. For example, on September 5, the UPDF 
killed six Karamojong cattle rustlers in two operations to recover 
stolen cattle in Kaabong District.
    There were developments in some cases from previous years involving 
deaths caused by government security forces.
    During the year an internal police investigation into the death of 
Henry Bakasamba, who died in May 2010 in the custody of the Police 
Rapid Response Unit (RRU) in Kampala, exonerated RRU officers Disinga 
Abangu and David Mulwanira. In 2010 RRU officers Abangu, Mulwanira, 
Alex ``Eddy'' Muhiirwe, David Osaulo, and Famba Suli were arrested for 
allegedly murdering Bakasamba. Police claimed Suli remained in jail but 
were unable to provide the date or location of his incarceration. The 
whereabouts of Muhiirwe and Osaula were unknown. During the year police 
also released on bail three RRU officers--Dhikusoka Ramadan, Mohamed 
Kavuma, and Zikusoka Hussein--who were arrested in 2010 for allegedly 
killing suspect Frank Ssekanjako in August 2010 while in RRU custody.
    No terrorist attacks occurred during the year. On September 12, the 
government commenced legal proceedings against 14 suspects accused of 
orchestrating the July 2010 terrorist bombings in Kampala that killed 
76 people. That same day the government dropped pending terrorism 
charges against Kenyan human rights activist Al Amin Kimathi and four 
others who had been arrested in connection with those same bombings and 
released them from custody. On September 16, the High Court convicted 
and sentenced two July bombing suspects who pled guilty, Idris Nsubuga 
and Mahmood Mugisha, to 25 years for terrorism and five years for 
conspiracy. The case against the remaining 12 suspects was pending at 
year's end.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports of politically motivated 
abductions or kidnappings. For instance, on January 18, opposition 
Democratic Party (DP) mobilizer Annette Namwanga was kidnapped by 
unidentified individuals from her job at Mulago Hospital. On January 
25, the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) acknowledged 
arresting Namwanga. On February 6, Namwanga and nine others were 
charged with terrorism and remanded to prison. On April 1, the High 
Court released Namwanga on bail. Charges against her remained pending.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices. 
Nevertheless, there were credible reports that SSF tortured and beat 
suspects (see section 1.a.).
    The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and international and 
local human rights organizations reported incidents of torture by SSF, 
including caning, severe beating, squeezing of private parts, stabbing, 
kicking, tying of limbs in contorted positions, forced marching, rape, 
water torture, tearing off of fingernails, burning with molten plastic, 
and cutting off of body parts. From January to June, the African Center 
for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV) registered 
214 allegations of torture against the police, 24 against the UPDF, 
three against military police, 46 against the RRU, 14 against 
unspecified security personnel, and 17 against prison officials.
    There were numerous reports of torture and abuse in detention 
facilities operated by CMI, CMI's Joint Antiterrorism Taskforce (JATT), 
and the RRU. On March 23, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report 
on extrajudicial killings, torture, and illegal detention by the RRU. 
HRW accused the RRU of committing six extrajudicial killings in 2010 
and criticized the government for failing to investigate or prosecute 
abusive officers. The report heightened concerns that the RRU, CMI, and 
JATT operated under unclear mandates and committed serious abuses with 
impunity. In December police acknowledged the RRU's record of human 
rights abuses and disbanded the unit.
    SSF's use of excessive force resulted in injuries during arrests 
and law enforcement operations. In April and May, for instance, SSF 
beat and injured numerous civilians during antigovernment walk-to-work 
protests. On April 14, SSF's use of live ammunition to disrupt walk-to-
work protests seriously wounded a pregnant woman and one student. On 
April 29 and May 12, dozens of people, including some journalists, were 
beaten by SSF during protests in Kampala and Entebbe. On April 28, SSF 
arrested opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party leader 
Kizza Besigye by breaking a window of Besigye's car and spraying him 
with large amounts of a noxious chemical at point-blank range. Besigye 
suffered temporary damage to his eyes. Police took no action against 
officer Gilbert Arinaitwe and other SSF members who used excessive 
force to arrest Besigye.
    In August a British national accused CMI and JATT of abducting him 
on May 21, holding him incommunicado for 28 days, and torturing him.
    During the year the UHRC awarded 1.1 billion Uganda shillings 
($400,000) to victims of torture and other abuses. In its 2010 annual 
report, the UHRC reported registering 797 human rights complaints 
against 743 individuals, including 84 UPDF members, 305 police 
officers, 93 personnel of other security agencies, 30 prison warders, 
and 231 private citizens. Of the 797 complaints, 28 percent involved 
allegations of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and 
punishment. During the year the Police Disciplinary Court issued a 
written reprimand to RRU officer Nathan Byona and senior police 
officers Nixon Karuhanga and Julius Kwikirizi for torture, extortion, 
and mismanagement and reduced their pay.
    Mobs attacked persons suspected of stealing, ritual sacrifice, 
witchcraft, and other crimes, resulting in deaths and injuries. 
Motivated in part by lack of confidence in law enforcement and the 
judicial system, mobs beat, lynched, burned, and otherwise brutalized 
their victims (see sections 1.a. and 6).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor and, in some cases, life threatening. There were reports that SSF 
tortured inmates, particularly in military facilities and unregistered 
detention centers. Abusive forced labor in prisons countrywide remained 
a problem.
    Serious problems in prisons included long remand periods, 
overcrowding, and inadequate staff. Prison conditions came closest to 
meeting international standards in Kampala, where medical care, running 
water, and sanitation were provided. However, these prisons were among 
the most overcrowded. Prisons outside Kampala lacked food, water, 
medical care, and bedding. In March HRW and the NGO Advocates Without 
Borders (AWB) released detailed reports on prison conditions. HRW 
described prison conditions as bordering on inhuman, with degrading 
treatment and torture. HRW cited overcrowding, long remand periods, and 
reports of prisoners being beaten by prison warders. HRW also reported 
that prison officials often subjected prisoners to hard labor and 
routine abuse. The AWB report alleged inmates were held in places that 
did not meet international human rights standards for food, water, 
medical care, and basic hygiene. Prison authorities estimated more than 
half the prison population was on remand or pretrial detention and had 
not been convicted. In 2010 the Ministry of Justice reported that the 
average remand period for prisoners was reduced from 27 months in 2009 
to 15 months. Data for 2011 was unavailable.
    The Uganda Prisons Service reported 31,749 prisoners in the system 
at the end of August. The approved holding capacity of prisons is 
13,670 prisoners. Severe overcrowding was also a problem at juvenile 
detention facilities and in female wings of prisons. The Kampala Remand 
Home, designed for 45 children, held 194. The Naguru Reception Center, 
designed for 30 children, held 180 juveniles. The Prisons Service 
recorded 84 prisoner deaths nationwide from January to August from 
torture, overcrowding, malnutrition, poor sanitation, disease, 
overwork, or lack of medical care.
    Information was unavailable on conditions in unregistered and 
illegal detention facilities, although SSF allowed the UHRC and some 
international NGOs access to selected unregistered facilities. 
Observers reported poor conditions and numerous cases of abuse in 
illegal detention facilities or ``safe houses.''
    Although female prisoners in central prisons were held in separate 
facilities, services and facilities for female prisoners in local 
prisons, including separate cells, were lacking in some areas. The 
Prisons Service had no budget for accommodating pregnant women or 
mothers with infants, and the number of infants in women's prisons 
increased during the year. Due to lack of space in juvenile facilities, 
minors were held in prisons with adults. Pretrial detainees in Kampala 
prisons were separated from convicted prisoners. Elsewhere they were 
sometimes held together. Local NGOs reported that prisoners and 
detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were allowed to submit 
complaints. Prison authorities acknowledged a backlog in the 
investigation of complaints. Authorities allowed international NGOs, 
foreign diplomats, and local NGOs to conduct prison visits during the 
year but required advance notification.
    Prison authorities reported improvements in recordkeeping by the 
introduction of computers up to the regional level, provision of 
plastic water tanks, and adoption of a new sanitation system at several 
prison facilities. Community service is statutorily available as a 
sentencing option. Prison authorities reported that more than 100,000 
persons were sentenced to community service during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution and 
law prohibit such practices, SSF sometimes arrested and detained 
persons arbitrarily. For instance, from February 5 to 7, police in 
Kampala arrested and later released without charge 16 civil society 
activists for distributing anticorruption leaflets. In March and April, 
SSF arbitrarily arrested hundreds of civilians, including many main 
opposition party leaders, for participating in a ``walk-to-work'' 
campaign against rising prices (see section 1.e.). On July 13, in Lira, 
SSF arrested and held radio journalist Augustine Okello incommunicado 
for two weeks. He was brought to court and charged with treason after 
the Human Rights Network for Journalists (HRNJ) sued the police, the 
chief of the defense forces, and CMI. In August a British national 
accused CMI and JATT of abducting him on May 21, holding him 
incommunicado for 28 days, torturing him, and extorting money. On June 
17, he was released from custody without having been charged (see 
section 1.b.). On several occasions during the year, police placed 
opposition FDC party president Kizza Besigye under ``preventive 
arrest'' by surrounding his home and prohibiting him from leaving.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Uganda Police Force 
(UPF), under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has primary 
responsibility for law enforcement. The UPDF is charged with external 
security but also had significant responsibility for implementing the 
disarmament campaign in Karamoja, providing election-related security, 
and responding to walk-to-work protests. The Internal Security 
Organization (ISO) and External Security Organization (ESO), security 
agencies and intelligence-gathering entities under the Minister of 
Security, occasionally detained civilians. CMI is legally under UPDF 
authority, although it often acted as a semiautonomous unit in 
detaining civilians suspected of rebel and terrorist activity, as did 
the ISO and ESO. The JATT, an interagency paramilitary group under CMI, 
has no codified mandate but illegally detained civilians suspected of 
rebel and terrorist activity. The JATT is a joint command whose members 
are drawn from the UPDF, UPF, ISO, and ESO.
    The UPF were constrained by limited resources, including low pay 
and lack of vehicles, equipment, and training. The UPF's Professional 
Standards Unit (PSU) investigated complaints of police abuses, 
including torture, harassment, unlawful arrest and detention, abuse of 
office, irregular or discreditable conduct, mismanagement of case 
papers, and corrupt practices. From January to November, the PSU 
received 218 reports of human rights violations and unprofessional 
conduct. The PSU was unable to provide information on the number of 
cases acted upon during the year.
    The UPDF continued efforts to transfer responsibility for law 
enforcement in the North and in the Karamoja region to UPF. In 2010 the 
UPF deployed an estimated 2,000 additional police officers to Karamoja.
    In conjunction with the UHRC and international organizations 
including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the 
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UPDF and 
UPF continued to train officers on internationally recognized human 
rights standards. During the year 1,057 police officers attended human 
rights and constitutional workshops. The UPF, UPDF, and Prisons Service 
also used human rights manuals in their training programs.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires that judges or prosecutors issue arrest warrants before 
arrests are made. However, in practice suspects were often arrested 
without warrants. The law requires suspects to be charged within 48 
hours of arrest, but suspects frequently were held longer. While 
suspects arrested under the Antiterrorism Law must be brought to trial 
or released on bail within 120 days (360 days if charged with a capital 
offense), if the case is presented to the court before the expiration 
of this period, there is no limit on further pretrial detention. 
Detainees must be informed immediately of the reasons for their 
detention, although authorities did not always do so. The law provides 
for bail at the discretion of the judge, and bail was generally 
granted, albeit with stringent conditions. Detainees are required by 
law to have access to a lawyer, but many were denied their legal right 
to representation. According to the law, the government provides 
attorneys for indigent defendants charged with capital offenses, but in 
practice funds were rarely available to retain counsel.
    Incommunicado detention remained a problem, particularly with 
regard to CMI, JATT, and the RRU. Local and international human rights 
groups reported that the government detained civilians in military 
facilities and unregistered detention facilities known as ``safe 
houses,'' where detainees often were held incommunicado and abused.
    Human rights groups expressed concerns about the treatment of 
individuals arrested by the UPDF in Karamoja in conjunction with the 
UPDF's response to cattle raids and the government's disarmament 
campaign (see section 1.a.).

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrests during police sweeps remained 
a problem, as did arbitrary arrests based on alleged sedition, treason, 
promoting sectarianism, incitement of violence, or terrorism charges. 
During the year several hundred people were also arbitrarily arrested 
for participating in, or being in proximity to, protests organized by 
opposition parties and civil society (see section 1.e.). The government 
paid compensation to some victims of arbitrary arrest, but compensation 
was often paid slowly.

    Pretrial Detention.--Persons suspected of sedition, treason, 
incitement of violence, or terrorism were subjected to numerous abuses, 
such as detention without charge, detention in unofficial locations, 
and mistreatment, including torture (see sections 1.a., 1.b., and 
1.c.). Case backlogs in the judicial system routinely contributed to 
pretrial detentions of two to three years but sometimes as long as 
seven years. The Prisons Service reported that more than half of its 
approximately 31,749 inmates were pretrial detainees. The UHRC heard 
several cases brought by prisoners challenging the length of their 
detention.

    Amnesty.--Since 2000 the government has offered blanket amnesty to 
former LRA and Allied Democratic Forces rebel combatants to encourage 
defections. More than 26,000 individuals have received amnesty since 
2000, and more than half of these are former LRA combatants. During the 
year the government approved 29 amnesty cases. On September 22, the 
Constitutional Court upheld the constitutionality of the Amnesty Act, 
ruled that the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) illegally denied 
LRA Colonel Thomas Kwoyelo's request for amnesty, awarded Kwoyelo 
amnesty, and ordered his release from prison. Kwoyelo was captured by 
the UPDF in the DRC in 2009 and is accused of dozens of murders, 
mutilations, and abductions. The government claimed Kwoyelo's alleged 
crimes make him ineligible for amnesty and refused to release him from 
prison. Kwoyelo remained in custody at year's end.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected 
this provision in practice. The president appoints Supreme Court, High 
Court, and Court of Appeal judges with the approval of parliament. The 
president also nominates, for the approval of parliament, members of 
the Judicial Service Commission, who make recommendations on 
appointments to the judiciary. The judiciary ruled against the 
government on several high-profile cases during the year. Lower courts 
remained understaffed, weak, and inefficient. Judicial corruption was a 
problem (see section 4).
    The military court system often did not assure the right to a fair 
trial. The law establishes a court martial appeals process. Sentences, 
including the death penalty, can be appealed only to the senior UPDF 
leadership. Under circumstances deemed exigent, a field court martial 
can be convened at the scene of an alleged crime. The law does not 
permit appeal of a conviction under a field court-martial. Despite a 
2006 court ruling prohibiting the military from trying civilians in 
military tribunals, this practice continued. In July HRW issued a 
report documenting the prosecution of civilians in military courts and 
reported that at least 1,000 civilians had been court-martialed since 
2000. In September the UPDF announced that it would end the practice of 
trying civilians in military tribunals.

    Trial Procedures.--An inadequate system of judicial administration 
and a lack of resources resulted in a serious backlog of cases and 
impaired the right to a fair trial. There is a presumption of 
innocence. All nonmilitary trials are public, but juries are not used. 
Defendants have the right to be present and consult with an attorney in 
a timely manner. The law requires that the government provide an 
attorney for indigent defendants accused of capital offenses, but funds 
were rarely available to provide counsel. By law defendants may 
confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses and 
evidence on their behalf, but this right was sometimes not respected in 
practice. In 2008 the Constitutional Court ruled that defendants have 
the right to obtain documentary evidence the state intends to use 
against them before trial starts. However, the ruling stated that the 
right of disclosure is not absolute in highly sensitive cases. 
Defendants have the right of appeal.
    Suspects complained of long remand periods. For instance, in June 
the UPDF released three soldiers--Emmy Namanya, Moses Keriri, and Yason 
Babishanga--who were arrested between 2002 and 2004 on suspicion of 
murder but never formally charged.
    In September authorities reported 60,649 criminal cases disposed of 
and 60,986 criminal cases filed during the year.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--While there were no reports of 
political prisoners during the year, hundreds of opposition 
politicians, supporters, civil society activists, journalists, or 
others critical of the government were detained on politically 
motivated grounds for short periods. Many of these individuals were 
released without charge. Others were released after being charged with 
crimes such as treason, inciting violence, and promoting sectarianism. 
None of the hundreds of people arrested for protesting rising prices 
during the walk-to-work campaign were convicted of an offense, and 
courts dismissed all walk-to-work related cases brought to trial by the 
DPP for lack of evidence.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Victims may report cases of 
human rights violations through the regular court system or the UHRC, 
which has judicial powers under the constitution. These powers include 
the authority to order the release of detainees, payment of 
compensation to victims, and other legal and administrative remedies 
such as mediation. Victims can appeal their cases to the Court of 
Appeal and eventually the Supreme Court, but not to an international 
regional court. Civil courts and the UHRC have no ability to hold 
perpetrators of human rights abuses criminally liable, and enforcement 
of judgments for financial compensation was hampered by bureaucratic 
delays.

    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. 
However, police did not always obtain search warrants, as required by 
law, to enter private homes and offices.
    The Antiterrorism Act authorizes certain law enforcement officials 
to intercept communications to detect and prevent terrorist activities. 
The Regulation of Interception of Communication Bill authorizes 
government security agencies to legally tap private conversations as 
part of wider efforts to combat terrorism-related offenses. The 
government utilized both statutes to monitor telephone conversations.
    The government continued to encourage university students and 
government officials to attend NRM political education and military 
science courses known as ``chaka mchaka.'' While the government claimed 
the courses were not compulsory, human rights activists reported that 
civil servants and students were pressured to attend.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press. The government at times restricted these rights.

    Freedom of Speech.--SSF and government officials occasionally 
interrogated and detained radio presenters and political leaders who 
made public statements critical of the government and used libel laws 
and national security as grounds to restrict freedom of speech (see 
section 3). During the February presidential and parliamentary election 
campaign period, for instance, opposition FDC party president Kizza 
Besigye was denied access to numerous state-run and privately owned 
radio stations. On February 17, police in Gulu arrested and later 
released opposition Member of Parliament Christopher Achire for 
allegedly defaming President Museveni. Achire was charged with inciting 
violence and granted bail. Hearing of the case was pending at year's 
end.

    Freedom of the Press.--The independent media were active and 
expressed a wide variety of views. Nevertheless, the government and SSF 
imposed some restrictions. The UPF's Media Crimes Unit closely 
monitored all radio, television, and print media, and SSF subjected 
numerous journalists to harassment, intimidation, and arrest. As a 
result many print and broadcast media journalists practiced self-
censorship, particularly with regard to reporting on President 
Museveni, the first family, senior members of the ruling NRM party, and 
the SSF. Although there are a number of private rural radio stations, 
many of these were owned by government officials and ruling party 
members who imposed reporting restrictions.
    On January 11, for instance, police arrested the director and 
editor of a monthly magazine for publishing a cartoon of President 
Museveni. The two were later released without charge. In April and May, 
SSF prevented journalists from covering walk-to-work protests and in 
some cases threatened journalists, assaulted them, and confiscated 
camera equipment. In July CMI and the RRU illegally detained radio 
presenter Augustine Okello. Okello was charged with treason in August 
and remained in custody at year's end.
    Authorities interfered with the publication of several books 
critical of President Museveni. For instance, on September 17, the RRU 
arrested Vincent Nzaramba for publishing a book about Museveni's 25 
years in power entitled People Power--Battle the Mighty General--He is 
Finished. Police claimed the book incited violence, detained Nzaramba 
at RRU's Kireka detention facility, and released him without charge on 
September 22.

    Violence and Harassment.--SSF arrested, assaulted, harassed, and 
intimidated journalists during the year. During the February 18 
presidential and parliamentary elections, SSF in Mbale shot and injured 
freelance journalist Julius Odeke. The police suspended the divisional 
commander and his deputy over the violence (see section 3). In August 
the HRNJ reported that 55 journalists were subjected to different forms 
of violence from November 2010 to April 2011 and urged the UHRC to 
investigate 32 alleged acts of SSF violence against journalists. On May 
12, SSF assaulted local and international journalists covering walk-to-
work protests and confiscated camera equipment. On May 17, President 
Museveni publicly described several media outlets--including the Daily 
Monitor, NTV, the BBC, and al Jazeera--as ``enemies of Uganda's 
recovery.'' On May 24, SSF raided the offices of the local-language 
Ggwanga newspaper, arrested several newspaper officials, and then 
released them without charge. On December 17, SSF allegedly assaulted 
Daily Monitor newspaper journalist Emmanuel Opio in Lira.
    On December 1, Rwandan journalist Charles Ingabire was shot to 
death in Kampala. Police made no arrests, and the investigation 
continued at year's end.
    Media-related charges against several journalists from prior years 
remained pending at year's end. In January police dropped a case 
against Radio Hoima FM reporter Frederick Makuru Muhamba for allegedly 
inciting violence. Muhamba was arrested in November 2010 after 
criticizing the ruling NRM party and was later released on bail.
    There were no developments in the investigation of freelance 
journalist Paul Kiggundu's killing. Kiggundu was beaten to death in 
September 2010. Police arrested five suspects and remanded them to 
prison. Their cases were pending at year's end. There were no 
developments in the investigation of Prime Radio news presenter Dickson 
Ssentongo's death. Ssentongo was killed in September 2010 on his way to 
work in Mukono District. No arrests were made.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Many journalists practiced 
self-censorship to avoid government intimidation or harassment. Many 
rural radio stations claimed they were ordered by unnamed government 
officials to deny airtime to opposition politicians, and several radio 
presenters who hosted opposition members were questioned by police. The 
government prevented some independent and government-owned television 
and radio stations from hosting opposition political candidates 
critical of the government. On April 14, the Uganda Communications 
Commission (UCC) pressured local media to ban live broadcasts of walk-
to-work protests.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Libel laws and purported concerns 
about national security were used to suppress criticism. According to 
local NGOs, 14 journalists, civil society activists, and opposition 
politicians continued to face pending sedition charges despite the 
Constitutional Court's 2010 ruling declaring the sedition law 
unconstitutional. On June 1, police charged Timothy Kalyegira, the 
editor of online publication Uganda Record, with criminal libel for the 
2010 online publication of a conspiracy theory blaming the military for 
the July 2010 terrorist attacks in Kampala. At year's end hearing of 
the case was pending. In October police accused opposition FDC party 
women's leader Ingrid Turinawe and two others of trying to overthrow 
the government through walk-to-work related activities, charged them 
with the capital offense of treason, and remanded them to jail. 
Turinawe and the two coaccused were released on bail on December 12. 
Charges remained pending at year's end.

    Internet Freedom.--Individuals and groups could generally engage in 
the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. However, 
at times the government attempted to restrict access. For example, 
during walk-to-work protests on April 13, the UCC directed Internet 
service providers to block access to Facebook and Twitter for 24 hours. 
Only one government-owned Internet service provider complied. On May 
31, police arrested Timothy Kalyegira, the editor of Uganda Record, for 
the 2010 online publication of a conspiracy theory blaming the military 
for the July 2010 terrorist attacks in Kampala. Kalyegira, who had been 
arrested in August 2010 and charged with sedition for the same article, 
was this time charged with criminal libel and released on bail. At 
year's end hearing of the case was pending.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom. However, research clearance was 
required in certain academic areas, such as history and political 
science, and was difficult to obtain.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--While the constitution provides for freedoms of assembly and 
association, the government did not respect these rights in practice. 
The UPF continued to require advance notification and approval for 
public gatherings, despite a 2008 Constitutional Court decision 
nullifying section 32(2) of the Police Act and the requirement to 
obtain written police approval for any assembly of 25 persons or more.
    During the year the UPF routinely restricted the right to assemble 
freely. Opposition parties and civil society organizations critical of 
the government that sought UPF authorization for public gatherings 
either received no official response or were instructed not to 
assemble. Police often met attempts to assemble by these groups with 
excessive and brutal force. For example, SSF killed at least10 people 
while trying to disrupt protests over rising prices in April and May. 
Many others were wounded by rubber bullets, live ammunition, and tear 
gas. Police claimed harsh tactics were warranted because walk-to-work 
participants refused to obtain police authorization and were inciting 
violence, obstructing traffic, and adversely impacting local 
businesses. During the year none of the hundreds of protesters arrested 
during walk-to-work events was convicted of committing an offense.

    Freedom of Association.--While the constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, the government did not always respect this 
right in practice. The 2006 NGO Registration Act limits some NGO 
activity and requires NGOs seeking registration to obtain letters of 
approval from local government and community officials. The NGO Board, 
which approves NGO registrations, reports to the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs and is composed of representatives from various government 
ministries, including the security services. Discriminatory aspects of 
the NGO Act prevented lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
organizations from registering as NGOs. Official registration affords 
some legal protections and enables NGOs to open local bank accounts.
    Police blocked meetings of members of labor unions (see section 7).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the International Religious Freedom 
Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation. The 
government at times limited these rights in practice.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

    In-Country Movement.--Refugees were free to move without 
restriction. However, for security reasons, refugees living in camps 
were required to obtain an exit permit from the camp commandant. 
Refugees can apply for an identification card provided by the 
government. The government cooperated with the UNHCR to provide travel 
documents to qualified refugees wishing to travel abroad.

    Foreign Travel.--A married woman must obtain her husband's written 
permission on her passport application if children are to be listed on 
her passport.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the UNHCR, only 
30,000 IDPs, or about 1.6 percent of the 1.8 million persons internally 
displaced by the 20-year LRA conflict, remained in four camps in the 
North at year's end as the vast majority of IDPs continued a difficult 
reintegration into their original communities. Authorities continued 
the process of closing IDP camps, 247 of which have been closed in 
recent years. Conditions in IDP camps improved as a result of the 
lowered IDP population. Many who remained in IDP camps were considered 
``extremely vulnerable individuals'' due to age or disabilities, 
according to international humanitarian organizations.
    IDPs returning to their homes continued to encounter serious 
challenges, including lack of basic services such as potable water, 
health care, and schools, as well as disputes over land tenure. 
According to a December 2010 Internal Displacement Monitoring Center 
report, recovery programs coordinated by the government, U.N., and 
development partners failed to keep pace with IDP returns because of a 
lack of coordination. Although the government adopted a national IDP 
policy in 2004 and became the first African country to ratify the 
African Union's Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs in 
2010, the government continued to struggle to implement those 
commitments during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. As of 
September the UNHCR registered 156,477 refugees and asylum seekers. The 
government provides temporary protection to individuals who may not 
qualify as refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 
Protocol. No individuals received such protection during the year. The 
UNHCR reported that the government was reluctant to grant refugee 
status to Rwandans pending the UNHCR cessation clause scheduled to be 
implemented in 2012. The cessation clause would require Rwandan 
refugees who cannot prove continuing claims of individual persecution 
either to return home or apply for permanent residency in their country 
of residence. There were no reports of refoulement during the year.
    In 2010 a local NGO filed a case with the Constitutional Court 
seeking to clarify whether the constitution provides for the 
naturalization of refugees. A decision remained pending at year's end. 
Between January and July, the government assisted the UNHCR in the 
voluntary repatriation of 586 refugees to South Sudan.
    During the year a local NGO reported attacks on Congolese LGBT 
refugees by other Congolese refugees but indicated that the police 
reacted in an appropriate manner.
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. The February presidential and 
parliamentary elections marked an improvement over previous elections 
but were nonetheless marred by serious irregularities.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On 
February 18, the country held its fourth (second multiparty) 
presidential and parliamentary election since President Museveni came 
to power in 1986. President Museveni won reelection with 68 percent of 
the vote. FDC president Besigye finished second with 26 percent. The 
ruling NRM party captured approximately 75 percent of seats in the 375-
member parliament. While the elections and campaign period were 
generally peaceful, domestic and international election observers noted 
several serious irregularities. These included the diversion of 
government resources for partisan gain, unfair access to the media for 
NRM candidates and lack of access for opposition candidates, the heavy 
deployment of SSF on election day, government intimidation, 
disorganized polling stations, and the absence of many voters' names 
from voter rolls. Observers claimed that many of these irregularities 
could have been avoided through the appointment of a more 
representative and independent Electoral Commission.
    On February 23, the Electoral Commission postponed Kampala's 
mayoral election after voting was disrupted by members of the Kiboko 
Squad, a government-tolerated vigilante group that assaulted civilians 
and some journalists with nail-studded sticks. On February 28, police 
arrested the leader of the Kiboko Squad, Juma Ssemakula, but later 
released him without charge. The mayoral election was rerun without 
incident on March 14.

    Political Parties.--Approximately 38 parties were registered. The 
ruling NRM party operated without restriction, regularly holding 
rallies and conducting political activities. Authorities occasionally 
restricted the activities of the main opposition parties by refusing 
permission for them to hold public demonstrations and preventing 
opposition leaders from appearing on local radio stations. Police 
arbitrarily arrested several opposition leaders during the year. For 
instance, on April 18, police arrested opposition leaders Besigye, 
Norbert Mao, and Olara Otunnu for their role in walk-to-work protests. 
Mao spent approximately two weeks in prison. Besigye was arrested again 
on April 21, charged with unlawful assembly, and imprisoned. Besigye 
and Mao were released on April 28, and charges against them were later 
dismissed. In March and April, SSF killed at least 10 people when it 
used rubber bullets, tear gas, live ammunition, batons, and water 
cannons to disperse walk-to-work protests led by opposition parties and 
civil society organizations (see section 2.c.).

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 127 women in the 
375-member parliament. Of these, 112 held seats designated for women. 
There were 22 female ministers in the president's 75-member cabinet. 
The speaker of parliament and the deputy chief justice of the Supreme 
Court were women. The law requires elections through electoral colleges 
for the seats reserved for special-interest groups in parliament: 112 
seats were reserved for women, five for organized labor, five for 
persons with disabilities, five for youth, and 10 for UPDF. However, 
the five persons with disabilities were selected via an opaque 
``electoral college'' process organized by a single government-
supported NGO.
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. The 
World Bank's most recent Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption was a severe problem. The government selectively enforced 
financial disclosure laws. An estimated 22,000 public officials are 
subject to biannual reporting requirements under financial disclosure 
laws. According to the inspector general for government (IGG), 17,949 
officials reported for the 2010-11 cycle, but these reports were not 
made public. The law provides for public access to government 
information, but the government rarely provided such access to citizens 
or noncitizens. On June 2, the government passed the Access to 
Information Act regulations, which allow individuals to petition any 
government department to access information.
    Government agencies responsible for combating corruption include 
the IGG, DPP, Anticorruption Division (ACD) of the High Court, 
parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, police Criminal Investigation 
Division, Office of the Auditor General, and Directorate for Ethics and 
Integrity. Political will to combat corruption at the highest levels of 
government remained weak, and many corruption cases remained pending 
for years. The ACD has two judges and three magistrates and has heard 
more than 200 corruption cases since its inception in 2009. Almost none 
of these cases, however, involved senior level officials.
    During the year the IGG charged former vice president Gilbert 
Bukenya, current Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa, NRM Chief Whip John 
Nasasira, and Labor Minister Rukutana Mwesigwa with corruption-related 
offences. In October Kutesa, Nasasira, and Mwesigwa took administrative 
leave from their respective ministries pending resolution of these 
corruption allegations. At year's end the cases against Kutesa, 
Nasasira, and Mwesigwa were pending a ruling by the Constitutional 
Court on whether acting IGG Raphael Baku has the authority to indict 
ministers. In November the IGG ``discontinued'' prosecution of one 
count of corruption against Bukenya, and in December the ACD acquitted 
Bukenya of the remaining corruption charge.
    Corruption in the police force and judiciary was a problem. Police 
arrested several officers implicated in bribery and corruption. Several 
magistrates were arrested for soliciting and receiving bribes.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated 
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their 
findings on human rights cases, with the exception of LGBT-related 
NGOs, which were denied the ability to obtain official status due to 
the discriminatory NGO Act (see section 2.b.). In March the government 
denied entry to four Kenyan human rights activists who traveled to 
Uganda to follow up on the case of Al-Amin Kimathi, a Kenyan citizen 
who was arrested and charged in September 2010 for the July 2010 
bombings and then released from custody in September 2011.
    The government was responsive to some of the concerns of local and 
international human rights organizations. For instance, the government 
discontinued the practice of trying civilians in military tribunals 
after a report by an international NGO, and the government disbanded 
the RRU in response to allegations of human rights abuses. However, the 
government was not responsive to many allegations of torture, 
government corruption, and electoral accountability.

    UN and other International Bodies.--The government cooperated with 
international governmental organizations and permitted visits by the 
U.N., OHCHR, ICRC, and other international organizations.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The UHRC is a constitutionally 
mandated institution with quasi-judicial powers to investigate 
allegations of human rights abuses and award compensation to abuse 
victims. Although the UHRC operates independently, the president 
appoints its seven-member board. Under the law the UHRC may subpoena 
information, order the release of detainees, and order the payment of 
compensation for abuses. The UHRC pursued suspected human rights 
abusers, including in the military and police forces, and had branches 
countrywide. Its resources were inadequate to investigate all 
complaints received.
    In its 2010 annual report, released in June 2011, the UHRC reported 
registering 797 human rights complaints against 845 individuals, 
including 84 UPDF members, 305 police officers, 69 other security 
agencies, 30 prison wardens, and 231 private citizens. Of the 797 
complaints, 28 percent involved allegations of torture or cruel, 
inhuman, or degrading treatment and punishment. The report urged the 
government to pass pending anti-torture legislation; improve prison 
conditions, particularly for women and children; eliminate illegal 
detention and prolonged pretrial detention practices; and provide SSF 
with increased human rights training.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status. The government did not enforce the law in 
matters of locally or culturally prevalent discrimination against 
women, children, persons with disabilities, or certain ethnic groups.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
including spousal rape. Rape remained a serious problem throughout the 
country, and the government did not consistently enforce the law. 
Although the government arrested, prosecuted, and convicted persons for 
rape, the crime was seriously underreported, and most cases were not 
investigated. Police lacked the criminal forensic capacity to collect 
evidence, which hampered prosecution and conviction. The 2010 police 
crime report registered 709 rape cases, of which 252 were tried.
    The law criminalizes domestic violence and provides penalties for 
abusers ranging from fines to two years' imprisonment. However, women's 
activists were concerned that regulations enforcing the law were not in 
place. Although the 2010 UPF annual crime report listed 159 reported 
cases of domestic violence, compared with 165 reported cases in 2009, a 
decrease of 3.6 percent, these statistics substantially underestimated 
the extent of the problem. Domestic violence against women remained 
widespread. For instance, in November 2010 the United Nations 
Population Fund reported that 60 percent of women ages 15 and above 
experienced physical violence, 15 percent of pregnant women experienced 
physical violence, and the first sexual encounter of 24 percent of 
women was violent.
    Many law enforcement officials viewed wife beating as a husband's 
prerogative, as did the majority of the population, and rarely 
intervened in cases of domestic violence. Between January and August, 
the government arrested five persons for domestic violence offenses. 
For example, on August 21, police in Jinja arrested Captain Charles 
Ogwal for killing his wife Jane Asimo following a family argument. A 
police investigation continued at year's end.
    On September 9, a military court martial investigating a December 
2010 rape of a woman in Moroto acquitted UPDF Corporal Naleo Oyo Okulo 
and Lance Corporal Machat Kakuru; convicted Private James Manana of 
torture, gave him a dishonorable discharge, and sentenced him to five 
years in jail; and cautioned Major James Kasule, and Lieutenants Walter 
Olum and Sanyu Kaserebe for neglect of duty and failing to monitor the 
activities of troops under their command.

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--The law and constitution prohibit 
FGM and establish a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Neither 
culture, religion, nor the consent of the victim is an allowable 
defense. The government, women's groups, and international 
organizations continued to combat the practice through education. These 
programs, which received some support from local leaders, emphasized 
close cooperation with traditional authority figures and peer 
counseling. Nevertheless, the Sabiny ethnic group in rural Kapchorwa 
District and the Pokot ethnic group along the northeastern border with 
Kenya continued to practice FGM.
    A local NGO that monitors the prevalence of FGM reported that 92 
girls were subjected to FGM from January to June in the districts of 
Kapchorwa, Bukwo, Kween, and Amudat. On June 25, police arrested Kam-
Kosike Lonete for her involvement in FGM practices. Lonete was released 
on bail in July, and the case was pending at year's end.

    Reproductive Rights.--There are no laws restricting couples or 
individuals from deciding freely and responsibly the number, spacing, 
and timing of their children. However, family planning information and 
assistance were difficult to obtain, particularly in rural areas, where 
there were few health clinics. There was no indication of 
discrimination against women in diagnosis or treatment of sexually 
transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. A January 2010 U.N. 
Development Program report cited maternal mortality at 550 deaths per 
100,000 live births.

    Discrimination.--The law invests women with the same legal status 
and rights as men. However, discrimination against women continued to 
be widespread, especially in rural areas. Many customary laws 
discriminate against women in adoption, marriage, divorce, and 
inheritance. Under local customary law in many areas, women cannot own 
or inherit property or retain custody of their children. Traditional 
divorce law in many areas requires women to meet stricter evidentiary 
standards than men to prove adultery. Polygamy is legal under both 
customary and Islamic law, and in some ethnic groups men can 
``inherit'' the widows of their deceased brothers. Women also 
experienced economic discrimination. For example, a June 2010 study 
conducted by local NGO Actionaid found that although women did most of 
the agricultural work, they owned only 7 percent of the agricultural 
land. Women also experienced economic discrimination in access to 
employment, credit, income, business ownership, and senior or 
managerial positions.
    Eliminating gender inequality remained a high priority for the 
government, which, in conjunction with NGOs and women's rights groups, 
sponsored workshops and training sessions throughout the country to 
increase awareness of women's rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is afforded to children 
born in or outside the country if at least one parent or one 
grandparent held Ugandan citizenship at the time of the child's birth. 
Children under the age of 18 who are abandoned in the country with no 
known parents are considered Ugandan citizens, as are children under 
the age of 18 adopted by Ugandan parents.
    According to the most recent information provided by the 2006 
Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, only 21 percent of rural and 24 
percent of urban births were registered. However, lack of registration 
generally did not result in denial of public services. On September 13, 
the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), the government agency 
responsible for recording births and deaths, launched a computerized 
system that uses mobile telephones to deliver timely and accurate 
records. The system enables officials to send details of births and 
deaths as a text message to the central server at URSB headquarters in 
Kampala.

    Education.--The law provides for tuition-free and compulsory 
education for the first seven years of primary school or through high 
school for especially underprivileged students. Students, except for 
the most underprivileged, had to pay for school supplies and some 
school operating costs, and many parents could not afford these fees. 
According to the Ministry of Education's statistics for 2009-10, 96 
percent of primary school aged children were enrolled in school, with 
62 percent of children reaching grade five and 32 percent reaching 
grade seven. Fewer girls complete primary school than boys by a 
difference of four percent.

    Medical Care.--Health experts reported that 51 per cent of the 
population did not have access to state-provided health-care 
facilities. Where it is available, both girls and boys have equal 
access.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse remained a serious problem, particularly 
rape and sexual abuse of girls, and recorded cases greatly 
underestimated the true pervasiveness of abuse.
    According to the 2010 annual police crime report, defilement (akin 
to statutory rape) remained the most common crime committed against 
children, with 7,564 cases recorded. The report also registered 709 
cases of rape, 14 of child trafficking, 14 of child sacrifice, 9,293 of 
child neglect, 1,732 of child desertion, 1,315 of child abuse and 
torture, 301of kidnapping, 46 of infanticide, and 274 of other sexual-
related offences, including assault and incest. The government worked 
with UNICEF and NGOs, including Save the Children and African Network 
for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect 
(APCAN), to combat child abuse in the country.
    In March APCAN reported that corporal punishment remained a 
problem, with 81 per cent of students beaten at school despite a 
directive from the government.
    There were numerous reports of ritual sacrifice of children during 
the year. The government took some steps to address this problem. For 
example, in April police in Namayingo District arrested three 
traditional leaders for the ritual murder of 10-year-old Rachael 
Nafula. Hearing of the case was pending.
    Perpetrators of sexual abuse often were family members, neighbors, 
or teachers. In February 2009 the UPF began providing free rape and 
defilement medical examinations throughout the country to assist 
investigations. An estimated 10,000 victims of rape and defilement have 
since received free medical examinations at Mulago Hospital in Kampala.

    Child Marriage.--The legal age for marriage is 18. Marriage of 
underage girls by parental arrangement was common, particularly in 
rural areas. Local NGOs and the Police Family and Children Unit 
reported that acute poverty forced some parents to give away their 
children, including girls as young as 14, for early marriage and sexual 
arrangements. A March 2009 U.N. report stated that 32 percent of 
marriages involved underage girls.
    Sexual contact outside marriage with girls less than 18 years of 
age, regardless of consent or age of the perpetrator is considered 
``defilement'' under the law and carries a maximum sentence of death. 
Nevertheless, such cases often were settled by a payment to the girl's 
parents.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Commercial sexual exploitation of 
children was a problem. According to a study conducted by the local NGO 
Uganda Youth Development Link during the year, the number of children 
affected by commercial sexual exploitation (most 14-17 years old) 
between 2004 and 2011 increased from 12,000 to an estimated 18,000, the 
majority of whom were Ugandan girls but also included children from the 
DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, and Tanzania. The NGO identified parental 
neglect and abandonment as a major factor resulting in exploitation of 
children. While the law prohibits sexual exploitation of children, the 
government did not enforce the law effectively. The law does not 
prohibit child pornography. The minimum age of consensual sex is 18 
years.

    Child Soldiers.--As in the past six years, there were no reports 
that the LRA abducted or conscripted children within the country. 
According to UNICEF, an estimated 5,000 of the 40,000 Ugandan children 
abducted by the LRA in previous years for use as laborers, soldiers, 
guards, and sex slaves were still missing. There were numerous reports 
of LRA abductions of children in the DRC, CAR, and South Sudan.

    Displaced Children.--Many children from the farming regions of 
Karamoja came to Kampala during the dry season to find food and work, 
and most of them ended up on the streets begging. Police routinely 
rounded up street children and relocated them to a remand home for 
juvenile delinquents where staff attempted to locate the children's 
families and return them to their homes. For example, on June 28, 
authorities rounded up 292 street children and took them to 
Kampiringisa National Rehabilitation Centre in Mpigi. The remand 
center, understaffed and underfunded, was often unable to accommodate 
the influx of children from these roundups, and many children 
eventually returned to the streets of Kampala.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was small, and there were no 
reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip/.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, or mental disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of 
other state services. The government did not enforce the law 
effectively, and persons with disabilities faced societal 
discrimination and limited job and educational opportunities. The UHRC 
also received complaints of discrimination in employment and access to 
transport and other public services. Most schools in the country did 
not accommodate persons with disabilities. There was no statutory 
requirement that buildings be accessible to persons with disabilities. 
While the law requires that children with disabilities be given 
necessary special facilities, a September survey conducted by the 
National Council on Disability showed that 80 percent of hospitals and 
health centers lacked access ramps.
    The law reserves five seats in parliament for representatives of 
persons with disabilities. However, a government-sponsored NGO managed 
elections to these five seats in a process that was not transparent. 
Government agencies responsible for protecting the rights of persons 
with disabilities included the Ministry of State for Disabled Persons 
and the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development, but both 
agencies lacked sufficient funding to undertake any significant 
initiatives.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were isolated reports of 
violence between ethnic minorities in some parts of the country. For 
example, on June 19, interclan clashes between Pabwo and Lapyem over a 
disputed piece of land injured 15 people. A total of 120 persons from 
the Pabwo clan were displaced and eight huts burned.

    Indigenous People.--The Batwa were the original inhabitants of land 
used by the government in 1992 to establish Mgahinga National Park, 
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and Echuya Central Forest Reserve. 
Numbering approximately 6,700 persons, the displaced Batwa had limited 
access to education, health care, land, and economic opportunities. 
They were also prevented from pursuing hunting, gathering, and other 
traditional ways of life and often suffered food shortages. In March 
the United Organization for Batwa Development renewed its demands for 
special recognition and compensation from the government for the land 
that had been nationalized.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--LGBT persons faced 
discrimination and legal restrictions. It is illegal to engage in 
homosexual acts, based on a law from the colonial era that criminalizes 
``carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature'' and 
provides a penalty up to life imprisonment. While no persons were 
convicted under the law, the government arrested persons for related 
offenses. For example, in July police arrested an individual for 
``attempting'' to engage in homosexual activities. On July 15, a court 
in Entebbe charged him with ``indecent practices'' and released him on 
bail. Hearing of the case was pending at year's end.
    LGBT persons were subject to societal harassment, discrimination, 
intimidation, and threats to their well-being and were denied access to 
health services. Discriminatory practices also prevented local LBGT 
NGOs from registering with the NGO Board and obtaining official NGO 
status (see section 2.b.).
    On January 3, the High Court ruled that an obscure local tabloid 
had violated three LGBT persons' constitutional rights to privacy and 
human dignity in 2010 by publishing their pictures, identities, and 
addresses under the headline ``Hang Them.'' This was the second High 
Court ruling upholding the rights of LGBT individuals. In 2008 the High 
Court affirmed LGBT individuals' constitutional right to human dignity, 
protection from inhuman treatment, and privacy in Victor Juliet Mukasa 
and Yvonne Oyo v. Attorney General.
    On January 26, LGBT activist David Kato, who had successfully sued 
the local tabloid discussed above for the 2010 publication of his 
picture under the headline ``Hang Them,'' was bludgeoned to death at 
his home outside Kampala. On February 2, police arrested Sidney Enock 
Nsubuga for Kato's murder. On November 9, Nsubuga pled guilty and was 
sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment.
    On May 6, parliament's Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Committee 
held hearings on a draft ``antihomosexuality'' bill submitted to 
parliament in September 2009 by parliamentarian David Bahati. The draft 
legislation sought to impose punishments ranging from imprisonment to 
death for individuals twice convicted of ``homosexuality'' or ``related 
offenses, `` including ``aiding and abetting homosexuality,'' 
``conspiracy to engage in homosexuality', the ``promotion of 
homosexuality, `` or ``failure to disclose the offens'' of 
homosexuality'' to authorities within 24 hours. The committee heard 
testimony from local human rights and LGBT activists, the UHRC, the 
Uganda Prison Service, and ``antihomosexuality'' proponents. The draft 
bill expired when parliament adjourned on May 13. On October 25, the 
new parliament voted to ``save and retain'' two dozen expired bills 
from the previous session, including the draft ``antihomosexuality'' 
bill but took no further action. During the year several senior 
government officials stated they did not support the bill, and in 2010 
the UHRC determined that the bill violates the constitution and 
international law.
    On October 3, the Constitutional Court heard oral arguments on a 
2009 petition filed by a local human rights and LGBT activists 
challenging the constitutionality of Section 15(6)(d) of the Equal 
Opportunities Commission Act. Section 15(6)(d) prevents the Equal 
Opportunities Commission from investigating ``any matter involving 
behavior which is considered to be (i) immoral and socially harmful, or 
(ii) unacceptable by the majority of the cultural and social 
communities in Uganda.'' The petitioner argued that this clause is 
discriminatory and violates the constitutional rights of minority 
populations. A decision was pending at year's end.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Discrimination against 
persons with HIV/AIDS was common and prevented such persons from 
obtaining treatment and support. International and local NGOs, in 
cooperation with the government, sponsored public awareness campaigns 
to eliminate the stigma of HIV/AIDS. Counselors encouraged patients to 
be tested with their partners and family so that they all received 
information about HIV/AIDS. Persons with HIV/AIDS formed support groups 
to promote awareness in their communities.
    NGOs reported that many HIV-positive inmates in the prisons did not 
have adequate access to antiretroviral medication, especially in rural 
areas, and that HIV-positive inmates were sometimes subjected to hard 
labor (see section 7).
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, except for ``essential'' government employees 
including police, army, and management-level officials, to form and 
join independent unions. All unions must be registered either under the 
National Organization of Trade Unions or the Confederation of Trade 
Unions. The law allows unions to conduct activities without 
interference, prohibits antiunion discrimination by an employer, and 
provides for reinstatement of workers dismissed for union activity, the 
right to strike, freedom of association, and the right to bargain 
collectively. However, the government did not always protect these 
rights. Labor activists reported that government oversight of labor 
practices was poor and that the Ministry of Labor was underfunded and 
understaffed. Labor inspectors were present in only 44 of 112 
districts. Most employees were not given written contracts of 
employment and had no job security or union representation.
    Worker organizations were independent of the government and 
political parties. However, the five seats set aside in parliament for 
workers were filled by ruling NRM party members, and there were 
instances of government interference in union activity. For example, on 
August 25, police in Koboko District blocked branch elections for the 
district National Teacher's Union, citing security concerns.
    As of October local media reported 24 strikes over low salaries, 
wages, and poor working conditions. Police occasionally arrested 
persons engaged in strikes or used tear gas to disrupt striking 
workers. For instance, on May 13, police arrested 27 workers for 
participating in a strike over low wages and poor working conditions at 
Kakira Sugar Factory in Lugazi.
    There were some developments in previous cases of police arrested 
for using excessive force to disrupt striking workers. In August Police 
Constables Augustine Kasangaki, Luke Mbusa, and Romeo Ojara were tried 
and convicted for neglect of duty, cowardice, and discreditable conduct 
for using live ammunition to disrupt a September 2010 strike at British 
American Tobacco Uganda, resulting in the deaths of Dennis Bazara and 
Bernard Byabasaija. The defendants were fined shillings 30,000 ($12) 
and demoted. Their appeal of the ruling was pending at year's end.
    Antiunion discrimination occurred in practice, and labor activists 
accused several companies of preventing employees from joining unions 
by denying promotions, not renewing work contracts, and sometimes 
refusing to recognize unions. In September the Uganda National 
Teacher's Union reported that it received 26 complaints of government 
officials harassing union members who took part in a teacher's strike 
that occurred in early September and in October, and that the 
government allegedly dismissed teachers for participating in the 
strike.
    Public service unions, including medical staff and teachers, were 
able to negotiate their salaries and employment terms through their 
unions; however, salaries for ``essential government employees'' 
including the police, military, and management-level officials were 
fixed by the government. Labor activists reported that some employers 
ignored the legal requirement to enter into Collective Bargaining 
Agreements (CBA) with registered unions. Labor activists also reported 
that some employers resorted to subcontracting and outsourcing services 
or hired workers temporarily in order to avoid CBAs. A total of 133 
CBAs were signed during the reporting period.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but does not 
expressly prohibit prison labor, as it states that such labor becomes 
forced if the worker is ``hired out to or placed at the disposal of a 
private individual, company, or association.'' The government did not 
always enforce the law, and there were reports that forced labor 
practices occurred, particularly in prisons (see section 1.c.). Prison 
officials allegedly hired out prisoners to work on private farms and 
construction sites, where prisoners were often overworked. Male 
prisoners performed arduous physical labor, while female prisoners 
produced marketable handicrafts such as woven basketry. Compensation, 
when paid, generally was very low. Prisoners did not have savings 
accounts, but prison accounting staff recorded wages owed in a book.
    Exploitive and/or forced child labor predominantly occurred in 
agriculture, transport, mining, street vending/begging, scrap 
collecting, stone quarrying, brick making, road construction and 
repair, car washing, fishing, domestic nanny and housekeeper service, 
bar/club service work, and border smuggling. International 
organizations reported that programs in collaboration with the 
government removed 6,599 children from child labor in Wakiso, Rakai, 
and Mbale districts during the year. In addition, the government, 
through its National Steering Committee on Child Labor, worked with 
international organizations to implement strategies to prevent new 
cases of forced labor that included support to education, awareness-
raising campaigns, and village savings and loan associations.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits employers from hiring workers below the age of 18. 
However, regulations of the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social 
Development (MGLSD) permit the employment of children between the ages 
of 14 and 18, and 13-year-olds are allowed to engage in ``light work,'' 
provided it does not interfere with education. Children under the age 
of 12 are prohibited from being employed in any business or workplace, 
and all children are prohibited from being employed during school 
hours. The law prohibits children from working between the hours of 7 
p.m. and 7 a.m. and does not allow children to be employed in work that 
is ``injurious to his or her health, dangerous or hazardous or 
otherwise unsuitable.'' In addition, the law provides for inspection of 
workplaces, identification of hazards at the workplace, and other 
related matters for all workers, including children. However, the 
MGLSD, tasked with providing social services to children workers, was 
inadequately funded and had not conducted child labor inspections since 
2004.
    Institutions responsible for enforcing child labor laws and 
policies include the National Council of Children; the police force's 
Child and Family Protection Unit, the Industrial Court; and the 
Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development. Financial 
constraints limited efforts. For instance, because the Industrial Court 
lacks judges, labor disputes were handled by the High Court or the 
Magistrates' Court. The Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social 
Development provided social services to children working in the worst 
forms of child labor and other target groups and conducted training for 
staff, local leaders, and district labor inspectors. Sixty of its 
district labor officers were responsible for reporting on child labor 
issues. However, due to lack of funds and logistical support, district 
labor officials had not conducted child labor inspections since 2004. 
The government coordinated its efforts to stop child labor through the 
National Steering Committee on Child Labor, which included 
representatives of the MGLSD, Ministry of Education and Sports, 
Ministry of Local Government, Federation of Uganda Employers, National 
Organization of Trade Unions (NOTU), NGOs, journalists, and academics. 
The steering committee last met in February.
    The government cooperated with the International Labor Organization 
(ILO), foreign governments, and NGOs on several initiatives to combat 
child labor, including the education and reintegration of children into 
their communities. Several human rights NGOs continued programs to 
remove children from hazardous work situations. The government, with 
the support of the ILO, was implementing a Support to National Action 
Plan for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The project 
was jointly implemented by civil society organizations, trade unions, 
the Federation of Uganda Employers, and the MGLSD.
    Nevertheless, child labor was common, especially in the informal 
sector. Many children left school and engaged in agricultural or 
domestic work to help meet expenses or perform the work of absent or 
sick parents, a situation common throughout the country. The problem 
was particularly acute among the large orphan population. According to 
UNICEF'S State of the World's Children 2011 report, 36 percent of 
children 5 to 14 years old were forced to work under poor conditions 
and health and safety standards. In urban areas children sold small 
items on the street, worked in shops, begged for money, and were 
exploited in the commercial sex industry. Children were also employed 
in stone quarries, cattle herding, brick making, and commercial farming 
of tea, coffee, sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, and rice.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum legal wage was set 
in 1984 at 6,000 shillings ($2.18) per month. In 2003 the government 
and the private sector negotiated a new rate of 54,000 shillings 
($19.64) per month, which had not been implemented by year's end.
    In industries that employed workers on an hourly basis, the normal 
workweek was 40 hours. The legal maximum workweek is 48 hours, but 
exceptions can be made with agreement of the employer and employee. The 
law provides for an employee who works in excess of 48 hours per week 
to be remunerated at the minimum rate of 1.5 times the normal hourly 
rate for the overtime hours and two times the hourly rate on public 
holidays. The law also states that working hours may not exceed 10 
hours per day or 56 hours per week, including overtime hours. An 
employee may work in excess of 10 hours a day if the average number of 
hours over a period of three weeks does not exceed 10 hours per day or 
56 hours per week. Employees are granted a 30-minute break for every 
eight-hour work shift. For every four months of continuous employment, 
an employee is entitled to seven days of paid annual leave. Many 
industries paid workers annual bonuses in lieu of overtime.
    The law establishes occupational safety and health standards, and 
the MGLSD's Department of Occupational Health is responsible for 
enforcement of those regulations. The law also provides workers the 
right to remove themselves from situations that endanger their health 
or safety without jeopardy to their employment. All workers, including 
foreign and migrant workers, are covered under the law. The law 
includes provisions for district labor inspectors to ``secure the 
enforcement of legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the 
protection of workers while engaged in their work.''
    In practice the law was not effectively enforced due to the lack of 
vehicles and financial constraints, and as a result no inspections were 
carried out during the year. There were reports that workers were 
dismissed for their refusal to perform dangerous work. Workers in the 
agriculture and flower industry carried out strikes during the year 
because of delays in the payment of wages. Workers in the informal 
sector were subject to hazardous working conditions.
    NOTU officials recorded nine deaths and 11 injuries during the year 
due to poor safety practices at several construction projects.

                               __________

                                 ZAMBIA

                           executive summary
    Zambia is a republic governed by a democratically elected president 
and a unicameral national assembly. In multiparty general elections on 
September 20 that were considered generally free and fair by 
international and local observers, leader of the opposition Patriotic 
Front (PF) Michael Chilufya Sata was elected president. The previous 
ruling party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), had exerted 
considerable influence through its patronage and allotment of 
government resources. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Serious human rights abuses occurred during the year. The most 
important were security force attacks on the physical integrity of 
persons, including unlawful killings, torture, beatings, and abuse; 
life-threatening prison conditions; and arbitrary arrests and prolonged 
pretrial detention.
    Other serious human rights problems included long trial delays; 
arbitrary interference with privacy; restrictions on freedom of speech, 
press, assembly, and association; government corruption; violence and 
discrimination against women; child abuse; trafficking in persons; 
discrimination based on sexual orientation and against persons with 
disabilities; restrictions on labor rights; forced labor; and child 
labor.
    The government generally did not take steps to prosecute or punish 
officials who committed abuses, and impunity remained a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Unlike the previous 
year, there were a few reports that the government or its agents 
committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
    For example, on January 14, police killed two persons and injured 
several others during a violent crackdown on protests in Mongu and 
Limilunga, Western Province. Protesters had gathered in Limilunga to 
demand the restoration of the 1964 Barotseland Agreement (see section 
6). The new government, which assumed power in September, appointed a 
commission of inquiry to look into the killings. By year's end, the 
commission had not issued a report.
    The government rarely punished perpetrators. Officials encouraged 
police officers to use their weapons when apprehending suspects, 
despite a government directive that restricted the use of firearms by 
police officers and a government pledge to retrain police on the use of 
force.
    There were no further developments in the following killings in 
2010: the September shooting of a suspect by three police officers in 
Chipata, and the unconfirmed October reports of police killing of two 
persons in Mongu.

    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, police 
frequently used excessive force, including torture, when apprehending, 
interrogating, and detaining criminal suspects or irregular immigrants. 
The government's Human Rights Commission (HRC) urged the government to 
draft and enact legislation that would criminalize torture and provide 
for compensation to victims; however, no legislation had been drafted 
by year's end. Authorities also detained, interrogated, and physically 
abused family members or associates of criminal suspects in attempts to 
identify or locate the suspects. Officers who tortured, beat, or 
otherwise abused suspects generally were not disciplined or arrested 
for such acts.
    For example, on May 27, police arrested Edwin Kambia and allegedly 
undressed him, soaked him in water, locked him in the trunk of a 
vehicle, and in the trunk set off a tear-gas canister from which he 
received multiple burns on his face and body. No action was taken 
against the perpetrators.
    There were no further developments in the following 2010 reports of 
inhuman and degrading treatment: the September report by Human Rights 
Watch (HRW) noting that dozens of prisoners had been beaten or tortured 
with electricity in six prisons, or a November report that police 
tortured a man who died while in police custody in Lusaka.
    According to human rights groups, there were reports of police 
demanding sex from female detainees as a condition for their release. 
There also were reports that police officers raped women and girls 
while they were in custody.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor and life threatening. An inefficient judiciary delayed court 
proceedings, which contributed to the holding of large numbers of 
pretrial detainees in prison for extended periods and exacerbated 
overcrowding. The country's prisons, which were built to hold 5,500 
inmates, held 16,670 prisoners and detainees in April 2010, according 
to the Prisons Service. For example, Lusaka Central Prison, which was 
designed to accommodate 200 prisoners, held more than 1,500. By law 
police can detain suspects up to 24 hours in holding cells before 
transferring them to one of the ``remand prisons,'' which are supposed 
to house detainees prior to conviction exclusively but, in practice, 
were also used to hold convicted prisoners. Conditions in remand 
prisons did not generally differ from those in other prisons.
    Poor sanitation, dilapidated infrastructure, inadequate and 
deficient medical facilities, meager food supplies, and lack of potable 
water resulted in serious outbreaks of dysentery, cholera, and 
tuberculosis, which the overcrowding exacerbated. Prisons generally had 
inadequate provisions for ventilation, temperature, lighting, and basic 
and emergency medical care.
    Prisoners routinely complained that authorities denied them access 
to medical care as provided by law. Failure to remove or quarantine 
sick inmates and the lack of infirmaries at many prisons resulted in 
the spread of airborne illnesses, such as tuberculosis, leading to the 
reinfection and deaths of prisoners. The supply of tuberculosis drugs 
was erratic. Many prisoners were malnourished because they received 
only one serving of cornmeal and beans per day, called a ``combined 
meal'' because it represented breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 
Antiretroviral treatment was available to some prisoners with HIV/AIDS, 
but poor nutrition often rendered the treatment ineffective. 
Authorities denied many prisoners access to condoms. From 1995 to 2000, 
approximately 2,400 inmates and 260 prison staff died of AIDS-related 
illnesses. The percentage of prisoners infected with HIV/AIDS was 
significantly higher than the general population. Approximately 27 
percent of men and 33 percent of women in prison were infected, while 
about 14.3 percent of the general population was HIV positive.
    Juveniles often were not held separately from adults. Women and men 
were generally held separately. Prison conditions for women were 
somewhat better than for men. In a 2010 report HRW estimated that women 
made up 18 percent and juveniles 10 percent of all prisoners. 
Incarcerated women who had no alternative for childcare could choose to 
have their infants and children under the age of four with them in 
prison. However, prisons provided no food or medical services to such 
children, and mothers had to share their meager rations with them in an 
environment that often exposed the children to disease without 
appropriate medical care. Pretrial detainees were not held separately 
from convicted prisoners.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. The government did not actively 
investigate or monitor prison and detention center conditions. 
Prisoners and detainees generally could not submit complaints to 
judicial authorities or request investigation of credible allegations 
of inhumane conditions.
    The government permitted prison visits by both domestic and 
international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) during the year, 
including by religious institutions, and the Legal Resources 
Foundation. There were no ombudsmen who could serve on behalf of 
prisoners and detainees to consider such matters as alternatives to 
incarceration for nonviolent offenders to alleviate inhumane 
overcrowding; address the status and circumstances of confinement of 
juvenile offenders; or 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.--Although the constitution and 
law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, the government did not 
respect these prohibitions in some instances.
    On August 18, the High Court freed Mateo Mfula Kapotwe, who had 
been detained without trial for more than 10 years on charges of 
murder.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Zambian Police 
Service (ZPS), divided into regular and paramilitary units under the 
Ministry of Home Affairs, has primary responsibility for maintaining 
law and order. The Zambia Security Intelligence Service (ZSIS), under 
the Office of the President, is responsible for intelligence and 
internal security. The Central Police Command in Lusaka oversees nine 
provincial police divisions with jurisdiction over police stations in 
towns countrywide. Although the government identified a need for 27,000 
police officers and hired approximately 1,500 new officers during the 
year, only an estimated 15,000 police were on duty at year's end.
    The approximately 21,600-member defense forces, divided into the 
army, air force, and national service, have primary responsibility for 
national defense and cooperation with the appropriate civilian 
authority in times of natural disasters and other emergencies. The 
defense forces have domestic security responsibility only in cases of 
national emergency. By law the vice president declares a national 
emergency in cases of natural disasters, and the president declares a 
national emergency in a state of war, insurrection, hostilities, or 
public emergency. Each service has a commander who reports to the 
minister of defense.
    Paramilitary units of the ZPS, customs officers, and border patrol 
personnel conduct patrols on lakes and rivers. The Drug Enforcement 
Commission (DEC) is responsible for enforcing the laws on illegal 
drugs, fraud, counterfeiting, and money laundering. The DEC employs 
approximately 300 agents to oversee illegal drug enforcement.
    Lack of professionalism, poor investigatory skills, and inadequate 
discipline in the security forces remained serious problems. Low 
salaries and substandard government housing exacerbated police 
corruption, as did poor working conditions.
    In an effort to address these issues, the Police Public Complaints 
Authority (PPCA) encouraged aggrieved members of the public to report 
cases of human rights abuse by police. The PPCA met during the year to 
review complaints regarding police conduct that were not resolved 
through internal police channels. However, many cases of abuse went 
unreported due to citizen ignorance of the PPCA and fear of 
retribution.
    Civilian authorities maintained control over security forces, and 
the government generally investigated credible reports of corruption or 
abuse by security forces.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution and law provide that authorities must obtain a warrant 
before arresting a person for some offenses; other offenses have no 
such requirement. Police are not required to obtain a warrant when they 
suspect that a person has committed offenses such as treason, sedition, 
defamation of the president, or unlawful assembly. In practice police 
rarely obtained warrants before making arrests.
    According to the law, suspects being arrested must be informed of 
their rights, including the immediate right to an attorney. Although 
the law provides that indigents should have a state-provided attorney 
when they face serious charges, public defenders were overwhelmed, and 
many of the defendants had no legal counsel. Despite the law's 
providing that persons arrested must appear before a court within 24 
hours of their arrest, detainees frequently were held for much longer 
periods because prosecutors routinely required that officers collect 
additional evidence before presenting cases to court. The law provides 
for prompt judicial determination of the legality of charges against a 
detainee; however, authorities often did not inform detainees promptly 
of charges against them.
    Although there was a functioning bail system, prisons were 
overcrowded in part because indigent detainees and defendants did not 
have the means to post bail or were held for offenses for which bail is 
not granted, including murder, aggravated robbery, and violations of 
narcotics laws. In practice police generally did not respect a 
prisoner's right to apply for bail. The government's legal aid office, 
responsible for providing representation for indigent detainees and 
defendants in criminal or civil cases, assisted few arrestees.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrest and detention remained 
problems. Police arbitrarily arrested family members of criminal 
suspects. Criminal suspects were arrested in some instances on the 
basis of insubstantial evidence, uncorroborated accusations, or as a 
pretext for extortion. Police officials disciplined some officers found 
engaging in extortion of prisoners, including via suspensions and 
written reprimands, although dismissals for extortion were rare.

    Pretrial Detention.--Prolonged pretrial detention was a problem, 
and some defendants awaited trial for 10 years or even longer. 
Approximately one-third of persons incarcerated in remand and other 
prisons had not been convicted of a crime or received a trial date. 
Broad rules of procedure give wide latitude to prosecutors and defense 
attorneys to request delays or adjournments. According to human rights 
groups, prison administrators routinely altered paperwork to make it 
appear as though prisoners had appeared before a magistrate when they 
had not, often because prison authorities had no fuel to transport 
prisoners to courts. Judicial inefficiency, lack of resources, and lack 
of trained personnel also contributed to prolonged pretrial detention.

    Amnesty.--During the year at least 1, 275 prisoners were granted 
amnesty. On March 9, then president Banda remitted the sentences of 574 
inmates and ordered their immediate release from prisons across the 
country. On September 29, newly elected President Sata pardoned at 
least 28 prisoners who were involved in the January riots in Mongu, 
Western Province, and on October 23, he pardoned a further 673 
prisoners from across the country.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution and law 
provide for an independent judiciary, the government did not 
consistently respect judicial independence, and the judicial system was 
hampered by inefficiency, corruption, and lack of resources. Government 
officials used their offices to circumvent standard police and judicial 
procedures. At the same time, during the year the courts in some 
instances made judgments and rulings critical of the government. In 
several instances the courts awarded damages in cases of police and 
other security force abuse or unlawful arrest.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are considered innocent until proven 
guilty. Trials in the courts are public. Juries are not used. A 
magistrate renders judicial decisions and determines sentences. 
Although trials are open to the public, the public is not permitted to 
comment on an ongoing case. Defendants have the right to be present and 
to consult with an attorney, but many defendants lacked the resources 
to retain a lawyer. The law provides for free legal counsel when 
indigent defendants face serious charges. Public defenders, however, 
were overwhelmed with cases and assisted few detainees. Defendants can 
confront or question witnesses against them, and present evidence and 
witnesses on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access 
to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants have 
the right to appeal.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is a largely 
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and complainants 
have access to the High Court to seek damages for human rights abuses. 
There are administrative remedies available as well as judicial 
remedies for alleged wrongs. At the same time, there were problems 
enforcing civil court orders, due to insufficient judicial resources.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, but 
the government frequently did not respect these prohibitions in 
practice. The law requires a search or arrest warrant before police may 
enter a home, except during a state of emergency. Police routinely 
ignored this requirement and arrested suspected criminals at their 
homes without an arrest warrant.
    The law grants the DEC, ZSIS, and police authority to monitor 
communications using wiretaps on the basis of a warrant issued on 
probable cause.
    Authorities sometimes detained, interrogated, and physically abused 
family members of criminal suspects to obtain their cooperation in 
identifying or locating suspects.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of speech 
and press, the government restricted these rights in practice. The law 
includes provisions that may be interpreted broadly to restrict these 
freedoms.

    Freedom of Speech.--The government generally allowed but sometimes 
attempted by intimidation to impede individuals' right to criticize the 
government. For example, on January 18, police detained The Post's 
journalist Mwala Kalaluka for allegedly discussing the January 14 
Barotseland Agreement riots over the cell phone.

    Freedom of Press.--Two of the most widely circulated newspapers 
were government-run. Until the September 20 national elections, the 
ruling party exercised considerable influence over both newspapers, 
including reviewing articles prior to publication and censuring 
individuals responsible for published articles that criticized the 
government. Opposition political parties and civil society groups 
complained that government control of the two newspapers limited their 
access to mass communication.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views. A number of privately owned newspapers questioned government 
actions and policies. Although these circulated without government 
interference, officials used the law to suppress criticism of political 
or other leaders. For example, on September 8, law enforcement officers 
briefly detained The Post's photojournalist Thomas Nsama for allegedly 
taking pictures of accused prisoners outside the court and deleted the 
pictures from his camera, on grounds what he did amounted to espionage.
    In addition to a government-controlled radio station, numerous 
private radio stations existed. The government-owned Zambia National 
Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) was the principal local-content 
television station. Several private television stations, including 
foreign-owned media, also broadcasted locally.

    Violence and Harassment.--Government officials and ruling party 
supporters repeatedly targeted the leading independent newspaper with 
threats and litigation for publishing information critical of the 
government.
    On July 18, more than 100 supporters of the then-ruling MMD beat a 
Muvi-TV crew and seized media equipment and cell phones while the crew 
interviewed a woman whose land was allegedly confiscated by MMD 
supporters in Lusaka. At least 11 suspects were reportedly arrested and 
charged for their part in the violence. Their cases remained pending at 
year's end.
    The government detained and censured individuals responsible for 
programs the government deemed offensive.
    The law permits presidential investigative tribunals to call as 
witnesses journalists and media managers who printed allegations of 
parliamentary misconduct. Failure to cooperate with a tribunal can 
result in charges of contempt, which are punishable by up to six months 
in prison. The media criticized these provisions as infringements of 
freedom of the press and claimed they were means for parliamentarians, 
some of whom concurrently served in cabinet positions, to bypass the 
court system.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists in the government-
controlled media generally practiced self-censorship.
    On January 14, police closed down Radio Lyambai for allegedly 
inciting violence during the Barotseland riots in Mongu; it remained 
closed by year's end.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e 
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly; 
however, the government restricted this right in practice. Although the 
law does not require a permit to hold a rally, it requires organizers 
to notify police seven days in advance. Police are empowered to decide 
when and where rallies may be held and who may address participants. 
The government on occasion used the law's broad mandate to change 
arbitrarily the time and date of rallies, particularly of opposition 
political parties and NGOs, and did so during the year, including 
during by-election campaigns.
    There were cases of police using violence to disperse protests (see 
section 6 National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities).
    For example, on April 18, police used violence to quell riots in 
Mansa, which led to the death of four persons and injured several 
others. Police arrested more than 220 protesters.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, but the government has placed some limits on this right. 
All organizations must formally apply for registration to the Ministry 
of Home Affairs' Registrar of Societies. The registration process was 
long and permitted considerable discretion on the part of the 
registrar. Unlike previous years, there were no known cases in which 
the registrar refused to register an organization.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, and 
other persons of concern. Refugees were required to have permission 
from the government to move or live outside refugee camps. Such 
permission was frequently granted.

    In-country Movement.--The government intermittently limited in-
country movement. Police used roadblocks to control criminal activity, 
enforce customs and immigration regulations, check drivers' documents, 
and inspect vehicles for safety compliance. Police sometimes extorted 
money and goods from motorists at these roadblocks.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection 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, by year's end, the country hosted 32, 242 
refugees, mainly from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(DRC). Approximately 27,000 resided in the refugee settlements of 
Meheba and Mayukwayukwa, and about 5,255 were living in urban areas.

    Refugee Abuse.--The law prohibits physical and sexual abuse of 
anyone within the country, including refugees. Although cases of sexual 
and gender violence against refugees were known to occur, no specific 
cases were reported during the year.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees were provided access to basic 
services, education, police, and courts. Government policy limited 
refugees' legal employment options to refugee camps, unless refugees 
obtained specific government authorization to work outside camps.

    Durable Solutions.--The government cooperated with the UNHCR in 
facilitating durable solutions for refugees. Over 2,000 Angolans 
voluntarily repatriated during the year along with smaller number of 
refugees from the DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi. The government announced 
that it would offer legal integration, including citizenship and 
permanent residence status, to at least 10,000 Angolans who wished to 
remain in Zambia. However, by year's end, no official steps had been 
taken to implement this offer formally.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary 
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees. However, 
there were reports during the year the government expelled Zimbabweans 
and other foreign nationals who could not provide evidence they were 
refugees and were therefore considered irregular migrants.
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 elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On 
September 20, Michael Chilufya Sata of the PF was elected president 
with 41.9 percent of the vote. Former president and MMD candidate 
Rupiah Banda received 35.4 percent, and Hakainde Hichilema of the 
United Party for National Development (UPND) 18.17 per cent. The rest 
of the votes were shared by seven other contenders who each obtained 
less than 1 percent. Of the 150 constituency-based parliamentary seats, 
the PF won 60, the MMD 55, the UPND 28, the Alliance for Democracy and 
Development (ADD) one, and the Forum for Democracy and Development 
(FDD) one; three candidates were elected as independent members. The 
three remaining seats were contested on November 28; two went to the PF 
and one to the UPND. Although the then-ruling MMD campaign was 
characterized by abuse of public resources and a progovernment public 
media campaign, several local and international observers concluded 
that the elections were generally free and credible.

    Political Parties.--Political parties could operate generally 
without restriction or outside interference, and individuals could 
independently run for election. However, many observers believed that 
the then ruling MMD, in the lead-up to the general elections, exerted 
considerable influence over the electoral process by using government 
resources to conduct political campaigns. In the aftermath of the 
September 20 elections, several MMD officials faced victimization at 
the hands of the PF government and supporters. For example, on December 
21, police arrested William Banda, a prominent MMD leader, for 
``unlawful assembly'' while he held a meeting with 19 other MMD members 
at a restaurant in Lusaka. He was subsequently released.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--During the September 20 
general election, female candidates for parliament won 17 of 150 
constituency-based seats. Two women were appointed to the 20-member 
cabinet, and five to the 11-member Supreme Court. There was one 
minority member of parliament who was subsequently appointed vice 
president. No laws or traditions directly prevent women from voting or 
participating in political life on the same basis as men.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government attempted to implement the law. Nevertheless, some 
officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Petty corruption 
among police and other public authorities was particularly problematic. 
Police, who enjoyed a high degree of impunity, released prisoners for 
bribes, extorted money from victims, and required ``document processing 
fees,'' or ``gas money'' to commence investigations.
    The World Bank's latest Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected 
that corruption was a serious problem. There remained a widespread 
public perception that corruption was pervasive in almost all 
government institutions.
    The government has a National Anti-Corruption Policy and National 
Anti-Corruption Implementation Plan. The Anti-Corruption Commission 
(ACC), which reports independently to the president, is responsible for 
combating government corruption. The government continued its 
collaboration with the international community to improve its capacity 
to investigate and prevent corruption. Parliamentary committees 
sustained their scrutiny of operations of the executive branch and 
corrected some irregularities reported by the Office of the Auditor 
General. The ACC continued its prosecutions and public educational 
activities.
    Upon assuming office on September 23, President Sata ordered 
investigations into alleged corruption in the procurement of oil by the 
Energy Regulation Board and the sale of the former parastatal Zamtel 
and the Zambia Revenue Authority. President Sata also dismissed several 
senior government officials from the former regime, including Director 
General for the ACC Colonel Godfrey Kayukwa, DEC Commissioner Aaron 
Zulu, Police Inspector General Francis Kabonde, and Attorney-General 
Abyudi Shonga, on suspicion of being corrupt or compromised.
    Controls over government funds and property were often weak. 
Investigative units often lacked authority and personnel, and officials 
dealing with the public frequently demanded illicit payments with 
impunity. Additionally, the government had no clear policy for handling 
evidence in corruption cases, and the process to liquidate assets 
seized in these cases was not transparent.
    During the year the government investigated and prosecuted 
corruption cases.
    On November 16, former Minister of Mines Maxwell Mwale was arrested 
and charged with possession of more than 260 bicycles suspected to have 
been unlawfully obtained. The case was pending in court at year's end.
    On November 30, police arrested and charged former Minister of 
Labor Austin Liato with receiving property suspected to have been 
stolen, following the unearthing of 2.1 billion kwacha ($410,000) from 
his farm. The case was pending in court at year's end.
    In a February 2011 report for the year which ended December 2009, 
the auditor-general revealed financial irregularities in all the 
ministries and Zambia's foreign missions totaling 318 billion kwacha 
($62 million). The irregularities included petty cash abuse, 
unauthorized or wasteful expenditures, irregular payments, undelivered 
materials, overpayments, and revenue not properly accounted for.
    Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws, 
although presidential candidates were required to disclose financial 
assets when filing their candidacies with the Supreme Court. 
Disclosures are made to the chief justice, but members of the public 
have a right to inspect the records.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information; nonetheless, the government provided information to media 
and other interested parties, including foreign media, on an informal 
basis. Information related to defense and security forces was withheld 
from the public for reasons of national 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.
    Although the government enacted a law to regulate NGOs in 2009, it 
had not officially implemented the law by year's end. The ministry 
tasked with implementing the law lacked the necessary resources and 
technical capacity. Many NGOs expressed concern that government 
officials would use the new law to punish or disband NGOs for publicly 
expressing critical views on human rights and governance issues. NGOs 
claimed the bill would force NGOs to focus on the government's 
development priorities at the expense of their own objectives and that 
the government-controlled NGO Registration Board created by the law 
would exert political pressure on NGOs.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
cooperated with local human rights observers and international human 
rights and humanitarian NGOs. The government cooperated with 
international governmental organizations and permitted visits by U.N. 
representatives and other organizations.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The HRC monitored human rights 
conditions, interceded on behalf of persons whose rights it believed 
the government denied, and spoke on behalf of detainees and prisoners.
    The HRC oversees local human rights committees in all nine 
provincial capitals and nominally enjoyed the government's cooperation 
without substantial political interference. At the same time, 
independent human rights groups noted that the HRC was understaffed, 
underfinanced, and relied on the goodwill of police and other 
government agencies to enforce its recommendations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
ethnic group (tribe), gender, place of origin, marital status, 
political opinion, color, disability, language, social status, or 
creed. However, the government did not effectively enforce the law, and 
violence and discrimination against women and children, discrimination 
based on sexual orientation, trafficking in persons, and discrimination 
against persons with disabilities remained problems.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape, and 
courts have discretion to sentence convicted rapists to life 
imprisonment with hard labor. Rape is nonetheless widespread. The 
government did not enforce the law effectively and obtained few rape 
convictions.
    In 2010 the ZPS's Victim Support Unit (VSU) recorded 254 cases of 
rape, 35 cases of attempted rape, and 170 cases of indecent assault; 45 
defendants were convicted of rape, 17 were acquitted, and 10 cases were 
withdrawn. However, these totals greatly understated the actual extent 
of the problem. The law does not specifically prohibit spousal rape, 
and penal code provisions that criminalize rape cannot be used to 
prosecute cases of spousal rape.
    Domestic violence against women was a serious problem, and wife 
beating was widespread. On April 12, former president Banda signed the 
Anti-Gender Based Violence Act and an amended penal code into law to 
protect women from gender-based violence. The law provides for 
protection orders for victims of domestic and gender violence. Most of 
the gender-based crimes are prosecuted under the revised penal code, 
and penalties for assault range from a fine to 25 years in prison, 
depending on the severity of injury and whether a weapon was used 
during the assault. The VSU was responsible for handling cases of 
domestic assault, wife beating, mistreatment of widows, and property 
expropriation (grabbing) by a deceased husband's relatives. In practice 
the police were often reluctant to pursue reports of domestic violence 
and preferred to encourage reconciliation.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Polygamy is legally permitted under 
customary law. The practice of ``sexual cleansing,'' in which a widow 
is compelled to have sexual relations with her late husband's relatives 
as part of a cleansing ritual, continued as a practice under customary 
law in a few rural areas. However, many local leaders banned the 
practice. The penal code prohibits ``sexual cleansing'' of children 
under the age of 16.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment was common. Although the law 
only prohibits sexual harassment of children, the penal code contains 
provisions under which some forms of sexual harassment of women could 
be prosecuted. Although the government has sometimes successfully 
prosecuted persons for such actions, no such case was reported during 
the year.

    Sex Tourism.--Sex tourism occurred but was not prevalent.

    Reproductive Rights.--Although couples and individuals enjoyed the 
right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing 
of their children, they often lacked access to information. Scarcity of 
information effectively led to discrimination against women in the 
exercise of reproductive rights. Many women lacked access to 
contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth, including 
essential prenatal, obstetric, and postpartum care. According to a 2010 
U.N. estimate, 27 percent of women aged 15 to 49 used a modern method 
of contraception and 47 percent of births were attended by skilled 
health personnel. A 2010 U.N. report estimated that in 2008 the 
maternal mortality ratio was 470 per 100,000 live births and a woman's 
lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 38 in 2008. Barriers that 
limited access to reproductive health services included limited 
information, cost implications, religious reasons, and some myths 
surrounding contraceptives, as well as lack of access to health 
facilities.
    Women generally did not experience discrimination in terms of 
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. The number 
of women who received HIV testing and treatment increased substantially 
in recent years, and many more women than men sought treatment.

    Discrimination.--The law generally entitles women to equality with 
men. At the same time the government did not adequately enforce the 
law, and women experienced discrimination in employment, education, and 
land and property ownership. Employed women often suffered from 
discriminatory conditions of service, including pay inequity. Although 
the Ministry of Lands set aside special land quotas for women to 
redress the imbalance in property ownership, women lacked adequate 
access to credit to purchase land or property. In most cases women 
remained dependent on their husbands or male members of their family to 
cosign for loans, although some financial institutions allowed women to 
sign independently for loans. As a result, few women owned their own 
homes or businesses. The Gender and Child Development Division is the 
government's primary agency charged with promoting the status of women.
    Local customary law generally discriminates against women. Despite 
constitutional and legal protections, customary law subordinates women 
with respect to property ownership, inheritance, and marriage.
    Customary law dictates that rights to inherit property rest with 
the deceased man's family. Statutory law prescribes that the man's 
children equally share half of an estate, the widow 20 percent, the 
deceased's parents 20 percent, and other dependents 10 percent. In a 
polygamous marriage, the widow's share must be divided proportionally 
with other wives, based on the length of time each has stayed in the 
marriage. Property grabbing from widows remained widespread. The courts 
generally considered property grabbing a criminal offense and mandated 
up to three years' imprisonment for these cases. However, most property 
grabbing cases were decided in local courts, which administer customary 
law and do not have the power to impose prison sentences. The fines the 
local courts imposed were low.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country's territory or from one's parents. The government's 
failure to register births did not result in the denial of public 
services, such as education or health care, to children.

    Education.--Although government policy calls for tuition-free basic 
education through grade seven, education was not compulsory, and many 
children did not attend school. Contrary to government policy, many 
teachers and school administrators required students to purchase 
uniforms or pay a fee before allowing them to attend classes, 
preventing some children from attending school. The numbers of girls 
and boys in primary school were approximately equal; however, fewer 
girls attended secondary school. Sexual abuse by teachers discouraged 
many girls from attending classes.

    Child Abuse.--Although the law prohibits sexual harassment of 
children, child abuse and violence against children were common 
problems. The punishment for assault or battery on a child causing 
bodily harm is imprisonment for five to 10 years, and the law was 
generally enforced. For example, on June 22, a teacher reportedly beat 
and stripped a student for allegedly refusing to water flowers on 
school grounds. Ministry of Education officials publicly condemned the 
teacher's act.

    Child Marriage.--The 2007 Zambian Demographic and Health Survey 
published by the Central Statistical Office indicated that 46 percent 
of women between the ages of 20 and 49 were married by age 18, 
including 11.6 percent who were married by age 15. Child marriage was 
more common in rural areas than in urban centers. UNICEF estimated that 
42 per cent of women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18. 
Although a person must be at least 16 years old to marry under formal 
law, there is no minimum age under customary law. Some local leaders 
spoke against child marriage and took steps to discourage it; most, 
however, condoned the practice.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Female genital mutilation (FGM) is 
prohibited under the country's penal code and rarely occurred in 
practice. Most cases of FGM were limited to small communities of 
immigrants from other parts of Africa. There were no cases of FGM 
reported during the year.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Defilement, which the law defines 
as the unlawful carnal knowledge of a child under the age of 18, was 
particularly common. The police's VSU recorded 2,419 defilement cases 
in 2010, a total thought to understate the true prevalence greatly; 
prosecutions resulted in 240 convictions and 162 acquittals.
    The police and magistrates' courts intervened in cases of gross 
child abuse. The law criminalizes child prostitution and child 
pornography, with penalties of up to life imprisonment for 
perpetrators. Child victims of prostitution are not charged unless they 
are also pimps over 12 years of age. However, the law was not enforced 
effectively, and child prostitution was common. The country has a 
statutory rape law that provides penalties of up to life imprisonment 
in rape cases. The minimum age for consensual sex is 16 years.

    Displaced Children.--There were a large number of displaced and 
institutionalized children. According to the 2007 Zambian Demographic 
and Health Survey, the country had approximately 1.1 million orphaned 
children under age 17, including an estimated 600,000 children orphaned 
as a result of HIV/AIDS. Orphaned children faced greater risks of child 
abuse, sexual abuse, and child labor. The survey estimated four in 10 
children under age 18 were not living with both parents, one in five 
was not living with either parent, and 15 percent were orphaned. Across 
the country about 200 children's care homes, accommodated approximately 
5,000 children.
    An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 children lived on the streets, often 
begging or prostituting themselves to survive. The Ministry of 
Education, Science, and Vocation Training; Community Development, 
Mother and Child Health; and ZPS Child Protection Unit (CPU) worked 
jointly with the police to identify and assist street children. The 
ministry's District Street Children Committee authorized the CPU to 
place children, including orphans and neglected children, in 
government- and NGO-operated shelters. The CPU reintegrated street 
children with their families, sent them to school, and placed others in 
shelters. The Ministry of Community Development, Mother, and Child 
Health also maintained a cash-transfer scheme to target vulnerable 
families who might otherwise send minors into the streets to beg or 
work. The Ministry of Labor, Sport, and Youth continued its efforts to 
rehabilitate street children by providing education and skills training 
at two converted national service camps for up to 200 girls in Kitwe 
and for 400 boys in Chipata. After graduating from the camps, the 
children were placed in youth resource centers throughout the country, 
where they received training in carpentry, tailoring, farming, and 
other trades.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were approximately 35 persons in the Jewish 
community; there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination in 
general, but there is no law that specifically prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, the 
provision of other state services or in other areas. Although the 
government did not restrict persons with physical or mental 
disabilities from voting or participating in civic affairs, the law 
prohibits those with mental disabilities from holding public office. 
Persons with disabilities faced significant societal discrimination in 
employment and education.
    The Ministry of Education, Science and Vocational Training, and the 
Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health have 
responsibility for ensuring the welfare of persons with disabilities. 
However, public buildings, schools, and hospitals rarely had facilities 
to accommodate persons with disabilities. The government did not 
mandate accessibility to public buildings and services for persons with 
disabilities. No patterns of abuse of persons with disabilities in 
prisons were reported.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's seven major 
ethnic groups--Bemba, Kaonde, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Ngoni, and Tonga--
are divided into 73 ethnic subgroups. The government protected their 
civil and political rights and any rights under the law to share in 
revenue from the exploitation of natural resources on tribal lands. The 
government generally permitted autonomy for ethnic minorities and 
encouraged the practice of local customary law. Some political parties 
maintained political and historical connections to tribal groups and 
promoted their interests.
    The government grants special recognition to traditional leaders, 
including the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) as the political 
authority of the Lozi ethnic group. However, the government does not 
recognize the 1964 Barotseland Agreement signed by the United Kingdom, 
Northern Rhodesia, and the BRE immediately prior to Zambia's 
independence that granted the Lozi political autonomy. Some Lozi groups 
have demanded official recognition of Barotseland Agreement.
    On January 14, police killed two persons, injured more than 20, and 
arrested 129 who gathered in Limilunga to demand the restoration of the 
Barotseland Agreement. The protests spread to Mongu when police cracked 
down on protesters. Those arrested were charged with offenses ranging 
from treason to conduct likely to cause breach of peace. Upon assuming 
office on September 23, President Sata pardoned and released all the 
Barotse detainees and appointed a commission of inquiry to investigate 
the January disturbances (see section 2.b.).

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes 
consensual same-sex sexual activity and provides penalties of 15 years 
to life imprisonment for individuals who engage in ``unnatural'' acts. 
A lesser charge of ``gross indecency'' carries penalties of up to 14 
years imprisonment. The government enforced the law against same-sex 
sexual activity and did not respond to societal discrimination. 
Societal violence against gay men occurred, as did societal 
discrimination in employment, housing, and access to education or 
health care. Some groups actively promoted the rights of lesbian, gay, 
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, but none was formally 
registered. Groups held social gatherings but did not participate in 
open demonstrations or marches, due to societal discrimination against 
LGBT persons.
    On March 17, Magistrate Mwaka Mikalile convicted three male 
students at Kabulonga Boys High School in Lusaka of committing indecent 
practices against other male students and sentenced them to 12 months 
in a reformatory school with counseling. Two other students were 
acquitted.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The government actively 
discouraged discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. However, 
there was strong societal and employment discrimination against such 
individuals. Government officials made announcements discouraging such 
discrimination, but they did not publicly acknowledge cases of HIV/AIDS 
among government officials. As a result the government made little 
headway in changing entrenched attitudes of discrimination and denial.
    Individuals increasingly sought free access to HIV/AIDS counseling 
and testing, and more than 380,000 HIV patients, including more than 
23,000 children, were receiving antiretroviral treatment by year's end.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of workers to form and join independent 
unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. The law allows 
workers to form and belong to trade unions of their choice without 
previous authorization or excessive requirements, but police officers 
and military personnel were not permitted to form unions. The law 
allows unions to conduct their activities without interference.
    No organization can be registered unless it has at least 25 
members, and, with some exceptions, no trade union can be registered if 
it claims to represent a class of employees already represented by an 
existing trade union. Unions may be deregistered under certain 
circumstances, but the law provides for notice, reconsideration, and 
right of appeal to an industrial relations court.
    The law provides the right to strike, except for those engaged in a 
broadly defined range of essential services, but requires that all 
other legal recourse be exhausted first. Essential services not 
permitted to strike include the defense force, judiciary, police, 
prison and health services, and the ZSIS. The law further defines 
essential services as any activity relating to the generation, supply, 
or distribution of electricity; the supply and distribution of water, 
and sewage removal; fire departments; and the mining sector. The 
process of exhausting other legal alternatives to striking is lengthy. 
The law does not limit the scope of collective bargaining.
    The law also prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer 
interference in union functions, and provides remedies for workers 
dismissed for union activity.
    The government generally protected unions' right to conduct their 
activities without interference in practice. The government enforced 
the law prohibiting antiunion discrimination and employer interference 
in union functions.
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
generally respected.
    Workers exercised most of these rights in practice. Workers' 
organizations were independent of government and political parties. 
Although there were no reports of antiunion discrimination or other 
forms of employer interference in union functions, there were reports 
of violence against labor protesters. For example, on January 18, a 
security guard shot and killed National Pensions Scheme Authority 
(NAPSA) worker John Phiri on site during a protest by NAPSA workers 
demanding better working conditions.
    On April 2, prosecutors discontinued the case against two Chinese 
managers at the Chinese Collum Coal Mine (CCM) in Sinazongwe, following 
compensation of the 13 victims who were shot and wounded during a 
protest. The government took some steps to improve working conditions 
at the mine.
    Some employers reportedly frequently refused to bargain with 
workers' unions and often employed casual workers or workers on short-
term contracts in order to avoid hiring workers on long-term basis and 
consequently empowering them with more bargaining power.
    While the law provides for the right to strike, due to lengthy 
procedural requirements, most unions chose to strike illegally. Workers 
who engaged in illegal strikes can be dismissed by their employers; the 
government at times intervened for political reasons when such 
dismissals occurred.
    For example, on March 27, workers at the Shoprite grocery chain 
went on strike for health benefits. The strike lasted more than three 
days. Although management dismissed all striking workers, the 
government and trade unions intervened, and all were reinstated.
    There are no known special laws or exemptions from regular labor 
laws in the Lusaka and Chambishi Multi-Facility Economic Zones.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. The law authorizes 
the government to call upon citizens to perform labor in specific 
instances, such as during national emergencies or disasters. The 
government also may require citizens to perform labor associated with 
traditional civil or communal obligations. The government largely 
effectively enforced such laws.
    There were reports that such practices occurred in labor-intensive, 
informal-sector work, particularly in domestic service, hospitality, 
agriculture, and construction. Forced labor also occurred in the 
agriculture and mining sectors but was not common. Although forced 
labor most commonly involved Zambian women and children, Asians and 
South Asians continued to be brought to and through Zambia for forced 
labor in the mining and construction industries. An increasing number 
of Chinese and Indian men recruited to work in Chinese or Indian owned 
mines in the Copperbelt region were reportedly kept in conditions of 
forced labor by mining companies.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://www.state.gov/j/tip.
    There were no reports of the government's calling on citizens to 
perform traditionally obligatory communal work during the year.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits employment of children at any commercial, agricultural, 
or domestic worksite and the engaging of a child in the worst forms of 
child labor as defined in international conventions. The minimum age 
for employment is 15; for hazardous work, it is 18. The act makes no 
specific references to children. Restrictions on child labor relate to 
prohibiting work that harms a child's health and development, or work 
that prejudices a child's attendance at school. The law also prohibits 
slavery and the procurement or offering of a child for illicit 
activities. Although required by its international obligations, Zambia 
had not promulgated a list of occupations considered the worst forms of 
child labor. Among the worst forms prohibited by law are child 
prostitution, slavery in all its forms, forced military conscription of 
children, and work that is harmful to the safety, health, or morals of 
children and young persons.
    The Ministry of Labor, Youth, and Sport serves as chair of the 
National Steering Committee on Child Labor, which is responsible for 
the implementation and enforcement of child labor laws and regulations, 
with penalties for violations ranging from a fine to a maximum of 25 
years' imprisonment, or both. Labor inspectors may also enter family 
homesteads and agricultural fields to check for child labor violations.
    The labor commissioner effectively enforced minimum age 
requirements in the industrial sector, where there was little demand 
for child labor; however, minimum age standards were seldom enforced in 
the informal sector, particularly in mining and agriculture. Because 
more than 92 percent of child labor occurred in the agricultural 
sector, most often with the consent of families, inspectors from the 
Ministry of Labor, Youth, and Sport focused on counseling and educating 
families that employed children in child labor and did not refer any 
cases for prosecution during the year. Due to the scarcity of 
transportation, labor inspectors frequently found it difficult to 
conduct inspections in some rural areas. In cooperation with NGO 
partners, the government continued its efforts to remove children from 
abusive situations. The children, mainly orphans, were placed in formal 
and transitional classes, while others were given vocational skills 
training. Local governments maintained district child labor committees 
to perform outreach and plan activities for vulnerable and working 
children. The purpose of the committees was to increase awareness of 
child labor laws and the harmful effects of child labor, to mobilize 
communities to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, and to monitor 
the implementation of child labor programs at the district and village 
levels. The government continued to provide awareness and training 
activities for officials charged with enforcing child labor laws, but 
the Ministry of Labor, Youth, and Sport reported that resource 
constraints prevented it from providing all required training. The 
government participated in several projects to combat child labor and 
has generally been supportive.
    Nevertheless, child labor was a problem in subsistence agriculture, 
domestic service, construction, farming, transportation, prostitution, 
quarrying, mining, and other informal sectors, where children under the 
age of 15 often were employed, and the law was not always effectively 
enforced. According to the Zambia Labor Force Survey released in 
August, over one-third of children aged 7-14 years, some 950,000 
children in absolute terms, were at work in 2008. This was down from 
nearly 48 percent of children employed in 2005. Of those employed, 
nearly 92 percent worked in agriculture.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage (basic pay, 
excluding other allowances) was raised in January from 268,000 kwacha 
($52) per month to 419,000 kwacha ($82) per month, based on the legal 
maximum workweek of 48 hours. Significant parts of the workforce, 
including foreign and migrant workers, are not covered by minimum wage 
provisions and other acceptable conditions of work. The minimum wage 
for nonunionized workers, whose wages and conditions of employment were 
not regulated through collective bargaining, was determined by category 
of employment. For unionized workers, wage scales and maximum workweek 
limits were established through collective bargaining. In practice 
almost all unionized workers received salaries considerably higher than 
the nonunionized minimum wage. Most minimum wage earners supplemented 
their incomes through second jobs, subsistence farming, or reliance on 
extended family. The minimum wage statutory instrument did not apply to 
domestic servants. The Ministry of Labor, Youth, and Sport is 
responsible for enforcing the minimum wage, and its inspectors received 
and resolved complaints.
    According to the law, the normal weekly hours should not exceed 48 
hours. The standard workweek is 40 hours for office workers and 45 
hours for factory workers. There were limits on excessive compulsory 
overtime, depending on the category of work. The law requires that 
workers earn two days of annual leave per month, and there is no limit 
on how much leave they can accrue. The law provides for overtime pay. 
Employers must pay employees who work more than 48 hours (45 hours in 
some categories) in one week at a rate of one and one-half times their 
hourly rate for their overtime hours. Workers receive double the rate 
of their hourly pay for work done on a Sunday or public holiday.
    The law also regulates minimum occupational safety and health (OSH) 
standards in industry. The law protects the right of workers to remove 
themselves from work situations that endangered health or safety 
without jeopardy to their continued employment. City and district 
councils were responsible for enforcement. The inspector of factories 
under the minister of labor handled factory safety. The Ministry of 
Labor, Youth, and Sport Youth continued to conduct labor inspections 
during the year and ordered businesses to close when it found 
significant violations of labor laws. Some small-scale employers and 
mining firms did not abide by the law on minimum wages.
    The government effectively enforced the workweek standards. 
However, due to staffing shortages, the government enforcement of the 
OSH standards was limited.
    An HRW report on Chinese mines released in November indicated that 
miners worked long hours without sufficient overtime pay, were often 
victims of preventable accidents, and worked under threat of being 
fired for refusing to work in areas reasonably perceived to be 
dangerous. Across these mines, workers reportedly developed serious 
lung disease, such as silicosis, due to poor ventilation and constant 
exposure to dust and chemicals. The government throughout the year 
engaged mining companies and took some steps to improve working 
conditions in the mines.
    Despite the legal protection, workers did not exercise the right to 
remove themselves from work situations that endangered their safety and 
health in practice. The government acted when well known occupational 
health problems existed, such as by requiring that underground mine 
workers receive annual medical examinations. However, the November HRW 
report stated that many mine accidents were not reported to the 
government and estimated that on average 15 fatalities were recorded 
each year since 2001.
    On April 25, a contractor employee working for Avantech at Lumwana 
Mine in North Western Province was crushed to death by a grader.

                               __________

                                ZIMBABWE

                           executive summary
    Zimbabwe is constitutionally a republic, but its authoritarian 
government was not freely elected and has been dominated by President 
Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front 
(ZANU-PF) since independence in 1980. Presidential and parliamentary 
elections held in 2008 were neither free nor fair. While the March 2008 
election was generally peaceful--and two factions of the opposition 
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) gained a parliamentary majority--
violence and intimidation perpetrated by security forces and nonstate 
actors loyal to ZANU-PF in the months leading up to the June 
presidential runoff resulted in more than 270 confirmed deaths, 
thousands of injuries, and the displacement of tens of thousands of 
persons. Opposing presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew 
from the runoff contest, and President Mugabe was declared the winner. 
International condemnation of the presidential runoff election resulted 
in a mediated solution outlined in the 2008 Global Political Agreement 
(GPA) signed by ZANU-PF and the two MDC factions led by Morgan 
Tsvangirai (MDC-T) and Arthur Mutambara (MDC-M). Mugabe retained the 
presidency, Tsvangirai became prime minister, and Mutambara became 
deputy prime minister. In January the MDC-M elected Welshman Ncube as 
its new president at the party's congress, changing the party's acronym 
to MDC-N. Mutambara retained his seat as the deputy prime minister. 
There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control.
    The most important human rights problems in the country remained 
the government's targeting for harassment, arrest, abuse, and torture 
of members of non-ZANU-PF parties and civil society activists, 
widespread disregard for the rule of law among security forces and the 
judiciary, and restrictions on civil liberties.
    ZANU-PF's control and manipulation of the political process 
effectively negated the right of citizens to change their government. 
Prison conditions were harsh. Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. 
Executive influence and interference in the judiciary continued, and 
the government infringed on citizens' privacy rights. Freedoms of 
speech, press, assembly, association, and movement were restricted, and 
the government continued to evict citizens, invade farms, and demolish 
homes and informal marketplaces. The government impeded nongovernmental 
organization (NGO) efforts to assist those displaced and other 
vulnerable populations. The government arrested, detained, and harassed 
NGO members. Government corruption remained widespread, particularly at 
the local level. Violence and discrimination against women; child 
abuse; trafficking of women and children; and discrimination against 
persons with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, the lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, and persons with HIV/
AIDS were problems. Government interference with labor-related events 
occurred. Child labor, including the worst forms of child labor, was a 
problem.
    The government did not take steps to prosecute or punish security 
force or ZANU-PF supporters who committed abuses, and impunity 
continued to be a serious problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports 
that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful 
killings. Police units sometimes organized or participated in political 
violence. Perpetrators were rarely punished.
    On September 23, private security guards took four individuals 
suspected of being illegal diamond panners to the local police base in 
the Chiadzwa diamond field. The four individuals--Tsorosai Kusena, 
Onesai Kusena, Pikirai Kusena, and John Gwite--were subsequently beaten 
by Joseph Chani, the police officer in charge. Tsorosai Kusena died 
later that night due to traumatic shock from assault, according to a 
postmortem exam. The next day police took the three survivors to the 
Mutare Central Police Station, where they were interrogated until late 
that night before being released without charge. All three survivors 
suffered injuries to their backs, knees, and buttocks. The police 
opened a criminal investigation, and the security guards who brought 
the four to the police base were witnesses in the case. An 
investigation was pending at year's end.
    Supporters of both ZANU-PF and MDC-T were responsible for killings 
during the year.
    On August 5, suspected ZANU-PF supporters abducted Maxwell Ncube, a 
director of elections for the MDC-M in Midlands Province. On August 8, 
Ncube's body was found with an injury to the head apparently inflicted 
by an axe. According to witnesses the perpetrators were known ZANU-PF 
members who had previously attacked Ncube in 2008. An investigation was 
pending at year's end.
    On May 29, alleged MDC-T youths attacked and killed police 
inspector Petros Mutedza at a bar in a high-density township in Harare. 
Police arrested 28 individuals in connection with the killing and 
charged them with murder. Most of the arrestees were members of the 
MDC-T, including a member of the MDC-T National Executive Council, 
several employees of the Harare City Council, and a number of local 
party officials. During interrogation police beat the detainees' knees 
with batons and subsequently refused to comply with a court order to 
provide victims with medical treatment. By July 28, the High Court had 
released 17 of the 24 individuals on bail. Bail was repeatedly denied 
for the remaining seven detainees, who remained in remand prison at 
year's end. On September 7, police arrested two more MDC-T members in 
connection with the killing, both of whom were released on bail on 
September 21. On October 4 and 5, police arrested MDC Youth Assembly 
chair Solomon Madzore and Lovemore Taruvinga Magaya in connection with 
the killing. Magaya was released on bail on October 20; Madzore was 
denied bail despite multiple appeals. A total of eight persons remained 
in custody, and a police investigation continued at year's end.
    No action was taken against ZANU-PF party activists responsible for 
numerous killings in 2010. For example, no action was taken against 
ZANU-PF party activists and war veterans (veterans of the liberation 
war in the 1960s and 1970s against the government of Ian Smith) who in 
April 2010 beat Memory Chaduka and 25 other informal traders in 
Masvingo for failing to contribute money toward Independence Day 
celebrations. Those who failed to make such contributions were accused 
of being MDC supporters. Chaduka died from complications resulting from 
her injuries.
    During the year trials for a few politically motivated killings 
from 2009 were heard in court. For example, on September 19, a 
magistrate's court in Gweru opened the trial of four ZANU-PF activists 
and two soldiers accused of the 2009 killing of MDC activist Moses 
Chokuda, who was abducted from his home and beaten to death. On 
September 26, the High Court convicted the four activists of murder and 
sentenced each to 18 years in prison. The High Court acquitted the two 
soldiers of the murder but convicted them of assault; the two received 
a suspended 18-month sentence.
    In 2009 at least 19 citizens died as a result of injuries sustained 
from political violence that targeted members of the opposition party 
in 2008, in addition to the more than 270 who died in 2008. The MDC-T 
released a statement in July 2010 that named approximately 11,000 
perpetrators and catalogued them by province. Mashonaland East had the 
largest number of perpetrators--an estimated 3,700. The killings were 
primarily committed by members of ZANU-PF, including the party's youth 
militia; individuals identifying themselves as war veterans; and, to a 
lesser extent, members of the military and police. At year's end no one 
had been held legally accountable for the killings.
    In August the BBC reported the existence in 2008 of a torture camp 
run by police and military personnel in the Marange diamond fields. 
Police and military personnel reportedly recruited civilian workers to 
illegally dig for diamonds. According to witnesses workers who were 
caught mining for themselves or who demanded too large a share of the 
profits were tortured, raped, and sometimes killed. In addition to 
beatings and sexual abuse, prisoners were mauled by dogs, and at least 
one woman reportedly died after such a mauling.
    On March 8, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released the report Perpetual 
Fear: Impunity and Cycles of Violence in Zimbabwe. The report examined 
the lack of justice in several cases of political killings, torture, 
and abductions by government security forces and their allies during 
and after the presidential election run-off in 2008. In 2008 HRW 
charged that the ZANU-PF government was responsible, at the highest 
levels, for widespread and systematic abuses that led to the killing of 
up to 200 people, the beating and torture of an estimated 5,000 others, 
and the displacement of approximately 36,000 people.

    b. Disappearance.--There were several credible reports of 
politically motivated abductions and attempted abductions during the 
year. Leaders of both MDC factions reported that state security agents 
and ZANU-PF party supporters abducted and tortured MDC-T and MDC-M 
members, civil society members, and student leaders as part of an 
effort to intimidate them. Perpetrators were rarely punished.
    For example, on June 24, police abducted Jameson Timba, the MDC-T 
minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister, as he departed 
his government office. Timba had published a June 19 editorial that 
accused ZANU-PF of distorting the outcome of the Southern Africa 
Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Summit in early May. Police 
did not confirm either the detention or Timba's whereabouts for more 
than 24 hours after his detention. On June 26, High Court Judge Joseph 
Musakwa found no grounds for Timba's detention and ordered his 
immediate release. Police furnished Timba with a ``warned and caution 
statement'' for allegedly undermining the Office of the President in 
his editorial. The case was pending at year's end.
    According to the Students Solidarity Trust, a local NGO that 
provides assistance to student activists, there were three cases in 
which activist students were abducted and tortured during the year.
    No action was taken against Masvingo security agents who in May 
2010 abducted and tortured Alec Tabe and Godfrey Kuraune, two leaders 
of the Zimbabwe National Students Union. Tabe and Kuraune were 
organizing a demonstration against high examination fees at Masvingo 
Polytechnic. They were picked up by Central Intelligence Organization 
(CIO) agents, who then tortured them on their chests and genitals with 
a pair of pliers before leaving them at a nearby police station. Tabe 
and Kuraune were released after paying an admission-of-guilt fine to 
the police.
    The government investigated none of the numerous 2010 abductions 
perpetrated by unidentified assailants who interrogated, assaulted, or 
tortured victims, some of whom were located in police custody days or 
weeks later.
    On September 15, the Supreme Court held the first hearing in 
connection with the 2008 abduction and torture by state security agents 
of 18 individuals, including 14 MDC-T members, three human rights 
activists, and one journalist. In 2008 multiple court cases were 
brought against the 18 for sabotage and bombing. The Supreme Court 
hearing responded to a challenge filed by seven of the defendants, who 
requested a ruling before the next court proceeding on the violation of 
their constitutional rights. The Supreme Court postponed its ruling to 
an undermined date.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution prohibits torture and other 
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, security forces 
continued to engage in such practices with impunity and with the 
implicit support of officials affiliated with ZANU-PF. Police used 
excessive force in apprehending and detaining criminal suspects. 
Security forces assaulted and tortured citizens in custody, 
particularly perceived opponents of ZANU-PF. In some cases police 
arrested the victims of violence and charged them with inciting public 
violence. Police units also organized and participated in political 
violence affiliated with ZANU-PF.
    Human rights groups reported that physical and psychological 
torture perpetrated by security agents and ZANU-PF supporters 
continued. Torture methods included beating victims with sticks, clubs, 
whips, and cables; burning; falanga (beating the soles of the feet); 
solitary confinement; and sleep deprivation.
    From January through December, according to one NGO, 549 persons 
sought treatment for injuries and trauma sustained from security force 
abuse, compared with 5,051 victims who sought treatment in 2010. 
Observers attributed the dramatic reduction in violence to a reduction 
in national political events. Nearly 70 percent of the cases took place 
in Harare, and approximately 65 percent of the victims were affiliated 
with the MDC.
    Police harassed and assaulted citizens for minor offenses. For 
example, on February 9, police arrested MDC-T member of parliament (MP) 
Costin Muguti and nine others for inciting public violence. The group 
had allegedly parked their car on the road and danced to MDC music. A 
lawyer provided by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) was charged 
with acting violently toward the police when he attempted to gain 
access to the detainees. On February 14, the magistrate released the 
group on $50 bail each (the U.S. dollar is among foreign currencies 
used for transactions). Muguti was arrested at least three more times 
for politically motivated reasons during the year and faced concurrent 
multiple charges in court. A trial continued at year's end.
    No action was taken against security forces who used excessive 
force on detainees in 2010. For example, no investigation was conducted 
against police involved in the September 2010 arrest and abuse of Choga 
Njiva, who was hospitalized with lacerations to the eye and back, 
swollen genitals, a swollen chest, and fractured ribs. Njiva was 
arrested on allegations of armed robbery and killing a senior police 
officer. An investigation had not taken place by year's end.
    Police use of excessive force to disperse demonstrators resulted in 
injuries (see section 2.b.).
    Security forces raped women during the year (see section 1.a.).
    According to media reports, Franco Ndambakuwa, a ZANU-PF MP from 
Magunje, was arrested on July 1 for allegedly raping a 15-year-old 
girl. After news of the incident was released, other victims made 
similar charges against Ndambakuwa, who was accused in 2010 of 
impregnating a 17-year-old girl who subsequently committed suicide.
    On September 19, a magistrate's court in Masvingo sentenced Gilbert 
Mavhenyengwa, a war veteran, to 20 years in jail for leading a group of 
ZANU-PF-affiliated youth who assaulted and raped an MDC-T supporter in 
the 2008 presidential runoff. Mavhenyengwa and the ZANU-PF youths 
abducted the victim from her home and marched her to their base, where 
the rape occurred.
    ZANU-PF supporters--often with support from police--continued to 
assault and torture suspected and known MDC members and their families, 
civil society activists, and student leaders. Violent confrontations 
between various youth groups aligned with either ZANU-PF or the MDC-T 
continued, particularly in urban areas. Supporters of both parties 
instigated such incidents.
    During the year ZANU-PF youth attacked scores of people, mainly MDC 
supporters, in the high-density neighborhoods of Harare, as well as in 
areas outside the capital such as Chitungwiza, Mbare, and Bikita. 
Police arrested the victims of the violence rather than the 
perpetrators.
    In a similar case, in early February several MDC-T supporters were 
injured and some hospitalized as a result of attacks by alleged ZANU-PF 
youth in Mbare. Police later arrested 19 MDC-T supporters and accused 
them of inciting the violence. They were eventually released on bail.
    On February 28, ZANU-PF supporters, including youth and individuals 
identifying themselves as war veterans, abducted MDC-T supporter 
Sibongile Ncube in Gwanda and tortured him with an iron bar. On 
February 29, Ncube was released. An investigation was pending at year's 
end.
    No investigation was conducted into October 2010 attacks by ZANU-PF 
supporters in Harare. In one incident ZANU-PF supporters stabbed MDC-T 
member Jonsaya Manyere after a constitutional outreach meeting in 
Harare. Manyere suffered a head wound and was discharged from the 
hospital in November. In a separate incident, ZANU-PF sympathizers beat 
MDC-T member Peter Garanewako, who had participated in another 
constitutional outreach meeting in Harare the same day.
    Reports surfaced during the year that security forces in 2008 beat 
and abused illegal miners in the Marange diamond fields (see section 
1.a.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in the 46 main 
prisons and 22 satellite prisons were harsh, although there were some 
improvements during the year. Prison guards beat and abused prisoners. 
While prisons operated below capacity, NGOs reported that overcrowding 
continued due to dilapidated infrastructure, lengthy pretrial 
detentions, and prolonged trials. The occupation of cells in each 
prison by prison guards also contributed to overcrowding.
    Poor sanitary conditions resulted in disease, including diarrhea, 
measles, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS-related illnesses. Medical care, 
lighting, and ventilation were inadequate. There were insufficient 
mattresses, warm clothing, sanitary supplies, and hygiene products. In 
marked improvement from previous years, however, prisoners received at 
least two meals a day as a result of the revitalization of the 
country's 23 prison farms; prisoners received one daily meal the 
previous year. Like most citizens of the country, prisoners had no 
access to potable water. The sale of prison farm products allowed 
authorities to address some shortages, and each prisoner was provided 
with two uniforms during the year.
    The Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS) tested prisoners for HIV only 
when requested by the prisoners or prison doctors. Due to inadequate 
facilities, outdated regulations, and the lack of medical personnel and 
medication, prisoners suffered from routine medical conditions such as 
hypertension, tuberculosis, diabetes, asthma, and respiratory diseases. 
NGOs also reported isolated cases of pellagra, an illness caused by a 
deficiency in protein and aggravated by poor lighting and ventilation.
    Neither the ZPS nor NGOs provided information on the prisoner death 
rate during the year. NGOs confirmed that they no longer tracked death 
rates given the dramatic decrease in prisoner deaths since 2009, when 
an estimated 40 prisoners died monthly as a result of malnutrition and 
disease, particularly HIV/AIDS.
    There were approximately 14,000 prisoners, including 340 women and 
130 juveniles; the prison system was designed for a maximum of 17,000 
prisoners. Between 20-30 children under the age of three lived with 
their incarcerated mothers. NGOs reported that female prisoners 
generally fared better than males, were held in separate prison wings, 
and were guarded by female officials. Women generally received more 
food from their families than male prisoners, but children living with 
their incarcerated mothers were required to share their mothers' food 
allocation. Prison officials also appeared to have prioritized food 
distribution to women. NGOs were unaware of women reporting rapes or 
physical abuse, which were common among the male population. NGOs 
suggested that female guards may have been more diligent about 
protecting female prisoners from abuse or that female prisoners may not 
have reported abuse. Prisons, with support from NGOs, provided sanitary 
supplies for women. Pregnant and nursing mothers were not provided 
additional care or food rations, but the ZPS solicited donations from 
NGOs and donors for additional provisions.
    There was one juvenile prison, but juveniles were also held in 
adult prisons throughout the country. Officials generally tried to 
place juvenile inmates in separate cells. Juveniles were generally sent 
to prison instead of to reformatory homes, as stipulated in the 
Children's Act. Juveniles were particularly vulnerable to abuse by 
prison officials and prisoners, and one church group confirmed two 
cases of abuse against juveniles by year's end. In both cases the 
Department of Social Services took over the investigation.
    According to the ZPS, remand prisons were overcrowded and 
conditions were harsh. Pretrial detainees were often held with 
convicted prisoners until their bail hearings. Unlike in previous 
years, lack of fuel no longer impeded the transport of detainees to 
court to attend their trials.
    Many detainees were held in severely overcrowded police facilities. 
Police used cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment 
against those in custody. Those detained for politically motivated 
reasons were kept at police stations for days, weeks, or months while 
their court dates or bail hearings were pending.
    Due to a lack of health care professionals and medications, 
prisoners with confirmed mental disabilities were generally sent to 
prison rather than mental institutions (see section 6).
    Prisoners were permitted religious observance, and all prisons 
engaged locally based chaplains to provide basic services. Church 
groups trained chaplains to provide religious services and life skills 
classes to prisoners. Churches also conducted spiritual programs in 
prisons.
    Authorities permitted prisoners to submit complaints, but 
investigations rarely were conducted. The ZPS continued to assess 
prison conditions periodically, but no results of such assessments were 
released.
    Prisoners and detainees had relatively unrestricted access to 
visitors, except in maximum security prisons.
    The law provides international human rights monitors the right to 
visit prisons, but government requirements made it difficult to do so. 
The ZPS was more accommodating with local groups. Church groups seeking 
to provide humanitarian assistance were able to gain access. 
Organizations reported that their meetings with prisoners occurred 
without third parties present, and there were few restrictions on how 
they operated within the prisons.
    There was no ombudsman or other mechanism to consider alternatives 
to incarceration for nonviolent offenders; address the status and 
circumstances of confinement for juvenile offenders; improve pretrial 
detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures; or ensure that prisoners 
did not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged offense.
    Local NGOs continued to lobby the government for institutional 
reforms to relieve overcrowding, including alternative mechanisms to 
settle allegations out of court and to release prisoners who had 
committed only misdemeanors. The government adopted guidelines 
developed for a pretrial diversion program for prisoners under the age 
of 21 who committed minor offenses. Under the program juveniles would 
receive training from diversion officers, prosecuting officers, and the 
police.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, although some laws effectively 
weakened these prohibitions. Despite the law security forces 
arbitrarily arrested and detained persons, particularly political and 
civil society activists perceived to oppose the ZANU-PF party.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Zimbabwe Republic 
Police (ZRP) is responsible for maintaining law and order. Although the 
ZRP is officially under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs, 
in practice the Office of the President controlled some roles and 
missions. The Zimbabwe National Army and Air Force, under the Ministry 
of Defense, are responsible for external security, but the government 
sometimes used them for domestic operations. The CIO, under the 
Ministry of State for National Security, is responsible for internal 
and external security.
    Police were ill equipped, underpaid, and poorly trained, 
particularly at the lower levels. Although prison authorities had 
sufficient fuel, police did not, and the lack of fuel and other 
resources further reduced police effectiveness. Poor working 
conditions, low salaries, and high rates of dismissal in the ZRP 
resulted in corruption and high turnover. De facto assurances of 
impunity and a culture of disregard for human rights contributed to 
police use of excessive force in apprehending and detaining criminal 
suspects.
    Security forces were rarely held accountable for abuses. 
Allegations of excessive force and torture were often dismissed by 
senior government officials, who claimed that such actions were 
necessary to maintain public order. Court orders compelling 
investigations into allegations of abuse were routinely ignored by 
authorities. ZRP leadership loyal to ZANU-PF stifled, derailed, or did 
not authorize the efforts of those police who sought to investigate 
political violence. For example, police were reluctant or refused to 
record reports of politically motivated violence or property 
destruction perpetrated by ZANU-PF-aligned individuals against 
political opponents.
    The continued politicization of the ZRP's upper echelons, mostly 
composed of war veterans loyal to ZANU-PF, made it difficult for lower 
ranking police to remain politically impartial or to show support for 
non-ZANU-PF parties. Police and army personnel suspected of being 
sympathetic to the MDC or other political parties were threatened with 
demotion, suspension, incarceration, or transfer to remote areas. Most 
low-ranking personnel lived in ZRP-provided housing, which allowed the 
monitoring of their votes during election years in certain districts.
    On July 15, Assistant Inspector Tedious Chisango was fired from the 
police force allegedly for playing an MDC song on his personal cell 
phone while on duty. He was formally charged for actively participating 
in politics while in the police force. Chisango and his family were 
expelled from a police camp near Bulawayo.
    There were numerous reports of corrupt police officials 
investigated and arrested for criminal activity during the year.
    Nevertheless, government efforts to reform the security forces were 
minimal, and there were no reports of disciplinary actions taken 
against security officers who erred in ZANU-PF's favor in their 
official conduct. Training on nonpartisan implementation of the rule of 
law was rarely provided.
    There were no internal or external entities to investigate security 
force abuse. In 2009 the National Security Council (NSC) was 
established to replace the Joint Operation Command (JOC) in ensuring 
accountability of the country's security sector. The JOC consists of 
the army, police, prisons, and CIO. The NSC consists of representatives 
from the three political parties that constitute the transitional unity 
government, including President Mugabe as chair, Prime Minister 
Tsvangirai, the two deputy prime ministers, six ministers, and the 
security chiefs. The NSC met during the year, but President Mugabe 
reportedly continued to meet with the JOC outside the NSC.
    In March the ZRP relaunched an unsuccessful program begun in 2007 
to recruit 20,000 additional members. ZRP officials reserved set quotas 
for different ethnic groups to ensure equal representation in the 
police force.
    In November 2010 the Standard newspaper published an article 
linking the cancellation of the annual police examination to a ploy by 
police to hire war veterans and retired police officers ahead of the 
next round of presidential elections, which had not been scheduled by 
year's end. The recruitment was not meant to appear as new recruitment, 
but as a transfer of war veterans and retired officers from one post to 
another. Two journalists from the Standard were arrested and charged 
with criminal defamation after the article appeared (see section 2.a.).
    Police stood by without intervening on numerous occasions in which 
ZANU-PF-aligned individuals engaged in political violence. For example, 
at the September 6 opening of parliament, ZANU-PF brought in by bus 
hundreds of supporters a few hours prior to the official opening. 
Donning party regalia and singing pro-ZANU-PF songs, the group made its 
way to Unity Square, near parliament, where the crowd swelled to an 
estimated 4,000 people. ZANU-PF supporters used sticks and iron bars to 
assault suspected MDC supporters, and police took no immediate action 
to quell the disruption. ZANU-PF supporters also threw stones at the 
crowd that had assembled to observe the opening of parliament. More 
than 14 individuals were seriously injured.
    In November police did not intervene when ZANU-PF youths violently 
disrupted two MDC-T rallies in Harare's high-density neighborhoods in 
early November.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
stipulates that arrests require a warrant issued either by the court or 
a senior police officer and that police inform an arrested person of 
the charges before taking the individual into custody, but these rights 
were not respected in practice. The law requires a preliminary hearing 
before a magistrate within 48 hours of an arrest (or 96 hours over a 
weekend). Police typically made arrests on Fridays, which permitted 
legal detention until Monday. There were numerous reports that security 
forces arbitrarily arrested political and civil society activists, 
interrogated and beat them for information about their organizations' 
activities, and then released them the next day without charge.
    The law provides for bail, although the attorney general has the 
power to suspend bail while an appeal is lodged. High court judges at 
times granted bail independently. The law allows police to hold persons 
suspected of committing financial crimes for up to four weeks without 
bail. In some cases those arrested and denied bail were kept detained 
for weeks or months. In other cases police continued to hold persons in 
jail even after a judge had granted bail or dropped the charges.
    Authorities often did not allow detainees prompt or regular access 
to their lawyers and often informed lawyers who attempted to visit 
their clients that detainees were not available, especially in cases 
involving MDC members and civil society activists. Often detainees were 
moved overnight or on weekends from one police station or prison to 
another, and police refused to disclose the new location to their 
families and lawyers. Family members sometimes were denied access 
unless accompanied by an attorney, and even then were at times denied 
access in political cases. Detainees, particularly those of high 
profile, were often held incommunicado. The government also continued 
to harass and intimidate human rights lawyers when they attempted to 
gain access to their clients in police custody.
    For example, on July 9, the chief superintendent of the Harare 
Central Police Station attempted to seize the cell phone of ZLHR lawyer 
David Hofisi to download information about a case that he was 
representing. Hofisi refused to hand over his phone, citing privacy and 
the need to protect attorney-client privilege. On July 10, Hofisi was 
ordered to return to the police station and was threatened with arrest 
for obstruction of justice if he did not hand over the phone. On the 
same day, High Court Justice Francis Bere granted the provisional order 
sought by the ZLHR to interdict the police from seizing Hofisi's phone 
and any other information related to his legal practice.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--The government continued to use arbitrary arrest 
and detention as tools of intimidation and harassment, especially 
against non-ZANU-PF government officials, political activists, civil 
society members, student activists, and journalists. For example, on 
February 19, police arrested and detained 46 labor union and student 
activists who had gathered for a video presentation and discussion of 
popular protests in Egypt and Tunisia. The activists were charged with 
attempting to overthrow the government by unconstitutional means. 
During their first two nights in detention, unidentified individuals 
reportedly beat eight of the detainees. On February 24, the 46 
detainees appeared in court and were charged with treason, which 
carries a maximum penalty of death. On March 7, a magistrate's court 
dismissed treason charges against 39 of the 46 defendants but found 
there was a prima facie case against six others and referred their bail 
application to the High Court; the seventh activist was released for 
unknown reasons. On March 16, the High Court granted bail to the 
remaining defendants and noted in its ruling the weakness of the 
state's case. In May the state changed its charge against the six 
remaining defendants from treason to subverting a constitutional 
government. On July 18, the state altered its charges for the second 
time to conspiring to commit public violence, which is punishable by a 
fine or imprisonment. The trial was postponed multiple times, and the 
case was pending at year's end.
    The nullification of the 2008 election of MDC-T's Lovemore Moyo as 
speaker of parliament in early March prompted a series of arrests of 
MDC-T MPs during the year in what appeared to be a coordinated effort 
to influence the vote in the weeks leading up to the new election on 
March 29. In the week before the new election, for example, Douglas 
Mwonzora--MDC-T spokesperson and cochair of the Constitutional 
Parliamentary Committee--was arrested for allegedly instigating 
violence at a rally in his constituency on February 15. Mwonzora was 
subsequently released. Police had previously arrested Mwonzora and kept 
him in detention for 25 days on the same charge.
    According to the local NGO Students Solidarity Trust, approximately 
30 students were arrested or detained, and approximately seven students 
were expelled or suspended, for engaging in student activism between 
January and August. The NGO also reported three cases of torture and 
abduction during the same time period.
    The government on occasion restricted human rights activists from 
using cultural platforms. For example, on January 5, police in 
Manicaland Province arrested nine artists and a driver with Rooftop 
Promotion and charged them with criminal nuisance, allegedly for 
holding a theater performance that could incite the audience to public 
violence. The play, called Rituals, focused on the theme of healing and 
reconciliation and was to be performed throughout the country. The 
group was detained for two nights and released on January 7. On March 
22, a magistrate's court acquitted the group due to lack of credible 
evidence. On February 18, police in Mashonaland Central Province 
arrested three members of the same group and released them the next day 
without charge.
    There were no developments in the March 2010 arrest of Bulawayo 
artist Owen Maseko following the launch of his exhibition on the 
Gukurahundi massacres (see section 2.a.).

    Pretrial Detention.--Prolonged pretrial detention remained a 
problem, and some detainees were incarcerated for several months before 
trial or sentencing due to a critical shortage of magistrates and court 
interpreters, poor bureaucratic procedures, and political reasons. 
Other prisoners remained in prison because they could not afford to pay 
bail, which remained exorbitant given economic conditions in the 
country. Lawyers reported that juveniles usually spent more time in 
pretrial detention than adults because they could not attend court 
unless a parent or guardian accompanied them, and the government did 
not routinely notify parents when a juvenile was arrested.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, but the judiciary lacked independence and was 
under intense pressure to conform to government policies. The 
government repeatedly refused to abide by judicial decisions and 
routinely delayed payment of court costs or judgments awarded against 
it in civil cases. Judicial corruption was widespread.
    For example, in a three-to-two ruling on March 10, the Supreme 
Court nullified the 2008 election of MDC-T member Lovemore Moyo as the 
country's first non-ZANU-PF speaker of parliament. The Supreme Court's 
decision to nullify the election of Moyo was widely perceived as 
politically motivated, and Moyo was reelected to the speaker position 
on March 29 in a process that was not legally contested.
    On March 10, police arrested Elton Mangoma, the MDC-T deputy 
treasurer general and minister of energy and power development, for 
alleged irregularities in procurement of fuel in early January. On 
March 11, a magistrate's court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to 
preside over the matter and referred the case to the High Court. On 
March 16, Mangoma was released on $5,000 bail. On March 25, police 
rearrested Mangoma for allegedly cancelling a tender for the supply of 
prepaid electricity meters. Mangoma applied for bail at the High Court, 
and the Attorney General's Office consented to bail on condition that 
Mangoma stay away from his ministerial duties until the conclusion of 
his trial, which was scheduled to start on July 18. On April 4, the 
High Court granted bail and threw out the prosecution's request that 
Mangoma be barred from his ministerial duties. On June 28, the High 
Court acquitted Mangoma of the fuel procurement charge, and on July 18, 
the state withdrew criminal charges in connection with the electricity 
meter tender.
    NGOs reported that senior government officials continued to 
undermine judicial independence by a variety of methods, including 
giving farms and homes to judges.
    Magistrates heard the vast majority of cases. In June 2010 the 
Judicial Services Act (JSA) went into effect. The JSA transfers 
authority over judicial magistrates and their support staffs from the 
Public Service Commission to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), 
provides that the JSC determine remuneration and other conditions of 
service for magistrates, and provides for greater independence of 
magistrates. Legal experts claimed that defendants in politically 
sensitive cases were more likely to receive a fair hearing in 
magistrates' courts than in higher courts, where justices were more 
likely to make political decisions. In practice, however, the JSA's 
impact was limited during the year, particularly in rural areas. ZANU-
PF sympathizers continued to successfully use threats and intimidation 
to force magistrates, particularly rural magistrates, to rule in the 
government's favor. Some urban-based junior magistrates, however, 
demonstrated a greater degree of independence and granted MDC and civil 
society activists bail against the government's wishes. Other judicial 
officers not covered by the JSA, such as prosecutors and private 
attorneys, also faced political pressure in politically charged cases, 
including harassment and intimidation.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, but this right frequently was compromised in practice due 
to political pressure. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence 
under the law, although this right was not always respected in 
practice. Trials were held by magistrates or judges without juries and 
were open to the public, except in cases involving minors or state 
security matters. Assessors, in lieu of juries, could be appointed in 
cases in which the offense could result in a death penalty or lengthy 
prison sentence. Every defendant has the right to a lawyer of his or 
her choosing, but most defendants in magistrates' courts did not have 
legal representation. In criminal cases an indigent defendant may apply 
to have the government provide an attorney, but this request was rarely 
granted except in capital cases, where the government provided an 
attorney for all defendants unable to afford one. Litigants in civil 
cases may request free legal assistance from the Legal Resources 
Foundation or ZLHR.
    Attorneys sometimes were denied access to their clients, especially 
in cases involving MDC members or civil society activists. Defendants 
have the right to present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf 
and to question witnesses against them. In practice these rights were 
not always observed. Defendants and their attorneys have the right to 
be furnished with all government-held evidence relevant to their cases, 
although this right was often not respected. Conviction requires proof 
beyond a reasonable doubt, and the prosecution bears the burden of 
proof. The right to appeal against both conviction and sentence exists 
in all cases, and it is automatic in cases in which the death penalty 
is imposed. Although these rights apply to all citizens, they often 
were not respected in politically sensitive cases. Government officials 
frequently ignored court orders in such cases, delayed bail and access 
to medical care, and refused to enforce court orders related to land 
disputes.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports of 
individuals arrested for political reasons throughout the year, 
including MDC officials, their supporters, NGO workers, and civil 
society activists. Many were held for one or two days and released, 
while others were held for weeks or months. Political prisoners and 
detainees were not given the same protections as other prisoners or 
detainees, and prison authorities arbitrarily denied access to 
political prisoners. During the year police beat and tortured numerous 
political and civil society activists and student leaders while in 
detention.
    At year's end there were no known political prisoners in police 
custody or prison.

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The African Commission on 
Human and People's Rights (an organization based in Banjul, The Gambia, 
and mandated by the African Union) hears cases when member countries' 
internal remedies have been exhausted or do not exist. There were two 
pending cases from Zimbabwe before the commission at year's end.
    In 2009 the country withdrew from the SADC Tribunal after it ruled 
that the government had undermined the rule of law by refusing to 
compensate nine victims of state-sponsored political violence and 
torture as ordered by the High Court in previous years. Complainants 
can bring a case after exhausting all available remedies or when unable 
to proceed under domestic jurisdiction. Although the tribunal's ruling 
against the government was not explicitly mentioned as a causative 
factor, SADC members decided in August 2010 to review the role, 
function, and terms of reference of the tribunal. On May 21, the SADC 
heads of state decided against reinstating the tribunal and gave its 
Council of Justice Ministers and Attorneys General until May 2012 to 
complete the review.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil judicial procedures 
allow for an independent and impartial judiciary, but the judiciary was 
subject to political influence and intimidation--particularly in cases 
involving high-ranking government officials, politically connected 
individuals, or violations of human rights. Cases for which all 
remedies have been exhausted may be appealed to the SADC. Lack of 
judicial and police resources contributed to problems enforcing 
domestic court orders.

    Property Restitution.--The constitution stipulates that the 
government must compensate persons for improvements made on land 
subsequently taken by the government but does not set a timeline for 
the delivery of compensation. In practice the government seldom 
provided restitution or compensation for the taking of private 
property.
    During the year more than 570 households were resettled from the 
allocated mining grounds in Chiadzwa to a government-owned agricultural 
estate outside Mutare. In 2010 more than 70 households were resettled 
in the same area. Each household received $1,000 for relocation but 
faced numerous challenges, including lack of access to water, arable 
land, and employment opportunities. By year's end the government had 
not completed appraisal of the land and property lost by each family 
for the purpose of property restitution.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, but 
the government did not respect these prohibitions in practice. Security 
forces searched homes and offices without warrants, senior government 
officials pressured local chiefs and ZANU-PF loyalists to monitor and 
report on persons suspected of supporting political parties other than 
ZANU-PF, and the government forcibly displaced persons from their 
homes. Government entities manipulated the distribution of food aid, 
agricultural products, and access to other government assistance 
programs to exclude suspected MDC supporters and to compel support for 
ZANU-PF.
    For example, on June 10, police in Bulawayo raided a property 
belonging to the NGO Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) without a search 
warrant. Several WOZA members who were holding a meeting on the 
premises during the raid escaped. Police occupied the property until 
June 21, when the High Court ordered the police to vacate the premises. 
After police left WOZA members found the property in a state of 
disrepair with several household items missing. They also found several 
items believed to have been planted by the police, including two 
bullets and copies of a falsified document calling for an Arab Spring-
style revolt in Zimbabwe on a bookshelf and in the document folders of 
members who were at the meeting at the time of the raid.
    The law permits the interception and monitoring of any 
communication (including telephone, postal mail, e-mail, and Internet 
traffic) in the course of transmission through a telecommunication, 
postal, or other system in the country. Civil liberties advocates 
claimed the government used the law to stifle freedom of speech and to 
target political and civil society activists.
    According to local human rights and humanitarian NGOs, sporadic 
evictions continued during the year, especially of tenants and informal 
vendors suspected of supporting the MDC. ZANU-PF youths reportedly 
evicted owners and occupants and placed their party supporters in 
properties controlled by local councils without paying rent and leased 
out market stalls to ZANU-PF card holders only. By year's end ZANU-PF 
youth controlled almost all markets in Harare..
    Land seizures remained a serious problem. A 2005 constitutional 
amendment transferred title of all land previously acquired for 
resettlement purposes to the government, prohibited court challenges to 
the acquisitions, and allowed the government to acquire any 
agricultural land for any purpose simply by publishing a notice of 
acquisition. A 2006 law requires all farmers whose land was forcibly 
seized by the government and who were not in possession of an official 
offer letter, permit, or lease to cease to occupy, hold, or use that 
land within 45 days and to vacate their homes within 90 days. Only a 
small number of farmers received an offer letter or lease. Failure to 
comply is a criminal offense punishable by a fine and a maximum prison 
sentence of up to two years. The act was primarily used to target the 
approximately 4,500 large-scale and primarily white-owned farms in the 
country for seizure and redistribution to black Zimbabweans, 
particularly ZANU-PF supporters.
    Some of the approximately 400 remaining white commercial farmers 
continued to be targeted, harassed, and threatened with eviction by 
farm beneficiaries, unemployed youth, and individuals hired by those 
who stood to benefit. Invasions also took place on privately owned 
wildlife conservancies in Masvingo Province, reportedly with the 
collusion of Titus Maluleke, the provincial governor. There were 
reports of farmers forced off their farms at gunpoint, despite being in 
possession of a court order allowing them to remain on the property, 
and denied the opportunity to collect their personal belongings. Black 
farm workers on white-owned farms were beaten, intimidated, or 
displaced (see section 2.d.). Police, in most cases, did not intervene 
while invaders and looters carried on their activities.
    For example, on October 4, white Zimbabwean farmer Wayne Greaves 
left his farm along with 90 of his laborers after a High Court judge 
ruled that he had a week to vacate the property to allow Hudson Zhanda, 
a black farmer, to take over his property. Greaves, who was named 
tobacco farmer of the year in 1997, was forced to leave a tobacco crop 
worth $700,000 in the ground.
    On August 13, Onisimas Makwengura, a self-identified CIO agent, led 
a group in an attack on the farm of Dolf and Alida du Toit. The 
attackers surrounded the farm house and destroyed the windows and the 
roof to get into the house. On August 14, the mob used a tractor to 
pull off the security gates. One of the attackers hit Dolf du Toit in 
the head with a rock when he attempted to stop the looting. Police, who 
were informed of the planned invasion on August 12, did not arrive 
until August 14, when they escorted the du Toit family off the farm. 
The police, who said they could not guarantee the safety of the family, 
made no arrests. The du Toit family was the fourth family in the area 
to be forced off their farm by the same group since March.
    Farmer unions and NGOs believed that invasions intensified after 
the SADC's May decision to suspend its tribunal until May 2012 (see 
section 1.e.). In previous years the tribunal found the government in 
contempt of a 2008 tribunal ruling by allowing ongoing invasions, 
arrests, and prosecutions of evicted commercial farmers.
    No action was taken against perpetrators of land invasions, 
seizures of property, and attacks on farm owners and workers from 
previous years.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, but 
legislation limits these freedoms in the ``interest of defense, public 
safety, public order, state economic interests, public morality, and 
public health.'' Making a false statement prejudicial to the government 
carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. The government continued 
to arrest, detain, and harass its critics, and journalists practiced 
self-censorship.

    Freedom of Speech.--Security authorities continued to restrict 
freedom of speech and arrest individuals, particularly those who made 
or publicized comments critical of President Mugabe or made political 
statements opposing the government's agenda. CIO agents and informers 
routinely monitored political and other meetings. Persons deemed 
critical of the government were targeted for harassment, abduction, 
interrogation, and sometimes torture.
    On December 19, MDC-T parliamentarian Lynette Karenyi was arrested 
for insulting the president at a political rally. Karenyi had 
criticized President Mugabe over his stand against homosexuality (see 
section 6). On December 28, Karenyi was released on bail, and her case 
continued at year's end.
    During the year police instructed Prime Minister Tsvangirai to 
refrain from invoking hate speech or making derogatory remarks against 
other political parties during MDC rallies held in March. Many 
observers considered the police warning against the prime minister, who 
did not use hate speech, as a political tactic.
    In November Magistrate Charles Murove referred the cases of Eliah 
Jemere, an MDC-T legislator, and Gilbert Kagodora, the provincial party 
treasurer for Mashonaland Central, to the Supreme Court. In June 2010 
Jemere and Kagodora were arrested for insulting the Office of the 
President at an MDC-T rally. Both were subsequently released on bail. 
Kagodora filed an application challenging the constitutionality of the 
charge. The case was pending at year's end.
    During the year a magistrate's court acquitted Teddy Chipere, MDC-T 
chairman of Makoni Central, on the grounds that the state took too long 
to bring the case to trial. In June 2010 police in Mutare arrested 
Chipere for insulting the Office of the President. He was released on 
bail three days later.
    The appeal remained pending of Gift Mafuka, who was released on 
bail pending appeal after being sentenced in September 2010 to one year 
in prison with hard labor for insulting President Mugabe.

    Freedom of Press.--The government continued to restrict freedom of 
the press. The Ministry of Media Information and Publicity (MMIP) 
controlled the state-run media. High-ranking ZANU-PF officials, 
including President Mugabe, used the media to threaten violence against 
critics of the government. MMIP officials routinely threatened 
independent news organizations that criticized ZANU-PF and President 
Mugabe.
    Despite threats and pressure from the government, the number of 
independent newspapers increased after the Zimbabwe Media Commission--
which oversees media regulation, registration, and accreditation--
granted publishing licenses in 2010. In March the Daily News, which was 
banned in 2003, resumed publishing. The Mail, another daily, also began 
publishing in March but ceased publication in July due to financial 
problems. Four independent weeklies continued to operate, and all 
independent newspapers continued to criticize the ``inclusive'' 
government and ZANU-PF. They also exercised self-censorship due to 
government intimidation and the continuing prospect of prosecution 
under criminal libel and security laws.
    The government continued to use accreditation laws to prevent entry 
into the country of international media perceived to be critical of the 
government. Nevertheless, international media outlets such as CNN, Al 
Jazeera, and BBC continued to operate from within the country. Foreign 
journalists continued to report that government agents followed them 
and prevented them from covering certain news events.
    In March the government denied accreditation to ETV reporter Robyn 
Kriel, who was born in the country but lived and worked in South 
Africa. No reason for the denial was given, but Kriel previously 
reported on human rights abuses committed by ZANU-PF supporters during 
the 2008 elections.
    On April 25, CIO officials raided the headquarters of independent 
newspaper Newsday and confiscated hard disks and 11 computers. The 
office of Newsday editor Brian Mangwende was ransacked. A few days 
before the raid, the newspaper published an article that called on 
President Mugabe to step down. During the year Newsday vendors were 
threatened and copies of their newspapers confiscated.
    On August 26, Zimbabwe Media Commission Chairperson Godfrey Majonga 
threatened to ban all foreign publications circulating in the country 
that had not been registered with the government-appointed regulatory 
body. Despite the threat several foreign-based newspapers published 
outside the country continued to circulate in the country, including 
the Sunday Times, Business Day, and the Zimbabwean. These publications 
continued to be critical of the government.
    Radio remained the principal medium of public communication, 
particularly for the rural majority. The government controlled all 
domestic radio broadcasting stations through the state-owned Zimbabwe 
Broadcasting Holdings. The government continued to jam news broadcasts 
by radio stations based in other countries, including the Voice of 
America's Studio 7, SW Radio Africa, and Voice of the People.
    In May MMIP minister Webster Shamu announced that the government 
had procured equipment to establish eight community radio stations with 
technical assistance from the Zimbabwean Broadcasting Corporation 
(ZBC). Nevertheless, no community radio stations had been established 
by September. In July the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, the 
regulatory body that licenses radio and television stations, invited 
applications for two national commercial radio broadcast licenses, but 
no new licenses were issued despite numerous applications submitted 
from independent prospective broadcasters. The Broadcasting Authority 
of Zimbabwe was not formally constituted by year's end.
    The government controlled ZBC, the only domestically based 
television broadcasting station, which operated two television 
channels. International satellite television broadcasts were available 
through private firms but were too expensive for most citizens.

    Violence and Harassment.--Journalists were assaulted by MDC and 
ZANU-PF supporters during the year. For example, on March 24, 
supporters of Prime Minister Tsvangirai attacked Daily News reporter 
Xolisani Ncube, who was interviewing persons at MDC headquarters. One 
of the assailants hit Ncube in the face and stole his camera. The 
attack came two weeks after MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa expelled 
freelance journalist Nkosana Dhlamini from a Tsvangirai news conference 
after Dhlamini asked Tsvangirai a question.
    Security forces arbitrarily harassed and arrested local and foreign 
journalists who reported unfavorably on government policies or security 
force operations. Senior ZANU-PF officials also criticized local and 
foreign independent media outlets for allegedly biased reporting that 
discredited President Mugabe and misrepresented the country's political 
and economic conditions.
    On May 10, police arrested independent journalist Mzwandile Ndlovu 
and charged him with reporting a fictitious story. On April 23, Ndlovu 
published an article noting that a scheduled meeting between the Organ 
on National Healing, Reconciliation, and Integration and a coalition of 
organizations had been cancelled because two of the main participants--
including Vice President John Nkomo--had not arrived. The article also 
reported on the arrest of Moses Mzila Ndlovu, a government minister and 
a member of the MDC-N faction. Trial was pending at year's end.
    On July 15, police in Ntabazinduna arrested and briefly detained 
journalists Nqobani Ndlovu of the Standard, Pindai Dube and Oscar Nkala 
of the Daily News, and freelance journalist Pamenos Tuso. The four 
journalists reported on the expulsion of Tedious Chisango, a police 
officer who was fired from the police force on July 15 allegedly for 
playing an MDC song on his personal cell phone while on duty. He was 
formally charged for actively participating in politics while in the 
police force. Chisango and his family were expelled from a police camp 
near Bulawayo.
    On December 5, police in Gwanda arrested three members of the Media 
Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), a media watchdog, for convening 
a meeting in October without police approval. The three were also 
charged with provoking a breach of peace in connection with MMPZ's 
production of a DVD. Although reliable reports indicated the DVD was 
about peace and reconciliation, police claimed it was on the 
Gukurahundi atrocities. (Approximately 20,000 persons were killed 
during the 1980s as a result of a government-sanctioned crackdown on 
perceived insurgents in Matabeleland and Midlands region.) A 
magistrate's court granted the three members bail on December 9, but 
they remained in jail until December 16 pending the state's appeal 
against bail. On December 7, police in Harare detained and questioned 
MMPZ national director Andrew Moyse for five hours and released him 
without charge. On December 28, police charged Moyse with publishing 
statements undermining the president and served him with a warned and 
cautioned statement. The case against the three members and Moyse 
continued at year's end.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The government continued to 
use the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) to 
control media content and licensing of journalists. The main provisions 
of the law give the government extensive powers to control the media 
and suppress free speech by requiring the registration of journalists 
and prohibiting the ``abuse of free expression.''
    The law grants the government a wide range of legal powers to 
prosecute persons for political and security crimes that are not 
clearly defined. For example, the extremely broad Official Secrets Act 
makes it a crime to divulge any information acquired in the course of 
official duties.
    On August 29, police questioned Zimbabwe Independent editor 
Constantine Chimakure and reporter Wongai Zhangazha about a story 
published in the newspaper's July 8 edition. The story alleged that the 
MDC-T objected to attempts by Youth and Indigenization Minister Saviour 
Kasukuwere to reintroduce the National Youth Service training program 
because it was a ZANU-PF election strategy. The two were questioned on 
the sources of the story, which was alleged by the police to be based 
on cabinet deliberations, an offense under the Official Secrets Act.

    Publishing Restrictions.--In April 2010 the government adopted new 
regulations for the accreditation of journalists and registration of 
media services and effectively instituted a new pricing regime for 
accreditation and registration. The new regulations significantly 
reduced the previously prohibitive fees. Practicing journalism without 
accreditation can incur a fine or maximum of two years' imprisonment.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Antidefamation laws criminalize 
libel of both public and private persons. The criminal code makes it an 
offense to publish or communicate false statements prejudicial to the 
state. The law allows authorities to monitor and censor ``the 
publication of false statements that will engender feelings of 
hostility towards--or cause hatred, contempt, or ridicule of--the 
president or acting president.'' Any person who ``insults the president 
or communicates falsehoods'' is subject to imprisonment.
    On June 29, police arrested Standard journalists Patience Nyangove 
and Nevanji Madanhire for criminal defamation and publication of 
falsehood prejudicial to the state. The journalists had published a 
story on the abduction of MDC-T Minister Jameson Timba in June (see 
section 1.b.). Nyangove was released the same day after questioning. 
Madanhire was released on $100 bail after two nights in detention. On 
December 14, a magistrate's court dismissed the journalists' 
application to refer the court to the Supreme Court. A trial was 
pending at year's end.

    Internet Freedom.--The law permits the government to monitor all 
communications in the country, including Internet transmissions, and 
the government restricted access to the Internet during the year.
    For example, the government blocked Blackberry's Internet services, 
including its messaging service. Because these services are encrypted, 
they are not in compliance with the Interception of Communications Act, 
which allows the government to intercept and monitor communications.
    On February 24, police arrested Vikas Mavhudzi for subversion after 
he allegedly posted a remark on Prime Minister Tsvangirai's Facebook 
wall allegedly suggesting that the prime minister emulate prodemocracy 
protests in Egypt. On March 16, a magistrate's court denied bail to 
Mavhudzi, citing public security considerations. On March 31, the High 
Court reversed the bail denial after an appeal. The trial was scheduled 
to start on August 3 but was postponed after police admitted they could 
not gain access to the page where the message was posted to use it as 
evidence in court. On September 20, the magistrate's court dismissed 
the case due to lack of evidence.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government continued to 
restrict academic freedom. The president is the chancellor of all eight 
state-run universities and appoints all vice chancellors. The 
government has oversight of all higher education policy at public 
universities. The law restricts the independence of universities, 
subjecting them to government influence and extending the disciplinary 
powers of university authorities over staff and students.
    CIO personnel at times assumed faculty and other positions and 
posed as students at public and some private universities to intimidate 
and gather intelligence on faculty and students who criticized 
government policies and actions. CIO officers regularly attended all 
classes where noted MDC activists were lecturers or students. In 
response both faculty and students often practiced self-censorship.
    The government on occasion restricted human rights activists from 
using cultural platforms to criticize the ruling party or President 
Mugabe (see section 1.d.).
    There were no developments in the case of Owen Maseko, who was 
arrested in March 2010 following the launch of his exhibition on the 
Gukurahundi massacres. Maseko was charged with undermining the 
authority of President Mugabe and was released on bail. Bulawayo Art 
Gallery director Voti Thebe was also summoned to court for displaying 
Maseko's exhibition. In September 2010 Magistrate Mazhandu granted an 
application to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for determination 
of whether Maseko's freedom of expression had been violated. The 
prosecution of Thebe's case was suspended pending outcome of the 
Supreme Court challenge in Maseko's case, which remained pending at 
year's end.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but the 
government restricted this right in practice. The law requires that 
organizers notify the police of their intention to hold a public 
gathering--defined as 15 or more individuals--seven days in advance. 
Failure to do so results in criminal prosecution as well as civil 
liability. The law also allows police to prohibit a gathering based on 
security concerns but requires police to file an affidavit in a 
magistrate's court stating the reasons behind the denial. Although many 
groups that held meetings did not seek permits, other groups informed 
the police of their planned events and were denied permission or 
received no response.
    Requests by civil society, trade unions, or political parties other 
than ZANU-PF to hold public events were routinely denied if the agenda 
contradicted ZANU-PF positions.
    For example, in March police banned the MDC-T from holding rallies 
in Harare on three occasions, citing security concerns. Police also 
disbanded a March 20 MDC-N rally. In late October police disrupted and 
cancelled a series of MDC-T rallies by Prime Minister Tsvangirai in 
Matabeleland, North Province.
    On April 13, police in Lupane arrested and detained Moses Ndlovu, 
the MDC-N cominister of the Organ on National Healing and 
Reconciliation and Integration, and Father Marko Mkandla, a Catholic 
priest, allegedly for convening a meeting without notifying police. 
Ndlovu and Mklandla, who had conducted a healing service at a primary 
school in the area, were released on April 19 on $500 bail each. Their 
case continued at year's end.
    Police forcibly dispersed demonstrations and gatherings during the 
year. For example, on April 6, police used tear gas to quell skirmishes 
between ZANU-PF and MDC-T youths at a burial memorial in Harare. On 
April 9, police disrupted a peace prayer session held at a church in 
Harare. Approximately 20 riot police fired tear gas into the church and 
arrested 13 persons; 12 of the detainees were released on April 11 and 
the final detainee two days later. One detainee was charged with 
assault. On May 10, police in Bulawayo beat an estimated 40 WOZA 
members during a demonstration. Some women sustained mild injuries; 
none were arrested.
    No action was taken against police who forcibly dispersed 
demonstrations in previous years.
    ZANU-PF trained and deployed youths and war veterans to harass and 
disrupt the activities of MDC members, labor groups, student movement, 
civic groups, and journalists considered critical of ZANU-PF. For 
example, in July ZANU-PF supporters disrupted four public hearings 
conducted by a joint parliamentary committee on the Human Rights 
Commission Bill. On July 23, several hundred ZANU-PF supporters in 
Harare forced their way into parliament, where the final public hearing 
was being conducted. The group assaulted journalists who were covering 
the meeting, including Alpha Media photographer Aaron Ufumeli and 
Financial Gazette reporter Lev Mukarati. None of the assailants was 
arrested. The speaker of parliament ordered a report on the incident 
and commissioned a joint report from police and security; however, no 
report, investigation, or arrest was made by year's end.
    Although the government harassed university student unions for 
protesting against increased tuition fees, arrests of student 
demonstrators declined significantly during the year.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of association, but the government restricted this right in 
practice. Although the government did not restrict the formation of 
political parties or unions, security forces and ZANU-PF supporters 
continued to interfere with their activities during the year. ZANU-PF 
supporters, sometimes with government support or acquiescence, 
intimidated and abused members of organizations perceived to be 
associated with other political parties. Suspected security force 
members visited the offices and inquired into the activities of 
numerous NGOs and other organizations believed to oppose government 
policies. Organizations generally were free of governmental 
interference only if the government viewed their activities as 
apolitical.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, the government restricted these rights in 
practice. The government generally cooperated with the Office of the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern, but it interfered with 
some humanitarian efforts directed at IDPs.

    Foreign Travel.--The registrar general continued to deny passports 
to citizens based on his interpretation of the Citizenship Act, which 
requires all citizens with a claim to dual citizenship to have 
renounced their claim to foreign citizenship by January 2002 to retain 
their Zimbabwean citizenship. The act also revokes the citizenship of 
persons who fail to return to the country in any five-year period. In 
2002 the High Court ruled that this interpretation did not take into 
account that persons are not automatically assured foreign citizenship 
merely because their parents were born in a foreign country, as some 
countries require persons to confirm their citizenship, in which case 
they could be rendered stateless. The court further held that it is 
incorrect to presume that, when persons have a parent or parents born 
out of the country, they are citizens of the other country by descent. 
In addition some countries, including countries in southern Africa, do 
not have a means to renounce citizenship. Independent groups estimated 
that as many as two million citizens may have been disenfranchised by 
the law, including those perceived to have anti-ZANU-PF leanings, such 
as the more than 200,000 commercial farm workers from neighboring 
countries and approximately 30,000 mostly white dual nationals. During 
the 2008 elections, some persons were denied the right to vote--despite 
having voted previously--because they could not adequately demonstrate 
their citizenship.

    Exile.--A number of persons, including former government officials, 
prominent businessmen, human rights activists, MDC-T/N members, and 
human rights lawyers, left the country and remained in self-imposed 
exile under fear of persecution.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the Internal 
Displacement Monitoring Center's 2009 estimate, between 600,000 and one 
million persons remained displaced within the country as a result of 
government policies, including state-sponsored election-related 
violence, land reform, and Operation Murambatsvina (the government's 
evictions of citizens from nonfarming areas in 2005). According to a 
2010 IDP assessment report, approximately one-third of the IDPs 
interviewed cited Murambatsvina as the cause of displacement. More 
recent estimates were unavailable due to the government's sensitivity 
on the issue; until 2009 the government denied the existence of any 
IDPs.
    Most recent documented displacements were from disputed farming 
areas. Since 2010 approximately 2,180 new household displacements were 
documented. In September 2010 alone, the government evicted 
approximately 1,750 households from resettled former commercial farm 
lands. At year's end another estimated 15,000 households in disputed 
farming areas were at risk of displacement due to verifiable threats or 
eviction notices. Most of those displaced had resided on their land for 
years without formal offer letters or title deeds. Eviction notices 
were served often in the presence of police or army personnel.
    On December 13, nearly 150 families were forcibly displaced from 
Bromley Farm, east of Harare, by police and hired gang members. Most of 
those displaced were former workers at the former tobacco processing 
farm. The families were left camping on the side of the road. After 
unsuccessful efforts by the local government to negotiate a settlement 
for the families, NGOs delivered the first round of food and shelter on 
December 23. The families remained displaced at year's end.
    The government's campaign of forced evictions and the demolition of 
homes and businesses continued during the year under the land reform 
policy.
    In August 2010 approximately 50 armed police raided and burned an 
informal settlement at a race course in Harare. Police burned shacks 
and tents, beat the few who resisted, and arrested nearly 55 
individuals. Most of the victims were employees of the race course, but 
others were victims of Operation Murambatsvina. At year's end the ZLHR 
was assessing the property damage in order to file civil claims against 
the city of Harare, the police, and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    The government provided no resettlement assistance to families who 
were evicted. Since 2010 the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) and the World Food Program provided food assistance to 
approximately 32,000 IDPs and temporary shelter to more than 2,780 
IDPs.
    While the central government did not impose formal restrictions on 
international agencies and NGOs providing humanitarian assistance 
during the year, restrictions occurred at the local level. In February 
the provincial administrator in Manicaland Province convened a meeting 
to warn international agencies and NGOs from meddling in politics. 
Between February and April, the district administrator of Harare 
instituted a moratorium on NGOs providing assistance to an IDP 
resettlement near Harare. Local officials charged that some NGOs 
advocated regime change. In a few cases, local authorities advised 
organizations against traveling to farms involved in ownership 
disputes, where workers might be at risk. Some local governments 
interfered with aid distribution, notably in ZANU-PF strongholds. There 
were also reports of security agents questioning the recipients of aid 
distribution on whether they were interviewed by aid workers during the 
process.
    Projection of an early election in 2011 led to increasing 
politicization of humanitarian assistance at the community level during 
the year. There were credible reports that ZANU-PF local councilors and 
officials formed ``committees'' through which NGOs had to channel 
humanitarian assistance. As a result MDC-T/N supporters were excluded 
from receiving subsidized farm inputs, food aids, and medicine.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. According to the UNHCR, the country hosted approximately 
5,500 refugees and asylum seekers during the year.

    Refugee Abuse.--The government maintained a formal encampment 
policy requiring refugees to live at the Tongogara refugee camp. 
However, as many as one-fifth of refugees lived in Harare at year's 
end. Refugees living in urban areas without the permission of the 
government remained at risk of arrest and return to the refugee camp. 
There were reports of arrests and returns to the camp during the year 
and also of police extorting refugees with threats of arrest. There 
were also several cases of criminal allegations against other refugees. 
The UNHCR assisted such refugees in obtaining access to legal 
representation. The detention of asylum seekers at the border due to 
illegal entry was also a problem, since the government lacked the 
budget and capacity to transfer them to Tongogara camp.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees in Tongogara camp were provided 
access to very basic services and accommodation. The UNHCR ran a 
transit center in Harare to host refugees from Tongogara with serious 
protection problems or those in the process of resettlement interviews. 
The government's encampment policy--which also applied to the UNHCR 
transit center--posed limitations on refugees' freedom of movement and 
ability to earn a livelihood. In some cases the government informally 
allowed refugees with special needs to live in urban centers. The 
government granted work permits to a few refugees, primarily those with 
special skills.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Although the constitution provides citizens with the right to 
change their government peacefully, this right was restricted in 
practice. The political process continued to be biased heavily in favor 
of ZANU-PF, which has dominated politics and government since 
independence in 1980.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
International observers characterized the March 2008 harmonized 
presidential, parliamentary, and local elections and the June 2008 
presidential run-off as neither free nor fair. The results of the March 
presidential race were not released for more than a month, calling into 
question the credibility and independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral 
Commission (ZEC). When the tally was released, Tsvangirai had obtained 
47. 9 percent of the vote, while Mugabe had obtained 43. 2 percent. 
Since neither President Mugabe nor MDC-T candidate Morgan Tsvangirai 
secured the 50 percent-plus-one needed to win outright in the March 
2008 presidential election, a run-off election was set for June. While 
the March election was generally peaceful, violence and intimidation 
perpetrated by ZANU-PF officials and supporters in the months leading 
up to the June runoff resulted in 270 confirmed deaths, thousands of 
injuries, and the displacement of tens of thousands of persons. In the 
wake of the violence, Tsvangirai announced that he would not contest 
the run-off election. Nevertheless, the government held the election, 
and in June 2008 the ZEC announced that Mugabe had won with more than 
85 percent of the vote; he was inaugurated immediately. Following 
domestic and international protests over Mugabe's inauguration, ZANU-PF 
and both MDC factions resumed negotiations, with former South African 
president Thabo Mbeki as lead SADC mediator. In September 2008 Mugabe, 
Tsvangirai, and former MDC-M party leader Arthur Mutambara signed the 
GPA, a power-sharing agreement, to establish an ``inclusive'' 
government. Under the GPA Mugabe retained the presidency, Tsvangirai 
became prime minister, and Mutambara became deputy prime minister. In a 
significant shift, two MDC factions--the MDC-T led by Tsvangirai and 
the MDC-M led by Arthur Mutambara--gained a parliamentary majority. In 
January Welshman Ncube replaced Mutambara as the head of the MDC's 
smaller faction, and the previously denoted MDC-M became the MDC-N as a 
result of a party congress vote; however, Mutambara remained deputy 
prime minister.
    In the weeks preceding the March 2008 elections, the registrar 
general and the ZEC did not ensure an open inspection of voter rolls 
until they were compelled to do so by a court order. According to a 
local NGO that examined voter rolls, there were numerous attempts to 
register voters at ghost addresses, multiple registrations of the same 
person in different constituencies, and an improbable number of 
registered voters over the age of 90.
    Numerous restrictions were imposed on non-ZANU-PF party candidates. 
Although Tsvangirai was allowed to campaign, police did not permit the 
MDC-T to hold all of its planned rallies, and some MDC-T activists were 
intimidated and beaten in the weeks before the March election. Foreign 
journalists were not granted permission to cover the March elections. 
The domestic media heavily favored Mugabe.
    While the country did not allow citizens of most Western countries 
to observe the June elections, it allowed election observer missions 
from three African groups: the Pan African Parliament, SADC, and the 
African Union. Each group subsequently issued statements critical of 
the elections, as did the leaders of a number of neighboring countries, 
including Botswana and Zambia.
    Due to a government policy shift from the first round, the Zimbabwe 
Election Support Network (ZESN) and other domestic observers faced 
significant obstacles that prevented them from observing the June 
election. The government greatly reduced the number of accreditations 
from more than 8,600 in the harmonized election to 500 in the 
presidential run-off. Observers charged that the reduction of 
accreditations was designed to curtail the ability of civil society to 
monitor the election, especially polling.
    The GPA mandates the writing of a new constitution. The outreach 
process to solicit public input was completed in October 2010, despite 
reported intimidation, disruption, harassment, arrest of MDC-T 
supporters and MPs, and precoaching conducted by ZANU-PF supporters. 
The drafting of the new constitution continued at year's end.
    President Mugabe continued to make unilateral decisions without 
consulting the other two principals in the government, as required by 
the GPA.

    Political Parties.--Although the constitution allows for multiple 
parties, elements within ZANU-PF and the security forces intimidated 
and committed abuses against other parties and their supporters and 
obstructed their activities. The government routinely interfered with 
MDC-T-led local governments.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Of the 270 elected 
positions in the House of Assembly and the Senate, 55 were filled by 
women, constituting 21 percent of the total. The president of the 
Senate was a woman, as well as one vice president, one deputy prime 
minister, five ministers, and two governors. The ZANU-PF congress 
allotted women one-third of party positions and reserved 50 positions 
for women on the party's 180-member central committee, which was one of 
the party's most powerful organizations.
    There were 11 members of minority groups in the cabinet, including 
Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe and Vice President John Nkomo. 
There were 46 members of minority groups in the House of Assembly, 
including three white members.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively or 
impartially, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption was a severe problem.
    Corruption occurred at every level of the police force but took 
different forms depending on position, rank, or location. At the lower 
levels, corrupt officers extorted nominal to exorbitant fines from the 
public for varying claimed offenses to augment their low salaries. 
Armed police routinely erected roadblocks, claiming to be looking for 
criminals, smuggled goods, and food. In many cases police arbitrarily 
seized goods for their own consumption or extracted bribes from 
commuters.
    Implementation of the government's redistribution of expropriated 
white-owned commercial farms often favored ZANU-PF elite and continued 
to lack transparency. High-level ZANU-PF officials selected numerous 
farms and registered them in the names of family members to evade the 
government's policy of one farm per official. The government continued 
to allow individuals aligned with top officials to seize land not 
designated for acquisition. Public officials were not subject to 
financial disclosure laws.
    There were reports that ZANU-PF officials in the government removed 
persons perceived to be MDC-T/N supporters from the civil service and 
the military. There also were reports that the government assigned 
soldiers and youth service members to work in government ministries. It 
was common for the minister of local government to appoint ZANU-PF 
supporters to bureaucratic positions in MDC-T led local governments. 
City public administrators reportedly earned hugely inflated salaries. 
According to the most recent audit, approximately 75,000 of the 188,000 
civil servants in the Public Service Commission did not have the 
requisite minimum qualifications, and only 86,000 civil servants 
possessed the requisite qualifications for their designated positions. 
Almost 14,000 who remained on the payroll were retired, deceased, had 
absconded, were transferred, or were otherwise absent from their office 
of employment. The audit also uncovered duplicate personally 
identifiable information and files missing required documentation.
    Corruption was particularly pervasive in local government, where 
officials abused their positions and government resources openly and 
with impunity. Local councilors' control of the designation and 
allocation of new land lots for residential and commercial use led to 
numerous allegations of bribe attempts and rent-seeking opportunities. 
Local government officials also demanded bribes or excessive fees for 
``expediting'' paperwork, including birth certificates, passports, and 
licenses. Councilors practiced nepotism in the hiring of general 
council workers and in the allocation of lands. Allegations of 
corruption continued regarding both ZANU-PF and MDC-T councilors.
    Prosecutions for corruption continued but were selective and 
generally seen as politically motivated. The government targeted MDC-T 
officials, persons who had fallen out of favor with ZANU-PF, and 
individuals without high-level political backing.
    There were developments in corruption cases from previous years. On 
March 21, local government minister Ignatius Chombo (ZANU-PF) fired 
MDC-T Harare city councilors Casper Takura and Warship Dumba for fraud 
and mismanagement of council funds. In April 2010 police arrested 
Takura and Dumba for alleged criminal defamation for their involvement 
in a report that exposed illegal business dealings between Chombo and 
Phillip Chiyangwa. Many observers considered the dismissals of Takura 
and Dumba as punishment for their exposure of Chombo's corruption.
    Citizens were generally unable to access government information. 
The government stated that the AIPPA was intended to improve public 
access to government information; however, the law contains provisions 
that restrict freedom of speech and press, and these elements of the 
law were the ones the government enforced most vigorously.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups operated 
in the country, investigating and publishing their findings on human 
rights cases. Such groups were subject to government restrictions, 
interference, monitoring, and harassment. Major domestic independent 
human rights organizations included the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, 
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, ZESN, ZLHR, Zimbabwe Peace Project, 
the NGO Zimbabwe Human Rights Organization (ZimRights), National 
Constitutional Assembly, Students Solidarity Trust, and WOZA.
    The government harassed NGOs it believed opposed government 
policies and continued to use government-controlled media to disparage 
and attack human rights groups. Articles typically dismissed the 
efforts and recommendations of NGOs that criticized the government and 
charged that their real agenda was regime change.
    Police arrested or detained local NGO members and harassed their 
leaders, often in connection with NGO meetings or demonstrations. 
During the year several NGO members were beaten during arrest and 
tortured while in custody.
    On February 8, police in Harare arrested two employees of the 
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. The employees, who were conducting a 
survey on transitional justice, were later released without charge. The 
following day police summoned forum director Abel Chikomo and 
questioned him for six hours at Machipisa and Harare Central police 
stations about the organization's activities. Police also raided and 
searched the group's offices.
    On May 23, police arrested ZimRights members Walter Dube and 
Florence Ndlovu after disrupting a meeting they held near Bulawayo 
earlier in the day. ZimRights had obtained a court order on May 20 to 
hold the meeting. Dube was released on May 26 without charge, and 
Ndlovu was released on May 27 on $50 bail. On October 3, a magistrate's 
court acquitted Ndlovu due to lack of evidence.
    On September 10, unidentified security agents at the airport 
confiscated personal property belonging to Farai Maguwu, director of 
the NGO Center for Research and Development, as he was leaving for an 
international conference. The agents conducted a body search on Maguwu 
and confiscated his laptop, boarding passes, travel documents, and 
other personal belongings. Maguwu's passport was then restamped for 
entry back into the country. On September 11, lawyers filed an urgent 
application at the High Court seeking the return of the seized items. 
In response the Attorney General's Office sought to postpone the 
hearing to verify the identity of the security agents involved. On 
September 12, the High Court ordered the minister of state security in 
the President's Office to return all the seized property and cease 
interfering with Maguwu's movement. In May 2010 Maguwu was arrested and 
detained for almost two months before being acquitted after the 
government withdrew its case.
    There were no developments in the case of four ZimRights employees 
who were arrested in April 2010 for organizing a photograph exhibit of 
the 2008 elections. The four were subsequently released.
    The government also arrested and harassed the representatives of 
foreign NGOs. For example, on March 25, police arrested a German NGO 
employee who was in Harare for a conference. She was deported the 
following day.
    On November 10, police and immigration officials in Harare, seeking 
to investigate the travel and visa documents of nine foreign 
participants, disrupted a meeting hosted by Oxfam. The officials took 
the passports of the visiting participants to the immigration office 
for verification and returned them two hours later.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that police seized 
radios. In October 2010 police in Gweru raided the office of the NGO 
Democratic Councils Forum (Demcof), seized 862 solar radios, and 
arrested and charged the Demcof training coordinator with a customs 
violation. The case was pending at year's end.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--Although members of the 
parliamentary Human Rights Commission were appointed in 2010, the 
commission was not operational because the required enabling 
legislation for its establishment had not been passed by year's end.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law provide that no person can be deprived of 
fundamental rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and security of 
person, based on one's race, tribe, place of origin, political 
opinions, color, creed, gender, or disability. Nevertheless, the 
constitution allows for discrimination, primarily against women, on the 
grounds of ``customary law.'' Discrimination against women and persons 
with disabilities persisted. The government and ZANU-PF continued to 
infringe on the right to due process, citizenship, and property 
ownership in ways that affected the white minority disproportionately.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
including spousal rape; however, the law was not effectively enforced, 
and rape remained a widespread problem. Sexual offenses, including 
rape, are punishable by life imprisonment. However, few cases of rape 
were reported due to social stigma, and rape victims seldom received 
protection in court. Even fewer cases of spousal rape were reported, 
due to victims' fear of losing economic support, fear of reprisal, 
unawareness that spousal rape was a crime, police reluctance to 
interfere in domestic disputes, and bureaucratic hurdles involved.
    The government media frequently published stories denouncing rape 
and reporting convictions. However, police seldom acted on reported 
rape cases if the perpetrators were aligned with ZANU-PF or if the rape 
was used as a political tool against non-ZANU-PF members, as occurred 
during the 2008 election.
    Children born from rape suffered stigmatization and 
marginalization. The mothers of children resulting from rape were 
sometimes reluctant to register the births, and such children were 
denied access to social services.
    For example, in July Wallen Chiwawa, a law officer in the Attorney 
General's Office, allegedly burned his wife with a hot iron before 
raping her six times because he suspected her of having an affair. The 
wife reported the rape and assault to the police, and Chiwawa was 
arrested and detained briefly before being released on bail. He 
subsequently appeared before a magistrate, and the case was postponed. 
In cases of marital rape, the prosecution needs authorization from the 
Attorney General's Office to press charges, and the Attorney General's 
Office reportedly was reluctant to do so in Chiwawa's case. Chiwawa's 
wife subsequently withdrew charges.
    In 2010 two adult rape clinics were set up in public hospitals in 
Harare and Mutare. The clinics were designed to receive referrals from 
the police and NGOs and to administer HIV tests and provide medicines 
to prevent HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, and 
pregnancy. The clinics could collect evidence and give medical 
examinations that could be used for court processes.
    The law criminalizes domestic violence, but it was a serious 
problem, especially wife beating. Domestic violence is punishable by a 
fine and a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, but authorities 
generally considered domestic violence to be a private matter and 
usually arrested an offender only if there was physical evidence of 
abuse. Most cases of domestic violence went unreported, due to 
traditional sensitivities, victims' fear of abandonment without 
support, and police reluctance to intervene. There were newspaper 
reports of wife killings, and there were a few reports of prosecutions 
and convictions for such crimes.
    An Anti-Domestic Violence Council was created in 2009 to educate 
women about their legal rights and to protect victims of abuse. The 
council was ineffective due to lack of funding and the unavailability 
of statistics and information on prevailing trends of domestic 
violence.
    The government continued a public awareness campaign against 
domestic violence. Several women's rights groups worked with law 
enforcement and provided training and literature on domestic violence 
as well as shelters and counseling for women. However, the high 
turnover rate within the police force demanded a continuous level of 
training that could not be met. While public awareness increased, other 
problems emerged. For example, the police form required to report 
domestic violence was difficult to complete, and victims were often 
required to make their own photocopies due to police budgetary 
constraints.

    Sexual Harassment.--Labor legislation prohibits sexual harassment 
in the workplace, and an employer may be held liable for civil remedies 
if found to be in violation of provisions against ``unfair labor 
practices,'' including sexual harassment. Penalties for these 
violations are not specified in the law. Women commonly faced workplace 
sexual harassment, government enforcement was not effective, and there 
were no reports of any prosecutions during the year.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children and to have the information and means to do so free from 
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Inadequate medical facilities, 
including a lack of electricity and medication, contributed to a high 
maternal mortality ratio of 880 deaths per 100,000 live births. HIV/
AIDS disproportionately affected females and was the major contributing 
factor to maternal deaths in the context of a weakened health delivery 
system. According to UNICEF's 2009 Multiple Indicators Monitoring 
Survey (MIMS), 65 percent of women who were married or in a domestic 
union used modern methods of contraception. Approximately 60 percent of 
births were attended by skilled attendants, while 40 percent of women 
gave birth at home. Half of mothers between the ages of 15 and 19 
delivered their babies at home. Approximately 93 percent of women 
received prenatal care during pregnancy at least once. No information 
was available on whether women were equally diagnosed and treated for 
sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--Despite laws aimed at enhancing women's rights and 
countering certain discriminatory traditional practices, women remained 
disadvantaged in society. Economic dependency and prevailing social 
norms prevented rural women in particular from combating societal 
discrimination. Despite legal prohibitions, women remained vulnerable 
to entrenched customary practices, including pledging young women to 
marry partners not of their choosing and forcing widows to marry the 
brothers of their late spouses.
    The law recognizes a woman's right to own property, but many women 
were unaware of their property and inheritance rights. Divorce and 
maintenance laws were equitable, but many women lacked awareness of 
their rights. Women have the right to register their children's births, 
although in practice either the fathers or male relatives must be 
present.
    Women and children continued to be adversely affected by the 
government's forced evictions, demolition of homes and businesses, and 
takeover of commercial farms. Many widows who earned their income in 
the informal economy or by renting cottages on their property lost 
income when their market stalls or cottages were destroyed. Widows 
faced particular difficulties when forced to relocate to rural areas.
    The Ministry of Women's Affairs, Gender, and Community Development 
continued its efforts to advance women's rights. The ministry, through 
collaboration with local NGOs, continued training workshops for 
traditional leaders in rural communities to create more awareness of 
women's issues. The government gave qualified women access to training 
in the armed forces and national service. Although there were advances 
for women within the armed forces in recent years, they continued to 
occupy primarily administrative positions. In recent years women 
progressed in health and education but in general were concentrated in 
the lower echelons of the workforce, especially in the financial 
industry.
    NGOs reported anecdotal evidence indicating that women experienced 
economic discrimination, including in access to employment, credit, 
pay, and owning or managing businesses.
    Several women's rights groups concentrated on improving women's 
knowledge of their legal rights, increasing their economic power, 
combating domestic violence, and protecting women against domestic 
violence and sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS. The government 
established the National AIDS Trust Fund to levy a 3 percent tax on 
incomes of individuals in formal employment and corporate entities to 
assist AIDS victims.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from birth 
in the country and from one's parents, and all births are to be 
registered with the Births and Deaths Registry. The 2003 Citizenship 
Amendment Act significantly changed citizenship laws and resulted in 
statelessness for some persons who were born to foreign-born parents 
(see section 2.d.). According to MIMS only 37 percent of children under 
five years of age possessed birth certificates. The births of children 
in rural areas outside a government hospital frequently were 
unregistered. Other reasons for failure to register births included 
fathers being absent or lacking time to register, parents not having a 
national identity card or birth certificate, the high cost of 
registration, and distance from a place of registration. Many orphaned 
children were unable to obtain birth certificates. Lack of birth 
documentation impeded access to public services, such as education and 
health care.

    Education.--Primary education is not compulsory, free, or 
universal. According to MIMS 92 and 90 percent of female and male 
children of primary school age, respectively, attended primary school. 
In most regions of the country, fewer girls than boys attended 
secondary school. If a family was unable to pay tuition costs, it was 
most often female children who left school or never began. Girls were 
more likely to drop out because they were more readily employable, 
especially as domestic workers. Due to a lack of central government 
funding, some schools began to charge levies of up to several hundred 
dollars for the school year, which prevented many students from 
attending school. Some families continued to pay school fees and levies 
with crops and livestock if they did not have adequate hard currency. 
Despite a directive from the minister of education that no child should 
be refused education for not paying school fees, there were reports 
that students with unpaid fees were turned away from schools.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse, including incest, infanticide, child 
abandonment, and rape, continued to be serious problems. According to 
Childline, an NGO that ran a crisis hotline for children, nearly 
250,000 calls were received in 2010, compared with approximately 
116,000 calls in 2009. Most of the calls related to sexual and physical 
abuse, generally inflicted by a relative or someone who lived with the 
child. Childline attributed the increase in calls to the hotline being 
more available to children, improved telephone access with upgraded 
mobile phone signals across the country, and the expansion of its 
community-based drop-in centers. Girl Child Network reported that girls 
believed to be virgins were at risk of rape due to a belief that having 
sex with a virgin would cure men of HIV/AIDS.
    Despite a 2009 campaign launched by the government and an NGO to 
eradicate child abuse in schools, it remained a problem. The campaign 
began after a study found that many children had been victims of 
unreported sexual and physical abuse by their teachers and peers. 
Students were also subjected to corporal punishment, which is a legal 
form of discipline for parents, teachers, and magistrates. While the 
law stipulates strict regulations in the execution of corporal 
punishment, most teachers and parents were not aware of them.
    Government efforts to combat child abuse were inadequate and 
underfunded. The country had a ratio of one social worker per 50,000 
children. During the year two baseline studies were initiated to 
address the problem more effectively. UNICEF, in partnership with other 
U.N. agencies, NGOs, and the government, began setting up a national 
database for the Department of Social Services to integrate existing 
data and reporting standards for all entities documenting abuses of 
children. In addition the government launched a national baseline 
survey on abuses occurring in households.

    Child Marriage.--The traditional practice of offering a young girl 
in marriage as compensatory payment in interfamily disputes continued, 
as did arranged marriages of young girls. The legal age for a civil 
marriage is 18, but girls ages 16 and 17 also could marry with parental 
approval. Customary marriage, recognized under the Customary Marriages 
Act, does not require a minimum marriage age for either boys or girls; 
however, the criminal code prohibits sexual relations with persons 
younger than age 18. According to UNICEF one-third of women married 
when under age 18, and 5 percent of women married when under age 15. 
Approximately 21 percent of young women between the ages of 15 and 19 
were married or in a union. Child welfare NGOs reported that they 
occasionally saw evidence of underage marriages, particularly in 
isolated religious communities or among HIV/AIDS orphans who did not 
have relatives willing or able to take care of them.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Statutory rape, legally defined 
as sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 12, carries a fine 
of $2,000, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both. A person in 
possession of child pornography can be charged with public indecency 
and faces a fine of $600, imprisonment up to six months, or both. Child 
prostitution carries a fine of $200, imprisonment for up to six months, 
or both. Those charged with facilitating the prostitution of a child 
were often also charged with statutory rape. A parent or guardian who 
causes or allows a child under age 18 to associate with or become a 
prostitute can face up to 10 years in prison.

    Displaced Children.--According to UNICEF more than one-fifth of the 
country's children were orphans, 77 percent of whom lost their parents 
to HIV/AIDS. Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) together constituted 
37 percent of the country's children, and approximately 80 percent of 
OVCs did not receive any form of government support. The vast majority 
of orphans were cared for by the extended family. An estimated 100,000 
children lived in child-headed households.
    Orphaned children were more likely to be abused; not to be enrolled 
in school; to suffer discrimination and social stigma; and to be 
vulnerable to food insecurity, malnutrition, and HIV/AIDS. Extended 
families and communities often refused to take orphans due to fear that 
they or their own children might contract HIV. Some children were 
forced to turn to prostitution for income.
    As of February 2010, more than 800,000 OVCs received comprehensive 
support and protection under the 2005-10 National Action Plan for OVCs. 
The goal of the plan is assist approximately one million children and 
their families throughout the country.
    UNICEF estimated that at least 10,000 children were displaced in 
election-related violence in 2008. Several thousand were also displaced 
with their parents as a result of farm-related violence and evictions 
in 2009. At year's end NGOs were uncertain how many children remained 
affected. Various government-sponsored studies between 1999 and 2009 
indicated that approximately 12,000 children were living on the 
streets. Economic hardships and the government's lack of support for 
social welfare institutions contributed to a highly vulnerable 
population of street children throughout the country. NGOs operated 
training centers and homes for street children and orphans, and 
government officials referred children to these centers.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbered approximately 270 
persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, access 
to public places, and the provision of services, including education 
and health care. Nevertheless, the law was not widely known or 
implemented by government institutions. The lack of resources devoted 
to training and education severely hampered the ability of persons with 
disabilities to compete for scarce jobs. The law stipulates that 
government buildings be accessible to persons with disabilities, but 
implementation was slow. NGOs continued to lobby to include persons 
with albinism in the definition of ``disabled'' under the law. Persons 
with disabilities faced harsh societal discrimination. Traditional 
belief viewed persons with disabilities as bewitched and, consequently, 
as persons who should be locked away. Children with disabilities often 
were hidden when visitors arrived.
    Children with disabilities were discriminated against in 
educational institutions. The unavailability of essential services, 
including sign language interpreters, Braille materials, and ramps, 
prevented children with disabilities from attending school. Many 
schools refused to accept children with certain disabilities.
    According to the National Association of Societies for the Care of 
the Handicapped, persons with disabilities were a forgotten and 
invisible group in society. The organization also reported that only 33 
percent of children with disabilities had access to education.
    Persons with mental disabilities also suffered from inadequate 
medical care and general provision of health services. There were eight 
centralized mental health institutions in the country with a capacity 
of more than 1,300 patients, in addition to the three special 
institutions run by the ZPS for long-term patients and those considered 
to be dangerous to society. Inpatients in the eight centralized 
institutions received cursory screening, and most waited for at least 
one year for a full medical review. A shortage of drugs and adequately 
trained mental health professionals resulted in patients not being 
properly diagnosed and not receiving adequate therapy. There were fewer 
than 10 certified psychiatrists working in public and private clinics 
and teaching in the country. There was a 50 percent vacancy rate for 
psychiatric-trained nurses. More than 90 percent of the available 
psychiatric services were provided at the mental institution in 
Bulawayo. NGOs reported patients subjected to deplorable living 
conditions due in part to shortages of food, water, clothing, and 
sanitation. Budgetary constraints and limited capacity at these 
institutions resulted in persons with mental disabilities being kept at 
home and cared for by family, normally in chains and without treatment.
    Prison inmates in the three facilities run by the ZPS were not 
necessarily convicted prisoners. Inmates with psychiatric conditions 
were examined by two doctors, who were required to both confirm a 
mental disability and recommend that a patient either be released or 
returned to a mental institution. In practice prisoners with mental 
disabilities routinely waited as long as three years before being 
evaluated. Prisoners with confirmed mental disabilities were 
increasingly sent to prison rather than mental institutions due lack of 
capacity in those institutions.
    The five-year program launched in 2009 by the National Association 
of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped provided civic education 
to persons with disabilities with the goal of encouraging greater civic 
participation.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to government 
statistics, the Shona ethnic group makes up 82 percent of the 
population, Ndebele 14 percent, whites and Asians less than 1 percent, 
and other ethnic groups 3 percent. There was tension between the white 
minority and other groups, which ZANU-PF leaders often manipulated to 
further their political agenda. Historical tension between the Shona 
majority and Ndebele minority resulted in marginalization of the 
Ndebele by the Shona-dominated government.
    The government continued its attempts to attribute the country's 
economic and political problems to the white minority and Western 
countries. ZANU-PF supporters seldom were arrested or charged with 
infringing upon minority rights, particularly the property rights of 
the minority white commercial farmers or wildlife conservancy owners 
targeted in the land redistribution program.
    None of the provisions or timelines in the 2008 indigenization law 
were enforced during the year, and no businesses were forced to 
transfer ownership. The law defines an indigenous Zimbabwean as any 
person, or the descendant of such person, who before the date of the 
country's independence in 1980 was disadvantaged. The official purpose 
of the indigenization law was to increase the participation of 
indigenous citizens in the economy, with the ultimate objective of at 
least 51 percent indigenous ownership of large businesses. Legal 
experts criticized the law as being itself unfairly discriminatory and 
a violation of the constitution. Critics also said the real purpose of 
the law was to create patronage for ZANU-PF.
    Historically, the government has discriminated against language 
minorities through the Education Act, which mandates the teaching of 
English in schools, along with Shona or Ndebele, depending on the 
region. In 2001 other minority language groups (Tonga, Shangani, 
Kalanga, Suthu, Venda, and Nambya) formed the Zimbabwe Indigenous 
Languages Promotion Association (ZILPA) to petition the government for 
legal reforms so that their languages could be taught in their schools. 
In 2008 the government agreed to allow the teaching of these languages 
in the areas in which they were spoken, along with English and Shona or 
Ndebele. The government did not provide resources for related teacher 
training or instructional materials. Nonetheless, the Tonga 
successfully developed curriculum and instructional materials to cover 
the seven years of primary school education. In 2009 Ministry of 
Education, Sport, Art, and Culture officials met with ZILPA and agreed 
to support its request for funding to teach all minority languages; 
however, schools lacked the necessary materials to teaching of minority 
languages.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The criminal code's definition 
of sodomy includes ``any act involving physical contact between males 
that would be regarded by a reasonable person to be an indecent act.'' 
Sodomy carries a penalty of up to one year in prison or a fine up to 
$5,000. There were no known cases of sodomy charges being used to 
prosecute consensual same-sex sexual activity. Common law prevents gay 
men, and to a lesser extent lesbians, from fully expressing their 
sexual orientation and, in some cases, criminalizes the display of 
affection between men.
    Leadership in both ZANU-PF and MDC-T, including President Mugabe 
and Prime Minister Tsvangirai, publicly denounced the LGBT community 
and warned against the inclusion of LGBT rights in the constitution. 
Mugabe publicly blamed the LGBT community for Africa's ills and 
declared its members to be worse than ``pigs and dogs.'' However, in an 
apparent shift of position, Tsvangirai declared in an October 24 press 
interview that LGBT rights were a human right that should be enshrined 
in the country's new constitution.
    Members of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), the sole 
organization dedicated to advancing the rights of the LGBT community in 
the country, experienced assault, harassment, and discrimination.
    For example, on September 2, at a bar in Harare, two individuals 
assaulted a GALZ member with a beer bottle after making discriminatory 
statements regarding her sexual orientation. She and her partner 
reported the incident to the police, who took no action.
    GALZ employees Ellen Chademana and Ignatius Muhambi, who were 
arrested in May 2010 for possession of pornographic materials, were not 
summoned to court during the year. Chademana and Muhambi, whom police 
beat in the face and knees during an interrogation, were released five 
days after their arrest and subsequently acquitted of the pornography 
charge. However, both still faced a charge of undermining the president 
at year's end.
    Members of the LGBT community reported widespread societal 
discrimination based on sexual orientation. In response to social 
pressure, some families reportedly subjected their LGBT members to 
``corrective'' rape and forced marriages to encourage heterosexual 
conduct. Such crimes were rarely reported to police. Women, in 
particular, were subjected to rape by male members of their own 
families. LGBT members often left school at an early age due to 
discrimination and had higher rates of unemployment and homelessness. 
Many persons who identified with the LGBT community did not seek 
medical care for sexually transmitted diseases or other health issues 
due to fear that health providers would shun them.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The government has a 
national HIV/AIDS policy that prohibits discrimination against persons 
with HIV/AIDS, and the law prohibits discrimination against workers 
with HIV/AIDS in the private sector and parastatals. Despite these 
provisions societal discrimination against persons affected by HIV/AIDS 
remained a problem. Although there was an active information campaign 
by international and local NGOs, the Ministry of Health and Child 
Welfare, and the National AIDS Council to Destigmatize HIV/AIDS, such 
ostracism and condemnation continued.
    Despite the government's agreement in the 2006-07 Presidential HIV/
AIDS Strategic Plan to address the problem of HIV/AIDS among gay men, 
no action had been taken to address the health needs of this population 
by year's end.

    Promotion of Acts of Discrimination.--Throughout the year 
government-controlled newspapers and radio and television stations 
continued to vilify white citizens and blame them for the country's 
problems.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides private sector workers with the right to form or join 
unions without prior authorization, conduct legal strikes, and bargain 
collectively. These rights were sometimes abrogated by other provisions 
of law. The law grants the labor minister extensive powers to regulate 
union activities. For example, the minister has the authority to veto 
collectively bargained agreements perceived to be harmful to the 
economy or to appoint an investigator who can, without prior notice, 
enter trade union premises, where any person employed can be questioned 
and any books, records, or other documents can be inspected and copied. 
The law denies public sector employees the right to form unions, 
strike, and bargain collectively. Procedural requirements--including 
14-day advance-notice requirements, mandated 30-day reconciliation 
periods, and possible and mandatory referral to binding arbitration--
further curtailed the right to call a legal strike. Essential services 
employees are prohibited from striking, and the law allows that any 
nonessential service may be declared an essential service if a strike 
is deemed a danger to the population. Managers are prohibited from 
striking, and in some industries, the government defined most employees 
as managers. Collective bargaining agreements applied to all workers in 
an industry, not just union members. Agreements reached by employers 
and employees must be gazetted by the Ministry of Labor to go into 
effect. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, provides that the 
labor court handle complaints of such discrimination, and may direct 
that workers fired due to such discrimination be reinstated. There are 
no export processing zones. Migrant workers can join unions if they 
work in industries for which there are unions, and their rights are 
covered. Domestic workers are neither organized nor unionized but are 
protected by labor laws.
    The government did not effectively enforce applicable laws. The 
rights to form or join unions, strike, and bargain collectively were 
not respected in practice. Unions were prevented from holding meetings 
with their members and carrying out organizational activities, 
sometimes by the police or ZANU-PF supporters. Although the law does 
not require unions to notify the police of public gatherings, such 
notification was required in practice. Often unions that applied for 
permission were denied. Unions risked suspensions from registration for 
12 months for minor infractions, and union members could be fined and 
imprisoned for participating in union activities.
    The Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU), a government-
created alternative labor body, continued to exist but did not wield 
real influence over labor negotiations. The government was disinclined 
to include the ZFTU in labor-related discussions with employer and 
labor organizations.
    Police often denied ZCTU's applications to hold commemorations in 
particular venues and banned processions from taking place. The police 
also sought to restrict union activities by prescribing certain 
conditions.
    On February 19, police arrested and detained 46 labor union and 
student activists who had gathered for a video presentation and 
discussion of popular protests in Egypt and Tunisia (see section 1.d.).
    Government-imposed delays prevented most employees and their unions 
from declaring legal strikes, and those who participated in strikes 
deemed illegal faced government intimidation and sentences of up to 
five years in prison.
    The ZCTU reported that its affiliates were able to engage in 
collective bargaining with employers without interference from the 
government. Collective bargaining agreements applied to all workers in 
an industry, not just union members. Agreements reached by employers 
and employees must be gazetted by the Ministry of Labor to go into 
effect. In practice any agreement could be administratively blocked 
when left ungazetted over an indefinite period of time.
    Union members faced discrimination and harassment, including 
dismissal and transfer. There were no reports that union members 
dismissed as a result of union activities were reinstated during the 
year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, with the exceptions 
of working for parents or the national youth service. Forced labor is 
punishable by a fine, two years' imprisonment, or both. The law 
provides for forced prison labor, and workers arrested for striking or 
persons arrested for speaking out against the government were often 
sentenced to forced labor.
    Despite the law forced labor occurred, including by children, 
although the extent of the problem was unknown. Adults and children 
were subjected to forced labor in agriculture and domestic service in 
rural areas, as well as domestic servitude in cities and towns. 
Children were also utilized in the commission of illegal activities, 
including gambling and drug smuggling. Forced labor by children 
occurred in agricultural, mining, and domestic sectors.
    Workers on seized farms reported that new owners occasionally 
forced them to work without pay and under threat of eviction from the 
farm.
    There were no records of government's efforts to prevent and 
eliminate forced labor during the year. There were no data on the 
number of victims removed from forced labor.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits most forms of child labor. Child labor is punishable by a 
fine, two years' imprisonment, or both. Under the law a child between 
the ages of 13 and 15 can work as an apprentice if the work is an 
integral part of ``a course of training or technical or vocational 
education.'' The law further states that no person under the age of 18 
shall perform any work likely to jeopardize that person's health, 
safety, or morals. The status of children between ages 15 and 18 is not 
directly addressed, but age 15 remains the minimum for light work, work 
other than apprenticeship, or work associated with vocational 
education.
    Child labor was common. Concrete data on the extent of child labor 
remained difficult to evaluate and confirm, despite the government's 
indication that comprehensive data on child labor would be collected in 
2010. A 2007 survey by a domestic NGO documenting child labor reported 
that approximately one-third of children were working, primarily in the 
informal sector. Children worked in agriculture (tobacco, tea, coffee, 
and cotton), cattle herding, forestry, illegal gold and diamond mining, 
and as domestics, street vendors, construction workers, and car 
watchers.
    Children often faced hazards to their health and safety and lacked 
necessary equipment and training. Children between the ages of 12 and 
16 were used to crawl into small spaces in abandoned gold mine shafts 
near Shurugwi in Midlands Province. In other areas (near Kwekwe, 
Bindura, and Mazowe), children panned for alluvial gold and used 
dangerous chemicals, including mercury, in purification processes. Most 
of these children worked for themselves, a family member, or someone in 
the community.
    Some employers did not pay wages to child domestic workers, 
claiming that they were assisting a child from a rural home by 
providing housing and board. Some employers paid the parents for the 
child's work. Relatives often took children orphaned by AIDS into their 
homes but used them as domestics without pay.
    The Department of Social Welfare in the Ministry of Labor and 
Social Welfare is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, but the 
department lacked personnel to carry out inspections or other 
monitoring. There were approximately 170 labor inspectors responsible 
for investigating labor-related violations and for enforcing labor 
laws, including those covering children.
    On June 29, the results of a 2008 nationwide survey conducted by 
the government and the International Labor Organization (ILO) on the 
worst forms of child labor were released. According to the survey, 
children were involved in the worst forms of child labor in informal, 
artisanal, and small-scale mining; the agriculture sector, particularly 
tea and tobacco; prostitution; domestic services; and illicit 
activities. Poverty and the breakdown of the family unit were major 
drivers for the existence of the worst forms of child labor. An action 
plan to address the problem was pending government approval at year's 
end.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum 
wage, except for agricultural workers ($85 a month) and domestic 
workers ($176 a month). The maximum legal workweek was 54 hours, and 
the law prescribes a minimum of one 24-hour rest period per week. No 
worker is allowed to work more than 12 continuous hours. The law 
prescribes that workers receive not less than twice their standard 
remuneration for working on a public holiday. The government sets 
safety and health standards on an industry-specific basis. The public 
service commission sets conditions of employment in the public sector. 
Workers have a legal right to remove themselves from dangerous work 
situations without jeopardy to continued employment. The government did 
not effectively enforce these laws.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is responsible for 
enforcing the minimum wage, but monitoring systems were ineffective, 
and many agricultural and domestic workers were paid below the minimum 
wage. More than 85 percent of the population lived below the 
government's poverty line, which was set at $533 a month. In 2008 the 
ILO reported that four of five jobs in the country were in the informal 
sector, 78 percent of which were in agriculture. These jobs generally 
provided extremely low income and poor working conditions and did not 
offer adequate worker protections. The ZCTU reported that more workers 
moved out of the formal sector during the year due to the prolonged 
economic collapse and lack of job creation.
    In January the government announced pay raises between 18 and 24 
percent for civil servants after a series of negotiations. In early 
July civil servants, including soldiers and police, received pay 
raises, with the lowest-paid workers seeing their monthly salaries 
almost doubled from $128 to $253.
    There was little or no enforcement of the work-hour law, 
particularly in agricultural and domestic worker sectors. Nevertheless, 
workers were unlikely to complain to authorities about violations due 
to fear of losing their jobs.
    The Zimbabwe Occupational Safety Council, a quasigovernmental 
advisory body to the National Social Security Administration (NSSA), 
regulates working conditions. Budgetary constraints and staffing 
shortages, as well as its status as an advisory council, made the 
council largely ineffective.
    Poor health and safety standards in the workplace were common 
problems faced by workers in both formal and informal sectors due to 
lack of enforcement.
    The NSSA lacked enough safety inspectors to monitor the thousands 
of work sites, formal and informal, across the country, but it closed 
some shops and factories found not complying with safety regulations. 
In some cases safety inspectors were reluctant to close noncompliant 
factories associated with government officials. From January to 
November, the NSSA reported 71 workplace fatalities and 3,744 injuries. 
The ZCTU reported a total of 90 fatalities and 4,410 workplace injuries 
since 2010. The number of injuries and fatalities by sectors was not 
available. Despite the law allowing workers to remove themselves from 
dangerous working conditions, in practice they risked the loss of their 
livelihood if they did.
    Information on the treatment of foreign and migrant workers was not 
available. The government considered many commercial farm workers to be 
foreigners because one or both parents were born in another country. 
Foreign farm workers were also covered under these laws and standards.

                               __________


                       EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

                              ----------                              


                               AUSTRALIA

                           executive summary
    Australia is a constitutional democracy with a freely elected 
federal parliamentary government. In free and fair federal 
parliamentary elections held in August 2010, neither the Australian 
Labor Party (ALP) nor the opposition Liberal Party and National Party 
coalition won enough seats to form a government. Subsequently, the ALP 
secured the support of the Greens Party member of Parliament (MP) and 
three independent MPs to gain a majority of 76 seats in the 150-seat 
House of Representatives and formed a government with Julia Gillard as 
prime minister. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    There were no widespread human rights violations, although problems 
were reported in a few areas. The principal problem areas included 
domestic violence against women and children, particularly in 
indigenous communities; discrimination against indigenous people; and 
lengthy detention of some asylum seekers.
    Other concerns included a high-profile press freedom case involving 
a newspaper columnist found guilty of violating an antidiscrimination 
law in two published columns.
    The government took steps to prosecute officials accused of abuses, 
and ombudsmen, human rights bodies, and internal government mechanisms 
responded effectively to complaints.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.
    In March the Queensland Police Service (QPS) determined not to 
pursue disciplinary action recommended by the state's Crime and 
Misconduct Commission against six officers involved in the death in 
custody of an indigenous citizen on Palm Island in 2004. Following this 
decision the Queensland government ordered an independent review of the 
QPS discipline, complaints, and misconduct system, and in May the 
review panel found the system ``dysfunctional and unsustainable.'' In 
August the Queensland government released its response to the review, 
supporting 56 of the report's 57 recommendations.

    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 the government 
generally respected these provisions in practice. There were occasional 
reports that police and prison officials mistreated suspects in 
custody. Some indigenous groups asserted that police harassment of 
indigenous people and racial discrimination by some police and prison 
custodians persisted.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, including 
access to potable water, and the government permitted visits by 
independent human rights observers.
    In a 2011 press release, the Australian Institute of Criminology 
reported that deaths in prisons were less prevalent than in the general 
population, noting that in 2008 the death rate was six per 1,000 for 
the general population, 1.3 per 1,000 indigenous prisoners, and 2.2 per 
1,000 nonindigenous prisoners. In August a prisoner at the Capricornia 
Correctional Center in Queensland State was convicted of the 2009 
killing of another prisoner and sentenced to an additional nine years' 
imprisonment. During the year there were at least two suicides and 
reports of other self-harm among asylum seekers in immigration 
detention centers (see section 2.d.).
    In January the Western Australia State government charged a private 
security company, its guards, and the Department of Correctional 
Services with violations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 
for the death of an Aboriginal elder who died in 2008 from heatstroke 
in a prison van, operated by the security company, during a 220-mile 
drive to court to face a drunk-driving charge. However, no one was 
charged with manslaughter. The security company, the two guards 
involved, and the Department of Correctional Services all pled guilty. 
The security company was fined A$285,000 ($290,700) and the guards were 
fined A$9,000 ($9,180) and A$11,000 ($11,220) respectively. The state 
government also made an A$3.2 million ($3.26 million) ex-gratia payment 
to the family of the deceased.
    According to a December publication of the Australian Bureau of 
Statistics (ABS), as of June there were 29,106 prisoners in the 
country, including 2,028 female prisoners and 6,723 unsentenced 
prisoners. Unsentenced prisoners included pretrial detainees, convicted 
prisoners awaiting sentencing, and persons awaiting deportation. The 
median time spent in custody by unsentenced prisoners was 2.8 months. 
In December the Corrective Services Union claimed there was 
overcrowding at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Center in Queensland; the 
Queensland government indicated that the system was under capacity.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to 
submit complaints to government-funded legal aid offices; federal, 
state, and territorial ombudsmen; and judicial authorities without 
censorship. Authorities investigated allegations of inhumane conditions 
and documented the results of such investigations in a publicly 
accessible manner. The government investigated and monitored prison and 
detention center conditions. Both federal and state governments funded 
``juvenile diversion'' programs to keep young people out of the court 
and prison systems.
    Federal, state, and territorial government ombudsmen can serve on 
behalf of prisoners and detainees to consider such matters as 
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders, addressing the 
status and circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders, and 
improving pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures.

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

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities 
maintained effective control over the armed forces and police, and the 
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and 
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security 
forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police 
officers may seek an arrest warrant from a magistrate when a suspect 
cannot be located or fails to appear; however, they also may arrest a 
person without a warrant if there are reasonable grounds to believe the 
person committed an offense. Police must inform arrested persons 
immediately of their legal rights and the grounds for their arrest, and 
arrested persons must be brought before a magistrate for a bail hearing 
at the next sitting of the court. However, the law permits police to 
hold individuals in preventive detention for up to 24 hours without 
charge if a senior police official finds it is ``reasonably necessary 
to prevent a terrorist act or preserve evidence of such an act.'' 
Individuals may be detained for an additional 24 hours under court 
order.
    Although the law states that the maximum investigation period for 
which a person may be held and questioned without charge is 24 hours 
(unless extended by court order), it also provided that this allowable 
time for questioning a suspect may be spread across an unspecified 
number of days (a concept known as ``dead time''), which human rights 
groups, the media, and the legal profession criticized. A 2010 law 
addressed the ``dead time'' issue by establishing a seven-day limit on 
the amount of time a terrorism suspect can be held for questioning; 
expanded counterterrorism laws to apply to those who incite violence on 
the basis of race, religion, ethnic origin, and political opinion; and 
extended the expiration period of regulations proscribing a terrorist 
organization from two to three years.
    A separate provision of law permits the attorney general to grant 
the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) authority to 
detain a person for a continuous period of up to 168 hours in special 
circumstances, such as ``reasonable grounds for believing that issuing 
the warrant to be requested will substantially assist the collection of 
intelligence that is important in relation to a terrorism offence.'' 
ASIO, however, has not used this authority.
    The law permits a judge to authorize ``control orders'' on 
individuals suspected of involvement with terrorism-related activities. 
These orders may include a range of measures, such as monitoring of 
suspects and house arrest, and may be in effect for up to a year 
without the filing of criminal charges. If a control order is still 
warranted after one year, a new court order must be sought.
    A 2010 law provides for the appointment of an independent monitor 
to help ensure that counterterrorism laws strike an appropriate balance 
between protecting the community and protecting human rights. In April 
the government appointed a monitor. By law both the Australian Federal 
Police Commission and the Australian Crime Commission are subject to 
parliamentary oversight.
    Bail generally is available to persons facing criminal charges 
unless the person is considered to be a flight risk or is charged with 
an offense carrying a penalty of 12 months' imprisonment or more. 
Attorneys and families were granted prompt access to detainees. 
Government-provided attorneys are available to provide legal advice to 
detainees who cannot afford counsel. All asylum seekers held in 
detention centers are eligible for free legal assistance. This 
assistance ceases when a decision is made on an asylum claim by both 
the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the relevant review 
tribunal.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair public 
trial, and an independent judiciary enforced this right. In the state 
district and county courts and the state and territorial supreme 
courts, there generally are a judge and jury for serious offenses. The 
judge conducts the trial, and the jury decides on the facts and renders 
the verdict. Defendants have the right to an attorney, and government-
funded attorneys are available to low-income persons. The defendant's 
attorney can question witnesses, present witnesses and evidence on the 
defendant's behalf, and access relevant government-held evidence. 
Defendants enjoy the presumption of innocence and have the right to 
appeal the court's decision or the sentence imposed.

    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. There is also an 
administrative process at the state and federal levels to seek redress 
for alleged wrongs by government departments. Administrative tribunals 
may only review a government decision if the decision is in a category 
specified under a law, regulation, or other legislative instrument as 
subject to a tribunal's review.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government 
effectively enforced these prohibitions in practice. Police have 
authority to enter premises without a warrant in emergency 
circumstances.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the constitution does not explicitly provide for 
freedom of speech or press, the High Court has held that a right to 
freedom of expression is implied in the constitution, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent 
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political 
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and press.

    Freedom of Press.--On September 28, the Federal Court found the 
Herald and Weekly Times newspaper and columnist Andrew Bolt in 
violation of the Racial Discrimination Act for publishing two columns 
in 2009 asserting that fair-skinned Australians ``with some Aboriginal 
descent'' were not genuinely identifiable as Aboriginal. The case was 
launched by complaints from nine fair-skinned Aboriginals about the 
articles. The court ordered the parties to negotiate a public 
correction or apology. Prominent public figures, as well civil 
liberties groups, criticized the ruling as having disturbing 
implications for freedom of speech and press.
    In October the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) 
issued new regulations governing media access to immigration detention 
centers. The regulations require members of the media to be accompanied 
by a DIAC official and submit media content to DIAC for review to 
ensure the privacy of asylum seekers is protected. Some journalists and 
media organizations criticized the measures as overly restrictive.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government routinely 
monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could 
engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-
mail.
    Law enforcement agencies require a warrant to intercept 
telecommunications, including Internet communications. In emergency 
situations the director general of the Australian Security Intelligence 
Organization may issue a warrant for this purpose without prior 
judicial authorization, but the attorney general must be informed.
    The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) maintains 
a list of so-called ``refused classification'' Web site content, 
primarily pertaining to child pornography, sexual violence, and other 
activities illegal in the country, compiled as a result of a consumer 
complaints process. ACMA may issue a notice to the provider to remove 
domestically hosted ``refused classification'' material, or links to 
such material, that is the subject of such a complaint if an 
investigation concludes the complaint is justified. The list is made 
available to providers of filtering software.
    Since 2010 three major telecommunications providers have 
voluntarily blocked Web sites on Interpol's list of child abuse links. 
A government plan for mandatory Internet filtering, suspended in July 
2010 pending additional government review, remained suspended and under 
review at year's end. Anticensorship groups had criticized the 
proposal.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--While the rights 
of peaceful assembly and association are not codified in law, the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    Exile.--The law does not address forced exile, but the government 
did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees.
    Unauthorized arrivals seeking asylum are processed at the Christmas 
Island Detention Center, located off the country's northwest coast. 
Following health, identity, and security checks, unauthorized arrivals 
are to remain in immigration detention while their applications are 
being processed only if it is determined that they pose a threat to the 
community. However, the number of asylum seekers arriving by sea has 
increased dramatically in recent years, putting pressure on the 
detention center capacity at Christmas Island as well as on processing 
times. There were 4,940 such arrivals recorded in the 2010-11 fiscal 
year, compared with 25 in 2007-08. In June the government rejected a 
U.N. recommendation to change the mandatory detention framework for 
asylum seekers. In July the Australian Human Rights Commission (HRC) 
asserted that this policy breached Australia's human rights obligations 
and in practice resulted in indefinite detentions.
    The HRC called for an end to the ``two-tiered'' system for 
unauthorized arrivals, whereby those who are intercepted on the 
mainland have more legal rights than those who arrive in a so-called 
``excised'' offshore location (for example, Christmas Island). In 
November 2010 the High Court ruled, in a case brought by two asylum 
seekers held offshore, that the two were denied ``procedural fairness'' 
in the processing of their applications, and that all refugee-status 
assessments, regardless of the place or manner of the asylum seekers' 
arrival, are subject to the provisions of the Migration Act and the 
decisions of the country's courts, in the context of procedural 
fairness. In November 2011 the government announced that beginning in 
2012, unauthorized maritime arrivals would be granted the same access 
to the Refugee Review Tribunal as other asylum seekers.
    DIAC provided immigration advice and assistance to persons making 
an initial asylum claim or application for lawful residence. There is 
also a statutory obligation to facilitate access to legal 
representation for persons in immigration detention.
    The Christmas Island Detention Center remained at or near capacity 
throughout the year; some asylum seekers were transferred to detention 
centers on the mainland due to the lack of adequate capacity at the 
Christmas Island center. On June 29, the government reported that 767 
children in immigration detention had been moved into community-based 
accommodation since October 2010.
    In March an Afghan asylum seeker committed suicide at the Curtin 
Detention Center in Western Australia and another Afghan asylum seeker 
committed suicide at the Scherger Detention Center in Queensland. In 
May the Australian Medical Association's Northern Territory president 
claimed that detainees under 10 years of age had attempted self-harm. 
In late July the Commonwealth ombudsman launched an inquiry into the 
rising rate of self-harm by asylum seekers in immigration detention. 
According to the ombudsman, in the first week of July there were 50 
such incidents.
    In March, June, and July, there were riots at the Christmas Island 
Detention Center. In March there was a protest at the Villawood 
Detention Center in Sydney during which asylum seekers set fires that 
destroyed or damaged nine buildings. Subsequently, in July Parliament 
amended the Migration Act so that asylum seekers would fail the 
character test for receiving a permanent visa if convicted of any 
offense committed while in immigration detention. In July up to 80 
asylum seekers participated in a hunger strike at the Scherger 
Detention Center.
    An HRC investigation into the Villawood center, released in May, 
found its design ``places considerable strain on detainees, staff and 
managers.'' In response DIAC stated that the company managing the 
center had already prepared a proposal to upgrade facilities prior to 
the fires. During the year the Department of Finance and Deregulation 
and DIAC jointly oversaw an A$186.7 million ($190.43 million) 
government-funded project to upgrade the facilities, and restoration 
work began in preparation for the redevelopment.
    On July 25, the government signed an agreement with Malaysia 
involving transfer to Malaysia of up to 800 maritime asylum seekers in 
return for Australia accepting 1,000 confirmed refugees each year for 
the next four years. Transferees would be provided exemptions under 
Malaysian immigration law and have access to work, education, and 
health care. The HRC was concerned, however, because Malaysia was not a 
signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention; it urged the government not 
to send unaccompanied minors, families with children, and torture and 
trauma survivors to Malaysia. On August 31, Australia's High Court 
declared the agreement illegal, finding that ``Malaysia is not legally 
bound to provide the access and protections the Migration Act requires 
for a valid declaration.'' This decision also called into question the 
legality of the off-shore processing of asylum seekers generally. In 
the wake of the High Court decision, in November the government 
announced a change in its immigration detention policy and released 27 
detainees on temporary ``bridging'' visas that allowed them to live 
with friends or relatives in the country and to work, pending decisions 
on their asylum claims. The government stated the intention to release 
additional detainees under bridging visas over the next few months. It 
noted that decisions on which detainees to release would take into 
account time spent in detention and suitability for community placement 
based on an assessment process including identity, security, and 
behavior checks.
    Delays in processing asylum applications continued to be a problem 
during the year, especially among a small number of asylum seekers who 
remained in long-term detention despite having exhausted the appeal 
process. They could not be returned to their home country because they 
lacked travel documents or could not obtain necessary transit visas. 
The Commonwealth ombudsman reviews all cases of persons in detention 
for two years or more. As of June 14, there were seven persons in 
immigration detention longer than two years.
    Detention facilities were monitored by Parliament, the ombudsman, 
the UNHCR, and an advisory group composed of experts in immigration and 
humanitarian issues.

    Nonrefoulement.--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. In November the Federal Magistrate's Court issued 
a temporary injunction against the deportation to Afghanistan of an 
unsuccessful Afghan Hazara asylum seeker, pending a further hearing on 
the case.

    Durable Solutions.--The government accepted refugees for 
resettlement from third countries and funded refugee resettlement 
services, such as language and employment programs.
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 and 
mandatory voting.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 
federal elections held in August 2010, the incumbent ALP government won 
72 seats in the 150-seat lower house of Parliament; the opposition 
Liberal-National Party coalition won 73; and others won five. The ALP 
formed a government with the support of one Greens Party and three 
independent MPs.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There are no legal 
impediments to public office for women or indigenous persons. Following 
the August 2010 elections, there were 64 women in the 226-seat federal 
Parliament (37 in the House of Representatives and 27 in the Senate). 
There were five female ministers in the 21-member federal cabinet, two 
women among the 10 ministers outside the cabinet, and four women among 
the 12 parliamentary secretaries. There were two women among the eight 
premiers and chief ministers of the six states and two territories. The 
prime minister and the governor-general were women, and there were 
three female judges on the seven-member High Court.
    Indigenous persons generally were underrepresented among the 
political leadership. In August 2010 an indigenous person was elected 
to the federal House of Representatives for the first time. There was 
one indigenous citizen in the Tasmania State parliament, one in the New 
South Wales State parliament, two in the Western Australia State 
parliament, five in the Northern Territory legislative assembly, and 
one in the Australian Capital Territory legislative assembly. There was 
an Asian-Australian in the federal cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government generally implemented these provisions effectively. 
There were isolated reports of government corruption. On July 1, the 
Australian Federal Police (AFP) initiated bribery-related charges 
against six men in connection with efforts from 1999 to 2005 to secure 
banknote contracts in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam on behalf of a 
company then half-owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). On 
August 10, charges were initiated against a seventh man. The AFP stated 
that the company and the RBA assisted the authorities during the 
investigation. The cases were still pending at year's end.
    Queensland, Western Australia, and New South Wales states have 
independent anticorruption bodies that investigate alleged government 
corruption, and every jurisdiction has an ombudsman who investigates 
and makes recommendations in response to complaints about government 
decisions. Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws.
    Federal, state, and territorial governments have freedom of 
information laws that provide the public with access to government 
information; some charge application and processing fees. The federal 
government does not charge application fees. Government information may 
be exempted from disclosure to protect essential public interests or 
the private or business affairs of others. An applicant, including 
foreign media, may appeal a government decision to deny a request for 
information to the quasi-legal Administrative Appeals Tribunal, an 
executive body that reviews administrative decisions by government 
entities. An adverse Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision may be 
appealed to the Federal Court.
    There is a freedom of information commissioner responsible for 
promoting and protecting information rights.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing 
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials often were 
cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The HRC, which was adequately 
funded by the federal government, investigates complaints of 
discrimination or breaches of human rights under the federal laws that 
implement the country's human rights treaty obligations. It enjoyed a 
high level of public trust, and its reports were deemed credible and 
reported widely by the media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
    In addition to the HRC at the federal level, each state and 
territory has a human rights ombudsman.
    In November Parliament passed the Human Rights (Parliamentary 
Scrutiny) Act 2011, to take effect January 4, 2012. It requires that 
each new bill be accompanied by a statement of compatibility with 
international human rights obligations and establishes a new 
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Federal laws prohibit discrimination based on gender, disability, 
race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin, marital status, and 
age. An independent judiciary and a network of federal, state, and 
territorial equal opportunity offices effectively enforced the law.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
including spousal rape, and the government enforced the law effectively 
when cases were reported to the authorities. Penalties for rape are 
prescribed in the laws of the individual states and territories.
    The law prohibits violence against women, including domestic abuse, 
and the government enforced the law. Nonetheless, violence against 
women remained a problem, particularly in indigenous communities.
    According to the ABS, one in three Australian women has experienced 
physical violence since the age of 15, and almost one in five has 
experienced sexual violence. The ABS reported that during 2010 police 
recorded 17,757 victims of sexual assault, 85 percent of whom were 
female.
    Domestic violence was believed to be widely underreported in 
indigenous communities; among reasons cited for this were cultural 
factors and the isolation of many indigenous communities. The federal 
and state governments funded programs to combat domestic violence and 
support victims, including the funding of numerous women's shelters. 
Police were trained in responding to domestic violence. Federal, state, 
and territorial governments collaborated on the National Plan to Reduce 
Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022, which is the first 
effort to coordinate action at all levels of government to reduce the 
levels of violence against women.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment. Complaints 
of such harassment can give rise to criminal proceedings or 
disciplinary action against the defendant and compensation claims by 
the plaintiff. In May Parliament passed changes to the Sex 
Discrimination Act that strengthen protections against sexual 
harassment in workplaces and schools and prohibit use of new 
technologies for sexual harassment.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children. State and territorial governments provided comprehensive sex 
education and sexual health and family planning services. Women had 
access to contraception and skilled medical care, including essential 
prenatal, obstetric, and postpartum care. Indigenous persons in 
isolated communities had more difficulty accessing such services than 
the population as a whole. Cultural factors and language barriers also 
inhibited use of sexual health and family planning services by 
indigenous persons, and rates of sexually transmitted diseases and 
teenage pregnancy among the indigenous population were higher than 
among the general population.

    Discrimination.--The independent federal sex discrimination 
commissioner, who is part of the HRC, undertakes research, policy, and 
educational work designed to eliminate gender discrimination. There 
also is a federal Office for Women, which focuses on reducing violence 
against women, promoting women's economic security, and enhancing the 
status of women.
    The HRC received 459 complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act 
from July 2010 to July 2011. Of the 448 finalized complaints, 142 were 
terminated, 185 resolved by conciliation, 87 discontinued or withdrawn, 
and 34 administratively closed for other reasons.
    Women have equal status under the law, and the law provides for pay 
equity. According to the ABS, the pay gap between male and female full-
time workers was 11 percent. The law requires organizations with 100 or 
more employees to establish a workplace program to remove barriers to 
women entering and advancing in their organization. In May Parliament 
passed laws prohibiting discrimination against employees on the basis 
of family responsibilities and establishing breastfeeding as a separate 
ground of discrimination under the Sex Discrimination Act.
    In April the government directed the sex discrimination 
commissioner to lead an HRC review of the treatment of women in the 
Australian Defense Force Academy and the Australian Defense Force. 
There were highly organized and effective private and public women's 
rights organizations at the federal, state, and local levels.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is not derived by birth 
in the country. Children are citizens if at least one parent was a 
citizen or permanent resident at the time of the child's birth. 
Children born in the country to parents who are not citizens or 
permanent residents acquire citizenship on their tenth birthday if they 
have lived most of their life in the country. Births generally were 
registered promptly.

    Child Abuse.--State and territorial child protection agencies 
investigate and institute prosecutions of persons for child neglect or 
abuse. All states and territories have laws or guidelines that require 
members of certain designated professions to report suspected child 
abuse or neglect. The federal government's role in child abuse 
prevention is limited to funding research, carrying out education 
campaigns, developing an action plan against the commercial 
exploitation of children, and funding community-based parenting 
programs.
    According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, there 
were 31,527 substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect from July 
2010 to June 2011. These included physical abuse, sexual abuse, 
emotional abuse, and neglect.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--Both the law and medical policy 
prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM). While the number of 
Australian residents born in countries where the practice is common is 
growing, there were no known reports of FGM during the year.

    Child Sexual Exploitation.--The law provides for penalties of up to 
25 years' imprisonment for commercial sexual exploitation of children. 
There were some cases of children under age 18 engaged in prostitution. 
Some teenagers--primarily girls, but also some boys--were forced into 
prostitution by pimps. In October 2010 the Australian Capital Territory 
(ACT) parliament launched a review of the ACT Prostitution Act. In 
March the ACT chief police officer stated that greater powers were 
needed to identify children working in the sex industry.
    The law prohibits child sex tourism and related offenses for the 
country's residents and citizens overseas and provides for a maximum 
sentence of 17 years' imprisonment upon conviction. The act prohibits 
citizens and residents from engaging in, facilitating, or benefiting 
from sexual activity with children under age 16 overseas. During the 
year the government continued its awareness campaign to deter child sex 
tourism through the distribution of materials to citizens and residents 
traveling overseas.
    The legal age for consensual sex is 16 in the ACT, New South Wales, 
the Northern Territory, Victoria, and Western Australia, and 17 in 
Tasmania and South Australia. In Queensland the age of consent for anal 
sex is 18, while the age of consent for all other sexual acts is 16. 
Maximum penalties for violations vary across jurisdictions. Defenses 
include reasonable grounds for believing that the alleged victim was 
above the legal age of consent and situations in which the two persons 
are close in age.
    All states and territories criminalize the possession, production, 
and distribution of child pornography. Maximum penalties for these 
offenses range from four to 21 years' imprisonment. Federal laws 
criminalize using a ``carriage service'' (for example, the Internet) 
for the purpose of possessing, producing, and supplying child 
pornography. The maximum penalty for these offenses is 10 years' 
imprisonment and/or a fine of A$275,000 ($280,500). Federal law allows 
suspected pedophiles to be tried in the country regardless of where the 
crime is committed. The Australian Federal Police worked with its 
international partners to identify and charge persons involved in the 
online exploitation of children, and the government increased the 
number of staff dedicated to online child protection.
    The government largely continued federal emergency intervention 
measures initiated in 2007 to combat child sexual abuse in 73 Northern 
Territory Aboriginal communities. These measures included emergency 
bans on alcohol and pornography sales, restrictions on the payment of 
welfare benefits in cash, linkage of support payments to school 
attendance, and medical examinations for all Northern Territory 
indigenous children under age 16. On June 5, the indigenous affairs 
minister stated there had been improvements in provision of food and 
clothing, school attendance, policing, and the level of violent crime.
    While public reaction to the intervention remained generally 
positive, some Aboriginal activists asserted that there was inadequate 
consultation and that the measures were racially discriminatory, since 
nonindigenous persons in the Northern Territory were not initially 
subject to such restrictions.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--According to the 2006 census, the country's Jewish 
community numbered 88,832 persons. Civil-society organizations 
estimated the number in 2010 to be 120,000. In the 12-month period 
ending September 30, an annual report on anti-Semitism by the Executive 
Council of Australian Jewry, an NGO, recorded 517 anti-Semitic 
incidents, compared with 394 during the previous 12 months. The 
increase of incidents by more than 30 percent was largely due to a 
proliferation of ``hate e-mail.'' There were some incidents of physical 
assault and anti-Semitic vandalism, including the July assault of an 
elderly man entering a synagogue in Sydney's eastern suburbs and 
incidents in which eggs were thrown at Jewish persons and anti-Semitic 
graffiti was painted on buildings and vehicles in Melbourne and Sydney.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip/.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment; education; access to premises; provision of 
goods, services (including health services), and facilities; 
accommodation; purchase of land; activities of clubs and associations; 
sport; and the administration of federal laws and programs. The 
government effectively enforced the law.
    The disability discrimination commissioner, who is part of the HRC, 
promotes compliance with federal laws that prohibit discrimination 
against persons with disabilities. The commissioner also promotes 
implementation and enforcement of state laws that require equal access 
to buildings and otherwise protect the rights of persons with 
disabilities, including ensuring equal access to communications and 
information. The law also provides for mediation by the HRC of 
discrimination complaints, authorizes fines against violators, and 
awards damages to victims of discrimination.
    The HRC's annual report stated that 823 complaints citing 2,176 
alleged grounds of discrimination were filed under the Disability 
Discrimination Act from July 2010 to June 2011. Of these, 31 percent 
were employment related, and 35 percent involved the provision of goods 
and services. The HRC resolved 961 complaints during the period, 465 
through conciliation. In August the government stated it would develop 
a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) with the states and 
territories, following the release of the Productivity Commission's 
final report on the issue. In December the government announced the 
establishment of a new agency to design and implement the NDIS.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the HRC's July 
2010 to June 2011 annual report, it received 422 complaints under the 
Racial Discrimination Act, citing 826 alleged grounds of 
discrimination. Of these, 35 percent involved employment, 27 percent 
involved provision of goods and services, and 16 percent alleged 
``racial hatred.'' Persons born outside the country filed 44 percent of 
the complaints, and Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders filed 34 
percent. During this period the HRC resolved 472 complaints, 208 
through conciliation.

    Indigenous People.--According to the 2006 census, Aboriginals and 
Torres Strait Islanders numbered approximately 517,200 persons, roughly 
2.5 percent of the total population.
    Indigenous ownership of land is predominately in non-urban areas; 
the land was previously government owned. The 1976 Federal Aboriginal 
Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act transferred almost 50 percent of 
the land in the Northern Territory to indigenous ownership. In 2009 
indigenous-owned or controlled land comprised 17.3 percent of the 
country's area (excluding native title lands). The National Native 
Title Tribunal resolves native land title applications through 
mediation and acts as an arbitrator in cases where the parties cannot 
reach agreement about proposed mining or other development of land. In 
2002 the High Court ruled that native title rights do not extend to 
mineral or petroleum resources and that, in cases where leaseholder 
rights and native title rights are in conflict, leaseholder rights 
prevail but do not extinguish native title rights. In June native title 
agreements were reached between Rio Tinto Iron Ore and traditional 
owner groups in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia; the government 
praised their commitment to ``best practice'' native title negotiating.
    The approximately A$1.7 billion ($1.73 billion) Indigenous Land 
Corporation is a special account that provides a continuing source of 
funds for indigenous persons to purchase land for their use. It 
receives a minimum federal government payment of A$45 million ($45.9 
million) each year. It is separate from the National Native Title 
Tribunal and is not for payment of compensation to indigenous persons 
for loss of land or to titleholders for return of land to indigenous 
persons.
    As part of the intervention to address child sexual abuse in 
Northern Territory indigenous communities (see section 6, Children), 
the government took control of certain indigenous communities through 
five-year land leases. In May the government reported it was paying 
rent to 48 of the 64 affected communities as of December 2010 and was 
negotiating with the remaining communities. All rent payments are 
backdated to the commencement date of the leases and the payments are 
scheduled to continue until the leases expire in August 2012.
    In August Amnesty International (AI) released a report criticizing 
certain policies of the Northern Territory government with regard to 
Aboriginal communities. The report asserted that the government's 
policy of establishing, and directing most indigenous-specific funding 
toward, a number of larger, more centralized ``growth towns'' was 
making it increasingly difficult for indigenous residents of smaller, 
more remote communities located on their traditional lands 
(``homelands'' communities) to access needed social services. AI 
reported that many such communities suffered from substandard, 
overcrowded housing and poor sanitation, and inadequate resources for 
necessary maintenance and improvements. In October AI's secretary 
general met with the indigenous affairs minister and toured indigenous 
communities in the Northern Territory.
    The government expressed a commitment to ``closing the gap'' on 
indigenous inequalities and since 2008 the prime minister has reported 
to Parliament the progress on this effort at the beginning of each 
year. In August the Productivity Commission released a report that 
noted improvements in 13 areas of indigenous well-being but worsening 
or no change in 17 areas. It found that infant and child mortality 
rates had ``improved significantly'' since the early 1990s; median 
household income had increased from 2002-2008; school retention to year 
10 had increased from 83 to 96 percent from 1998-2010; and there were 
improvements in employment. However, ``virtually all the indicators in 
this report'' showed wide gaps between indigenous and other 
Australians. A February 2010 Department of Finance document, obtained 
by the media through a freedom of information request, found ``dismally 
poor returns'' from indigenous-specific spending.
    According to the ABS, in 2010 indigenous adults were 14 times as 
likely as nonindigenous adults to be imprisoned and comprised 26 
percent of the prison population. Life expectancy for indigenous men 
was estimated to be 67.2 years, compared with 78.7 years for 
nonindigenous men; life expectancy for indigenous women was estimated 
to be 72.9 years, compared with 82.6 years for nonindigenous women; and 
the indigenous unemployment rate was 18 percent, compared with 5 
percent for the nonindigenous population.
    With the intervention to address child abuse in Northern Territory 
indigenous communities scheduled to conclude in mid-2012, the 
government held more than 470 consultation meetings between June and 
August with indigenous people and other stakeholders in more than 100 
communities and town camps in the Northern Territory to develop further 
steps for improving the lives of indigenous people.
    The National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, established in 
May 2010, is the national representative body for Aboriginals and 
Torres Strait Islanders. It was designated to receive A$29.2 million 
($29.7 million) over five years from the federal government. The HRC 
has an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice 
commissioner.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Discrimination on the basis of 
sexual orientation is prohibited by law in a wide range of areas, 
including in family law, taxes, child support, immigration, pensions, 
and social security.
    The HRC received 17 complaints of employment discrimination based 
on sexual orientation from July 2010 through June 2011.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Federal and various 
state laws prohibit discrimination on the grounds of HIV-positive 
status. The HRC reviews complaints of discrimination on the grounds of 
HIV/AIDS status under the category of disability-related complaints, 
but a specific breakdown of HIV/AIDS-related cases was not available. 
There were no reports of violence against persons based on HIV/AIDS 
status.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers, including public servants, the right to 
associate freely domestically and internationally and also protects 
against antiunion discrimination. Federal, state, and territorial laws 
provide workers with the right to organize, conduct legal strikes, and 
bargain collectively. Labor laws protect citizens, permanent residents, 
and migrant workers.
    Under the law, workers are free to join or decline to join 
industrial associations, and discrimination against individuals for 
membership or nonmembership in a union is prohibited. Nationally, 
employers and other unions have the right to challenge changes to union 
``eligibility rules,'' which essentially outline the types of employees 
the union may represent.
    The law provides for the right to strike but confines strikes to 
the period when unions are negotiating a new enterprise agreement and 
specifies that strikes must concern matters under negotiation. This is 
known as ``protected action.'' Protected action provides employers, 
employees, and unions with legal immunity from claims of losses 
incurred by industrial action. The law subjects strikers to penalties 
for taking industrial action during the life of an agreement and 
contains secondary-boycott provisions. Strikes in essential services--
such as law enforcement, air-traffic control, and sanitation--are 
regulated by federal and state laws. The law permits the government to 
stop strikes judged to have an ``adverse effect'' on the employer or 
damage third parties. Industrial action must be authorized by a secret 
ballot of employees; unions complained that this requirement was unduly 
time consuming and expensive to implement.
    The Fair Work Act, which replaced the Workplace Relations Act as 
the country's basic labor law for private-sector workers, became fully 
effective in 2010. The act promotes freedom of association by giving 
unions greater ability to access worksites. In terms of collective 
bargaining, it requires employers to act in ``good faith'' when a 
majority of employees want a collective agreement and enables low-paid 
workers to engage in multi-employer ``good faith bargaining.'' It also 
reduces the list of ``prohibited content'' issues that may not be 
included in a collective agreement. Finally, the act gives stronger 
intervention powers to Fair Work Australia, an independent industrial 
relations management institution that assumed the functions of the 
Australia Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) and other workplace 
bodies upon its establishment in 2009. Final industrial awards created 
by the AIRC, as well as a national safety net of minimum employment 
standards, came into effect in 2010.
    Under the Fair Work Act, union officials have the right to enter 
workplaces if they hold right-of-entry permits granted by Fair Work 
Australia. Written notice is generally required to enter a workplace 
and should be provided no less than 24 hours and no more than 14 days 
before the proposed visit. A permit holder may enter premises to hold 
discussions with one or more employees. Eligibility to enter premises 
is not dependent on whether a union is party to an award or enterprise 
agreement, but rather on whether a union covers the work of a 
particular employee.
    In practice unions carried out their functions free from government 
or political control. Almost all unions were affiliated with the 
Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Workers exercised the right 
to associate freely with generally few constraints, but some obstacles 
remained. For example, in New South Wales (NSW), registration of a 
union may be cancelled if a strike has a substantially adverse effect 
on public service or defies an order of the NSW Industrial Relations 
Commission. Unions and the International Confederation of Trade Unions 
criticized the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) 
as discriminating against unions in the building and construction 
sector. The ABCC was created as an enforcement agency by the Building 
and Construction Industry Improvement Act of 2005, which gave it 
authority to interview individual workers privately in connection with 
its regulatory investigations. It is an offense to refuse to attend an 
ABCC examination. The ABCC commissioner can refer such cases to the 
Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions (CDPP). If the CDPP 
chooses to prosecute, a court may impose a penalty of up to six months' 
imprisonment and a maximum fine of A$3,300 ($3,366) for breaches. 
Workers also may be fined up to A$22,000 ($22,440) for taking unlawful 
industrial action. In November the ABCC began litigation against three 
unions and five union officials for alleged unlawful industrial action; 
the case was still pending at year's end.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law explicitly 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, but there were some reports of 
foreign nationals who came to the country for temporary work being 
subjected to forced labor by employers or labor agencies, including in 
such sectors as agriculture, cleaning, construction, hospitality, 
manufacturing, and domestic service.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There is no federally mandated minimum age of employment, but state-
imposed compulsory educational requirements, enforced by state 
educational authorities, effectively prevented most children from 
joining the work force full time until they were age 17. Federal, 
state, and territorial governments effectively monitored and enforced a 
network of laws, which varied among jurisdictions, governing the 
minimum age for leaving school, claiming unemployment benefits, and 
engaging in specified occupations. The ACTU also monitored adherence to 
these laws.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On June 5, Fair Work Australia 
increased the national minimum wage for adults working full time (38 
hours per week) from A$569.90 ($580.20) toA$589.30 ($599.90) per week, 
based on a minimum hourly rate of A$15.51 ($15.80). There is no 
official poverty-level income figure, but the minimum wage, combined 
with welfare payments, is intended to provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family. Although a formal minimum wage exists, 
most workers received higher wages through enterprise agreements or 
individual contracts. Above-minimum wage classifications apply to 
certain trades and professions.
    A taxpayer-funded, paid parental leave benefit began January 1. The 
Paid Parental Leave Scheme pays the minimum wage rate for up to 18 
weeks. To qualify, a worker must have worked for at least 10 of the 13 
months prior to the birth or adoption of the child and worked for at 
least 330 hours during that 10-month period.
    Under the Fair Work Act, maximum weekly hours are 38 plus 
``reasonable'' additional hours (determined according to the act, 
taking into account factors such as an employee's health, family 
responsibilities, ability to claim overtime, pattern of hours in the 
industry, and amount of notice given). Industry standards or awards 
mandate rest periods and pay for overtime. Migrant worker visas require 
that employers respect these protections and provide bonds to cover 
health insurance, worker's compensation insurance, unemployment 
insurance, and other benefits.
    Federal or state occupational health and safety laws apply to every 
workplace. Federal and state laws provide employees with the right to 
cease work without endangering their future employment if they believe 
that particular work activities pose an immediate threat to individual 
health or safety. On July 28, the government signed the instrument of 
ratification for the International Labor Organization Convention 162 
Concerning Safety in the Use of Asbestos.
    The Fair Work Ombudsman provides employers and employees advice 
about their rights and has authority to investigate employers alleged 
to have exploited employees unlawfully. The ombudsman also has 
authority to prosecute employers that do not meet their obligations to 
workers. Employers can be ordered to compensate employees and are 
sometimes assessed fines. Between July 2010 and June 2011, the Fair 
Work Ombudsman recouped A$26.7 million ($27.2 million) for 17,360 
underpaid employees. Workers exercised their right to a safe workplace 
in practice and have recourse to state health and safety commissions, 
which investigate complaints and order remedial action.
    Over the past two decades, the percentage of the workforce regarded 
as temporary workers increased substantially. Temporary workers include 
both part-time and casual employees. Part-time employees have set hours 
and the same entitlements as full-time employees. The ABS reported 
that, as of June, approximately 3.43 million persons (30 percent of the 
workforce) were employed as part-time workers, of whom 70 percent were 
women. Casual employees are employed on a daily or hourly wage basis. 
They do not receive paid annual or sick leave, but the law mandates 
they receive additional pay to compensate for this.
    There were some complaints that some individuals on so-called 
``457'' employer-sponsored, skilled-worker visas were being underpaid 
and used as a less expensive substitute for Australian workers. On May 
31, a Western Australian construction company that recruited workers 
from China and paid them less than A$3 ($3.06) per hour was prosecuted 
by the Fair Work Ombudsman and fined A$123,000 ($125,460). The 
company's managing director and part-owner, a Chinese national, was 
fined an additional A$24,600 ($25,092) and the company ordered to pay 
the workers a total of A$242,000 ($246,840) in back pay plus interest 
of approximately A$65,000 ($66,300).
    There were no reports of worker rights abuses in the country's 
three inhabited dependent territories of Christmas Island, Cocos 
(Keeling) Island, and Norfolk Island.

                               __________

                           BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

                           executive summary
    Brunei Darussalam is a sultanate that has been ruled by the same 
family for more than 600 years. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah governed 
under longstanding emergency powers that placed few limits on his 
power. The Legislative Council, made up of appointed, indirectly 
elected, and ex officio members, met during the year and exercised a 
limited role in recommending and approving legislation. Security forces 
reported to the sultan.
    Restrictions on religious freedom; exploitation of foreign workers; 
and limitations on freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association 
were the most prevalent human rights problems.
    The following human rights problems were also reported: inability 
of citizens to change their government, trafficking in persons, and 
discrimination against women.
    There were no reported cases of government officials committing 
human rights abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports 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.--There were no reports of torture or rape and sexual abuse 
during the reporting period. Caning is mandatory for 42 criminal 
offenses, and as of September, 38 individuals were caned, most commonly 
for drug-related offenses and immigration violations. Canings were 
carried out in the presence of a doctor, who had the authority to 
interrupt the punishment for medical reasons.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards. Prisoners had 
access to potable water. Jerudong Prison held 437 ``serious 
offenders,'' of whom 49 were women and held in a separate facility in 
the prison compound. Juveniles are not subject to imprisonment; 
however, courts sent juvenile offenders to a local rehabilitation 
center known as Al-Hidayah. Approximately 4.5 percent of the prison 
population consisted of individuals awaiting trial.
    Approximately 30 percent of the inmate population consisted of 
foreigners of various religions. Inmates were permitted to practice 
their religions. A government-appointed committee composed of retired 
government officials monitored prison conditions and investigated 
complaints of inhumane conditions.
    During the year there were no reports that human rights monitors 
requested prison visits. Foreign diplomats had consular access to 
detained nationals. Family members were permitted to visit prisoners 
and bring food.
    The prison has an ombudsmen system in place. ``Visiting justices,'' 
ranging from prominent businessmen and community leaders to 
representatives of public institutions, visited prisons once a month. 
The prison also implemented rehabilitation programs to persuade inmates 
to repent and become productive citizens. To improve prisons, 
authorities began construction on a second modern facility, as the 
existing prison facility could only officially hold 366 inmates and 
required renovation. The government trained prison personnel from all 
facilities in basic counseling to assist inmates in identifying issues 
and facilitate reintegration into society.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these 
prohibitions; however, they could be superseded through the invocation 
of emergency powers.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police force and 
Internal Security Department (ISD), which fall under the direct control 
of the Prime Minister's Office, have primary responsibility for 
enforcing laws and maintaining order. The Departments of Labor and 
Immigration in the Ministry of Home Affairs also hold limited law 
enforcement powers for labor and immigration offenses. Civilian 
authorities maintained effective control over the police force, the 
ISD, and the labor and immigration departments, and the government has 
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. 
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during 
the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A magistrate 
must endorse a warrant for arrest, except when police are unable to 
obtain an endorsement in time to prevent the flight of a suspect. 
Police officers have broad powers to make arrests without warrants of 
persons caught in the act of committing a crime. After arrest, police 
may detain a suspect up to 48 hours before bringing the individual 
before a magistrate. There were no reports that persons were detained 
without a hearing.
    The Internal Security Act (ISA) permits the government to detain 
suspects without trial for renewable two-year periods. The government 
regularly convenes an independent advisory board consisting of 
executive and judicial branch officials to review individual ISA 
detentions and recommend whether they should be renewed for an 
additional two years. There were no detainees held under the ISA during 
the year.
    Detainees reportedly were informed promptly of the charges against 
them. Information on detainees was made public only after their 
release.
    The criminal procedure code allows for bail except in cases 
indicated as ``discretionary'' by law. Detainees generally had prompt 
access to lawyers and family visitations; however, police may deny 
access in exceptional cases, such as probable cause to suspect witness 
tampering. There is no legal provision to provide affordable legal 
counsel for poor defendants, except in capital cases. In noncapital 
cases indigent defendants may act as their own lawyers in court.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law does not provide 
specifically for an independent judiciary, but the courts appeared to 
act independently, and there were no known instances of government 
interference with the judiciary. All higher court judges are appointed 
by the sultan and serve at his pleasure.

    Trial Procedures.--Secular law, based on English common law, 
provides all citizens with the right to a fair and efficient judicial 
process, and the judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants in 
criminal proceedings are presumed innocent. Most criminal cases are 
conducted in public trials by a judge or panel of judges. Defendants do 
not enjoy the right to trial by jury. Procedural safeguards include the 
right to defense counsel, an interpreter, and the right to confront 
accusers and to avoid self-incrimination. Lawyers have access to the 
accused once charges are filed through the trial process, but not 
during initial questioning. Defendants and their attorneys have access 
to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants have a 
right of appeal. ISA detainees were denied the right to legal counsel 
and were not presumed to be innocent.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is no specific 
provision of law to bring civil suit for human rights violations. In 
customary practice individuals may present written complaints about 
rights violations to the sultan directly for review. Such complaints 
typically were handled privately, and there were no reports of civil 
remedies handled in this manner during the year. Individual government 
servants who act outside their authority resulting in civil wrongdoing 
may be subject to fines or prosecution. Civil courts were generally 
unbiased.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law permits government intrusion into the privacy 
of individual persons, families, and homes. Sharia (Islamic law) 
permits enforcement of khalwat, an Islamic prohibition on the close 
proximity of a Muslim and a member of the opposite sex other than a 
spouse or close relative. The government reported 256 khalwat cases 
during the year, of which 102 cases were pending or in trial, 134 
remained under investigation and eight concluded with convictions, and 
the remainder still under investigation.
    The government monitored private e-mail, cell phone messaging, and 
Internet chat room exchanges believed to be subversive. An informant 
system was used as part of the government's internal security apparatus 
to monitor suspected dissidents.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Under the emergency powers and the 
Sedition Act, the government significantly restricted freedom of speech 
and of the press.

    Status of Freedom of Speech and Press.--Freedom of Speech.--Members 
of the Legislative Council are allowed to ``speak their opinions 
freely,'' but they are prohibited from using language or exhibiting 
behavior deemed ``irresponsible, derogatory, scandalous, or 
injurious.'' Under the Sedition Act, it is an offense to challenge the 
authority of the sultan or members of the royal family. The act also 
makes it an offense to challenge ``the standing or prominence of the 
national philosophy, the Malay Muslim Monarchy concept.'' This ideology 
permeates the country's life and government administration, promoting 
Islam as the state religion and monarchical rule as the sole acceptable 
governing system, and upholding the rights and privileges of the Brunei 
Malay race.

    Freedom of Press.--The Sedition Act requires local newspapers to 
obtain operating licenses and prior government approval of foreign 
editorial staff, journalists, and printers. The law also gives the 
government the right to bar distribution of foreign publications and 
requires distributors of foreign publications to obtain a government 
permit. The law allows the government to close a newspaper without 
giving prior notice or showing cause.
    Foreign newspapers were routinely available, although the 
government must approve their distribution. Internet versions of 
foreign media were routinely available.
    The government owned the only television station. Three Malaysian 
television stations were also available, along with two satellite 
television services. Some content was subject to censorship based on 
theme, but such censorship was not consistent.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The Sedition Act provides for 
prosecution of newspaper publishers, proprietors, or editors who 
publish anything allegedly having a seditious intent. Publication may 
be suspended for up to one year, and publishers, printers, or editors 
can be prohibited from publishing, writing, or editing any other 
newspaper. Printing equipment can also be seized. Persons convicted 
under the act face fines of up to BN$5,000 (approximately $3,850) and 
jail terms of up to three years. Journalists deemed to have published 
or written ``false and malicious'' reports may be subjected to fines or 
prison sentences.
    The country's major newspapers practiced self-censorship.

    Internet Freedom.--Social media Web sites are widely accessible. 
The government monitored private e-mail and Internet chat room 
exchanges of citizens believed to be subversive. There was anecdotal 
information that fear of government surveillance reduced the number of 
visitors to Internet forums.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom; however, some researchers chose to 
publish under a pseudonym from overseas when they perceived that 
subject matter would not be well received.
    A censorship board made up of officials from the Prime Minister's 
Office and the Ministries of Home Affairs and Religious Affairs 
determines the suitability of concerts, movies, cultural shows, and 
other public performances. Religious authorities also review 
publications to ensure compliance with social norms.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Under the emergency powers, the government significantly 
restricted the right to assemble. According to the Societies Order, 
public gatherings of 10 or more persons require a government permit, 
and police have the authority to stop an unofficial assembly of five or 
more persons deemed likely to cause a disturbance of the peace.

    Freedom of Association.--The law does not provide for freedom of 
association: It requires formal groups, including religious, social, or 
cultural, to register with the Registrar of Societies and provide 
regular reports on membership and finances. The government continued to 
restrict the activities of international service organizations such as 
Rotary, Kiwanis, and the Lions, which developed out of the established 
business community. Regulations promulgated by the Ministry of 
Religious Affairs and the State Mufti's Office prohibited Muslims from 
joining these organizations.
    The National Development Party maintained that government 
restrictions limited the party's growth.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.

    Foreign Travel.--Government employees, both citizens and foreigners 
working on a contractual basis, must apply for approval to go abroad. 
The government's 2009 guidelines state that no government official may 
travel alone and that nonrelated male and female officers may not 
travel together.

    Exile.--By law the sultan may forcibly exile, permanently or 
temporarily, any person deemed a threat to the safety, peace, or 
welfare of the country. However, there have been no cases of banishment 
since 1984.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The government 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. However, as in past years, there were no such expulsions or 
returns during the year.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived through one's parents 
rather than through birth within the country's territory. According to 
unofficial sources, there were approximately 20,000 stateless persons 
in the country, including persons born and raised in the country who 
were not automatically accorded citizenship and its attendant rights 
but were granted permanent resident status. A significant number of 
stateless persons were of Chinese descent, which may be attributed to 
the fact that the Chinese are the largest non-Malay minority group. All 
citizenship applicants must pass a test demonstrating sufficient 
knowledge of Malay culture and language.
    Stateless persons can obtain citizenship through an application 
process if they are permanent residents who have contributed to the 
country's economic growth, women married to citizens for two years, 
women married to permanent residents for five years, or children of 
permanent resident fathers after the age of two years and six months. 
Children of citizen mothers are subject to a separate application 
process to confirm citizenship because transmission of citizenship can 
only be automatically assumed for children of citizen fathers. 
Government policy mandates that a child born in the country to 
stateless parents must apply for a special pass. The births of members 
of the Dusun and Iban indigenous groups living in rural areas often 
were not registered. Coupled with illiteracy, this made it difficult 
for such persons to obtain citizenship.
    Stateless persons enjoy many privileges of citizenship, but do not 
have the right to own land and are not entitled to full subsidized 
health care or higher education. The Land Code Strata Act, effective in 
2009, allows permanent residents to own units of multistory property 
for a maximum of 99 years. In lieu of passports, the government issued 
certificates of identity to allow these persons international travel 
and reentry; foreign visas may be entered in the certificates.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens do not have the right to change their government 
peacefully. The sultan ruled through hereditary birthright. While 
Brunei is a constitutional sultanate, in 1962 the former sultan invoked 
an article of the constitution that allowed him to assume emergency 
powers. The current sultan continued the practice, which places few 
limits on his power.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Political authority and control rested entirely with the sultan. A 33-
person legislative council (LegCo) of primarily appointed members and 
little independent power provides a forum for public discussion of 
proposed government programs, as well as administrative deficiencies. 
It convenes once a year for approximately two weeks, after which it is 
dissolved. The Seventh LegCo session met in March 2011. Council members 
may be disqualified from service on the basis of various offenses, 
including disloyalty to the sultan.
    Persons age 18 years and above may vote by secret ballot in village 
consultative council elections, which are based on a traditional system 
of village chiefs. Candidates must be Muslim, approved by the 
government, and citizens or permanent residents for more than 15 years. 
The councils communicate constituent wishes through a variety of 
channels, including periodic meetings chaired by the minister of home 
affairs. The government also meets with mukim (collections of villages) 
representatives to allow for airing of local grievances and concerns.

    Political Parties.--The Brunei National Development Party was the 
country's only registered political party. The party pledged to support 
the sultan and the government. Although the party criticized 
administrative deficiencies, its few activities received limited 
publicity, and it was hindered by membership restrictions.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--In 2009 the sultan 
appointed the first female cabinet member, Datin Hayati, as attorney 
general. Two other women held ministerial rank--the sultan's sister, 
Princess Masna, ambassador-at-large in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
and Trade; and Deputy Minister for Culture Youth and Sports Datin 
Adina, appointed in 2010. There were four female permanent 
secretaries--in the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs and Trade, 
and Industry and Primary Resources. There were two women appointed to 
the LegCo.
    Ethnic Chinese held one Cabinet-level post and two LegCo positions.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government generally implemented these laws effectively; however, 
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    In February 2010, a former government minister accused of 
corruption in awarding government projects was sentenced to seven years 
in prison and ordered to pay 90 percent of the prosecution costs, which 
amounted to approximately BN$523,900 ($403,000) and restitution to the 
government. The total amount he received in gratuities was BN$4.2 
million ($3.2 million). The former minister's alleged partner was 
sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison, and an arrest warrant 
was issued. If captured, he would also be liable for 10 percent of the 
prosecution costs, amounting to BN$55,875 ($42,980).
    Government officials were not subject to financial disclosure 
reports.
    The law provides for public access to government information. 
During the year the LegCo approved, and the government published, a 
summary of the budget for the fiscal year. However, the government 
continued to restrict and classify as confidential some information on 
the financial dealings of the government and the royal family. The law 
provides that no court can compel any person to give evidence relating 
to unpublished government records unless the relevant ministry's 
permanent secretary gives consent.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Few civil society organizations dealt directly with human rights. A 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) seeking to operate in the country is 
required to apply for permission under the Companies Act and provide a 
list of members. The government may suspend the activities of a 
registered NGO if it deems such an act in the public interest. In the 
past the Consumers' Association of Brunei attempted to address human 
rights, but the government impeded these attempts. However, the 
association remained active in building relationships with other NGOs 
in the region dealing with consumer protection issues. There were NGOs 
that dealt with such issues as assisting victims of domestic violence.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--There are no government human 
rights bodies in Brunei.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law does not contain specific provisions prohibiting 
discrimination based on race, sex, disability, language, or social 
status.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law stipulates 
imprisonment of up to 30 years and caning with no fewer than 12 strokes 
for rape. The law does not criminalize spousal rape; it explicitly 
states that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife is not rape, as 
long as she is not under age 13. The legal age of marriage is 14. 
Protections against sexual assault by a spouse are provided under the 
amended Islamic Family Law Order 2010 and Married Women Act Order 2010, 
and the penalty for breaching a protection order is a fine not 
exceeding BN$2,000 ($1,538) or imprisonment not exceeding six months. 
By year's end, 26 rape cases had been reported, 15 of which remained 
under investigation.
    There is no specific domestic violence law, but arrests were made 
in domestic violence cases under the Women and Girls Protection Act. 
The police investigate domestic violence only in response to a report 
by a victim. The police were generally responsive in the investigation 
of such cases. During the year there were a total of 144 cases of 
spousal abuse reported; at year's end 120 cases were under 
investigation. The criminal penalty for a minor domestic assault is one 
to two weeks in jail and a fine. An assault resulting in serious injury 
is punishable by caning and a longer prison sentence.
    A special unit staffed by female officers existed within the police 
department to investigate domestic abuse and child abuse complaints. A 
hotline was available for persons to report domestic violence. The 
Department of Community Development in the Ministry of Culture, Youth, 
and Sport provided counseling for women and their spouses. Based on 
individual circumstances, some female and minor victims were placed in 
protective custody at a government-sponsored shelter while waiting for 
their cases to be brought to court.
    Islamic courts staffed by male and female officials offered 
counseling to married couples in domestic violence cases. Officials did 
not encourage wives to reconcile with flagrantly abusive spouses, and 
Islamic courts recognized assault as grounds for divorce.

    Female genital mutilation (FGM).--There is no law criminalizing 
FGM, but there were no known reports of FGM during the year.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and 
stipulates that whoever assaults or uses criminal force, intending 
thereby to outrage or knowing it is likely to outrage the modesty of a 
person, shall be punished with imprisonment for as much as five years 
and caning. The government reported 45 cases of sexual harassment, of 
which 32 were under investigation at year's end.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children and have 
access to modern contraceptive devices and methods through the 
government and private clinics. Citizens enjoy free medical and health 
care, including skilled attendance during childbirth, prenatal care, 
and essential obstetric and postpartum care. Women had equal access to 
diagnostic and treatment facilities for sexually transmitted diseases.

    Discrimination.--In accordance with the government's interpretation 
of Qur'anic precepts, Muslim women have rights similar to those of 
Muslim men in areas such as divorce and child custody. Islamic law 
requires that males receive twice the inheritance of women. Civil law 
permits female citizens to own property and other assets, including 
business properties. Male spouses of female citizens could not apply 
for permanent resident status until they had resided in the country for 
a cumulative total of 20 out of the 25 years immediately preceding 
their application. Female spouses of male citizens on the other hand 
could apply for permanent resident status after only two years of 
marriage. Female citizens may pass their nationality on to their 
children, but only through an application process.
    Women with permanent positions in the government could apply for 
travel allowances for their children; however, they could not do so for 
their husbands working in the private sector. With this exception, they 
received the same allowance privileges as their male counterparts. 
According to government statistics, women made up 57 percent of the 
civil service force and held 28 percent of senior management posts. 
Women were not discriminated against in access to employment and 
business. Some professions such as meteorology are designated as 
women's professions, and men noted discrimination during hiring.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived through 
one's father rather than through birth within the country's territory. 
Female citizens may pass their nationality on to their children, but 
only through an application process. Birth registration is universal 
and immediate except for Dusun and Iban indigenous persons in rural 
areas (see section 6, Indigenous People). Parents with stateless status 
are required to apply for a special pass for a child born in the 
country; failure to register a child made it difficult to enroll the 
child in school.

    Child Abuse.--As of October the government reported 16 cases of 
child abuse. Two cases of child abandonment were reported during the 
year. The Royal Brunei Police Force hosts a specialized Woman and Child 
Abuse Crime Investigation Unit and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and 
Sports provides shelter and care to victims.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--By law sexual intercourse with a 
girl under age 14 constitutes rape and is punishable by imprisonment 
for not less than eight years and not more than 30 years and not less 
than 12 strokes of the cane. The law protects women, girls, and boys 
from exploitation through prostitution and ``other immoral purposes,'' 
including pornography.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no known Jewish communities in the 
country, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit 
discrimination against or mandate accessibility or other assistance for 
persons with disabilities. The government provided educational services 
for children with disabilities, but the level of services available was 
uneven. The Department for Community Development conducted several 
programs targeted at promoting awareness of the needs of persons with 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Government policy provides for 
preferential programs designed to boost the economic position of ethnic 
Malays, who constitute approximately two-thirds of the population.

    Indigenous People.--A large percentage of indigenous Iban were 
stateless. In rural areas some indigenous Iban did not register the 
birth of their children, which created difficulties during school 
enrollment, access to healthcare, and employment. Indigenous lands of 
the Iban and Duson are not specifically demarcated and there were no 
specially designated representatives for the indigenous groups in the 
Legislative Council or other government entities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law makes it a criminal 
offense to have ``sexual intercourse against the order of nature.'' 
There were no reports of official or societal discrimination based on 
sexual orientation in employment, housing, access to education, or 
health care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for workers to form and join unions. Under the Trade 
Unions Act, unions must be registered with the government. All workers, 
including civil servants other than those serving in the military and 
those working as prison guards or police officers, may form and join 
trade unions of their choice without previous authorization or 
excessive requirements. The law applies in the Muara Export Zone. 
Although government data indicated approximately 87,867 foreigners 
worked in the country, these workers are excluded from most labor law 
protections, including freedom of association.
    While the law permits the formation of trade union federations, it 
forbids affiliation with international labor organizations unless there 
is consent from the home affairs minister and the Department of Labor.
    The government prohibits strikes, and the law makes no explicit 
provision allowing either the right to strike or the right to 
collective bargaining.
    The law prohibits employers from discriminating against workers in 
connection with union activities, but it does not provide for 
reinstatement for dismissal related to union activity.
    There were no reports of government interference in union activity, 
and worker organizations were independent of the government. Employer 
discrimination against union members was not reported.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor. However, there were credible reports of 
forced labor, including debt bondage and involuntary domestic 
servitude. Foreign embassies with a large population of citizens 
working in the country reported cases of nonpayment of wages for up to 
a year as well as a lack of access to travel documents. For many cases 
in which abuses were committed, the government levied fines and 
prosecuted offenders.
    There were credible reports of domestic and construction workers 
from neighboring countries paying the equivalent of two months' wages 
to fictitious employers to obtain labor passes and work freelance on 
the local economy. The government has begun a process to only issue 
labor passes to registered recruiting agencies. There were also 
credible reports of citizens from South Asian countries working for 
little or no pay for up to one year to pay back foreign agents for 
securing jobs for them.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Various domestic laws prohibit the employment of children under age 16. 
Parental consent and approval by the Labor Commission is required for 
those under 18. Female workers under 18 may not work at night or on 
offshore oil platforms. The Department of Labor, which is part of the 
Ministry of Home Affairs, effectively enforced laws related to the 
employment of children. There were no reports of violations of child 
labor laws.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not set a minimum 
wage, but most employed citizens command good salaries; per capita 
income stands at BN$40,700 (US$31,300). Some foreign embassies set 
minimum wage requirements for their nationals working in Brunei. The 
standard workweek is Monday through Thursday, then Saturday, with 
Friday and Sunday off, allowing for two rest periods of 24 hours each 
week. The law provides for paid annual holidays, overtime for work in 
excess of 48 hours per week, and double time for work performed on 
legal holidays, but laws regarding hours were frequently not observed 
in practice.
    Occupational health and safety standards were established by 
government regulations. The law permits a worker to leave a hazardous 
job site without jeopardizing his employment.
    The Labor Department inspected working conditions on a routine 
basis and in response to complaints. The government usually moved 
quickly to investigate abuses, and abusive employers faced criminal and 
civil penalties. The Labor Department had the power to terminate the 
license of abusive employers and revoke their foreign labor quota. The 
majority of abuse cases were settled out of court through agreements 
where the employer paid financial compensation to the worker.
    The government generally enforced labor, health and safety 
regulations effectively, but enforcement in the unskilled labor sector 
was lax. This was true especially for foreign laborers at construction 
sites, where pay arrearage and inadequate safety and living conditions 
were reported. The government may close a workplace where health, 
safety, or working conditions are unsatisfactory.
    Government mediation by the Labor Department continued to be the 
most common means used to resolve labor disputes. In 2010 the 
commissioner responsible for labor was given additional authority to 
protect foreign worker rights. The government prosecuted employers who 
employed irregular immigrants or did not process workers' documents, 
rendering them irregular. When grievances could not be resolved, 
regulations require employers to pay for the repatriation of the 
foreign workers and all outstanding wages.
    In practice foreign workers who filed grievances sometimes did not 
receive their back wages, and required their embassy to assist in their 
repatriation. Foreign migrant workers often signed contracts with 
employment agents or other sponsors in their home countries that 
reduced their promised salaries through payments to the agencies or 
sponsors. The government forbade wage deductions to agencies or 
sponsors and mandated that employees receive their full salaries; 
nevertheless, foreign workers continued to pay high fees to manpower 
agents to obtain work in the country. The government now requires 
recruiting agencies to be registered.
    During the year there were cases reported of nonpayment of 
salaries. The majority of cases involved domestic workers. In many 
cases, judicial penalties including convictions and fines were levied 
against employers found to not pay wages.
    In practice government protective measures for foreign workers 
existed and included arrival briefings for workers, inspections of 
facilities, and a telephone hotline for worker complaints. However, 
immigration law allows for prison sentences and caning for workers who 
overstay their work permits and for irregular immigrants seeking work, 
as well as for foreign workers employed by companies other than their 
initial sponsor. While the majority of prosecutions involved those who 
overstayed their work permits, many workers faced prosecution for 
residing under irregular status due to their former employers' 
negligence.

                               __________

                                 BURMA

                           executive summary
    Burma's government is headed by President Thein Sein; the military-
run State Peace and Development Council was officially dissolved in 
2011, although former and active military officers continued to wield 
authority at each level of government. In November 2010 the then-
military regime held the country's first parliamentary elections since 
1990, which were neither free nor fair. The government's main party, 
the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), claimed an 
overwhelming majority of seats in the national parliament and state/
regional assemblies. Military security forces report to military 
channels, and civilian security forces, such as the police, report to a 
nominally civilian ministry headed by an active-duty military general.
    Significant developments during the year included the emergence of 
a legislature that allowed opposition parties to contribute 
substantively to debates; democratic reforms such as the amendment of 
laws allowing opposition parties to register and Aung San Suu Kyi to 
announce her bid for Parliament; the release of hundreds of political 
prisoners; the relaxation of a number of censorship controls, the 
opening of some space in society for the expression of dissent; and an 
easing of restrictions on some internal and foreign travel for 
citizens.
    Significant human rights problems in the country persisted, 
including military attacks against ethnic minorities in border states, 
which resulted in civilian deaths, forced relocations, sexual violence, 
and other serious abuses. The government also continued to detain 
hundreds of political prisoners. Abuses of prisoners continued, 
including the alleged transfer of civilian prisoners to military units. 
These units reportedly were often engaged in armed conflict in the 
border areas where they were forced to carry supplies, clear mines, and 
serve as human shields.
    Government security forces were responsible for extrajudicial 
killings, rape, and torture. The government detained civic activists 
indefinitely and without charges. The government abused some prisoners 
and detainees, held persons in harsh and life-threatening conditions, 
routinely used incommunicado detention, and imprisoned citizens 
arbitrarily for political motives. The government infringed on 
citizens' privacy and restricted freedom of speech, press, assembly, 
association, religion, and movement. The government impeded the work of 
many domestic human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). 
International NGOs continued to encounter a difficult--although 
somewhat improved--environment. Recruitment of child soldiers, 
discrimination against ethnic minorities, and trafficking in persons--
particularly of women and girls--continued. Forced labor, including 
that of children, persisted.
    The government generally did not take action to prosecute or punish 
those responsible for human rights abuses, with a few isolated 
exceptions. Abuses continued with impunity. Rampant corruption and the 
absence of due process undermined the rule of law.
    Ethnic armed groups also committed human rights abuses, including 
forced labor and recruitment of child soldiers.
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 unrelated to internal conflict (see section 1.g. for killings 
related to internal conflict). On September 8, a public works employee 
allegedly beat to death a 28-year-old villager for violating a 
prohibition against riding a motorbike on the Rangoon-Mandalay highway. 
In August in a military supply and logistics battalion in Taungoo, Bago 
Region, fellow soldiers reportedly beat a number of child soldiers to 
death. The government did not hold the alleged perpetrators 
responsible. Unlike in 2010, there were no reports of custodial deaths 
during the year.

    b. Disappearance.--Unlike in previous years, there were few reports 
of the ``disappearance'' of private citizens outside of prison and the 
border region for prolonged periods for interrogation by authorities 
without notification of family members.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Laws prohibit torture; however, members of the security 
forces reportedly tortured, beat, and otherwise abused prisoners, 
detainees, and other citizens. Security forces routinely subjected 
detainees to harsh interrogation techniques designed to intimidate and 
disorient, including severe beatings, electric shocks, burning with 
lighters, water torture, and deprivation of food, water, and sleep. 
Both male and female political prisoners reported sexual abuse, 
including harassment and molestation, beating or burning of the 
genitals, threats of rape, and rape. As in previous years, authorities 
took little or no action to investigate incidents or punish 
perpetrators. Following a June 24 bomb blast at the Naypyitaw rail 
station, rights activists reported authorities detained and tortured an 
innocent person to obtain a confession.
    Press reports in late May alleged that the authorities transferred 
seven political prisoners conducting a hunger strike in Insein prison 
to 10-by-10 foot cells used to house dogs. The reports noted that these 
prisoners were routinely beaten, forced to crawl like dogs, and denied 
water and medical treatment (see section 1.g. for reports of abuses in 
connection with the internal conflicts).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions, and 
particularly labor camp conditions, continued to be harsh and life 
threatening. Prison food, clothing, and medical supplies were scarce 
and of poor quality. Bedding often was inadequate, sometimes consisting 
of a single mat or wooden platform on the floor. Prisoners did not have 
access to potable water. In many cases family members, who generally 
were allowed one or two visits per month, supplemented prisoners' 
official rations of medicine and basic necessities. Authorities 
continued to send political prisoners to remote prisons located 
hundreds of miles from their families to make family visits difficult 
or impossible.
    The government continued to deny prisoners adequate medical care, 
although these inadequate medical services in part reflected the poor 
health-care services available to the general population. Prisoners 
suffered from health problems including malaria, heart disease, high 
blood pressure, tuberculosis, and stomach problems--the result of 
unhygienic conditions and spoiled food. HIV/AIDS infection rates in 
prisons reportedly were high due to communal use of syringes for 
medical injections and sexual abuse by infected prisoners. Former 
prisoners reported that prison authorities designated some long-term 
prisoners as unofficial ``wardens'' to supervise and control other 
prisoners. The sexual abuse by these ``wardens'' of prisoners as young 
as 15 and 16 years of age contributed to high rates of HIV/AIDS 
infection. Former prisoners also complained of being held in aging 
physical structures that received no maintenance and were infested with 
rodents, bacteria, and mold.
    The Correctional Department operated an estimated 42 prisons and 
more than 100 labor camps. According to a human rights activist, there 
were approximately 66,000 prisoners, 58,000 male and 8,000 female. The 
number of juvenile detainees was estimated to be a few hundred. Prison 
overcrowding reportedly was minimal, as authorities were said to 
transfer prisoners to labor camps as a space-saving measure.
    Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners, and 
political prisoners were sometimes held together with common criminals. 
Prison authorities held high-profile political prisoners such as the 
monk U Gambira, leader of the 2007 monk-led protests or All Burma Monks 
Alliance, separately. Reports varied on whether or not political 
prisoners faced significantly different treatment--and whether it was 
better or worse--than other prisoners.
    While there were reports that many prisoners and detainees had 
access to visitors and could sometimes submit complaints to judicial 
authorities without censorship or negative repercussion, not all 
prisoners were allowed to worship freely. Monks imprisoned during the 
2007 prodemocracy movement known as the Saffron Revolution reported 
that they were denied permission to keep Buddhist Sabbath (Uposatha), 
wear robes, and shave their heads and were not allowed to eat food 
compatible with the monastic code. Authorities generally did not 
investigate credible allegations of inhumane conditions. The National 
Human Rights Commission, formed in August, accepted an unknown number 
of complaints regarding prison conditions (see section 5). There were 
reportedly no measures to improve prison record keeping. There were 
some alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders, including 
fines and ``community arrests'' requiring the convicted person to stay 
within their community and report regularly to authorities. There were 
no rehabilitation programs.
    The government generally did not permit media or other independent 
groups to monitor prison conditions. However, for the first time in 
nearly six years, on July 1-2 the government allowed officials from the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to survey the water and 
sanitation structure of three prisons for future improvements. At 
year's end the government continued to prevent the ICRC from meeting 
directly with prisoners.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law does not specifically 
prohibit arbitrary arrest but requires permission of a court for 
detention of more than 24 hours. The government nevertheless 
arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens. The law allows authorities 
to extend sentences after prisoners have completed their original 
sentence, and the government regularly used this provision. The law 
allows authorities to order detention without charge or trial of anyone 
they believe is performing or might perform any act that endangers the 
sovereignty and security of the state or public peace and tranquility.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of Home 
Affairs oversees the police force, which is largely responsible in law 
and practice for law enforcement and maintenance of order within the 
country, particularly in urban areas and the larger cities. The 
Ministry of Defense oversees the Office of the Chief of Military 
Security Affairs (MSA) and also plays a significant role in the 
maintenance of law and order, particularly in rural and border areas.
    Security forces continued to maintain a tight grip on inhabitants, 
due in large part to the fear of arbitrary arrest and detention and 
also through threats to individual livelihoods. These forces enjoyed 
impunity. Effective legal mechanisms do not exist to investigate 
security force abuses. The police initiated some activities to raise 
human rights awareness; in August the authorities conducted a 10-day 
human rights training course for 140 mid-level managers across all 
ministries and 100 officers from the police force, Bureau of Special 
Investigation, Correctional Department, General Administration 
Department, and Immigration and Population Department. The government 
also took steps to address the use of child soldiers (see section 
1.g.).

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law 
warrants for searches and arrests are required; however, the MSA and 
police conduct searches and make arrests at will. Special Branch police 
responsible for state security matters reportedly held people during 
what they termed an ``interrogation phase,'' a period not defined in 
law, before pretrial detention period. With court permission police can 
detain persons without charge for up to two weeks, with the possibility 
of a second two-week extension. However, authorities frequently and 
arbitrarily extended detentions beyond this period, sometimes for up to 
a year, without bringing the detainees before a judge or informing 
persons of the charges against them. Detainees were not always allowed 
prompt access to a lawyer of their choice, or, if indigent, to one 
provided by the state. The government continued to detain persons under 
the Emergency Provisions Act of 1950, which allows for indefinite 
detention. Bail was commonly offered in criminal cases but rarely 
allowed for political prisoners. Bribery was a common substitute for 
bail. The government regularly refused detainees the right to consult a 
lawyer and occasionally imprisoned, detained, and disbarred lawyers who 
undertook to represent politically controversial defendants. The 
government continued to use incommunicado detention and failed to 
inform detainees' relatives of detentions in a timely fashion.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Local human rights activists reported that 
police detained Yangonthar (aka Thiha) in July for suspicion of theft. 
Despite a lack of evidence, he was put in custody and tortured. He was 
later sent to court where police officially charged him with theft, and 
he disappeared. At year's end his whereabouts were unknown.

    Amnesty.--On October 11, President Thein Sein announced an amnesty 
for 6,359 prisoners, including an estimated 241 political prisoners, 
although the precise number of prisoners and political prisoners could 
not be verified. The October release included several prominent 
political prisoners including prodemocracy activist and comedian 
Zarganar.
    The president also granted an amnesty on May 17, commuting all 
death sentences to life imprisonment and granting a one-year sentence 
reduction to all other prisoners. The government claimed that 14,600 
prisoners benefitted from early release. Post and press reports 
indicated that 55 to 72 of these were political prisoners. Rights 
groups and political prisoners denounced the May amnesty as inadequate; 
political prisoners in Rangoon's Insein prison responded with a hunger 
strike. As punishment authorities allegedly transferred seven of these 
prisoners to cells used to house military dogs (see section 1.c.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The Judiciary Law of 2000 calls 
for an independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary was 
characterized by institutionalized corruption and remained under the de 
facto control of the military and government. According to studies by 
civil society organizations, payments were made at all stages in the 
legal process and to all levels of officials, for routine matters such 
as access to a detainee in police custody and determining the outcome 
of a case. The court system and its operation were seriously flawed, 
particularly in the handling of political cases.
    The use of blanket laws to arbitrarily arrest and detain citizens 
for peaceful activities--including the Emergency Provisions Act, 
Unlawful Associations Act, Habitual Offenders Act, Electronic 
Transactions Law, Television and Video Act, and Law on Safeguarding the 
State from the Danger of Subversive Elements--as well as the 
manipulation of the courts for political ends continued to stifle 
peaceful dissent and deprive citizens of due process and the right to a 
fair trial. Lawyers representing political prisoners or political cases 
faced harassment and have been disbarred and arbitrarily arrest and 
detained. During the year authorities revoked the license of U Tin Aung 
Tun, a lawyer representing farmers in a land confiscation case. The 
Asian Legal Resource Center reported some 32 lawyers remained disbarred 
and unable to practice law for political reasons.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
but it also grants broad exceptions, in effect allowing the government 
to violate these rights at will. In common criminal cases, the court 
generally respected some basic due process rights, whereas there was a 
fundamental lack of due process in most politically sensitive cases.
    Defendants do not enjoy the right to presumption of innocence, 
trial by jury, or, except in capital cases, the right to consult an 
attorney or have one provided at government expense. There is no right 
to confront witnesses and present witnesses and evidence, although 
sometimes witnesses and evidence were allowed. While there is no right 
to access government-held evidence, sometimes it was provided. 
Defendants have a right to appeal judgments; however, in most appeal 
hearings the verdicts were upheld.
    Common criminal cases were open to the public. Defense attorneys in 
criminal cases generally had 15 days to prepare for trial. In political 
cases, however, courts often did not notify defense attorneys of the 
trial start date, leaving them little or no time to prepare. Even when 
lawyers of political activists were allowed the 15 days to prepare 
their clients' cases, they often were not allowed to present arguments 
on the day the case was tried in court. Instead, in some instances 
courts sentenced defendants immediately upon entering the courtroom, 
without arguments. Defense attorneys could call witnesses, cross-
examine them, and examine evidence. However, their primary function was 
not to disprove a client's guilt, which was usually a foregone 
conclusion, but rather to bargain with the judge to obtain the shortest 
possible sentence for the client.
    Political trials normally were not open to family members or the 
public. National League for Democracy (NLD) members and other 
prodemocracy activists generally appeared able to retain the counsel of 
lawyers; however, lawyers were not given the opportunity to mount a 
proper defense. They were denied adequate access to their clients 
before trial, were not informed when trials would begin, and 
occasionally were not allowed to attend their clients' trials. Reliable 
reports indicated senior government authorities dictated verdicts in 
political cases, regardless of the evidence or the law.
    Persons complained they were not informed of the arrests of family 
members in a timely manner, not told their whereabouts, and often 
denied the right to see them and attend court hearings.
    The government used the penal code to render excessive sentences 
against political activists by allowing government prosecutors to 
charge detainees with multiple violations of tangential and archaic or 
widely ignored laws, such as violating currency laws, publishing 
materials likely to cause alarm, or spreading rumors. This practice 
resulted in lengthy cumulative sentences. The regime prosecuted 
political prisoners under such measures as Defamation of the State, the 
Emergency Provision Act, Law on Safeguarding the State from the Danger 
of Subversive Elements, Television and Video Act, Unlawful Associations 
Act, Electronic Transactions Law, and the Law Relating to the Forming 
of Organizations.
    The government routinely extended prison sentences under the Law 
Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements. The 
minister of home affairs has the right to extend unilaterally a prison 
sentence by two months on six separate occasions, for a total extension 
of up to one year.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Unlike in previous years, the 
government began a dialogue with the United States and others in the 
international community on the issue of political prisoners, whom it 
termed ``security detainees.'' NGOs estimated the government released 
approximately 300 political prisoners over the year; however, at year's 
end hundreds of political prisoners remained in detention, although the 
precise number was unknown. Exile and prodemocracy groups believed that 
the vast majority of these prisoners had not engaged in any violence, 
theft, or other common crimes. Although some reports indicated that 
political prisoners enjoyed more protections than other prisoners or 
detainees, many human rights activists and former political prisoners 
noted that only high-profile political prisoners were afforded greater 
protections, while lower-level political prisoners had substantially 
fewer protections than the general prison population. The government 
did not permit international humanitarian organizations access to 
political prisoners.
    Myint Aye, a prominent political prisoner and NLD member, remained 
in prison at year's end. In 2002 he cofounded Human Rights Defenders 
and Promoters (HRDP) to raise awareness of the U.N. Declaration of 
Human Rights. He reportedly endured strenuous interrogation and was 
forced to watch his colleagues be tortured. He confessed to the alleged 
crime of planning a terrorist act in Rangoon. In 2008 he was sentenced 
to life plus eight years' imprisonment under section 3 of the Explosive 
Substances Act of 1908, section 6 of the Law Relating to Forming of 
Organizations of 1988, section 17/1 of the Unlawful Association Act of 
1908, and section 13/1 of the Burma Immigration (Emergency Provisions) 
Act of 1947.
    Go Pian Sing, a member of the ethnic Chin minority and a practicing 
Christian, was reportedly kidnapped and ``disappeared'' by military 
personnel in 2009 in Rangoon. In January 2010 he was sentenced to 15 
years, the maximum under the Electronics Act, for allegedly sharing 
information with foreign media about Burma's military ties with North 
Korea. At year's end he remained imprisoned at Taungoo prison.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although no specific 
mechanisms or laws provide for civil remedies for human rights 
violations, complainants can use provisions of the penal code and laws 
of civil procedure to seek civil remedies. There were no examples of 
successful attempts to do so.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the Land Acquisition Act protects the privacy 
and security of the home and property, agents of the government entered 
homes without judicial authorization. In May local authorities in Pyay 
entered houses, without judicial authorization, in an area where a 
human rights organization planned to hold a seminar.
    There was no law protecting the privacy of correspondence or other 
communications of citizens, and it was widely believed authorities 
regularly screened private correspondence, telephone calls, and e-mail.
    The government reportedly continued to control and monitor the 
licensing and procurement of all two-way electronic communication 
devices. Possession of an unregistered telephone, fax machine, or 
computer modem is punishable by imprisonment. Users of unregistered 
cordless telephones, including cell and satellite phones, face up to 
three years in prison and a heavy fine. Use of unregistered radios is 
also punishable by a fine and imprisonment. International NGOs reported 
that in northern Rakhine State, a man was sentenced to two years' 
imprisonment for possession of an unregistered cell phone.
    Activists reported that through official intelligence network and 
administrative procedures, the government systematically monitored the 
travel of citizens and closely monitored the activities of those known 
to be active politically (see section 2.d.).
    The government reportedly continued its practice of conscripting 
members of ethnic minorities for service as military porters in Bago 
Region and in Chin, Karen, Kachin, Kayah, Rakhine, and Shan states (see 
section 1.g.).
    While no legal provisions restrict the right of adult women and men 
to marry, a 1998 Supreme Court directive prohibits legal officials from 
accepting petitions for marriages between Burmese women and foreign men 
and from officiating over such marriages. The directive was 
sporadically enforced. In northern Rakhine State, local authorities 
require ethnic Rohingya to obtain a permit--a step not required of 
other ethnicities--to marry officially. Wait times for the permit can 
exceed one year, and bribes were usually required. Unauthorized 
marriages can result in the Rohingya man being prosecuted under section 
493 of the penal code, which prohibits men from ``deceitfully'' 
marrying a woman, and can result in a prison sentence or fine.
    Family members were sometimes punished for alleged offenses 
committed by individuals.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Government forces continued to engage in widespread and systematic 
abuses of noncombatant civilian populations in ethnic minority border 
regions. Following the November 2010 election, conflicts broke out in 
Karen, Kachin, Shan, and Mon states following the government's demand 
that ethnic cease-fire groups transform their armies into border guard 
forces under control of the central government. Sources from various 
ethnic groups reported incidents of killings, torture, abductions, and 
forced labor of civilians; the use of civilians as human shields and 
mine sweepers; and rape as a war tactic in Shan, Kachin, Mon and Karen 
states. Authorities, surreptitiously and without informing family 
members, transferred prisoners from prisons across the country to the 
front lines of battles with armed ethnic groups; the military then 
forced prisoners to carry equipment, clear mines, and serve as human 
shields. Many were killed by members of the military, by mines, or 
during clashes with insurgents. There were no reports of government 
efforts to protect the population from conflict-related abuses.
    On August 18, President Thein Sein issued an official invitation to 
armed ethnic groups to participate in peace talks through a two-track 
process. The government invited national armed ethnic groups to first 
contact their state or regional government to launch preliminary 
negotiations, and the president pledged that the government would form 
a national-level team for the second phase of peace talks. By year's 
end the government had reached preliminary cease-fire agreements with 
three armed ethnic groups: the United Wa State Army on September 6, the 
National Democratic Alliance Army on September 7, and the Shan State 
Army-South on December 2. Additionally, the government had met with 
other armed ethnic groups, including the Karen National Union, New Mon 
State Party, Karenni National Progressive Party, Chin National Front, 
Pa-O National Liberation Organization, and Kachin Independence 
Organization, the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). 
At year's end, however, these groups had not reached cease-fire 
agreements with the government, and violence continued in Karen, 
Kachin, Shan, and Mon states.
    In a December 10 letter, the president ordered the army to halt 
attacks in Kachin State; at year's end this directive had not resulted 
in an end to hostilities.

    Killings.--Human rights organizations detailed an extensive system 
of forced labor involving the transfer of at least 800 prisoners to the 
border regions for use by the military as porters in border conflicts. 
Military officials reportedly killed, tortured, and otherwise seriously 
abused porters. According to one report, in January military officials 
transferred a civilian from Insein Prison to Pa'an Prison en route to 
the front line to serve as a porter for a military unit belonging to 
the Light Infantry Battalion #208. The source reported that Sergeant Sa 
Ya Shein Htun stabbed a porter to death when he was unable to carry his 
heavy load. Shein Htun reportedly also kicked a porter whose leg was 
blown off by a land mine into a ditch, where he died.
    Civilians were also killed through indiscriminate use of force. In 
May in Shan State, government troops confiscated Tarlaw villager Sai 
Chi Hla's vehicle and ordered him to transport troops from Maikai town 
to Shataw town. On the way the group encountered fighting between the 
Shan State Army and government troops, and Sai Chi Hla was killed in 
the skirmish.

    Abductions.--Residents of ethnic border areas reported continuing 
disappearances related to conflict.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--Media reports documented government 
torture and beating of civilians alleged to be working with insurgent 
groups. A human rights activist in Chin State reported that government 
troops in Thlen Rawn village tortured and beat a village administrator 
accused of associating with the Chin National Army in September. Human 
rights groups reported that the military continued to use rape as a 
tactic of war. Aung San Suu Kyi told a group of Nobel Prize winners in 
May that rape was a ``very real problem'' and ``is used as a weapon by 
armed forces to intimidate the ethnic nationalities.'' The Kachin 
Women's Association Thailand reported that Burma Army troops gang-raped 
at least 18 women and girls between June 10-18 during advances on 
Kachin Independence Army strongholds along the border with China. Army 
troops reportedly killed four of these women, and one later died from 
her injuries. The Shan Women's Action Network and Shan Human Rights 
Foundation documented the rape of five women, including a 12-year-old, 
a 50-year-old, and a nine-month-pregnant woman, by an army patrol from 
the Light Infantry Battalion 513 in the village Wan Loi in Ke See 
township on July 5.
    Government troops used land mines without taking measures to 
protect civilians. In May government troops used children as young as 
five years of age as human shields and mine sweepers in Shan State's 
Maingshu area.
    Human rights activists, international NGOs, and representatives 
from various ethnic regions described continuing recruitment of child 
soldiers despite military rules prohibiting enlistments of persons 
under18 years of age. One of a number of tactics used by the military 
involved military recruiters reportedly approaching street children or 
children found alone at railway stations and asking for identification. 
If the children could not provide identification, recruiters threatened 
to imprison them unless they agreed to join the army. Alternatively, 
recruiters offered incentives, promising a good salary, continuing 
education, and housing if the child joined. Other children were simply 
abducted. Poverty led a large number to volunteer. In July in Pyay town 
in Bago Region, the army reportedly paid 200,000 kyat ($440) to 
purchase five child soldiers from a female trafficker. Because 
recruiters were rewarded for the number of recruits regardless of age 
or suitability, they typically did not screen for underage recruits. 
Child soldiers were reported to be as young as 11 years of age. The 
government investigated and acted to release children from military 
service if the children or their families were aware of the law 
prohibiting child labor and exercised their right to file a complaint 
with the International Labor Organization (ILO).
    Armed ethnic groups also reportedly used land mines, forced 
recruitment, and child soldiers.
    The government took steps toward improvement of these practices. 
Since 2008 military officials in cooperation with UNICEF have trained 
14 groups of approximately 1,000 military officers, including 
recruitment officers and officers up to the rank of captain, on 
international humanitarian law. UNICEF trained the country's four 
recruitment hubs and reported increased numbers of child soldiers 
rejected at this stage. During the year and in response to ILO 
complaints, the military dismissed three officers from the military and 
imprisoned them in civilian jails for the use of child soldiers. The 
military demoted other military personnel, docked their salaries, and 
took away 12 months' seniority for pension and promotion rights. 
Government officials also participated in ILO workshops on forced 
labor.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.
    International humanitarian organizations reported that the 
government deliberately restricted passage of relief supplies and 
denied humanitarian organizations unfettered access to conflict 
affected areas. In July the press reported that the government 
instructed domestic NGOs not to provide aid to Kachin war refugees who 
fled to Kachin Independence Organization areas along the border with 
China; however, the government allowed relief efforts by some domestic 
NGOs and faith-based organizations throughout Kachin State. In December 
the government allowed a UN-affiliated convoy access to Kachin State to 
deliver humanitarian aid and conduct a needs assessment of camps of 
internally displaced persons (IDPs).
    Human rights organizations and inhabitants of conflict areas 
confirmed press reports that government troops used civilians as human 
shields. Human rights researchers in western Karen State detailed an 
incident on May 15 in which a joint patrol of government troops, Light 
Infantry Battalions 375 and 541, looted civilian property and burned 
down six field huts containing stores of paddy seed belonging to 
villagers in Ku Ler Der Village, Tantabin Township. In September 
government forces in the Kehsi Mensi District of Shan State reportedly 
used monks and local civilians as human shields. There were numerous 
reports of forced displacement of civilians for reasons other than 
military necessity and of land confiscation and destruction of 
property.
    In Shan and Karen states, military forces displaced civilians from 
their traditional villages--which often were burned to the ground--and 
moved them into settlements tightly controlled by government troops. In 
Kachin State there were an estimated 30,000-55,000 IDPs by year's end, 
and the number was projected to grow. In other cases villagers driven 
from their homes fled into the forest, frequently in heavily mined 
areas, without adequate food, security, or basic medical care (see 
section 2.d.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The 2008 constitution provides that ``every citizen shall be at 
liberty in the exercise of expressing and publishing freely their 
convictions and opinions,'' so long as the exercise of these rights is 
``not contrary to the laws, enacted for Union security, prevalence of 
law and order, community peace and tranquility or public order and 
morality.''

    Freedom of Speech.--Authorities arrested, detained, convicted, and 
imprisoned citizens for expressing political opinions critical of the 
government. Because security services continued to monitor and harass 
persons believed to hold antigovernment opinions, a large segment of 
the population remained wary of speaking openly about politically 
sensitive topics. Human rights activists reported a decrease in the 
frequency and severity of the harassment as compared with the previous 
year.

    Freedom of Press.--The government controlled content in all print 
publications, and it owned or controlled all domestic radio and 
television broadcasting facilities. While official print and broadcast 
media remained primarily propaganda organs of the government, 
government media engaged in more substantive reporting than in previous 
years. Government-owned print and broadcast media covered parliamentary 
debates, including motions by both the ruling party and opposition, and 
provided more extensive reporting of meetings than in the past.
    The Ministry of Information and Security owned and operated all 
daily newspapers allowed to operate within the country.
    The government continued to monopolize and control all domestic 
television broadcasting. It offered five public channels--four 
controlled by the Ministry of Information and one controlled by the 
armed forces--and censored private channels. The general population was 
allowed to register satellite television receivers for a fee, although 
it remained far too expensive for the majority of persons.

    Violence and Harassment.--Authorities continued to arrest, harass, 
intimidate, and use violence against journalists. At year's end the 
Committee to Protect Journalists reported that 12 journalists remained 
behind bars, in addition to eight Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) 
reporters. In September, however, the government lifted restrictions on 
some journalists once considered by authorities to be enemies of the 
state.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The Ministry of Information's 
Press Scrutiny and Registration Division censored all private 
publications, including books. The 1996 Television and Video Act makes 
it a criminal offense--punishable by up to three years in prison--to 
publish, distribute, or possess a videotape not approved by the Press 
Scrutiny and Registration Division, the state censorship board. The 
government continued to crack down on uncensored foreign videotapes and 
digital video discs, although pirated copies remained widely available 
on the street.
    The censorship process required prior to publishing books could 
take several months or years and was tightly controlled by the 
censorship board, although some books and publications not permitted in 
previous years were sold freely.
    The law prohibits the publication or distribution of most printed 
material without obtaining prior approval from the government (see 
Actions to Expand Press Freedom).
    Imported publications remained subject to pre-distribution 
censorship by state censorship boards, and possession or distribution 
of publications not approved by the censorship boards was a serious 
offense. The government also restricted the importation of some foreign 
news periodicals. While Newsweek appeared on newsstands, some foreign 
publications run by exile media could not be imported. The law 
prohibits citizens from passing information about the country 
electronically to media located outside the country, exposing 
journalists who report for international media to harassment, 
intimidation, and arrest.
    Due to widespread poverty, limited literacy, and poor 
infrastructure, radio and television remained the primary media of mass 
communication. News periodicals rarely circulated outside of urban 
areas. The government and government cronies continued to monopolize 
and control the content of the seven privately owned FM radio stations 
and one government-run shortwave radio station. Foreign radio 
broadcasts, such as those of Radio Free Asia (RFA), Voice of America 
(VOA), BBC, and DVB, remained the principal sources of uncensored 
information.
    Domestic media practiced self-censorship due to fear of government 
reprisal, although by year's end, publications increasingly reported on 
political and economic topics once censored or considered too 
sensitive. Publications generally did not report on sensitive economic 
and political topics. In May the government reportedly suspended the 
Rangoon-based weekly journal True News for two weeks for reporting on 
news considered controversial by the government.

    Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--In contrast with 2010, the 
government took steps towards media independence and relaxed censorship 
in some areas.
    Beginning June 10, the government relaxed censorship on certain 
subject-matter publications--those relating to sports, health, 
children, and information technology--removing the requirement of 
advanced approval. On August 16, officials removed the daily banners in 
government press casting VOA, BBC, and exile media as ``killer 
broadcasts designed to cause trouble'' and as agents ``inciting unrest 
and violence.'' In September a number of changes occurred. High-level 
government officials granted interviews to VOA, RFA, and the BBC. 
Government-owned service providers lifted a ban on previously blocked 
news Web sites, including those operated by international and exile 
media critical of the government; blog sites such as Blogger and 
Wordpress; popular Web-based e-mail services such as Gmail, Yahoo, and 
Hotmail; the social networking site Facebook; and the online video 
portal YouTube.
    On October 4, one of the country's most widely read journals, 
Weekly Eleven News, carried an exclusive interview with Aung Zaw, the 
founder and editor of Irrawaddy Magazine, a major exile publication. 
Prior to the election, alleged contact with this type of high-profile 
antigovernment dissident would have resulted in swift and severe 
government reprisal. The most visible change was the publication in 
government media of Aung San Suu Kyi's photograph in early September 
and subsequent publication in private press of her image and related 
stories, including on the front page of a number of periodicals. 
Previously, the government censored photos of the democracy icon.

    Internet Freedom.--Although no laws or regulations explicitly allow 
the monitoring of Internet communications, the government owns the only 
Internet Service Providers in the country and reportedly monitored 
Internet communications. The Electronic Transactions Law of 2004 
prohibits the electronic transfer of information that may undermine the 
security of the state.
    In May the Post and Telecommunications Ministry issued a regulation 
prohibiting the use of Universal Serial Bus (USB) sticks (flash 
drives), CDs, floppy disks, and other external data storage devices in 
Internet cafes. Previous regulations governing Internet cafes 
instructed cafe owners to collect passport details, addresses and phone 
numbers of foreign customers, and submit monthly records of users' 
Internet usage data to the ministry. Internet cafes reportedly did not 
enforce these regulations. The ban on external electronic storage 
devices came two months after the government adopted a law blocking 
transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications such as 
Skype and other voice over Internet protocols (VoIPs). The press noted 
that while the measure was ostensibly designed to cut financial losses 
by local companies offering overseas calling, it also gave government 
censors greater control, as Skype and other VoIPs are reportedly 
difficult to monitor. The government reenabled these technologies a 
short while later.
    The government stopped blocking Web sites critical of the 
government and its activities in September (see Actions to Expand Press 
Freedom).
    While the government rarely charged persons explicitly for 
expressing political, religious, or dissenting views in electronic 
forums, including e-mail, it often charged individuals suspected of 
such activities with other crimes. For example, on March 2, in Rangoon, 
officers from the Special Branch police arrested Nay Myo Zin, former 
military officer and leader of a blood donation group, allegedly 
because of an e-mail found on his computer referencing national 
reconciliation. He was charged with a violation of the Electronics 
Transaction Law, which prohibits ``any act detrimental to the security 
of the state'' and ``receiving or sending and distributing any 
information'' related to state secrets using electronic transactions 
technology. Convictions of such crimes lead to a minimum imprisonment 
of seven years and a maximum of 15. On August 26, a Rangoon court 
sentenced Nay Myo Zin to a 10-year prison term.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted 
academic freedom. University teachers and professors, most of them 
state employees, were subject to the same restrictions on freedom of 
speech, political activities, and publications as other state 
employees. Teachers could not discuss politics at work, join or support 
political parties, or engage in political activity, and they had to 
obtain advance approval for meetings with foreigners. The government 
closely monitored curricula and censored course content. Foreigners 
were not permitted to visit university campuses without prior approval 
or attend any meetings involving students, including graduation 
ceremonies.
    The government denied ethnic minorities the freedom to teach in 
their native language and tightly controlled private and religious 
schools (see National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities in section 6).
    The government monitored most cultural events. The cultural 
activities, musical performances, exhibits, and other artistic events 
sponsored by a foreign embassy were often restricted by the government 
or cancelled at the last minute. In August the government banned Zay 
Yar Thaw, a hip-hop singer, political activist, and former political 
prisoner, from performing in a fundraiser for a home for the elderly. 
He was later allowed to perform at an NLD fundraising concert in 
December.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides the right to freedom of assembly 
but with significant limitations. The government did not respect the 
right in practice. A long-standing ordinance officially prohibits 
unauthorized outdoor assemblies of more than five persons, although it 
was not enforced consistently. On September 26, police stopped 
activists who marched together in commemoration of the fourth 
anniversary of the 2007 monk-led uprising; however, in contrast to 
similar gatherings in the past, police officers did not disperse the 
crowd violently or detain participants. On May 26, the Rangoon regional 
government denied opposition party representatives permission to hold a 
peaceful assembly and protest scheduled for June 5. As justification 
authorities cited the recent election and stated that although the 
constitution mentioned the right to assembly, the new government 
required rules and procedures to allow its exercise. Human rights 
activists reported that, although early in the year the government 
harassed persons in the vicinity prior to scheduled human rights 
seminars, the harassment abated and observers noted less government 
oversight later in the year. In December authorities allowed the NLD to 
hold a large fundraising concert in Rangoon, Rangoon's largest event 
during the calendar year.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and laws allow citizens 
to form associations and organizations; however, the government 
restricted this right in practice. The government reportedly blocked 
efforts of ethnic language and literature associations to meet and 
teach, and it impeded efforts of Islamic and Christian associations and 
organizations to gather and preach. Byzantine regulations and political 
considerations impeded registration of NGOs; the government continued 
to deny some local NGOs registration. In November the president signed 
into law an amended Political Parties Registration Law that opened 
registration to opposition parties (see section 3).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--There are no laws explicitly 
protecting freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, 
emigration, and repatriation.
    The government did not fully cooperate with the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern. However, the UNHCR 
reported that the government granted visas to international staff. The 
UNHCR subsequently established an Emergency Team in Kachin State in 
October and conducted two needs assessments in September and December.

    In-country Movement.--In practice regional and local orders, 
directives, and instructions restricted freedom of movement. The law 
requires that persons who intend to spend the night at a place other 
than their registered domicile must inform local ward or village 
authorities in advance. Any household that hosts a person not domiciled 
there must maintain a guest list and submit it to authorities. Ward-
level officials continued, albeit reportedly to a lesser degree than in 
previous years, unannounced nighttime checks of residences for 
unregistered visitors.
    The government restricted the ability of internally displaced 
persons, refugees, and stateless persons to move. While freedom of 
movement was primarily related to a person's possession of 
identification documents, in practice ethnicity and place of origin 
were sometimes factors for the authorities in enforcing regulations. 
For example, NGOs reported that a Muslim family from Rangoon with full 
citizenship was arrested at the Sittwe airport and forced to pay a 
bribe to secure their release. Authorities require the Rohingya, a 
stateless population, to carry special documents and travel permits for 
internal movement in five areas in northern Rakhine State: Butheedaung, 
Mungdawe, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw and Sittwe, along the border with 
Bangladesh. Officials lifted travel restrictions for Rohingya in 
Thandwe and Kyaukphu districts in June.
    Citizens of ethnic states report that the government restricted the 
travel of, involuntarily confined, and forcibly relocated IDPs, 
refugees, and stateless persons. In an effort to address the problem of 
trafficking in persons, officials continued to impede the travel of 
women under the age of 25.

    Foreign Travel.--The government restricted foreign travel of 
political activists, former political prisoners, and some local staff 
of foreign embassies. Authorities denied passports and exit permission, 
although unlike in previous years, late in the year they began issuing 
passports to some people whose requests had previously been denied. A 
lawyer who was politically active with the opposition in 1990 was 
denied a passport in March to travel abroad for health reasons.

    Exile.--There is a sizeable Burmese diaspora with many citizens in 
self-imposed exile. On August 17, President Thein Sein announced that 
the government would allow exiles to return home and consider waiving a 
subset of nonviolent criminal charges. However, the offer included no 
formal policy or procedure to guarantee the exiles' security.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--According to the UNHCR, 88,486 
registered Burmese refugees lived in camps in Thailand. Estimates for 
the total number of refugees, including unregistered refugees, ranged 
from 143,000 to 150,000. The government allowed the UNHCR limited 
access to monitor potential areas of return to assess conditions for 
the voluntary return of refugees and IDPs, leading UNHCR officials to 
determine that conditions remained unsuitable for their return.
    Approximately 29,000 Rohingya lived as legally registered refugees 
in two official camps in southeastern Bangladesh, but as many as 
400,000 more unregistered refugees lived outside the camps and in the 
border areas. Neither Bangladesh nor Burma claimed the stateless 
Rohingya refugees as citizens. Meanwhile, the UNHCR registered 
approximately 20,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, with an estimated 
10,000 more awaiting registration.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the UNHCR, there 
were at least 460,000 IDPs in the country as of December, although 
accurate figures were difficult to determine due to poor access to 
affected areas; many international organizations estimated the actual 
number of IDPs to be several million. Most international attention 
continued to focus on the eastern region, where armed conflict and 
repressive government policies displaced hundreds of thousands in the 
past decade to areas within partial reach of international assistance. 
An estimated 470,000 IDPs were in the East, of whom approximately 
200,000-230,000 were in temporary settlements in areas administered by 
ethnic minorities. Approximately 110,000 were believed to be in hiding 
in remote areas, and an estimated 125,000 had followed government 
eviction orders and moved to designated relocation sites. The Kachin, 
Karen, Shan, Rohingya, and Kayah were the most affected groups. 
Thousands of persons became newly displaced during the year in Karen, 
Shan, and Kachin states, according to the Internal Displacement 
Monitoring Center. The main causes of internal displacement were army 
offensives against ethnic opposition groups, forced relocation and 
labor, and recruitment of child soldiers. The government provided 
little or no protection or assistance to IDPs, many of whom were 
forcibly resettled under dangerous conditions. There was little access 
to clean water and health or education services in the IDP areas, and 
many displaced persons were unable to grow subsistence amounts of food 
due to continual threats necessitating flight.
    Authorities denied humanitarian organizations access to many IDPs 
in eastern regions along the Thai border on security grounds. IDPs in 
these areas regularly suffered hardships as a result of fighting 
between government army and insurgent groups, according to credible 
observers along the border. In addition there were reports of both 
government army and insurgent groups raping female IDPs, according to 
these observers. Karen IDPs in these areas have remained displaced for 
a number of years. The UNHCR was able to provide assistance to 
approximately 60,000 IDPs.
    Fighting continued throughout the year in several of Burma's ethnic 
minority areas, including continuation of fighting in Karen State 
between the Burmese army and ethnic armed groups. Thousands of Karen 
went to Thailand seeking temporary protection in the Phrop Prah and 
Three Pagodas Pass areas. Persons in the area reported that many 
individuals crossed the border into Thailand daily but returned to 
their homes at night when fighting subsided (see section 1.g.).

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government did not provide 
protection against expulsion or return of refugees to countries where 
their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion. However, there were no reported cases of such 
expulsion.
    The UNHCR continued to negotiate for permission to work with what 
the government termed ``communities that are affected by 
displacement.'' The government continued to allow the UNHCR to provide 
humanitarian assistance to Rohingya in northern Rakhine State.
    A separate memorandum of understanding permitted the UNHCR to work 
with implementing partners in the southeast region, including parts of 
Karen and Mon states and Tanintharyi Region. Under the terms of the 
memorandum, authorities permitted UNHCR foreign personnel to monitor 
their project activities in the region.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is granted to anyone whose parents 
are both nationals of the country as prescribed by law. In practice the 
government did not implement laws and policies to provide stateless 
persons the opportunity to gain nationality on a nondiscriminatory 
basis.
    There are 135 officially recognized ``national races'' who qualify 
for citizenship. Some members of native-born but so-called 
nonindigenous ethnic populations, such as Chinese, Indians, Bengalis, 
some Eurasians, and the country's Rohingya population, are not included 
in the list and are denied the full benefits of citizenship based on 
what the government considered their nonindigenous ancestry. Of these, 
the Muslim Rohingya fared the worst, with nearly all Rohingya denied 
any benefits of citizenship.
    According to the UNHCR, there were approximately 800,000 legally 
stateless persons, mostly Rohingya, residing in northern Rakhine State 
near the border with Bangladesh. NGOs estimated the number of Rohingyas 
in Burma at around two million persons. The government did not 
recognize the existence of the Rohingya ethnicity; instead authorities 
usually referred to them as ``Bengali,'' claiming that the Muslim 
residents of northern Rakhine State were the descendents of illegal 
immigrants from Bangladesh who moved into the country during British 
colonial rule. The government consistently denied citizenship to most 
Rohingya on the grounds their ancestors did not belong to a national 
race or indigenous group present in Burma before the beginning of 
British colonial rule in 1823, as required by the highly restrictive 
1982 citizenship law. Only Rohingya who were able to prove long 
familial links to the country were eligible to apply for 
naturalization. In practice, however, NGOs reported that Rohingya in 
northern Rakhine State who submitted applications for naturalization 
with all required documents did not receive a reply. Lawyers and 
activists noted that some Rohingya could also secure naturalization or 
``associate'' citizenship through bribery or by registering themselves 
as a recognized ethnic group such as the Kaman. The legal status of 
associate citizenship was created by the 1982 law and is applied to 
South Asian and Chinese minorities whose ancestors immigrated to Burma 
after 1823.
    Rohingya experienced severe legal, economic, and social 
discrimination. The government required them to receive prior approval 
for travel outside their village of residence, limited their access to 
higher education, and prohibited them from working as civil servants, 
including as doctors, nurses, or teachers. Authorities required 
Rohingya to obtain official permission for marriages. Rohingya were 
singled out by authorities in northern Rakhine State to perform forced 
labor and were arbitrarily arrested.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides limited rights for citizens to change 
their government through elections. Certain constitutional provisions 
grant one quarter of all national and regional parliamentary seats to 
military appointees and provide that the military assume power over all 
branches of the government should the president, who must be of 
military background, judge the security situation to be unstable, limit 
those rights.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 
November 2010 the country held its first election in 20 years, which 
the international community assessed as neither free nor fair due to an 
array of flaws including political party registration restrictions, 
detention of political activists, restrictions on free reporting and 
freedom of assembly, inadequate time to develop candidate lists and to 
prepare campaigners, lack of media access, the lack of independence of 
the electoral commission, allegations of fraud via advance voting 
irregularities, the cancellation of elections in certain ethnic areas, 
and widespread reports of official intimidation.

    Political Parties.--The ruling USDP dominated the electoral field. 
Membership in the USDP conferred advantages in many areas. According to 
human rights activists and legal sources, citizens could present USDP 
cards in place of national identification cards for travel and to 
purchase express bus, train, boat, or plane tickets. USDP members 
reportedly were given priority enrollment in foreign language 
universities in Rangoon and Mandalay and were exempt from the visitor 
registration process--required for everyone else--for overnight stays 
in townships other than the member's own.
    In November, however, the president signed into law an amended 
Political Parties Registration Law that opened registration to 
opposition parties. The amended party registration law, among other 
improvements, deleted a clause that previously prevented former 
convicts from becoming a party member, implying that freed political 
prisoners have the right to join a political party and run for office. 
Following the law's passage, the NLD submitted its application for 
registration on November 25, and on December 23, Aung San Suu Kyi 
traveled to Naypyitaw to officially register the party. In total 11 
parties applied for registration, and five were registered at year's 
end.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Following the 2010 
elections, in some instances in the newly convened Parliament, 
opposition and ethnic parties contributed substantively to debates of 
current issues and the nation's future. Lawmakers adopted important 
legislation, such as a labor law that granted workers the right to 
organize and strike and a law providing the right to peaceful assembly. 
Participation of women and minorities in political life also increased. 
Prior to 2010 there were no women in the upper ranks of political 
leadership, and members of certain minority groups were denied a role 
in politics. During the year two women were deputy ministers, and five 
ethnic states elected persons of their own ethnicity as chief minister. 
There were 12 women in the 440-seat Pyithu Hluttaw (House of 
Representatives, or lower house), or 2.7 percent of members; six in the 
224-seat Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities, or upper house), or 
2.7 percent; and 24 among the 882 total seats in the seven state and 
seven regional Hluttaws, or 2.7 percent. The representation of women at 
both the national and the state/regional level was approximately 3 
percent. There were 44 ethnic representatives from ethnic parties (non-
USDP) in the Pyithu Hluttaw, or 10 percent, 29 in the Amyotha Hluttaw, 
or 12.9 percent, five among the 544 seats in the seven regional 
Hluttaws, or 0.9 percent, and 98 among the 338 seats in the seven state 
Hluttaws, or 29 percent. The representation of ethnic parliamentarians 
from ethnic parties at both the national and state/regional level was 
thus approximately 11 percent.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The government rarely enforced laws providing criminal penalties 
for official corruption, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt 
practices with impunity. A complex and capricious regulatory 
environment fostered corruption. Authorities usually enforced 
anticorruption laws only against officials whose egregious corruption 
had become an embarrassment. The government reportedly forcibly retired 
four military generals for corruption. Lawyers throughout the country 
complained that rampant corruption pervaded the judiciary and police 
corruption was a serious problem. Police typically required victims to 
pay substantial sums for crime investigations and routinely extorted 
money from the civilian population.
    Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws. The 
government did not provide access to most official documents, and there 
is no law allowing for it. Most government data, even routine economic 
statistics, was classified or tightly controlled. During the year 
government policymaking became more transparent. The government 
published and attempted to explain new policies. Government press 
tracked legislation from the time of submission, noting the drafter, 
proposed amendments, and debate.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The government did not allow domestic human rights organizations to 
function independently. Although local human rights NGOs reported 
significantly less harassment than they did prior to the 2010 
elections, the majority could not successfully register, exposing staff 
members to imprisonment for unlawful association. There were no known 
local, registered human rights NGOs; some local NGOs had reportedly 
applied for registration through the Ministry of Home Affairs but their 
applications had been indefinitely delayed. Unregistered human rights 
organizations reported continued government and Police Special Branch 
monitoring but fewer incidents of harassment.
    During the first part of the year, human rights advocates were 
denied entry visas unless traveling under the aegis of a sponsor 
acceptable to the government and for purposes approved by the 
government. However, later in the year human rights activists and 
advocates obtained visas, including representatives from the 
international NGO Human Rights Watch. The government's monitoring of 
the movements of foreigners, interrogation of citizens concerning 
contacts with foreigners, and restrictions on the freedom of expression 
and association persisted.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--In August the government 
granted U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Tomas Quintana greater 
access than in prior visits, enabling him to meet with a broad cross-
section of society, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to visit Insein 
Prison, where he met with seven political prisoners.
    The government maintained travel restrictions on foreign 
journalists, NGO staff, U.N. agency staff, and diplomats in most 
regions. International humanitarian NGOs and U.N. agencies reported 
greater government acknowledgement of national deficiencies and an 
increased willingness of the government to engage. Employees of these 
international organizations reported continued difficulty obtaining 
long-term visas. U.N. agencies and NGOs continued to negotiate with the 
government to agree on mutually acceptable guidelines for activities.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government created the Myanmar 
National Human Rights Commission on September 5 following Quintana's 
August 21-25 visit. Commission members reported the commission intended 
to conform to U.N. guidelines for an independent national human rights 
commission and eventually bring the country into compliance with the 
Paris Principles on Human Rights. On October 7, the government 
announced procedures for citizens to file complaints of human rights 
violations with the commission, and at year's end the commission had 
accepted hundreds of complaints, reportedly focused on issues related 
to tenure rights and land confiscation. At year's end, however, the 
commission's ability to operate as a credible, independent mechanism 
remained untested.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal, but the 
government did not enforce the law effectively. Spousal rape is not a 
crime unless the wife is under 14. The minimum age requirement for 
marriage is 18.
    The government did not release statistics concerning the number of 
rape prosecutions and convictions. The police generally investigated 
reported cases of rape. However, when government soldiers committed 
rape in ethnic areas, the army rarely took action to punish those 
responsible.
    Domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained 
a problem. Spousal abuse or domestic violence was difficult to measure 
because the government did not maintain statistics. There are no laws 
specifically against domestic violence or spousal abuse (including 
spousal rape), although there are laws related to committing bodily 
harm against another person. The related prison terms range from one 
year to life, in addition to possible fines.

    Sexual Harassment.--The penal code prohibits sexual harassment and 
imposes fines or up to one year's imprisonment. There was no 
information on the prevalence of the problem because these crimes were 
largely unreported.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals had the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of children. The government has 
pronatalist policies but allows for government and private sector 
clinicians to provide contraceptives under the banner of ``birth 
spacing.'' There was a significant unmet need for family planning, and 
the most commonly reported barriers to accessing family planning 
services were cost and availability. Reproductive health services, 
including the availability of contraceptives, generally were limited to 
private clinics. Health authorities heavily regulated distribution of 
contraceptives. Community health workers were only allowed to advise on 
condoms. A client must be seen by a midwife to get injectables or oral 
contraception. An acute shortage of government sector midwives impeded 
access and prevalence. According to 2007 data, the estimated maternal 
mortality ratio in the year was 316 per 100,000 live births. 
International organizations cautioned that this figure was a 
``guesstimate,'' as the government has not conducted a census since 
1983. Major factors influencing maternal mortality included poverty, 
limited availability and access to comprehensive sexual and 
reproductive health services and maternal and newborn health services, 
lack of information and awareness in communities on these issues, a 
high number of home births, and lack of skilled birth attendants. Women 
and men were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment 
for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

    Discrimination.--By law women enjoy the same legal rights as men, 
including property and inheritance rights; however, it was not clear if 
the government enforced the law. Women remained underrepresented in 
most traditionally male occupations (e.g., mining, forestry, carpentry, 
masonry, and fishing) and were effectively barred from certain 
professions, including the military officer corps. Poverty affected 
women disproportionately.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--By law citizenship is derived 
through parents, both of whom must be nationals of the country. In 
major cities (e.g., Rangoon and Mandalay), births were registered 
immediately. In these larger cities, births must be registered to 
qualify for basic public services and obtain national identification 
cards. In smaller towns and villages, birth registration was often 
informal or nonexistent. Access to public services in remote 
communities was sometimes complicated by lack of birth registration but 
more often by a lack of services. For the Rohingya community, birth 
registration was a significant problem (see section 2.d.).

    Education.--By law education is compulsory, free, and universal 
through the fourth standard (approximately age 10). However, the 
government continued to allocate minimal resources to public education, 
and schools routinely charged informal fees. Rates of school attendance 
were low, largely due to economic hardship.

    Child Abuse.--There are laws prohibiting child abuse, but they were 
neither adequate nor enforced. The government cooperated with UNICEF to 
strengthen the 1993 Child Law, which contains many provisions to 
protect children from abuse, sale, and other types of exploitation. The 
punishment for violators is up to two years' imprisonment or a fine of 
up to 10,000 kyat ($22).

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Children reportedly engaged in 
prostitution for survival without third-party involvement. The penalty 
for child prostitution is 10 years' imprisonment and applies to the 
customer. The law prohibits pornography; the penalty is three to five 
years' imprisonment. The law prohibits statutory rape; if a victim is 
under 14 years of age, the sexual act is considered rape, with or 
without consent. The maximum sentence is two years' imprisonment when 
the victim is between ages 12 and 14, and 10 years' to life 
imprisonment when the victim is under 12. In Rangoon and Mandalay, and 
increasingly in Chin State, observers noted the widespread presence of 
female prostitutes who appeared to be in their teens. Additionally, 
some brothels reportedly offered young teenage ``virgins'' to their 
customers for a substantial additional fee. Although there is no law 
explicitly banning child sex tourism, article 13 of the 1949 
Suppression of Prostitution Act and the Prostitution Act prohibit 
pimping and prostitution, respectively, and the penal code prohibits 
having sex with a minor.
    The government did not dedicate significant resources to protecting 
the rights and welfare of children. Children were at high risk, as 
deteriorating economic conditions forced destitute parents to take them 
out of school to work in factories and teashops or to beg. With few or 
no skills, increasing numbers of children worked in the informal 
economy or in the street, where they were exposed to drugs and petty 
crime, risk of arrest, trafficking for sex and labor exploitation, and 
HIV/AIDS.

    Child Soldiers.--Both the Burmese army and ethnic minority armies 
historically have used child soldiers (see section 1.g.).

    Displaced Children.--The mortality rate of internally displaced 
children in conflict areas was significantly higher than in the rest of 
the country. In addition such children had few learning resources.

    Institutionalized Children.--Many children were placed in 
orphanages that lacked adequate food and services.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was one synagogue in Rangoon serving a small 
Jewish congregation. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no laws specifically 
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; the 
government does not provide ample protections for these persons. The 
government did not actively discriminate against persons with 
disabilities in employment, access to health care, education, or the 
provision of other state services or other areas, but there were few 
official resources to assist persons with disabilities. There are no 
laws mandating accessibility to buildings, public transportation, or 
government facilities.
    The Ministry of Health is responsible for medical rehabilitation of 
persons with disabilities, and the Ministry of Social Welfare is 
responsible for vocational training. The government operated three 
schools for the blind, two for the deaf, two rehabilitation centers for 
adults with disabilities, and two for children with disabilities. 
However, the government provided inadequate funds for its schools and 
programs for persons with disabilities.
    Military veterans with disabilities received benefits on a priority 
basis, usually a civil service job at equivalent pay. Official 
assistance to nonmilitary persons with disabilities in principle 
included two-thirds of pay for up to one year for a temporary 
disability and a tax-free stipend for permanent disability; however, 
the government did not provide job protection for private sector 
workers who became disabled.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic minorities constitute an 
estimated 30 to 40 percent of the population, and the seven ethnic 
minority states make up approximately 60 percent of the national 
territory. Wide-ranging governmental and societal discrimination 
against minorities persisted. Tension between the government army and 
ethnic populations remained high; the army stationed forces in some 
ethnic groups' areas and controlled certain cities, towns, and 
highways. Abuses included reported killings, beatings, torture, forced 
labor, forced relocations, and rapes of members of ethnic groups by 
government soldiers. Some armed ethnic groups also committed abuses 
(see sections 1.g. and 2.d.).
    At year's end the government had reached preliminary cease-fire 
agreements with three armed ethnic groups: the United Wa State Army, 
the National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Shan State Army-South. 
Fighting continued in Karen, Kachin, Shan, and Mon states (see sections 
1.g. and 2.d.).
    Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State were discriminated against 
because of their ethnicity. Most faced severe restrictions on their 
ability to travel, engage in economic activity, obtain an education, 
and register births, deaths, and marriages (see section 2.d.).
    Ethnic minority groups generally used their own languages at home. 
However, throughout all parts of the country controlled by the 
government, including ethnic minority areas, Burmese remained the 
mandatory language of instruction in state schools, and teaching in 
local languages was not offered. In ethnic minority areas most primary 
and secondary state schools did not offer instruction in the local 
ethnic minority language. There were very few domestic publications in 
indigenous minority languages. The government tightly controlled the 
limited number of Buddhist monastery-based schools, Christian 
seminaries, and Muslim madrassahs.
    During the year there were several reports of ethnic villages being 
displaced for economic development, such as those around the Myitsone 
Dam project--subsequently suspended by presidential order--in Kachin 
State.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code contains 
provisions against ``sexually abnormal'' behavior, and laws against 
``unnatural offenses'' apply equally to both men and women. These laws 
were not enforced, however, and there were no impediments to 
organizations or activities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 
persons.
    There was no official or social discrimination based on sexual 
orientation in employment.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
On October 11, the president signed the Labor Organizations Law, which 
repeals the Trade Union Act of 1926 and provides for a significant 
expansion of labor rights.
    Under this law workers may freely join labor organizations in their 
trade sector. Labor organizations must register with the Chief 
Registrar's Office. The law also provides that government may offer 
assistance to labor organizations but must allow them to operate 
independently. The law permits labor organizations to demand the 
reinstatement of workers dismissed for union activity.
    The law provides for a limited right to strike and right to lock 
out, subject to certain conditions and with the exception of certain 
industries. Strikes require a vote of the majority of the union's 
members, and three days' notice in the private sector or 14 days' 
notice in a public utility. The law prohibits strikes on purely 
political grounds but allows strikes related to labor policies, for 
example labor market policies, and on issues directly related to labor 
affairs, such as wages, salaries, welfare, and working hours.
    Strikes are prohibited in essential services, defined as ``those 
whose interruptions are liable to endanger the life, health, or 
security of the people in any segment of the population'' and include 
water services, electricity services, fire services, health services, 
and telecommunications services. However, the law also states that a 
nonessential service may become an essential service if the strikes 
last so long as to cause irreversible or disproportionate damage to 
``the occupational interests of those involved in the dispute.'' This 
definition includes a broader range of sectors than the international 
norm.
    The law gives unions the right to negotiate with employers with the 
objective of ensuring collective representation of workers and 
employers for the development of their labor relationships. It does not 
contain measures regarding management of the bargaining process and 
handling of disputes.
    One of the criticisms of the new law is that it does not repeal all 
existing legislation that constrains freedom of association. On 
November 21, the president declared invalid the 1964 Law Defining the 
Fundamental Rights and Responsibilities of the People's Workers and its 
1976 amendment, which imposed a single trade union system on the 
country. However, Order 6/88, which provides for harsh penalties for 
organizations and associations, including unions, not registered with 
the appropriate authorities, remains in place.
    Organizations that attempted to register under the new labor law 
were unable do so. The government cited lack of implementing 
legislation. At year's end implementing regulations had not been 
issued.
    Under existing law the government generally does not allow workers 
to organize independently or bargain collectively. Workers' supervision 
committees exist at factories in all government-designated industrial 
zones to address grievances. When a dispute cannot be resolved at the 
factory level, it is referred to a township committee chaired by the 
township chairman. The township committee attempts to resolve the 
problem through negotiation or, if necessary, arbitration. During the 
period a dispute is before the supervision committee process, the 
workers are required to continue their work, and demonstrations are 
prohibited.
    The ILO noted that numerous strikes occurred, but all were resolved 
with the Ministry of Labor playing a mediation role. Settlements were 
reached and accepted by both parties in every instance.
    At year's end the ILO reported that the government continued to 
hold 11 labor activists.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Laws prohibit forced 
or compulsory labor (except as a criminal punishment) and provide for 
the punishment of persons who impose forced labor on others.
    The Ministry of Home Affairs is broadly responsible for enforcing 
laws and regulations against forced labor; however, the Ministry of 
Labor is the chair of the governmental Committee for the Elimination of 
Forced Labor. The Ministry of Labor oversees the conditions of labor in 
the private sector.
    In practice government and military use of forced or compulsory 
labor remained a widespread and serious problem. Throughout the country 
international observers verified that the government continued to force 
citizens to work on roads, construction, and other maintenance 
projects, particularly at the village level; however, the ILO noted 
that incidents decreased. Citizens also were forced to undertake work 
in association with military-owned industrial enterprises and as 
porters in conflict zones. In ethnic or religious minority regions, the 
military's use of forced labor in support of military garrisons or 
military operations remained an especially serious concern.
    On February 23, the ILO and the Ministry of Labor signed an 
extension to the 2007 Supplementary Understanding, which allowed the 
ILO to continue to receive and investigate forced labor complaints. The 
ILO received 328 cases of forced labor during the year, including cases 
of forced child labor/soldiering (see Prohibition of Child Labor 
below).
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets a minimum age of 13 for the employment of children. The 1993 
Child Law provides for the protection of children in the workplace by 
classifying children ages 14 to 17 as youths and allowing them to 
engage in light duties. The legislation does not define what 
constitutes ``light duties.'' Forced child labor is illegal under Order 
1/99, which also prohibits recruitment of children into the military. 
The military law also prohibits recruitment of children into the 
military.
    During the year the ILO received 236 complaints of cases of child-
soldier recruitment, an increase from 194 cases in 2010. Since the ILO 
began monitoring underage recruitment in 2007, it has received 549 
complaints. At year's end a total of 214 underage recruits had returned 
to their families, and 205 cases were being processed for discharge. A 
further 126 cases were under review, while two lacked sufficient 
evidence to advance. Of these, one youth was killed in action in a 
front-line location and one was rejected at the recruitment stage 
because of his age.
    UNICEF continued to work with the Ministry of Social Welfare to 
facilitate interagency meetings and workshops on the protection of 
children. They worked with the Ministry of Labor on child protection 
laws, the minimum age, and light-work issues.
    In practice the Child Law was not enforced. Child labor remained 
prevalent and highly visible. In cities children work mostly in the 
food-processing and light-manufacturing industries, as street vendors 
or refuse collectors, and as restaurant and teashop attendants. In 
rural areas children routinely worked in family agricultural 
activities, often as the result of poverty.
    Despite legal provisions outlining criminal penalties for those 
guilty of recruiting child soldiers, the government army continued to 
recruit and use children in military-related activities. Ethnic armed 
groups and some cease-fire groups also allegedly recruited child 
soldiers (see section 1.g.).

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Only government employees and 
employees of a few traditional industries were covered by minimum wage 
provisions. The Ministry of Finance and Revenue sets the minimum wage. 
It was not clear what methodology or process it uses. The minimum 
monthly wage for salaried public employees remained on par with the 
market monthly wage of 50,000 kyat ($110) for what was in effect an 
eight-hour workday. The rate for day laborers was 2,000 kyat ($4.44) 
per day. Various subsidies and allowances supplemented this sum. The 
national poverty income level was estimated at less than 1,000 kyat 
($2.22) per day.
    Low real wages in the public sector fostered widespread corruption 
and absenteeism. In the private sector, urban laborers performing 
unskilled work earned 2,000 to 2,500 kyat ($4.44 to $5.56) per day, 
while rural agricultural workers generally earned less. Skilled workers 
in the private sector tended to earn somewhat more than rural 
agricultural workers and urban laborers; for example, a skilled factory 
worker earned 50,000 to 100,000 kyat ($110 to $220) per month, 
according to private sector employers.
    The law prescribes a five-day, 35-hour workweek for employees in 
the public sector and a six-day, 44-hour workweek for private sector 
employees, with overtime paid for additional work. Factory workers at 
state-owned enterprises must work 44 to 48 hours per week, depending on 
the type of factory. The law also allows for one 24-hour rest period 
per week, and workers are permitted 21 paid holidays per year; however, 
in practice provisions related to wages and hours benefited only a 
small portion of the labor force, since they were rarely enforced and 
most workers were engaged in rural agriculture or the informal sector.
    The Ministry of Labor oversees labor conditions in the private 
sector. The laws were generally enforced in the government sector, but 
there were frequent violations by private enterprises.

                               __________

                                CAMBODIA

                           executive summary
    Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliamentary 
form of government. In the most recent national elections, held in 
2008, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won 90 of 123 National 
Assembly seats. Most observers assessed that the election process 
improved over previous elections but did not fully meet international 
standards. The CPP consolidated control of the three branches of 
government and other national institutions, with most power 
concentrated in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities.
    A weak judiciary that sometimes failed to provide due process and a 
fair trial procedure was a leading human rights problem. The courts 
lacked human and financial resources and were subject to corruption and 
political influence. Their ineffectiveness in adjudicating land 
disputes that arose from the government's granting of economic land 
concessions, including to ruling party officials, fueled disputes, 
sometimes violent, in every province. The continued criminalization of 
defamation and disinformation and a broad interpretation of criminal 
incitement constrained freedom of expression.
    Members of the security forces reportedly committed arbitrary 
killings. Detainees were abused, often to extract confessions, and 
prison conditions were harsh. Human rights monitors reported arbitrary 
arrests and prolonged pretrial detention. The government at times 
interfered with freedom of assembly. Corruption remained pervasive, 
governmental human rights bodies reportedly were ineffective, and 
discrimination and trafficking in women and children persisted. 
Domestic violence and child abuse occurred, and education of children 
was inadequate.
    The government prosecuted officials who committed abuses, but 
impunity for corruption and other abuses persisted.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports 
that security forces committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
    For example, on March 8, police officers led by Kim Rith, then the 
acting police chief of Samlot District in Battambang Province, shot and 
killed Leng Rin during an arrest attempt. The provincial court ordered 
the police to escort Leng to court for questioning about a murder. The 
police claimed that Leng was shot while resisting arrest. A local NGO, 
however, alleged that this was an unlawful killing and helped the 
victim's family file a criminal complaint against the police officers. 
At year's end the case was pending and no hearing date set. Kim Rith 
remained free and on duty as the acting police chief.
    In early February and late April, there were clashes and exchanges 
of artillery fire reported between Cambodian and Thai security forces 
in the area of the Preah Vihear temple/border dispute that resulted in 
unconfirmed reports of at least one Thai civilian killed, thousands of 
Cambodian and Thai villagers temporarily displaced, and civilian 
property damaged.

    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, 
beatings and other forms of physical mistreatment of police detainees 
and prison inmates continued, and the number of incidents reportedly 
increased from 2010.
    There were credible reports that military and civilian police 
officials used physical and psychological torture and on occasion 
severely beat criminal detainees, particularly during interrogation. As 
of November NGOs reported that authorities tortured at least 129 
prisoners, 124 in police custody and five in a prison. Kicking, 
punching, and pistol whipping were the most common methods of physical 
abuse reported, but electric shock, suffocation, caning, and whipping 
with wires were also used. NGOs reported that it was not uncommon for 
police to torture detained suspects until they confessed to a crime. 
Courts used forced confessions as legal evidence during trial, despite 
admissibility prohibitions under the law.
    On March 24, two police officers in Preah Sihanouk Province 
allegedly beat a suspect to compel him to confess to his involvement in 
a street fight. The victim, who was seriously injured as a result, 
filed a complaint with the provincial court. As of November the case 
was pending with no set hearing date.
    In June a provincial court, citing insufficient evidence, dropped 
the case against a police officer in Thnoat Chum commune who in May 
2010 allegedly beat and administered electric shocks to a person to 
obtain his confession in a street fighting case. The alleged victim had 
filed a complaint with the provincial court, which had charged the 
police officer with physical assault.
    As of October the NGO Cambodia Human Rights and Development 
Organization (ADHOC) reported 108 cases of use of force against 
civilians by local authorities, government agents, or private 
bodyguards of government officials during the year, compared with 86 
cases in 2010. In some instances police used force to counter the 
threat of violence or acts of violence on the part of demonstrators. In 
other instances police used force against peaceful demonstrators after 
demonstrators interfered with traffic and refused orders to disperse.
    There were 11 government-operated drug rehabilitation centers. Most 
observers agreed that the majority of detainees in such facilities were 
involuntarily, committed to the facilities by law enforcement 
authorities or family members, and that as many as one-third of 
detainees were under the age of 18. Employees of the centers frequently 
controlled detainees by tying them up or submitting them to intense 
exercise and electric shocks. Government leaders acknowledged the 
importance of treating drug addiction as a medical rather than criminal 
matter, but there was little follow-through on such statements.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions did not 
meet international standards. Conditions remained harsh and at times 
life threatening. Human rights organizations cited serious problems, 
including overcrowding, medical and sanitation problems, food and water 
shortages, malnutrition, and poor security. The Prison Department 
reported 32 prisoners died while in custody as of September. Police 
claimed that they investigated the deaths and found evidence of 
preexisting conditions or other illnesses.
    A local NGO maintained that allowances for prisoner food and other 
necessities were inadequate. Observers continued to report that 
allowances for purchasing prisoners' food sometimes were 
misappropriated, exacerbating malnutrition and disease.
    According to the Ministry of Interior Prison Department, as of 
September there were 15,361 prisoners and detainees, including 1,240 
women and 451 juveniles. There were 27 prisons in the country, which 
were designed to hold up to 11,000 persons. There were reports at some 
prisons that cells of 40-by-20 feet held up to 110 prisoners.
    In most prisons there was no separation of adult and juvenile 
prisoners, of male and female prisoners, or of persons convicted of 
serious crimes and persons detained for minor offenses. Pretrial 
detainees were routinely held together with convicted prisoners. 
According to government statistics, an estimated 28 percent of 
prisoners held in municipal and provincial prisons were pretrial 
detainees as of September.
    Prisoners and detainees were routinely allowed access to visitors, 
although rights organizations confirmed that families sometimes had to 
bribe prison officials to visit prisoners or provide food and other 
necessities. NGOs also related accounts that prisoners whose families 
bribed prison authorities received preferential treatment, including 
access to visitors, transfer to better cells, and the opportunity to 
leave cells during the day. Although greater use of alternatives to 
imprisonment would help reduce the detainee and convict population, 
there was little progress in making use of alternatives. Bail was 
underutilized, and the parole system authorized in the code of criminal 
procedure had not been implemented by year's end. A local NGO 
representative noted that the government lacked the requisite capacity 
to implement such programs.
    There were credible reports that officials occasionally demanded 
bribes before allowing prisoners to attend trials or appeal hearings 
and before releasing inmates who had served their full term of 
imprisonment.
    Prisoners and detainees were allowed to observe their own religion.
    Complaints about alleged abuse could be submitted to judicial 
authorities through lawyers without censorship; however, a large number 
of prisoners and detainees could not afford legal representation. The 
government investigated such complaints and monitored prison and 
detention center conditions through the Ministry of Interior's General 
Department of Prisons, which produced biannual reports on the 
management and development of prisons in the country. These and other 
investigation reports reportedly were available to the public upon 
request.
    The government generally continued to allow international and 
domestic human rights groups, including the International Committee of 
the Red Cross and the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human 
Rights (OHCHR), to visit prisons and provide human rights training to 
prison guards. Some NGOs reported that at times cooperation from local 
authorities was limited, making it difficult to gain access to pretrial 
detainees. The Ministry of Interior requires that lawyers, human rights 
monitors, and other visitors obtain permission prior to visiting 
prisoners. Unlike in previous years, there were no instances of the 
authorities refusing such permission. In some instances officials 
permitted NGOs to interview prisoners in private. OHCHR representatives 
reported they usually were able to have a private meeting when 
interviewing a particular prisoner of interest.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, at times the government did not respect 
these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The General 
Commissariat of the National Police, which is under the supervision of 
the Ministry of Interior, manages all civilian police units. The police 
forces are divided into those with the authority to make arrests, those 
without such authority, and the judicial police. Military police were 
permitted to arrest civilians if the officers met the training and 
experience requirements to serve as judicial police, if civilians were 
on military property, or when authorized by local governments. In 
practice, however, the military police sometimes engaged in regular 
civilian law enforcement activities under the authority and direction 
of provincial or local governments, often in support of civilian police 
unable to exercise effective crowd control on their own.
    NGOs maintained that police officials committed abuses with 
impunity, and in most cases the government took little or no action. 
The law requires police, prosecutors, and judges to investigate all 
complaints, including those of police abuses; however, in practice 
judges and prosecutors rarely conducted an independent investigation as 
part of a public trial. Presiding judges usually passed down verdicts 
based only on written reports from police and witness testimonies. In 
general police received little professional training.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires police to obtain a warrant from an investigating judge prior 
to making an arrest, but police may arrest without a warrant anyone 
caught in the act of committing a crime. The law allows police to take 
a person into custody and conduct an investigation for 48 hours, 
excluding weekends and government holidays, before charges must be 
filed. In felony cases of exceptional circumstances prescribed by law, 
police may detain a suspect for an additional 24 hours with the 
approval of a prosecutor. However, authorities routinely held persons 
for extended periods before charging them. There was a functioning bail 
system; however, many prisoners, especially those without legal 
representation, had no opportunity to seek release on bail. Under the 
criminal procedures code, accused persons may be arrested and detained 
for up to 24 hours before being afforded access to legal counsel, but 
prisoners routinely were held incommunicado for several days before 
gaining access to a lawyer or family members. According to government 
officials, such prolonged detention largely was a result of the limited 
capacity of the court system.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--ADHOC reported at least 68 cases of arrest or 
detention that it considered arbitrary as of October but offered no 
specific examples. ADHOC stated that victims in 25 arbitrary detention 
cases subsequently were freed following detainee complaints, 
interventions by human rights NGOs, or payment of bribes. ADHOC 
believed that the actual number of arbitrary arrests and detentions was 
higher because some victims in rural areas did not file complaints due 
to difficulty in traveling to ADHOC's offices or concern for their 
family's security. According to ADHOC, authorities took no legal or 
disciplinary actions against the persons responsible for the illegal 
detentions.
    Throughout the year Phnom Penh municipal authorities arrested 
dozens of persons--usually the homeless, mentally ill, drug users, or 
commercial sex workers--during systematic street sweeps. Detainees 
typically lost all money and belongings in the course of a sweep. 
Authorities called the street sweeps part of an effort to ``regulate 
society.'' Occasionally authorities placed the detainees in a Ministry 
of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth (MOSAVY)-operated rehabilitation 
facility 15 miles from Phnom Penh. Detainees were told they were free 
to leave but would not be provided transportation.

    Pretrial Detention.--The criminal procedures code allows for 
pretrial detention of up to six months for misdemeanors and 18 months 
for felonies. One in every 17 detainees in pretrial detention was held 
longer than the legal time limit, sometimes without legal 
representation. As of September the Ministry of Interior reported 
having 246 persons in pretrial detention in excess of the legal time 
limit permitted for the charged offense. Additionally, some courts lost 
case files during pretrial detention periods, delaying court 
procedures.

    Amnesty.--The king may grant amnesty in certain cases, which he 
often does during important Buddhist religious ceremonies and national 
holidays. The Ministry of Interior reported that King Norodom Sihamoni 
pardoned 68 persons as of September.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, but the government generally did not respect 
judicial independence in practice. The courts were subject to influence 
and interference by the executive branch, and there was widespread 
corruption among judges, prosecutors, and court officials.
    A lack of resources, low salaries, and poor training contributed to 
a high level of corruption and inefficiency in the judicial branch, and 
the government did not provide for due process.
    NGOs reported that many cases were pending due to a shortage of 
judges and courtrooms. NGOs also speculated that court officials 
focused on cases from which they could gain financial benefits.
    In cases involving military personnel, military officials often 
exerted pressure on judges of civilian criminal courts to have the 
defendants released without trial.
    Court delays or corrupt practices often allowed accused persons to 
escape prosecution. Government officials or members of their families 
who committed crimes often enjoyed impunity.
    NGOs asserted that in many criminal cases rich or powerful 
defendants, including members of the security forces, paid money to 
victims and authorities to drop criminal charges. Authorities were 
known to urge victims or their families to accept financial restitution 
in exchange for dropping criminal charges or failing to appear as 
witnesses.
    The January 2010 death of Lon Chhun Leng was an example of judicial 
ineffectiveness. A local human rights organization reported that Chil 
Sarath and Sun Vantha, two police officers in Kandal Province, attacked 
Lon after an argument at a wedding party. Lon subsequently died from 
his injuries, and the victim's family filed a complaint with the 
provincial court. At year's end no hearing date had been set, and the 
two police officers remained free.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public.
    Juries are not used; the presiding judge possesses the authority to 
pass a verdict. Defendants have the right to be present and consult 
with an attorney, confront and question witnesses against them, and 
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. In felony cases, if 
a defendant cannot afford an attorney, the court is required to provide 
the defendant with free legal representation; however, the judiciary 
often lacked the resources to provide legal counsel, and most 
defendants sought assistance from NGOs or went without legal 
representation. Trials typically were perfunctory, and extensive cross-
examination usually did not take place. Defendants and their attorneys 
have the right to examine government-held evidence relevant to their 
case; however, on occasion it was difficult for them to obtain such 
access, especially if the case was political or involved a high-ranking 
government official or well-connected member of the elite.
    There remained a critical shortage of trained lawyers, particularly 
outside Phnom Penh. Persons without means to secure counsel were often 
effectively denied the right to a fair trial. According to the bar 
association, approximately 30 percent of the country's 751 lawyers 
provided pro bono legal counsel to poor persons, which was inadequate 
to cover the basic legal rights of all of the country's poor.
    Defendants are entitled by law to the presumption of innocence and 
right of appeal, but due to pervasive corruption, defendants often were 
expected to bribe judges to secure a favorable verdict. NGOs also 
reported that sworn written statements from witnesses and the accused 
usually constituted the only evidence presented at trials. The accused 
person's statements sometimes were coerced through beatings or threats, 
and illiterate defendants often were not informed of the contents of 
written confessions that they were forced to sign. A citizen's right to 
be present at his appeal often was limited by difficulty in 
transferring prisoners from provincial prisons to the appeals court in 
Phnom Penh. Consequently, more than half of all appeals were heard 
without the presence of the defendant.
    There were no developments regarding the 2004 murder of labor 
leader Chea Vichea. Chea, who was the president of the Free Trade Union 
of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was shot and killed in Phnom 
Penh. Within a week, two suspects, Bom Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, were 
arrested by police and later sentenced to 20 years in prison for their 
roles in the crime. However, the case was appealed to the Supreme 
Court, which overturned the Appellate Court's decision and released Bom 
and Sok on bail. The case was subsequently sent back to the Appellate 
Court, where it was pending at year's end.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The country has a 
judiciary in civil matters, and citizens are entitled to bring lawsuits 
seeking damages for human rights violations. Generally, there are both 
administrative and judicial remedies. Enforcing a court order for a 
civil or criminal case often was a problem. Unlike in previous years, 
there were no reports of vigilante actions during the year.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law provides for the privacy of residence and 
correspondence and prohibits illegal searches; however, NGOs reported 
that police routinely conducted searches and seizures without warrants.
    Forced collectivization under the Khmer Rouge and the movement of 
much of the population left land ownership unclear. The land law states 
that any person who peacefully possessed private or state private 
property (not state public land) without contention for five years 
prior to the 2001 promulgation of the law has the right to apply for a 
definitive title to that property. Most of the country's impoverished 
population continued to lack the knowledge and means to obtain adequate 
formal documentation of land ownership.
    Provincial and district land offices continued to follow pre-2001 
land registration procedures, which did not include accurate land 
surveys and opportunities for public comment. The Cadastral Commission 
failed to implement the identification and demarcation of state land, 
leading to conflict and evictions precipitated by actions by the state 
to develop contested land. Land speculation fueled disputes in every 
province and increased tensions between poor rural communities and 
speculators. Urban communities faced forced eviction to make way for 
commercial development projects.
    Cases of inhabitants being forced to relocate continued; the number 
of cases reported increased from 2010. Some persons also used the 
threat of legal action or eviction to intimidate the poor and 
vulnerable into exchanging their land for compensation below market 
value. ADHOC reported receiving 220 land-related cases during the year. 
During the same period, another NGO received 98 land related cases in 
Phnom Penh and 13 provinces, affecting 11,377 families. The poor often 
had no legal documents to support their land claims and lacked faith in 
the judicial system. Some of those expelled successfully contested 
these actions in court, but the majority of the cases in the courts 
have not yet concluded.
    On April 29, approximately 100 military police officers confronted 
a group of 2,000 villagers who blocked National Road 76 in Mondulkiri 
Province's Keo Seima District to protest the clearing of their land by 
CPP Senator Mong Rithy. The disputed land area of approximately 12,500 
acres was part of an economic land concession in Srae Khtom commune 
granted by the government in 2007 to the Rithy Kiri Siema company. At 
that time surveyors entered the area and began partitioning the 
villages for a proposed rubber plantation, and by 2009 the company sent 
its first excavators into the area. Some villagers claimed that they 
bought their land long enough ago to entitle them to land titles under 
the 2001 Land Law and claimed they had documents that substantiated 
their claims, but local authorities refused to grant them titles. 
Neither the government nor the courts offered a venue in which 
residents could contest the local authorities' decision or otherwise 
pursue their claims. At year's end the government had not offered any 
form of restitution or compensation to the villagers, but the local 
authorities had established a committee to help resolve this issue.
    On June 9, a clash between police and villagers in Kampong Speu 
Province resulted in injuries on both sides. A local NGO reported that 
400 villagers blocked Road 51 to prevent enforcement of a court order 
to remove them from some contested land and attacked police with 
stones, knives, machetes, and sticks. Police fired on the protesters 
but fled after having failed to enforce the court order.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press; 
however, these rights were not always respected in practice.
    The 1995 press law prohibits prepublication censorship or 
imprisonment for expressing opinions. However, the government used the 
penal code to prosecute citizens on defamation, disinformation, and 
incitement charges. The penal code does not prescribe imprisonment for 
defamation but does for incitement or spreading disinformation, which 
carry prison sentences of up to three years. Judges also can order 
fines, which may lead to jail time if not paid.

    Freedom of Speech.--The constitution requires that free speech not 
adversely affect public security. The constitution also declares that 
the king is ``inviolable,'' and a Ministry of Interior directive 
conforming to the defamation law reiterates these limits and prohibits 
publishers and editors from disseminating stories that insult or defame 
government leaders and institutions.
    On January 25, the Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court convicted Sam 
Chankea, an ADHOC staffer, for defamation due to comments he made 
regarding a land dispute involving the KDC International Company. The 
company alleged that Sam told Radio Free Asia that it was ``clearing'' 
the disputed land, whereas KDC contended that it was merely 
``channeling'' around the area. The court ordered Sam to pay a fine of 
one million riels ($244) and an additional three million riels ($731) 
to the company as compensation. The company is reportedly owned by Chea 
Kheng, the wife of the minister of industry, mining, and energy.

    Freedom of Press.--All major political parties had reasonable and 
regular access to print media. All major Khmer-language newspapers 
received financial support from individuals closely associated with a 
political party and were politically aligned. There were an estimated 
20 Khmer-language newspapers published regularly. During the year there 
were three pro-opposition newspapers publishing regularly, compared to 
one in 2010. Another pro-opposition media outlet maintained a Web site, 
but only sporadically published a newspaper. Although the five 
newspapers with the largest circulations were considered pro-CPP, most 
newspapers criticized the government, particularly with regard to 
corruption and land acquisition. The prime minister, royalist party 
leaders, and opposition party leaders frequently came under attack.
    The government, military forces, and the ruling political party 
continued to dominate the broadcast media and influence the content of 
broadcasts. There were 10 domestic television stations and 
approximately 50 radio stations. All television stations and most radio 
stations were controlled or strongly influenced by the CPP, although a 
few were independent or aligned with other parties.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--On August 4, the Ministry of 
Interior suspended Samakum Theang Thnout (STT), a local NGO, for the 
rest of the year, allegedly due to its advocacy work in land dispute 
cases, but officially for STT's failure to meet administrative 
requirements. The ministry accused STT of attempting to block an Asian 
Development Bank-funded railway rehabilitation project by encouraging 
displaced persons to file complaints. The ministry released a statement 
on August 13 that accused STT of ``inciting villagers'' set to be 
displaced by the railway project.
    Leang Sochoeun appealed his August 2010 conviction and sentencing 
to two years' imprisonment for distributing leaflets critical of the 
relationship between the government and Vietnam, which the prosecutor 
claimed was insulting to the government and to former king Norodom 
Sihanouk. As of December no date to hear the appeal had been set.
    There were no reports during the year that journalists, publishers, 
or distributors were subject to harassment or intimidation, but 
reporters and editors privately admitted to some self-censorship due to 
fear of government reprisals.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Regarding the defamation suit filed 
by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong against opposition leader Sam Rainsy, 
on April 25, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced Sam Rainsy in 
absentia to two years in prison for incitement and on charges that he 
had defamed the foreign minister.
    On June 2, the Supreme Court upheld the defamation verdicts of the 
trial and appeals courts against opposition parliamentarian Mu Sochua 
for comments she made in a press conference that allegedly defamed the 
prime minister. The court ordered Mu to pay a fine of eight million 
riels ($1,950) plus compensation to the prime minister of 8.5 million 
riels ($2,070). Mu refused to pay. On July 15, the Phnom Penh Municipal 
Court asked the National Assembly to dock Mu's salary as a lawmaker to 
cover the compensation owed to the prime minister; the National 
Assembly approved the request on July 29 and began deducting four 
million riels ($975) per month from Mu's salary. Mu sought restoration 
of her immunity, but no action was taken to restore it.

    Internet Freedom.--Typically, there were no government restrictions 
on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government 
monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could 
engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-
mail.
    However, there were credible allegations that government actors 
successfully pressured certain Internet service providers to block 
access for a few days in February to a well-known Web site (KI-Media) 
critical of the government. Access was quickly restored after public 
outcry by media, NGOs, and government officials, and there were no 
other such incidents during the year.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--In general there were no 
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. 
However, scholars tended to be careful when teaching politically 
related subjects due to fear of offending politicians. In addition, the 
government banned public screenings of a controversial film about the 
2004 murder of Chea Vichea, a prominent labor leader (see section 
1.e.).

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of peaceful assembly, 
but at times the government did not respect this right in practice.
    The law requires that a permit be obtained in advance of a protest 
march or demonstration. One provision requires five days' advance 
notice for most peaceful demonstrations, while another requires 12 
hours' notice for impromptu gatherings on private property or at the 
designated peaceful protest venue in each province and limits such 
gatherings to 200 persons. By law provincial or municipal governments 
hold the authority to issue demonstration permits at their discretion. 
In practice, particularly in Phnom Penh, lower-level government 
officials deferred to the national government as the deciding authority 
and denied requests unless the national government specifically 
authorized the gatherings. The government routinely did not issue 
permits to groups critical of the ruling party or of countries with 
which the government had friendly relations. Authorities cited the need 
for stability and public security as reasons for denying permits. 
However, the law does not define the terms stability or public security 
to assist authorities in implementing the law. Police forcibly 
dispersed groups that assembled without a permit, in some instances 
causing minor injuries to some demonstrators.
    On September 9, the Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF), a local NGO, 
submitted an official request to the Municipality of Phnom Penh to 
celebrate World Habitat Day at a public park. The HRTF planned to 
invite an estimated 500 participants from various communities that were 
embroiled in land disputes. The event was slated to feature a guest 
speaker to talk about climate change and land issues and did not 
involve mass marches on public roads. The municipality denied the 
permit without explanation.
    On April 21, approximately 100-200 protesters gathered in front of 
Phnom Penh City Hall to demand a meeting with Phnom Penh Governor Kep 
Chuktema and to address grievances over the Boeung Kak Lake land 
concession. The demonstration spilled over, obstructing traffic on a 
major thoroughfare. When the protesters failed to heed warnings to 
disperse, police moved in to surround them. Equipped with riot shields 
and batons, police stood shoulder to shoulder and walked forward, 
attempting to corral the protesters and persuade them to depart. 
Protesters fought back, pushing police officers, and the incident 
degenerated into violence.
    As of October ADHOC reported 41 protests, most of which were 
related to land or labor disputes.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right in 
practice; however, the government did not effectively enforce it with 
regard to worker rights (see section 7.a.).
    In December 2010 the government released for public comment a draft 
Law on Associations and Nongovernmental Organizations. International 
and domestic NGOs expressed significant concerns about the proposed 
law, which included language that imposed burdensome reporting 
requirements on NGOs, prevented associations with fewer than 21 members 
from attaining legal status, and erected barriers to the registration 
of foreign NGOs. Foreign governments expressed concern that the 
proposed law would greatly increase the government's regulation of both 
civil society and foreign NGOs. Over the course of the year the 
government modified the draft law in several ways, including to 
establish a right of appeal of adverse registration decisions and 
exclude smaller NGOs (known as community-based organizations) and 
short-term international NGOs from coverage. The draft law remained 
problematic for many civil society organizations. In December the prime 
minister announced that government-civil society consultations on the 
draft law would continue until consensus was reached; the draft law 
remained with the Ministry of Interior for revision.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the International Religious Freedom 
Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    Exile.--The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the government 
did not employ it. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy was stripped of 
parliamentary immunity in late 2009 and has been living in self-imposed 
exile since before that time.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The system is in its infancy, and its limited capacity 
resulted in long delays for some asylum seekers. The UNHCR continued to 
provide training and other technical assistance.

    Stateless Persons.--The country had habitual residents who were de 
facto stateless, and the government did not effectively implement laws 
or policies to provide such persons the opportunity to gain 
nationality. Under the nationality law, citizenship may be derived by 
birth from a mother and father who are not ethnic Khmer if both were 
born and living legally in Cambodia, or if either parent has acquired 
Cambodian citizenship.
    A 2007 study commissioned by the UNHCR estimated that several 
thousand potentially stateless persons lived in the country. However, 
the study's estimates came from anecdotal evidence from NGOs, and local 
UNHCR representatives did not consider the figure conclusive. The most 
common reason for statelessness was lack of proper documents from the 
country of origin.
    The UNHCR stated that the country's stateless population included 
mostly ethnic Vietnamese. According to an NGO, individuals without 
proof of nationality often did not have access to formal employment, 
education, marriage registration, the courts, and land ownership.
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 generally exercised this right in 
practice through periodic elections on the basis of universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The most 
recent national elections, held in 2008 for the National Assembly, were 
peaceful overall, with a process that was generally considered an 
improvement over past elections. However, observers noted that the 
elections did not fully meet international standards. Although some 
election day irregularities persisted, they were low in number and did 
not appear to affect the outcome or distort the will of the electorate.
    Parties could register, and individuals were free to declare their 
candidacy without restrictions.

    Political Parties.--Some NGOs and political parties alleged that 
membership in the dominant CPP party provided advantages, such as 
gifts, access to government emergency aid, and economic land 
concessions. There were no reports of members of the opposition parties 
receiving similar economic land concessions.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Traditional culture limited 
the role of women in government; however, women took part in the May 
2009 indirect provincial and district council elections. There were 26 
women in the 123-seat National Assembly and nine women in the 61-seat 
Senate. There was a female deputy prime minister and 62 female 
ministers, secretaries of state, undersecretaries of state, and 
National Election Commission officials. Women also served as advisers, 
and there were 51 female judges and prosecutors in the municipal and 
provincial courts, appeals court, and Supreme Court. Although there 
were no female governors, the government appointed women as deputy 
governors in all of the 23 provinces and the Phnom Penh Municipality 
(there are a number of deputy governors in each province). The National 
Election Committee reported that women held 15 percent of commune 
council seats and 13 percent of district and provincial council seats.
    There were five members of minorities--four Cham and one Tampuan--
in the National Assembly. There also were three members of minorities 
in the Senate. At least eight officials in senior positions in the 
government were from minority 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.
    The penal code defines various corrupt acts and specifies the 
applicable penalties for such acts. The anticorruption law provides the 
statutory basis for the National Council against Corruption and the 
Anticorruption Unit (ACU) to receive and investigate corruption 
complaints. Public servants are subject to financial disclosure 
provisions.
    Corruption was considered endemic and extended throughout all 
segments of society, including the executive, legislative, and judicial 
branches of government. There were reports that police, prosecutors, 
investigating judges, and presiding judges received bribes from owners 
of illegal businesses. Reported public experience with corruption was 
widespread, indicating many corrupt practices were not hidden. Meager 
salaries contributed to ``survival corruption'' among low level public 
servants, while a culture of impunity enabled corruption to flourish 
among senior officials.
    On January 12, Lieutenant General Moek Dara, one of the country's 
senior counternarcotics officials, was arrested and put in pretrial 
detention for corruption and drug-related offenses. As of December his 
trial was pending at Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court, and he faced a 
possible life sentence if convicted.
    On May 12, former Pursat governor Top Chan Sereivuth was sentenced 
to 19 years' imprisonment after being found guilty of corruption, 
extortion, and false imprisonment. The verdict by the Pursat Provincial 
Court marked the first high profile ruling to follow an arrest by the 
recently created ACU. Top was arrested in November 2010, four months 
after the anticorruption law was passed.
    The National Archives Law allows unlimited access to informational 
documents in the public archive. However, the law grants access to 
other unspecified government documents only after 20 years, and 
documents affecting national security and preservation of life may be 
released only after 40 and 120 years, respectively. Some NGOs reported 
that in practice it was difficult for them to access information; the 
government frequently did not or could not answer requests for 
information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
often cooperated with human rights workers in performing their 
investigations; however, there were multiple reports of lack of 
cooperation and, in some cases, intimidation by government officials.
    There were approximately 40 human rights NGOs in the country, but 
only a small portion of them were actively involved in organizing 
training programs or investigating abuses.
    Domestic and international human rights organizations faced threats 
and harassment from local officials. These took the form of 
restrictions on and disruptions of gatherings sponsored by NGOs, verbal 
intimidation, threats of legal action, and bureaucratic obstruction. 
Unlike in past years, there were no reports of public interest lawyers 
being denied access to detained clients in some human rights abuse 
cases, nor were there reports of attempts to intimidate NGO 
representatives not to speak with the media about such cases.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
cooperated with international governmental bodies and permitted visits 
by U.N. representatives. Surya Subedi, the U.N. special rapporteur on 
human rights in Cambodia, made visits in January, June, and December, 
during which Subedi met with the prime minister and other senior 
government officials.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government had three human 
rights bodies: two separate Committees for the Protection of Human 
Rights and Reception of Complaints--one under the Senate and another 
under the National Assembly--and a Cambodian Human Rights Committee 
that reported to the prime minister's cabinet. The committees did not 
have regular meetings or a transparent operating process. The Cambodian 
Human Rights Committee submitted government reports for participation 
in international human rights review processes, such as the Universal 
Periodic Review, and issued responses to reports by international 
government bodies, but it did not conduct independent human rights 
investigations. Credible human rights NGOs considered the government 
committees to have limited efficacy.
    The government hosted the hybrid Extraordinary Chambers in the 
Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), which was administered jointly with the U.N. 
to try Khmer Rouge leaders and those most responsible for the abuses of 
the Khmer Rouge period. Some observers believed that public comments by 
government leaders on matters related to the ECCC's jurisdictional 
mandate constituted a form of political interference; however, there 
was no evidence that these comments inhibited the work of the court in 
any way. On October 10, the ECCC's international coinvestigating judge 
resigned. Although he cited as his reason for resigning concern that 
public comments by government leaders could lead others to question his 
ability to resist political interference, he did not allege actual 
interference and at the time of his resignation faced intense criticism 
from other international judges at the ECCC and NGOs for his conduct 
while in office.
    On June 27, the ECCC opened Case 002 against former Khmer Rouge 
``brother number 2'' Nuon Chea, former minister of foreign affairs Ieng 
Sary, former minister of social affairs Ieng Thirith, and former head 
of state Khieu Samphan on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, 
and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. The court continued to 
consider allegations against five other former Khmer Rouge officials, 
but a decision on prosecution was not made in those cases. The court 
also continued to consider an appeal from Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch), 
who was convicted in Case 001 in 2010.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status; however, the government did not 
generally protect these rights.

    Women.--Rape and Violence.--The law criminalizes rape and assault; 
nevertheless, local and international NGOs reported that violence 
against women, including domestic violence and rape, was common. Rape 
is punishable by a prison sentence of between five and 30 years. 
Spousal rape is not specifically mentioned in the penal code but can be 
prosecuted as ``rape,'' ``causing injury,'' or ``indecent assault.'' 
Under the domestic violence law, spousal rape may fall within the 
definition of domestic violence that includes ``sexual aggression.'' 
Charges for spousal rape cases under the penal code and the domestic 
violence law were rare. The domestic violence law criminalizes domestic 
violence but does not specifically set out penalties. However, the 
penal code can be used to penalize domestic violence offenses, with 
penalties ranging from one to 15 years of imprisonment.
    One NGO received 421 reports of rape as of October. Of these cases, 
72 were tried by the courts, 39 mediated by the court or police, with 
the remainder awaiting trial. For domestic violence there were 461 
reported cases as of October; courts tried only 12 of these cases. 
Another NGO documented 161 cases of domestic violence affecting 161 
victims and 78 cases of rape affecting 79 victims in 13 provinces and 
Phnom Penh by the end of October. Six cases of domestic violence and 
two cases of rape resulted in the deaths of eight victims. As of June 
the Ministry of Interior's Anti-Trafficking Department investigated 238 
cases of violence against women and children, resulting in the arrests 
of 239 perpetrators and the rescue of 249 victims. Of the 238 cases, 
140 were for rape and attempted rape. The ministry reported that one 
case of rape resulted in the death of the victim. The number of cases 
likely underreported the scope of the problem, due to ineffective 
enforcement, inadequate crime statistics reporting, and the fact that 
women were afraid to make complaints against perpetrators. NGOs 
reported that enforcement of the domestic violence law was weak, 
authorities continued to avoid involvement in domestic disputes, and 
victims frequently were reluctant to pursue formal complaints.
    On April 6, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted and sentenced 
two Phnom Penh Meanchey District police officers Uon Dara and Chan 
Narith in absentia to seven years in prison for reportedly raping a 19-
year-old woman in November 2009.
    The government supported NGOs that provided training for poor women 
vulnerable to spousal abuse, prostitution, and trafficking. The 
Ministry of Women's Affairs coordinated with an NGO and a local media 
outlet to produce radio and television programming on women's issues.

    Sexual Harassment.--The penal code criminalizes sexual harassment, 
imposing penalties of six days' to three months' imprisonment and fines 
of KHR100,000 to 500,000 ($24 to $122). There were no arrests or 
prosecutions, however. The government undertook a public awareness 
campaign specific to women promoting beer sales at entertainment 
venues, who are reportedly vulnerable to harassment. There was no 
information on the rate of incidence.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals could decide the 
number, spacing, and timing of their children, and they had the 
information and means to do so free from discrimination. Women had 
access to contraception and prenatal care as well as skilled attendance 
at delivery and postpartum care, but access was often limited due to 
income and geographic barriers. According to the Cambodia Demographic 
Health Survey, the maternal mortality ratio in 2010 was 206 deaths per 
100,000 live births. Major factors influencing high maternal mortality 
rates in the country included the lack of proper health facilities, 
medication, and skilled birth attendants.

    Discrimination.--The constitution provides for equal rights for 
women, equal pay for equal work, and equal status in marriage. For the 
most part, women had equal property rights, the same legal status to 
bring divorce proceedings, and equal access to education and some jobs; 
however, cultural traditions limited the ability of women to reach 
senior positions in business and other areas. Women often were 
concentrated in low-paying jobs and largely excluded from management 
positions. Men made up the vast majority of the military, police, and 
civil service.
    The Ministry of Women's Affairs, mandated to protect the rights of 
women and promote gender equality in society, continued its Neary 
Ratanak (``Women as Precious Gems'') program. The program aimed to 
improve the image of women through gender mainstreaming, enhanced 
participation of women in economic and political life, and protection 
of women's rights. Sixteen government ministries continued gender 
mainstreaming action plans with support from the U.N. Development 
Program and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Women's 
Affairs.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--By law citizenship may be derived 
by birth from a mother and father who are not ethnic Khmer if both 
parents were born and living legally in Cambodia, or if either parent 
has acquired Cambodian citizenship. Ethnic Khmer are considered 
Cambodian citizens. The Ministry of Interior administered a modernized 
birth registration system, but not all births were registered 
immediately, due principally to parental delay. The system did not 
include special outreach to minority communities. In addition, children 
born from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s often were not registered, a 
result of the Vietnam/Khmer Rouge occupation/civil war. Many of these 
unregistered persons who later had families of their own did not 
perceive a need for registration. It was common for young persons not 
to be registered until a need arose. The failure to register all births 
resulted in discrimination, including the denial of public services. A 
study commissioned by the UNHCR on statelessness in the country stated 
that the birth registration process often excluded children of ethnic 
minorities and stateless persons. NGOs that provided services to 
disenfranchised communities reported that children without birth 
registration and family books were often denied access to education and 
health care. They stated that later in life the same individuals may be 
unable to access employment, own property, vote, or use the legal 
system.

    Education.--Children were affected adversely by an inadequate 
educational system. Education was free, but not compulsory, through 
grade nine. Many children left school to help their families in 
subsistence agriculture, worked in other activities, began school at a 
late age, or did not attend school at all. The government did not deny 
girls equal access to education; however, families with limited 
resources often gave priority to boys. According to international 
organization reports, school enrollment dropped sharply for girls after 
primary school. Schools in many areas were remote, and transportation 
was a problem. This especially affected girls, due to safety concerns 
in traveling between their homes and schools.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was believed to be common, although 
statistics were not available. Child rape remained a serious problem; 
as of October a local NGO reported 304 cases of rape and attempted rape 
committed against persons under age 18. Thirty-five of the cases 
involved children below age five, 73 involved children ages five to 10, 
and 196 involved children ages 10 to 18.

    Sexual Exploitation.--Sexual intercourse with a person under age 15 
is illegal; however, child prostitution and trafficking in children 
occurred. During the year raids on brothels rescued underage girls 
trafficked for prostitution. The Ministry of Interior reported arrests 
of 21 foreign pedophiles as of November. Some children engaged in 
prostitution for survival without third-party involvement. The 
government also used the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking 
and Sexual Exploitation to prosecute sex tourists victimizing children.
    The Trafficking in Persons Law has a penalty for commercial sexual 
exploitation of children that ranges from two to 15 years in prison. 
The law also prohibits child pornography.

    Displaced Children.--The government offered limited, inadequate 
services to street children at a rehabilitation center. A domestic NGO 
estimated that 1,200 to 1,500 street children in Phnom Penh had no 
relationship with their families and an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 
children worked on the streets but returned to families in the 
evenings. An estimated 500 to 1,500 children lived with their families 
on the streets in Phnom Penh.

    Institutionalized Children.--The Ministry of Interior reported that 
at least 109 children under the age of six reportedly were living with 
their mothers in prison as of September. A local NGO reported 73 such 
children in 19 prisons as of November and claimed that the children 
were subjected to mistreatment by prison guards and faced physical 
dangers from adult criminal cellmates. The children generally lacked 
proper nutrition and education.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was a small Jewish expatriate community in 
Phnom Penh, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The 2009 Law on the Protection and 
Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities prohibits 
discrimination, neglect, exploitation, or abandonment of persons with 
disabilities. It includes persons with mental illnesses and 
intellectual impairments in the definition of persons with disabilities 
and requires that public buildings and government services, including 
education, be accessible to persons with disabilities. The MOSAVY holds 
overall responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities, although the law assigns specific tasks to other 
ministries, including the Ministries of Health, Education, Public Works 
and Transport, and National Defense. The government requested that all 
television channels adopt sign language interpretation for programming; 
as of September one major television station had sign language 
interpretation, and the Ministry of Information was working with the 
other stations to develop such capabilities. The government continued 
efforts to implement the law, although the full period for compliance 
in some cases extends to 2015. As of September the Council of Ministers 
had approved four subdecrees to support the law.
    Programs administered by various NGOs brought about substantial 
improvements in the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with 
disabilities, but they faced considerable societal discrimination, 
especially in obtaining skilled employment.
    There are no legal limitations on the rights of persons with 
disabilities to vote or participate in civic affairs, but the 
government did not make any concerted effort to assist them in becoming 
more civically engaged. MOSAVY is responsible for making policy to 
protect the rights of persons with disabilities and for rehabilitation 
and vocational skills training for such persons.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The rights of minorities under 
the nationality law are not explicit; constitutional protections are 
extended only to ``Khmer people.'' Citizens of Chinese and Vietnamese 
ethnicity constituted the largest ethnic minorities. Ethnic Chinese 
citizens were accepted in society, but animosity continued toward 
ethnic Vietnamese, who were seen as a threat to the country and 
culture. Some groups, including political groups, continued to make 
strong anti-Vietnamese statements. They complained of political control 
of the CPP by the Vietnamese government, border encroachment, and other 
problems for which they held ethnic Vietnamese at least partially 
responsible.

    Indigenous People.--The government often ignored efforts by 
indigenous communities to protect their ancestral lands and natural 
resources. Although the 2001 land law requires the registration of 
communal lands of indigenous people, little was done to implement 
communal land titling. NGOs called for a moratorium on land sales and 
land concessions affecting indigenous communities. International and 
local NGOs were active in educating the indigenous communities about 
the land registration process and providing legal representation in 
disputes. NGOs reported loss of agricultural space and livelihoods due 
to the increased granting of economic land concessions on indigenous 
land. As of September the NGO Indigenous Rights Active Members reported 
that it had recorded 14 active land disputes involving minority groups.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no laws 
criminalizing homosexual acts, nor was there official discrimination 
against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, 
although some societal discrimination and stereotyping persisted, 
particularly in rural areas. In May several local businesses and NGOs 
hosted the seventh annual Phnom Penh Pride festival, a week-long series 
of events that highlighted the LGBT community.
    There were no reports of government discrimination based on sexual 
orientation in employment, statelessness, or access to education or 
health care. However, homosexual conduct was typically treated with 
fear and suspicion by the general population, and there were few 
support groups to which such cases could be reported.
    There were a few reports of private individuals refusing to employ 
or rent property to persons based on sexual orientation or gender 
identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no official 
discrimination against those infected with HIV/AIDS. Societal 
discrimination against those infected with HIV/AIDS remained a problem 
in rural areas; however, discrimination was moderated by HIV/AIDS 
awareness programs.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law permits private-sector workers to form and join trade unions of 
their own choice without prior authorization. The law also provides for 
the right to strike and bargain collectively. While unions may 
affiliate freely, the law does not explicitly address their right to 
affiliate internationally.
    The law requires trade unions to file charters and lists of 
officials with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MOLVT). 
The Bureau of Labor Relations is responsible for facilitating the 
process of union registration and certification of ``most 
representative status'' for unions, which entitles a union representing 
a majority of workers in a given enterprise to represent all workers in 
that establishment.
    Civil servants, including teachers, judges, and military personnel, 
as well as household workers do not have the right to form or join a 
trade union. Personnel in the air and maritime transportation 
industries are free to form unions but are not entitled to social 
security and pension benefits and are exempt from the limitations on 
work hours prescribed by law.
    The law stipulates that strikes can be held only after several 
requirements have been met, including the failure of other methods of 
dispute resolution (such as negotiation, conciliation, or arbitration), 
a secret-ballot vote of union membership, and a seven-day advance 
notice to the employer and the MOLVT. There is no law prohibiting 
strikes by civil servants, workers in public sectors, or workers in 
essential services. Legal protections are in place to guard workers 
from reprisal.
    Regulations on collective-bargaining rights establish procedures 
mandating that unions demonstrate they represent workers for the 
purposes of collective bargaining. These regulations grant collective-
bargaining rights to unions with most representative status and require 
employers to negotiate if such a union proposes a collective-bargaining 
agreement. These regulations also bind both parties to agree to an 
orderly bargaining process and make considered and reasonable offers 
and counteroffers, and require the employer to provide the union with 
facilities and all information requested by the union that is relevant 
to the bargaining process. The law also provides union leaders with 
additional protection from dismissal.
    Unresolved labor disputes may be brought to the Arbitration 
Council, an independent state body that interprets labor regulations in 
the case of collective disputes, such as when multiple employees are 
dismissed. Parties may choose whether to consider decisions as binding. 
If neither party objects to the arbitral award within eight days of its 
being issued, it automatically becomes binding. Individual disputes may 
be brought before the courts, although the judicial system was neither 
impartial nor transparent.
    Enforcement of the right of association and freedom from antiunion 
discrimination was inconsistent. Acts of union discrimination by the 
employer often went unpunished. Government enforcement of these rights 
was sometimes hampered by close relationships among government 
officials, employers, and union leaders. The government also did not 
devote sufficient resources to enforcement, including trained, 
experienced labor inspectors.
    The government's enforcement of collective bargaining rights was 
inconsistent. The MOLVT formally warned 401 companies of legal 
violations, fined 17 companies, and sued five others in the first 11 
months of the year. Although the MOLVT often decided in favor of 
employees, it rarely used its legal authority to penalize employers who 
defied its orders. Instead, the MOLVT sent 105 cases of unresolved 
disputes to the Arbitration Council. Some unions urged the government 
to expand the role of the Arbitration Council to include individual and 
collective interest disputes and to make its decisions binding. The 
Arbitration Council received 155 cases from across the country, of 
which approximately 67 percent were successfully resolved.
    The majority of unions were affiliated with the ruling party; 
others were independent. Union leaders from across the political 
spectrum complained that the progovernment Khmer Youth Federation of 
Trade Unions habitually threatened and harassed workers from other 
unions.
    Organization among public-sector workers faced significant 
obstacles. The Cambodian Independent Teachers Association registered as 
an ``association'' due to prohibitions on public-sector unions, and the 
government frequently denied its requests for permission to march and 
protest, although the union reported no direct government interference 
in day-to-day activities. Some members feared that their affiliation 
with the association could hamper chances of career advancement. 
Another public sector association, the Cambodian Independent Civil 
Servants Association, alleged that fears of harassment, discrimination, 
or demotion deterred individuals from joining.
    The government allowed most strikes held at factories but denied 
worker requests to hold protest marches outside the factory area.
    There were credible reports of antiunion harassment by employers, 
including the dismissal of union leaders in garment factories and other 
enterprises. Approximately 50 union leaders claimed they were dismissed 
or suspended without cause during the year. In some factories the 
management appeared to have established or supported promanagement 
unions, or compromised union leaders by jeopardizing their employment.
    In spite of legal provisions protecting strikers from reprisals, 
there were credible reports that workers were dismissed on spurious 
grounds after organizing or participating in strikes. While most 
strikes were illegal, participating in an illegal strike was not by 
itself a legally acceptable reason for dismissal. In some cases 
employers pressured strikers to accept compensation and leave their 
employment.
    Potential remedies exist for such dismissals, although none were 
particularly effective. The MOLVT may issue reinstatement orders, but 
these often provoked management efforts to pressure workers into 
resigning in exchange for a settlement.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, but there were reports that such practices 
occurred in domestic service and in the informal sector. Children from 
impoverished families remained at risk as affluent households sometimes 
utilized a humanitarian pretense to hire them as domestic workers, only 
to abuse and exploit them. Government officials reported that verifying 
working conditions and salaries of domestic workers remained difficult 
due to the informal nature of their work.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law establishes 15 years as the minimum age for employment and 18 years 
as the minimum age for hazardous work. The law permits children between 
12 and 15 to engage in ``light work'' that is not hazardous to their 
health and does not affect school attendance. The law limits the 
working hours of children ages 12 to 15 to no more than four hours on 
school days and seven hours on nonschool days, and prohibits work 
between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The government also bans employment of 
children in sectors that pose major safety or health risks to minors.
    The MOLVT has responsibility for child-labor inspection in both the 
formal and informal sectors of the economy, but its labor inspectors 
played no role in the informal sector or in enforcing the law in 
illegal industries, such as unregistered garment factories operating 
without a license from the MOLVT and the Ministry of Commerce. Within 
the formal sector, labor inspectors conducted routine inspections of 
some industries, such as garment manufacturing (where the incidence of 
child labor was negligible), but in some industries with the highest 
child-labor risk, labor inspections were entirely complaint driven. 
There were 12 labor inspectors in Phnom Penh and 27 at the municipal 
and provincial levels dedicated to child-labor issues. These inspectors 
were insufficient to enforce relevant legislation. The law stipulates a 
fine of 31 to 60 times the prevailing monthly wage for defendants who 
are convicted of violating the country's child-labor provisions.
    On October 8, police from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile 
Protection Department raided the T&P Company, a recruitment agency in 
Kampong Chhnang Province. The company was found to have 35 underage 
workers, and the operation resulted in the arrest of four individuals 
who were sent to pretrial detention. On November 14, the Ministry of 
Interior requested that the Ministry of Labor revoke the company's 
license.
    Child labor was widespread in agriculture, brick making, salt 
production, shrimp processing, fishing, domestic service, and rubber 
production. Child labor was also reported in the garment, footwear, and 
hospitality sectors but to a much lesser extent. According to a 2006 
study conducted by the World Bank and other sources, more than 750,000 
economically active children were below the absolute minimum working 
age of 12. An additional 500,000 children (12 to 14 years old) 
conducting nonlight economic activity were below the minimum age for 
this type of work. According to the report, more than 250,000 children 
ages 15 to 17 worked more than 43 hours per week or in hazardous 
sectors. Three-quarters of economically active children were in the 
agriculture sector, 15 percent in commerce, 5 percent in small-scale 
manufacturing, and 2 percent in services. A 2007 study of child 
domestic workers found that they typically did not attend school, 
worked long hours with no medical benefits, and received little or no 
pay.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law requires the MOLVT to 
establish a garment-sector minimum wage based on recommendations from 
the Labor Advisory Committee. At year's end the minimum monthly wage 
was KHR244,000 (approximately $59). The law does not mandate a minimum 
wage for any other sector. The World Bank defines the poverty level as 
KHR5,000 ($1.22) per day.
    The law provides for a standard legal workweek of 48 hours, not to 
exceed eight hours per day. The law establishes a rate of 130 percent 
of daytime wages for nightshift work and 150 percent for overtime, 
which increases to 200 percent if overtime occurs at night, on Sunday, 
or on a holiday. Employees are allowed to work up to two hours of 
overtime each day. The law prohibits excessive overtime, states that 
all overtime must be voluntary, and also provides for paid annual 
holidays.
    The law states that the workplace should have health and safety 
standards adequate to provide for workers' well-being. Penalties are 
specified in the law, but there are no specific provisions to protect 
workers who complain about unsafe or unhealthy conditions. Workers have 
the right to remove themselves from situations that endangered health 
or safety.
    The government did not effectively enforce standards regarding 
hours worked and overtime compensation. Workers reported that overtime 
was often excessive and sometimes mandatory. Outside the garment 
industry, regulations on working hours were rarely enforced. 
Involuntary overtime remained a problem, although the practice 
decreased during the year. Employers used coercion to force employees 
to work. Workers often faced fines, dismissal, or loss of premium pay 
if they refused to work overtime.
    The government enforced existing standards selectively, in part 
because it lacked trained staff and equipment. The MOLVT's Department 
of Labor Inspection was the primary enforcement agency, and during the 
year it issued companies 404 warnings about labor law violations. The 
agency's 107 labor inspectors conducted inspections, but endemic 
corruption and insufficient penalties hindered efficacy.
    Although workers had the right to remove themselves from dangerous 
situations, those who did so sometimes risked loss of employment. In 
practice work-related injuries and health problems were common. Most 
large garment factories producing for markets in developed countries 
met relatively high health and safety standards as conditions of their 
contracts with buyers. Working conditions in some small-scale factories 
and cottage industries were poor and often did not meet international 
standards. There were 12,204 cases of work-related injuries and 49 
fatalities during the year.
    On April 9 and 10, approximately 500 workers fainted at the Huey 
Chuen shoe factory in Phnom Penh. The head of the Community Legal 
Education Center's labor program said workers suspected that toxic 
water or smells might have caused the fainting. Panic, poor nutrition, 
and fumes also were suspected as reasons for the fainting. On April 11, 
the president of the Free Trade Union of Workers called on the 
government to conduct an investigation. The MOLVT held a three-day 
workshop with industry representatives to discuss possible causes and 
solutions. The MOLVT obligated social security funds to cover medical 
care for the workers.
    On December 5, the government launched the National Social 
Protection Strategy (NSPS) for the Poor and Vulnerable, scheduled to 
remain in effect until 2015. The NSPS envisions a ``sustainable, 
affordable, and effective national social protection system'' with 
programs designed to end chronic poverty, hunger, and unemployment. The 
government committed to reducing the poverty rate from 25.8 percent in 
2010 to 19.5 percent in 2015.

                               __________

                       PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA


                (Including Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

                           executive summary
    The People's Republic of China (PRC) is an authoritarian state in 
which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) constitutionally is the 
paramount authority. CCP members hold almost all top government, 
police, and military positions. Ultimate authority rests with the 25-
member Political Bureau (Politburo) of the CCP and its nine-member 
Standing Committee. Hu Jintao holds the three most powerful positions 
as CCP general secretary, president, and chairman of the Central 
Military Commission. Civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of the security forces.
    Deterioration in key aspects of the country's human rights 
situation continued. Repression and coercion, particularly against 
organizations and individuals involved in rights advocacy and public 
interest issues, were routine. Individuals and groups seen as 
politically sensitive by the authorities continued to face tight 
restrictions on their freedom to assemble, practice religion, and 
travel. Efforts to silence political activists and public interest 
lawyers were stepped up, and, increasingly, authorities resorted to 
extralegal measures including enforced disappearance, ``soft 
detention,'' and strict house arrest, including house arrest of family 
members, to prevent the public voicing of independent opinions. Public 
interest law firms that took on sensitive cases continued to face 
harassment, disbarment of legal staff, and closure. The authorities 
increased attempts to limit freedom of speech and to control the press, 
the Internet, and Internet access. The authorities continued severe 
cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang 
Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and Tibetan areas. Abuses peaked around 
high-profile events, such as the visit of foreign officials, sensitive 
anniversaries, and in response to Internet-based calls for ``Jasmine 
Revolution'' protests.
    As in previous years, citizens did not have the right to change 
their government. Other human rights problems during the year included: 
extrajudicial killings, including executions without due process; 
enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention, including prolonged 
illegal detentions at unofficial holding facilities known as ``black 
jails''; torture and coerced confessions of prisoners; detention and 
harassment of lawyers, journalists, writers, dissidents, petitioners, 
and others who sought to peacefully exercise their rights under the 
law; a lack of due process in judicial proceedings; political control 
of courts and judges; closed trials; the use of administrative 
detention; restrictions on freedom to assemble, practice religion, and 
travel; failure to protect refugees and asylum seekers; pressure on 
other countries to forcibly return citizens to China; intense scrutiny 
of and restrictions on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); 
discrimination against women, minorities, and persons with 
disabilities; a coercive birth limitation policy that in some cases 
resulted in forced abortion or forced sterilization; trafficking in 
persons; prohibitions on independent unions and a lack of protection 
for workers' right to strike; and the use of forced labor, including 
prison labor. Corruption remained widespread.
    The authorities prosecuted a number of abuses of power, 
particularly with regard to corruption. However, the internal 
disciplinary procedures of the CCP were opaque, and it was not clear 
whether human rights and administrative abuses were consistently 
punished.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year 
security forces reportedly committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. In 
many instances few or no details were available. No official statistics 
on deaths in custody were available.
    Although no official statistics regarding deaths in custody were 
reported, some cases received media coverage. In June the media 
reported that residents in Hubei Province protested outside a Lichuan 
City government building after Ran Jianxin died in police custody. Ran, 
a Lichuan councilman, was arrested May 26 on suspicion of having 
accepted bribes and died June 4 while being interrogated. Relatives 
said they found wounds and bruises on his body and believe he died an 
unnatural death. Photos circulated on the Internet apparently showed 
Ran's body covered in bruises.
    In September villagers in Wukan, Guangdong Province, engaged in 
demonstrations against local government officials to protest the sale 
of village land. Officials asked the villagers to appoint 
representatives to address the issue. After negotiations failed, the 
authorities detained some representatives on December 11. On December 
13, local government announced that one of the detained 
representatives, Xue Jinbo, had died of cardiac arrest while in 
custody. Xue's relatives, who saw his body, believed he had been 
tortured and beaten to death. A local prosecutor denied the allegations 
and told media that Xue had a history of asthma and heart disease.
    Defendants in criminal proceedings were executed following 
convictions that lacked due process and adequate channels for appeal. 
On August 18, Li Lindong, a truck driver who ran over and killed an 
ethnic Mongol herder on May 10 in Inner Mongolia's Xilinhot City, was 
executed. Li's original trial, on June 9, lasted just six hours. The 
death of the Mongol herder had sparked large-scale protests in Inner 
Mongolia.

    b. Disappearance.--At year's end authorities continued to hold 
ethnic Mongolian activist Hada, his wife, and his son in detention 
without trial or pressing formal charges. Hada had been released from 
prison in December 2010, after serving a 15-year prison sentence on 
espionage and separatism charges. Hada founded the Southern Mongolia 
Democracy Alliance, which called for a referendum on the future of the 
province of Inner Mongolia.
    The whereabouts of prominent rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who had 
represented Christians and Falun Gong practitioners, remained unknown 
until December 16, when a Beijing court reimprisoned him for a period 
of three years for alleged ``parole violations'' during the period of 
his five-year suspended sentence. Gao had been forcibly disappeared 
since August 2009, with the exception of a brief reappearance in 
Beijing in spring 2010.
    At year's end the government had not provided a comprehensive, 
credible accounting of all those killed, missing, or detained in 
connection with the violent suppression of the 1989 Tiananmen 
demonstrations. In September the Duihua Foundation, an international 
human rights NGO, estimated that fewer than 10 remained in prison, 
although other estimates were higher. Many activists who were involved 
in the demonstrations continued to suffer from official harassment.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits the physical abuse of detainees and 
forbids prison guards from extracting confessions by torture, insulting 
prisoners' dignity, and beating or encouraging others to beat 
prisoners. In July 2010 rules went into effect that exclude evidence, 
including confessions, obtained under torture in certain categories of 
criminal cases. However, numerous former prisoners and detainees 
reported that they were beaten with fists and water bottles, subjected 
to electric shock, forced to sit on stools staring at the wall for 
hours on end, deprived of sleep, and otherwise subjected to physical 
and psychological abuse. Some of these abuses occurred during the year. 
Although ordinary prisoners were subjects of abuse, political and 
religious dissidents were singled out for particularly harsh treatment. 
In some instances close relatives of dissidents were singled out for 
abuse.
    On September 13, Guo Feixiong (aka0 Yang Maodong) was released from 
Guangdong Province's Meizhou Prison after five years in custody. Family 
members and lawyers who had met with Guo during the five years reported 
to the media that while in prison Guo was subjected to electric shocks, 
beatings, and other torture.
    On February 19, lawyer Jiang Tianyong was detained and severely 
beaten for two nights. He was made to sit motionless for up to 15 hours 
a day and interrogated repeatedly. He said he was also threatened and 
humiliated. He said his interrogators told him: ``Here we can do things 
in accordance to law. We can also not do things in accordance to law, 
because we are allowed to do things not in accordance to law.'' Jiang 
was released in April and never charged with a crime or formally 
arrested.
    In February the U.N. Committee Against Torture (UN CAT) reiterated 
its deep concern about the routine and widespread use in the country of 
torture and mistreatment of suspects in police custody, especially to 
extract confessions or information used in criminal proceedings. U.N. 
CAT acknowledged government efforts to address the practice of torture 
and related problems in the criminal justice system. Many acts of 
torture allegedly occurred in pretrial criminal detention centers or 
Re-education Through Labor (RTL) centers.
    There were widespread reports of activists and petitioners being 
committed to mental health facilities and involuntarily subjected to 
psychiatric treatment for political reasons. According to China News 
Weekly, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) directly administers 22 
high-security psychiatric hospitals for the criminally insane (also 
known as ankang facilities). From 1998 to May 2010, more than 40,000 
persons were committed to ankang hospitals. In May 2010 an MPS official 
stated in a media interview that detention in ankang facilities was not 
appropriate for patients who did not demonstrate criminal behavior. 
However, political activists, underground religious believers, persons 
who repeatedly petitioned the government, members of the banned Chinese 
Democracy Party (CDP), and Falun Gong adherents were among those housed 
with mentally ill patients in these institutions. Regulations governing 
security officials' ability to remand a person to an ankang facility 
were not clear, and detainees had no mechanism for objecting to claims 
of mental illness by security officials. Patients in these hospitals 
reportedly were medicated against their will and forcibly subjected to 
electric shock treatment.
    According to a human rights NGO, Hubei-based petitioner Zhao Kefeng 
was detained in a psychiatric institution in Xiangfan City, Hubei 
Province, following her seizure in Beijing on May 19 by officials from 
the Beijing Liaison Office of the Hubei Province government.
    On April 29, petitioner Hu Dongsheng of Hefei City, Anhui Province, 
was seized and beaten while petitioning at the Ministry of Public 
Security in Beijing and forcibly returned to Hefei. Upon his return to 
Anhui, Hu was detained in an ankang psychiatric hospital. This was 
reportedly the second occasion Hu had been detained in a psychiatric 
institution for petitioning. Hu, a CCP member and former low-level CCP 
branch secretary, had been petitioning grievances related to forced 
demolition.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in penal 
institutions for both political prisoners and criminal offenders were 
generally harsh and often degrading. Prisoners and detainees were 
regularly housed in overcrowded conditions with poor sanitation. 
Inadequate prison capacity remained a problem in some areas. Food often 
was inadequate and of poor quality, and many detainees relied on 
supplemental food, medicines, and warm clothing provided by relatives. 
Some prominent dissidents were not allowed to receive such goods. 
Prisoners often reported sleeping on the floor because there were no 
beds or bedding. Adequate, timely medical care for prisoners remained a 
serious problem, despite official assurances that prisoners have the 
right to prompt medical treatment.
    The law mandates that a prison shall be ventilated, allow for 
natural light and be clean and warm. However, in many cases there were 
inadequate provisions for sanitation, ventilation, heating, lighting, 
basic and emergency medical care, and access to potable water.
    Forced labor remained a serious problem in penal institutions. Many 
prisoners and detainees in penal and RTL facilities were required to 
work, often with no remuneration. Information about prisons, including 
associated labor camps and factories, was considered a state secret.
    In response to allegations that the organs of executed prisoners 
were harvested for transplant purposes, Vice Minister of Health Huang 
Jiefu in 2009 stated that inmates are not a proper source for human 
organs and prisoners must give written consent for their organs to be 
removed. Overseas and domestic media and advocacy groups continued to 
report instances of organ harvesting, particularly from Falun Gong 
practitioners and Uighurs.
    Conditions in administrative detention facilities, such as RTL 
camps, were similar to those in prisons. Beating deaths occurred in 
administrative detention and RTL facilities. Detainees reported 
beatings, sexual assaults, lack of proper food, and no access to 
medical care.
    Information on the prison population is not made public. According 
to the China Daily, the Justice Ministry has 678 prisons and 1.65 
million people serving sentences in them. The ministry also operated a 
``community correction'' parole system in which 599,000 people received 
community correction. The law requires juveniles be housed separately 
from adults, unless facilities are insufficient. In practice children 
were sometimes housed with adult prisoners and required to work. 
Political prisoners were held with the general prison population and 
reported being beaten by other prisoners at the instigation of guards.
    Many prisoners and detainees did not have reasonable access to 
visitors and were not permitted religious observance. Under Article 52 
of the prison law, ``considerations shall be given to the special 
habits and customs of prisoners of minority ethnic groups.'' Detention 
Center Regulation Article 23 had similar requirements. Little 
information was available about the implementation of these 
regulations.
    Prisoners and detainees are legally entitled to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities without censorship and request investigation of 
credible allegations of inhumane conditions. The law states that 
letters from a prisoner to higher authorities of the prison or to the 
judicial organs shall be free from examination. The law further 
provides that a prison ``shall set up medical, living and sanitary 
facilities, and institute regulations on the life and sanitation of 
prisoners.'' It also states that the medical and health care of 
prisoners shall be put into the public health and epidemic prevention 
program of the area in which the prison is located. While authorities 
occasionally investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions, 
the results were not documented in a publicly accessible manner. There 
are alternatives to incarceration for both violent and nonviolent 
offenders.
    The law requires the government to investigate and monitor prison 
and detention center conditions, and an official from the Prosecutor's 
Office is responsible for investigating and monitoring prison and 
detention center conditions.
    The government generally did not permit independent monitoring of 
prisons or RTL camps, and prisoners remained inaccessible to local and 
international human rights organizations and media groups. Authorities 
did not allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to 
have access to prisoners or perform authentic prison visits in the 
country.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Arbitrary arrest and detention 
remained serious problems. The law grants police broad administrative 
detention powers and the ability to detain individuals for extended 
periods without formal arrest or criminal charges. Throughout the year 
human rights activists, journalists, unregistered religious leaders, 
and former political prisoners and their family members continued to be 
among those targeted for arbitrary detention or arrest. A draft 
revision of the criminal procedure law contained a provision to 
legalize extralegal detentions for cases involving state secrets, major 
corruption, and terrorism.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The main domestic 
security agencies include the Ministry of State Security, MPS, and 
People's Armed Police. The People's Liberation Army is primarily 
responsible for external security but also has some domestic security 
responsibilities. Local jurisdictions also frequently used civilian 
municipal security forces, known as ``urban management'' officials, to 
enforce laws.
    The MPS coordinates the country's police force, which is organized 
into specialized police agencies and local, county, and provincial 
jurisdictions. Judicial oversight of the police was limited, and checks 
and balances were absent. Corruption at the local level was widespread. 
Police and urban management officials engaged in extrajudicial 
detention, extortion, and assault. In 2009 the Supreme People's 
Procuratorate acknowledged continuing widespread abuse in law 
enforcement. In 2009 domestic news media reported the convictions of 
public security officials who had beaten to death suspects or prisoners 
in custody.
    On July 24, three unidentified individuals beat democracy rights 
activist Luo Yongquan while he was at work in Nanxiong City, Guangdong 
Province. Luo, a poet, Charter '08 democracy manifesto signatory, and 
member of the banned CDP, was released in May after two years in RTL 
for publishing poems critical of the CCP and the government. Police 
reportedly came to the scene of his beating but did not pursue the 
case.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law allows 
police to detain suspects for up to 37 days before formal arrest. After 
arrest, police are authorized to detain a suspect for up to an 
additional seven months while the case is investigated. After the 
completion of a police investigation, an additional 45 days of 
detention are allowed for the procuratorate to determine whether to 
file criminal charges. If charges are filed, authorities can detain a 
suspect for an additional 45 days before beginning judicial 
proceedings. Pretrial detention periods of a year or longer were 
common. In practice the police sometimes detained persons beyond the 
period allowed by law. The law stipulates that detainees be allowed to 
meet with defense counsel before criminal charges are filed. Police 
often violated this right.
    The criminal procedure law requires a court to provide a lawyer to 
a defendant who has not already retained a lawyer; who is blind, deaf, 
mute, or a minor; or who may be sentenced to death. This law applies 
whether or not the defendant is indigent. Courts may also provide 
lawyers to other criminal defendants who cannot afford them, although 
courts often did not appoint counsel in such circumstances.
    Criminal defendants are entitled to apply for bail (also translated 
as ``a guarantor pending trial'') while awaiting trial. However, in 
practice few suspects were released on bail.
    The law requires notification of family members within 24 hours of 
detention, but individuals were often held without notification for 
significantly longer periods, especially in politically sensitive 
cases. Under a sweeping exception, officials are not required to 
provide notification if doing so would ``hinder the investigation'' of 
a case.
    The law protects the right to petition the government for 
resolution of grievances. However, citizens who traveled to Beijing to 
petition the central government were frequently subjected to arbitrary 
detention, often by police dispatched from the petitioner's hometown. 
Some provincial governments operated facilities in Beijing or in other 
localities where petitioners from their districts were held in 
extrajudicial detention. Some local governments took steps to restrict 
petitioning. According to a May 2010 Shanxi provincial government 
report, the Shanxi Province People's Congress adopted regulations that 
listed eight types of ``prohibited'' petitioning, including ``illegally 
gathering, encircling or rushing into government offices or important 
public spaces, stopping cars or hindering public transportation, 
linking up with others to petition,'' and similar acts. The regulations 
stated that petitioners suspected of ``misrepresenting facts to frame 
others'' could be subject to criminal charges.
    Online reports claimed Guangdong provincial authorities rewarded 
local officials for active engagement in intercepting petitioners.
    On March 5, Guangdong agents forcibly returned to their home 
province a Shaoguan City couple who had gone to Beijing to petition 
over a land requisition issue involving alleged official corruption. 
The couple had been petitioning the case at both the local and national 
level since 2006. Although the husband was released 54 days later after 
suffering a heart attack, his wife remained illegally detained in a 
black jail, and the local public security bureau and procuratorate 
refused to respond to requests by the husband to look into his wife's 
situation. The wife was finally released on August 27. Upon her 
release, authorities reportedly did not return her household 
registration documents and identification card, and officials from the 
justice bureau threatened her, warned her not to leave her home, and 
instructed her and her husband to stop petitioning.
    According to an NGO report, authorities returned two Nanning City, 
Guangxi, petitioners to their home September 7 after they were held in 
a black jail in Beijing. The two petitioners were initially seized by 
police on August 30 and then detained in Jiujingzhuang black jail 
before Nanning agents took them to another black jail, reportedly in 
the Daxing district of Beijing. While there, they allegedly were kept 
in uncomfortable and unsanitary conditions, prompting one to initiate a 
hunger strike.
    The law permits administrative, nonjudicial panels, known as 
``labor reeducation panels,'' to remand persons to RTL camps or other 
administrative detention programs for up to three years without trial. 
Labor reeducation panels are authorized to extend these administrative 
sentences for up to one year. Detainees are technically allowed to 
challenge administrative RTL sentences and appeal for sentence 
reduction or suspension. However, appeals were rarely successful. Other 
forms of administrative detention include ``custody and education'' 
(for women engaged in prostitution and those soliciting prostitution) 
and ``custody and training'' (for minor criminal offenders). The law 
establishes a system of ``compulsory isolation for drug 
rehabilitation.'' The minimum stay in such centers is two years, and 
the law states that treatment can include labor. Public security organs 
authorize detention in these centers, and it often was meted out as an 
administrative rather than criminal measure. Administrative detention 
was used to intimidate political activists and prevent public 
demonstrations.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--On April 3, artist Ai Weiwei was detained at the 
Beijing Capital International Airport while going through customs to 
board a flight abroad. He was then held for 81 days at an unknown 
location allegedly for economic crimes including tax evasion. Ai was 
released on bail on June 22. Ai said he was repeatedly interrogated 
about his alleged involvement in calls for Jasmine Revolution protests.
    Authorities arrested persons on allegations of revealing state 
secrets, subversion, and other crimes as a means to suppress political 
dissent and public advocacy. These charges--including what constitutes 
a state secret--remained ill defined. Citizens and foreigners also were 
detained under broad and ambiguous state secrets laws for, among other 
actions, disclosing information on criminal trials, meetings, 
commercial activity, and government activity. Authorities sometimes 
retroactively labeled a particular action as a violation of a state 
secret.
    In February, responding to anonymous online calls for Jasmine 
Revolution protests in China, authorities arrested dozens of lawyers, 
human rights activists, and political dissidents without notice. NGOs 
estimated that since late February approximately 50 human rights 
activists and lawyers were formally arrested or placed under extralegal 
detention, up to 200 people were placed under house arrest, and 15 were 
charged with ``inciting subversion of state power.''
    In late February and early March, in connection with the online 
calls for Jasmine Revolution gatherings, Guangzhou police reportedly 
detained dozens of citizens, many of whom were held without 
notification of family members or formal charges, according to 
widespread foreign press and international NGO reporting. Many were 
held for up to 120 days. Several prominent Guangzhou-based activists 
were detained on suspicion of ``inciting subversion of state power.''
    In July press reports indicated bishops in four Guangdong cities--
Jiangmen, Meizhou, Zhanjiang, and Guangzhou--were taken into police 
custody and coerced to participate in the July 14 ordination ceremony 
of Bishop Huang Bingzhang in Shantou.
    Police surveillance, harassment, and detentions of activists 
increased around politically sensitive events. The government continued 
to use extrajudicial house arrest against dissidents, former political 
prisoners, family members of political prisoners, petitioners, 
underground religious figures, and others it deemed politically 
sensitive. Numerous dissidents, activists, and petitioners were placed 
under house arrest during the October National Day holiday period and 
at other sensitive times, such as during the Guangzhou Asia Games and 
the Shenzhen Universiade games, the annual plenary sessions of the 
National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political 
Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and the anniversary of the Tiananmen 
massacre. The anniversary of the October 2010 awarding of the Nobel 
Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo triggered similar security responses. 
Conditions faced by those under house arrest varied but sometimes 
included complete isolation in their homes under police guard. In some 
instances security officials were stationed inside the homes of 
subjects under house arrest. Others were occasionally permitted to 
leave their homes to work or run errands but were required to ride in 
police vehicles. When permitted to leave their homes, subjects of house 
arrest were usually under police surveillance. Authorities in the XUAR 
used house arrest and other forms of arbitrary detention against those 
accused of supporting the ``three evils'' of religious extremism, 
``splittism,'' and terrorism.
    In April petitioner Wang Rongwen, of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, was 
released after being illegally detained for a month and a half without 
charges or legal documentation related to her detention. On August 21, 
Chengdu authorities detained more than 20 petitioners to prevent them 
from seeking an audience with a visiting high-level foreign dignitary. 
Two were detained for 12 and 15 days, respectively; the rest were put 
under house arrest.
    Beginning September 2, several members of the Guizhou Human Rights 
Forum, including Chen Xi, Liao Shuangyuan, Wu Yuqin, Lu Yongxiang, Li 
Renke, Huang Yanming, Mo Jiangang, and Tian Zuxiang, were forced to 
leave their homes and held in various hostels for three weeks prior to 
the Ninth National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities, held in 
Guizhou September 10-18.
    In July police in Fujian Province threatened a number of activists 
seeking to testify at the August trial of Wang Lihong on charges of 
``creating a disturbance'' in connection with her participation in a 
2010 peaceful protest in Fuzhou City in support of three Internet 
activists convicted of slander for online accusations regarding a local 
official's involvement in a murder. Fujian activists who traveled to 
Beijing in August to attend the trial were forcibly detained and 
returned to Fujian by provincial officials based in Beijing.
    On May 31, police took dissident Zhang Jiankang from his home in 
Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, for a ``trip.'' On June 2, Chengdu artist Chen 
Yunfei was put under house arrest. Li Renke of Guiyang was taken by 
police to ``go on a trip'' out of town. Writer Dang Guan of Anhui was 
stopped by police while on his way to Guangzhou and brought back. On 
June 1, security forces warned democracy activist and journalist Zha 
Jianguo not to write articles or conduct media interviews around the 
June 4 Tiananmen massacre anniversary.
    In September 2010 blind human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng was 
released after completing a prison sentence of three years and four 
months on charges of ``disrupting traffic.'' After his release, Chen, 
his wife, his six-year-old daughter, and his mother remained under 
house arrest and were prevented from communicating with others. Chen 
was not allowed to seek medical attention for a gastrointestinal 
condition he developed in prison. On February 9, Chen and his wife 
reportedly were severely beaten after a human rights group released a 
video of Chen and his wife in their home, describing the intense police 
surveillance. They reportedly were again subjected to severe beatings 
in July. His daughter was for a time unable to attend school because no 
adult was permitted to leave the house to enroll her. Subsequently she 
was permitted to enroll and reportedly was being escorted to and from 
school by a security guard. A number of Chinese activists, friends and 
supporters, and foreign and domestic journalists who attempted to visit 
Chen reported being assaulted, detained, forcibly removed, or otherwise 
abused and prevented from freely accessing his village or seeing him. 
At year's end Chen remained under house arrest with no access to 
medical care. Some supporters reported successful delivery of medicine 
to Chen.
    After the announcement of the award of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize 
to imprisoned writer Liu Xiaobo, his wife, Liu Xia, was placed under 
extrajudicial house arrest and had not been seen in public since 
October 2010. Attempts to visit Liu Xia were blocked by security 
authorities stationed outside her home. In August the U.N. Working 
Group on Arbitrary Detention formally declared the imprisonment of Liu 
Xiaobo and the house arrest of his wife, Liu Xia, to be in violation of 
the country's obligations under international law.

    Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detention can last as long as one 
year. Defendants in ``sensitive cases'' reported being subjected to 
prolonged pretrial detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law states that the courts 
shall exercise judicial power independently, without interference from 
administrative organs, social organizations, and individuals. However, 
in practice the judiciary was not independent. Legal scholars 
interpreted President Hu Jintao's doctrine of the ``Three Supremes'' as 
stating that the interests of the CCP are above the law. Judges 
regularly received political guidance on pending cases, including 
instructions on how to rule, from both the government and the CCP, 
particularly in politically sensitive cases. The CCP Law and Politics 
Committee has the authority to review and influence court operations at 
all levels of the judiciary.
    Corruption also influenced court decisions. Safeguards against 
judicial corruption were vague and poorly enforced. Local governments 
appoint and pay local court judges and, as a result, often exerted 
influence over the rulings of judges in their districts.
    Courts are not authorized to rule on the constitutionality of 
legislation. The law permits organizations or individuals to question 
the constitutionality of laws and regulations, but a constitutional 
challenge can only be directed to the promulgating legislative body. As 
a result lawyers had little or no opportunity to use the constitution 
in litigation.

    Trial Procedures.--There was no presumption of innocence, and the 
criminal justice system was biased toward a presumption of guilt, 
especially in high-profile or politically sensitive cases.
    According to statistics released on the Supreme People's Court 
(SPC) official Web site, in 2010 the combined conviction rate for 
first- and second-instance criminal trials was 99.9 percent. Of 
1,007,419 criminal defendants tried in 2010, 999 were acquitted.
    In many politically sensitive trials, courts handed down guilty 
verdicts with no deliberation immediately following proceedings. Courts 
often punished defendants who refused to acknowledge guilt with harsher 
sentences than those who confessed. The appeals process rarely resulted 
in overturned convictions. Appeals processes failed to provide 
sufficient avenues for review, and there were inadequate remedies for 
violations of defendants' rights.
    Supreme People's Court regulations require all trials to be open to 
the public, with the exceptions of cases involving state secrets, 
privacy issues, and minors. Authorities used the state-secrets 
provision to keep politically sensitive proceedings closed to the 
public, sometimes even to family members, and to withhold access to 
defense counsel. Court regulations state that foreigners with valid 
identification should be allowed to observe trials under the same 
criteria as citizens. In practice foreigners were permitted to attend 
court proceedings only by invitation. As in past years, foreign 
diplomats and journalists unsuccessfully sought permission to attend a 
number of trials. In some instances the trials were reclassified as 
``state secrets'' cases or otherwise closed to the public. Foreign 
diplomats requested but were denied permission to attend the September 
trial and October appeal of Internet freedom advocate Wang Lihong on 
charges of illegally possessing state secrets. Wang was sentenced in 
September to nine months' imprisonment. The Beijing Intermediate Court 
denied her appeal on October 20. On December 20, Wang was released 
after completing her sentence, to include time served in pretrial 
detention.
    Some trials were broadcast, and court proceedings were a regular 
television feature. A few courts published their verdicts on the 
Internet.
    The law grants most defendants the right to seek legal counsel upon 
initial detention and interrogation, although police frequently 
violated this right. Individuals who face administrative detention do 
not have the right to seek legal counsel. Both criminal and 
administrative defendants were eligible for legal assistance, although 
more than 70 percent of criminal defendants went to trial without a 
lawyer. According to statistics released by Ministry of Justice, the 
number of legal-aid cases in 2010 totaled 726,763, a slight increase 
from the previous year.
    Human rights lawyers reported that they were denied the ability to 
defend certain clients or threatened with punishment if they chose to 
do so. An international NGO reported that the government had suspended 
or revoked lawyers' licenses to stop them from taking sensitive cases, 
such as defending prodemocracy dissidents, members of banned religious 
movements, or government critics.
    The government continued to require law firms with three or more 
CCP members to form a CCP unit within the firm. Firms with one or two 
CCP members may establish joint CCP units with other firms. In smaller 
counties and cities with few lawyers, CCP members may join local 
Justice Bureau CCP units. This rule also applies to private companies 
and other organizations.
    Some lawyers declined to represent defendants in politically 
sensitive cases, and such defendants frequently found it difficult to 
find an attorney. Three days after a July 23 train crash, law firms in 
Wenzhou received an urgent message in the names of the Wenzhou Judicial 
Bureau and the Wenzhou Lawyers Association ordering lawyers not to take 
cases representing family members of the crash victims. Lawyers were 
told to inform the Wenzhou Judicial Bureau and the Wenzhou Lawyers 
Association of any contact with victims who sought legal assistance. 
After the order was leaked to the press and social media sites, a 
popular uproar forced the organizations to rescind the order. 
Similarly, certain Beijing-based rights lawyers were told they could 
not represent Tibetan defendants. Certain local governments in the XUAR 
and Tibetan areas implemented regulations stipulating that only locally 
registered attorneys were authorized to represent local defendants.
    When defendants were able to retain counsel in politically 
sensitive cases, government officials sometimes prevented attorneys 
from organizing an effective defense. Tactics employed by court and 
government officials included unlawful detentions, disbarment, 
harassment and physical intimidation, and denial of access to evidence 
and to clients.
    On June 14, police in Beihai City, Guangxi Region, detained four 
defense lawyers on suspicion of ``obstructing testimony'' in connection 
with their defense of individuals accused in a beating death. On June 
29, the local procuratorate approved the arrest of one of the four, 
Yang Zaixin. Police subsequently denied a number of other lawyers the 
right to represent the four lawyers, now defendants themselves. In one 
instance plainclothes police officers forcibly removed a defense lawyer 
from the detention center's attorney visitation room.
    On August 2, according to online reports, the Beihai City 
Intermediate People's Court in Guangxi did not notify the lawyer of Xu 
Kun, the village chief of Baihutou, Beihai City, prior to upholding 
Xu's conviction on the charge of ``operating an illegal business.'' The 
conviction, for which Xu was sentenced to four years in prison and 
fined 200,000 RMB (approximately $31,450), allegedly related to Xu's 
efforts to lead fellow villagers in resisting land expropriation in 
Baihutou. Neither Xu's wife nor his lawyer was present in court when 
the verdict was delivered. Since he began his advocacy against land 
expropriation in 2008, Xu had been subjected to government pressure, 
expulsion from the CCP, and surveillance and monitoring.
    On August 18, police in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, seized 
rights lawyer Wu Zhenqi, who had come to Harbin from Guangzhou City to 
assist with the case of Yu Yunfeng, a petitioner sentenced to two years 
of RTL in late July. On August 18, after Wu had interviewed Li Erping, 
a Harbin Internet activist, in connection with the case, seven or eight 
officers from the Northeast Forestry University Security Division took 
Wu and Li in for questioning. Li was released that afternoon, but Wu 
continued to be held. Wu was later released but was prevented from 
providing legal assistance to his clients.
    On November 4, Chen Ruiwu, Shang Zhihong, and Yang Hongyi were 
released from prison in Langfang City, Hebei Province, almost two years 
after the Hebei High Court overturned their death sentence on appeal. 
The Langfang Intermediate Court had withheld the appeal decision for 
two years and kept the prisoners on death row before finally releasing 
them. Originally arrested in 2001, based on weak evidence and despite 
possessing a strong alibi, the three defendants were sentenced to death 
in 2002, based on confessions obtained through torture and forensic 
evidence that the prosecution had lost and not produced in court. The 
Hebei High Court twice ordered retrials, in 2003 and 2006, on 
evidentiary grounds. Both times, the Langfang Intermediate Court held 
the retrials based on the same missing forensics evidence and reworded 
witness testimony.
    The annual licensing review process administered by the Beijing 
Lawyers Association was used to withhold or delay the approval of 
professional lawyers licenses, and therefore restricted or hindered the 
ability to practice law, of a number of human rights and public 
interest lawyers. In late July the license for rights lawyer Liu 
Xiaoyuan was renewed after a lengthy delay, but the association did not 
issue a license for his firm, Qi Jian Law. At year's end Qi Jian Law 
Firm still had not received its license. Official pressure on its 
landlords forced Qi Jian Law Firm to move offices.
    Defense attorneys may legally be held responsible if their client 
commits perjury, and prosecutors and judges have wide discretion to 
decide what constitutes perjury. In some sensitive cases, lawyers had 
no pretrial access to their clients and defendants, and lawyers were 
not allowed to communicate with one another during trials. In practice 
criminal defendants were frequently not assigned an attorney until a 
case was brought to court. Despite a 2008 statement by SPC Vice 
President Zhang Jun that 37 percent of criminal defendants were 
represented by lawyers, in 2009 only one in seven criminal defendants 
reportedly had legal representation.
    Mechanisms allowing defendants to confront their accusers were 
inadequate. Only a small percentage of trials involved witnesses, and 
fewer than 10 percent of subpoenaed witnesses appeared in court. 
Proposed amendments to the criminal procedure law expected to pass the 
NPC in March 2012 contain a provision to compel witnesses to appear in 
court. In most criminal trials, prosecutors read witness statements, 
which neither the defendants nor their lawyers had an opportunity to 
rebut. Although the criminal procedure law states that pretrial witness 
statements cannot serve as the sole basis for conviction, prosecutors 
relied heavily on such statements to support their cases. Defense 
attorneys had no authority to compel witnesses to testify or to mandate 
discovery, although they could apply for access to government-held 
evidence relevant to their case. Pretrial access to information by 
defense attorneys was minimal. Denial of due process by police and 
prosecutors led to particularly egregious consequences in capital 
cases.
    On August 15, Beijing Xicheng District People's Court sentenced 
Yang Yukui, a farmer from Tieli Town, Heilongjiang Province, to five 
months' imprisonment for ``creating a disturbance.'' The case stemmed 
from Yang's efforts to seek accountability and treatment for his son, 
who Yang believed was made ill by faulty vaccinations given by a Tieli 
hospital on the day he was born. On July 27, officers from the Xicheng 
District Public Security Bureau took Yang into custody after he went to 
Beijing Children's Hospital to obtain medical care for his son. After 
an argument broke out between Yang and the doctors, police took him 
away under the pretext of mediating the situation but then arrested 
him. At trial, requests from Yang and his attorney to view hospital 
surveillance video that could have proven his actions had not 
constituted a crime were ignored.
    At year's end the criminal code contained 55 capital offenses, 
including nonviolent financial crimes such as embezzlement and 
corruption. In February amendments to the capital-punishment law 
removed 13 nonviolent economic crimes, ranging from smuggling relics 
and endangered animals to falsifying tax receipts, from the list of 
capital crimes. Persons above the age of 75 would be exempt from the 
death penalty unless the defendant caused death in an ``extremely cruel 
manner.'' There was no government information on how many defendants 
were either sentenced to the death or executed during the year.
    SPC spokesman Ni Shouming stated that, since reassuming death 
penalty reviews in 2007, the SPC had returned 15 percent of death 
sentences to lower courts for further review based on unclear facts, 
insufficient evidence, inappropriate use of the death penalty, and 
inadequate trial procedures. Because official statistics remained a 
state secret, it was not possible to evaluate independently the 
implementation and effects of the procedures.
    No official statistics are available on the number of executions 
carried out annually. An international human rights NGO estimated that 
approximately 4,500 persons were executed in 2010.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Government officials continued 
to deny holding any political prisoners, asserting that authorities 
detained persons not for their political or religious views but because 
they violated the law. However, the authorities continued to imprison 
citizens for reasons related to politics and religion. Tens of 
thousands of political prisoners remained incarcerated, some in prisons 
and others in RTL camps or administrative detention. The government did 
not grant international humanitarian organizations access to political 
prisoners.
    Foreign NGOs estimated that several hundred persons remained in 
prison for ``counterrevolutionary crimes,'' which were repealed from 
the criminal code in 1997. Thousands of others were serving sentences 
under state security statutes. Foreign governments urged the government 
to review the cases of those charged before 1997 with 
counterrevolutionary crimes and to release those who had been jailed 
for nonviolent offenses under repealed provisions of the criminal law. 
At year's end no systematic review had occurred. The government 
maintained that prisoners serving sentences for counterrevolutionary 
crimes and endangering state security were eligible to apply for 
sentence reduction and parole. However, political prisoners were 
granted early release at lower rates than prisoners in other 
categories. Persons were believed to remain in prison for crimes in 
connection with their involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen prodemocracy 
movement. The exact number was unknown because related official 
statistics were never made public.
    In July 2010 Charter '08 signatory and activist Liu Xianbin was 
indicted for subversion for an article he wrote following his 2009 
release from a previous prison term. On March 25, he was sentenced to 
10 years in prison for inciting ``subversion of state power.'' Formally 
detained in June 2010, Liu was charged for articles he wrote and posted 
on overseas Web sites, as well as for involvement with a Beijing 
seminar regarding three Fujian persons imprisoned for Internet 
postings. Liu was reportedly denied access to his lawyers during his 
detention.
    Chengdu dissident writer Ran Yunfei, detained February 19 on 
suspicion of ``subversion,'' was held without charges for nearly six 
months until being released into residential surveillance, a form of 
house arrest. Although he was not charged, his freedom of speech and 
association remained restricted.
    Many political prisoners remained in prison or under other forms of 
detention at year's end, including rights activist Wang Bingzhang; Alim 
and Ablikim Abdureyim, sons of Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer; 
journalist Shi Tao; democratic reform advocate Wang Xiaoning; former 
Tiananmen Square student leader Zhou Yongjun; land rights activist Yang 
Chunlin; labor activists Hu Mingjun, Huang Xiangwei, Kong Youping, Ning 
Xianhua, Li Jianfeng, Li Xintao, Lin Shun'an, Li Wangyang, and She 
Wanbao; Sichuan rights activist Liu Xiaoyuan; Catholic bishop Su 
Zhimin; Christian activist Zhang Rongliang; Uighur activist Dilkex 
Tilivaldi; and Tibetan Tenzin Deleg.
    In September 2010 rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng was released from 
prison following the completion of his sentence and was immediately 
placed under house arrest, along with his wife, daughter, and mother 
(see section 1.d.).
    Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, coauthor of the Charter '08 
manifesto that called for increased political freedoms and human rights 
in China, was found guilty of the crime of ``inciting subversion of 
state power'' in a 2009 trial that included serious due process 
violations. The Beijing High People's Court denied Liu's appeal in 
February 2010, and he remained in prison at year's end.
    Criminal punishments continued to include ``deprivation of 
political rights'' for a fixed period after release from prison, during 
which time the individual is denied rights of free speech, association, 
publication, and voting. Former prisoners reported their ability to 
find employment, travel, obtain residence permits, rent residences, and 
access social services severely restricted. Former political prisoners 
and their families frequently were subjected to police surveillance, 
telephone wiretaps, searches, and other forms of harassment or threats.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Courts deciding civil 
matters faced the same limitations on judicial independence as in 
criminal cases. The State Compensation Law provides administrative and 
judicial remedies for plaintiffs whose rights or interests have been 
infringed by government agencies or officials, including wrongful 
arrest or conviction, extortion of confession by torture, unlawful use 
of force resulting in bodily injury, illegal revocation of a business 
license, or illegal confiscation or freezing of property. In April 2010 
the NPC Standing Committee amended the law to allow compensation for 
wrongful detention, mental trauma, or physical injuries inflicted by 
detention center or prison officials. In civil matters successful 
plaintiffs often found it difficult to enforce court orders.
    Families of deceased victims of the July 23 Wenzhou train crash 
were pressured to quickly accept a settlement payment of 900,000 RMB 
(approximately $141,500) and forfeit the right to seek further civil 
damages from the Ministry of Railways. Some family members reported 
that officials threatened to withhold the bodies of the deceased unless 
they accepted the offer.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law states that the ``freedom and privacy of 
correspondence of citizens are protected by law''; however, in 
practice, authorities often did not respect the privacy of citizens. 
Although the law requires warrants before law enforcement officials can 
search premises, this provision frequently was ignored. The Public 
Security Bureau (PSB) and prosecutors are authorized to issue search 
warrants on their own authority without judicial review. Cases of 
forced entry by police officers continued to be reported. Proposed 
amendments to the criminal procedure law expected to pass the NPC in 
March 2012 provide for the admissibility of electronic evidence.
    Authorities monitored telephone conversations, fax transmissions, 
e-mail, text messaging, and Internet communications. Authorities opened 
and censored domestic and international mail. Security services 
routinely monitored and entered residences and offices to gain access 
to computers, telephones, and fax machines.
    The monitoring and disruption of telephone and Internet 
communications were particularly widespread in the XUAR and Tibetan 
areas. Authorities frequently warned dissidents and activists, 
underground religious figures, and former political prisoners 
throughout the country not to meet with foreign journalists or 
diplomats, especially before sensitive anniversaries, at the time of 
important government or CCP meetings, and during the visits of high-
level foreign officials. Security personnel harassed and detained the 
family members of political prisoners, including following them to 
meetings with foreign reporters and diplomats and urging them to remain 
silent about the cases of their relatives.
    Family members of activists, dissidents, Falun Gong practitioners, 
journalists, unregistered religious figures, and former political 
prisoners were targeted for arbitrary arrest, detention, and harassment 
(see section 1.d.).
    In February and March, family members of, and social organizations 
associated with, activists detained in connection with the Jasmine 
Revolution crackdown faced pressure from Guangzhou security officials, 
according to press reports. Some wives of jailed activists were placed 
under residential surveillance and detention, while police told social 
groups that their continued affiliation with the activists would cause 
them problems.
    Forced relocation because of urban development continued and in 
some locations increased during the year. Protests over relocation 
terms or compensation were common, and some protest leaders were 
prosecuted. In rural areas relocation for infrastructure and commercial 
development projects resulted in the forced relocation of millions of 
persons.
    Property-related disputes between citizens and government 
authorities, which often turned violent, were widespread in both urban 
and rural areas. These disputes frequently stemmed from local 
officials' collusion with property developers to pay little or no 
compensation to displaced residents, combined with a lack of effective 
government oversight or media scrutiny of local officials' involvement 
in property transactions, as well as a lack of legal remedies or other 
dispute resolution mechanisms for displaced residents. The problem 
persisted despite central government efforts to impose stronger 
controls over illegal land takings and to standardize compensation. The 
redevelopment in traditional Uighur neighborhoods in cities throughout 
the XUAR, such as the Old City area in Kashgar, resulted in the 
destruction of historically or culturally sensitive areas. Some 
residents voiced opposition to the lack of proper compensation provided 
by the government and coercive measures used to obtain their agreement 
to redevelopment.
    In preparation for the 2011 Universiade Games in Shenzhen, city 
officials evicted 80,000 people without proper identification and those 
``acting suspiciously'' or considered a threat to security. 
International NGOs reported that officials also forcibly removed out-
of-town legal activists from the city.
    For information on the government's family planning policies and 
their consequences see section 6, Women.
    Some media sources continue to report child abductions by child-
trafficking gangs. In July the Associated Press reported that 
authorities rescued 89 trafficked children, ages 10 days to four years, 
and that 369 suspects were arrested by the Ministry of Public Security. 
The investigation reportedly involved up to 2,600 officers in 14 
provinces. In 2010 there were multiple reports of child traffickers 
being executed. While harsh penalties exist for traffickers, it was not 
clear that buying children is illegal, as the law does not clearly 
define the circumstances in which a buyer should be punished. A July 
Associated Press article reported that Liu Anchang, a Ministry of 
Public Security official, said that buyers who have not abused the 
children cannot be held criminally liable. If the parents of trafficked 
children cannot be found, the children are placed into orphanages (see 
section 6, Children).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, although the 
authorities generally did not respect these rights in practice. The 
authorities continued to control print, broadcast, and electronic media 
tightly and used them to propagate government views and CCP ideology. 
During the year the authorities increased censorship and manipulation 
of the press and the Internet during sensitive anniversaries.

    Freedom of Speech.--With significant exceptions, including speech 
that challenged the government or the CCP, political topics could be 
discussed privately and in small groups without official punishment. 
Some independent think tanks, study groups, or seminars reported 
pressure to cancel some sessions on sensitive topics during the year. 
Those who made politically sensitive comments in public speeches, 
academic discussions, and comments to the media remained subject to 
punitive measures.
    The government also frequently monitored gatherings of 
intellectuals, scholars, and dissidents where political or sensitive 
issues were discussed. Individuals who expressed views critical of the 
government or the CCP, particularly those who shared such views with 
foreign audiences, risked punishments ranging from disciplinary action 
in the workplace to police interrogation and detention. In 2008, to 
commemorate International Human Rights Day, a group of 303 
intellectuals and activists released a petition entitled Charter '08, 
calling for the CCP to respect human rights and implement democratic 
reforms in China. Many Charter '08 signers continued to report official 
harassment, especially around sensitive dates.
    On February 20, Liang Haiyi, also known as Miaoxiao, made a speech 
in front of the Harbin Municipal Building calling for freedom, 
democracy, and equality. She was detained by the local police and put 
into custody in the Harbin No.2 Detention Center for ``inciting 
subversion of state power.'' Her case was reportedly transferred to the 
court for prosecution on August 19. At year's end no information was 
available on Liang's welfare and whereabouts.

    Freedom of the Press.--All books and magazines require state-issued 
publication numbers, which were expensive and often difficult to 
obtain. Nearly all print media, broadcast media, and book publishers 
were affiliated with the CCP or a government agency. There were a small 
number of print publications with some private ownership interest but 
no privately owned television or radio stations. The CCP directed the 
domestic media to refrain from reporting on certain subjects, and all 
broadcast programming required government approval. On July 29, after 
the high-profile, July 23 high-speed rail crash in Wenzhou, the CCP 
issued an urgent directive ordering all publications to stop planned 
coverage of the train crash after one week of intense coverage of the 
issue in traditional and social media. Many publications adhered to the 
tighter controls by publishing blank spaces in place of the censored 
articles to protest the gag order on the eve of an important day of 
mourning in Chinese culture.

    Violence and Harassment.--Restrictions on foreign journalists by 
central and local CCP propaganda departments remained strict, 
especially during sensitive times and anniversaries. Foreign press 
outlets reported that local employees of foreign news agencies were 
also subject to official harassment and intimidation.
    On February 27, at least six foreign journalists were beaten by 
plainclothes security officers in Beijing while covering anticipated 
gatherings and a related security crackdown in the busy commercial 
district of Wangfujing in downtown Beijing. Plainclothes officers 
dragged other reporters and photographers into alleys or shops and 
erased images from their cameras. Later, security officials made 
nighttime visits to a few Western journalists in their apartments, 
warning them to behave cooperatively or risk losing their work permits.
    According to the Foreign Correspondents Club, one of five foreign 
respondents surveyed experienced visa threats or visa delays. Some 
reporters were explicitly told that issuance of their visa was related 
to the content of their reporting. Among the correspondents surveyed, 
70 percent experienced interference or harassment during the year; 40 
percent said their sources were harassed, detained, or called in for 
questioning for interacting with foreign journalists; and 33 percent 
said their Chinese assistants encountered pressure from officials or 
experienced harassment.
    The government limited attendance at official government press 
briefings to domestic media; foreign media and diplomats were only 
allowed to attend briefings conducted by the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and a handful of press briefings held around special events.
    Authorities continued to enforce tight restrictions on citizens 
employed by foreign news organizations. The code of conduct for Chinese 
employees of foreign media organizations threatens dismissal and loss 
of accreditation for Chinese employees who engaged in ``independent 
reporting'' and instructed them to provide their employers information 
that projects a good image of the country. The Foreign Correspondents 
Club of China denounced the code of conduct as part of a government 
effort to intimidate their Chinese employees.
    Officials can be punished for unauthorized contact with 
journalists. Official guidelines for journalists were often vague, 
subject to change at the discretion of propaganda officials, and 
retroactively enforced. Propaganda authorities forced newspapers to 
fire editors and journalists responsible for articles deemed 
inconsistent with official policy and suspended or closed publications. 
The system of post-publication review by propaganda officials 
encouraged self-censorship by editors seeking to avoid the losses 
associated with penalties for inadvertently printing unauthorized 
content.
    Government officials used criminal prosecution, civil lawsuits, and 
other punishments, including violence, detention, and other forms of 
harassment, to intimidate authors and journalists and to prevent the 
dissemination of controversial writings. A domestic journalist can face 
demotion or job loss for publishing views that challenge the 
government.
    In August Chen Zhong, President of the Southern Window, a well-
known political magazine under the Guangzhou Daily Group, was fired 
because he was held responsible for the publishing of an August 4 
article titled ``Narrow Nationalism and Foreign Policies,'' according 
to online reports. The article's discussion of the effort by Sun Yat 
Sen, leader of the 1911 revolution against the Qing dynasty, to win 
Japanese support by sacrificing the national interest was deemed 
controversial by authorities.
    Journalists who remained in prison included Lu Gengsong, Lu 
Jianhua, and Shi Tao. Uighur webmasters Dilshat Perhat, Nureli Azat, 
and Nijat Azat continued to serve sentences for ``endangering state 
security.'' Uighur journalist Memetjan Abdulla was sentenced to life in 
prison in April 2010 reportedly for transmitting ``subversive'' 
information related to the July 2009 riots. During the year journalists 
working in traditional and new media sources were also imprisoned. The 
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) December Prison Census reported 
that of 27 known journalists imprisoned in the country, 10 were Tibetan 
and six were Uighur. The CPJ documented one new imprisonment case 
during the year.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Authorities continued to 
confiscate ``unauthorized publications.'' A summary of ``anti-
pornography, anti-counterfeit'' work for the year cited the following 
nationwide totals for the period of January to November: total number 
of various sorts of illegal publications confiscated-- 46,167,000; 
total number of ``illegal periodicals'' confiscated--4,189,000; total 
number of ``pornographic publications'' confiscated--1,163,000; total 
number of copyright-violating publications confiscated--39,158,000 
(this number includes pirated audiovisual products (31,540,000), 
``pirated books'' (6,630,000), and pirated electronic publications 
(9,880,000)).
    Foreign journalists were generally prevented from obtaining permits 
to travel to Tibet except for highly controlled, government-organized 
press visits. While foreign journalists were allowed access to Urumqi, 
XUAR, after the 2009 riots, local and provincial authorities continued 
to strictly control the travel, access, and interviews of foreign 
journalists, even forcing them to leave cities in parts of the XUAR. 
Media outlets received regular guidance from the Central Propaganda 
Department, listing topics that should not be covered.
    Officials continued to censor, ban, and sanction reporting on 
labor, health, environmental crises, and industrial accidents. 
Following the July 23 train crash in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 
propaganda authorities issued instructions to keep the coverage upbeat 
and focused on the salvage and recovery efforts. Responding to massive 
public outrage at the incident, many domestic media outlets ignored the 
instructions and provided heavy coverage of the crash, its causes, and 
the authorities' poor handling of survivors and victims.
    On August 8, Typhoon Muifa struck Bohai Bay and breached a sea wall 
1,500 feet from the Fujia Dahua Chemical Plant near Dalian. 
Subsequently, when CCTV journalists went to the scene to conduct an 
interview, they were blocked and beaten by the factory's guards. Later, 
CCTV's news program was prevented from broadcasting about the dangers 
of paraxylene (PX) produced in the plant. Authorities also censored 
information about local protests against the chemical project. 
``Dalian,'' ``PX,'' and ``Dalian Protests'' were censored as online 
search terms. There were also multiple reports of cellular and smart 
phone outages.
    Widespread attention in the press to the May-June migrant worker 
riots in Chaozhou City and Zengcheng City, both in Guangdong Province, 
prompted the government to pressure domestic media not to report on 
migrant-related social unrest or other friction between migrant and 
local communities.
    Authorities continued to ban books with content they deemed 
controversial. The law permits only government-approved publishing 
houses to print books. The State Press and Publications Administration 
(PPA) controlled all licenses to publish. Newspaper, periodicals, 
books, audio and video recordings, or electronic publication may not be 
printed or distributed without the approval of the PPA and relevant 
provincial publishing authorities. Individuals who attempted to publish 
without government approval faced imprisonment, fines, confiscation of 
their books, and other sanctions. The CCP exerted control over the 
publishing industry by preemptively classifying certain topics as state 
secrets.
    Many intellectuals and scholars exercised self-censorship, 
anticipating that books or papers on political topics would be deemed 
too sensitive to be published. The censorship process for private and 
government media also increasingly relied on self-censorship and, in a 
few cases, postpublication sanctions.
    The General Administration of Press and Publication, the State 
Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, and the CCP remained 
active in issuing restrictive regulations and decisions constraining 
the content of broadcast media.
    Authorities continued to jam, with varying degrees of success, 
Chinese-, Uighur-, and Tibetan-language broadcasts of the VOA, BBC, and 
Radio Free Asia (RFA). English-language broadcasts on VOA generally 
were not jammed. Government jamming of RFA and the BBC appeared to be 
more frequent and effective. Internet distribution of streaming radio 
news and podcasts from these sources often was blocked. Despite jamming 
overseas broadcasts, VOA, BBC, RFA, Deutsche Welle, and Radio France 
International had large audiences, including human rights advocates, 
ordinary citizens, and government officials.
    Television broadcasts of foreign news, largely restricted to hotels 
and foreign residence compounds, were occasionally subject to 
censorship. Such censorship of foreign broadcasts also occurred around 
the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. Individual issues of 
foreign newspapers and magazines were occasionally banned when they 
contained articles deemed too sensitive.
    Politically sensitive coverage in Chinese, and to a lesser extent 
in English, was censored more than coverage in other languages. The 
government prohibited some foreign and domestic films deemed too 
sensitive.

    Internet Freedom.--In June 2010 the Information Office of the State 
Council released its first White Paper on the Internet outlining the 
government's endeavors to guarantee certain freedoms of speech on the 
Internet as long as the speech did not endanger state security, subvert 
state power, damage state honor and interests, jeopardize state 
religious policy, propagate heretical or superstitious ideas, or spread 
rumors and other content forbidden by laws and administrative 
regulations, among other caveats.
    The CCP underscored the importance of maintaining security and 
promoting core socialist values on the Internet in its official 
decision adopted at the Sixth Plenum of the 17th CCP Congress in 
October. Entitled the ``Decision of the CCP Central Committee on 
Certain Major Issues on Deepening Cultural System Reform and Promoting 
the Great Development and Great Prosperity of Socialist Culture,'' this 
document called for developing a ``healthy and uplifting network 
culture'' that will entail measures such as ``step(ping) up guidance 
and management over social networks and instant messaging tools, 
standardiz(ing) the transmission order of information on the Internet, 
and foster(ing) a civilized and rational network environment.''
    The CCP continued to increase efforts to monitor Internet use, 
control content, restrict information, block access to foreign and 
domestic Web sites, encourage self-censorship, and punish those who 
violate regulations. According to news sources, more than 14 government 
ministries participated in these efforts, resulting in the censorship 
of thousands of domestic and foreign Web sites, blogs, cell phone text 
messages, social networking services, online chat rooms, online games, 
and e-mail. These measures were not universally effective.
    A 2005 State Council regulation deemed personal blogs, computer 
bulletin boards, and cell phone text messages as part of the news 
media, which subjected these media to state restrictions on content. 
Internet service providers were instructed to use only domestic media-
news postings, to record information useful for tracking users and 
their viewing habits, to install software capable of copying e-mails, 
and to end immediately transmission of ``subversive material.''
    The Ministry of Public Security, which monitors the Internet under 
guidance from the CCP, employed thousands of persons at the national, 
provincial, and local levels to monitor electronic communications. 
Official monitoring focused on such tools as social networking, micro-
blogging, and video-sharing sites. The Information Office announced the 
formation of a new bureau in April. This new agency, officially called 
the Internet News Coordination Bureau, often referred to as Bureau 
Nine, operates under the State Council Information Office and is mainly 
responsible for ``guidance, coordination, and other work related to the 
construction and management of Web culture.'' Previously, the 
Information Office operated a single Bureau of Internet Affairs which 
supervised sites that published news in China.
    In July central government authorities ordered all public spaces 
offering free wireless Internet access to install costly software that 
would enable police to identify users of the service. Beijing cafe and 
restaurant owners were told they would face a fine of 20,000 RMB 
(approximately $3,200) if they continued to offer wireless Internet 
access without installing the software. By October the Beijing 
municipal government launched a free wireless Internet service that 
required registration with a user's cell phone number, linked to a 
user's real identity information. The government's free wireless 
Internet service also denied access to commercial virtual private 
network (VPN) services.
    Major news portals, which reportedly were complying with secret 
government orders, required users to register using their real names 
and identification numbers to comment on news articles. Individuals 
using the Internet in public libraries were required to register using 
their national identity card. Internet usage reportedly was monitored 
at all terminals in public libraries.
    The government consistently blocked access to Web sites it deemed 
controversial, especially those discussing Taiwan and Tibetan 
independence, underground religious and spiritual organizations, 
democracy activists, and the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. The government 
also at times blocked access to selected sites operated by major 
foreign governments, news outlets, health organizations, educational 
institutions, NGOs, and social networking sites, as well as to search 
engines that allow rapid communication or organization of users.
    Some Web sites included images of cartoon police officers that warn 
users to stay away from forbidden content. Operators of Web portals, 
blog-hosting services, and other content providers engaged in self-
censorship to ensure their servers were free from politically sensitive 
content. Domestic Web sites that refused to self-censor political 
content were shut down, and many foreign Web sites were blocked. 
Millions of citizens hadTwitter-like microblogs that circulated some 
news banned in the national media. The microblogs themselves were 
censored but often hours or days after the posting had been seen by 
many people.
    Public relations consultant Chen Hong established a Web site that 
let people post anonymous tips on official bribery, which proved wildly 
popular and short lived. Chen's Web site drew 200,000 unique visitors 
in two weeks. Its anonymous posts discussed bribery at many levels 
including officials who demanded luxury cars and villas to police 
officers who needed inducements not to issue traffic tickets. Some 
posts identified doctors receiving cash under the table to ensure safe 
surgical procedures. Mainstream media spread word about the site, 
amplifying the outrage among Internet users. Government authorities 
subsequently pressured the owner to shut down the site.
    Authorities employed an array of technical measures to block 
sensitive Web sites based in foreign countries. The ability of users to 
access such sensitive sites varied from city to city. The government 
also automatically censored e-mail and Web chats based on an ever-
changing list of sensitive key words, such as ``Falun Gong'' and 
``Tibetan independence.'' While such censorship was effective in 
keeping casual users away from sensitive content, it was defeated 
through the use of various technologies. Information on proxy servers 
outside China and software for defeating official censorship was 
readily available inside the country. However, the government 
increasingly blocked access to the Web sites and proxy servers of 
commercial VPN providers. Despite official monitoring and censorship, 
during the year dissidents and political activists continued to use the 
Internet to advocate and call attention to political causes such as 
prisoner advocacy, political reform, ethnic discrimination, corruption, 
and foreign policy concerns. Web users spanning the political spectrum 
complained of censorship. The blogs of a number of prominent activists, 
artists, scholars, and university professors were sometimes blocked or 
closed during the year.
    There were numerous press reports on purported cyber attacks 
against foreign Web sites that carried information offensive to the 
government.
    Authorities continued to jail numerous Internet writers for 
peaceful expression of political views. On February 26, police in Yunxi 
County, Hubei Province, detained Chen Yonggang and held him for eight 
days on suspicion of ``insulting and slandering others'' after Chen 
posted articles online alleging that local officials and businessmen 
had been colluding to embezzle money in the name of engineering 
projects.
    On March 5, public security officials in Hangzhou, Zhejiang 
Province, detained democracy activist Zhu Yufu for ``inciting 
subversion of state power'' in connection with the Internet-based 
Jasmine Revolution protest calls. Zhu had posted a poem entitled ``It's 
Time'' that included a call for people to ``come into the public 
square.'' He was formally arrested on April 11. Zhu previously served 
seven years for ``subversion of state power'' following the 1998 
crackdown on the CDP that he helped found. He was also imprisoned 
between 2007 and 2009.
    In April Wei Qiang, a former art student, was sentenced to two 
years of RTL for posting pictures of a Jasmine Revolution gathering on 
his Twitter account.
    In October 2010 the revised State Secrets Law came into effect. An 
article published on Xinhua Net stressed the responsibility of 
providers of telecommunications services, especially Internet 
companies, to ``stop the leaking of state secrets on the Internet in a 
timely fashion.'' According to the revised law, Internet companies must 
cooperate with investigations of suspected leakages of state secrets, 
stop the transmission of such information once discovered, and report 
the crime to the authorities. Furthermore, they must comply with the 
authorities' orders when told to delete such information from their Web 
sites. Internet companies that fail to comply with the revised law are 
subject to punishment by the relevant departments such as the police 
and the Ministry of State Security.
    In November 2010 Cheng Jianping (Internet name: Wang Yi) was 
sentenced to a year in RTL for ``retweeting'' a message related to a 
dispute between China and Japan. Her purported crime was ``disturbing 
social order.'' Cheng was released from RTL on November 9. According to 
NGO reports, police escorted Cheng from the RTL facility back to 
Xinxiang City, where she was placed under illegal soft detention in a 
hotel. She was reportedly warned not leave Zhangyuan County.
    According to Reporters Without Borders' statistics, there were 30 
reporters and 68 cyberdissidents in prison.
    Regulations prohibit a broad range of activities that authorities 
interpret as subversive or slanderous to the state.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government continued 
restrictions on academic and artistic freedom and political and social 
discourse at colleges, universities, and research institutes. 
Instructors generally were told not to raise certain sensitive topics 
in class, such as the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. The General 
Administration of Press and Publications, the State Administration of 
Radio, Film, and Television, and the Central Propaganda Department were 
active in issuing restrictive regulations and decisions that 
constrained the flow of ideas and people.
    Authorities on a few occasions blocked entry into the country of 
individuals deemed politically sensitive and declined to issue 
passports to Chinese citizens selected for international exchange 
programs who were seen as politically unreliable, in particular 
individuals from minority nationality areas.
    During the year information outreach, educational exchanges, and 
other cultural and public diplomacy programs organized by foreign 
governments increasingly were subject to government interference 
particularly after Arab Spring movements began in the Middle East. 
While in many cases government officials simply denied requests for 
events, claiming it was ``inconvenient'' to hold them at that time, in 
other cases government officials would approve events and then cancel 
them before they were scheduled to occur, sometimes within hours of the 
events' start time.
    During a multicity tour by an international theatrical troupe 
performing a play that touched on freedom of speech issues, scheduled 
post-performance talks at several universities were canceled, for no 
given reason. The visiting performers had activities disrupted and were 
obstructed in attempts to meet with ethnic minority artists.
    A number of other foreign government-sponsored exchange selectees, 
particularly those from minority provinces, encountered difficulties 
gaining approval to travel to participate in their programs.
    In April 2010 the Chinese Embassy in Moscow declined to issue a 
visa to a Russian filmmaker invited to participate in a foreign 
government-sponsored film festival in Beijing.
    The government used political attitudes and affiliations as 
criteria for selecting persons for the few government-sponsored study 
abroad programs but did not impose such restrictions on privately 
sponsored students. The government and the party controlled the 
appointment of high-level officials at universities. While CCP 
membership was not always a requirement to obtain a tenured faculty 
position, scholars without CCP affiliation often had fewer chances for 
promotion.
    Researchers, authors and academics residing abroad also were 
subject to sanctions, including denial of visas, from the authorities 
when their work did not meet with official approval. In August overseas 
media reported the cases of 13 foreign academics who asserted they were 
blocked from obtaining visas to travel to China on the basis of 
contributions made to a book on Xinjiang seven years earlier.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of peaceful assembly; however, 
the government severely restricted this right in practice. The law 
stipulates that such activities may not challenge ``party leadership'' 
or infringe upon the ``interests of the state.'' Protests against the 
political system or national leaders were prohibited. Authorities 
denied permits and quickly suppressed demonstrations involving 
expression of dissenting political views.
    Citizens continued to gather publicly to protest evictions, 
relocations, and compensation in locations throughout the country, 
often resulting in conflict with authorities or other charges (see 
section 1.f.).
    In April police detained 27 villagers and seriously injured five 
following an April 30 protest in Dao County, Hunan Province. More than 
300 villagers from three villages had gathered to protest the private 
sale by local officials of the right to forest land that villagers 
depended on for a living. A struggle broke out over signs the villagers 
were holding, and armed police as well as unarmed officers began 
striking the protesters. Reportedly, villagers taken into detention 
were denied food and water and slapped in the face as police sought to 
extract confessions.
    On April 4, local officials disrupted the annual meeting of HIV/
AIDS activist Chang Kun's AIBO Youth Center in Linquan County, Anhui 
Province. The meeting, which took place in the conference room of a 
local hotel, was interrupted first by hotel management and later by 
officials from the Guangming Subdistrict Office of Linquan County. In 
the days leading up to the meeting, officials also destroyed signs 
outside of the youth center. ``Chang Kun's Home'' is designed to 
provide a place for students to gather and also act as a venue for 
carrying out health, human rights, policy, and Internet freedom 
education projects.
    All concerts, sports events, exercise classes, or other meetings of 
more than 200 persons require approval from public security 
authorities. Although peaceful protests are legal, in practice police 
rarely granted approval. Despite restrictions, there were many 
demonstrations, but those with political or social themes were broken 
up quickly, sometimes with excessive force. The number of ``mass 
incidents'' and protests, including some violent protests, against 
local governments increased during the year. As in past years, the vast 
majority of demonstrations concerned land disputes; housing issues; 
industrial, environmental, and labor matters; government corruption; 
taxation; and other economic and social concerns. Others were provoked 
by accidents or related to personal petition, administrative 
litigation, and other legal processes.
    The law protects an individual's ability to petition the 
government; however, persons petitioning the government continued to 
face restrictions on their rights to assemble and raise grievances. 
Most petitions addressed grievances about land, housing, entitlements, 
the environment, or corruption. Most petitioners sought to present 
their complaints at national and provincial ``letters and visits'' 
offices.
    Although banned by regulations, retaliation against petitioners 
reportedly continued. This was partly due to incentives provided to 
local officials by the central government to prevent petitioners in 
their regions from raising complaints to higher levels. Incentives 
included provincial cadre evaluations based in part on the number of 
petitions from their provinces. This initiative aimed to encourage 
local and provincial officials to resolve legitimate complaints but 
also resulted in local officials sending security personnel to Beijing 
and forcibly returning the petitioners to their home provinces to 
prevent them from filing complaints against local officials with the 
central government. Such detentions occurred before and after the 
enactment of the new regulations and often went unrecorded. Rules 
issued by the General Office of the State Council mandate sending 
officials from Beijing to the provinces to resolve petition issues 
locally, thereby reducing the number of petitioners entering Beijing. 
Other new rules include a mandated 60-day response time for petitions 
and a regulation instituting a single appeal in each case.
    On August 11, Beijing police issued five-day administrative 
detentions to eight petitioners from Cangshan District, Fuzhou City, 
Fujian Province, who had passed out leaflets outside a foreign embassy 
after their grievances over home demolitions had not been resolved 
through petitioning, according to an international NGO and foreign 
press reports. Security personnel took one of the petitioners to the 
Chengmen Police Station once she was back in Cangshan and ordered her 
to serve an additional 10-day administrative detention for the same 
offense.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, but the government restricted this right in practice. CCP 
policy and government regulations require that all professional, 
social, and economic organizations officially register with, and be 
approved by, the government. In practice these regulations prevented 
the formation of truly autonomous political, human rights, religious, 
spiritual, labor, and other organizations that the government believed 
might challenge its authority.
    The government maintained tight controls over civil society 
organizations. Legal and surveillance efforts aimed at controlling them 
increased, especially following events in Egypt and Tunisia and 
subsequent calls for peaceful public (Jasmine Revolution) protests in 
China. In January the Central Propaganda Bureau banned media use of the 
term ``civil society'' (gongmin shehui).
    March 2010 regulations issued by the State Administration for 
Foreign Exchange on foreign exchange donations to or by domestic 
institutions remained in effect. According to the regulations, foreign 
exchange donations must ``comply with the laws and regulations.and 
shall not go against social morality or damage public interests and the 
legitimate rights and interests of other citizens.'' For donations 
between a domestic organization and a foreign NGO, the regulations 
require all parties and the banks to approve additional measures prior 
to a transaction being processed. Application of the regulation was 
varied, with some NGOs successfully navigating the requirements, others 
identifying other options to receive funds, and some severely limiting 
or shutting down operations.
    Local authorities continued to restrict the activities of labor 
NGOs in Guangdong Province, especially during the Jasmine Revolution 
crackdown that started in late February. At that time police visited a 
number of labor NGOs in the Pearl River Delta warning them to cease 
working with activist lawyers representing workers rights cases in the 
region. Police also shut down a branch of one regional labor NGO in 
retribution for engaging with foreign contacts. Labor NGOs reported 
that they were unable to register as civil organizations and had little 
alternative but to register as businesses and be subject to taxation.
    To register, an NGO must find a government agency to serve as its 
organizational sponsor, have a registered office, and hold a minimum 
amount of funds. Some organizations with social or educational purposes 
that previously registered as private or for-profit businesses 
reportedly were requested to find a government sponsor and reregister 
as NGOs during the year.
    In July the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) submitted a new version 
of the registration regulation to the State Council proposing to allow 
charity and social organizations to register directly with the ministry 
without need for an organizational sponsor. Several cities, including 
Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing, trial tested the policy last year. As 
a result, Jet Li's One Foundation was registered directly with the 
Shenzhen Ministry of Civil Affairs in January as a private fundraising 
foundation. It appears the regulation would not apply to NGOs working 
on advocacy or other potentially politically sensitive issues.
    Although registered organizations all came under some degree of 
government control, some NGOs were able to operate with a degree of 
independence.
    The number of NGOs continued to grow, despite tight restrictions 
and regulations. According to the MCA, as of the end of 2010, the 
country had approximately 440,000 legally registered social 
organizations including social groups (243,000), civil nonbusiness 
units (195,000), and foundations (2,168). During the year an MCA 
official wrote, ``in 2007, China started to use the term ``social 
organization'' instead of ``civil organization'' because ``civil'' 
contrasts with ``official'' and reflected the opposing roles of civil 
society and government in the traditional political order. The 16th and 
17th CCP Congresses changed the name to ``social organization.'' NGOs 
existed under a variety of formal and informal guises, including 
national mass organizations created and funded by the CCP, known as 
``government NGOs.''
    The lack of legal registration created numerous logistical 
challenges for NGOs, including difficulty opening bank accounts, hiring 
workers, fundraising, and renting office space. NGOs that opted not to 
partner with government agencies could register as commercial 
consulting companies, which allowed them to obtain legal recognition at 
the cost of forgoing tax-free status. Security authorities routinely 
warned domestic NGOs, regardless of their registration status, not to 
accept donations from the foreign-funded National Endowment for 
Democracy and other international organizations deemed sensitive by the 
government. Authorities supported the growth of some NGOs that focused 
on social problems, such as poverty alleviation and disaster relief, 
but remained concerned that these organizations might emerge as a 
source of political opposition. Many NGOs working in the Tibet 
Autonomous Region (TAR) were forced to leave because their project 
agreements were not renewed by their local partners following unrest in 
Lhasa and other Tibetan communities in 2008.
    No laws or regulations specifically govern the formation of 
political parties. However, the CDP remained banned, and the government 
continued to monitor, detain, and imprison current and former CDP 
members.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, the government generally did not respect these 
rights in practice. While seriously restricting its scope of 
operations, the government sometimes cooperated with the Office of the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which maintains an office 
in Beijing, to provide protection and assistance to refugees, asylum 
seekers, and other persons of concern.

    In-country Movement.--Authorities heightened restrictions on 
freedom of movement periodically, particularly to curtail the movement 
of individuals deemed politically sensitive before key anniversaries 
and visits of foreign dignitaries, and to forestall demonstrations. 
Freedom of movement continued to be very limited in the TAR and other 
Tibetan areas. Police maintained checkpoints in most counties and on 
roads leading into many towns, as well as within major cities such as 
Lhasa.
    Although the government maintained restrictions on the freedom to 
change one's workplace or residence, the national household 
registration system (hukou) continued to change, and the ability of 
most citizens to move within the country to work and live continued to 
expand. Rural residents continued to migrate to the cities, where the 
per capita disposable income was more than four times the rural per 
capita income, but many could not officially change their residence or 
workplace within the country. Most cities had annual quotas for the 
number of new temporary residence permits that could be issued, and all 
workers, including university graduates, had to compete for a limited 
number of such permits. It was particularly difficult for rural 
residents to obtain household registration in more economically 
developed urban areas.
    The household registration system added to the difficulties rural 
residents faced even after they relocated to urban areas and found 
employment. According to the 2010 Human Resource and Social Security 
Development Communique published in May by the Ministry of Human 
Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), in 2010 the number of rural 
residents working in non-agricultural jobs was 242.2 million, of which 
the number of rural residents working outside of their home district 
was 153.4 million. Many migrant workers and their families faced 
numerous obstacles with regard to working conditions and labor rights. 
Many were unable to access public services, such as public education or 
social insurance, in the cities where they lived and worked because 
they were not legally registered urban residents. Poor treatment and 
difficulty integrating into local communities contributed to increased 
social unrest among migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta. Migrant 
workers had little recourse when abused by employers and officials. 
Some major cities maintained programs to provide migrant workers and 
their children access to public education and other social services 
free of charge, but migrants in some locations reported that it was 
difficult to obtain these benefits in practice.
    Under the ``staying at prison employment'' system applicable to 
recidivists incarcerated in RTL camps, authorities denied certain 
persons permission to return to their homes after serving their 
sentences. Some released or paroled prisoners returned home, but they 
were not permitted freedom of movement.
    According to press reports and online blogs, activists detained 
early in the year for activities associated with calls for a Jasmine 
Revolution were forcibly returned to their home provinces elsewhere in 
the country at the time of their release and denied the ability to 
return to Guangdong Province. These include Yuan Xinting (Sichuan 
Province), Tang Jingling (Hubei Province), Liu Shihui (Inner Mongolia), 
and Sun Desheng (Zhejiang Province).

    Foreign Travel.--The government permitted legal emigration and 
foreign travel for most citizens. There were reports that some 
academics and activists continued to face travel restrictions around 
sensitive anniversaries (see section 1.e.), such as the awarding of Liu 
Xiaobo's Nobel Peace Prize in October 2010. The government exercised 
exit control for departing passengers at airports and other border 
crossings and utilized this exit control to deny foreign travel to 
dissidents and persons employed in sensitive government posts. 
Throughout the year lawyers, artists, authors, and other activists were 
at times prevented from freely exiting the country. Border officials 
and police cited threats to ``national security'' as the reason for 
refusing permission to leave the country. Most were stopped at the 
airport by authorities at the time of the attempted travel. On April 3, 
the government detained Ai Weiwei at the airport as he attempted to 
board a flight. Writer Liao Yiwu repeatedly faced travel bans 
preventing his attendance at international literary festivals; in July 
he left the country and traveled to Germany declaring himself ``in 
exile.''
    Most citizens could obtain passports, although those whom the 
government deemed potential threats, including religious leaders, 
political dissidents, petitioners, and ethnic minorities, reported 
routinely being refused passports or otherwise prevented from traveling 
overseas. Uighur residents of the XUAR reported difficulties at the 
local level in getting a passport application approved. Some residents 
of the XUAR and other citizens reportedly had valid passports seized. 
In Tibetan regions of Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces, in 
addition to the TAR, ethnic Tibetans experienced great difficulty 
receiving passports. The unwillingness of the PSB in Tibetan areas to 
issue or renew passports for ethnic Tibetans created, in effect, a ban 
on foreign travel for a large segment of the Tibetan population. Han 
residents of Tibetan areas did not experience the same difficulties.

    Exile.--The law neither provides for a citizen's right to 
repatriate nor addresses exile. The government continued to refuse 
reentry to numerous citizens who were considered dissidents, Falun Gong 
activists, or ``troublemakers.'' Although some dissidents living abroad 
were allowed to return, dissidents released on medical parole and 
allowed to leave the country often were effectively exiled. Activists 
residing abroad were imprisoned upon their return to the country.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--The government continued to try to 
prevent many Tibetans from leaving and detained many who were 
apprehended in flight (see Tibet Addendum). By the end of 2010, 874 
Tibetans had arrived at the UNHCR reception center in Kathmandu. Flows 
to Nepal increased slightly during the year but were lower than the 
levels prior to the 2008 Lhasa crackdown. For the first time since 
2003, there was a confirmed forcible return of three Tibetans from 
Nepal in June 2010. During the year there were reports of Uighur asylum 
seekers being forcibly returned from Malaysia, Pakistan, and Thailand. 
Of a group of 21 Uighurs returned from Cambodia in 2009, three persons, 
a woman and two children were reportedly freed, 16 others were given 
prison sentences ranging from 16 years to life, and the fates of two 
remained unknown at year's end.
    During the year the government continued to harass and restrict the 
travel of videographer and Sun Yat Sen University professor Ai 
Xiaoming, who in January 2010 was denied the right to travel abroad to 
receive the Prix Simone de Beauvoir (international human rights prize 
for women's freedom).

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law does not 
provide for the granting of refugee or asylum status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. Although the government does not grant refugee or asylum 
status, it allowed the UNHCR more latitude in assisting non-North 
Korean refugees. UNHCR Beijing recognized approximately 100 non-North 
Korean refugees in China (from Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Eritrea) 
and was processing approximately 100 additional individuals who have 
requested refugee status. However, because these individuals were not 
officially recognized as refugees by the PRC, they remained in the 
country as illegal immigrants unable to work, with no access to 
education, and deportable by the host government at any time.
    The government officially acknowledged that 37,000 residents of 
Kokang, in northeastern Burma, fled across the border into Yunnan 
during the Burmese army crackdown in 2009; they were not officially 
designated as refugees. The government did not respond to UNHCR 
requests for access to the border areas in 2009 or during the year. 
There is no official government estimate of how many refugees fled 
across the border as result of fighting during the year.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government did not provide 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion, especially as regards North Korean refugees. The 
government continued to consider all North Koreans ``economic 
migrants'' rather than refugees or asylum seekers, and the UNHCR 
continued to have no access to North Korean refugees inside China. The 
lack of access to durable solutions and options, as well as constant 
fear of forced repatriation by authorities, left North Korean refugees 
vulnerable to human traffickers. Reports of various exploitation 
schemes targeting North Korean refugees, such as forced marriages, 
labor, and prostitution, were common. The government continued to deny 
the UNHCR permission to operate along its border with North Korea.
    Some North Koreans who entered diplomatic compounds in the country 
were permitted to travel to third countries after waiting periods of up 
to two years.

    Refugee Abuse.--The intensified crackdown begun in 2008 against 
North Korean refugees reportedly extended to harassment of religious 
communities along the border. The government arrested and detained 
individuals who provided food, shelter, transportation, and other 
assistance to North Koreans. According to reports, some activists or 
brokers detained for assisting North Koreans were charged with human 
smuggling, and in some cases the North Koreans were forcibly returned 
to North Korea. There were also reports that North Korean agents 
operated clandestinely within the country to forcibly repatriate North 
Korean citizens.

    Access to Basic Services.--While the situation of undocumented 
children of some North Korean asylum seekers and of mixed couples 
(i.e., one Chinese parent and one North Korean parent) reportedly 
improved somewhat during the year, many still did not have access to 
health care, public education, or other social services.

    Durable Solutions.--The government largely cooperated with the 
UNHCR when dealing with the resettlement of ethnic Han Chinese or 
ethnic minorities from Vietnam and Laos residing in the country since 
the Vietnam War era. During the year the government and the UNHCR 
continued discussions concerning the granting of citizenship to these 
long-term residents and their children, many of whom were born in 
China.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution states that ``all power in the People's Republic 
of China belongs to the people'' and that the organs through which the 
people exercise state power are the NPC and the people's congresses at 
provincial, district, and local levels. While the law provides citizens 
the right to change their government peacefully, citizens cannot freely 
choose or change the laws or officials that govern them. In practice 
the CCP controls virtually all elections. The CCP continued to control 
appointments to positions of political power.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The NPC, 
composed of 2,987 deputies, elects the president and vice president, 
the premier and vice premiers, and the chairman of the State Central 
Military Commission. In practice the NPC Standing Committee, which 
consists of 175 members, oversaw these elections and determined the 
agenda and procedure for the NPC.
    The NPC Standing Committee remained under the direct authority of 
the CCP, and most legislative decisions require the concurrence of the 
CCP's nine-member Politburo Standing Committee. Despite its broad 
authority under the state constitution, the NPC does not set policy 
independently or remove political leaders without the CCP's approval.
    According MCA statistics, almost all of the country's more than 
600,000 villages had implemented direct elections for members of local 
subgovernment organizations known as village committees. The direct 
election of officials by ordinary citizens remained narrow in scope and 
strictly confined to the local level. The government estimated that 
one-third of all elections were marred by serious procedural flaws. 
Corruption, vote buying, and interference by township-level and CCP 
officials continued to be problems. The law permits each voter to cast 
proxy votes for up to three other voters.
    The election law governs legislative bodies at all levels, although 
compliance and enforcement of the election law were uneven across the 
country. Under this law citizens have the opportunity to vote for local 
people's congress representatives at the county level and below every 
five years, although in most cases the nomination of candidates in 
those elections was controlled by higher-level government officials or 
CCP cadres. At higher levels legislators selected people's congress 
delegates from among their ranks. For example, provincial-level 
people's congresses selected delegates to the NPC. Local CCP 
secretaries generally served concurrently as the head of the local 
people's congress, thus strengthening CCP control over legislatures.
    In local people's congress elections during the year, more than 100 
candidates declared via microblogs their intent to seek election 
without the approval of the CCP. By year's end most of the declared 
independent candidates had been kept off the ballots by the local 
governments despite meeting nomination criteria. None of the declared 
independent candidates had won election by year's end. Election 
officials pressured independent candidates to renounce their 
candidacies, manipulated the ballot to exclude independent candidates, 
refused to disclose electorate information to independent candidates, 
and sometimes adjusted electoral districts to dilute voter support for 
independent candidates.
    In May, Liu Ping, a laid-off worker from a state-owned steel and 
iron factory in Guangxi Province and the first independent candidate to 
announce her candidacy, was detained multiple times and kept under 
house arrest. Authorities also raided Liu's residence and confiscated 
her campaign material.
    On August 18, Liang Shuxin, an independent candidate in Guangdong 
Province, was visited by three plainclothes security officers who 
demanded a halt to his campaign activities. On August 25, despite 
collecting the necessary number of signatures endorsing his candidacy, 
Liang failed to become a preliminary candidate. Election laws stipulate 
that anyone with the endorsement of 10 valid voter signatures 
automatically becomes a preliminary candidate. Local election officials 
declined to explain why Liang did not become a preliminary candidate.
    On October 20, Shu Kexin, an independent candidate in Beijing, 
published images of a text message sent by an election official in his 
district reporting to her supervisor that Shu was successfully kept off 
the ballot. The election official had sent the message to Shu in error.
    During the November 9 local people's congress elections in Beijing, 
authorities deployed a heavy security presence at many polling stations 
in districts where independent candidates sought office. Beijing 
Foreign Studies University, where high-profile independent candidates 
Wu Qing and Qiao Mu both stood for election, closed off the campus on 
election day to keep out journalists and independent observers. Extra 
security personnel guarded both entrances to the university and checked 
the identities of anyone seeking entry.

    Political Parties.--Official statements asserted that ``the 
political party system [that] China has adopted is multiparty 
cooperation and political consultation under'' CCP leadership. However, 
the CCP retained a monopoly on political power, and the government 
forbade the creation of new political parties. The government 
officially recognized nine parties founded prior to 1949, and 30 
percent of NPC seats were held by parties other than the CCP. The 
establishment of new parties is functionally prohibited, and activists 
attempting to support unofficial parties have been arrested, detained, 
or confined.
    During the year the authorities took measures to restrict the 
participation of independent candidates.
    In September 8 local elections in the Guangzhou City, Guangdong, 
district of Panyu, apparently in response to an effort by an 
independent candidate's supporters to monitor the election process, 
election officials allegedly issued a notice prohibiting voters from 
making audio or visual records of the election proceedings. Earlier the 
Panyu District authorities in Lijiang Township harassed supporters of 
independent candidate Liang Shuxin and refused to officially register 
him as a candidate, even though he collected the required number of 
supporters, according to online news reports. The local election 
commission allegedly told him it would be more appropriate for an 
independent candidate to be female. According to press reports, to 
avoid a Liang write-in victory, the election commission added an 
additional 200 voters to the registry in the week prior to the 
election. On election day plainclothes police and city administration 
personnel allegedly were on hand during the vote count and cell phone 
reception had been blocked, thus hindering efforts to monitor the 
results.
    In late August Guangzhou University obstructed the independent 
candidacy of one of its students for the people's congress election in 
Baiyun District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. Guangzhou 
University's School of Foreign Studies announced it would not accept 
the registration of the student, who had gathered more than 1,000 
recommendations in support of his candidacy, because they wanted ``a 
nonpartisan female elite intellectual'' to get elected, according to 
online reports. When the student insisted he be registered as a 
candidate, the university reportedly created additional demands not 
required of party-affiliated candidates in order to deter him.
    A would-be, independent candidate in Beijing, Wu Lihong, maintained 
that she was given administrative detention for 15 days and then forced 
to go to Chongqing to prevent her from taking part in the elections.
    In 2009 in Hunan Province, dissident Xie Changfa, who tried to 
organize a national meeting of the banned China Democratic Party, was 
sentenced to 13 years in prison. Guo Quan remained imprisoned following 
his 2009 sentence to 10 years in prison and three years' deprivation of 
political rights for ``subversion of state power.'' Guo, a former 
Nanjing University professor and founder of the China New Democracy 
Party, published articles criticizing the country's one-party system. 
At year's end more than 30 current or former CDP members--including 
Chen Shuqing, Sang Jiancheng, Yang Tianshui, and Jiang Lijun--remained 
in prison or held in RTL camps for their connection to a 2002 open 
letter calling for political reform and a reappraisal of the 1989 
Tiananmen uprising.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The government placed no 
special restrictions on the participation of women or minority groups 
in the political process. However, women held few positions of 
significant influence in the CCP or government structure. Among the 
2,987 delegates of the 11th NPC (term 2008-13), 637 were women (21.3 
percent of the total). There was one female member of the CCP's 25-
member Politburo, who also concurrently served as one of five state 
councilors. There were three women ministers within the 28 organs of 
the State Council: Minister of Supervision Ma Wen, Minister of Justice 
Wu Aiying, and Head of the National Population and Family Planning 
Commission Li Bin. According to government-provided information, there 
were more than 230 female provincial and ministerial officials, more 
than 670 female mayors--twice the number in 1995--and more than 15 
million female CCP cadres (approximately one-fifth of the CCP 
membership).
    The government encouraged women to exercise their right to vote in 
village committee elections and to run in those elections, although 
only a small fraction of elected members were women. In many locations 
a seat on the village committee was reserved for a woman, usually given 
responsibility for family planning. The election Law provides a general 
mandate for quotas for female and ethnic minority representatives; 
however, achieving these quotas often required election authorities to 
violate the election procedures specified in the election law. During 
the 2011-12 local people's congresses elections, many electoral 
districts in which independent candidates campaigned used these quotas 
as justification to thwart the candidacies of these independent 
candidates.
    A total of 411 delegates from 55 ethnic minorities were members of 
11th NPC, accounting for 13.8 percent of the total number of delegates. 
All of the country's officially recognized minority groups were 
represented. The 17th Communist Party Congress elected 40 members of 
ethnic minority groups as members or alternates on the Central 
Committee. The only ministerial-level post held by an ethnic minority 
member was in the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, headed by Yang Jing, 
an ethnic Mongol from Inner Mongolia. In addition, there was one ethnic 
minority member, Vice Premier Hui Liangyu, of the Hui ethnic group, on 
the Politburo. Minorities held few senior CCP or government positions 
of significant influence.
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. Many 
cases of corruption involved areas that were heavily regulated by the 
government and therefore susceptible to fraud, bribery, and kickbacks, 
such as land usage rights, real estate, and infrastructure development. 
In December 2010 the State Council Information Office released its 
first white paper on Efforts to Combat Corruption and Build Clean 
Government.
    Court judgments often could not be enforced against powerful 
special entities including government departments, state-owned 
enterprises, military personnel, and some members of the CCP.
    In its 2010 annual work report, the Supreme People's Procuratorate 
reported that procuratorates nationwide had investigated 32,909 
corruption, dereliction of duty, and infringement of human rights 
cases, an increase of 1.4 percent from the previous year, involving 
44,085 suspects, an increase of 6.1percent. Among them, 2,723 suspects 
of corruption or bribery were officials at or above county and director 
level, including 188 at bureau level and six at the province level.
    In 2010 the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), 
the CCP's lead body for countering corruption among members, 
investigated 139,621 corruption-related cases. A total of 146,517 
people were disciplined, and 5,373 were transferred to judicial 
agencies for criminal proceedings.
    In July 2010 the government and CCP issued a regulation requiring 
officials in government agencies or state-owned enterprises at the 
county level or above to report their ownership of property, including 
property in their spouses' or children's names, as well as their 
families' investment in financial assets and in enterprises. Also in 
July 2010 the government and CCP announced they would introduce a new 
collective decision-making procedure in state-owned enterprises, 
requiring all important decisions, including allocations of capital, 
arrangements for major projects, and personnel decisions, to be jointly 
decided by collective leadership. In the wake of the trial and 
conviction for corruption of former SPC vice president Huang Songyou in 
January 2010, the SPC reported that it had strengthened internal 
supervision by appointing anticorruption monitors, sending inspection 
task forces to local courts, and ordering more discipline.
    In February the NPC's Standing Committee amended the criminal law 
to make citizens and companies paying bribes to foreign government 
officials and officials of international public organizations subject 
on conviction to criminal punishments of up to 10 years' imprisonment 
and a fine.
    During the year the SPC urged local courts to ban family members of 
officials and judges from being lawyers under the local court's 
jurisdiction. In step with this request, the Higher People's Court of 
Chongqing Municipality announced a regulation forbidding judges' family 
members from accepting money from lawyers. The Higher People's Court of 
Fujian Province also announced a regulation to forbid judges from 
meeting representatives in a case in private.
    In June the People's Bank of China reported that since the mid-
1990s, thousands of corrupt officials had stolen nearly 800 billion RMB 
(approximately $123 billion) and fled overseas. The officials 
reportedly used offshore bank accounts to hide the money. The report 
was later removed from the bank's Web site.
    There were numerous cases of public officials and leaders of state-
owned enterprises, who generally also hold high CCP ranks, investigated 
for corruption during the year.
    In January the former vice chairman of the Liaoning Province 
People's Congress, Song Yong, went on trial in Beijing on charges of 
taking 10.2 million RMB in bribes (approximately $1.6 million) and was 
convicted of graft. He was sentenced to death with two years' reprieve, 
with life-long deprivation of political rights and all personal assets 
confiscated. He was removed from his post in February 2010.
    In March Minister of Railway Liu Zhijun was asked to step down 
after an investigation of ``severe violation of discipline.'' He was 
accused of embezzling nearly 750 million RMB ($121 million).
    In August the former governor of Chuxiong Prefecture, Yunnan 
Province, was expelled from the CCP after investigations linked him to 
bribery, drug abuse and dereliction of duty. The CCP's Yunnan 
Provincial Committee reportedly accused Yang Hongwei of having 20 
properties and taking bribes worth 10 million RMB ($1.6 million) and 
goods valued at 940,000 RMB ($148,000). Yang was removed from his post 
in April.
    In September, as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan's outline of 
anticorruption efforts, the Supreme People's Procuratorate announced 
plans to establish a national Intranet bribery case retrieval database 
listing all cases involving bribery in local government projects. At 
year's end the system was operational, and citizens could make requests 
through Procuratorate Offices.
    The Ministry of Supervision and the CCDI are responsible for 
combating government corruption.
    In September 2010 the People's University in Beijing inaugurated 
its first semester of ``anticorruption'' postgraduate courses taught by 
the CCP's leading antigraft officials. He Jiahong, deputy director of 
the university's criminal law research center, said that courses would 
be taught on advanced investigation techniques, such as ``how to obtain 
testimony from witnesses,'' ``the observation of facial expressions,'' 
and ``lie-detection techniques.'' Chen Lianfu, director of the SPP's 
Bureau of Anti-Embezzlement and Bribery, and seven other leading SPP 
antigraft prosecutors were brought to teach their techniques and give 
guidance. The course had 30 students and ``plays a positive role in 
social anticorruption,'' according to Professor Lin Zhe at the CCP 
School. All students selected for the program ``met strict criteria and 
were tested for aptitude,'' reported the Global Times, a commercially 
focused newspaper affiliated with the official daily of the CCP Central 
Committee.
    Freedom of information regulations allow citizens to request 
information from the government. The regulations require government 
authorities to create formal channels for information requests and 
include an appeal process if requests were rejected or not answered. 
Publicly released provincial- and national-level statistics for freedom 
of information requests showed wide disparities in numbers of requests 
filed and official documents released in response.
    In August the SPC ruled that citizens could sue any government 
department that refused to provide unclassified information. In 
September a Tsinghua University graduate student sued three government 
ministries after her requests for information were denied. The student 
requested information regarding the duties of 14 ministries for use in 
her thesis. The student mentioned that with the exception of the 
People's Bank of China, all were ``suspicious and careful'' about her 
request.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The government sought to maintain control over civil society 
groups, halt the emergence of independent NGOs, hinder the activities 
of civil society and rights' activist groups, and prevent what it has 
called the ``Westernization'' of the country. The government did not 
permit independent domestic NGOs to monitor openly or to comment on 
human rights conditions; in addition, domestic NGOs were harassed. The 
government tended to be suspicious of independent organizations, and it 
increased scrutiny of NGOs with financial and other links overseas. 
Most large NGOs were quasi-governmental, and all official NGOs had to 
be sponsored by government agencies, although the government piloted 
new registration procedures in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing during 
the year to remove the requirement that NGOs must have a government 
sponsoring agency to register. If the new registrations procedures are 
successful, the government plans to allow NGOs to register directly 
with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Some grassroots NGOs registered as 
companies to avoid regulations requiring NGOs to have a sponsoring 
government agency.
    An informal network of activists around the country continued to 
serve as a credible source of information about human rights 
violations. The information was disseminated through organizations such 
as the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and 
Democracy, the foreign-based Human Rights in China Chinese Human Rights 
Defenders, and via the Internet.
    The government remained reluctant to accept criticism of its human 
rights record by other nations or international organizations. It 
criticized reports by international human rights monitoring groups, 
claiming that such reports were inaccurate and interfered with the 
country's internal affairs. Representatives of some international human 
rights organizations reported that authorities denied their visa 
requests or restricted the length of visas issued to them.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government did not have a 
human rights ombudsman or commission. The government-established China 
Society for Human Rights is an NGO whose mandate is to defend the 
government's human rights record. The government maintained that each 
country's economic, social, cultural, and historical conditions 
influence its approach to human rights.
    The ICRC operated an office in Beijing.
    The government continued to participate in official diplomatic 
human rights dialogues with foreign governments.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    There were laws designed to protect women, children, persons with 
disabilities, and minorities. However, some discrimination based on 
ethnicity, sex, and disability persisted.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal, and some 
persons convicted of rape were executed. The law does not recognize 
expressly or exclude spousal rape. The government has not made 
available official statistics on rape or sexual assault, leaving the 
scale of sexual violence difficult to determine. Migrant female workers 
were particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.
    Violence against women remained a significant problem. According to 
reports, 30 to 37 percent of families suffered from domestic violence, 
and more than 90 percent of the victims were women. The government 
supported shelters for victims of domestic violence, and some courts 
were beginning to provide protections to victims. However, official 
assistance did not always reach victims, and public security forces 
often ignored situations of domestic violence. The All China Women's 
Federation (ACWF) reported in 2010 that it received 50,000 domestic 
violence complaints annually. Spousal abuse typically went unreported; 
an ACWF study found that only 7 percent of rural women who suffered 
domestic violence sought help from police. While domestic violence 
tended to be more prevalent in rural areas, it also occurred among the 
highly educated urban population. The ACWF reported that approximately 
one-quarter of the 400,000 divorces registered each year were the 
result of family violence.
    The number of victims' shelters grew. According to ACWF statistics, 
in 2008 there were 27,000 legal-aid service centers, 12,000 special 
police booths for domestic violence complaints, 400 shelters for 
victims of domestic violence, and 350 examination centers for women 
claiming to be injured by domestic violence nationwide. The government 
operated most shelters, some with NGO participation. During the year 
the government provided 680,000 office spaces in government buildings 
for women's resource centers.
    Both the Marriage Law and the Law on the Protection of Women's 
Rights and Interests have stipulations that directly prohibit domestic 
violence; however, some experts complained that the stipulations are 
too general, fail to define domestic violence, and are difficult to 
implement. Because of the judicial standard of ruling out ``all 
unreasonable doubt,'' even if a judge was certain that domestic 
violence was occurring, he or she could not rule against the abuser 
without the abuser's confession. Only 10 percent of accused abusers 
confessed to violent behavior in the family, according to 2009 data 
from the Institute of Applied Laws, a think tank associated with the 
court system. Collecting evidence in domestic violence cases remained 
difficult: The institute reported that 40 to 60 percent of marriage and 
family cases involved domestic violence; however, less than 30 percent 
were able to supply indirect evidence, including photographs, hospital 
records, police records, or children's testimony. Witnesses seldom 
testified in court.

    Sexual Harassment.--After the Law on the Protection of Women's 
Rights was amended in 2005 to include a ban on sexual harassment, the 
number of sexual harassment complaints increased significantly. A 2009 
Harvard University study on sexual harassment in the country showed 
that 80 percent of working women in the country experienced sexual 
harassment at some stage of their career. The same study found that 
only 30 percent of sexual harassment claims by women succeeded.
    The founder of an education training business in Shenzhen was 
sentenced to jail during the year after a female employee told the 
police that he raped her. After his conviction, other employees 
reported they had been raped or harassed by him as well.
    According to information on the ACWF Web site, women who had been 
sexually harassed had increasingly better access to useful information 
and legal service hotlines through the Internet. A Beijing rights 
lawyer told ACWF that approximately 100 to 200 million women in the 
country had suffered or were suffering sexual harassment in the 
workplace, but very few legal service centers provided counseling.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government restricted the rights of 
parents to choose the number of children they have. National law 
prohibits the use of physical coercion to compel persons to submit to 
abortion or sterilization. However, intense pressure to meet birth 
limitation targets set by government regulations resulted in instances 
of local family-planning officials using physical coercion to meet 
government goals. Such practices included the mandatory use of birth 
control and the abortion of unauthorized pregnancies. In the case of 
families that already had two children, one parent was often pressured 
to undergo sterilization.
    The national family-planning authorities shifted their emphasis 
from lowering fertility rates to maintaining low fertility rates and 
emphasized quality of care in family-planning practices. In May 2010 a 
representative of the National Population and Family Planning 
Commission reported that 85 percent of women of childbearing age used 
some form of contraception. Of those, 70 percent used a reversible 
method. However, the country's birth limitation policies retained 
harshly coercive elements, in law and practice. The financial and 
administrative penalties for unauthorized births were strict.
    From February to April 2010, Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province was the 
site of a high-profile court proceeding in which a 30-year-old female 
plaintiff sued the local family-planning bureau, claiming that she had 
been barred from a civil service position in the county government for 
giving birth to a child before marriage. Although she married the 
father soon after the child's birth, the court ruled that the family-
planning bureau's original decree citing the birth as out of wedlock 
held, which made her ineligible for the government position. In 
December 2010 in Taizhou, Jiangsu, in a similar case involving a male 
plaintiff, the court ruled that the male plaintiff also was ineligible 
for a civil service position.
    The 2002 National Population and Family-planning Law standardized 
the implementation of the government's birth limitation policies; 
however, enforcement varied significantly. The law grants married 
couples the right to have one birth and allows eligible couples to 
apply for permission to have a second child if they meet conditions 
stipulated in local and provincial regulations. The one-child limit was 
more strictly applied in urban areas, where only couples meeting 
certain conditions were permitted to have a second child (e.g., if each 
of the would-be parents was an only child). In most rural areas, the 
policy was more relaxed, with couples permitted to have a second child 
in cases where the first child was a girl. Ethnic minorities were 
subject to less stringent rules. Countrywide, 35 percent of families 
fell under the one-child restrictions, and more than 60 percent of 
families were eligible to have a second child, either outright or if 
they met certain criteria. The remaining 5 percent were eligible to 
have more than two children. According to government statistics, the 
average fertility rate for women nationwide was 1.8 (representing the 
number of children each woman of child-bearing age has); in the 
country's most populous and prosperous city, Shanghai, the fertility 
rate was 0.8.
    The National Population and Family Planning Commission reported 
that all provinces had eliminated the birth-approval requirement before 
a first child is conceived, but provinces may still continue to require 
parents to ``register'' pregnancies prior to giving birth to their 
first child. This ``registration'' requirement can be used as a de 
facto permit system in some provinces, as some local governments 
continued to mandate abortion for single women who become pregnant. 
Provinces and localities imposed fines of various levels on unwed 
mothers.
    Regulations requiring women who violate family-planning policy to 
terminate their pregnancies still exist in the 25th, 42nd, and 22nd 
provisions of the Population and Family Control Regulation of Liaoning, 
Jilin, and Heilongjiang provinces, respectively. An additional 10 
provinces--Fujian, Guizhou, Guangdong, Gansu, Jiangxi, Qinghai, 
Sichuan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Yunnan--require unspecified ``remedial 
measures'' to deal with unauthorized pregnancies.
    The law requires each person in a couple that has an unapproved 
child to pay a ``social compensation fee,'' which can reach 10 times a 
person's annual disposable income. The law grants preferential 
treatment to couples who abide by the birth limits.
    Social compensation fees were set and assessed at the local level. 
The law requires family-planning officials to obtain court approval 
before taking ``forcible'' action, such as detaining family members or 
confiscating and destroying property of families who refuse to pay 
social compensation fees. However, in practice this requirement was not 
always followed, and national authorities remained ineffective at 
reducing abuses by local officials.
    The population control policy relied on education, propaganda, and 
economic incentives, as well as on more coercive measures. Those who 
violated the child-limit policy by having an unapproved child or 
helping another do so faced disciplinary measures such as social 
compensation fees, job loss or demotion, loss of promotion opportunity, 
expulsion from the CCP (membership is an unofficial requirement for 
certain jobs), and other administrative punishments, including in some 
cases the destruction of private property.
    To delay childbearing, the law sets the minimum marriage age for 
women at 20 and for men at 22. It continued to be illegal in almost all 
provinces for a single woman to have a child, with fines levied for 
violations. The law states that family-planning bureaus will conduct 
pregnancy tests on married women and provide them with unspecified 
``follow-up'' services. Some provinces fined women who did not undergo 
periodic pregnancy tests.
    Officials at all levels remained subject to rewards or penalties 
based on meeting the population goals set by their administrative 
region. Promotions for local officials depended in part on meeting 
population targets. Linking job promotion with an official's ability to 
meet or exceed such targets provided a powerful structural incentive 
for officials to employ coercive measures to meet population goals. An 
administrative reform process initiated pilot programs in some 
localities that sought to remove this linkage for evaluating officials' 
performance.
    Although the family-planning law states that officials should not 
violate citizens' rights in the enforcement of family-planning policy, 
these rights, as well as penalties for violating them, are not clearly 
defined. By law citizens may sue officials who exceed their authority 
in implementing birth-planning policy. However, there exist few 
protections for whistleblowers against retaliation from local 
officials. The law provides significant and detailed sanctions for 
officials who help persons evade the birth limitations.
    According to online reports, women who registered newborns in 
Nanhai District, Foshan, Guangdong Province, were requested to insert 
an IUD (intra-uterine device). Many posted online complaints that 
officials threatened to not register the baby if the mother did not 
comply. This allegedly occurred even when the newborn was the mother's 
only child.
    Government regulations implemented in 2008 make family-planning 
services compulsory, including reproductive health information and 
services, contraception devices, and family-planning technical 
services, available and free to migrants in their temporary residences. 
Previously, migrants were often forced to return to the place of their 
legal household registrations to receive these compulsory services.
    According to 2010 statistics, the maternal mortality ratio was an 
estimated 30 per 100,000 live births. Regional differences indicated 
that the maternal mortality ratio in rural areas was much higher than 
in urban areas and also higher in poorer regions than in more developed 
regions. Rural, poor, migrant, and ethnic minority women continued to 
suffer the greatest mortality rates due to a lack of access to quality 
health services.

    Discrimination.--The constitution states that ``women enjoy equal 
rights with men in all spheres of life.'' The Law on the Protection of 
Women's Rights and Interests provides for equality in ownership of 
property, inheritance rights, and access to education. The ACWF was the 
leading implementer of women's policy for the government, and the State 
Council's National Working Committee on Children and Women coordinated 
women's policy. Nonetheless, many activists and observers were 
concerned that the progress made by women over the past 50 years was 
eroding. They asserted that the government appeared to have made the 
pursuit of gender equality a secondary priority as it focused on 
economic reform and political stability. Women continued to report that 
discrimination, sexual harassment, unfair dismissal, demotion, and wage 
discrepancies were significant problems.
    Authorities often did not enforce laws protecting the rights of 
women. According to legal experts, it was difficult to litigate a sex 
discrimination suit because the vague legal definition made it 
difficult to quantify damages, so very few cases were brought to court. 
Some observers noted that the agencies tasked with protecting women's 
rights tended to focus on maternity-related benefits and wrongful 
termination during maternity leave rather than on sex discrimination, 
violence against women, and sexual harassment. Women's rights advocates 
indicated that in rural areas women often forfeited land and property 
rights to their husbands in divorce proceedings. Rural contract law and 
laws protecting women's rights stipulate that women enjoy equal rights 
in cases of land management, but experts argued that in practice this 
was rarely the case, due to the complexity of the law and difficulties 
in its implementation. In determining child custody in divorce cases, 
judges make determinations based on the following guidelines: Children 
under age two should live with their mothers; children two to nine 
years of age should have custody determined by who can provide the most 
stable living arrangement; and children 10 and over should be consulted 
when determining custody.
    Many employers preferred to hire men to avoid the expense of 
maternity leave and child care, and some lowered the effective 
retirement age for female workers to 50 (the official retirement age 
for men was 60 and for women 55, with the exception of men and women 
involved in physically demanding jobs, for which the retirement age was 
55 and 45, respectively). In addition, work units were allowed to 
impose an earlier mandatory retirement age for women than for men. 
Lower retirement ages also reduced pensions, which generally were based 
on the number of years worked. Job advertisements sometimes specified 
height and age requirements for women.
    Women earned less than men, despite government policies mandating 
nondiscrimination in employment and occupation. The Ministry of Human 
Resources and Social Security and the local labor bureaus were 
responsible for ensuring that enterprises complied with the labor law 
and the employment promotion law, each of which contains 
antidiscrimination provisions.
    A high female suicide rate continued to be a serious problem. There 
were approximately 590 female suicides per day, according to a Chinese 
Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention report released in 
September. This was more than the approximately 500 per day reported in 
2009. The report noted that the suicide rate for females was three 
times higher than for males. Many observers believed that violence 
against women and girls, discrimination in education and employment, 
the traditional preference for male children, birth-limitation 
policies, and other societal factors contributed to the high female 
suicide rate. Women in rural areas, where the suicide rate for women 
was three to four times higher than for men, were especially 
vulnerable. Government research indicating that 58 percent of all 
suicides involved the use of pesticide led to the implementation of a 
trial program in Hunan and Zhejiang provinces to control its sale and 
storage to attempt to reduce suicide attempts.
    The U.N. Economic and Social Council reported that less than 2 
percent of women between the ages of 15 and 24 were illiterate. 
According to 2008 official government statistics, women comprised more 
than 70 percent of all illiterate persons above the age of 15. In some 
underdeveloped regions, the female literacy rate lagged behind the male 
literacy rate by 15 percent or more.
    While the gap in the education levels of men and women narrowed, 
differences in educational attainment remained a problem. Men continued 
to be overrepresented among the relatively small number of persons who 
received a university-level education. According to Ministry of 
Education statistics, in 2008 women accounted for 50 percent of 
undergraduate students, 46 percent of postgraduate students, and nearly 
35 percent of doctoral students. Women with advanced degrees reported 
discrimination in the hiring process as the job distribution system 
became more competitive and market driven.
    According to the 2010 national census, the national average male-
female sex ratio at birth was 118 to 100. Sex identification and sex-
selective abortion (commonly referred to as the ``Two Nons'') were 
prohibited under administrative law, but the practices continued 
because of traditional preference for male children and the birth 
limitation policy.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from the 
parents. Parents must register their children in compliance with the 
national household registration system within one month of birth. 
Children not registered cannot access public services. No data was 
available on the number of unregistered births.

    Education.--The law provides for nine years of compulsory education 
for children. However, in economically disadvantaged rural areas, many 
children did not attend school for the required period and some never 
attended at all. Public schools were not allowed to charge tuition; 
however, faced with insufficient local and central government funding, 
many schools continued to charge miscellaneous fees. Such fees and 
other school-related expenses made it difficult for poorer families and 
some migrant workers to send their children to school.
    According to a 2008 U.N. Development Program report, the urban-
rural gap in literacy rates of young persons had narrowed, from 6 
percent in 1990 to 1.6 percent in 2005. The proportion of girls 
attending school in rural and minority areas was reportedly smaller 
than in cities; in rural areas 61 percent of boys and 43 percent of 
girls completed education higher than lower middle school. The 
government reported that nearly 20 million children of migrant laborers 
followed their parents to urban areas. Most children of migrant workers 
who attended school did so at schools that were unlicensed and poorly 
equipped.

    Medical Care.--Female babies suffered from a higher mortality rate 
than male babies, contrary to the worldwide norm. State media reported 
that infant mortality rates in rural areas were 27 percent higher for 
girls than boys and that neglect was one factor in their lower survival 
rate.

    Child Abuse.--Kidnapping and buying and selling children for 
adoption increased over the past several years, particularly in poor 
rural areas. There were no reliable estimates of the number of children 
kidnapped; however, according to media reports, as many as 20,000 
children were kidnapped every year for illegal adoption. Most children 
kidnapped internally were sold to couples unable to have children, 
particularly sons. Those convicted of buying an abducted child may be 
sentenced to three years' imprisonment. In the past most children 
rescued were boys, but increased demand for children reportedly drove 
traffickers to focus on girls as well. In 2009 the Ministry of Public 
Security started a DNA database of parents of missing children and 
children recovered in law enforcement operations in an effort to 
reunite families.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--By law those who force young 
girls (under age 14) into prostitution may be sentenced to 10 years or 
more in prison or given a life sentence, in addition to a fine or 
confiscation of property. If the case is especially serious, they are 
to be given a life sentence or sentenced to death, in addition to 
confiscation of property. Those inducing young girls (under age 14) 
into prostitution are to be sentenced to five years or more in prison 
in addition to a fine. Those who visit young female prostitutes (under 
age 14) are to be sentenced to five years or more in prison in addition 
to paying a fine.
    According to the law, the minimum age of consensual sex is 14.
    Pornography of any kind is illegal, including child pornography. 
Under the criminal code, those producing, reproducing, publishing, 
selling, or disseminating obscene materials with the purpose of making 
a profit may be sentenced up to three years in prison or put under 
criminal detention or surveillance, in addition to paying a fine. 
Offenders in serious cases may receive prison sentences of three to 10 
years, in addition to paying a fine. If the case is especially serious, 
they are to be sentenced to 10 years or more in prison or given a life 
sentence, in addition to a fine or confiscation of property. Persons 
found disseminating obscene books, magazines, films, audio or video 
products, pictures, or other kinds of obscene materials, if the case is 
serious, may be sentenced up to two years in prison or put under 
criminal detention or surveillance. Persons organizing the broadcast of 
obscene motion pictures or other audio or video products may be 
sentenced up to three years in prison or put under criminal detention 
or surveillance, in addition to paying a fine. If the case is serious, 
they are to be sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in addition to 
paying a fine.
    Those broadcasting or showing obscene materials to minors less than 
age 18 are to be severely punished.

    Infanticide.--The Law on the Protection of Juveniles forbids 
infanticide; however, there was evidence that the practice continued. 
According to the National Population and Family-planning Commission, a 
handful of doctors have been charged with infanticide under this law. 
Female infanticide, sex-selective abortions, and the abandonment and 
neglect of baby girls remained problems due to the traditional 
preference for sons and the coercive birth limitation policy.

    Displaced Children.--There were more than 150,000 urban street 
children, according to state-run media and the Ministry of Civil 
Affairs. This number was even higher if the children of migrant workers 
who spend the day on the streets were included. In 2010 the ACWF 
reported that the number of children in rural areas left behind by 
their migrant-worker parents totaled 58 million, 40 million under the 
age of 14.

    Institutionalized Children.--The law forbids the mistreatment or 
abandonment of children. The vast majority of children in orphanages 
were girls, many of whom were abandoned. Boys in orphanages were 
usually disabled or in poor health. Medical professionals sometimes 
advised parents of children with disabilities to put the children into 
orphanages.
    The government denied that children in orphanages were mistreated 
or refused medical care but acknowledged that the system often was 
unable to provide adequately for some children, particularly those with 
serious medical problems. Adopted children were counted under the birth 
limitation regulations in most locations. As a result, couples that 
adopted abandoned infant girls were sometimes barred from having 
additional children.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts during 
the year. The government does not recognize Judaism as an ethnicity or 
religion. According to information from the Jewish Virtual Library, the 
country's Jewish population was 1,500 in 2006.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Person's Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law protects the rights of persons 
with disabilities and prohibits discrimination; however, conditions for 
such persons lagged far behind legal dictates, failing to provide 
persons with disabilities access to programs designed to assist them.
    The MCA and the China Disabled Persons Federation, a government-
organized civil association, are the main entities responsible for 
persons with disabilities. In 2009 government officials confirmed that 
there were 83 million persons with disabilities living in the country. 
According to government statistics, in 2008 there were 3,731 vocational 
education and training facilities, which provided training and job-
placement services for 774,000 persons with disabilities. More than 4.5 
million persons with disabilities were employed in cities and towns; 
17.2 million were employed in rural areas. Government statistics stated 
that 7.4 million persons with disabilities enjoyed ``minimum-life-
guarantee'' stipends; nearly three million had social insurance.
    The law prohibits discrimination against minors with disabilities 
and codifies a variety of judicial protections for juvenile offenders. 
In 2007 the Ministry of Education reported that nationwide there were 
1,618 schools for children with disabilities. According to NGOs, there 
were approximately 20 million children with disabilities, only 2 
percent of whom had access to special education that could meet their 
needs.
    According to the China Disabled Persons Federation, in 2010 more 
than 519,000 school-age children with disabilities received compulsory 
education, 68.2 percent of them in inclusive education, and 31.8 
percent in 1,705 special schools and 2,775 special classes. NGOs 
claimed that while the overall school enrollment rate was 99 percent, 
only 75 percent of children with disabilities were enrolled in school. 
Nationwide, 243,000 school-age children with disabilities did not 
attend school. Nearly 100,000 organizations existed, mostly in urban 
areas, to serve those with disabilities and protect their legal rights. 
The government, at times in conjunction with NGOs, sponsored programs 
to integrate persons with disabilities into society.
    The physical abuse of children can be grounds for criminal 
prosecution. However, misdiagnosis, inadequate medical care, 
stigmatization, and abandonment remained common problems. According to 
reports, doctors frequently persuaded parents of children with 
disabilities to place their children in large government-run 
institutions, where care was often inadequate. Those parents who chose 
to keep children with disabilities at home generally faced difficulty 
finding adequate medical care, day care, and education for their 
children. Government statistics showed that almost one-quarter of 
persons with disabilities lived in extreme poverty.
    Unemployment among adults with disabilities remained a serious 
problem. Under the Employment Promotion Law, local governments are 
required to offer incentives to enterprises that hired persons with 
disabilities. Regulations in some parts of the country also require 
employers to pay into a national fund for the disabled when the 
employees with disabilities do not make up the statutory minimum 
percentage of the total workforce.
    Standards adopted for making roads and buildings accessible to 
persons with disabilities are subject to the Law on the Handicapped, 
which calls for their ``gradual'' implementation; however, compliance 
with the law was lax. Students with disabilities were discriminated 
against in access to education. The law permits universities to exclude 
otherwise qualified candidates from higher education.
    The law forbids the marriage of persons with certain acute mental 
illnesses, such as schizophrenia. If doctors find that a couple is at 
risk of transmitting disabling congenital defects to their children, 
the couple may marry only if they agree to use birth control or undergo 
sterilization. The law stipulates that local governments must employ 
such practices to raise the percentage of healthy births.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Most minority groups resided in 
areas they traditionally inhabited. Government policy calls for members 
of recognized minorities to receive preferential treatment in birth 
planning, university admission, access to loans, and employment. 
However, the substance and implementation of ethnic minority policies 
remained poor, and discrimination against minorities remained 
widespread.
    Minority groups in border and other regions had less access to 
education than their Han counterparts, faced job discrimination in 
favor of Han migrants, and earned incomes well below those in other 
parts of the country. Government development programs often disrupted 
traditional living patterns of minority groups and included, in some 
cases, the forced relocation of persons. Han Chinese benefited 
disproportionately from government programs and economic growth. As 
part of its emphasis on building a ``harmonious society,'' the 
government downplayed racism and institutional discrimination against 
minorities, which remained the source of deep resentment in the XUAR, 
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Tibetan areas.
    Ethnic minorities represented approximately 14 percent of delegates 
to the NPC and more than 15 percent of NPC standing committee members, 
according to an official report issued in July. A November 19 article 
in the official online news source for overseas readers stated that 
ethnic minorities comprised 41.3 percent of cadres in the Guangxi 
Zhuang Autonomous Region, 25.4 percent of cadres in Ningxia Hui 
Autonomous Region, and 51 percent of cadres in the XUAR. During the 
year all five of the country's ethnic minority autonomous regions had 
chairmen (the chairman in an autonomous region is equivalent to the 
governor of a province) from minority groups. The CCP secretaries of 
these five autonomous regions were all Han. Han officials continued to 
hold the majority of the most powerful CCP and government positions in 
minority autonomous regions, particularly the XUAR.
    The government's policy to encourage Han Chinese migration into 
minority areas significantly increased the population of Han in the 
XUAR. In recent decades the Han-Uighur ratio in the capital of Urumqi 
has reversed from 20/ 80 to 80/20 and continued to be a source of 
Uighur resentment. Discriminatory hiring practices gave preference to 
Han and discouraged job prospects for ethnic minorities. According to 
2005 statistics published by XUAR officials, eight million of the 
XUAR's 20 million official residents were Han. Hui, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, 
Uighur, and other ethnic minorities constituted approximately 12 
million XUAR residents. Official statistics understated the Han 
population, because they did not count the tens of thousands of Han 
Chinese who were long-term ``temporary workers.'' While the government 
continued to promote Han migration into the XUAR and filled local jobs 
with migrant labor, overseas human rights organizations reported that 
local officials under direction from higher levels of government 
deceived and pressured young Uighur women to participate in a 
government-sponsored labor transfer program.
    The XUAR government took measures to dilute expressions of Uighur 
identity, including reduction of education in ethnic minority languages 
in XUAR schools and the institution of language requirements that 
disadvantaged ethnic minority teachers. The government continued to 
apply policies that prioritized standard Chinese for instruction in 
school, thereby reducing or eliminating ethnic-language instruction. 
Graduates of minority-language schools typically needed intensive 
Chinese study before they could handle Chinese-language course work at 
a university. The dominant position of standard Chinese in government, 
commerce, and academia put graduates of minority-language schools who 
lacked standard Chinese proficiency at a disadvantage.
    During the year authorities continued to implement repressive 
policies in the XUAR and targeted the region's ethnic Uighur 
population. Officials in the XUAR continued to implement a pledge to 
crack down on the government-designated ``three forces'' of religious 
extremism, ethnic separatism, and terrorism and outlined efforts to 
launch a concentrated antiseparatist reeducation campaign.
    It was sometimes difficult to determine whether raids, detentions, 
and judicial punishments directed at individuals or organizations 
suspected of promoting the three forces were actually used to target 
those peacefully seeking to express their political or religious views. 
The government continued to repress Uighurs expressing peaceful 
political dissent and independent Muslim religious leaders, often 
citing counterterrorism as the reason for taking action.
    Uighurs continued to be sentenced to long prison terms, and in some 
cases executed without due process, on charges of separatism and 
endangering state security. The government reportedly pressured third 
countries to return Uighurs outside the country, who faced the risk of 
persecution if repatriated.
    Freedom of assembly was severely limited during the year in the 
XUAR.
    According to state official media accounts, on July 18, a group of 
Uighurs attacked a police station in Hotan, XUAR, killing two security 
guards and taking eight hostages. Police killed 14 of the attackers, 
captured four, and rescued six hostages; two hostages died in the 
rescue attempt. On July 30 and 31, through stabbings and bombings, 
Uighur men in Kashgar, XUAR, killed 13 persons. In the July 30 
incident, the civilians killed one of the Uighur attackers and took 
another into custody. In the July 31 incident, police shot and killed 
five of the suspects, took four into custody, and subsequently killed 
two suspects who had initially escaped. Four of the detained Uighurs 
were subsequently given death sentences for their involvement in the 
violence.
    State media reported that on December 28, security forces in Hotan 
Prefecture, XUAR, killed seven persons and injured four others while 
rescuing hostages. Two police officers reportedly were killed in the 
incident.
    In 2009 the government announced it would demolish three buildings 
owned by the family of exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, president of 
the World Uighur Conference. The government blamed Kadeer, a Uighur 
businesswoman in exile, for orchestrating the 2009 riots in Urumqi. At 
year's end the buildings had not been demolished but remained vacant 
and condemned. Two of Kadeer's sons also remained in prison.
    Possession of publications or audiovisual materials discussing 
independence or other sensitive subjects was not permitted. Uighurs who 
remained in prison at year's end for their peaceful expression of ideas 
the government found objectionable included Abdulla Jamal, Adduhelil 
Zunun, and Nurmuhemmet Yasin.
    During the year XUAR and national-level officials defended the 
campaign against the three forces of religious extremism, splittism, 
and terrorism and other emergency measures taken as necessary to 
maintain public order. Officials continued to use the threat of 
violence as justification for extreme security measures directed at the 
local population, journalists, and visiting foreigners.
    In 2009 state media reported that XUAR authorities approved the 
Information Promotion Bill, making it a criminal offense to discuss 
separatism on the Internet and prohibiting use of the Internet in any 
way that undermines national unity. The regulation further bans 
inciting ethnic separatism or harming social stability. It requires 
Internet service providers and network operators to set up monitoring 
systems or strengthen existing ones and report transgressions of the 
law.
    Han control of the region's political and economic institutions 
also contributed to heightened tension. Although government policies 
continued to allot economic investment in, and brought economic 
improvements to the XUAR, Han residents received a disproportionate 
share of the benefits.
    (For specific information on Tibet, please see the Tibet addendum.)

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--No laws criminalize private 
consensual same sex activities between adults. Due to societal 
discrimination and pressure to conform to family expectations, most gay 
men and lesbians refrained from publicly discussing their sexual 
orientation. Individual activists and organizations working on lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues continued to report 
discrimination and harassment from the authorities.
    Authorities continued to harass or prevent the gathering of LGBT 
persons. For example, in February a Valentine's Day kissing contest 
that gay couples planned to attend was cancelled abruptly by 
organizers. The Beijing LGBT Center planned to use the event to raise 
awareness about gay rights.
    In June the Fifth Beijing Queer Film Festival was forced 
underground due to harassment from local police, officers from the 
Bureau of Industry and Trade, and the Culture Bureau. The police deemed 
the event ``illegal.'' Organizers were forced to close the event to the 
general public and show the films to invited guests only. The venue of 
the festival was also changed every night to avoid detection.
    LGBT persons were also targets of societal pressures. For example, 
in July LGBT groups complained of censorship by the popular Web site 
Doudan. The groups reported that posts for events were disappearing, 
resulting in low attendance. Subsequently the groups began to boycott 
the site.
    In July 2010 a gay man attempted to sue the Beijing Red Cross for 
discrimination for barring gays and lesbians from donating blood. The 
court rejected the lawsuit without explanation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The Employment 
Promotion Law, which went into effect in 2008, improves protection 
against discrimination in employment, and local governments continued 
their regulations to reflect the law. Under the law and adopted 
regulations, employment discrimination against persons carrying an 
infectious disease is prohibited, and provisions allow such persons to 
work as civil servants. While the law improves protection against 
discrimination in employment, it does not address some common types of 
discrimination in employment, including discrimination based on height, 
physical appearance, or place of origin.
    In April 2010 the country eliminated a 20-year travel ban that 
barred individuals with HIV/AIDS from entering the country. The State 
Council posted a statement on its Web site announcing that the 
government had passed amendments in April 2010 revising the Border 
Quarantine Law, as well as the Law on Control of the Entry and Exit of 
Aliens; the changes were effective immediately.
    Despite provisions in the Employment Promotion Law, discrimination 
against persons with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B carriers (including 20 
million chronic carriers) remained widespread in many areas. Persons 
with HIV/AIDS suffered discrimination, and local governments sometimes 
tried to suppress their activities. By December three separate lawsuits 
had been filed by plaintiffs with HIV/AIDS who were denied employment 
due to their HIV status. Two of the cases had already been lost by 
year's end.
    HIV/AIDS activist Wan Yanhai, founder and director of the Beijing-
based NGO Aizhixing, remained overseas after leaving the country in May 
2010. The organization continued to come under intense pressure from 
the government.
    International involvement in HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and 
treatment, as well as central government pressure on local governments 
to respond appropriately, brought improvements in many localities. Some 
hospitals that previously refused to treat HIV/AIDS patients had active 
care and treatment programs because domestic and international training 
programs improved the understanding of local healthcare workers and 
their managers. In Beijing dozens of local community centers encouraged 
and facilitated HIV/AIDS support groups.
    Persons with HIV/AIDS were routinely denied admittance to hospitals 
for medical care. The hospitals feared that should the general 
population find out that they were treating HIV/AIDS patients, persons 
would choose to go to other hospitals. It was common practice for 
general hospitals to refer patients to specialty hospitals working with 
infectious diseases.
    In August the Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria lifted 
its freeze on disbursements to China so that work on fighting AIDS 
could resume. The Global Fund had frozen the assistance due to 
suspected misuse of funds and the government's reluctance to involve 
NGOs. In response, the government promised to allocate 25 percent of 
the funds to community organizations and create a separate entity to 
manage civil society groups.
    In February 2010 a nationwide rule banning mandatory hepatitis B 
virus tests in job and school admissions applications was promulgated. 
On February 14, 61 percent of state-run companies still had hepatitis B 
testing as a part of their pre-employment screen.
    In September a report from a Beijing-based NGO said that 32 percent 
of kindergartens surveyed would refuse to enroll children infected with 
hepatitis B.
    In September a HIV-positive man filed a discrimination lawsuit 
against local authorities claiming that he was denied a job as a 
primary school teacher. This was the second such discrimination lawsuit 
in the country. The man reportedly passed a test and interview but was 
denied the position after authorities learned about the HIV from a 
routine health test.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law does not provide for freedom of association, as workers are not 
free to organize or join unions of their own choosing. Independent 
unions are illegal, and the right to strike is not protected in law.
    The Trade Union Law provides specific legal remedies against 
antiunion discrimination and specifies that union representatives may 
not be transferred or terminated by enterprise management during their 
term of office. Collective contract regulations provide similar 
protections for employee representatives during collective 
consultations. While there were no publicly available official 
statistics on enforcement of laws protecting union representatives, 
there were periodic media reports of union officials successfully 
obtaining monetary judgments against companies, usually foreign-
invested, which wrongfully terminated them due to union activity.
    Regulations require the union to gather input from workers prior to 
consultation with management and to submit collective contracts to 
workers or their congress for approval. There is no legal obligation 
for employers to negotiate, and some employers refused to do so.
    The 2008 Labor Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law provides for 
labor dispute resolution through a three-stage process: mediation 
between the parties, arbitration by officially designated arbitrators, 
and litigation. The 2008 law improved workers' access to and 
streamlined this three-stage process. A key article of this law 
requires employers to consult with labor unions or employee 
representatives on matters that have a direct bearing on the immediate 
interests of their workers.
    The Trade Union Law specifically addresses unions' responsibility 
to ``coordinate the labor relations and safeguard the labor rights and 
interests of the enterprise employees through equal negotiation and 
collective contract system'' and to represent employees in negotiating 
and signing collective contracts with enterprises or public 
institutions. The Labor Contract Law provides that labor unions ``shall 
assist and direct the employees'' in establishing ``a collective 
negotiation mechanism,'' and that collective contracts can include 
``matters of remuneration, working hours, breaks, vacations, work 
safety and hygiene, insurance, benefits, etc.'' It further provides 
that there may be industrial or regional collective contracts ``in 
industries such as construction, mining, catering services, etc. in the 
regions at or below the county level.'' The labor law permits 
collective bargaining for workers in all types of enterprises.
    The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), which is 
controlled by the CCP and chaired by a member of the Politburo, is the 
sole legal workers' organization. The Trade Union Law gives the ACFTU 
control over all union organizations and activities, including 
enterprise-level unions and requires the ACFTU to ``uphold the 
leadership of the Communist Party.'' ACFTU constituent unions were 
generally ineffective in protecting the rights and interests of 
members. In response to widespread criticism of the ACFTU's response to 
several high-profile labor disputes in 2010, the ACFTU advocated for 
government policies and legal reform to better equip the union to 
protect workers' rights. However, no measurable progress occurred on 
this issue.
    The ACFTU and its provincial and local branches continued to 
aggressively organize new unions and add new members, especially in 
large, multinational enterprises. The ACFTU claimed 93 percent of 
``Fortune 500'' companies in the country had already established 
unions. Foreign-invested enterprises continued to report demands for 
increased wages by their workers and threats of walkouts and work 
stoppages if workers' demands were not met. The pressure to increase 
worker wages was a result of government policies promoting wage 
increases, inflation that resulted in rising prices for food and 
consumer items, and a dearth of skilled labor in the workforce.
    Although the law states that trade union officers at each level 
should be elected, most factory-level officers were appointed by ACFTU-
affiliated unions, often in coordination with employers, and were drawn 
largely from the ranks of management. Direct election by workers of 
union leaders continued to be rare, occurred only at the enterprise 
level, and was subject to supervision by higher levels of the union or 
CCP. In enterprises where direct election of union officers took place, 
regional ACFTU offices and local CCP authorities retained control over 
the selection and approval of candidates. The inability to elect their 
representatives directly continued to be a key issue raised by workers 
in the Pearl River Delta (PRD).
    While work stoppages are not expressly prohibited in law, Article 
53 of the constitution has been interpreted as a ban on labor strikes 
by obligating all citizens to ``observe labor discipline and public 
order.'' Local government interpretations of the law varied, with some 
jurisdictions showing some tolerance for strikes while others continue 
to treat worker protests as illegal demonstrations. Without a clearly 
defined right to strike, workers had only a limited capacity to 
influence the negotiation process.
    As in past years, in spite of the unclear legal status of worker 
strikes, there were reports of workers throughout the country engaging 
in strikes, work stoppages, and other protest actions. Although there 
are no publicly available figures for the number of strikes and 
protests each year as the government institutes restrictions on media 
reports, an NGO estimated 30,000 collective protests by workers in 
2009, and it estimated a similar number of strikes occurred in 2010 and 
2011. Strikes primarily continued to be resolved directly between 
workers and management without the involvement of the ACFTU. Where 
labor relations disputes were resolved without resorting to strikes, 
factory management continued the trend of engaging directly with worker 
committees rather than through the legally-approved ACFTU.
    Despite the collective bargaining article in the 2008 Labor 
Contract Law, many employers preferred to deal with individual 
employees directly, allowing for widespread employer abuse of labor 
contracts. Common cases of noncompliance with the Labor Contract Law 
during the year included forcing employees to sign blank contracts and 
not providing workers a copy of their contract. Lack of government 
resources also undermined effective implementation and enforcement of 
the Labor Contract Law.
    The number of labor disputes nationwide continued to rise as 
workers' awareness of the laws increased. The 2008 Labor Contract Law 
and the global financial crisis both contributed to the growth in labor 
disputes in the court system. According to the latest figures from the 
MOHRSS, there were more than 4,800 labor arbitration organizations and 
330,000 labor arbitrators by the end of 2009. The MOHRSS announced at 
an October press conference that from January to September there were 
933,000 ``labor and personnel disputes'' involving 55.3 million 
workers. Of these, 428,000 were registered arbitration cases, of which 
87 percent were resolved. The MOHRSS spokesman did not elaborate on the 
number of collective disputes.
    In July 2010 the Guangdong provincial government issued guidelines 
on enterprise collective wage bargaining, which included requiring 
employers to give employee representatives information regarding a 
company's operations, including employee pay and benefits, to be used 
in wage bargaining. The guidelines also gave employees and employers 
the right to request the labor bureau to act as a mediator to help 
determine wage increase distribution among employees. There was no 
progress in advancing debate over collective bargaining legislation 
that stalled last year in the Guangdong provincial legislature.
    Although the Guangdong ACFTU played a prominent role in the 
resolution of the 2010 strikes at three Honda auto component factories 
in the PRD in 2010, and indicated that Honda's Nanhai plant would be a 
pilot site for allowing union members to elect their own union chair, 
by year's end that goal was still not realized despite three rounds of 
negotiations between workers and factory management.
    Labor activists detained in previous years reportedly remained in 
detention at year's end, including: Chen Yuqian, Feng Xinchun, Gonpo 
Lhundrub, Gonpo Thar, Jalo, Tselo, Hu Mingjun, Huang Yunmin, Huang 
Zhuyu, Jiang Cunde, Jiang Shiye, Li Xiulian, Zhang Chengxiang, Kong 
Youping, Li Jianfeng, Lin Shunan, Li Shanwen, Li Wuyi, Liu Jian, Liu 
Jianjun, Luo Xi, Memet Turghun Abdulla, Miao Wanli, Ning Xianhua, Wang 
Jun, Wang Miaogen, Wang Suhua, Xu Haiyan, Xu Zexin, Xue Mingkai, Yang 
Chunlin, Yuan Xianchen, Zhao Dongmin, Zhu Fangming, and Zuo Xiaohuan.
    During the year strikes remained primarily economic in nature 
(e.g., increased wages, subsidies for food and housing), but other 
issues such as workplace conditions and social welfare became more 
prominent. On June 29, construction workers rallied in front of the 
municipal government building in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, to call 
for improved pension benefits. The government's response to worker 
protests continued to be a mixture of mediation, conciliation, and 
coercion. While some jurisdictions sought to develop more flexible 
strategies to resolve labor disputes, others continued to rely on more 
repressive measures.
    Government officials took a more prominent role in resolving some 
labor disputes, although not necessarily in the favor of striking 
workers. For example, a four-day strike by 4,000 workers at a South 
Korean-owned handbag factory in Guangzhou's Panyu District ended on 
June 23, when police arrested at least six workers, according to 
foreign press reports. The strike ended without workers winning any 
concessions on wages and conditions on which the walk-out was based. 
Police also were dispatched to break up a 10-day strike by 2,000 
workers later in June at a Japanese-owned Citizen Watch plant at 
Dongguan, Guangdong Province. The strikers, who were protesting against 
long working hours and the lack of overtime pay for work conducted on a 
weekend, were forced to return to work under police surveillance.
    The closure of factories due to bankruptcy or a decision to move 
production elsewhere also contributed to labor disputes. In Huizhou, 
Guangdong Province, more than 1,000 workers at a Sino-American JV 
electronics factory went on strike May 28 over the compensation package 
the factory was offering workers who would be laid off when operations 
ended. The nearly 1,000 striking workers, some of whom had worked at 
the factory since it was opened 20 years earlier, also claimed the 
company cut corners in paying their social security benefits. The 
closure of a factory in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, prompted a 
dispute over unpaid wages that triggered rioting in early June, pitting 
migrant labor workers from Sichuan Province against local communities.
    In East China a series of labor protests in the transportation and 
logistics sector were sparked by accelerating inflation. On April 20, 
several thousand independent truck drivers stopped work for several 
days and blocked access to container handling facilities in Shanghai to 
protest high and illegal fees associated with container transport. The 
Shanghai Municipal Government responded quickly, announcing a series of 
measures on April 23 aimed at reducing and eliminating these fees. Taxi 
drivers led two separate protests in Hangzhou and Shanghai beginning 
August 1. In Hangzhou media reports indicated that up to 5,000 cab 
drivers, representing approximately half the total municipal taxi 
fleet, stopped work to protest rising fuel costs and demanded approval 
for fare increases. Hangzhou authorities, faced with traffic gridlock, 
responded quickly and reportedly agreed to raise government-regulated 
taxi fares--unchanged in eight years. On August 23, the Hangzhou 
government released for public comment two fare-increase proposals and 
pledged that higher fare adjustments would take effect by the end of 
October. A much smaller taxi driver strike in Shanghai was reportedly 
spurred by complaints that the taxi company was providing inadequate 
pensions.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced and compulsory labor and contains provisions relevant to forced 
labor and trafficking for labor purposes. However, there were reports 
that such practices occurred.
    There were reports that employers withheld wages or required 
unskilled workers to deposit several months' wages as security against 
the workers departing early from their labor contracts. These practices 
often prevented workers from exercising their right to leave their 
employment and made them vulnerable to forced labor. Implementation of 
new labor laws, along with workers' increased knowledge of their rights 
under these new laws, continued to reduce these practices.
    Reports of forced labor continued. For example, in Sichuan Province 
local authorities in Leibo County apologized to the public in August 
for repeated cases of enslaving, trading, and even killing mentally 
handicapped workers. According to the county's authorities, 227 victims 
had been saved by annual crackdown campaigns since 2009. In September a 
local television station in the capital city of Henan Province, 
Zhengzhou, reported the existence of a trading center of abducted slave 
laborers, including many mentally handicapped laborers, near the city's 
railway station. Many illegal brick kilns with slave labor were found 
subsequently, and local police rescued a total of 30 slave laborers. 
Illegal brick kilns using slave labor were also found in Guangdong 
Province. Fourteen enslaved and abused laborers were rescued in May in 
Huizhou. Three of the victims were under age 18.
    Forced labor remained a serious problem in penal institutions 
according to the International Trade Union Confederation. Many 
prisoners and detainees in RTL facilities were required to work, often 
with no remuneration. In addition, there were credible allegations that 
prisoners were forced to work for private production facilities 
associated with prisons. These facilities often operated under two 
different names: a prison name and a commercial enterprise name. There 
was no effective mechanism to prevent the export of goods made under 
such conditions. Goods and materials likely to be produced by forced 
labor included toys, garments and textiles, electronics, bricks, and 
coal.
    The Ministry of Justice discussed allegations of exported prison 
labor goods with foreign government officials, but information about 
prisons, including associated labor camps and factories, was tightly 
controlled.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16, but child 
labor remained a problem. The government does not publish statistics on 
the extent of child labor. However, based on print media and online 
reports, manufacturing in the electronics industry appeared to have the 
most prevalent use of child labor, although many reports indicated it 
occurred in a number of sectors.
    In May a south China newspaper report indicated that children under 
16 were working in an electronics factory in Huicheng District, Huizhou 
Municipality, Guangdong Province. One allegedly 15-year-old worker said 
that a labor dispatch company recruited her and approximately 20 other 
children from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces to work at the factory. The 
dispatch company reportedly received a portion of the children's wages 
each month.
    In June Guangdong Satellite TV reported that due to labor 
shortages, several electronics factories in Nanhai District, Foshan 
Municipality, Guangdong Province, employed child labor. At one factory 
relatives who recruited the children received bonuses of 100 RMB 
(approximately $16) per child if the child worked for at least three 
months.
    Child labor was not restricted to the electronics industry. One 
case reported in June in both print and online media involved a Hong 
Kong-invested plastics factory, producing for foreign markets, in 
Huizhou Municipality, Guangdong Province, that allegedly employed at 
least 10 workers between ages 13 and 15. The factory blamed the 
dispatch agency, which acknowledged that negligence in the screening 
process might have led to the recruitment of the children, who were 
from Guizhou and Yunnan provinces.
    In November a local woman was arrested in Wuchuan County, Guizhou 
Province, for hiring children of migrant workers left in their home 
village under the care of relatives. Eight children were found 
producing dangerous fireworks in a small factory.
    In November local authorities in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, 
reported an increase in the use of child labor in local labor-intensive 
businesses, especially catering, textile, and electronic processing 
industries. By October authorities investigated 25 suspected cases of 
child labor, resulting in 15 child laborers rescued. Local authorities 
attributed an increase in child labor reports in part to local labor 
shortages.
    In March a group of children were rescued from a box/bag-making 
factory in Jimo City, Shandong Province. They had been forced to work 
14 hours a day and were not allowed to leave the factory yard. 
Authorities learned of the situation after two children escaped.
    In March local police in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, found 21 
child laborers trafficked from the Liangshan region of Sichuan 
Province. The manager of the Hualian Electronics factory where the 
children were found was quoted as explaining that due to a surge in 
orders, they used a labor dispatch company to hire temporary workers. 
However, the dispatch company provided the under-age workers with fake 
identity cards. According to the report, the dispatch company took a 
large percentage of the wages paid to the underage workers.
    The law specifies administrative review, fines, and revocation of 
business licenses of those businesses that illegally hire minors and 
provides that underage children found working should be returned to 
their parents or other custodians in their original place of residence. 
However, a significant gap remained between legislation and 
implementation. Workers between the ages of 16 and 18 were referred to 
as ``juvenile workers'' and were prohibited from engaging in certain 
forms of physical work, including in mines.
    NGOs continued to report some use of child labor in factories 
producing for export. There continued to be some reports that schools 
supplied factories with illegal child labor under the pretext of 
vocational training. There were reports that spot labor shortages, 
rising wage levels, and more demands made by adult workers, compounded 
by continued fierce competition, induced some small enterprises to run 
the risk of hiring child labor and some local authorities to ignore 
this practice to protect against employers moving to other areas.
    International NGOs issued reports of child labor in the PRD, 
although the cases appeared to be the result of faked documents rather 
than a concerted effort on the part of employers to hire underage 
workers. In July a report by the Hong Kong-based NGO Students and 
Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior accused a Shenzhen factory 
producing for three foreign firms of employing a 14-year-old.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no national minimum 
wage, but the labor law requires local and provincial governments to 
set their own minimum wage according to standards promulgated by the 
MOHRSS. Monthly minimum wages varied greatly with Shenzhen, Guangdong 
Province, the highest at 1,320 RMB ($207) and towns in remote Ningxia 
Province the lowest at 750 RMB ($118). During the year the country 
increased its ``rural poverty level'' to 192 RMB per month ($30). These 
laws apply to all workers. The regulation states that labor and social 
security bureaus at or above the county level are responsible for 
enforcement of the law. It provides that where the ACFTU finds an 
employer in violation of the regulation, it shall have the power to 
demand that the relevant labor bureaus deal with the case.
    The labor law mandates a 40-hour standard workweek, excluding 
overtime, and a 24-hour weekly rest period. It also prohibits overtime 
work in excess of three hours per day or 36 hours per month and 
mandates premium pay for overtime work. However, in practice compliance 
with the law was weak, and standards were regularly violated. While 
excessive overtime still occurred, in many cases migrant workers 
encouraged noncompliance by requesting greater amounts of overtime to 
increase their overall wages.
    The State Administration for Work Safety (SAWS) sets and enforces 
occupational health and safety regulations. The work safety law states 
that employees have the right, after finding an emergency situation 
that threatens their personal safety, to evacuate the workplace. 
Employers are forbidden to cancel the labor contracts or reduce the 
wages or benefits of any employee who takes such action.
    In June SAWS issued a regulation providing that companies will be 
held primarily responsible for accidents and will bear legal liability 
for covering up or filing fraudulent reports. Submitting accident 
reports more than one hour after discovering the accident is considered 
an act of cover up, while deliberately giving false information about 
an accident, such as the time, place, cause, nature, casualties, people 
at risk and direct economic loss, is considered lying about the 
accident. Companies that violate the regulation will have their 
operations suspended or will be deprived of business certificates and 
licenses. The regulation also includes detailed measures to protect 
fraud informants, including privacy clauses that prevent the identities 
of informants from being disclosed.
    While many labor laws and regulations on worker safety are fully 
compatible with international standards, implementation and enforcement 
were generally poor due to a lack of adequate resources. Inadequately 
enforced labor laws and occupational health and safety laws and 
regulations continued to put workers' livelihoods, health, and safety 
at risk.
    In practice almost all local and provincial governments raised 
minimum wage levels significantly during the year, as a result of 
changing economic and demographic conditions. Additionally, increased 
economic activity, spot shortages of skilled labor, increased inland 
investment, and successful strikes led to generally increased wage 
levels for workers in all parts of the country. A decrease in the 
migration of workers into Guangdong contributed to a changing factory 
workforce that was older and more likely to be married and have 
children. As the tenure of the PRD's workers continued to increase, 
their skills improved, adding additional upward pressure on wages.
    Wage disputes and nonpayment of wages remained a problem in many 
areas. Governments at various levels continued efforts to prevent 
arrears and recover payment of missing wages and insurance 
contributions.
    Acceptable working conditions questions continued to plague 
electronics manufacturers such as Foxconn, which opened manufacturing 
operations in Chengdu to take advantage of lower labor costs. The 
Chengdu government, together with Foxconn, pursued an aggressive search 
for employees for the new plant. On May 20, three workers were killed 
and 15 injured in an explosion in a polishing workshop; in March a Hong 
Kong-based labor rights organization had documented unsafe working 
conditions at the shop.
    Interviews with employees in March and April by the same Hong Kong 
labor rights organization revealed that while overtime work was 
voluntary, employees felt it was necessary in order to earn a living.
    On June 10, the mistreatment of a pregnant migrant worker at the 
hands of local government security personnel triggered several days of 
rioting in Zengcheng, Guangdong Province. The woman was reportedly 
selling jeans in the evening at an informal stall she had set up. 
Rumors that she had been killed or had lost the child she was carrying 
triggered violent protests by migrant laborers in the area. The 
government deployed riot police to control more than 1,000 migrant 
demonstrators who gathered in front of the offices of local government 
officials, restricting access to the city in the process.
    The June migrant worker riots in Zengcheng and Chaozhou prompted 
the Guangdong Provincial Communist Party Committee to pass the 
``Decision on Strengthening Social Construction'' on July 13, as an 
effort to better address the social dislocation facing migrant workers. 
The document called on government authorities to better absorb migrant 
workers through grassroots organizations or employment as civil 
servants and said that the province's people's congresses and CPPCC 
should also allow migrant workers to be members.
    The Institute for Global and Human Rights, formerly the National 
Labor Committee, issued a report in March claiming that a plastics and 
hardware product company in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, denied 
workers appropriate days off, sometimes requiring them to work 30 days 
per month, did not use available safety devices in order to increase 
production, resulting in at least four employees losing fingers over 
the past three years, and did not provide training to new workers prior 
to using dangerous equipment.
    According to the State Administration for Coal Mine Safety (SACMS), 
there was a 20.4 percent drop in the number of coal mine accidents 
during the first seven months of the year. The number of people killed 
in coal mine accidents during the period dropped by 31 percent from a 
year earlier to 1,083 deaths.
    SAWS and the U.S. Department of Labor engaged in a Mine Safety 
Exchange Program to promote the development of improved safety 
procedures and protocols. In November 2010 SACMS ordered all mines to 
complete the installation of new facilities, including coal mine 
monitoring equipment, pressure fans, water supplies, and communications 
systems, to improve coal mine safety. Despite the drop in mortality 
rates and the regulations imposed by SACMS, significant mine safety 
problems remained.
    During the summer more than 80 coal and iron ore miners were 
trapped underground following incidents at four separate mines. More 
than 50 miners were trapped in two separate mine incidents in Shandong 
Province following a fire at a coal mine and a flooded shaft at an iron 
ore mine. A dozen miners were trapped following a cave-in at a coal 
mine in Dalian, Liaoning Province, and 23 miners were trapped in a 
flooded coal mine in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guizhou 
Province. In late June eight miners were killed and five injured when 
an illegal iron ore mine in Fujian Province's Yongding County 
collapsed. According to government officials, who were made aware of 
the accident by local residents, police detained one of the mine's 
owners who had tried to flee after the incident.
    In early July heavy rains caused the Heshan mine in Guangxi Region 
to collapse, killing 22 of the 71 miners inside. Coal mine safety 
advocates claimed that the company, which operated 19 other coal mines, 
required the miners to work underground despite the heavy rains and the 
known risk of a cave-in. The incident prompted Guangxi authorities to 
order inspections of coal mines to determine whether they were safe to 
operate in heavy rains. On August 23, a flood in a coal mine in Qitaihe 
City, Heilongjiang Province, killed four people.
    Other coalmine accidents may have been covered up and 
underreported. For example, in April two coalmine gas explosions 
occurred and a total of 18 people were killed in Xuanwei City, Yunnan 
Province. Domestic media reported that the local coalmine industry 
authority tried to help the mines cover up one of the accidents. Local 
residents also reported that four people died and two were injured 
during an April 24 flood in a coal mine in Shuangyashan City, 
Heilongjiang. The mine owner did not report the accident to local 
authorities. On April 26, a gas explosion in a coal mine in Jixi City, 
Heilongjiang, killed nine workers. The owner of the coal mine attempted 
to cover up the accident by hiding the corpses. He later turned himself 
in after the police placed him on the wanted list.
    Data from the Ministry of Health showed that occupational diseases 
and hazardous workplaces remained challenges. According to the 
ministry, 27,240 occupational illness cases were reported in 2010; 
23,812 were pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, and more than 80 
percent of the victims were classified as migrant workers. Official 
data also showed that 37.8 percent of the victims did not receive 
compensation. An NGO report revealed that people claiming to have an 
occupational disease had to follow a medical and legal process that 
took, on average, three years and 54 days to complete.

                               __________

                                 Tibet

                           executive summary
    The United States recognizes the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and 
Tibetan autonomous prefectures and counties in other provinces to be a 
part of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Chinese Communist 
Party (CCP) Central Committee's United Front Work Department, headed by 
Du Qinglin since late 2007, oversees the PRC's Tibet policies. As in 
other predominantly minority areas of the PRC, ethnic Han CCP members 
hold almost all top government, police, and military positions in the 
TAR and other Tibetan areas. Ultimate authority rests with the 25-
member Political Bureau (Politburo) of the CCP and its nine-member 
Standing Committee in Beijing. Chen Quanguo succeeded Zhang Qingli as 
TAR Party Secretary on August 25. Civilian authorities generally 
maintained effective control of the security forces.
    The TAR and other Tibetan areas continued to be under increasingly 
intense and formalized systems of controls, many of which appeared to 
be aimed at facilitating enforcement of ``social stability'' and 
undermining the religious authority of the Dalai Lama. The government's 
attempts to assert control over all aspects of Tibetan Buddhist 
monastic and religious practice through such means as compulsory 
``patriotic education'' and ``legal education'' campaigns at 
monasteries, compulsory denunciation of the Dalai Lama, establishing 
permanent CCP and security personnel presence at monasteries, and 
taking over the identification and training of reincarnated lamas 
(tulku), provoked acts of resistance among the Tibetan population, who 
saw it as a threat to the foundations of Tibet's distinct religious, 
linguistic, and cultural identity. These acts of resistance, in turn, 
led to enhanced attempts by PRC authorities to maintain control, thus 
creating cycles of repression that resulted in increasingly desperate 
acts by Tibetans, such as a series of self-immolations by Tibetan 
Buddhist clergy and laypersons in China's Tibetan areas.
    There was severe repression of the freedoms of speech, religion, 
association, and movement. Authorities continued to commit serious 
human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, 
arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial detentions, and house arrests. The 
preservation and development of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, and 
linguistic heritage and unique high plateau environment remained a 
concern. As in prior years, authorities intensified controls over 
speech, travel, assembly, and religious practice in the TAR and other 
Tibetan areas prior to and during politically sensitive dates, such as 
the third anniversary of the March 2008 protests and riots in Tibetan 
areas, the observance of ``Serf Emancipation Day'' on March 28 (see 
Academic Freedom and Protection of Cultural Heritage), the 90th 
anniversary of the founding of the CCP on July 1, and the 60th 
anniversary of the ``peaceful liberation'' of Tibet on July 19. The 
government strictly controlled information about, and access to, the 
TAR and Tibetan areas outside the TAR, making it difficult to determine 
accurately the scope of human rights abuses.
    The consequences of the 2008 protests continued to affect the human 
rights situation in Tibetan regions of the PRC. People's Armed Police 
(PAP) presence remained at high levels in many communities across the 
Tibetan Plateau. In March all major monasteries in the TAR and other 
Tibetan areas outside of the TAR were guarded by security forces, and 
many shops in Lhasa closed March 14 to mark the anniversary of the 
demonstrations and police crackdown. Students and monks in several 
areas were detained after reportedly demanding freedom and human rights 
and expressing their support for the Dalai Lama.

    Deprivation of Life.--There were reports that the government or its 
agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings; however, it was not 
possible to verify independently all of these reports. There were no 
reports that officials investigated or punished those responsible for 
such killings.
    According to sources cited by the International Campaign for Tibet, 
on December 9, police beat to death Chonjor, a Tibetan man in his 
twenties in Xiahe (Sangchu), Gansu Province, reportedly in a case of 
mistaken identity. Authorities reportedly paid his family one million 
RMB (approximately $158,000) as compensation.
    Jampa Pelsang (also known as Puloe), one of several Ganden 
Monastery monks imprisoned for reportedly defying a ``patriotic 
education'' campaign implemented by the TAR government in 1996, was 
released from Qushui (Chushur) Prison May 6, reportedly in grave 
physical condition, and died at his home on May 23.
    Trinley, a native of Ganzi (Kardze) County, Ganzi (Kardze) Tibetan 
Autonomous Prefecture (TAP), died August 10, reportedly due to injuries 
sustained from severe beatings he endured during seven months in 
custody following his 2009 detention for participating in protests in 
Ganzi.

    Disappearance.--Jigme Guri, a Tibetan Buddhist monk from Labrang 
Monastery in southern Gansu Province, reportedly was taken into police 
custody on August 25. His whereabouts and the charges against him were 
unknown at year's end. In 2008 Jigme Guri recorded a YouTube video 
detailing abuses he allegedly suffered at the hands of prison officials 
during previous detentions. By his own account, the prison beatings 
left him unconscious for six days and required two hospitalizations.
    The whereabouts of the Panchen Lama, Gedun Choekyi Nyima, Tibetan 
Buddhism's second-most prominent figure after the Dalai Lama, remained 
unknown. In 2010, a government official in Tibet stated that Gedun 
Choekyi Nyima was ``living a very good life in Tibet'' and that he and 
his family ``want to live an ordinary life.''

    Torture and Other Cruel and Degrading Treatment.--According to the 
PRC's constitution, ``the State respects and protects human rights.'' 
In practice, however, judges cannot apply the constitution in court 
cases since its interpretation is reserved exclusively to the Standing 
Committee of the National People's Congress. PRC law prohibits torture 
and the unlawful taking of life. China signed and ratified the U.N. 
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment but made a reservation on Article 20 that 
exempts it from accepting investigations of abuse allegations.
    The police and prison authorities in Tibetan areas employed torture 
and degrading treatment in dealing with some detainees and prisoners.

    Torture.--Tibetans returned from Nepal reportedly suffered torture 
while incarcerated or otherwise in official custody, including electric 
shocks, exposure to cold, and severe beatings, as well as being forced 
to perform heavy physical labor. Security forces routinely subjected 
prisoners to ``political investigation'' sessions and punished them if 
they were deemed insufficiently loyal to the state.
    According to the Dharamsala-based Tibetan Center for Human Rights 
and Democracy (TCHRD), on March 16, police severely beat Phuntsog, a 
monk at Kirti Monastery in Aba (Ngaba), Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous 
Prefecture (T&QAP), Sichuan Province, after he set himself on fire. 
Phuntsog succumbed to his injuries the next day, after which up to 
1,000 local Tibetans reportedly staged a peaceful protest that was 
violently suppressed by the PAP. A series of 12 reported self-
immolations by Tibetan Buddhist clergy and laypersons followed during 
the year. Eight of the 12 Tibetans who self-immolated were affiliated 
with Kirti and other monasteries located in Aba (Ngaba), T&QAP, Sichuan 
Province, where repression was particularly intense. Of the remaining 
four self-immolations, three took place in Ganzi (Kardze) TAP, Qinghai 
Province, and one in the TAR.
    On July 25, the Tibet Post International (an online publication of 
Tibetan journalists in exile) reported that Wangchuk, a political 
activist from Qinghai Province, was diagnosed with brain damage 
following his June 8 release from prison after serving a three-year 
sentence for separatist activities. Wangchuk reportedly was arrested in 
2008 for planning to demonstrate with a Tibetan flag outside a 
monastery.
    According to the TCHRD, Sonam Choedon, a nun detained after 
participating in a 2008 protest at Pangri-Na Nunnery in Lhoba Township, 
Ganzi (Kardze) County, Ganzi (Kardze)TAP, was released from detention 
in October 2010, reportedly suffering from severe mental disability 
after having been pistol whipped in detention.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--In 2009 the deputy 
director of the TAR Justice Bureau told a foreign diplomat that there 
were 3,000 prisoners in the five TAR prisons, which are separate from 
the Reform Through Labor (RTL) system.
    According to numerous sources, political prisoners in Tibetan areas 
endured unsanitary conditions and often had little opportunity to wash 
or bathe. Many prisoners slept on the floor without blankets or sheets. 
Former detainees reported being confined side by side with 20 to 30 
cellmates for many days. In addition prison authorities banned 
religious observances.
    Former detainees reported that prisoners were not provided with 
enough food. According to sources, prisoners rarely received medical 
care unless they had a serious illness. Former detainees also 
complained that they often failed to receive money, food, clothing, and 
books sent by their families because such items routinely were 
confiscated by prison guards.
    According to local sources in Lhagong Township, Kangding (Dardo) 
County, Ganzi (Kardze)TAP, Yondan Gyatso, a 30-year-old monk, was 
released to his family in early 2010 following three months of 
detention. Blind, deaf, and unable to walk or remember anything at the 
time of his release, Yondan Gyatso reportedly recovered some memory but 
remained severely disabled following his ordeal. Local Tibetans who 
know the monk suspected that authorities used psychoactive drugs that 
resulted in permanent physical and mental damage. There were other 
reports of suspected abuse of psychiatric drugs with detainees in 
Tibetan areas.

    Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Arbitrary arrest and detention 
continued to be a problem in Tibetan areas. With a detention warrant, 
police legally may detain persons for up to 37 days without formally 
arresting or charging them. Police must notify the relatives or 
employer of a detained person within 24 hours of the detention. 
Following the 37-day period, police must either formally arrest or 
release the detainee. In practice, police frequently violated these 
requirements. Many prisoners were subject to the RTL system operated by 
the Ministry of Public Security or to other forms of detention not 
subject to judicial review.
    During the sustained official crackdown on the Kirti Monastery in 
Sichuan's Aba (Ngaba) County following the self-immolation of a Tibetan 
monk there in March, authorities forcibly removed hundreds of monks 
from the monastery, sending some back to their hometowns and detaining 
others. The several hundred monks who remained in the monastery were 
required to spend months participating in small-group ``legal 
education'' sessions led by approximately 100 government officials.

    Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Legal safeguards for Tibetans 
detained or imprisoned were inadequate in both design and 
implementation. In 2009 a TAR Justice Bureau official claimed that all 
seven city- and prefectural-level administrative divisions in the TAR 
had established legal assistance centers that offered services in the 
Tibetan language. Prisoners had the right to request a meeting with a 
government-appointed attorney, but in practice many defendants, 
particularly political defendants, did not have access to legal 
representation. During the year the heads of the TAR Legal Affairs 
Committee, Justice Department, Procuratorate, and Public Security 
Department were all ethnic Han.

    Trial Procedures.--In cases that authorities claimed involved 
``endangering state security'' or ``separatism,'' trials often were 
cursory and closed. Authorities denied multiple requests from foreign 
diplomats to observe the trials of those charged with crimes related to 
the 2008 unrest. Authorities sentenced Tibetans for alleged support of 
Tibetan independence regardless of whether they were alleged to have 
committed violent acts.
    According to the Tibet Daily (the official TAR Party newspaper), 
the TAR was implementing a policy of strengthening the CCP's management 
of lawyers in the region to ensure their work was carried out ``in the 
correct direction.'' According to an April 18 Tibet Daily article, as 
of 2009 there were 17 law firms and 101 attorneys in the TAR, as well 
as 72 government law offices operating under the direct supervision of 
the TAR Justice Bureau. Of the 17 law firms, 11 had their own CCP 
committee and six shared a CCP committee with the Justice Bureau in 
their prefecture. As is required throughout the PRC, a CCP development 
leader was assigned to law firms that had no party organization.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--An unknown number of Tibetans 
were detained, arrested, and/or sentenced as a result of their 
political or religious activity. Many prisoners were held in 
extrajudicial RTL prisons and never appeared in public court.
    Based on information available from the U.S. Congressional-
Executive Commission on China's (CECC) political prisoner database, as 
of September 1, 527 Tibetan political prisoners were imprisoned in 
Tibetan areas. The actual number of Tibetan political prisoners and 
detainees was believed to be much higher, but the lack of access to 
prisoners and prisons, as well as the dearth of reliable official 
statistics, made this impossible to determine. An unknown number of 
prisoners continued to be held under the RTL system. Of the 527 Tibetan 
political prisoners tracked by the CECC, 483 were ethnic Tibetans 
detained on or after March 10, 2008, and 44 were Tibetans detained 
prior to March 10, 2008. Of the 483 Tibetan political prisoners who 
were detained on or after March 10, 2008, 264 were believed or presumed 
to be detained or imprisoned in Sichuan Province; 160 in the TAR, 23 in 
Gansu Province, 34 in Qinghai Province, one in the Xinjiang Uighur 
Autonomous Region, and one in Beijing Municipality. There were 113 
persons serving known sentences, which ranged from 1+ years to life 
imprisonment; the average sentence length was seven years and two 
months. Of the 113 persons serving known sentences, 62 were monks, 
nuns, or Tibetan Buddhist teachers.
    On August 30, Xinhua News Agency reported that the Ma'erkang 
(Barkham) People's Court located in Aba (Ngaba), T&QAP convicted three 
monks from the Kirti Monastery of ``intentional homicide'' in relation 
to the March self-immolation of Phuntsog (see Torture and Other Cruel 
and Degrading Treatment above). The court sentenced Tsering, Tenzin, 
and Tenchum to 13 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for allegedly 
instigating and assisting Phuntsog's self-immolation. In a separate 
trial, another Kirti monk, Phuntsog's uncle Drongdru, was sentenced to 
11 years in prison on similar charges.
    A number of monks were sentenced to prison terms in the lead-up to 
and during the politically sensitive period when China celebrated the 
90th anniversary of the founding of the CCP on July 1 and the 60th 
anniversary of the ``peaceful liberation'' of Tibet on July 19. Several 
of the monks were from Kirti Monastery.
    According to TCHRD, eight monks (Karma Samten, Jigtak, Sherab, Gaya 
Tashi, Urgen Samten, Karma Soepa, Karma Monlam, and Dosam) from Surmang 
Monastery, Nangchen County, Yushu (Yulshul) TAP, Qinghai Province, were 
arrested July 12 for refusing to celebrate the CCP anniversary. The 
eight reportedly were detained and taken to Nangchen County Police 
Detention Center after approximately 300 monks walked out of a 
mandatory ``legal education'' meeting convened by county and PSB 
officials at the monastery.
    TCHRD reported that on July 10, PSB officials severely beat and 
took into custody three young men--Lobsang Phuntsok, Samphel Dhondup, 
and Lobsang Lhundup--all students in Dhargye Norzin Village, Ganzi 
(Kardze) County, Ganzi (Kardze)TAP, who shouted slogans and distributed 
pamphlets that contained the phrases ``Freedom in Tibet,'' ``Bring Back 
the Dalai Lama,'' and ``May the Dalai Lama and all Tibetans Unite 
Soon'' at Ganzi (Kardze) County market in Ganzi (Kardze) TAP. According 
to TCHRD, a Ganzi (Kardze) County court sentenced Samphel Dhondup to 
three years in prison on August 20 and released Lobgsang Phuntsok and 
Lobgsang Lhundup the same day.
    According to human rights groups, the Aba (Ngaba) County Court 
sentenced two Kirti Monastery monks, Lobsang Dhargye and Kunchok 
Tsultrim, to three-year prison terms in May. Although the charges 
against the two monks were unknown, Lobsang Dhargye had previously been 
detained for five months after appearing on film participating in the 
March 2008 protests.

    Status of Freedom of Speech and Press.--Freedom of Speech.--
Tibetans who spoke to foreign reporters, attempted to relay information 
to foreigners outside the country, or communicated information 
regarding protests or other expressions of discontent through cell 
phones, e-mail, or the Internet were subject to harassment or 
detention. The whereabouts of 59 individuals convicted in 2009 for 
``creating and spreading rumors'' after the 2008 unrest remained 
unknown. Lhasa residents reported they avoided sensitive topics even in 
private conversations in their own homes.
    According to reports, Tibetan writer Kalsang Tsultrim was sentenced 
on December 30 to four years' imprisonment by the Kanlho Intermediate 
People's Court, Gansu Province, for releasing a video message with 
political content.

    Freedom of Press.--The government severely restricted travel by 
foreign journalists to Tibetan areas. The entire TAR was closed to 
foreigners in the lead-up to and during the politically sensitive month 
of July, when the PRC celebrated the 90th anniversary of the founding 
of the CCP on July 1 and the 60th anniversary of the ``peaceful 
liberation'' of Tibet on July 19. Foreign journalists reported they 
could gain access to the TAR only by participating in highly structured 
government-organized tours, where the constant presence of government 
minders made independent reporting difficult. Outside the TAR, foreign 
journalists frequently were expelled from Tibetan areas despite 
government rules, adopted in 2008, which stated that foreign 
journalists did not need the permission of local authorities to conduct 
reporting.
    On June 11, the ``All-China Project Everest Conference on Sweeping 
Out Pornographic and Illegal Publications'' was held in Lhasa. The 
conference highlighted the achievements of ``Project Everest,'' which 
was initiated in 2009 to crack down on publications in the TAR and 
other Tibetan areas that contained content related to Tibetan 
independence.
    The government continued to jam radio broadcasts of Voice of 
America's (VOA) and Radio Free Asia's (RFA) Tibetan- and Chinese-
language services in some Tibetan areas, as well as the overseas-based 
Voice of Tibet. In Tibetan areas of southern Gansu Province and the 
Ganzi (Kardze) TAP in Sichuan Province police confiscated or destroyed 
satellite dishes suspected of receiving VOA Tibetan-language television 
as well as VOA and RFA audio satellite channels. Some dishes were 
replaced with government-controlled cable television systems. Some 
Tibetans reported they were able to listen to overseas Tibetan-language 
radio and television broadcasts through the Internet.
    In June official news media reported that the Lhasa City Radio and 
Television Bureau confiscated 100 illegal satellite dishes in Lhasa. 
Tibetan sources confirmed that such official seizures were common 
across the TAR and Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and Yunnan 
provinces.
    Domestic journalists generally did not report on repression in 
Tibetan areas, and the postings of bloggers who did so were promptly 
censored, and their authors sometimes faced punishment. Official media 
rarely referred to unrest in Tibetan areas, although some official 
publications targeting the overseas Chinese community published 
articles blaming the ``Dalai clique'' and other ``outside forces'' for 
instigating the Tibetan self-immolations. Journalists who worked for 
the domestic press were tightly controlled and could be hired and fired 
on the basis of political reliability. For example, on March 19, the 
Lhasa Daily contained an advertisement from the Tibet Justice Daily, 
which was seeking five new reporters. According to the advertisement, 
applicants had to meet five conditions, the first of which was that 
they must support the CCP party line, principles and policies, 
safeguard national unity, and be politically steadfast.

    Violence and Harassment.--On July 5, PSB officers reportedly 
removed writer Pema Rinchen from his home in Luhuo (Draggo) County, 
Ganzi (Kardze) TAP. He was brought the next day to the county hospital 
for emergency treatment for injuries sustained during severe beatings 
while in police custody. Pema Rinchen had self-published a book in 
January entitled Look. The book included interviews with Tibetans who 
had been arrested and tortured in connection with the 2008 protests, as 
well as criticism of government policies, including the official 
suppression of the 2008 protests and the official response to the April 
2010 earthquake in Yushu (Yulshul) TAP, Qinghai Province.

    Internet Freedom.--Cellular phone and Internet service in the TAR 
and Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu provinces were 
curtailed during politically sensitive periods, such as the March 
anniversaries of the 2008 protests and ``Serf Liberation Day'' (see 
Academic Freedom and Protection of Cultural Heritage) and the July 
anniversaries of the founding of the CCP and the ``peaceful 
liberation'' of Tibet. In addition many Web sites were shut down and 
Internet cafes closely monitored during major religious, cultural, and 
political festivals in Tibetan areas.
    Official censorship greatly hampered the development of Tibetan-
language Internet sites. Although government-funded projects designed 
to improve Tibetan-language computer interfaces made Tibetan language 
computing easier, security agencies responsible for monitoring the 
Internet often lacked the language skills necessary to monitor Tibetan 
content. As a result, Tibetan-language blogs and Web sites were subject 
to indiscriminate censorship, with entire sites closed down even when 
the content did not appear to touch on sensitive topics. The popular 
social media microblogging site QQ in 2009 ceased permitting users to 
log on in Tibetan.
    Official media reported that the Internet Security Supervision 
Detachment of the Lhasa PSB required the owners of 104 Lhasa Internet 
cafes to attend an April 29 ``Internet Cafe Security Management'' 
meeting, where they had to sign a ``responsibility document'' pledging 
to ensure Internet security. The stated purpose of the meeting was to 
``purify the Internet, safeguard national security and ensure social 
stability'' in the lead-up to and during the dual celebrations in July 
(i.e., the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CCP and the 60th 
anniversary of the ``peaceful liberation'' of Tibet). Also in April, 
law enforcement officials in Changdu (Chamdo) County, TAR, raided 15 
Internet cafes, confiscating equipment that promoted illegal 
``separatist'' or ``Tibet independence'' content.
    In August, following the self-immolation of monk Tsewang Norbu in 
Tawu (Daofu), Ganzi(Kardze) TAP, local authorities cut off all Internet 
and text-messaging services in the area.
    Most foreign Tibet-related Web sites critical of official policy in 
Tibetan areas were blocked to users in China throughout the year.
    Tibet activists inside and outside of China have been harassed by 
well-organized computer-hacking attacks originating from within China, 
according to a foreign-based study group.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Authorities in Tibetan areas 
required professors and students at institutions of higher education to 
attend political education sessions in an effort to prevent 
``separatist'' political and religious activities on campus. Ethnic 
Tibetan academics were frequently encouraged to participate in 
government propaganda efforts, such as by making public speeches 
supporting government policies or accepting interviews by official 
media. Academics who failed to cooperate with such efforts faced 
diminished prospects for promotion. Academics in the PRC who publicly 
criticized CCP policies on Tibetan affairs faced official reprisal. The 
government controlled curricula, texts, and other course materials as 
well as the publication of historically or politically sensitive 
academic books. Authorities frequently denied permission to Tibetan 
academics to travel overseas for conferences and academic or cultural 
exchanges.
    In a January speech, the director of the TAR Academy of Social 
Sciences called on the academy to serve as the TAR Party Committee's 
think tank and as a strong ideological force for fighting separatism 
and exposing the ``Dalai clique.'' At a January 16 meeting in Lhasa 
chaired by then TAR Party Secretary Zhang Qingli to discuss propaganda 
priorities for the year, TAR Party and government leaders were urged to 
continue to criticize the ``Dalai clique,'' investigate and prevent the 
influx of toxic cultural influences, and promote such themes as 
``communism, socialism, and the People's Liberation Army are good'' and 
``love the Party and the motherland.''
    In an opinion piece published in official media in January, the 
director of the TAR State Security Bureau called for the development of 
Tibet's tourism and cultural industries to combat the weakening of 
national identity and other ``negative'' effects of placing ``too much 
emphasis on the promotion of Buddhist religious faith.''
    Policies promoting planned urban economic growth, rapid 
infrastructure development, the influx of non-Tibetans to traditionally 
Tibetan areas, the expansion of the tourism industry, the forced 
resettlement of nomads and farmers, and the weakening of Tibetan-
language education at the middle and high school levels continued to 
disrupt traditional living patterns and customs.
    From December 2010 to February 2011, authorities in Lhasa launched 
another in a series of annual winter ``Strike Hard'' campaigns. 
According to official reports, in the early days of the campaign, 
approximately 575 police raided more than 1,262 guest houses, Internet 
cafes, entertainment centers, and bars, while 300 police raided Lhasa 
schools. Although ostensibly an anti-crime operation, police searched 
private homes, guest houses, hotels, bars, and Internet cafes for 
photographs of the Dalai Lama and other politically forbidden items. 
Police examined the cell phones of Lhasa residents to search for 
``reactionary music'' from India and photographs of the Dalai Lama. 
Reportedly, even certain ringtones were deemed subversive and could 
lead to detention.
    On March 28, the TAR marked its third annual observance of ``Serf 
Emancipation Day,'' commemorating the day in 1959 that China's rulers 
formally dissolved the Kashag, the Tibetan local government. During the 
official celebration, government officials and representatives from 
rural villages and monasteries were required to denounce the Dalai 
Lama.
    Some observers expressed concern that development projects and 
other central government policies disproportionately benefited non-
Tibetans and resulted in a considerable influx of ethnic Han and Hui 
people into the TAR. Infrastructure upgrades such as improved roads, 
more frequent air service, and the TAR-Qinghai railway, which made 
travel more affordable, increased the frequency with which non-Tibetans 
from other parts of the PRC visited the TAR. According to the official 
Xinhua News Agency, in 2006 there were 180,000 ethnic Han with 
household registration in the TAR. According to an official TAR report, 
by 2011 this number had increased to 245,000. Many people from outside 
the TAR who had spent years living in the TAR maintained their official 
registration in another province and thus were not counted as TAR 
residents.
    Even in areas officially designated as ``autonomous,'' Tibetans 
generally lacked the right to play a meaningful role in the protection 
of their cultural heritage and unique natural environment and faced 
arrest and intimidation if they protested against mining or other 
industrial activities that they felt were harmful to the environment or 
sacred sites. In November 2010, 15 Tibetans, including five monks from 
nearby Lingka Monastery, were detained, and several others injured when 
armed riot police and PSB officials were dispatched to suppress 
hundreds of Tibetans who attempted to disrupt operations at the 
controversial Xietongmen (Shethongmon) copper-mining project near 
Rikaze (Shigatse), TAR. The detained monks, Khenpo Kelsang, Jamyang 
Tsering, Tsewang Dorje, Rigzin Pema, and Jamyang Rigsang, reportedly 
were taken to detention centers in Xietongmen (Shethongmon) and Rikaze 
(Shigatse).
    Tibetan and Mandarin Chinese are official languages in the TAR, and 
both languages appeared on some, but not all, public and commercial 
signs. Inside official buildings and businesses, including banks, post 
offices, and hospitals, signage in Tibetan was frequently lacking, and 
in many instances, forms and documents were available only in Mandarin. 
Mandarin was widely spoken and was used for most official 
communications. In many rural and nomadic areas, children received only 
one to three years of Tibetan-language education before continuing 
their education in a Mandarin-language school. According to official 
figures, the illiteracy rate among youth and working-age adults fell 
from 30.9 percent in 2003 to 1.2 percent in 2011. Many observers 
questioned that figure, and some contended that the actual illiteracy 
rate among Tibetan youth and working-age adults was between 40 and 50 
percent.
    The Tibetan-language curriculum for primary and middle schools in 
Tibetan areas was predominantly translated directly from the standard 
national Mandarin-language curriculum, offering Tibetan students very 
little insight into their own culture and history. Few elementary 
schools in Tibetan areas used Tibetan as the primary language of 
instruction. In Kangding (Dardo), Ganzi (Kardze) TAP, elementary 
schools did not offer instruction in Tibetan. Despite guarantees of 
cultural and linguistic rights, in middle and high schools--even some 
officially designated as Tibetan-language schools--Tibetan was usually 
used only to teach classes on Tibetan language, literature, and 
culture, and all other classes were taught in Mandarin. Of more than 15 
middle and high schools in Aba (Ngaba), T&QAP, Sichuan Province, only 
three schools taught primarily in Tibetan. Early in the year, the TAR 
government launched an effort to strengthen free compulsory bilingual 
preschool education in rural areas by establishing 217 bilingual 
kindergartens in the region. Qinghai Province and Ganzi (Kardze) TAP 
and Aba (Ngaba), T&QAP in Sichuan Province announced similar programs 
during the year.
    Proficiency in Mandarin was essential to qualify for higher 
education in the PRC. China's most prestigious universities provided no 
instruction in Tibetan or other ethnic minority languages. 
``Nationalities'' universities, established to serve ethnic minority 
students and ethnic Han students interested in ethnic minority 
subjects, only offered Tibetan-language instruction in courses focused 
on the study of the Tibetan language or culture and were widely 
considered to offer a lower quality education overall. Since Tibetan-
language instruction was not offered in other higher-education 
subjects, there was a dearth of technically trained and qualified 
ethnic Tibetans, and jobs in Tibetan areas that required technical 
skills and qualifications were typically filled by migrants from other 
areas of China. Tibetan Buddhist monks, in some cases the leading 
scholars on Tibetan studies, were barred from teaching at universities 
due to their religious office and lack of academic credentials 
recognized by the Ministry of Education.
    See the Department of State's International Religious Freedom 
Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

    Freedom of Movement.--The law provides for freedom of movement 
within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation; 
however, in practice, the government severely restricted travel and 
freedom of movement of ethnic Tibetans.

    In-country Movement.--Freedom of movement, particularly for monks 
and nuns, was severely limited within Lhasa and throughout the TAR, as 
well as in Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces. 
Anecdotal evidence indicated this was less of a problem in Tibetan 
areas of Yunnan Province, where Tibetans made up only one quarter of 
the population, and rarely protested against government policies. The 
PAP and local PSBs set up roadblocks and checkpoints on major roads, in 
cities, and on the outskirts of cities and monasteries, particularly 
around sensitive dates. Tibetans traveling in monastic attire were 
subject to extra scrutiny by police at roadside checkpoints. Several 
Tibetan monks reported that it remained difficult to travel outside 
their home monasteries, with officials frequently denying permission 
for visiting monks to stay temporarily at a particular monastery for 
religious education.
    Non-ethnic Tibetan Buddhist monks, particularly ethnic Han, were 
allowed only temporary visits to Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. Local 
religious affairs authorities often prohibited ethnic Han or foreign 
Tibetan Buddhists from staying in monasteries for long-term study.

    Foreign Travel.--Many Tibetans, particularly prominent religious 
and cultural figures, scholars, and activists, as well as those from 
rural areas, reported increased difficulties in obtaining new or 
renewing existing passports. Some attributed this to what they believed 
to be official attempts to limit Tibetan attendance at Buddhist 
teaching conferences (Kalachakra) convened by the Dalai Lama. Some 
Tibetans reported they were able to obtain passports only after having 
paid substantial bribes or making promises not to travel to India. In 
other cases, Tibetan students with scholarships to foreign universities 
were precluded from study abroad because authorities refused to issue 
them passports. Some monks from Tibetan areas of Yunnan Province who 
left the PRC for India without proper documentation reported being able 
to return on a limited basis and then allowed to leave again for India.
    Tibetans continued to encounter substantial difficulties and 
obstacles in traveling to India for religious, educational, and other 
purposes. According to reports, ethnic Tibetan government and CCP 
cadres in the TAR and Ganzi (Kardze) TAP were not allowed to send their 
children to study abroad. Tight border controls sharply limited the 
number of persons crossing the border into Nepal and India. During the 
year 739 Tibetan refugees transited Nepal through the Tibetan Reception 
Center run by the U.N. High Commission for Refugees in Kathmandu en 
route to permanent settlement in India, down from 874 in 2010 and 2,156 
in 2007.
    The government restricted the movement of Tibetans in the lead-up 
to and during sensitive anniversaries and events and increased controls 
over border areas at these times. There were reports of arbitrary 
detentions of persons, particularly monks and nuns, returning from 
India and Nepal. Detentions generally lasted for several months, 
although in most cases authorities did not bring formal charges against 
detainees. Travel became increasingly difficult and communications were 
sometimes cut off, particularly in Sichuan's Aba (Ngaba), T&QAP as the 
series of self-immolations at Kirti Monastery that began in March 
continued.
    The government regulated travel by foreigners to the TAR. In 
accordance with a 1989 regulation, foreign visitors must obtain an 
official confirmation letter issued by the government before entering 
the TAR. Most tourists obtained such letters by booking tours through 
officially registered travel agencies. Foreign tourists were generally 
only permitted to enter the TAR by airplane or rail; obtaining 
permission to drive to the TAR was difficult.
    In what has become an annual phenomenon, foreign tourists were 
banned from the TAR in the lead-up to and during the March anniversary 
of the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the dual anniversaries in July of the 
founding of the CCP and the ``peaceful liberation'' of Tibet. During 
the times that foreign tourists were permitted to enter the TAR, the 
requirement that they remain with organized tour groups was enforced 
more strictly than in the past.
    Officials continued to restrict severely the access of diplomats 
and journalists to Tibet. Foreign officials were able to travel to the 
region only with the permission of the TAR Foreign Affairs Office 
(FAO), and even then only on closely chaperoned trips arranged by the 
FAO. Such permission was difficult to obtain. During the year 
authorities denied three out of four U.S. government requests for 
official travel to the TAR. Official visits to the TAR that were 
approved were supervised closely, and delegation members were afforded 
very few opportunities to meet local residents not previously approved 
by the authorities. Foreign diplomats who legally traveled in some 
Tibetan areas outside of the TAR, such as the Ganzi (Kardze) TAP and 
Aba (Ngaba), T&QAP, were repeatedly approached by local police and 
forced to leave without reasonable explanation. With the exception of a 
few highly controlled trips, authorities repeatedly denied requests for 
international journalists and observers to visit the TAR and other 
Tibetan areas.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--There was no confirmed 
information on the incidence of rape or domestic violence in Tibetan 
areas, although a Tibetan resident of a Tibetan area of Sichuan 
Province said that gender-based violence, including rape, was common 
among Tibetan herders and often went unreported.

    Reproductive Rights.--Family planning policies permitted ethnic 
Tibetans and members of some other minority groups to have more 
children than ethnic Han. Some ethnic Tibetans who had permanent 
employment in urban areas, or were CCP members or served as government 
officials, were limited to two children, as were some ethnic Han living 
in Tibetan areas. Depending upon the county, rural Tibetans in the TAR 
were sometimes encouraged to limit births to three children. The TAR 
was one of the few areas of the PRC that did not have a skewed sex 
ratio resulting from sex-selective abortion and inadequate health care 
for female infants.
    Lack of knowledge about HIV transmission and economic pressure led 
many female sex workers to engage in unprotected sex. Diagnosis and 
treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, 
appeared to be nondiscriminatory.

    Discrimination.--There were no formal restrictions on women's 
participation in the political system, and women held many lower-level 
government positions. Women were underrepresented at the provincial and 
prefectural levels of government, however. According to an official Web 
site, female cadres in the TAR accounted for more than 30 percent of 
the TAR's total cadres.

    Children.--According to official policy, primary education was 
compulsory, free, and universal. According to official TAR statistics, 
during the year, 99.2 percent of children between the ages of six and 
13 attended school, and 90 percent of the TAR's primary school students 
attended lower middle school, for a total of nine years of education. 
In 2003 the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to education reported 
that official PRC education statistics did not accurately reflect 
attendance and were not independently verified.

    Societal Violence.--Feuds among Tibetan herders and the resulting 
violence, in some cases including killings, was a serious problem. Some 
Tibetans in Ganzi (Kardze) TAP commented that lack of police protection 
in cases of violence among Tibetans was also a serious issue.
    In mid-December a fight broke out between ethnic Han and ethnic 
Tibetan students at the Chengdu Railway Vocational High School in 
Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Reportedly the culmination of tensions 
relating to ethnic bullying and anger at preferential treatment given 
to minority students, the brawl resulted in an unknown number of 
injuries.

    Ethnic Minorities.--Although TAR census figures showed that as of 
November 2010, Tibetans made up 90.5 percent of the TAR's permanently 
registered population, official figures did not include a large number 
of long-, medium-, and short-term ethnic Han residents, such as cadres 
(government and party officials), skilled and unskilled laborers, 
military and paramilitary troops, and their respective dependents. 
According to a Lhasa city official, 260,000 of the 450,000 individuals 
living in downtown Lhasa during the year belonged to this ``floating'' 
population.
    Migrants to the TAR were overwhelmingly concentrated in urban 
areas. Government policies to subsidize economic development often 
benefited ethnic Han more than ethnic Tibetans, causing resentment. 
Small businesses, mostly restaurants and retail shops, run by ethnic 
Han and Hui migrants predominated in cities throughout Tibetan areas. 
Ethnic Tibetans continued to make up nearly 98 percent of those 
registered as permanent residents in rural areas, according to official 
census figures.
    The government continued its campaign to resettle Tibetan nomads 
into urban areas across the TAR and other Tibetan areas. Officials also 
offered nomads monetary incentives to kill or sell their livestock and 
move to newly created Tibetan communities in rural areas. There were 
reports of compulsory resettlement where promised compensation was 
either inadequate or not paid at all. According to a January Xinhua 
report, 274,800 households in the TAR, including 1.4 million farmers 
and herders, were covered by a resettlement project that provided funds 
for the construction of permanent housing. A November 2010 article in 
the official press claimed that such resettlement programs were the 
``foundation for fighting the Dalai clique,'' and resettled farmers and 
herders would ``pray to Buddha less and study culture and technology 
more.''
    Improving housing conditions, health care, and education for 
Tibet's poorest were among the stated goals of resettlement, although 
there was a pattern of settling herders near townships and roads and 
away from monasteries, which were the traditional providers of 
community and social services. A requirement that villagers build 
houses according to official specifications within two or three years 
often forced resettled families into debt to cover construction costs.
    Although a 2010 state media report noted that ethnic Tibetans and 
other minority ethnic groups made up 70 percent of government employees 
at the provincial level in the TAR, the top CCP position of TAR Party 
Secretary continued to be held by an ethnic Han, and the corresponding 
position in approximately 90 percent of all TAR counties was also held 
by an ethnic Han. Also within the TAR, ethnic Han continued to hold 
most of the top security, military, financial, economic, legal, 
judicial, and educational positions. Tibetans holding government and 
CCP positions were often prohibited from openly worshipping at 
monasteries or otherwise practicing their religion. Of Chinghai 
Province's six TAPs, five were headed by ethnic Han party secretaries, 
and one by an ethnic Tibetan party secretary. Gansu Province's sole TAP 
was headed by an ethnic Han party secretary. There were several ethnic 
Tibetan party secretaries at the county level in Tibetan areas of 
Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces.
    Economic and social exclusion was a major source of discontent 
among a varied cross section of ethnic Tibetans, including business 
operators, workers, students, university graduates, farmers, and 
nomads. Some ethnic Tibetans reported that they experienced 
discrimination in employment, and some job advertisements in the TAR 
expressly noted that ethnic Tibetans were not welcome to apply. Some 
claimed that ethnic Han were hired preferentially for jobs and received 
higher salaries for the same work. Some Tibetans reported that it was 
more difficult for ethnic Tibetans than ethnic Han to obtain permits 
and loans to open businesses. Restrictions on international 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that provided assistance to 
Tibetan communities resulted in the elimination of many beneficial NGO 
programs and the expulsion of most foreign NGO workers from the TAR and 
other Tibetan areas.
    Government propaganda against alleged Tibetan ``pro-independence 
forces'' contributed to growing societal discrimination against 
ordinary Tibetans. Sources reported that security personnel targeted 
individuals in monastic attire for arbitrary questioning and other 
forms of harassment on the streets of Lhasa and other cities and towns. 
Many Tibetan monks and nuns chose to wear non-religious garb to avoid 
such harassment when traveling outside their monasteries and around 
China. Some Tibetans in Chengdu reported that taxi drivers refused to 
stop for them.
    The TAR tourism bureau continued its policy of refusing to hire 
ethnic Tibetan tour guides who had been educated in India or Nepal. 
Government officials stated that all tour guides working in the TAR 
were required to seek employment with the Tourism Bureau and pass a 
licensing exam on tourism and political ideology. The government's 
stated intent was to ensure that all tour guides provided visitors with 
the government's position opposing Tibetan independence and the 
activities of the Dalai Lama. Some ethnic Tibetan tour guides in the 
TAR complained of unfair competition from government-sponsored ``Help 
Tibet'' tour guides brought in from inland China, apparently for their 
greater political reliability, and put to work after receiving a crash 
course on Tibet.

                               __________

                               Hong Kong

                           executive summary
    Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's 
Republic of China (PRC). The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on the 
Question of Hong Kong and the SAR's charter, the Basic Law of the SAR 
(the Basic Law), specify that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of 
autonomy except in matters of defense and foreign affairs. The Fourth 
Term Legislative Council (Legco) was elected from a combination of 
geographic and functional constituencies in 2008 elections that were 
generally free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    The three most important human rights problems reported were the 
limited ability of citizens to participate in and change their 
government; an increase in arbitrary arrest or detention and other 
aggressive police tactics hampering the freedom of assembly; and a 
legislature with limited powers in which certain sectors of society 
wield disproportionate political influence.
    Other areas of reported concern include increasing limitations on 
freedom of the press and self-censorship; increasing denial of visas 
for political reasons; alleged election fraud; trafficking in persons; 
and societal prejudice against certain ethnic minorities.
    The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who 
committed abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.
    On January 21, the High Court (Court of First Instance) dismissed a 
judicial review challenging the inquest in the case of ethnic Nepali 
Dil Bahadur Limbu. A police constable shot and killed Limbu in 2009 
when he resisted the constable's request to examine his identity 
documents. The High Court ruled that the coroner had misapplied the law 
regarding the scope of the inquest. In May 2010 a jury ruled that 
Limbu's death was a lawful killing.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The Basic Law prohibits torture and other forms of abuse, 
but there were some reports that government officials employed them. In 
the first half of the year, the police force's Complaints Against 
Police Office (CAPO) received 120 complaints that involved 137 
allegations of assault by police officers on persons in custody. 
Thirty-two cases were found ``not pursuable,'' 65 were withdrawn, and 
40 were pending investigation and endorsement by the Independent Police 
Complaints Council (IPCC). There were 14 allegations of assault by 
police officers on persons not in custody. Five were found ``not 
pursuable,'' three were withdrawn, one was found unsubstantiated, one 
false, and four were pending investigation as of June.
    In May, Alex Diallo Mamadou, an asylum seeker from West Africa, 
claimed undercover police detained him for 48 hours in September 2010 
in a police station where he was physically abused with his hands bound 
by a plastic cord. Diallo said he was jogging when police detained him 
with a group of suspected Pakistani illegal immigrants. He also said 
the police beat him and the Pakistanis. According to CAPO, police 
arrested Diallo for unlawful assembly and possession of offensive and 
prohibited weapons. CAPO is investigating Diallo's complaint on the 
``police's use of plasticuffs for long hours.''

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, and the 
Correctional Services Department (CSD) permitted visits by independent 
human rights observers.
    During the year the CSD managed 24 penal institutions with a 
certified accommodation capacity of 11,144 places. As of September 30, 
Hong Kong's total prison population was 9,456. The average occupancy 
rate for all penal institutions was 88 percent. The CSD admitted 
overcrowding was a problem in certain types of penal institutions, such 
as remand facilities and maximum-security institutions. Prisoners 
generally had access to potable water. The Hong Kong Human Rights 
Monitor reported that some detainees at the Lo Wu Correctional 
Institution complained about poor airflow due to a lack of adequate 
windows and electric fans in the summer and little warm clothing for 
inmates during the winter.
    There were two deaths in police custody; both were under 
investigation. In the first six months of the year, there were seven 
reported deaths of persons in custody of the Correctional Services 
Department. Inquest results had not been reported by year's end.
    Prisoners and detainees were able to send and receive letters, 
receive regular visits, manifest their religious beliefs or practices, 
and attend available religious services in correctional institutions. 
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to 
judicial authorities without censorship, request investigation of 
credible allegations of inhumane conditions, and initiate legal action 
against any alleged inhumane conditions. Judicial authorities 
investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions and documented 
the results of such investigations in a publicly accessible manner. The 
government investigated and monitored prison and detention center 
conditions, and there was an external Office of the Ombudsman. There 
were no reports of steps taken to improve recordkeeping or use 
alternatives to sentencing for nonviolent offenders.
    The government permitted human rights groups to conduct prison 
visits. In the first six months of the year, there were eight media 
visits, one visit by a human rights organization, and 218 visits by 
justices of peace. Justices of the peace may make suggestions and 
comments on matters such as physical environment facilities, 
overcrowding, staff improvement, training and recreational programs and 
activities, and other matters affecting the welfare of inmates.
    The government regularly assessed how to expand prison capacity and 
provide vocational training and educational opportunities to the 
incarcerated.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest or detention, but a number of incidents this year resulted in an 
increased use of arbitrary arrest and detention.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities 
maintained effective control over the Hong Kong Police Force, 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.
    Human rights activists and some legislators expressed concern that 
all IPCC members were appointed by the Chief Executive (CE) and that 
the IPCC's lack of power to conduct independent investigations limited 
its oversight capacity. The IPCC cannot compel officers to participate 
in its investigations, and the media reported cases of police officers 
declining to do so. In response, IPCC Chairman Jat Sew-tong told the 
media he was confident that, if needed, he could approach the police 
commissioner and any officer so requested would be ordered to 
participate.
    There was a widespread public perception that police abuse of power 
increased dramatically during the year. Public dissatisfaction with the 
police rose to a record high of 20 percent.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Suspects 
generally were apprehended openly with warrants based on sufficient 
evidence and issued by a duly authorized official. They must be charged 
within 48 hours or released, and the government respected this right in 
practice. Interviews of suspects are required to be videotaped. The law 
provides accused persons with the right to a prompt judicial 
determination, and authorities respected this right effectively in 
practice. Detainees were informed promptly of charges against them. 
There was a functioning bail system, and detainees were allowed ready 
access to a lawyer of their choice and family members.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--The Civil Human Rights Front reported that, for 
the first time since the 1997 handover, police detained one of Hong 
Kong's most well-known and respected human rights activists, Law Yuk-
kai, after his participation in the annual July 1 march commemorating 
the 1997 handover.
    In August, during PRC Vice Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Hong Kong, 
unidentified security personnel detained a man wearing a ``vindicate 
June 4'' (a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen massacre) t-shirt during a 
visit to a public housing complex, and police detained three student 
demonstrators during Li's speech at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) 
in what has now become known as the ``818'' incident. The police 
behavior raised a public outcry. HKU Vice Chancellor Tsui Lap-chee 
later resigned, although he claimed his decision was unrelated. The 
police formed a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding 
the visit, including the conduct of some officers involved in the 
incident. The independent Bar Association issued a statement critical 
of police security arrangements following Vice Premier Li's visit.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice. The judiciary provided citizens with a fair 
and efficient judicial process. The courts may interpret those 
provisions of the Basic Law that address matters within the limits of 
the SAR's autonomy. The courts also interpret provisions of the Basic 
Law that touch on central government responsibilities or on the 
relationship between the central authorities and the SAR. However, 
before making final judgments on these matters, which are not subject 
to appeal, the courts must seek an interpretation of the relevant 
provisions from the Standing Committee of the National People's 
Congress (NPC/SC). The Basic Law requires that courts follow the NPC/
SC's interpretations, although judgments previously rendered are not 
affected. As the final interpreter of the Basic Law, the NPC/SC also 
has the power to initiate interpretations of the Basic Law.
    The NPC/SC's mechanism for interpretation is its Committee for the 
Basic Law, composed of six mainland and six Hong Kong members. The CE, 
Legco president, and chief justice nominate the Hong Kong members. 
Human rights and lawyers' organizations expressed concern that this 
process, which can supersede the Court of Final Appeal's power of final 
adjudication, could be used to limit the independence of the judiciary 
or degrade the court's authority.
    In September the Court of Final Appeal requested the NPC/SC's 
interpretation, for the first time since the former British colony 
returned to Chinese rule in 1997, on a sovereign immunity case 
involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Activists complained 
that the court did not need to seek Beijing's input and that doing so 
jeopardized Hong Kong's judicial autonomy. The court claimed that the 
case involved a foreign policy issue, and it was therefore bound by the 
Basic Law to seek the NPC/SC's interpretation.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair public 
trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right in 
practice. Trials were by jury except at the magistrate and district 
court level. An attorney is provided at the public's expense if 
defendants cannot afford counsel. Several activists complained that 
legal aid did not provide attorneys who were interested in committing 
significant attention to their pro bono clients. Defendants can 
confront and question witnesses testifying against them and present 
witnesses to testify on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys 
have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. 
Defendants have the right of appeal.
    Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence except in official 
corruption cases. Under the law a current or former government official 
who maintained a standard of living above that commensurate with his or 
her official income, or who controls monies or property 
disproportionate to his official income, is guilty of an offense unless 
he can satisfactorily explain the discrepancy. In practice, the courts 
upheld this ordinance. Court proceedings were conducted in either 
Chinese or English, the SAR's two official languages.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were very limited reports 
of political prisoners or detainees. Following artist Ai Weiwei's 
detention in mainland China in April, Hong Kong police detained two 
local activists who protested Ai's treatment. Activists claimed Beijing 
pressured Hong Kong police to assign officers from their serious crimes 
units to apprehend a Hong Kong street artist who painted images of Ai 
and wrote ``Who's Afraid of Ai Weiwei'' on pavements and public 
buildings throughout Hong Kong. When activists chalked copycat 
drawings, police detained several before eventually releasing them.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary for civil matters and access to a court to 
bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or the cessation of, human rights 
violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
    The law provided that no personal data may be used for a purpose 
other than that stated at the time of its collection without the data 
subject's consent. Specific exemptions allowed SAR authorities to 
transfer personal data to permit prevention, detection, or prosecution 
of a crime when certain conditions were met. Data may be transferred to 
a body outside of the SAR for purposes of safeguarding the security, 
defense, or international relations of the SAR or for the prevention, 
detection, or prosecution of a crime, provided conditions set out in 
the ordinance were met. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for 
Personal Data worked to prevent the misuse, disclosure, or matching of 
personal data without the consent of the subject individual or the 
commissioner.
    The use of covert surveillance and the interception of 
telecommunications and postal communications can be granted only to 
prevent or detect ``serious crime'' or protect ``public security.'' The 
law establishes a two-tiered system for granting approval for 
surveillance activities, under which surveillance of a more intrusive 
nature requires the approval of a judge, and surveillance of a less 
intrusive nature requires the approval of a senior law-enforcement 
official. Applications to intercept telecommunications must involve 
crimes with a penalty of at least seven years' imprisonment, while 
applications for covert surveillance must involve crimes with a penalty 
of at least three years' imprisonment or a fine of at least HK$1 
million (approximately U.S.$129,000).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent 
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political 
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.

    Freedom of Press.--The Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA) 
alleged there were severe restrictions on the media during Vice Premier 
Li's visit to Hong Kong. Police prevented journalists from reporting at 
about 20 of Li's scheduled activities and were granted access to less 
than half of his program, according to the HKJA. The Government 
Information Office had exclusive coverage rights for most of the 
events. The HKJA also alleged that police performed an arbitrary 
security check on at least one member of the media and a security 
officer hit a cameraman's recording device to block him from taping. 
Then chief secretary for administration Henry Tang claimed that 
allegations press freedom was undermined during the visit were 
``complete rubbish.''
    In January the employees union at the government-owned broadcaster 
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) complained that RTHK had cancelled a 
live webcast of democratic leader Szeto Wah's funeral because of 
political pressure. Other major television stations had live coverage 
of the service.

    Violence and Harassment.--The International Federation of 
Journalists (IFJ) alleged that on July 1 police arrested and detained 
two reporters in a police station for more than 10 hours because they 
did not produce press cards. Police Commissioner Tsang denied the 
arrests had ever occurred. On August 11, the police detained three 
journalists for six hours on accusations of attempted burglary at the 
New Government Complex. The police later released the journalists 
without charge.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Reports of media self-
censorship continued during the year. Most media outlets were owned by 
businesses with interests on the mainland, which led to claims that 
they were vulnerable to self-censorship with editors deferring to the 
perceived concerns of publishers regarding their business interests.

    Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--In May Legco member Cyd Ho 
introduced a nonbinding motion calling on the government to ``safeguard 
freedom of the press and the right to expression.'' Only after pro-
Beijing legislators added language stating ``in accordance with the 
Basic Law and the principle of one country, two systems'' did the Legco 
pass the bill.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet; there was some monitoring of the Internet. Democratic 
activists claimed central government authorities closely monitored 
their e-mails and Internet use. In a Netizens Power survey, 33 percent 
of users of Golden Forum, a popular local Internet community forum, 
said they had some of their online posts deleted over the past year and 
almost half indicated this was because their posted content was ``too 
politically sensitive.''
    Activists complained that the government's Copyright Amendments 
Bill prohibiting unauthorized use of copyright material in any medium 
without permission would threaten freedom of speech. They claimed the 
changes would negatively affect works of satire or parody on the 
Internet because there would be no ``fair-use exception.'' Some pan-
democratic activists and supporters termed the bill a ``cyberspace 
Article 23'' (a reference to controversial anti-subversion measures the 
government proposed in 2002 that led to Hong Kong's largest-ever street 
demonstrations). The government's position was that the amendments 
would strengthen intellectual property rights.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were generally no 
restrictions on academic freedom and cultural events.
    Some scholars suggested Hong Kong-based academics practiced some 
self-censorship in their China-related work to preserve good relations 
and research and lecturing opportunities in the mainland.

    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 routinely issued the required ``Letter of No Objection'' for 
public meetings and demonstrations, and the overwhelming majority of 
protests occurred without serious incident. Government statistics 
indicate that an average of seven to eight ``public events'' occurred 
every day. However, activists and pan-democratic legislators expressed 
concern that the government took a more restrictive view of protests at 
the Central Government Liaison Office, which saw several clashes with 
protesters end in arrests. Activists alleged the police were acting 
under instructions from Beijing, which police denied. The number of 
protesters arrested during the year increased from 57 in 2010 to 440. 
Authorities claimed these figures reflected the growth in ``radical 
protests.''
    The IFJ claimed that, after the appointment of Hong Kong Police 
Commissioner Andrew Tsang in January, there was a ``rapid erosion'' in 
basic civil liberties and that the government and ``in particular the 
police'' were becoming more aggressive against protesters. In one 
incident the police refused to apologize for spraying pepper spray at 
an eight-year-old boy during the March 6 protests over the government's 
budget that led to the arrests of 113 individuals.
    Activists and some lawmakers expressed concern about the lack of 
clear guidelines about whether a person arrested on assault charges 
related to public demonstrations would be charged under the Police 
Force Ordinance (PFO) or the Offences Against the Person Ordinance 
(OAPO). Both criminalize assault on a police officer on duty, but while 
the PFO carries a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment and a 
HK$5,000 (US$644) fine, the OAPO carries a maximum penalty of two 
years' imprisonment. Some activists also alleged that police faced no 
penalty for making arrests that ultimately were not prosecuted or were 
dismissed by the courts, allowing them to use arrest as a means to 
intimidate and discredit protesters. The Civil Human Rights Front 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) alliance reported that law 
enforcement was charging an increasing number of protest participants 
under the tougher OAPO.
    Organizers of the annual July 1 demonstration complained of heavy-
handed police actions, including excessive force in the arrest of 231 
participants and the indiscriminate use of pepper spray against media 
observers and protesters. According to media reports, at least 10 
people were injured, including two Legco members, and the police 
detained another Legco member and his party's chairman. According to 
law enforcement authorities, the protesters' actions had halted traffic 
in a major thoroughfare for seven hours. One activist was convicted and 
fined for erecting a replica of the Goddess of Democracy statue, the 
statue raised in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for this right, and the 
government generally respected it in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the SAR, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, 
and the government generally respected these rights in practice, with 
some prominent exceptions.
    Under the ``one country, two systems'' framework, the SAR continued 
to administer its own immigration and entry policies and make 
determinations regarding claims under the U.N. Convention Against 
Torture (CAT) independently. As of July there were 6,716 torture claims 
pending Immigration Department determination.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    There continued to be cases in which persons traveling to the SAR 
for reasons that did not appear to contravene the law were refused 
entry by the Immigration Department. The Immigration Department, as a 
matter of policy, declined to comment on individual cases. Activists, 
some legislators, and others contended that the refusals, usually of 
persons holding critical views of the mainland, were made at the behest 
of the PRC authorities. The Security Bureau countered that, while the 
Immigration Department exchanges information with other immigration 
authorities including the mainland, it makes its decisions 
independently. Authorities denied entry permission to a number of 
exiled mainland dissidents including Wang Dan, Wu'er Kaixi, and Wang 
Chaohua, who sought to attend the funeral of democratic leader Szeto 
Wah in January. In October the authorities' denial of entry to Yang 
Jianli, another noted dissident, raised questions about the integrity 
of Hong Kong's immigration policy.
    In March the High Court overturned the Immigration Department's 
January 2010 decision to deny visas to six technicians of the Shen Yun 
Performing Arts company, a Falun Gong-affiliated music and dance 
troupe.
    On September 30, in a landmark decision on the controversial issue 
of the right of abode for foreign domestic workers, the Court of First 
Instance granted Filipina domestic helper Evangeline Banao Vallejos, 
who lived in Hong Kong for 26 years, the right to apply for permanent 
residency. The decision was extremely unpopular, as most Hong Kongers 
did not wish to extend right of abode to thousands of ``temporary 
workers,'' claiming doing so would open the ``floodgates'' to requests 
for education, health, employment, and other benefits. At year's end 
the government's appeal remained before the Court of Appeal.

    Foreign Travel.--Most residents easily obtained travel documents 
from the SAR government. However, PRC authorities did not permit some 
Hong Kong human rights activists and most prodemocracy legislators to 
visit the mainland. Eleven incumbent legislators were denied ``Home 
Return Permits'' to visit the mainland.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--Government policy was to repatriate 
undocumented migrants who arrived from the mainland, and authorities 
did not consider them for refugee status. As of June 30, 2,618 
immigration offenders and illegal immigrants were repatriated to the 
mainland. The government did not recognize the Taiwan passport as valid 
for visa endorsement purposes, although convenient mechanisms existed 
for Taiwan passport holders to visit Hong Kong. Beginning in September, 
Taiwan visitors to Hong Kong were able to stay for a month if they held 
a mainland travel permit.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The SAR has no 
temporary protection policy. The director of immigration has discretion 
to grant refugee status or asylum on an ad hoc basis but only in cases 
of exceptional humanitarian or compassionate need. The law does not 
provide foreigners the right to have asylum claims recognized. 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's practice was to refer refugee and asylum claimants to a 
lawyer or the UNHCR.
    The government does not recognize a legal obligation to grant 
protection under the CAT, leaving this to the discretion of the 
director of immigration, but in practice generally reviewed claims made 
under the CAT. Claimants had access to legal counsel from the Duty 
Lawyer Service, whose lawyers received training in refugee and torture 
claims from the Hong Kong Academy of Law. There was also a system to 
appeal decisions by the Immigration Department, with reviews conducted 
by experienced magistrates. Several observers, including the Bar 
Association and the Law Society, suggested processing refugee and CAT 
claims simultaneously to avoid duplicate filings.

    Access to Basic Services.--The government, in collaboration with an 
NGO, has offered in-kind assistance, including temporary accommodation, 
food, clothing, appropriate transport allowance, counseling, medical 
services, and other basic necessities, to asylum seekers and torture 
claimants who were deprived of basic needs while their claims were 
being processed. As of July, 5,759 persons were receiving assistance.

    Employment.--Those whose claims were pending have no legal right to 
work, and those granted either refugee status by the UNHCR or relief 
from removal under the CAT were permitted to work only with approval 
from the director of immigration. They were also ineligible for 
training by either the Employees Retraining Board or Vocational 
Training Council. Applications to attend school or university were 
considered on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the director of 
immigration.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The Basic Law limited the right of residents to change their 
government peacefully. A portion of the Legco was elected by a subset 
of voters representing ``functional constituencies'' (FC) which speak 
for key economic and social sectors; under this structure some 
individuals were able to control multiple votes for Legco members. The 
constituencies that elected the 30 FC Legco seats had fewer voters in 
total than the constituency for a single Geographical Constituency (GC) 
seat. The government stated that the current method of selecting FC 
legislators did not conform to principles of universal suffrage, but it 
took no steps to eliminate the FCs.
    The Basic Law prohibited the Legco from putting forward bills that 
affect public expenditure, political structure, or government policy. 
The SAR sent 36 deputies to the mainland's National People's Congress 
(NPC) and had 126 delegates in the Chinese People's Political 
Consultative Conference. The approval of the CE, two-thirds of Legco, 
and two-thirds of the SAR's delegates to the NPC are required to place 
an amendment of the Basic Law on the agenda of the NPC, which has the 
sole power to amend the Basic Law.
    The CE used his authority to appoint 68 of the 534 members of the 
District Council, Hong Kong's lowest form of elected government, 
despite earlier promises to eliminate all appointed seats. The 
government stated that it would work on phasing the nonelected seats 
out in two tranches in 2016 and 2020, but pan-democrats complained that 
this was a violation of a previous understanding between the Legco and 
the government.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2007, 
the CE Election Committee selected incumbent Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, and 
the PRC's State Council formally appointed him. In 2008 voters in five 
GCs elected 30 legislators, half of the total Legco, in elections that 
were generally free and fair. A record number of candidates, both 
party-affiliated and independent, contested the elections. Of the 30 FC 
seats, 14 incumbents returned uncontested.
    In January 2010, five legislators resigned to force a by-election 
they declared to be a ``referendum'' on political reform, particularly 
on achieving universal suffrage. While the government stated that 
neither the Basic Law nor local law establishes a legal process by 
which to conduct a referendum, on May 16, the government held the by-
election. Supporters of the by-election criticized the government for 
not making the traditional efforts to encourage citizens to vote in the 
by-election. They also criticized the publicly announced decision of 
the CE and senior officials not to cast ballots in the election. The 
by-election itself, which saw a turnout of approximately 17 percent, 
was generally free and fair, and the five ``incumbents'' were 
reelected.
    Responding to this event, and arguing that the democrats used a 
loophole to abuse the electoral system and waste public money, the 
government presented draft legislation on June 8 to eliminate by-
elections. Angered by the government's efforts to rush the bill through 
the Legco, thousands of Hong Kongers (organizers claimed 218,000 
participants and the police put the number at 54,000) marched in the 
biggest July 1 protest since 2004. The government responded by holding 
a public consultation on the reforms and presenting four proposals for 
filling vacant seats; many commented that the government's options were 
undemocratic. At year's end the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs 
Bureau had not sent the government's draft legislation to the Legco.
    Following the District Council elections in November, the 
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) received more than 
1,182 complaints about the races, including voter tampering and fraud. 
By the end of the year, the ICAC was investigating 730 vote-rigging 
cases involving 7,700 voters at 2,300 addresses. Some prodemocracy 
activists claimed pro-Beijing forces manipulated over 10 percent of the 
final results to ensure their supporters' victories. Law enforcement 
arrested 53 people in relation to these cases.

    Political Parties.--Pan-democratic parties faced a number of 
institutional challenges preventing them from holding a majority of the 
seats in the Legco or having one of their members become chief 
executive. The unique nature of voting for Legco members ensures pro-
business representatives and Beijing's allies control a majority. 
Additionally, the Central Government and its business supporters 
provided generous financial resources to parties that support Beijing's 
political agenda in Hong Kong, ensuring these organizations will 
control the levers of government and all senior positions.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Seven of the 30 members of 
the Executive Council (cabinet-level secretaries and ``nonofficial'' 
councilors who advise the CE) were women. Seven of the 30 directly 
elected Legco members were women, and women held four of the 30 FC 
seats. Two political parties represented in the Legco were headed by 
women. Four of the 22 most senior government officials were women.
    There is no legal restriction against non-Chinese running for 
electoral office or participating in the civil service, although most 
elected or senior appointed positions require that the officeholder 
have a legal right of abode only in the SAR. There were no members of 
ethnic minorities in the Legco. The government regarded ethnic origin 
as irrelevant to civil service appointment and did not collect data on 
the number of non-ethnic Chinese serving in the civil service, a 
practice that some observers criticized as preventing the government 
from monitoring hiring and promotion rates for non-ethnic Chinese.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government generally implemented it effectively. There were 
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
    During the year the ICAC received 4,010 corruption reports, an 
increase of 13 percent from 3,535 reports in 2010. Pursuable reports 
increased by 12 percent to 3,072. Of the reports, 2,664 concerned the 
private sector, 1,117 were related to government departments, and 229 
involved public bodies. A total of 283 persons were prosecuted with 
convictions in 84 percent of the cases.
    In October, ICAC agents arrested five police officers on 
allegations that they were either running a brothel or accepting free 
sexual services from prostitutes in return for not reporting the 
brothel.
    There were no legal protections for whistleblowers.
    The SAR requires the 27 most senior civil service officials to 
declare their financial investments annually and the approximately 
3,100 senior working-level officials to do so biennially. Policy 
bureaus may impose additional reporting requirements for positions seen 
as having a greater risk of conflict of interest.
    There was no freedom of information legislation. An administrative 
code on access to information served as the framework for the provision 
of information by government bureaus and departments and the ICAC. 
However, they may refuse to disclose information if doing so would 
cause or risk causing harm or prejudice in several broad areas: 
national security and foreign affairs (which were reserved to the 
central government); immigration issues; judicial and law enforcement 
issues; direct risks to individuals; damage to the environment; 
improper gain or advantage; management of the economy; management and 
operation of the public service; internal discussion and advice; public 
employment and public appointments; research, statistics and analysis; 
third-party information; business affairs; premature requests; and 
information on which legal restrictions apply. Political inconvenience 
or the potential for embarrassment were not a justifiable basis for 
withholding information. Through September the ombudsman received 29 
complaints relating to the code.
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 
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views. Prominent 
human rights activists critical of the central government also operated 
freely and maintained permanent resident status in the SAR.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--There are an Office of the 
Ombudsman and an Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), both appointed by 
the government but independent in their operations. Both organizations 
operated without interference from the government and published 
critical findings in their areas of responsibility. EOC Commissioner 
Lam Woon-kwong continued to serve as a vocal public advocate on 
minority rights, access to public and commercial buildings for persons 
with disabilities, and other issues within the EOC's responsibility.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provided that all permanent residents were equal, and the 
government enforced this in practice. The EOC is responsible for 
enforcing the relevant laws.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape, 
is criminalized under the law, and police enforced the law effectively. 
Through June, 55 rape cases and 674 indecent assault cases were 
reported to the police. Of these, 51 rape cases and 451 indecent 
assault cases were investigated, leading to 57 and 446 arrests, 
respectively.
    The government regarded domestic violence against women as a 
serious concern and took measures to prevent and prosecute offenses. It 
effectively enforced criminal statutes prohibiting domestic violence 
against women and prosecuted violators. Through June 957 cases of 
domestic violence were reported to, and investigated by, the police. 
The law allows victims to seek a three-month injunction, extendable to 
six months, against an abuser. The ordinance does not criminalize 
domestic violence directly, although abusers may be liable for criminal 
charges under other ordinances. The government enforced the law and 
prosecuted violators, but sentences typically consisted only of 
injunctions or restraining orders.
    The law covers molestation between married couples and heterosexual 
cohabitants, former spouses or cohabitants, and immediate and extended 
family members. It protects victims under age 18, allowing them to 
apply for an injunction in their own right, with the assistance of an 
adult guardian, against molestation by their parents, siblings, and 
specified immediate and extended family members. The law also empowers 
the court to require that the abuser attend an antiviolence program. In 
cases in which the abuser caused bodily harm, the court may attach an 
authorization of arrest to an existing injunction, and both injunctions 
and authorizations for arrest can be extended to two years.
    The government maintained programs that provided intervention and 
counseling to batterers. Eight integrated family service centers and 
family and child protective services units offered services to domestic 
violence victims and batterers. The government continued its public 
information campaign to strengthen families and combat violence, and 
increased public education on the prevention of domestic violence.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment or 
discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, and pregnancy. The 
law applies to both males and females. Through July the EOC received 
197 new complaints and handled 316 complaints (including complaints 
carried forward from the previous year).

    Reproductive Rights.--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, coercion, and 
violence. Access to information on contraception, skilled attendance at 
delivery, and prenatal and postpartum care were widely available. Women 
and men were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment 
for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal status and rights as 
men. As of March 31, women filled 35 percent of the civil service at 
all ranks. Women made up 64 percent of the Legco Secretariat workforce 
and 54 percent of its senior ``directorate'' ranks, including the 
Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General. Twenty-three percent 
of judges and judicial officers were women.
    According to gender rights activists and public policy analysts, 
while the law treats men and women equally in terms of property rights 
in divorce settlements and inheritance matters, in practice women faced 
discrimination in employment, salary, welfare, inheritance, and 
promotion. Women reportedly formed the majority of the working poor and 
those who fall outside the protection of labor laws. Despite the fact 
that the law makes it illegal to discriminate against people of both 
sexes, a study by HKU found that women were paid 24 percent less, even 
after adjusting for age, education, industry, and occupation, than men 
in Hong Kong.
    According to the Women's Foundation, women held 9 percent of board 
positions listed on the Hang Seng Index. The foundation also found that 
14 percent of senior academic positions were held by women, 17 percent 
of the SAR's senior judges were women, and there were no female judges 
on the Court of Final Appeal, the SAR's highest court.
    The law establishes the EOC to work towards the elimination of 
discrimination and harassment as well as to promote equal opportunity 
between men and women. There was a Women's Commission that served as an 
advisory body for policymaking, and a number of NGOs were active in 
raising problems of societal attitudes and discrimination against 
women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--All Chinese nationals born in Hong 
Kong or abroad to parents, of whom at least one is a PRC-national Hong 
Kong permanent resident, acquired both PRC citizenship and Hong Kong 
permanent residence, the latter allowing right of abode in the SAR. 
Children born in Hong Kong to non-Chinese parents, at least one of whom 
is a permanent resident, acquire permanent residence and qualify to 
apply for naturalization as PRC citizens. Registration of all such 
statuses was routine.

    Child Abuse.--Through June, 673 cases of crimes against children 
were reported to police: 254 involved physical abuse (referring to 
victims younger than 14 years of age), and 419 involved sexual abuse 
(referring to victims younger than 17 years of age). The law mandates 
protection for victims of child abuse such as battery, assault, 
neglect, abandonment, and sexual exploitation, and the government 
enforced the law. The law allows for the prosecution of certain sexual 
offenses, including against minors, committed outside the territory of 
the SAR.
    The government provided parent-education programs, including 
instruction on child abuse prevention, in all 50 of the Department of 
Health's maternal and child health centers. It also provided public 
education programs to raise awareness of child abuse and alert children 
about how to protect themselves. The Social Welfare Department provided 
child psychologists for its clinical psychology units and social 
workers for its family and child protective services units. The police 
maintained a child abuse investigation unit and a child witness support 
program. A law on child-care centers helped prevent unsuitable persons 
from providing child-care services.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The media reported on a growing 
number of boys engaged in ``compensated dating,'' which was already a 
concern among minor girls. The majority of cases involved teenage 
girls, both above and below the age of consent, who advertised escort 
services that might include sex, either to support themselves or for 
extra pocket money. Some women and girls involved in the trade reported 
being beaten or abused by clients. In response to this trend police 
continued monitoring Internet chat rooms and Web sites used by both 
individuals and syndicates to advertise services, with officers 
assigned to gather evidence against the operations and determine the 
techniques used by syndicates to recruit the girls.
    The legal age of consent for heterosexuals is 16. Under the law, a 
person having ``unlawful sexual intercourse'' with a victim under 16 is 
subject to five years' imprisonment, while having unlawful sexual 
intercourse with a victim under 13 results in imprisonment for life.
    The law makes it an offense to possess, produce, copy, import, or 
export pornography involving a child under 18 years of age, or to 
publish or cause to be published any advertisement that conveys or is 
likely to be understood as conveying the message that any person has 
published, publishes, or intends to publish any child pornography. The 
penalty for creation, publication, or advertisement of child 
pornography is eight years' imprisonment, while possession carries a 
penalty of five years' imprisonment.

    International Child Abductions.--The SAR is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbered approximately 5,000-
6,000, and reported a few acts of anti-Semitism during the year. 
According to the media, during a Legco policy debate in October, 
financial services sector representative and Legco lawmaker Chim Pui-
chung accused ``Jewish funds in the United States'' of committing ``a 
major financial robbery every five years and a minor robbery every 
three years.'' He reportedly said these funds ``bullied'' Hong Kong and 
hurt Chinese funds and bankers. There were concerns within the Jewish 
community about some religious sermons in the otherwise peaceful Muslim 
community. Some anti-Semitic graffiti, harassment of Jewish students, 
and hateful Web sites set up by foreign-born Hong Kong residents were 
reported to the police.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the 
provision of other state services, and the government effectively 
enforced these provisions. The government generally implemented laws 
and programs to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to 
buildings, information, and communications, although some restrictions 
were reported.
    The Social Welfare Department, directly or in coordination with 
NGOs and employers, provided training and vocational rehabilitation 
services to assist persons with disabilities. As of September a total 
of 16,634 persons were participating in these various programs.
    As of March 31, the government employed 3,317 civil servants with 
disabilities, out of a total workforce of 156,886. Persons with 
disabilities filled 2 percent of Legco Secretariat positions, 1 percent 
of judicial positions, and 2 percent of nonjudicial positions in the 
judiciary.
    Instances of discrimination against persons with disabilities 
persisted in employment, education, and the provision of some public 
services. The law calls for improved building access and sanctions 
against those who discriminate. As of July 31, the EOC received 346 
complaints under the ordinance and handled 520 cases (including cases 
carried over from the previous year).
    Despite inspections and the occasional closure of noncompliant 
businesses, access to public buildings (including public schools) and 
transportation remained a serious problem for persons with 
disabilities. Following Chief Executive Tsang's October 12 policy 
address, a number of persons with disabilities protested that the 
government discriminated against them. They claimed persons with severe 
disabilities who lived with their families could only qualify for 
social security by moving out of their families' homes and living alone 
or if every member of their families quit their jobs.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although 95 percent ethnic 
Chinese, the SAR is a multiethnic society with persons from a number of 
ethnic groups recognized as permanent residents with full rights under 
the law. Discrimination based on race is prohibited by law, and the EOC 
oversees implementation and enforcement of the law. The Race Relations 
Unit, which is subordinate to the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs 
Bureau, served as secretariat to the Committee on the Promotion of 
Racial Harmony and implemented the committee's programs. The unit also 
maintained a hotline for inquiries and complaints concerning racial 
discrimination. The code of practice (along with selected other EOC 
materials) was available in Hindi, Thai, Urdu, Nepali, Indonesian, and 
Tagalog, in addition to Chinese and English. As of July 31, the EOC 
received 49 complaints and handled 63 cases.
    The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau sponsored a cross-
cultural learning program for non-Chinese speaking youth through grants 
to NGOs.
    The government had a policy to integrate non-Chinese students into 
Hong Kong's schools. The government also provided a special grant for 
designated schools with a critical mass of non-Chinese students to 
develop their own programs, share best practices with other schools, 
develop supplementary curriculum materials, and set up the Chinese-
language support centers to provide after-school programs. However, 
activists expressed concern that there was no formal government-
provided course to prepare students for the General Certificate for 
Secondary Education exam in Chinese, a passing grade from which is 
required for most civil service employment. Activists also noted that 
government programs encouraging predominantly Chinese schools to 
welcome minority students backfired, turning whole schools into 
``segregated institutions.'' These schools did not teach Chinese to the 
non-ethnically Chinese students. Students who did not learn Chinese had 
significant difficulty entering the labor market, leading to a cycle of 
problems including unemployment and poverty, according to reports from 
the government and nongovernmental organizations.
    The EOC established a working group on Education for Ethnic 
Minorities in July 2010, which presented a set of recommendations to 
the Education Bureau in March and July. According to activists and the 
EOC, the Education Bureau has not responded to the recommendations.
    Minority group leaders and activists complained that government 
requirements that all job applicants speak Chinese kept nonnative 
Chinese speakers out of civil service and law enforcement positions. 
Despite the fact that both English and Chinese were official languages, 
reports indicated that little more than one third of government 
departments regularly issued their press releases in both.
    Following Chief Executive Tsang's calls for support to ethnic 
minorities in the October policy address, the government's Community 
Care Fund endorsed a new program to support minorities and new arrivals 
with Chinese language training.
    Activists and the government disputed whether new immigrants from 
the mainland should be considered as a population of concern under 
antidiscrimination legislation. While concerns were raised that new 
immigrants do not qualify to receive social welfare benefits until they 
have resided in the SAR for seven years, the courts upheld this legal 
standard. Such immigrants can apply on a case-specific basis for 
assistance.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no laws 
criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity. In 2005, the High 
Court (Court of First Instance) ruled that maintaining an age of 
consent for male-male relations at 21 rather than 16 violated the Bill 
of Rights Ordinance. The Law Reform Commission continued a review of 
sexual offenses in common and statute law. In the interim, enforcement 
of the law was in accordance with the 2005 decision. There were no 
specific laws governing age of consent for female-female relations.
    On June 17, the government sponsored a seminar on ``homosexual 
conversion therapy.'' According to gay rights groups, the seminar's 
contents explained homosexuality as deriving from ``unhealthy parent-
children relationships,'' ``experience of sexual abuse or same-sex 
sexual behavior,'' or ``serious emotional harm caused by the opposite 
sex.''
    During an International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 
rally on May 15, police stopped a dance that was part of the program, 
alleging some participants had violated public entertainment laws. 
Activists from the gay rights community claimed this was the first time 
in over a dozen years police had stopped a rally of this sort.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS or 
against other groups not covered above.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers to form and join independent 
unions without previous authorization or excessive requirements, and 
conduct legal strikes. However, the law does not guarantee the right to 
collective bargaining. Trade unions must register with the government's 
Registry of Trade Unions and must have a minimum membership of seven 
persons for registration. Unions could affiliate, and workers were not 
prevented from unionizing.
    The law prohibits the use of union funds for political purposes, 
required the CE's approval before unions can contribute funds to any 
trade union outside of the SAR, and restricted the appointment of 
persons from outside the enterprise or sector to union executive 
committees.
    The law provides for the right to strike, although there are some 
restrictions on this right for civil servants. In addition, while the 
law protected workers against dismissal for trade union activities, 
there is no legal entitlement to reinstatement in these cases, and the 
law does not cover other forms of antiunion discrimination.
    The Workplace Consultation Promotion Unit in the Labor Department 
facilitated communication, consultation, and voluntary negotiation 
between employers and employees. Tripartite committees for each of the 
nine sectors of the economy included representatives from some trade 
unions, employers, and the Labor Department. During a labor dispute the 
Unit facilitated conciliation so that the labor disputes could be 
settled with a minimum friction and disruption.
    Worker organizations were independent of the government and 
political parties. However, only progovernment unions were able to 
participate substantively in the tripartite process, while the 
democratic Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions was consistently 
excluded. Antiunion discrimination did not occur in practice.
    Although there was no legislative prohibition against strikes, in 
practice most workers had to sign employment contracts that typically 
stated that walking off the job is a breach of contract, which could 
lead to summary dismissal. Several strikes took place throughout the 
year.
    Local trade unions and NGOs escalated efforts to advocate for 
legislation that would guarantee collective bargaining rights, but as 
of the end of the year there was no progress on a bill addressing this 
concern.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the government effectively 
enforced such laws. There were concerns that some migrant workers faced 
high levels of indebtedness assumed as part of the terms of employment, 
creating a risk they could fall victim to debt bondage. Hong Kong 
prohibits the collection of employment-related debt, but prosecution 
was hampered by looser restrictions in some countries that send 
workers. Some Hong Kong-licensed employment agencies were suspected of 
colluding with Indonesian agencies to profit from a debt scheme, and 
some Hong Kong agencies illegally confiscated the passports, employment 
contracts, and ATM cards of domestic workers and withheld them until 
their debt had been repaid. The government conveyed its concerns about 
these cases to a number of foreign missions.
    There also were reports that some employers illegally forbade 
domestic workers to leave the residence of work for non-work-related 
reasons, effectively preventing them from reporting exploitation to 
authorities. SAR authorities actively pursued reports of such 
violations.
    According to a Catholic Commission for Labor Affairs survey of 
Indonesian foreign domestic workers in October, 70 percent of 
respondents claimed they were underpaid, 67 percent had personal items 
such identity cards and passports confiscated, and 48 percent did 
additional work outside of their contracts.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There were laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace. 
Regulations prohibit employment of children under the age of 15 in any 
industrial establishment. Other regulations limit work hours in the 
manufacturing sector for persons 15 to 17 years of age to eight hours 
per day and 48 hours per week between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and prohibit 
overtime in industrial establishments with employment in dangerous 
trades for persons less than 18 years of age.
    Children 13 and 14 years of age may work in certain nonindustrial 
establishments, subject to conditions aimed at ensuring a minimum of 
nine years of education and protection of their safety, health, and 
welfare.
    The Labor Department effectively enforced these laws and regularly 
inspected workplaces to enforce compliance with the regulations. In the 
first nine months of the year, the Labor Department conducted 96,788 
inspections. Two employers were convicted of offenses and fined.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The SAR's first statutory 
minimum hourly wage, HK$28 (US$3.60), came into force in May. 
Approximately 760,000 Hong Kong residents live under the locally 
defined poverty line (annual income of about HK$47,213 [US$6,053] for 
an individual, HK$75,598 [US$9,692] for a two-person unit, HK$100,168 
[US$12,842] for a three-person family, etc.).
    In practice wages were often set by employers and employer 
associations. Additionally, unionists alleged that workers were tricked 
by employers into signing contracts that changed their terms of 
employment to ``self-employed,'' and thus they were not entitled to 
employer-provided benefits such as paid leave, sick leave, medical 
insurance, workers' compensation, or Mandatory Provident Fund payments.
    The minimum wage for foreign domestic workers was HK$3,740 per 
month (US$482). The government's Standard Employment Contract requires 
employers to provide foreign domestic workers with housing, worker's 
compensation insurance, travel allowances, and food or a food allowance 
in addition to the minimum wage, which together provided a decent 
standard of living. Foreign domestic workers could be deported if 
dismissed. After leaving one employer, workers have two weeks to secure 
new employment before they must leave the SAR. Activists contended this 
restriction left workers vulnerable to a range of abuses from 
employers. Workers who pursued complaints through legal channels may be 
granted leave to remain; however, they were not able to work, leaving 
them either to live from savings or to depend on charitable assistance.
    During the first six months of the year, three employers were 
convicted for wage offenses relating to the employment of foreign 
domestic workers. During the same period 75 foreign domestic workers 
filed criminal suits, 37 of which were against employers for 
maltreatment including rape (one), indecent assault (seven), and injury 
and serious assault (29).
    There was no law concerning working hours, paid weekly rest, rest 
breaks, or compulsory overtime for most employees. For certain groups 
and occupations, such as security guards and certain categories of 
drivers, there were regulations and guidelines on working hours and 
rest breaks. According to the General Household Survey conducted by the 
Census and Statistics Department during the year, about 17.1 percent of 
Hong Kong employees worked 60 hours or more per week. The law 
stipulates that employees are entitled to 12 days of statutory holidays 
and employers must not make payment in lieu of granting holidays.
    Domestic workers were required to live with their employers (who do 
not always provide separate accommodation for the worker), which made 
it difficult to enforce maximum working hours per day or overtime.
    The government contended that the ``two-week rule'' was necessary 
to maintain effective immigration control and prevent migrant workers 
from overstaying and taking up unauthorized work. Regarding maximum 
hours and rest periods, the government stated that the rules on these 
issues cover local and migrant workers. However, in its explanation of 
why live-in domestic helpers (both local and foreign) would not be 
covered by the statutory minimum wage, the government explained that 
``the distinctive working pattern--round-the-clock presence, provision 
of service-on-demand, and the multifarious domestic duties expected of 
live-in domestic workers--makes it impossible to ascertain the actual 
hours worked so as to determine the wages to be paid.''
    Laws exist to ensure health and safety of workers in the workplace, 
and these laws were effectively enforced. There is no specific legal 
provision allowing workers to remove themselves from dangerous work 
situations without jeopardy to continued employment.
    The Occupational Safety and Health Branch of the Labor Department 
is responsible for safety and health promotion, enforcement of safety 
management legislation, and policy formulation and implementation. In 
the first three quarters, the Labor Department's 200 inspectors 
conducted 88,514 workplace inspections. There were 778 convicted 
summonses, resulting in fines totaling HK$6.2 million (US$800,000). In 
addition to prosecuting offenses under the safety legislation, the 
Labor Department also issued improvement notices requiring employers to 
remedy contraventions of safety laws within a specified period and 
suspension notices directing removal of imminent risks to life and limb 
in workplaces. During the first half of the year, the department served 
607 improvement notices and 50 suspension notices.
    Although worker safety and health continued to improve, serious 
problems remained, particularly in the construction industry. In the 
first quarter of the year, the Labor Department reported 19,163 
occupational injuries, including 6,436 classified as industrial 
accidents. In the same period there were 13 fatal industrial accidents. 
Employers are required to report any injuries sustained by their 
employees in work-related accidents. Labor activists raised the issue 
of the increase in deadly industrial accidents, mainly due to 
construction and infrastructure projects in Hong Kong.
    There are no laws restricting work during typhoon or rainstorm 
warning signals except for a Labor Department recommendation that 
employers have only essential staff come to work during certain 
categories of typhoon or rainstorm warnings. Both pro-Beijing and pan-
democratic unions called for a review of protections for workers during 
inclement weather, including legal protections.

                               __________

                                 Macau

                           executive summary
    Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's 
Republic of China (PRC) and enjoys a high degree of autonomy, except in 
defense and foreign affairs, under the SAR's constitution (the Basic 
Law). Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on, who took office in December 
2009, headed the government after being elected in July 2009 by a 300-
member commission. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Three prominent human rights abuses reported during the year 
included limits on citizens' ability to change their government, 
concerns over press freedom, and concerns over workers' rights.
    Although trafficking in persons remained a problem, there was a 
lack of prosecutors to pursue trafficking cases. Moreover, national 
security legislation, passed in 2009 in accordance with Article 23 of 
the Basic Law, remained a source of concern, but by year's end no cases 
had been brought under the law.
    The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who 
committed abuses. There was no impunity for government officials.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

    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 the government 
generally respected these rights.
    During the year there was one case of death in police custody. The 
police indicated the individual had committed suicide, and at year's 
end the procuratorate was investigating the case. In the first half of 
the year, there were four cases of police mistreatment, all involving 
off-duty officers. At year's end the procuratorate was investigating 
the cases. During the first half of the year, the Commission Against 
Corruption received two complaints of police mistreatment, but both 
cases were deferred due to insufficient information.

    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. According to the government, no independent human rights 
observers requested or made any visit to the SAR's only jail, the Macau 
Prison. Judges and prosecutors visited the Macau Prison once a month 
and the Youth Correctional Institution (for offenders between the ages 
of 12 and 16) once every three months.
    The SAR has a maximum prison capacity of 1,341 persons, and the 
occupancy rate was approximately 70 percent during the year. The age of 
criminal responsibility is 16. The total prison population for persons 
of this age and above for the first half of the year was 943. Of the 
total number of inmates, there were 801 male prisoners and 142 female 
prisoners. Offenders between the ages of 12 and 16 were subject to an 
``education regime,'' which could include incarceration depending on 
the offense. During the first half of the year, 44 minors were detained 
in the Youth Correctional Institution.
    The SAR reported that prisoners had access to potable water. In 
addition ombudsmen are able to serve on behalf of prisoners and 
detainees. The government took steps to improve recordkeeping and the 
use of alternative sentencing for nonviolent offenders.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. The law allows prisoners and detainees 
to submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and 
request investigations, and judges and prosecutors made monthly visits 
to prisons to hear prisoner complaints.
    Macau Prison was designed to hold 1,297 inmates; with the addition 
of 101 new prisoners during the year, the government recognized that 
the facility was reaching its capacity and expanded the female section 
with a further 100 beds, in addition to constructing a new prison.

    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 Public Security Police (general 
law enforcement) and Judiciary Police (criminal investigations), and 
the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish 
official abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity 
involving the security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Persons were 
apprehended openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence and 
issued by a duly authorized official. Detainees were allowed access to 
a lawyer of their choice or, if indigent, to one provided by the 
government. Detainees were allowed prompt access to family members. 
Police must present persons in custody to an examining judge within 48 
hours of detention. The examining judge, who conducts a pretrial 
inquiry in criminal cases, has a wide range of powers to collect 
evidence, order or dismiss indictments, and determine whether to 
release detained persons. According to the government, defendants 
should be tried within the ``shortest period of time.'' The 
prosecutorate's inquiry stage must end within six months for detained 
defendants and within eight months for cases with no detained 
defendants; the pretrial inquiry stage must be concluded within two 
months whenever there are detained defendants, or four months if there 
are no detained defendants. The criminal procedure code mandates that 
pretrial detention is limited to between six months to three years, 
depending on the charges and progress of the judicial system. Judges 
often refused bail in cases where sentences could exceed three years.
    Law enforcement received two complaints for alleged offenses 
committed by police officers against persons in custody in the first 
half of the year. Disciplinary proceedings were instituted for the 
officers in both cases with one case closed and one pending criminal 
proceedings. There was one complaint in the first half of the year of 
assault by a police officer against a person in custody.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice. The courts may rule on matters that are the 
responsibility of the PRC government or concern the relationship 
between the central authorities and the SAR. Before making their final 
judgment, which is not subject to appeal, the courts must seek an 
interpretation of the relevant provisions from the National People's 
Congress (NPC) Standing Committee. When the Standing Committee makes an 
interpretation of the provisions concerned, the courts, in applying 
those provisions, ``shall follow the interpretation of the Standing 
Committee.''

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
    Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and have access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases and a right to appeal. 
Trials are public and are by jury except when the court ex oficio or 
upon request rules otherwise, to ``safeguard the dignity of persons, 
public morality, or to ensure the normal functioning of the court.'' 
Defendants have the right to be present at their trials, confront 
witnesses, and consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Public 
attorneys are provided for those who are financially incapable of 
engaging lawyers or paying expenses of proceedings. Defendants also 
have the right to appeal. The law extends these rights to all 
residents.
    The judiciary provides citizens with a fair and efficient judicial 
process; however, due to an overloaded court system, a period of up to 
a year often passed between filing a civil case and its scheduled 
hearing.

    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, and citizens have 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 law prohibits such actions, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. The Office for 
Personal Data Protection acknowledged a continual increase in 
complaints and inquiries on data protection.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.
    The Law on Safeguarding National Security (Article 23 of the Basic 
Law), which entered into force in March 2009, criminalizes both 
committing and ``acts in preparation'' to commit treason, secession, 
subversion of the PRC government, and theft of state secrets. The 
crimes of treason, secession, and subversion specify the use of 
violence, and the government stated that the law would not infringe on 
peaceful political activism or media freedom.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide range of views, and international media operated freely. Major 
newspapers were heavily subsidized by the government and tended to 
closely follow the PRC government's policy on sensitive political 
issues, such as Taiwan; however, they generally reported freely on the 
SAR government, including reports critical of the government.

    Violence and Harassment.--Some journalists who wrote about issues 
disparaging of the government complained about undue disciplinary 
actions such as temporary suspensions, delayed promotions, and editors 
assigning them to cover less important stories. In June one news editor 
received several threatening letters warning him not to publicize 
concerns over the government-owned broadcaster's in-house management 
and leadership issues.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Activists raised concerns over 
some media self-censorship particularly due to the fact that news 
outlets and journalists worried some critical coverage might limit 
government funding.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
    The Strike against Computer Crime Law criminalizes a range of 
cybercrimes and empowers the police, with a court warrant, to order 
Internet service providers to save and then provide a range of data. 
Some legislators expressed concern that the law grants police the 
authority to take these actions without a court order under some 
circumstances.
    The media reported that several Web sites, among them Facebook, 
YouTube, and Skype, which are blocked on the PRC Mainland, were blocked 
on government-provided free WiFi service. The government denied any 
intention to restrict access, stating that the main problem was 
available bandwidth and pointing out that the mobile version of 
Facebook was available. Twitter, which is banned on the Mainland, was 
available.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government 
generally respected this right in practice. The law requires prior 
notification, but not approval, of demonstrations. In cases in which 
authorities tried to restrict access to public venues for 
demonstrations or other public events, the courts generally ruled on 
the side of the applicants. Police may redirect march routes, and 
organizers had the right to challenge such decisions in court.
    On May 1, approximately 2,300 workers demonstrated without major 
incident, although police stopped one reporter from taking photos. Law 
enforcement claimed this was to help the journalist from being hit by a 
moving van. A court found the allegations of the journalist to be 
unsubstantiated due to lack of evidence. Activists claimed the protests 
were calm during the year because the government had given out cash 
payments to participants of the controversial May 2010 march.

    Freedom of Association.--The Basic Law and the civil code provide 
for freedom of association. No authorization is required to form an 
association, and the only restriction is that the organization not 
promote violence, crime, or disruption of public order. During the 
first half of the year, the Identification Bureau registered 383 new 
associations, but it did not issue ``proof of adoptable name of 
association'' in 33 cases because intended group names were the same or 
similar to registered organizations.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the SAR, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, 
and the government generally respected these rights in practice. 
Persons denied entry into the SAR have the right to contact their 
consulate or other representative of their country, receive assistance 
with language interpretation, and consult a lawyer. The Immigration 
Department cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing 
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern.
    The Internal Security Law grants police the authority to prevent 
entry and deport nonresidents who are regarded under the law as 
unwelcome, deemed to constitute a threat to internal security and 
stability, or are suspected of transnational crimes. Legislators and 
activists alleged that police used this law to prevent Hong Kong 
democracy and rights activists from entering the SAR, including when 
the purpose of travel was merely tourism or personal business. Police 
declined to discuss the circumstances of individual cases.
    According to the International Trade Union Confederation's annual 
survey of violations of trade union rights, the government denies entry 
into Macau of labor leaders or democratic activists from Hong Kong. 
Macau continued to ban Hong Kong Legislative Council member Lee Cheuk-
yan, a prominent labor leader, from entering the SAR. The government 
claimed the commander of the Public Security Police ``based on the 
public interest.may refuse entry of any nonresident whose status is 
found to be inappropriate.''

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, 
and the government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the government provided protection against 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. Persons granted status enjoyed the same rights as other SAR 
residents, while persons with pending applications were eligible to 
receive government support, including basic needs such as housing, 
medical care, and education for children.
    According to the government, during the year there were four 
pending cases for refugee status, but their determination could take 
several years to process. One Afghan asylum seeker was in his ninth 
year waiting. Paul Pun Chi, secretary general of the Caritas social 
welfare organization, said the process was ``long and drawn out'' and 
the procedures and isolation pushed applicants into a ``hopeless 
situation.''
    In December the Court of Second Instance overturned Chief Executive 
Chui's June 2010 decision to uphold a Macau Refugee Commission ruling 
denying refugee status to the family of a Kurdish human rights activist 
from Syria. The court's unanimous verdict also harshly criticized the 
Macau Refugees Commission for claiming there was no evidence of Syrian 
discrimination directed at Kurds and for ignoring a UNHCR report that 
sided with the asylum seekers.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law limits citizens' ability to change their government. Only a 
small fraction of citizens play a role in the selection of the Chief 
Executive (CE), who is chosen by a 300-member Election Committee 
consisting of 254 members elected from four broad societal sectors 
(which have a limited franchise) and 46 members chosen from among the 
SAR's legislators and representatives to the NPC and Chinese People's 
Political Consultative Congress.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Despite 
calls for an increase in the number of directly elected Legislative 
Assembly seats, the government quickly dispelled an October news report 
that it was considering plans to expand the number in 2013. Of the 29 
seats in the Legislative Assembly, only 12 are directly elected. The 
last election, held in 2009, was generally free and fair.
    There are limits on the types of bills that legislators may 
introduce. The law stipulates that legislators may not initiate 
legislation related to public expenditure, the SAR's political 
structure, or the operation of the government. Proposed legislation 
related to government policies must receive the CE's written approval 
before it is submitted. The legislature also has no power of 
confirmation over executive or judicial appointments.
    A 10-member Executive Council functions as an unofficial cabinet, 
approving draft legislation before it is presented in the Legislative 
Assembly. The Basic Law stipulates that the CE appoint members of the 
SAR Executive Council from among the principal officials of the 
executive authorities, members of the legislature, and public figures.

    Political Parties.--The SAR has no laws on political parties; 
politically active groups therefore registered as societies or 
companies. These groups were active in promoting their political 
agendas, and those critical of the government did not face 
restrictions. Such groups participated in protests over government 
policies or proposed legislation without restriction.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were four women in 
the 29-member Legislative Assembly. Women also held a number of senior 
positions throughout the government, including the Secretary for 
Justice and Administration, the second-highest official in the SAR 
government. Fifteen of the SAR's 46 judges were women. Women made up 
more than 41 percent of the senior-level executive, 48 percent of the 
judiciary, and almost all of the senior legislative staff (i.e., not 
including legislators). There were two members of ethnic minorities in 
the Legislative Assembly. One Executive Council member was from an 
ethnic minority, as was the police commissioner general.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
there were few reported instances of officials engaging in corruption.
    The Commission against Corruption (CAC) investigated the public and 
private sectors and had the power to arrest and detain suspects. The 
Ombudsman Bureau within the CAC reviewed complaints of 
maladministration or abuse by the CAC. There was also an independent 
committee outside the CAC, the Monitoring Committee on Discipline of 
CAC Personnel, which accepted and reviewed complaints about CAC 
personnel.
    By law the CE, his cabinet, judges, members of the Legislative 
Assembly and Executive Council, and executive agency directors are 
required to disclose their financial interests upon appointment, 
promotion, and retirement, and at five-year intervals while in the same 
position.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information. However, the executive branch published online, in both 
Portuguese and Chinese, extensive information on laws, regulations, 
ordinances, government policies and procedures, and biographies of 
government officials. The government also issued a daily press release 
on topics of public concern. The information provided by the 
legislature was less extensive.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international groups monitoring human 
rights generally operated without government restriction, investigating 
and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government 
officials often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law stipulates that residents shall be free from discrimination 
based on race, gender, disability, language, or social status, and many 
laws carry specific prohibitions against discrimination; the government 
effectively enforced the law.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
including spousal rape, and the government effectively enforced the 
law. In the first half of the year, there were nine complaints of rape 
lodged with the police. The police and courts acted promptly on rape 
cases, arresting four individuals accused of rape.
    Although there is not a specific law on domestic violence, laws 
that criminalize the relevant behaviors, including ``ill-treatment of 
minors or spouses,'' were used by the government effectively to 
prosecute domestic violence. However, various nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) and government officials considered domestic 
violence against women to be a growing problem. Domestic violence falls 
under several crimes in the criminal code, including the crime of 
mistreatment of minors, persons with incapacity, or spouses. These 
crimes are punishable with imprisonment ranging from one to five years. 
If mistreatment leads to serious physical injuries or death of the 
victim, the penalties may be increased to imprisonment of two to eight 
years for cases resulting in physical injuries and five to 15 years for 
cases resulting in death. During the first half of the year, 197 
complaints of crimes related to domestic violence were reported to the 
police. Of the 197 cases, 121 involved spousal abuse. In February the 
Women's General Association of Macau released a survey noting that 80 
percent of the women in its shelter had suffered physical, 
psychological, or sexual abuse. The Legislative Assembly began debate 
in September on a government-drafted antidomestic violence bill setting 
tough penalties for abusers and creating a victim protection scheme.
    The government made referrals for victims to receive medical 
treatment, and medical social workers counseled victims and informed 
them of social welfare services. During the first half of the year, the 
Social Welfare Bureau (SWB) handled 36 domestic violence cases 
involving 44 victims. The government funded NGOs to provide victim 
support services, including housing, until their complaints were 
resolved. The government also supported two 24-hour hotlines, one for 
counseling and the other for reporting domestic violence cases.
    NGOs and religious groups sponsored programs for victims of 
domestic violence, and the government supported and helped fund these 
organizations and programs. The Bureau for Family Action, a government 
organization subordinate to the Department of Family and Community of 
the Social Welfare Institute, helped female victims of domestic 
violence by providing a safe place for them and their children and 
advice regarding legal actions against perpetrators. A range of 
counseling services was available to persons who requested them at 
social centers. Two government-supported religious programs also 
offered rehabilitation programs for female victims of violence.

    Sexual Harassment.--There is no law specifically addressing sexual 
harassment, unless it involves the use of a position of authority to 
coerce the performance of physical acts. Harassment in general is 
prohibited under laws governing equal opportunity, employment and labor 
rights, and labor relations. Between January and June, one complaint of 
gender discrimination was filed with the Labor Affairs Bureau (LAB) but 
was later withdrawn.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children and have the 
information and means to do so free from discrimination or coercion. 
Access to contraception, prenatal care, and skilled attendance at 
delivery and in postpartum care were widely available. Women and men 
were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

    Discrimination.--Equal opportunity legislation mandates that women 
receive equal pay for equal work; however, observers estimated that 
there was a significant difference in salary between men and women, 
particularly in unskilled jobs. The law allows for civil suits, but few 
women took cases to the LAB or other entities. Discrimination in hiring 
practices based on gender or physical ability is prohibited by law, and 
penalties exist for employers who violate these guidelines. No 
complaints of discrimination were lodged with the police, LAB, or CAC.

    Children.--The government protected the rights and welfare of 
children through the general framework of civil and political rights 
legislation that protects all citizens. The law defines abuse, neglect, 
violence, and maltreatment of children as criminal offenses. In the 
first half of the year, three physical abuse cases were reported to the 
police, and the SWB received nine cases of child abuse, which involved 
nine children. The Health Bureau handled four child abuse cases. The 
SWB arranged residential placements and other support services for 
these abused children.

    Birth Registration.--In accordance with the Basic Law, children of 
Chinese national residents of Macau born in or outside the SAR and 
children born to non-Chinese national permanent residents inside the 
SAR are regarded as permanent residents. There is no differentiation 
between these categories in terms of access to registration of birth.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law specifically provides for 
criminal punishment for sexual abuse of children and students, 
statutory rape, and procurement involving minors. The criminal code 
sets 14 as the age of sexual consent and 16 as the age for 
participation in the legal sex trade. Child pornography is prohibited 
by law. During the first half of the year, there were two complaints of 
sexual abuse of children and five complaints of sexual acts with minors 
lodged with the police. Law enforcement arrested one individual in the 
case of the sexual abuse of children and three individuals for sexual 
acts with minors.

    International Child Abductions.--The SAR is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population was extremely small, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services, and the government generally 
enforced these provisions in practice. The law mandates access to 
buildings, information, and communications for persons with 
disabilities. The government enforced the law effectively. The Social 
Welfare Institute is primarily responsible for coordinating and funding 
public assistance programs to persons with disabilities. There is a 
governmental commission to rehabilitate persons with disabilities, with 
part of the commission's scope of work addressing employment.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although the government made 
efforts to address the complaints of individuals of Portuguese descent 
and the Macanese minority, members of these two groups continued to 
claim they were not treated equally by the Chinese majority. While they 
participated in political and cultural circles, some activists claimed 
businesses refused to hire employees who are not ethnically Chinese.
    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
    There are no laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity 
and no prohibition against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender 
persons forming organizations or associations. There were no reports of 
violence against persons based on their sexual orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS and limits the number of 
required disclosures of an individual's HIV status. Employees outside 
medical fields are not required to declare their status to employers. 
There were anecdotal reports that persons whose status became known, as 
well as organizations supporting them, faced some forms of 
discrimination. There were no reported incidents of violence against 
persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law, including Article 27 of the Basic Law, provides for the right 
of workers to form and join unions or ``labor associations'' of their 
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements. 
However, to register as an official union, the government requires the 
organization to provide all of its members' names and personal 
information. There is no law specifically defining the status and 
function of labor unions, nor are employers compelled to negotiate with 
them. While there are no legal restrictions preventing companies from 
refusing to hire union workers, union membership is not a legitimate 
basis for dismissal under the Law on Labor Relations.
    Workers in certain professions, such as the security forces, are 
forbidden to form unions, take part in protests, or strike. Such groups 
had organizations that provided welfare and other services to members 
and that could speak to the government on behalf of their members. 
Migrant workers do not have the right to recourse for unlawful 
dismissal, and neither migrant workers nor public servants have the 
right to bargain collectively.
    Under Article 27 of the Basic Law, workers have the right to 
strike, but there is no specific protection in the law from retribution 
if workers exercised this right. The government argued that striking 
employees are protected from retaliation by labor law provisions, which 
require an employer to have justified cause to dismiss an employee.
    The law provides that agreements concluded between employers and 
workers shall be valid, but there is no specific statutory protection 
that provides for the right to collective bargaining. Independent 
lawmakers continued to push for the government to introduce a trade 
union and collective bargaining law.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer 
interference in union functions.
    Workers who believed they were dismissed unlawfully may bring a 
case to court or lodge a complaint with the Labor Department or the 
Office of the High Commissioner against Corruption and Administrative 
Illegality, which also functions as ombudsman.
    There were no reports that the government failed to enforce strike 
provisions during the year. Although strikes, rallies, and 
demonstrations were not permitted in the vicinity of the CE's office, 
the Legislative Assembly, and other key government buildings, in 
practice some protests occurred near government headquarters.
    Some union leaders complained that while laws may exist that 
protect worker rights, the government did not respond to official 
complaints (for which the LAB charges the unions a fee to process) on 
working conditions or abuse, nor did the government punish employers 
that withheld pay when employees made such complaints. To register as 
an official union, the government requires the organization to provide 
all of its members' names and personal information. Union leaders also 
claimed that the government maintained a ``blacklist'' of labor 
``agitators.''
    In October several lawmakers urged the government to protect 
nonresident workers' rights, claiming it was difficult to punish 
employers due to problems in the law. According to one legislator, the 
LAB had received a total of 135 court rulings regarding illegal work 
involving 258 illegal workers. A total of 114 employers were convicted, 
but 89 of these had their jail sentence suspended. The LAB claimed it 
had hired and was training 43 new labor inspectors to deal with these 
issues.
    During the year the Union for Democracy Development Macau expressed 
concern that the law contains no explicit provisions that bar 
discrimination against unions. The United Free Union of Gaming and 
Construction Workers of Macau complained of police monitoring of its 
activities.
    Even without formal collective bargaining rights, companies often 
negotiated with unions, although the government regularly acted as an 
intermediary. Pro-PRC unions traditionally have not attempted to engage 
in collective bargaining. Migrant workers do not have the right to 
bargain collectively.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports that such 
practices occurred.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://www.state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits minors under the age of 16 from working, although minors 
between the ages of 14 and 16 can be authorized to work on an 
``exceptional basis.'' Some children reportedly worked in family-
operated or small businesses. Local laws do not establish specific 
regulations governing the number of hours these children can work, but 
International Labor Organization conventions were applied. 
Additionally, the law governing the number of working hours (eight 
hours a day, 40 hours a week) was equally applicable to adults and 
minors, but minors cannot work overtime hours. Minors are forbidden 
from certain types of work, including but not limited to domestic work, 
any employment between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., and at places where admission 
of minors is forbidden. The Labor Department enforced the law through 
periodic and targeted inspections, and violators were prosecuted.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Local labor laws establish the 
general principle of fair wages and mandate compliance with wage 
agreements. There is no mandatory minimum wage, except for government-
outsourced security guards and cleaners and foreign domestic workers. 
The law also sets maximum hours, rest days, statutory holidays, and 
premium pay rules. Article 70 of the 2008 Labor Relations Law allows 
employers to dismiss staff ``without just cause'' provided that 
economic compensation, indexed to the employee's length of service, is 
paid.
    In October Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam announced 
that the government had submitted a request to the Central Government 
to allow maids from Mainland China to work in Macau, with the 
possibility of establishing a minimum wage for this group. Tam 
explained the minimum wage for this group might be higher than the $320 
minimum monthly salary for foreign domestic workers, who were mainly 
from the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
    Local customs normally favored employment without the benefit of 
written labor contracts, except in the case of migrant workers, who 
were issued short-term contracts. Labor groups reported that employers 
increasingly used temporary contracts to circumvent obligations to pay 
for workers' benefits, such as pensions, sick leave, and paid holidays. 
The short-term nature of the contracts also made it easier to dismiss 
workers by means of nonrenewal.
    Labor legislation provides for a 48-hour workweek (many businesses 
operated on a 40-hour workweek), an eight-hour workday, paid overtime, 
annual leave, and medical and maternity care. Although the law provides 
for a 24-hour rest period each week, workers frequently agreed to work 
overtime to compensate for low wages. The Labor Department provided 
assistance and legal advice to workers upon request.
    The Labor Department enforced occupational safety and health 
regulations, and failure to correct infractions could lead to 
prosecution. Although the law includes a requirement that employers 
provide a safe working environment, no explicit provisions protect 
employees' right to continued employment if they refused to work under 
dangerous conditions.
    According to the government's Human Resources Office, there were 
approximately 90,000 imported workers at the end of September, mostly 
from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, and 
Vietnam. These workers, commonly engaged in the restaurant and hotel 
industry but also serving as foreign domestic workers, gaming and 
entertainment employees, and engaged in the construction and retail 
sectors, often complained of discrimination in the workplace. The Macau 
Lawyers Association claimed these foreign workers often faced unequal 
pay in comparison with their Macau counterparts. In October a group of 
90 foreign workers won a court battle against their former employer for 
nonpayment of overtime and holiday bonus as well as the elimination of 
food and other bonuses.
    Nonresident worker associations and the International Labor 
Organization expressed concern about the Law on the Employment of 
Nonresident Workers, which requires foreign workers who left their jobs 
for any cause not held to be just to depart the SAR for six months. 
Labor officials stated that the law, meant to deter ``job hopping'' by 
migrant workers, would be implemented only if the worker could not 
demonstrate just cause for wishing to terminate the contract himself 
(such as abuse, nonpayment of wages, and contract violation) or if the 
employer dismissed the worker after three days' unauthorized absence 
(in accordance with the labor law). However, the lack of coordination 
between the LAB, which handled complaints, and the Immigration 
Department, which granted or withdrew permission for migrant workers to 
remain in the SAR, meant that workers filing complaints could be 
dismissed from their positions, lose their immigration status, and be 
forced to depart prior to the resolution of their complaints. While the 
government noted that workers under such circumstances could apply for 
special extensions to remain, a senior SAR labor official was quoted in 
the media as stating that dissatisfied workers ``can always go back to 
their homeland to find another job.''

                               __________

                                  FIJI

                           executive summary
    Fiji is a republic under a military-led government since armed 
forces commander Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama overthrew 
the elected government in a bloodless coup in 2006. In 2009 the interim 
government headed by Prime Minister Bainimarama abrogated the 
constitution, imposed a state of emergency, and continued its rule by 
decree, a situation that remained at year's end. During the year the 
country had no constitution or parliament. Security forces did not 
report to civilian authorities.
    The leading human rights problems during the year included the 
government's continued denial of citizens' right to change their 
government peacefully; the government's targeting of opponents and 
human rights and labor activists for harassment, arbitrary arrest, and 
abuse; and continued enforcement of the wide-ranging Public Emergency 
Regulations (PER) issued in 2009.
    The PER imposed a state of emergency that remained in force at 
year's end, giving the military and police power to arrest and detain 
persons without a warrant and limiting freedoms of speech and press, 
assembly, association, and movement. The PER also give military and 
police authority to use whatever force they deem necessary to enforce 
PER provisions, resulting in impunity for abuses. Freedom of the press 
was further restricted by a 2010 media decree. By year's end the 
government had begun taking steps to ease enforcement of the PER and 
the media decree. The Essential National Industries Decree implemented 
in September severely restricts trade union and collective bargaining 
rights for workers in designated industries and corporations deemed 
essential to the national economy.
    Other human rights problems included poor prison conditions, 
interference with judicial independence, prosecution of regime critics 
and human rights activists, restriction of freedom of religion for 
members of the Methodist Church, attacks against religious facilities, 
government corruption, deep ethnic divisions, violence and 
discrimination against women, and sexual exploitation of children.
    The government did not take steps to prosecute and punish police 
and military officials who assaulted persons in custody. The military 
continued to act with impunity in detaining, and in many cases abusing, 
persons deemed critics of the government, including journalists, 
politicians, trade unionists, and Methodist Church officials, 
ostensibly claiming authority under the PER to do so.
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.--While the abrogated constitution prohibits such practices, 
the security forces did not always respect this prohibition in 
practice. The PER authorize the government to use whatever force is 
deemed necessary to enforce PER provisions.
    During the year military officers threatened and beat a number of 
politicians and trade unionists at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks outside 
Suva, the capital. The government took no action to investigate 
credible reports of such abuses or punish the alleged abusers. For 
example, on February 21, the military detained at the barracks 
politician Sam Speight, a cabinet minister in the deposed government of 
Laisenia Qarase. Soldiers repeatedly beat him until he lost 
consciousness. He was released on February 24. The military continually 
denied knowledge of Speight's whereabouts to his wife and other family 
members during his detention. Others assaulted in military custody 
included trade unionists Felix Anthony and Maika Namudu and politicians 
Gaffar Ahmad, Poseci Bune, and Benjamin Padarath.
    In December the University of New South Wales in Australia released 
a report on the commercial sex industry in Fiji that alleged military 
abuse of prostitutes. According to the report, a number of prostitutes, 
particularly in the Lautoka area, charged that soldiers took them into 
custody, brought them to military barracks, and forced them to 
partially strip and perform humiliating physical activities such as 
squatting in mud. The government denied the allegations.
    Throughout the year various persons detained by police accused 
police of beating them to obtain confessions. For example, in September 
five persons arrested on robbery charges earlier that month told the 
High Court that they were assaulted by police officers while in custody 
and made confessions obtained unlawfully by this assault.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh and did not meet international standards. The national prison 
system was seriously underfunded and overcrowded, with deteriorating 
infrastructure and complaints about delivery of essential services. 
Prisoners had access to potable water, but the system had insufficient 
beds, inadequate sanitation, and a shortage of basic necessities. 
However, there were no reports of inmate deaths during the year due to 
poor prison conditions.
    A June 14 report on Radio Fiji news stated that the number of 
inmates in the country's prisons exceeded capacity. According to the 
report, at that time 12 institutions held 1,223 inmates, including both 
convicted prisoners and pretrial detainees, 156 more than capacity. The 
number of pretrial detainees continued to rise during the year, in part 
because the courts generally refused to grant bail (see section 1.d.). 
According to the prison commissioner, there was capacity for 95 
pretrial detainees in the system, but at year's end there were 374 
pretrial detainees in detention. During the year authorities continued 
to hold some pretrial detainees in Naboro and Nasinu prisons, due to 
lack of adequate capacity at the Korovou pretrial detention center.
    In general pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners were 
separated at shared facilities, although in some cases they were held 
together.
    The Corrections Department started construction of a new remand 
center for Suva within the Korovou Prison complex. An addition to the 
Nasinu Prison was completed during the year to hold pretrial detainees 
when their number exceeded the capacity at the existing Korovou Prison 
remand center.
    Prisoners and detainees were permitted access to visitors, 
including family members; telephone calls; and religious observance. 
The law allows prisoners to submit complaints to judicial authorities, 
but the government reviews all prisoner letters and has the authority 
to seize them. Authorities did not investigate or document in a 
publicly accessible manner credible allegations of inhumane conditions.
    The government permitted prison monitoring visits by independent 
human rights observers. During the year the International Committee of 
the Red Cross (ICRC) visited official detention facilities and 
interviewed inmates; such visits were permitted without third parties 
present.
    Although the Ombudsman Act authorizes the ombudsman to investigate 
maladministration in government departments, decreases in the staffing 
and budget levels for the Ombudsman's Office since the 2009 abrogation 
of the constitution greatly reduced its capacity to carry out its 
statutory duties, which in previous years included investigating 
allegations of prisoner abuse or neglect, overcrowding, and 
recordkeeping problems. There were no alternatives to incarceration for 
nonviolent offenders; however, the Corrections Department conducted a 
trial program of outside job placements for inmates with less than a 
year to serve to ease their return to society. The department also 
continued use of compulsory supervision orders, under which inmates 
with less than a year to serve can be released into the community to 
serve the remainder of their sentence performing community service at a 
local church or other community center.
    Various programs initiated in 2010 to build skills and generate 
income for prison inmates were augmented or continued during the year. 
The Corrections Department accorded a high priority to prisoner 
rehabilitation and community reintegration, requiring considerable 
prison staff retraining to advance these goals. According to the prison 
commissioner, recidivism declined during the previous two-year period.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The abrogated constitution 
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, but the government did not 
always respect this prohibition in practice. The PER authorize security 
forces to detain a person for up to seven days before bringing charges. 
Various persons accused of breaching the PER and the Public Order Act 
during the year were held up to six days without charge and in some 
cases were not charged at all.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
Defense, headed by the minister for defense, oversees the Fiji Police 
Force, which is responsible for law enforcement and the maintenance of 
internal security. Historically responsible for external security, the 
Republic of Fiji Military Force (RFMF), also under the minister for 
defense, has maintained since 2005 that it has a broad constitutional 
responsibility for national security that also extends to domestic 
affairs. Many constitutional scholars in the country rejected that 
assertion. Under the PER soldiers are authorized to perform the duties 
and functions of police and prison officers.
    The police Ethical Standards Unit is responsible for investigating 
complaints of police misconduct. The Fiji Independent Commission 
against Corruption (FICAC) also continued to investigate public 
agencies and officials, including some members of the police and 
military forces. However, impunity and corruption remained problems. 
The PER provide immunity from prosecution for members of the security 
forces for any deaths or injuries arising from the use of force deemed 
necessary to enforce PER provisions. The government did not investigate 
credible charges of security force abuse of government opponents or 
punish the alleged perpetrators (see section 1.c.).
    In addition, since the 2006 coup the government has issued three 
decrees granting immunity to the military and police in certain 
circumstances. The latest decree, the 2010 Limitation of Legal 
Liability Decree, extends immunity to the military and the national 
police against criminal charges or civil liability suits relating to 
their roles in the 2000 and 2006 coups and the 2009 abrogation of the 
constitution. The effect of the decrees was to prevent legal challenges 
to the 2006 coup, the abrogation of the constitution, and the PER, and 
to enable the government to avoid paying court-ordered compensation to 
victims of security force violence and their family members.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law police 
officers may arrest persons without a warrant for violations of the 
2010 Crimes Decree, which replaced the preexisting penal code. Police 
also arrest persons in response to warrants issued by magistrates and 
judges. Under the constitution arrested persons must be brought before 
a court without ``undue delay,'' normally interpreted to mean within 24 
hours, with 48 hours as the exception. Detainees have the right to a 
judicial review of the grounds for their arrest. However, these rights 
were not always observed by the police and military after the 
constitution was abrogated.
    The Bail Act gives accused persons the right to bail, unless it is 
not in the interests of justice that bail be granted. Under the Bail 
Act, both police and the courts can grant bail. There is a presumption 
in favor of granting bail, although this may be rebutted by the 
prosecution if it objects to bail, and in cases where the accused has 
been convicted and is appealing or has previously breached bail 
conditions. Despite these provisions, during the year a magistrate 
announced that the government had issued a directive to the 
magistrates' courts advising against granting bail for indictable 
offenses and stating that bail applications for such offenses would be 
handled only by the High Court. The directive requires accused persons 
to demonstrate why they should be granted bail, in effect negating the 
Bail Act's presumption in favor of granting bail. Police retained 
authority to grant bail for nonindictable offenses but during the year 
refused to grant it to persons charged with drunk driving. Beginning in 
2010 the courts made it more difficult for accused persons to apply for 
bail, requiring this to be by motion and affidavit that required the 
services of a lawyer.
    Detainees generally were allowed prompt access to counsel and 
family members, but some journalists and others detained by the 
military for short periods after criticizing the government were denied 
prompt access to a lawyer. The Legal Aid Commission provided counsel to 
some indigent defendants in criminal cases, a service supplemented by 
voluntary services from private attorneys. However, there were delays 
in the provision of legal aid to some accused persons who requested 
assistance, due to lack of adequate legal aid staff and resources.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--There were cases of arbitrary detention. For 
example, following the flight to Tonga of the former Third Fiji 
Infantry Regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Tevita Mara, the 
military and police arbitrarily detained and questioned his wife, 
sisters, and other family members. They were released without charge. 
Other regime critics also were detained by the military under the PER 
and the Public Order Act and then released without charge.

    Pretrial Detention.--In 2010 the number of pretrial detainees 
approximately doubled compared with 2009 because of a pattern of 
refusal of bail by the courts. This pattern continued during the year. 
In addition, the courts had a significant backlog of cases, worsened by 
the government's 2009 dismissal of the existing judiciary. Processing 
was slowed by, among other things, a shortage of prosecutors and 
judges. As a result, some defendants faced lengthy pretrial detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, but during the year the government interfered 
with judicial independence in practice.
    There were allegations of politically motivated prosecutions of 
government critics. A woman charged with drug offenses accused the 
attorney general of encouraging her to make rape allegations against 
her lawyer, the son of former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry.
    The 2009 Administration of Justice Decree prohibits all tiers of 
the judiciary from considering cases relating to the 2006 coup; all 
acts of the interim government between December 4, 2006, and April 9, 
2009; the abrogation of the constitution on April 10, 2009; and all 
government decrees since December 2006.
    The chief registrar continued to prosecute lawyers for disciplinary 
breaches. Civil society organizations criticized these additional 
duties as infringing on the independence of the judiciary.
    A 2010 amendment to the Administration of Justice Decree that 
removed the courts' jurisdiction to hear challenges to government 
decisions on judicial restructuring, terms and conditions of 
remuneration for the judiciary, and terminated court cases remained in 
force. Various other decrees contained similar clauses limiting the 
jurisdiction of the courts on decisions made by the cabinet, ministers, 
or government departments.
    The government continued to prohibit an International Bar 
Association delegation from visiting the country to evaluate judicial 
independence. The government also reiterated its refusal to allow the 
U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges to visit the 
country for the same purpose.

    Trial Procedures.--In most cases defendants have the right to a 
public trial, and the court system generally enforced this right during 
the year; however, the PER permit trials for violations of PER 
provisions to be held in camera. In December the chief magistrate ruled 
that the trial of five men charged with sedition under the Crimes 
Decree for an antigovernment graffiti campaign in August would be held 
in closed court on grounds of national security.
    The Legal Aid Commission, supplemented by voluntary services of 
private attorneys, provided free counsel to some indigent defendants in 
criminal cases. Most cases were heard in the magistrates' courts. The 
Crimes Decree defines which offenses may be tried in the magistrates' 
courts and which must be tried in the High Court. Serious offenses, 
including murder, rape, trafficking in persons, bribery, treason, 
sedition, and mutiny, can be heard only in the High Court. Trials in 
the High Court provide for the presence of assessors, typically three, 
who are similar to jurors but only advise the presiding judge. 
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and may question witnesses, 
present evidence on their own behalf, and access government-held 
evidence relevant to their cases. The right of appeal exists but often 
was hampered by delays in the process.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or long-term political detainees. Police detained 
for short periods and questioned a number of persons critical of the 
government.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the law provides 
for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, the 
judiciary is prohibited by decree from considering lawsuits relating to 
the 2006 coup, subsequent actions by the interim government, the 
abrogation of the constitution, and subsequent military decrees. In the 
event of a human rights violation, under the abrogated constitution an 
individual also could complain to the Fiji Human Rights Commission 
(FHRC), but under a May 2009 decree, the FHRC is prohibited from 
investigating cases filed by individuals and organizations relating to 
the 2006 coup and the 2009 abrogation of the constitution.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The abrogated constitution prohibits such actions, but 
the government frequently ignored these prohibitions in practice. The 
PER permit military personnel to search persons and premises without a 
warrant from a court and to take photographs, fingerprints, and 
measurements of any person. Police and military officers also may enter 
private premises to break up any meeting considered unlawful.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The abrogated constitution provides for freedom of speech and 
press, but the government generally did not respect these rights in 
practice. The PER give the government the power to detain persons on 
suspicion of ``endangering public safety or the preservation of the 
peace''; the government used this provision to intimidate and in some 
cases detain persons who criticized the government. In addition the PER 
and the Media Decree provide for government censorship of the media.

    Freedom of Speech.--The Crimes Decree includes criticism of the 
government in its definition of the crime of sedition. This includes 
statements made in other countries by any person, who can be prosecuted 
on return to Fiji. Two former military officers and several labor 
leaders and graffiti vandals were charged with sedition during the 
year.
    At year's end the 2010 case of former politician Peceli Rinakama, 
charged in connection with comments he reportedly made to a passing 
bystander relating to the conviction of eight persons charged with 
conspiring to assassinate Bainimarama, had not yet come to trial. 
Rinakama was charged under the Public Order Act with uttering words 
calculated to bring death or physical injury to a person or injury to 
the lawful authority of the government.

    Freedom of Press.--Independent media could not operate freely. The 
government published fortnightly supplements in the Fiji Sun newspaper. 
The country's television news program production was owned and operated 
by Fiji One, one of two national noncable television stations. A 
company whose board is appointed by the minister for indigenous affairs 
(a position held by Prime Minister Bainimarama during the year) on 
behalf of the provincial councils owned 51 percent of Fiji One; the 
remainder was privately held. The government owned the Fiji 
Broadcasting Corporation, which operated six radio stations and 
launched a television station in November. The Ministry of Information 
news bulletin was broadcast daily on both the FBC TV station and the 
third station, Mai TV.

    Violence and Harassment.--On February 18, the government detained 
journalist Felix Chaudhry and two trade union officials after the Fiji 
Times newspaper published an article on maintenance problems at Fiji 
Sugar Corporation's Rarawi sugar mill. Chaudhry was released the same 
day. Soldiers warned him not to publish any more articles about Fiji 
Sugar Corporation or certain other corporations in which the government 
held a significant share.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The PER authorize the Ministry 
of Information, military media cell officers, and police to vet all 
news stories before publication, resulting in the removal of all 
stories the government deemed ``negative'' and ``inciteful,'' and 
therefore, according to the government, a threat to national security. 
All radio stations were required to submit their news scripts to the 
permanent secretary for information, a military appointee, before each 
news bulletin was broadcast, and the print and television media were 
censored on a daily basis by Ministry of Information and military media 
cell officers, accompanied by police officers, who were placed in media 
newsrooms.
    The Media Decree penalizes the media for ``irresponsible 
reporting.'' Under the decree the directors and 90 percent of the 
shareholders of locally based media must be citizens of, and 
permanently resident in, the country. The Fiji Media Industry 
Development Authority is responsible for enforcing these provisions. 
The authority has the power to investigate journalists and media 
outlets for alleged violations of the decree, including powers of 
search and seizure of equipment. The decree also establishes a media 
tribunal to decide complaints referred by the authority, with the power 
to impose jail terms of up to two years and fines of up to F$1,000 
($565) for journalists, F$25,000 ($14,116) for publishers and editors, 
and F$100,000 ($56,465) for media organizations. The tribunal is not 
bound by formal rules of evidence. The decree strips the judiciary of 
power to challenge the decree itself or any proceedings or findings of 
the Media Authority, the tribunal, or the information minister.
    At year's end the tribunal provided for in the decree had not yet 
been appointed.
    The Media Council, a voluntary private watchdog group of media and 
academic figures, received and resolved complaints of bias and 
malfeasance within the media. However, the continuous extension of the 
PER and the promulgation of the Media Decree gave the government 
control over media content through censors.
    During the year the attorney general initiated a lawsuit against 
the Fiji Times newspaper for publishing a quote from an international 
soccer official questioning the independence of the country's 
judiciary.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on general 
public access to the Internet, but evidence suggested that the 
government monitored private e-mails of citizens. The government 
monitored Internet traffic in an attempt to control antigovernment 
reports by anonymous bloggers.
    A 2010 decree requires all telephone and Internet service users to 
register their personal details with telephone and Internet providers, 
including their name, birth date, home address, and photographic 
identification. The decree imposes fines of up to F$100,000 ($56,465) 
on providers who continue to provide services to unregistered users and 
up to F$10,000 ($5,647) on users who do not update their registration 
information as required under the decree. Vodafone, one of two mobile 
telephone providers, also required users to register their nationality, 
postal address, employment details, and both thumbprints.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedom was 
generally respected, but government work-permit stipulations prohibit 
foreigners from participating in domestic politics. Contract 
regulations of the University of the South Pacific effectively restrict 
most university employees from running for or holding public office or 
holding an official position with any political party. During the year 
the university terminated its contract with Wadan Narsey, a prominent 
Fijian economist and long-time critic of the military government, 
allegedly at the direction of the government.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The abrogated constitution provides for freedom of assembly, 
but since the 2006 coup, the government has interfered with this right 
in practice. The PER allow the government to refuse applications for 
permits for marches and meetings sought by antigovernment political 
parties and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and to regulate--
including by use of such force as deemed necessary--the use of any 
public or private place by three or more persons for a political 
meeting. Under the PER police and military officers also may enter any 
public or private premises to break up any meeting or assembly deemed 
unlawful. Although some civic organizations were granted permits to 
assemble, permits for all political demonstrations and marches were 
denied, as were some permits for meetings of religious groups. For 
example, the government refused a permit for the Methodist Church, 
which historically has been associated with indigenous Fijian 
nationalism, to hold its annual three-day conference during the year 
and for its 52 divisions to hold their quarterly meetings. Police 
stated that Christmas parties held in private premises would not need a 
permit.
    In February the government withdrew charges lodged in 2010 against 
former prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry and five associates for 
allegedly holding a ``political meeting'' without a permit in breach of 
the PER.

    Freedom of Association.--The abrogated constitution provided for 
freedom of association, but no decree provides for this right following 
the constitution's abrogation. During the year the government did not 
restrict individuals from joining NGOs, professional associations, or 
other private organizations, but some NGOs were not permitted to hold 
meetings with their members.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The abrogated constitution provides 
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, 
and repatriation, but the government frequently restricted or denied 
these rights in practice.
    The government provided nominal cooperation with the Office of the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

    In-country Movement.--The PER authorize the government to prohibit, 
restrict, or regulate movement of persons, but the government did not 
restrict any person's in-country movement during the year.

    Foreign Travel.--The government maintained a list of persons banned 
from leaving the country, including human rights activists and lawyers. 
Names on the list were not made public; would-be travelers discovered 
their inclusion when they were turned back by airport immigration 
authorities.
    The government continued to limit the travel of government critics. 
Former prime minister Laisenia Qarase, charged in 2008 with abuse of 
office, continued to be subject to strict bail conditions prohibiting 
him from traveling out of the country, on the grounds that such travel 
would pose a ``threat to national security.'' At year's end his case 
remained pending.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, but the government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. There were 
no applications for asylum or refugee status during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The country continued to be ruled by a military-dominated 
government following the 2006 military overthrow of the popularly 
elected government, and at year's end Parliament, the 12 elected 
municipal councils, and the Great Council of Chiefs remained suspended. 
The government denied citizens the right to change their government 
peacefully, although the abrogated constitution provides citizens the 
right to do so.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The most 
recent elections, held in 2006, were judged generally free and fair. 
Party politics was largely race based, although this did not limit 
participation in the political process. The governing Soqosoqo Duavata 
ni Lewenivanua (SDL) party was primarily ethnic Fijian, and the Fiji 
Labour Party (FLP), the second-largest party, was primarily Indian-
Fijian, although both had membership across racial lines. After the 
elections the SDL established a multiparty cabinet with the FLP as 
required by the constitution. This government was removed by the RFMF 
under Bainimarama's leadership during the 2006 coup.
    At year's end the PER continued in force, and the government 
continued to rule by decree. Bainimarama has declared that political 
reforms are necessary before elections can resume and repeatedly 
postponed national elections. In September the government announced it 
would start electronic voter registration in 2012 as part of 
preparations for promised 2014 parliamentary elections and invited 
tenders from interested companies. A government official also announced 
in September that political party ``manifestos'' or published platforms 
would not be allowed in future elections, and that all competing 
parties would have to uphold the government's Charter for Peace, 
Change, and Progress.

    Political Parties.--In March military personnel raided the SDL 
party's office in Suva and confiscated its computers. The office closed 
after the raid but reopened by year's end.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There was one woman in the 
11-member cabinet. Indigenous women played important roles in the 
traditional system of chiefs, and some became chiefs in their own 
right.
    There were two Indian-Fijian ministers in the cabinet and no other 
minority ministers. Indian-Fijians, who accounted for 37 percent of the 
population, continued to be underrepresented at senior levels of the 
civil service and greatly so in the military. Indian-Fijians comprised 
approximately 35 percent of the civil service overall. The 
``disciplined services''--the military, police, and prison services--
were predominantly ethnic Fijian; however, Indian-Fijians comprised 
approximately one-third of the police force.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and it 
has been a significant problem for post-independence governments. 
Officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    Despite measures by the government during the year to combat 
corruption within the bureaucracy, systemic corruption continued. In 
the absence of parliamentary oversight and other checks and balances, 
much government decision making was not transparent. The media 
published articles on the reports and conclusions of the government-
appointed Public Accounts Committee and reports of FICAC investigations 
on abuse of office, but the government censored independent media 
reporting on some government corruption. In 2008 the auditor general 
announced that in the absence of a sitting parliament, audit reports 
would be submitted to the cabinet and would not be made public. This 
practice continued during the year. The cabinet referred such reports 
to the Public Accounts Committee for review. Media continued to 
highlight the reports up to 2005 that had been examined by the 
committee, but the reports from 2006-11 were not publicized.
    Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws. 
FICAC is the primary body responsible for combating government 
corruption. During the year the former lead prosecutor for FICAC 
alleged inappropriate interference in FICAC by the attorney general and 
Military Council. In September the government lost its appeal against 
the acquittal of government critic Ratu Sakiusa Tuisolia on abuse of 
office charges and charges relating to licensing of his restaurant 
business. Tuisolia had maintained that the charges, brought by FICAC, 
were politically motivated.
    The corruption case of former prime minister Qarase, initiated by 
FICAC in 2008, remained pending at year's end.
    Although the abrogated constitution instructed Parliament to enact 
a freedom of information law as soon as practicable, no such law was 
enacted. The government was frequently unresponsive to public requests 
for government information. A 2008 amendment to the FICAC decree allows 
FICAC to prosecute the offense of ``misconduct in public office.'' The 
amendment gives FICAC authority to prosecute civil servants who divulge 
confidential government information to others without authorization.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The government continued to scrutinize the operations of local and 
international NGOs, engendering a climate of uncertainty within the NGO 
community. Most NGOs practiced varying degrees of self-censorship. 
Government officials were cooperative and responsive only to the views 
of NGOs that avoided criticizing the 2006 coup and the government.
    There were several NGOs that concentrated on a variety of local 
human rights causes, such as the Citizens' Constitutional Forum, Fiji 
Women's Rights Movement, and Fiji Women's Crisis Center.
    NGOs were constrained in their operations by the Crimes Decree, 
which includes criticism of the government in its definition of 
sedition, and the Media Decree, which requires all publications to be 
vetted by the Ministry of Information (see section 2.a.).
    On July 1, police dispersed an internal workshop of the Fiji 
Women's Rights Movement because it did not have a permit under the PER. 
The NGO said it did not seek a permit because the workshop was an 
internal planning meeting of its board and staff members.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The ICRC continued to operate 
in the country. A number of U.N. organizations concerned with human 
rights had regional offices in the country and sought to address 
reports of human rights abuses. The country remained suspended from the 
Commonwealth of Nations and the major regional organization Pacific 
Islands Forum (PIF), in response to Bainimarama's failure to address 
expectations ``to return Fiji to democratic governance in an acceptable 
time-frame,'' in addition to other concerns, including human rights 
violations, expressed in statements by the PIF and the Commonwealth.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--Although the FHRC was 
reestablished by decree after the abrogation of the constitution, it 
was not authorized to investigate complaints against the abrogation, 
other actions of the government, or the 2006 coup. It did not enjoy a 
high level of public trust.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The abrogated constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, 
sex, place of origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, color, primary 
language, economic status, age, or disability. The government generally 
enforced these provisions effectively, although there were problems in 
some areas. After the constitution's abrogation, only the 2007 
Employment Relations Promulgation (ERP), which came into force in 2008, 
had similar provisions, but these are limited to workers and industrial 
relations matters.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, domestic abuse, incest, 
and indecent assault were significant problems. The Crimes Decree 
provides for a maximum punishment of life imprisonment for rape; under 
the decree rape is an indictable offense, which can be tried only in 
the High Court. The 2010 Domestic Violence Decree recognizes spousal 
rape as a specific offense. The NGOs Fiji Women's Rights Movement and 
Fiji Women's Crisis Center pressed for more consistent and severe 
punishments for rape in practice.
    The Domestic Violence Decree created a specific domestic violence 
offense. Police claimed to practice a ``no-drop'' policy, under which 
they pursued investigations of domestic violence cases even if a victim 
later withdrew her accusation. However, women's organizations reported 
that police were not always consistent in their observance of this 
policy. The decree gives the police authority to apply to a magistrate 
for restraining orders in domestic violence cases, but police often 
told the victims to apply for such orders themselves. Police officers 
were not always aware they had the power to apply on the woman's 
behalf. As a result, complainants sometimes were obliged to seek legal 
assistance from a lawyer or an NGO. Courts dismissed some cases of 
domestic abuse and incest or gave perpetrators light sentences. Incest 
was widely believed to be underreported. Traditional and religious 
practices of reconciliation between aggrieved parties in both ethnic 
Fijian and Indian-Fijian communities were sometimes taken into account 
to mitigate sentences in domestic violence cases. In many cases, 
offenders were released without a conviction rather than jailed on the 
condition they maintain good behavior. An active women's crisis center 
sought to raise public awareness of domestic violence.
    Four women's crisis centers funded by foreign governments operated 
in the country. The centers offered counseling and assistance to women 
in cases of domestic violence, rape, and other problems, such as lack 
of child support.

    Sexual Harassment.--The 2009 Human Rights Commission Decree 
specifically prohibits sexual harassment, and criminal laws against 
``indecent assaults on females'' prohibit offending the modesty of 
women and have been used to prosecute sexual harassment cases. Under 
the ERP workers can file complaints on the grounds of sexual harassment 
in the workplace. The Ministry of Labor reported that one sexual 
harassment complaint filed with the Employment Relations Tribunal (ERT) 
under the ERP in a prior year was withdrawn during the year. Two other 
sexual harassment complaints were filed with the ERT during the year, 
but information on their status at year's end was not available.
    In response to various complaints in 2009 from some indigenous 
village and provincial councils about a purported breakdown of order in 
villages, in 2010 the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs drafted a model 
village bylaw addressing issues raised by the councils, including 
women's dress. The draft model bylaw included a prohibition on wearing 
of shorts, t-shirts, and long hair by women. During the year the 
government announced that the bylaw was a draft only that the councils 
should not yet enforce. Despite the announcement, councils continued to 
enforce their own versions of the bylaw, and some village chiefs were 
charged with assaults on persons judged to be in breach of it.

    Sex Tourism.--While there is no specific sex tourism offense, sex 
tourism is illegal under laws prohibiting soliciting for prostitution 
and commercial sexual exploitation of children. Nonetheless, sex 
tourism reportedly occurred, particularly in tourist centers such as 
Nadi and Savusavu, including cases involving children. Taxi drivers, 
hoteliers, bar workers, and others reportedly acted as middlemen, 
facilitating the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals generally have the 
right to decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children. The government provided family planning services, and women 
had access to contraceptives free of charge at public hospitals and 
clinics, and for a nominal charge if prescribed by a private physician. 
Unmarried and young women generally were discouraged from undergoing 
tubal ligation for birth control, and public hospitals, especially in 
rural areas, often refused to perform the operation on unmarried women 
who requested it. Nurses and doctors often required the husband's 
consent before carrying out the operation on a married woman, although 
there is no legal requirement for such consent. Most women gave birth 
in hospitals, where skilled attendance at birth and essential prenatal, 
obstetric, and postpartum care were available.

    Discrimination.--Women have full rights of inheritance and property 
ownership by law but in practice often were excluded from the decision-
making process on disposition of iTaukei (indigenous) communal land, 
which constituted more than 80 percent of all land. Women have the 
right to a share in the distribution of iTaukei land lease proceeds, 
but in practice this right was seldom recognized. Other than a 
prohibition on working underground in mines, there were no legal 
limitations on the employment of women, and many women were successful 
entrepreneurs. Several prominent women led civil society, NGO, and 
advocacy groups.
    The ERP prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. In practice, 
however, women generally were paid less than men for similar work. 
According to the Asian Development Bank, approximately 30 percent of 
the economically active female population was engaged in the formal 
economy, and a large proportion of these women worked in semi-
subsistence employment or were self-employed.
    The Ministry for Women worked to promote women's legal rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived both by 
birth within the country and through one's parents. Births generally 
were registered promptly.

    Education.--School is mandatory until age 15, but the inability of 
some families to pay for uniforms and school fees limited attendance 
for some children.

    Child Abuse.--Corporal punishment was common in both homes and 
schools, despite a Ministry of Education policy forbidding it in the 
classroom. Increasing urbanization, overcrowding, and the breakdown of 
traditional community and extended family-based structures led to an 
increasing incidence of child abuse and appeared to be factors that 
increased a child's chance of being exploited for commercial sex.

    Child Marriage.--The legal age for marriage is 18, although 
children between 16 and18 years of age can marry with parental consent. 
Some NGOs reported that child marriage was a problem, especially in 
rural areas, where girls often married at age 16, preventing them from 
completing their secondary school education. In indigenous villages 
girls under 16 who became pregnant could begin to live as common-law 
wives with their child's father after the men presented traditional 
apologies to the girls' families, thereby avoiding the filing of a 
complaint to police by the families. The girls frequently married the 
fathers as soon as legally permissible, at age 16.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The Court of Appeal has ruled 
that 10 years is the minimum appropriate sentence in child rape cases; 
however, in such cases police often charged defendants with 
``defilement'' rather than rape because defilement is easier to prove 
in court. Defilement or unlawful carnal knowledge of a child under age 
13 has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, while the maximum 
penalty for defilement of a child between ages 13 and 15 or of an 
intellectually impaired person is 10 years' imprisonment. Women's NGOs 
complained that magistrates imposed shorter sentences, from two to 
eight years, in child defilement cases.
    Child prostitution was reported among high school students and 
homeless and jobless youth. Commercial sexual exploitation of children 
continued to occur. Under the Crimes Decree, commercial sexual 
exploitation of children is an indictable offense that must be tried in 
the High Court. The decree makes it an offense for any person to buy or 
hire a child under age 18 for sex, prostitution, or other unlawful 
purpose, punishable by imprisonment for up to 12 years. It is also an 
offense for a householder or innkeeper to allow commercial sexual 
exploitation of children in his or her premises, but there were no 
prosecutions or convictions for these offenses during the year.
    The minimum age for consensual sex is 16. The maximum penalty is 
life imprisonment in the case of a person who has sexual relations with 
a child under age 13 and 10 years' imprisonment in the case of a person 
who has sexual relations with a child between ages13 and 15. In the 
latter case it is considered a sufficient defense to establish that the 
perpetrator had ``reasonable cause'' to believe the child was 16 or 
older. Despite the maximum penalties under the law, magistrates 
sometimes imposed sentences as low as two years' imprisonment in such 
cases.
    Child pornography is illegal. The maximum penalty for violators is 
14 years' imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of F$25,000 ($14,116) for 
a first offense and life imprisonment and/or a fine of up to F$50,000 
($28,232) for a repeat offense, and the confiscation of any equipment 
used in the commission of the offense. A child welfare decree 
promulgated in 2010 requires mandatory reporting to police by teachers 
and health and social welfare workers of any incident of child abuse.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish community, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Under the abrogated constitution, all 
persons are considered equal under the law, and discrimination against 
persons with disabilities in employment, education, provision of 
housing and land, or provision of other state services is illegal. 
Since the constitution's abrogation, no new decree has addressed 
specifically the rights of persons with disabilities; however, existing 
statutes provide for the right of access to places and all modes of 
transport generally open to the public. Public health regulations 
provide penalties for noncompliance; however, there was very little 
enabling legislation on accessibility for persons with disabilities, 
and there was little or no enforcement of laws protecting them.
    Building regulations require new public buildings to be accessible 
to persons with disabilities, but only a few existing buildings met 
this requirement. By law all new office spaces must be accessible to 
persons with disabilities. There were only a small number of disabled-
accessible vehicles in the country. The Fiji Disabled People's 
Association, an NGO, reported that most persons with disabilities were 
unemployed due to lack of sufficient education and training and 
negative attitudes of employers. There were no programs to improve 
access to information and communications for persons with disabilities, 
in particular those with hearing or vision impairments, had difficulty 
accessing public information. There were a number of community 
organizations to assist those with disabilities, particularly children.
    Most persons with mental and intellectual disabilities were 
separated from society and typically were supported at home by their 
families. The 2010 Mental Health Decree stipulates that treatment 
should be provided for persons with mental and intellectual 
disabilities in the community, public health, and general health 
systems. Institutionalization of persons with severe mental 
disabilities was in a single underfunded public facility in Suva. There 
were a number of special schools offering primary education for persons 
with physical, intellectual, and sensory disabilities; however, cost 
and location limited access. Opportunities for a secondary school 
education for those with disabilities were very limited.
    The Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons, a government-funded 
statutory body, worked to protect the rights of persons with 
disabilities. Several NGOs also promoted attention to the needs of 
persons with various disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Tension between ethnic Fijians 
and Indian-Fijians has been a longstanding problem. Indigenous Fijians 
make up 57 percent of the population, Indian-Fijians comprise 37 
percent, and the remaining 6 percent is composed of Europeans, Chinese, 
and Rotuman and other Pacific Islander communities. The abrogated 
constitution notes that ``the composition of state services at all 
levels must be based on the principle of reflecting as closely as 
possible the ethnic composition of the population,'' but a 
nonjusticiable compact in the constitution also cites the 
``paramountcy'' of Fijian interests as a guiding principle. The compact 
also provides for affirmative action and ``social justice'' programs to 
``secure effective equality'' for ethnic Fijians and Rotumans, ``as 
well as for other communities.'' The compact chiefly benefited the 
indigenous Fijian majority, although Indian-Fijians dominated the 
commercial sector. Indigenous Fijians dominated the civil service, 
including senior positions.
    The government publicly stated its opposition to such policies, 
which it characterized as racist, and called for the elimination of 
discriminatory laws and practices that favor one race over another; 
however, as of year's end, most remained in place. The government's 
reform priorities, including reform of discriminatory laws and 
practices, were part of a political dialogue process with political 
parties that stalled and was not reconvened after the constitution's 
abrogation.
    In an effort to address the sensitive question of ethnic and 
national identity, in 2010 the government decreed that the country's 
citizens would henceforth be known as ``Fijians,'' a term that 
previously was understood to refer only to the ethnic indigenous 
population. Indigenous Fiji Islanders would become known as ``iTaukei'' 
(literally, ``owners'' in the Fijian language). The decree requires 
that anywhere the word ``indigenous'' or ``native'' appears in the law 
and in government publications and communications, it is to be replaced 
by the term ``iTaukei.'' Some commentators, writing in blogs or 
overseas publications, observed that the lack of prior consultations 
with the indigenous community about the change and its promulgation by 
decree could complicate its implementation, given the historical 
opposition by indigenous Fijians to making ``Fijian'' the common name 
for all citizens. (The 1997 constitution used the term ``Fiji 
Islander'' to refer to all citizens.)
    Land tenure remained a highly sensitive and politicized issue. 
Ethnic Fijians communally held approximately 87 percent of all land, 
the government held approximately 4 percent, and the remainder was 
freehold land, which private individuals or companies held. Most cash-
crop farmers were Indian-Fijians, the majority of whom are descendants 
of indentured laborers who came to the country during the British 
colonial era. Virtually all Indian-Fijian farmers were obliged to lease 
land from ethnic Fijian landowners. Many Indian-Fijians believed that 
their very limited ability to own land and their consequent dependency 
on leased land from indigenous Fijians constituted de facto 
discrimination against them. A pattern of refusals by ethnic Fijian 
landowners to renew expiring leases continued to result in evictions of 
Indian-Fijians from their farms and their displacement to squatter 
settlements. Many indigenous Fijian landowners in turn believed that 
the rental formulas prescribed in the national land tenure legislation 
discriminated against them as the resource owners. This situation 
contributed significantly to communal tensions.
    In 2010 the government promulgated the Land Use Decree to improve 
access to land. The decree establishes a ``land bank'' in the Ministry 
of Lands for the purpose of leasing land from indigenous landowning 
units through the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB, formerly the Native 
Land Trust Board) and subleasing the land to individual tenants for 
lease periods of up to 99 years. The TLTB is the legal custodian of 
indigenous lands under the iTaukei Land Trust Act and holds all 
indigenous land in trust for the benefit of indigenous landowning 
units. In practice, however, the Land Bank began leasing land directly 
to tenants, without any involvement of the TLTB. The first lease by the 
Land Bank was granted to Xinfa Aurum, a Chinese mining company, for a 
bauxite mine in Vanua Levu.
    Beginning in January the government changed the existing formula 
for distributing lease proceeds to indigenous landowners, under which 
35 percent of revenues had gone to chiefs and 15 percent was deducted 
by the TLTB for administrative expenses. The new process abolishes the 
system of chiefly privilege in land lease income distribution and 
provides for a ``one person, one share'' system. This change 
contributed to an increase in lease renewals, as individual members of 
landowning units receive a greater share of lease monies than under the 
previous system.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The Crimes Decree does not 
criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity and for the first time 
recognizes male-on-male rape as a crime. The ERP prohibits 
discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation.
    There was some societal discrimination against persons based on 
sexual orientation and gender identity, although there was no systemic 
discrimination. There were no known cases of violence based on sexual 
orientation or gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was some societal 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, although it was not 
systemic. There were no known cases of violence targeting persons with 
HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law gives workers the right to form and join unions, elect their 
own representatives, publicize their views on labor matters, and 
determine their own policies. The law also gives workers the right to 
strike and bargain collectively.
    All unions must register with the government, which has 
discretionary power to refuse to register any union with an 
``undesirable'' name, as well as to cancel registration of existing 
unions in cases provided for by law. The ERP allows restrictions on the 
right of association if necessary in the public interest or to protect 
national security. Police, military, and prison personnel are 
prohibited from forming or joining a union.
    Freedom of expression and association subsequently were restricted 
after the abrogation of the constitution. Under the PER unions reported 
considerable government interference with, and denial of, their right 
to organize.
    The law provides for the limited right to strike, except that 
police, military, and prison personnel may not strike. Unions can 
conduct secret strike ballots, but must give the registrar 21 days' 
notice. More than 50 percent of all paid-up union members--not only 
paid-up members who actually cast ballots in the election--must vote in 
favor of a strike in order for the strike to be legal. The Ministry of 
Labor also must be notified and receive a list of all striking 
employees and the starting date and location of the strike. This 
requirement is intended to give organizers, unions, employers, and the 
ministry time to resolve the dispute prior to a strike. To carry out a 
legal strike, organizers of strikes in certain ``essential services''--
including emergency, health, fire, sanitary, electrical, water, and 
meteorological services; telecommunications; air traffic control; and 
fuel supply and distribution--must give an employer 49 days' notice. 
The ERP also permits the minister of labor to declare a strike unlawful 
and refer the dispute to the ERT; in these circumstances workers and 
strike leaders can face criminal charges if they persist in strike 
action after the referral. There were no strikes during the year.
    Under the ERP any trade union with six or more members may enter 
into collective bargaining with an employer. Individual employees, 
including nonunionized workers as well as unions, can bring a dispute 
with employers before the permanent secretary for labor for mediation. 
Individuals, employers, and unions on behalf of their members may 
submit employment disputes and grievances alleging discrimination, 
unfair dismissal, sexual harassment, or certain other unfair labor 
practices to the Ministry of Labor. If mediation fails, the authorities 
may refer the dispute to the ERT. The ERT's decision can be appealed to 
the Employment Court (a division of the High Court) and from there to 
the Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court. The ERP also gives 
unions the right to appeal to the ERT against an adverse decision by 
the trade union registrar.
    The Essential National Industries Decree (ENID), published in July, 
severely restricts trade union and collective bargaining rights for 
workers in designated industries and corporations deemed essential to 
the national economy. On September 9, the government officially 
designated 11 corporations--in finance, telecommunications (including 
the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation), the public sector, and the airline 
industry--as covered by the decree. Once a corporation is designated, 
collective agreements previously negotiated between the corporation and 
unions remain valid only for 60 days. Before the end of this period, 
workers must renegotiate the agreements with their company. The 
government has the final say on such agreements. The decree excludes 
professional trade unionists from holding office in unions for these 
corporations and from representing the workers in negotiations with 
employers.
    The authorities did not always respect fundamental labor rights in 
practice. Since the constitution was abrogated, unions have reported 
that the government used the mediation process to punish unions deemed 
insufficiently cooperative with government policies, interrupting the 
collective bargaining process, interfering with mediation, and denying 
appeals for unrelated political reasons. In addition, under provisions 
of the ENID, preexisting trade unions at the 11 corporations designated 
in September ceased to exist 60 days after the companies' designation. 
Groups that had at least 75 members were able to set up new bargaining 
units to negotiate with management. Such units were not registered as 
trade unions under the ERP and did not enjoy the other rights and 
protections accorded trade unions under the ERP; registered trade 
unions may not undertake negotiations in companies covered by the ENID. 
For groups of at least 75 workers who formed bargaining units under the 
ENID and renegotiated agreements with their employers by year's end, in 
most cases the companies and government entities appeared to have 
preserved the majority of benefits provided under previous collective 
bargaining agreements.
    In September, after the ENID was issued, the government denied 
permits to the two trade union umbrella bodies, the Fiji Trades Union 
Congress (FTUC) and the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions, to hold 
their council meetings.
    While not promoted by the ERP, individual contracts were common. 
Employers tended to offer advantageous packages to new employees, 
particularly skilled labor, to promote individual contracts, which 
according to labor groups reduced the possibilities for collective 
bargaining and weakened unions. Under the former Compulsory Recognition 
Act, only unions with 30 percent workforce membership could negotiate 
with an employer. However, the ERP allows any six individual employees 
to form a union and start negotiating with an employer--another 
provision seen by existing unions as weakening worker unity and hence 
bargaining power.
    In August two unionists were charged with breach of the PER for 
holding a meeting without a permit. The two individuals--Daniel Urai, 
president of the FTUC and general secretary of the hotel workers union, 
and union organizer Nitin Goundar--had met with two workers fired from 
an island resort. At year's end the case had not come to trial. In 
November Urai was arrested again and charged with sedition; the 
government alleged he urged certain persons to overthrow the 
government. He was released on bail and was awaiting trial at year's 
end.
    Under the ERP it is an offense for an employer to victimize any 
worker or make it a condition of employment for a worker not to belong 
to a union, but union organizers were occasionally vulnerable to 
dismissal or other interference by employers, particularly when 
operating on company premises. Labor groups reported continuing 
difficulties organizing workers in the Tax Free Zones due to fear of 
employer reprisals.
    Major trade unions reported instances of the government using the 
ERP in a biased fashion to shut down negotiations and appeals.
    In 2010 the Fiji Sugar Corporation ceased the so-called check-off 
facility (direct deduction of union dues) for two registered unions: 
the national farmers' union (Kisan Sangh) and the Fiji Cane Growers' 
Association. As of year's end this check-off facility had not been 
reinstated.
    In May the government ceased the check-off facility for civil 
service unions. An August decree excluded civil servants from the ERP 
and its tribunals, courts, and mediation services. Under the decree the 
check-off facility is not a right but a service, which the government 
can choose not to provide. This greatly hampered the ability of civil 
service unions to represent their members. In June another decree gave 
civil servants the same rights to equality and nondiscrimination as 
other workers covered by the ERP.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The ERP prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, but there were reports that such practices 
occurred. The Labor Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing the law 
but did not have sufficient inspectors for full enforcement.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Under the law children under age 12 may not be employed except in a 
family-owned business or agricultural enterprise. Any such employment 
must not interfere with school attendance and is to be of limited 
duration. Although the law provides that education is compulsory up to 
age 15, children between 12 and 15 may be employed on a daily wage 
basis in nonindustrial ``light'' work not involving machinery, provided 
they return to their parents or guardian every night. Children between 
ages 15 and 17 may be employed in certain occupations not involving 
heavy machinery, hazardous materials, mines, or heavy physical labor; 
however, they must be given specified hours and rest breaks. The ERP 
provides for imprisonment of up to two years, fines of up to F$50,000 
($28,232), or both for employers who violate these provisions.
    The Ministry of Labor deployed inspectors nationwide to enforce 
compliance with labor laws, including those covering child labor. 
However, enforcement of existing child labor regulations was 
inadequate. The government established a multiagency task force led by 
the Ministry of Labor to work toward the elimination of the worst forms 
of child labor.
    Increasing poverty led to more children working as casual laborers, 
often with no safeguards against abuse or injury. During the year 
migration of rural youth to urban areas continued, and youths continued 
to find employment in the informal sector, including work as shoeshine 
boys, casual laborers, and prostitutes. Children as young as age 11 
worked as full-time laborers in the sugar cane industry. Children also 
worked in the production of other agricultural products, including 
coconuts and root vegetables.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no single, national 
minimum wage, although the Wages Councils, comprising representatives 
of both workers and employers, set minimum wages for certain sectors. 
The 11 corporations designated by the ENID are excluded from the ambit 
of the Wages Councils. There was no current official poverty-level 
income figure, but minimum wage levels in regulated industries and 
entry-level wages in unregulated and informal sectors did not provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family.
    There is no single national limitation on maximum working hours for 
adults, but there are restrictions and overtime provisions in certain 
sectors. The ENID bans overtime payments for work in the 11 designated 
corporations unless agreed upon by the employer.
    There are workplace safety laws and regulations, including the 
Health and Safety at Work Act and the Workman's Compensation Act. The 
law accords employees the right to remove themselves from a hazardous 
worksite without jeopardizing their employment, and safety standards 
apply equally to both citizens and foreign workers.
    The Labor Ministry uses its Labor Inspectorate to enforce minimum 
wages, but the inspectorate did not have sufficient capacity to enforce 
the law fully. The ERT and the Employment Court adjudicate cases of 
employers charged by the Labor Inspectorate with violating minimum wage 
orders and decide on workmen's compensation claims filed by the 
inspectorate on behalf of workers. The Occupational Health and Safety 
Inspectorate in the Ministry of Labor monitors workplaces and equipment 
and investigates complaints from workers. Although mines are excluded 
from the Health and Safety at Work Act, the Mining Act empowers the 
director of mines and his inspectors to enter and inspect all mines 
with a view to the health, safety, and welfare of the employees.
    Unions generally monitored safety standards in organized 
workplaces, but many work areas did not meet standards, and not all 
were monitored by the Ministry of Labor for compliance. Workers in some 
industries, notably transportation and shipping, worked excessive 
hours. Government enforcement of safety standards suffered from a lack 
of trained personnel and delays in compensation hearings and rulings. 
Few workers chose to leave the workplace, even if it posed hazards to 
their health, out of fear of dismissal.

                               __________

                               INDONESIA

                           executive summary
    Indonesia is a multiparty democracy. In 2009 Susilo Bambang 
Yudhoyono was reelected president in free and fair elections. Domestic 
and international observers judged the 2009 legislative elections free 
and fair as well. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Major human rights problems included instances of arbitrary and 
unlawful killings by security forces and others in Papua and West Papua 
provinces, societal abuse against certain minority religious groups, 
and abridgement of the rights of particular religious minorities to 
freely practice their religion by regional and local governments. 
Official corruption, including within the judiciary, was a major 
problem, although the Anticorruption Commission (KPK) took some 
concrete steps to address this.
    Other human rights problems included: occasionally harsh prison 
conditions; some narrow and specific limitations on freedom of 
expression; trafficking in persons; child labor; and failure to enforce 
labor standards and worker rights.
    The government attempted to punish officials who committed abuses, 
but judicial sentencing often was not commensurate with the severity of 
offenses, as was true in other types of crimes as well.
    Separatist guerillas in Papua killed members of the security forces 
in several attacks and injured others. Nongovernment actors engaged in 
politically related violence, including murder, in Aceh Province.
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 force personnel killed some alleged criminals and terrorists 
in the course of apprehending them. In addition, there were a number of 
reports accusing security forces of excessive use of force leading to 
death, particularly when handling protests. On October 19, police and 
military units dispersed participants in the Third Papuan People's 
Congress in Jayapura, Papua. The Indonesian National Human Rights 
Commission (Komnas HAM) found that Demananus Daniel, Yakobus Samsabara, 
and Max Asa Yeuw, whose dead bodies were found near the Congress area, 
had been shot. Komnas HAM called for an investigation (see section 
2.b.). In another incident, on December 24, police fired upon 
protesters on Bima Island, West Nusa Tenggara, killing two and wounding 
14.
    On March 31, Sergeant Sukirman and First Inspector Jefry Pantouw of 
Biau Police Precinct were charged with abuse with regard to the August 
2010 death of Kasmir Timumun in police custody in Buol, Central 
Sulawesi. Police initially reported that Timumun committed suicide, but 
credible nongovernmental organization (NGO) sources reported that his 
body bore evidence of abuse. On September 24, both officers were 
convicted of torture by the Central Sulawesi Court and sentenced to one 
year in prison. The prosecution appealed, seeking longer sentences. 
Prosecutors also filed charges against a third officer, Amirullah 
Haruna, for allegedly shooting Ikhsan Mangge during the protest riot 
that followed Timumun's death. Haruna was found not guilty and freed on 
October 27.
    Violence affected the provinces of Papua and West Papua during the 
year. Due to the remoteness of the area it was difficult to confirm 
reports of burned villages and civilian deaths. Much of this violence 
was connected to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and security force 
operations against OPM. For example, OPM forces wounded three soldiers 
in a July 5 exchange of fire. In another incident on July 12, 
attackers, whom the government alleged were OPM-affiliated, injured 
four soldiers and two civilians. On October 24, alleged OPM-affiliated 
attackers shot and killed the chief of the Mulia police station.
    Following a military investigation, three soldiers from the 753 
Infantry Battalion faced a court martial for the March 2010 killing of 
Pastor Kinderman Gire in Puncak Jaya, Papua. On August 11, the court 
sentenced Private Herry Purwanto, First Sergeant Saut Sihombing, and 
Private Hasirun to 15, seven, and six months in prison respectively for 
disobeying lawful orders. The soldiers were not charged with the more 
serious crimes of assault or murder. The military investigation and 
trial reportedly did not take into account nonmilitary testimony or 
evidence.
    In addition to killings by security forces and OPM, there were a 
number of violent incidents, including some killings by unknown parties 
in Papua and West Papua. Unknown attackers perpetrated a number of 
shootings and killings along a road near the Freeport McMoRan's 
(Freeport's) Indonesia-operated Grasberg gold and copper mine in 
Timika, Papua, killing security forces, Freeport employees, and local 
civilians. For example, in an April 7 attack, unknown assailants 
murdered two unarmed Freeport security personnel. On October 14, 
unknown attackers killed three Freeport workers and burned their 
vehicle.
    In June Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was previously convicted 
in the 2004 poisoning of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, 
appealed his conviction with the Central Jakarta District Court, 
claiming new evidence. In 2008 the South Jakarta District Court 
acquitted retired army general Muchdi Purwoprandjono on charges of 
planning Munir's murder. In 2009 the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal 
and remanded the case to the district court. In September the Attorney 
General's Office (AGO) stated no further action in the case against 
Muchdi Purwopranjono was warranted, despite claims from civil society 
organizations that new evidence against Muchdi merited review of his 
acquittal.

    b. Disappearance.--The government and civil society organizations 
reported little progress in accounting for persons who disappeared in 
previous years or in prosecuting those responsible for such 
disappearances. The criminal code does not specifically criminalize 
disappearance.
    In 2009 the House of Representatives (DPR) approved the formation 
of an ad hoc court to pursue investigations of and possible 
prosecutions for the 1998 abductions of prodemocracy activists. Despite 
this approval in 2009, at year's end, the government had not 
established this ad hoc court.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution states that every person shall have the 
right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading 
treatment. The law criminalizes the use of violence or force by 
officials to elicit a confession, punishable by up to four years in 
prison, but the criminal code does not specifically criminalize 
torture. In previous years law enforcement officials widely ignored and 
rarely were tried under this statute. More recently the government made 
some efforts to hold members of the security forces responsible for 
acts of torture but these efforts did not constitute full 
accountability. In 2007 the U.N. special rapporteur on torture reported 
that torture was common in certain jails and used to obtain 
confessions, punish suspects, and seek information that incriminated 
others in criminal activity. Torture typically occurred soon after 
detention. There were reports detainees were beaten with fists, sticks, 
cables, iron bars, and hammers. Some detainees reportedly were shot in 
the legs at close range, subjected to electric shock, burned, or had 
heavy implements placed on their feet.
    Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that torture 
continued to be commonplace in police detention facilities. During the 
year the Legal Aid Institute of Jakarta conducted a survey on the 
prevalence of torture in Papua that found 61 percent of survey 
respondents suffered physical abuse while being arrested and 47 percent 
of respondents suffered physical abuse during questioning. In a 
December 2010 report the Legal Aid Institute of Jakarta reported that 
torture was used particularly in the course of gathering evidence. The 
NGO Commission on the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) 
reported that between January and June, it received reports of five 
cases of torture with fifteen victims.
    In a case of military-instigated torture, on March 13, members of 
the 744th Infantry Battalion tortured Charles Mali to death in 
Futubenao-Atambua in East Nusa Tenggara Province. The incident stemmed 
from an altercation between young men and members of the battalion. 
Mali reportedly was beaten to death. Five other men reportedly were 
tortured as well. During a military investigation, 23 suspects from the 
744th were questioned in connection with this incident. Eight soldiers 
were convicted of involvement in Mali's death and received sentences 
from a military court ranging from eight to 12 months in prison.
    Abuse of detainees in Papua came under heightened scrutiny when, in 
October 2010, a graphic video was posted on YouTube that showed several 
Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) personnel threatening one detainee, 
Telangga Gire, with a knife to the throat and applying a smoldering 
stick to the genitals of another detainee, Tunaliwor Kiwo. This was 
believed to have taken place in late May 2010 during a military 
operation in the Puncak Jaya region of Papua. On January 24, after a 
military trial in Jayapura, Papua, Second Sergeant Irwan Rizkianto 
received a 10-month prison sentence, Private Yakson Agu received a 
sentence of nine months, and Private Thamrin Mahagiri received a 
sentence of eight months. All were charged with disobeying orders, but 
not with the more severe charge of abuse. At year's end, none had been 
removed from the military.
    During the year in Aceh, according to one NGO source, 33 persons 
were caned publicly in five separate instances for violating Sharia 
(Islamic law) laws dealing with gambling, adultery, consuming alcohol, 
and for selling food in daylight hours during the fasting month of 
Ramadan.
    According to an October 11 expose by Tempo Magazine, two Police 
Academy cadets were injured so severely in hazing incidents that they 
had to be discharged from the academy for physical disability; one 
cadet suffered from partial paralysis and the other dealt with 
decreased motor function. The Tempo Magazine article reported that 
between January and September, the academy had received at least 13 
reports of hazing-related violence. Academy administrators set up 
military police patrols around the campus and dormitories to prevent 
future abuses. No information regarding accountability in these cases 
was available at year's end.
    A series of newspaper articles in February implicated Papua police 
in multiple sexual assault cases. In one case, four policemen and three 
civilians allegedly raped and tortured a fifteen-year-old girl in Biak, 
Papua, in February. In a second case, a female detainee at the Jayapura 
police detention center claimed she was forced to perform sexual acts 
with three police officers between November 2010 and January 2011. 
Following the publication of a report on this second case, the involved 
officers received a punishment of 21-days' administrative detention. 
The district police chief of Jayapura City offered his resignation, but 
the regional police chief did not accept it.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions at the 
country's 428 prisons and detention centers were sometimes harsh and 
lifethreatening. Overcrowding was widespread. At the end of the year, 
data from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights indicated that there 
were 141,981 detainees in the system, in comparison with a designed 
capacity of 96,891. Prisons and detention centers in the Jakarta region 
were operating at 228 percent of capacity. For example, according to 
the government, the Pondok Bambu Detention Facility in Jakarta, 
designed for 504 prisoners, held 1,092. The facility had two types of 
cells, small and large. A small cell was approximately nine square 
yards and designed for one to two prisoners. According to NGOs, three 
to five prisoners were assigned to small cells. Authorities routinely 
assigned 20 to 30 prisoners to large cells designed to hold a maximum 
of 10 prisoners.
    According to government figures, 352 prisoners died between January 
and August, compared with 842 throughout the year in 2010.
    NGOs noted authorities sometimes did not provide prisoners adequate 
medical care. According to informed NGO sources, the medical budget for 
prisoners was approximately 1,000 rupiah (approximately $0.11) per 
prisoner per day.
    Guards regularly extorted money from and mistreated inmates. There 
were widespread reports the government did not supply sufficient food 
to inmates, and family members often brought food to supplement their 
relatives' diets. Family members reported prison officials often sought 
bribes to allow relatives to visit inmates. Wealthy prisoners paid for 
special treatment and more comfortable lodging. Officials held unruly 
detainees in solitary confinement for up to six days on a rice-and-
water diet.
    One international source stated that 5.8 percent of prisoners were 
women and 5.6 percent were juveniles. There are six women-only prisons 
in the country, five in Java and one in North Sumatra. According to the 
Directorate General for Corrections, at year's end year there were 
2,179 juvenile detainees and 3,337 juvenile prisoners. One local NGO 
assessed that conditions for women prisoners generally were equal to or 
better than those for men.
    By law, children convicted of serious crimes should serve their 
sentences in juvenile prisons. However, according to a 2007 statement 
by the U.N. special rapporteur on torture, children were incarcerated 
with adults in both pretrial detention centers and in prisons. 
According to a domestic NGO, of the 16 facilities designated as prisons 
for children, only one was used exclusively as such. By law prisons 
held those convicted by courts, while detention centers held those 
awaiting trial; in practice pretrial detainees at times were held with 
convicted prisoners.
    Prisoners were permitted religious observance. Prisoners and 
detainees had reasonable access to visitors, although this access 
reportedly was limited in some cases. International and local NGOs 
reported that in some cases, prisoners did not have ready access to 
clean drinking water. The government actively monitors prison and 
detention center conditions.
    Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities without censorship and to request investigation 
of credible allegation of inhumane conditions.
    Since 2009 the government has denied the International Committee of 
the Red Cross (ICRC) access to monitor prison conditions and treatment 
of prisoners nationwide. In addition, the government requested the ICRC 
to close field offices in Aceh and Papua provinces. Negotiations 
continued without resolution throughout the year to restore ICRC access 
to Papua.
    The criminal procedure code does not incorporate alternative 
sanctions or sentencing for nonviolent offenders.
    The national ombudsman can advocate on behalf of prisoners and 
detainees on a variety of issues, including monitoring conditions and 
treatment of prisoners; addressing the status and circumstances of 
confinement of juvenile offenders; and improving pretrial detention, 
bail, and recordkeeping procedures to ensure that prisoners do not 
serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged offense. In the past, 
the ombudsman has investigated prison issues and communicated his 
findings to the minister of law and human rights and the Supreme Court. 
The Ombudsman's Office and the Directorate General for Correctional 
Facilities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Supervision of 
Public Service for detainees and prisoners.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention but lacks adequate enforcement mechanisms. Some 
authorities violated these provisions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The president appoints 
the national police chief, subject to confirmation by the DPR. The 
police chief reports to the president but is not a full member of the 
cabinet. The Indonesian National Police (INP) has 415,557 personnel 
deployed in 31 regional commands in 33 provinces. The police maintain a 
centralized hierarchy; local police units formally report to the 
national headquarters. The military is responsible for external defense 
but also has a residual obligation to support the police with domestic 
security responsibilities. In Aceh the Sharia Police, a provincial 
body, is responsible for enforcing Sharia.
    The Internal Affairs Division and the National Police Commission 
within the INP investigated complaints against individual police 
officers. Additionally, Komnas HAM and NGOs conducted external 
investigations with the knowledge and cooperation of the police. During 
the year, 207 officers were charged criminally and 3,429 received 
disciplinary infractions.
    In 2009 the Ministry of Law and Human Rights approved the Use of 
Force Police Action Policy, which among other things requires that 
whenever force is used or whenever a citizen or police officer is 
injured as a result of use of force, a Use of Force Resistance Control 
Form must be completed. Since the approval of the Use of Force Police 
Action policy, the INP has trained over 65,000 personnel on this policy 
and has worked to integrate this policy into the INP's overall training 
program.
    In 2009 the INP implemented regulations that standardized human 
rights regulations in the normal course of police duties. However, 
impunity and corruption remained problems.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides prisoners with the right to notify their families promptly and 
specifies that warrants must be produced during an arrest. Exceptions 
are allowed if, for example, a suspect is caught in the act of 
committing a crime. The law allows investigators to issue warrants; 
however, at times authorities made arrests without warrants. A 
defendant may challenge the legality of his arrest and detention in a 
pretrial hearing and may sue for compensation if wrongfully detained; 
however, defendants rarely won pretrial hearings and almost never 
received compensation after being released without charge. Military and 
civilian courts rarely accepted appeals based on claims of improper 
arrest and detention.
    The law limits periods of pretrial detention. Police are permitted 
an initial 20-day detention, which can be extended to 60 days by the 
prosecutors while the investigation is being completed; prosecutors may 
detain a suspect for a further 30 days during the prosecution phase and 
may seek a 20-day extension from the courts. The district and high 
courts may detain a defendant up to 90 days during trial or appeal, 
while the Supreme Court may detain a defendant 110 days while 
considering an appeal. Additionally, the court may extend detention 
periods up to another 60 days at each level if a defendant faces a 
possible prison sentence of nine years or longer or if the individual 
is certified to be mentally disturbed. During the year authorities 
generally respected these limits in practice. The antiterrorism law 
allows investigators to detain for up to four months before charges 
must be filed any person who, based on adequate preliminary evidence, 
is strongly suspected of committing or planning to commit any act of 
terrorism.
    By law suspects or defendants have the right to legal counsel of 
their choice at every stage of an investigation. Court officials will 
provide free legal counsel to persons charged with offenses that carry 
a death penalty or imprisonment of 15 years or more, or to destitute 
defendants facing charges that carry a penalty of five years or more. 
Suspects have the right to bail and to be notified of the charges 
against them.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary remained 
susceptible to influence from outside parties, including business 
interests, politicians, and the security forces. Low salaries and poor 
oversight continued to encourage acceptance of bribes, and judges were 
subject to pressure from government authorities and other groups, which 
appeared to influence the outcome of cases.
    Widespread corruption throughout the legal system continued (see 
section 4); specialized task forces in the AGO attempted to prosecute 
such corruption.
    At times, authorities did not respect court orders, and 
decentralization created additional difficulties for the enforcement of 
these orders. For example, local authorities in the city of Bogor 
failed to honor a December 2010 Supreme Court decision related to a 
construction permit for the GKI Yasmin Church.
    During the year a number of low-level and sometimes mid-level 
soldiers were tried in military courts, including for offenses that 
involved civilians or occurred when soldiers were not on duty. If a 
soldier was suspected of committing a crime, military police 
investigated and then passed their findings to military prosecutors, 
who decided whether to prepare a case. Under the law, military 
prosecutors are accountable to the Supreme Court; however, military 
prosecutors were responsible to the TNI for the application of laws.
    A three-person panel of military judges heard trials, while the 
High Military Court, the Primary Military Court, and the Supreme Court 
heard appeals. Civil society organizations and other observers 
criticized the short length of prison sentences imposed by military 
courts.
    NGO sources stated some military court proceedings were not public 
and occasionally complained about access to hearings; for example, NGOs 
complained about limited information from and access to the trial of 
soldiers implicated in the death of Charles Mali (see section 1.c.). 
However, the January court martial of three soldiers for the videotaped 
torture of a Papuan detainee was public and attended by international 
observers (see section 1.c.).
    Four district courts located in Surabaya, Makassar, Jakarta, and 
Medan are authorized to adjudicate cases of systematic gross human 
rights violations with the recommendation of the Komnas HAM. At year's 
end only the Makassar and Jakarta courts had adjudicated such cases. 
The law provides for each court to have five members, including three 
noncareer human rights judges, who are appointed to five-year terms. 
Verdicts can be appealed to the standing appellate court and the 
Supreme Court. The law provides for internationally recognized 
definitions of genocide, crimes against humanity, and command 
responsibility, but it does not include war crimes as a gross violation 
of human rights.
    Under the Sharia court system in Aceh, 19 district religious courts 
and one court of appeals heard cases. The courts heard only cases 
involving Muslims and used decrees formulated by the local government 
rather than the penal code. Critics argued that regulations for the 
implementation of Sharia law were procedurally ambiguous, leading to 
inconsistencies in its application. For example, defendants had a right 
to legal aid, but this right was inconsistently implemented. Although 
Sharia cases were supposed to be tried in closed hearings, during the 
year there were numerous problems with trial proceedings going forward 
in open court.

    Trial Procedures.--The law presumes defendants are innocent until 
proven guilty. Defendants have the right to confront witnesses and call 
witnesses in their defense. An exception is allowed in cases in which 
distance or expense is deemed excessive for transporting witnesses to 
court; in such cases sworn affidavits may be introduced. However, in 
some cases courts allowed forced confessions and limited the 
presentation of defense evidence. Defendants have the right to avoid 
self-incrimination. In each of the country's 804 courts, a panel of 
judges conducts trials by posing questions, hearing evidence, deciding 
on guilt or innocence, and imposing punishment. Both the defense and 
prosecution can appeal. Defendants enjoy the ability to access the 
prosecution's evidence through application to the hearing panel's 
presiding judge.
    The law gives defendants the right to an attorney from the time of 
arrest and at every stage of examination and requires that defendants 
in cases involving capital punishment or a prison sentence of 15 years 
or more be represented by counsel. In cases involving potential 
sentences of five years or more, the law requires an attorney be 
appointed if the defendant is indigent and requests counsel. In theory 
indigent defendants may obtain private legal assistance, and NGO lawyer 
associations provided free legal representation to indigent defendants. 
For example, Jakarta Legal Aid handled 959 cases during the year. The 
law extends these rights to all citizens. In some cases procedural 
protections, including those against forced confessions, were 
inadequate to ensure a fair trial. With the notable exceptions of 
Sharia court proceedings in Aceh and some military trials, trials are 
public.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Credible international NGOs 
estimated that there were more than 80 political prisoners at the end 
of the year. Most were incarcerated under statutes banning the display 
of banned separatist symbols (see section 2.a.). Government officials 
affirmed publicly that they would not tolerate the display of 
separatist symbols.
    Activists with the separatist Republic of South Molucca (RMS) 
organization continued to be imprisoned for displaying banned 
separatist symbols. Authorities arrested RMS activists in Ambon for 
allegedly planning to fly banned RMS flags during an August 2010 visit 
by President Yudhoyono. Human rights activists reported that security 
forces, including the police, abused these detainees during arrest and 
questioning.
    A number of Papuan independence activists, including Filep Karma, 
were in detention or prison for raising a banned separatist flag. Some 
prominent prisoners incarcerated for flag raising offenses, such as 
Buchtar Tabuni, received standard remissions on Independence Day and 
were released from prison early. Local human rights observers noted 
that enforcement of flag-raising laws was not always consistent but was 
widespread across Papua and West Papua provinces. These observers 
asserted that persons arrested for political offenses often faced harsh 
treatment including withholding of necessary medical care.
    Local human rights activists reported that local activists and 
family members generally were able to visit political prisoners, 
although some prisoners were held far from their families on other 
islands.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The civil court system can 
be used to seek damages for victims of human rights violations; 
however, widespread corruption and political influence limited victims' 
access to this remedy. In one example of a petitioner winning redress, 
on February 17, the Supreme Court ruled that Garuda Indonesia Airlines 
must pay compensation of 3.38 billion rupiah (approximately $386,000) 
to Suciwati, the widow of the late human rights activist Munir (see 
section 1.a.).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law requires judicial warrants for searches except 
for cases involving subversion, economic crimes, and corruption. The 
law also provides for searches without warrants when circumstances are 
``urgent and compelling.''
    Security officials occasionally broke into homes and offices. 
Authorities occasionally conducted warrantless surveillance on 
individuals and their residences and monitored telephone calls. The Law 
on State Intelligence passed on October 11, granted new authorities to 
the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) regarding surveillance and 
intercepting communications. Some international and domestic NGOs 
warned that the law could empower the government to stifle journalists, 
political opponents, and human rights activists.
    The government used its authority, and at times intimidation, to 
expropriate or to facilitate private acquisition of land for 
development projects, often without fair compensation. In other cases 
state-owned companies were accused of endangering resources upon which 
citizens' livelihood depended. A presidential decree on land 
acquisition for public use allows the government to acquire land for 
private development projects even if landowners have not agreed on the 
amount of compensation. A number of NGOs argued the decree served the 
interests of wealthy developers at the expense of the poor.
    During the year security forces allegedly used excessive force 
while evicting individuals involved in land disputes, although 
evictions of squatters living on government land and of street vendors 
continued to decrease in Jakarta. The Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) 
recorded 163 agrarian conflicts during the year, an increase from 106 
cases in 2010. According to KPA, conflicts during the year involved 
69,975 families and 1,166,449 acres of land. According to city 
officials, the Jakarta administration carried out evictions during the 
year, forcing persons out of their homes. Eviction cases continued to 
be particularly contentious in rural areas close to extractive 
industries and plantations and occasionally led to violence.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech and 
freedom of the press; however, the government and private actors at 
times restricted these rights in practice. Politicians and powerful 
businessmen filed criminal or civil complaints against journalists 
whose articles they found insulting or offensive; some journalists 
faced threats of violence.

    Freedom of Speech.--Individuals and organizations have the right to 
criticize the government publicly and privately and could discuss 
almost all matters of public interest without reprisal. The law 
criminalizes content that advocates separatism. Some NGOs and other 
organizations reported government monitoring of their organizations, 
and a number of laws limited the rights of individuals to engage in 
speech deemed to be pro-separatist.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide variety of views. However, regional- and national-level 
regulations were at times used to restrict the media. For example, the 
government continued to restrict foreign media, NGOs, and government 
personnel from traveling to the provinces of Papua and West Papua by 
requiring them to request permission to travel through the Foreign 
Ministry or an Indonesian embassy. The government approved some 
requests and denied others ostensibly for reasons regarding the safety 
of foreign visitors.
    Inconsistent application of national broadcasting laws restricted 
the ability of some specifically targeted radio stations to broadcast. 
For example, local and national officials targeted Radio Erabaru, a 
Chinese-language, Falun Gong-affiliated radio station. On September 6, 
Radio Erabaru Director Gatot Machali, was convicted of broadcasting 
without a license and sentenced to six months in prison, one year's 
probation, and fined 50 million rupiah (approximately $5,800). At 
year's end, Machali was appealing the decision. Although the case was 
under appeal, on September 11, police and frequency monitoring 
officials forcibly closed Radio Erabaru and confiscated the station's 
broadcasting equipment.

    Violence and Harassment.--The Indonesian Press Legal Aid Institute 
(LBH Pers) reported that during the year, there were at least 96 cases 
of media intimidation. The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) 
reported 49 cases of intimidation against journalists during the year 
down from 51 cases in 2010.
    For example, on March 3, two unidentified men stabbed journalist 
Banjir Ambarita in the chest and abdomen in Jayapura, Papua. Ambarita 
had written two articles linking police to sex abuse scandals (see 
section 1.c.).
    On May 7, police in Surabaya beat journalists covering the police 
action interfering with a parade connected to the Falun Gong movement.
    Citing discovery of new evidence, Press Legal Aid requested the 
Supreme Court review the August 2010 stabbing and killing of television 
reporter Ridwan Salamun while he was filming a fight between two 
villages in Southeast Maluku. Judicial authorities had not responded to 
the request by year's end.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--In October 2010 the 
Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional a long-standing law that 
gave the AGO the authority to ban written material. The Constitutional 
Court ruled that the AGO maintains the authority to monitor written 
material and to request a court order to ban written material.
    Under the Blasphemy Law, ``spreading religious hatred, heresy and 
blasphemy'' is punishable by up to five years in prison. On February 8, 
a district court in Temanggung, Central Java sentenced a man to five 
years in prison on blasphemy charges.
    Although the Papua Special Autonomy Law permits flying a flag 
symbolizing Papua's cultural identity, a government regulation 
prohibits the display of the Morning Star flag in Papua, the RMS flag 
in Maluku, and the Crescent Moon flag in Aceh. Unlike in previous 
years, there were no reported new arrests related to the display of the 
RMS flag. However, police continued to imprison individuals for raising 
the Morning Star flag in Papua. For example, on August 18, the 
Manokwari District Court sentenced Melkianus Bleskadit to two years in 
prison and on August 23, sentenced Daniel Yenu to seven months and 16 
days' imprisonment.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--During the year the practice of 
public figures and institutions involved in corruption or personal 
disputes filing criminal and civil defamation complaints with police 
continued. For example, Anas Urbaningrum, chair of the Democrat Party, 
filed a defamation complaint against former Democrat Party treasurer 
Muhammad Nazaruddin. Anas filed the complaint in response to 
Nazaruddin's public corruption accusations against Urbaningrum. In 
another case, Mustar Bonaventura and Ferdi Semaun, two activists from 
the nationalist group Bendera, were sentenced on October 13 to seven 
months in prison for failing to prove allegations that members of the 
president's family and his election team embezzled funds related to the 
Bank Century bailout.

    Internet Freedom.--The government attempted to restrict access to 
the Internet via the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction Law. 
The law, meant to combat online crime, pornography, gambling, 
blackmail, lies, threats, and racism, prohibits citizens from 
distributing in electronic format any information that is defamatory, 
and punishes transgressors with a maximum of six years in prison or a 
fine of one billion rupiah ($110,000) or both.
    The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology requests 
Internet service providers (ISPs) block access to pornographic Web 
sites and other offensive content. On September 27, the minister 
announced restrictions on over 900 Web sites deemed to be connected to 
violent extremist groups. The ministry did not have any internal 
mechanisms to block the Web sites in question. Enforcement of these 
restrictions depended upon individual ISPs, and a failure to enforce 
these restrictions could result in the revocation of an ISP's license.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government generally did 
not restrict academic freedom; however, there were continued 
restrictions on cultural events.
    In 2008 the DPR passed an anti-pornography bill. Critics considered 
its definition of pornography too broad and feared it could be used to 
justify attacks on artistic, religious, and cultural freedom. The bill 
includes provisions that allow citizens to ``supervise'' adherence to 
the law. In March 2010 the Constitutional Court ruled the anti-
pornography bill constitutional and not in violatation of the freedom 
of religion and expression provisions of the constitution.
    During the year the government-supervised Film Censorship Institute 
continued to censor domestic and imported movies for content deemed 
pornographic, religiously offensive, or otherwise offensive. As 
recently as 2009, the Film Censorship Institute censored politically 
sensitive films. Societal pressure led to self-censorship by some media 
outlets.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government 
generally respected this right in practice. The law generally does not 
require permits for social, cultural, or religious gatherings; however, 
any gathering of five or more persons related to political, labor, or 
public policy requires police notification, and demonstrations require 
a permit. In general these permits were granted routinely.
    During the year police arrested participants in peaceful 
demonstrations that included the display of illegal separatist symbols 
(see section 2.a.).
    On September 7, presidential security personnel assaulted several 
human rights activists during a demonstration in front of the 
presidential palace. Major national newspapers published photographs 
showing a Presidential Security Force member grabbing a prominent human 
rights activist by the throat. The Presidential Security Force 
commander and President Yudhoyono's spokesperson defended the actions, 
citing security concerns.
    During the year there were a number of large demonstrations 
throughout Papua. The majority were conducted in accordance with the 
law and remained peaceful. However, on October 19, police and military 
units violently dispersed participants in the Third Papua People's 
Congress, a gathering held in Jayapura October 16-19. Activists 
displayed banned separatist symbols and read out a Declaration of 
Independence for the ``Republic of West Papua'' on the final day of the 
gathering. Police fired into the air and detained hundreds of persons, 
all but six of whom were released the following day. Three persons were 
found shot and killed in the area. Police spokesmen claimed that the 
police were equipped only with rubber bullets and other non-lethal 
ammunition. Police beat many of those detained, and dozens were 
injured. At year's end, six of the leaders of the Third Papua People's 
Congress faced charges of treason and weapons possession.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected it in practice.
    Members of the Ahmadiyya religious group have not held any national 
conferences since 2008, when the Bali police refused to issue them a 
permit. In addition, some local governments continue to restrict their 
right of assembly.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country and generally allows for travel outside of 
the country. However, the constitution allows the government to prevent 
persons from entering or leaving the country. The Law on Overcoming 
Dangerous Situations gives military forces broad powers in a declared 
state of emergency, including the power to limit land, air, and sea 
traffic; however, the government did not use these powers.
    The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    In-country Movement.--During the year the government continued to 
restrict freedom of movement for foreigners to Papua and West Papua 
provinces through a system of ``travel letters,'' but enforcement was 
inconsistent.

    Foreign Travel.--The government prevented arrivals and departures 
at the request of police, the AGO, the Anticorruption Commission (KPK), 
and the Ministry of Finance. Some of those barred from entering and 
leaving were delinquent taxpayers, convicted or indicted persons, 
individuals implicated in corruption cases, and persons otherwise 
involved in legal disputes. In other cases the reasons were less clear. 
For example, a British representative of the NGO Greenpeace was 
prevented from entering the country on October 13.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The international NGO 
Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) estimated in a December 
22 report that the combined number of those still displaced and those 
who have returned or resettled, but who continue to face barriers that 
prevent them from enjoying the full range of their rights, may reach as 
high as180,000. A lack of systematic monitoring of return and 
resettlement conditions as well as difficulties in defining who is 
still an IDP make this a rough estimate. Many were displaced due to 
natural disasters. Others, such as those in Ambon, Maluku Province, 
were displaced due to communal violence during the month of September. 
In addition, there were also persons in Papua and West Papua displaced 
by clashes between the security forces and OPM. The inability for 
international monitors to evaluate events in Papua made it difficult to 
verify specific allegations. According to IDMC, IDPs generally 
struggled with poor housing, food insecurity, poor access to land, and 
limited access to education and other basic services. While the central 
and local governments made some efforts to promote the safe return or 
resettlement of IDPs, these efforts remain incomplete. The 2007 Law on 
Disaster Management stipulates that the government ensure ``the 
fulfillment of the rights of the people and displaced persons affected 
by disaster in a manner that is fair and in line with the minimum 
service standards.''

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law does not 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. There were varying estimates of the number of refugees and 
asylum seekers in the country. At year's end, there were 3,233 asylum 
seekers and 1,006 refugees registered with UNHCR. At year's end, the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) assisted immigration 
authorities in caring for approximately 2,200 refugees or asylum 
seekers in the country. The government reported 3,980 refugees or 
asylum seekers. Some were applicants, and others were dependents. Most 
refugees or asylum seekers come from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran, 
Iraq, and Burma. More than 1,100 Afghan refugees and asylum seekers 
were under the care of IOM.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion.

    Access to Basic Services.--The government prohibited refugees from 
working and accessing public elementary education.

    Durable Solutions.--According to the Ministry of Housing, 
approximately 100,000 former East Timorese refugees resided in West 
Timor. The government provided 10,400 houses for former refugees in 
Kupang, Timor Tengah Selatan, Timor Tengah Utara, and Belu regencies. 
Nearly 25,000 people continue to live in refugee camps. Conflicts, 
mostly involving land disputes, between local people and former 
refugees sometimes occurred. An April 18 International Crisis Group 
paper stated that many refugees were notr well integrated into host 
communities, and that former refugees continued to return to Timor 
Leste in small but increasing numbers.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens with the right to change their government 
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through 
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal 
suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The constitution provides 
for national elections every five years. DPR members automatically are 
members of the People's Consultative Assembly, a fully elected body 
consisting of the 550 DPR members and 128 members of the House of 
Regional Representatives (DPD).

    Recent Elections.--In 2009 President Yudhoyono was reelected 
overwhelmingly. Also in 2009 the country conducted its third democratic 
legislative elections. In general, domestic and foreign observers found 
the elections free and fair. The elections were a complex affair with 
voters receiving ballots for the DPR, the DPD, provincial parliaments, 
and regency and city councils. Thirty-eight national parties competed 
in the elections, with an additional six parties in Aceh Province only. 
Irregularities occurred, requiring 245 reruns in 10 provinces. 
Observers concluded the vast majority of irregularities involved 
logistical difficulties (primarily due to faulty voter list data) 
rather than malfeasance. Some violence and intimidation also marred the 
legislative election campaign in Aceh, Papua, and West Papua.
    Political parties were required to win a minimum of 2.5 percent of 
the national vote to qualify for a seat in the DPR. In 2009 nine 
parties met this threshold and won seats in parliament. The top three 
vote getters were secular, nationalist parties, followed by the four 
largest Islamic-oriented parties. President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party 
won a plurality of seats, while then-vice president Kalla's Golkar 
Party finished in second place. The major opposition party, the 
Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle, led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, 
finished in third place.
    All adult citizens, age 17 or older, are eligible to vote except 
active members of the military and the police, convicts serving a 
sentence of five years or more, persons suffering from mental 
disorders, and persons deprived of voting rights by an irrevocable 
verdict of a court of justice. Married juveniles are legally adults and 
allowed to vote.
    According to the Elections Commission (KPU) 63 regional elections 
were scheduled during the year. This number includes 49 new elections 
scheduled for 2011, eight elections originally scheduled for 2010, four 
elections carried over from 2010, and two repeat elections from 2010; 
there were also elections scheduled for four governors and 59 mayors/
regents. At year's end, gubernatorial elections in Papua and Aceh 
remained delayed.
    During the year the Constitutional Court received 132 requests to 
adjudicate election disputes, and carried over six pending cases from 
2010. Of these, 131 were decided, with 15 rulings in favor of 
complainants. As a result of the decisions, there were election reruns 
in several cases, including the West Papua gubernatorial election. At 
year's end seven cases were pending.
    The General Elections Monitoring Body, which handles reports of 
electoral violations, received 1,718 reports of violations in 92 local 
elections in 2011. Of these, 565 were considered administrative and 
handed over to the KPU for follow-up. There were 372 considered to be 
poll violations that involved criminal acts and which the police were 
investigating.
    In a few isolated cases, local elections led to civil disturbances. 
For example, in Puncak, Papua, various reports indicated that on July 
30-31, 19 people were killed in conflict stemming from clashes between 
rival politicians. In another case, individuals blockaded roads, 
damaged public facilities, and burned down the recently re-elected West 
Papua Governor Abraham Ataruri's residence on December 19. At year's 
end, police had arrested 13 people and named 11 other suspects.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There are no legal 
restrictions on the role of women in politics. A law on political 
parties mandated that women make up 30 percent of the founding members 
of a new political party. An election law, which included a nonbinding 
clause for parties to select women for at least 30 percent of the 
candidate slots on their party lists, encouraged parties to include 
more women candidates. The Constitutional Court invalidated this clause 
when it struck down the law and ruled voters could directly elect their 
representatives, regardless of their position on party lists. The 
number of women in parliament increased significantly, from 11 percent 
to 18 percent of the DPR seats in the 2009 elections. During the year 
women held four of 37 cabinet-level positions.
    At the provincial level, there was one female governor and one vice 
governor. Women held disproportionately few leadership positions in 
local government in some provinces; for example, in Aceh the highest 
position held by a woman was that of deputy mayor, in the city of Banda 
Aceh.
    With the exception of Aceh Province, where non-Muslims effectively 
were blocked from political office by a requirement that all candidates 
must demonstrate their ability to read the Qur'an in Arabic, there were 
no legal restrictions on the role of minorities in politics. There were 
no official statistics on the ethnic backgrounds of legislators in the 
DPR. President Yudhoyono's cabinet consisted of a plurality of 
Javanese, with others being of Sundanese, Bugis, Batak, Acehnese, 
Papuan, Balinese, and Chinese heritage.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government generally tried to implement the law. Despite the arrest 
and conviction of many high-profile and high-powered officials, there 
was a widespread domestic and international perception that corruption 
remained a part of daily life. Both the KPK and the AGO under the 
deputy attorney general for special crimes have jurisdiction over 
investigation and prosecution of corruption cases. During the year the 
KPK conducted 76 inquiries, 65 investigations, and 45 prosecutions. As 
a result of the KPK's prevention and prosecutorial activities, it 
recovered a total of approximately 134 billion rupiah (approximately 
$14.7 million) in state assets. In addition, it recovered and prevented 
the loss of more than 150 trillion rupiah ($16.6 billion) in state 
assets, according to the KPK's annual report.
    Widespread corruption throughout the legal system continued. Bribes 
and extortion influenced prosecution, conviction, and sentencing in 
civil and criminal cases. During the year the National Ombudsman 
Commission reported receiving 85 complaints of judicial corruption 
involving judges, clerks, and lawyers. Key individuals in the justice 
system were accused of accepting bribes and of turning a blind eye to 
other government offices suspected of corruption. Legal aid 
organizations reported cases often moved very slowly unless a bribe was 
paid.
    As a result of an independent fact-finding team's investigation, 
President Yudhoyono formed a Task Force to Eradicate Judicial Mafia to 
investigate the network of case brokers and influence peddlers who act 
as intermediaries in judicial cases. As of November the task force had 
received 4,850 complaints, including 1,066 cases related to land rights 
issues; 709 cases related to corruption, collusion, and nepotism; 458 
cases of fraud and embezzlement; and 268 cases of extortion, bribery, 
abuse of authority, and document forgery.
    Police commonly extracted bribes ranging from minor payoffs in 
traffic cases to large bribes in criminal investigations. Corrupt 
officials sometimes subjected migrants returning from abroad, 
particularly women, to arbitrary strip searches, theft, and extortion.
    Anticorruption reform continued to be exploited in political power 
struggles between legislators and others. During the year corruption 
allegations against Muhammad Nazaruddin, the former treasurer of 
President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party, and his counter accusations 
against a number of prominent figures transfixed the public. On May 24, 
Nazaruddin fled the country after he was accused of extorting kickbacks 
and engineering contracts during construction of the athletes' village 
for the Southeast Asia Games. On August 13, Nazaruddin was repatriated 
from Colombia. Government investigation continued into the breadth of 
Nazaruddin's corruption, with some NGOs stating that he was involved in 
as many as 50 separate projects.
    On January 19, the South Jakarta District Court sentenced former 
tax directorate official Gayus Tambunan to seven years in prison and a 
fine of rupiah 300 million (approximately $33,000). Gayus was found 
guilty of bribery in his March 2010 acquittal; he also was convicted of 
misusing his authority, and of lying about his wealth.
    By law, senior government officials, as well as other officials 
working in certain agencies, are required to file financial disclosure 
reports.
    In April 2010 the 2008 Freedom of Information Act, which grants 
citizens access to governmental information and provides mechanisms 
through which citizens can obtain such information, came into effect. 
The law allows for a protected class of ``secret'' information, 
including information on state defense and security; law enforcement 
investigation and activities; public officials; and business interests 
of state-owned enterprises. At year's end many government entities were 
unwilling or unprepared to implement the law. A September study by the 
NGO KontraS reported that implementation of the law remains slow within 
the Indonesian National Police.
    The Alliance of Independent Journalists reported no problems for 
the media in obtaining unclassified public documents from the 
government.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic human rights organizations generally operated 
without government restriction throughout the country, investigating 
and publishing their findings on human rights cases as well as 
advocating for improvements to the government's human rights 
performance. The government met with local NGOs, responded to their 
inquiries, and took some actions in response to NGO concerns. However, 
some government officials, particularly in Papua and Aceh, subjected 
the organizations to monitoring, harassment, and interference as well 
as threats and intimidation. Activists said intelligence officers 
followed them, took their pictures surreptitiously, and sometimes 
questioned their friends and family members regarding their whereabouts 
and activities.
    Human rights and anticorruption activists reported receiving 
threatening messages and other intimidation from unknown sources.
    The government generally viewed outside investigations or foreign 
criticism of its human rights record as interference in its internal 
affairs. The security forces and intelligence agencies tended to regard 
with suspicion foreign human rights organizations, particularly those 
operating in conflict areas, and restricted their movement in these 
areas. Government monitoring of foreigners occurred in conflict areas. 
Some domestic human rights organizations expressed concern about the 
possible negative consequences of contacting foreigners. In one case, 
the government subjected a foreign researcher for an international 
human rights organization to ``forced repatriation.'' She was 
conducting research into religious intolerance in Madura when local 
authorities detained her.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--A number of independent 
government-affiliated bodies addressed human rights problems, including 
the National Ombudsman, the National Commission on Violence Against 
Women (Komnas Perempuan), and the National Commission on Human Rights 
(Komnas HAM). The public generally trusted Komnas HAM, Komnas 
Perempuan, and the Ombudsman, but government cooperation with their 
recommendations was not mandatory and not usual.
    In 2009 the DPR approved the formation of an ad hoc tribunal that 
could investigate and prosecute the disappearance of human rights 
activists. Twenty-four human rights activists and students disappeared 
between 1997 and 1998; 10 later resurfaced, accusing the military of 
kidnapping and torture. One body was found, and 13 activists remained 
missing. Despite this authorization, by year's end the government had 
not established this tribunal.
    Although the 2006 Law on the Government of Aceh states a human 
rights court would be established in Aceh, establishment of the court 
remained stalled due to complications stemming from other national-
level legislation.
    In 2008 the Commission on Truth and Friendship (CTF), established 
by the governments of Indonesia and Timor-Leste in 2005 to address 
human rights violations committed in Timor-Leste in 1999, delivered its 
final report to the two governments' presidents. The report recognized 
gross violations of human rights occurred prior to and immediately 
after the popular consultation in East Timor in 1999. The report's 
recommendations for Indonesia included a human rights training program 
emphasizing that the military remain neutral in political controversies 
and elections and enhanced authority for institutions charged with 
investigation and prosecution for human rights violations. On October 
6, President Yudhoyono issued a decree establishing an action plan for 
implementation of the CTF recommendations and assigning responsibility 
within the government for particular subjects.
    The Indonesian judicial processes either acquitted or eventually 
overturned all convictions of Indonesian defendants--two Indonesians of 
Timorese descent served some jail time for crimes in 1999--despite 
overwhelming evidence that Indonesian civilians and security forces 
committed gross human rights violations. An estimated 300 Indonesians 
indicted by the UN-Timor-Leste Serious Crimes Unit remained in the 
country.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based 
on gender, race, disability, language, or social status. It provides 
for equal rights for all citizens, both native and naturalized. 
However, in practice the government sometimes failed to defend these 
rights, particularly for minority communities.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
although the legal definition of rape is narrow and excludes marital 
rape. Reliable nationwide statistics on the incidence of rape continued 
to be unavailable. Rape is punishable by four to 14 years in prison, 
and the government imprisoned perpetrators for rape and attempted rape; 
however, light sentences continued to be a problem and many convicted 
rapists were given the minimum sentence.
    The law prohibits domestic abuse and other forms of violence 
against women. However, domestic violence was a problem. Violence 
against women remained poorly documented and significantly 
underreported by the government. Nationwide figures were unavailable. 
Most NGOs working on women and children's issues believed the real 
figure was far higher than the available government statistics, noting 
the tendency of many victims to keep silent. Komnas Perempuan reported 
domestic violence was the most common form of violence against women.
    Social pressure deterred many women from reporting domestic 
violence. During the year the Women's Legal Aid Foundation received 417 
complaints of domestic violence, including physical and sexual 
harassment. They also received 61 criminal complaints, of which 36 were 
related to sexual violence.
    Two types of crisis centers were available for abused women: 
government-run centers in hospitals and NGO centers in the community. 
Nationwide, the police operated ``special crisis rooms'' or ``women's 
desks'' where female officers received criminal reports from female and 
child victims of sexual assault and trafficking and where victims found 
temporary shelter.
    Female Genital Mutilation: According to NGOs, some female genital 
mutilation (FGM) of women over the age of 18 occurred. A 2010 Ministry 
of Health decree provides specific instructions prohibiting certain 
more drastic types of FGM but explicitly permitting others. This 
Ministry of Health decree states that doctors, midwives, and licensed 
nurses may perform FGM with the request and consent of the woman on 
whom it is performed (see section 6, children).

    Sexual Harassment.--Although not explicitly mentioned, sexual 
harassment is against the law and is actionable under the criminal 
code.

    Sex Tourism.--International sex tourism and child sex tourism 
continued, especially on the islands of Batam and Karimun and in major 
urban centers across the country.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right of 
individuals and couples to choose the number, spacing, and timing of 
children. Although the government subsidized and provided access to 
contraception throughout the country, in November 2010 an international 
NGO reported that women sometimes were denied the opportunity to select 
the contraceptive methods best suited to their needs or preferences. 
This may have more to do with costs and availability of different 
methods, as a significant proportion of those who use family planning 
access services from private providers. The report indicated that 
unmarried women in particular were not provided adequate access to 
contraceptives and this continued to be an issue. According to the 2007 
Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), 61.4 percent of married women used 
contraception. The DHS also found that 93 percent of women received 
medical prenatal care. The official maternal mortality ratio per the 
2007 DHS was 228 per 100,000 live births. The primary causes of 
maternal mortality were post partum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and 
sepsis. According to a 2010 World Bank review, there were several key 
factors in the high rates of maternal mortality. While 79 percent of 
women had skilled birth attendants at delivery, the uneven deployment 
of midwives at the community level and the substandard training for 
many midwives and high use of traditional birth attendants were 
contributing factors. Hospitals and health centers were not performing 
at optimal levels in management of complications and there were issues 
with referrals for complications including financial barriers or 
limited availability of qualified health personnel. Close to 50 percent 
of births occured at home. A woman's economic status, level of 
education and age at first marriage also affected maternal mortality. 
Government policy provides that women and men have equal access to 
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The law states that women have the same rights, 
obligations, and opportunities as men; however, it also states that 
women's participation in the development process must not conflict with 
their role in improving family welfare and educating the younger 
generation. The marriage law designates the man as the head of the 
family. Women in many regions of the country, particularly in Papua, 
complained about differential treatment based on gender.
    Divorce is available to both men and women. Many divorcees received 
no alimony, since there was no system to enforce such payments. If 
there is no prenuptial agreement, joint property is divided equally. 
The law requires a divorced woman to wait 40 days before remarrying; a 
man can remarry immediately. The government continued to implement 
Sharia in Aceh. The impact of this implementation varied across the 
province but, continuing the pattern of the last few years, in general 
appeared to be less intrusive due to improved government oversight of 
the Sharia police. The most visible impact on women's rights appeared 
to be the enforcement of dress codes. It was not uncommon for Sharia 
police to briefly stop and lecture women whose dress did not conform to 
local Sharia requirements on appropriate attire.
    Local governments and groups in areas outside Aceh also undertook 
campaigns to promote conformity by women with the precepts of Sharia. 
Local regulations in some areas mandated the wearing of Islamic dress 
by government employees. Vigilance in enforcing separation of sexes, 
fasting, and dress codes increased during Ramadan. The Ministry of Home 
Affairs is responsible for ``harmonizing'' local regulations that are 
not in line with national legislation. During the year, the ministry 
evaluated 9,000 local regulations and cancelled 351 deemed in conflict 
with national law.
    Women faced discrimination in the workplace, both in hiring and in 
gaining fair compensation; however, there has been progress in that 
area. According to International Labor Organization (ILO) reports, 
women's hourly wages as a percentage of men's wages continued to 
increase. Women in administrative and managerial jobs reportedly earned 
more than their male counterparts in 2008. However, women were still 
underrepresented at the managerial level. According to the government, 
women constituted 45 percent of all civil servants as of June 2009 but 
less than 9 percent of senior civil servants. Some activists said that 
in manufacturing, employers relegated women to lower-paying, lower-
level jobs. Like their male counterparts, many female factory workers 
were hired as day laborers instead of as full-time permanent employees, 
and companies were not required to provide benefits, such as maternity 
leave, to day laborers. By law, if both members of a couple worked for 
a government agency, the couple's head-of-household allowance was given 
to the husband.
    Jobs traditionally associated with women continued to be 
significantly undervalued and unregulated. For example, domestic 
workers received little legal protection. Under the labor law, domestic 
workers are not provided with a minimum wage, health insurance, freedom 
of association, an eight-hour work day, a weekly day of rest, vacation 
time, or safe work conditions. Consequently, as reported by NGOs, 
abusive treatment and discriminatory behaviour continued to be rampant.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is acquired primarily 
through one's parents; however, it can be acquired through birth in 
national territory. Although the law provides for free birth 
registration, this registration requirement was not enforced, and 
approximately 30 percent of citizen births were not registered. Without 
birth registration, families may face difficulties in accessing 
government-sponsored insurance benefits and enrolling children in 
schools. It was often impossible to be certain of a child's age, and 
ages were falsified on identity cards, sometimes with the cooperation 
of government officials.

    Education.--Although the law provides for free education, in 
practice most schools were not free, and poverty put education out of 
the reach of many children. By law children are required to attend six 
years of elementary school and three years of junior high school; 
however, in practice the government did not universally enforce these 
requirements. Although girls and boys received equal educational 
opportunities, boys continued to be more likely to finish school.
    Some provinces and districts, such as South Sumatra Province and 
Serdang Bedagai District in North Sumatra Province, have local policies 
for compulsory education for 12 years or up to senior secondary.
    Out of 26 million elementary school students the national 
government provided educational assistance to 2.025 million whose 
families were below the poverty line. The government categorized as 
poor a person earning 233,000 rupiah ($26.60) or less per month.

    Child Abuse.--Child labor and sexual abuse were serious problems. 
Child abuse is prohibited by law, but government efforts to combat it 
generally continued to be slow and ineffective. The Child Protection 
Act addresses economic and sexual exploitation of children as well as 
adoption, guardianship, and other issues; however, some provincial 
governments did not enforce its provisions. Komnas Perlindungan Anak 
reported that during the year, it received 2,508 reports of cases of 
violence against children.
    According to Komnas Perlindungan Anak, approximately 8.5 million 
children under the age of 18 were working because of poverty.
    Substantial numbers of street children were apparent in Jakarta and 
the provinces of East Java, West Java, North Sumatra, and South 
Sulawesi. According to media reports, as of August there were were 
8,000 street children in Jakarta. Of these, 5,420 participated in a 
social welfare program run by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the 
ILO. This media report estimated that there were 230,000 street 
children in the country. The government continued to fund shelters 
administered by local NGOs and paid for the education of some street 
children.

    Child Marriage.--The legal distinction between a woman and a girl 
was not clear. The law sets the minimum marriageable age at 16 for a 
woman (19 for a man), but the Child Protection Law states persons under 
age 18 are children. A girl who marries has adult legal status. Girls 
frequently married before reaching the age of 16, particularly in rural 
and impoverished areas.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--FGM of children was practiced in 
many parts of the country, and there are no laws specifically banning 
the practice. Complications from the FGM surgical procedures reportedly 
were minimal. Some NGO activists dismissed any claims of mutilation, 
saying the ritual as practiced in the country was largely symbolic. A 
November 2010 Ministry of Health decree prohibits certain more drastic 
types of FGM but explicitly permits doctors, midwifes, and licensed 
nurses to conduct FGM. The decree requires the consent of the subject, 
a parent, or guardian before undergoing the procedure. The practice 
remains prevalent in the country. NGO activists said that FGM was seen 
by some as a religious duty.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--While there is no offense by the 
name of statutory rape under the law, the penal code forbids consensual 
sex outside of marriage with women under the age of 15. The 2008 
Pornography Law prohibits child pornography and establishes penalties. 
Nationally, UNICEF estimated 40,000 to 70,000 children were the victims 
of sexual exploitation, and estimated that 30 percent of all female 
commercial sex workers were underage. Many teenage girls were forced 
into prostitution, often through debt bondage. NGOs and government 
officials believed the number was rising.
    Although government policy was not to detain or imprison victims of 
child sexual exploitation, some victims reportedly were treated as 
criminals and penalized for prostitution activities. Corrupt civil 
servants issued falsified identity cards to underage girls, 
facilitating entry into the sex trade. There also were reports of 
sexual exploitation of boys. The country was a destination for child 
sex tourism. During the year NGOs reported that pedophile rings 
continued to operate in Bali. NGO observers said many girls were forced 
into prostitution after failed marriages entered into when they were 10 
to 14 years of age. There was no obvious violation of the law because 
their paperwork identified them as adults due to the fact that they 
were once married.
    In a February survey of 736 street children in Jakarta and Depok by 
the Ministry of Social Affairs, 14 children admitted they have been 
victims of sexual abuse, 31 had been raped, and 175 suffered physical 
abuse. The ministry believed that at least in some areas, the 
percentage of girls among street children seemed to be growing.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population was extremely small. In 
contrast to previous years, there were no reported protests at the Beth 
Hashem synagogue in Surabaya, East Java. Although the government 
promoted tolerance education in primary schools, there was no specific 
curriculum devoted exclusively to anti-Semitism education.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or provision of other state services. 
The law also mandates accessibility to public facilities for persons 
with disabilities; however, the government did not enforce this 
provision. The government classifies persons with disabilities into 
three categories: physically disabled, intellectually disabled, and 
physically and intellectually disabled. These categories are further 
divided for schooling. The government estimated that approximately 3.7 
percent of the population had a disability. However, one NGO found 16.8 
percent of the population in West Java had a significant hearing 
deficiency.
    The government restricts the rights of persons to vote or 
participate in civil affairs by not enforcing accessibility laws.
    Few buildings and virtually no public transportation facilities 
were accessible to persons with disabilities. The law requires 
companies that employ more than 100 workers to set aside 1 percent of 
positions for persons with disabilities. However, the government did 
not enforce the law, and persons with disabilities faced considerable 
discrimination.
    In urban areas only a few city buses offered wheelchair access, and 
many of those had their hydraulic lifts vandalized, rendering them 
unusable. Few companies provided facilities for persons with 
disabilities, and fewer companies employed such persons. Surabaya's 
airport opened in 2006 and was not accessible for persons with 
disabilities. Lack of funds was generally cited as the primary reason 
for not improving accessibility.
    Access to information and communications technology for persons 
with disabilities is limited. The government taxes hearing aids as 
electronics, rather than medical equipment, making them prohibitively 
expensive.
    In 2003 the government stated the country was home to 1.3 million 
children with disabilities; the actual number was believed to be much 
higher. The law provides children with disabilities with the right to 
an education and rehabilitative treatment. A government official 
alleged many parents chose to keep children with disabilities at home; 
however, many schools refused to accommodate such children, stating 
they lacked the resources to do so. According to 2008-09 government 
statistics, there were 1,686 schools dedicated to educating children 
with disabilities, 1,274 of them run privately. According to NGOs, more 
than 90 percent of blind children were illiterate. Some young persons 
with disabilities resorted to begging for a living. Children with 
disabilities were sent to separate schools, and mainstream education 
was extremely rare. The country's universities did not offer a degree 
in special education.
    During the year NGOs reported that people with disabilities were 
housed in care facilities in unsafe, dirty conditions throughout Riau 
Province. The government has taken no action.
    The Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for protecting the 
rights of persons with disabilities. To date, they have taken no 
actions to improve respect for the rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The government officially 
promotes racial and ethnic tolerance. Ethnic Chinese, which accounted 
for approximately 3 percent of the population, played a major role in 
the economy, and increasingly participated in politics. However, some 
ethnic Chinese noted that, despite recent reforms, public servants 
still discriminated against them when issuing marriage licenses and in 
other services. Some activists assert that most cases of discrimination 
against ethnic Chinese persons go unreported. Some public officials 
made public statements that government officials of Chinese ethnicity 
made decisions based on their heritage and not based on national 
interest. Discussions of corruption on local blogs at times degenerated 
into racial diatribes.

    Indigenous People.--The government viewed all citizens as 
``indigenous''; however, it recognized the existence of several 
``isolated communities'' and their right to participate fully in 
political and social life. These communities include the myriad Dayak 
tribes of Kalimantan, families living as sea nomads, and the 312 
officially recognized indigenous groups in Papua. During the year 
indigenous persons, most notably in Papua, remained subject to 
widespread discrimination, and there was little improvement in respect 
for their traditional land rights. Mining and logging activities, many 
of them illegal, posed significant social, economic, and logistical 
problems to indigenous communities. The government failed to prevent 
companies, often in collusion with the local military and police, from 
encroaching on indigenous peoples' land. In Papua tensions continued 
between indigenous Papuans and migrants from other provinces, between 
residents of coastal and inland communities, and among indigenous 
tribes.
    Some human rights activists asserted a government-sponsored 
transmigration program transplanting poor families from overcrowded 
Java and Madura to less populated islands violated the rights of 
indigenous people, bred social resentment, and encouraged the 
exploitation and degradation of natural resources on which many 
indigenous persons relied. However, the number of transmigrants as 
compared with spontaneous economic migrants was relatively small. 
During the year, 7,274 families participated in government-sponsored 
transmigration programs. In some areas, such as parts of Sulawesi, the 
Malukus, Kalimantan, Aceh, and Papua, relations between transmigrants 
and indigenous people were poor.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The 2008 Pornography Law bans 
consensual same-sex sexual activity. In addition, local regulations 
across the country criminalize same-sex sexual activity. According to 
NGOs, many persons characterized lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) issues as socially taboo. The government took almost 
no action to prevent discrimination against LGBT persons, and in some 
cases failed to protect LGBT individuals from societal abuse. Police 
corruption, bias, and violence caused LGBT individuals to avoid 
interaction with police. Sharia police in Aceh reportedly harassed 
transgender individuals. NGOs reported LGBT individuals sometimes were 
ostracized by religious groups, family members, and the general public.
    LGBT organizations and NGOs operated openly. However, certain 
religious groups sporadically disrupted LGBT gatherings, and 
individuals occasionally were victims of police abuse.
    LGBT groups maintained a lower profile throughout the year compared 
to previous years, in part due to concerns over physical security. In 
September the Q! Film Festival, subject of protests in 2010, took place 
in five cities but with strict limitations on publicity.
    NGOs documented instances of government officials not issuing 
identity cards to LGBT individuals. Transgender individuals faced 
discrimination in obtaining services, including health and other public 
services.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Stigma and 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS were pervasive. However, 
government policy encouraged tolerance, took steps to prevent new 
infections, and provided free antiretroviral drugs, although with 
numerous administrative barriers. The government position of tolerance 
was adhered to unevenly at all levels of society; for example, 
prevention efforts often were not aggressive for fear of antagonizing 
religious conservatives, and in addition to barriers to access to free 
antiretroviral drugs, potential recipients had to pay medical fees that 
put the cost beyond the reach of many.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides broad rights of association for workers in the private 
sector but places restrictions on organizing among public sector 
workers. Workers in the private sector formed and joined unions of 
their choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements. 
The law stipulates that 10 or more workers have the right to form a 
union, with membership open to all workers, regardless of political 
affiliation, religion, ethnicity, or gender. The Ministry of Manpower 
and Transmigration records, rather than approves, the formation of a 
union, federation, or confederation and provides it with a registration 
number.
    To remain registered, unions must keep the government informed 
about changes in their governing bodies. The law allows the government 
to petition the courts to dissolve a union if it conflicts with the 
state ideology (Pancasila) or the constitution. A union also may be 
dissolved if its leaders or members, in the name of the union, commit 
crimes against the security of the state and are sentenced to at least 
five years in prison. Once a union is dissolved, its leaders and 
members may not form another union for at least three years. There were 
no reports that the government dissolved any unions during the year.
    Although the law recognizes civil servants' freedom of association 
and right to organize, employees of several ministries may only form 
employee associations, with more limited rights. Union organizations 
sought to organize government employees, as well as state-owned 
enterprise (SOE) employees, although they encountered resistance from 
enterprise management, and the legal basis for registering unions in 
SOEs remained unclear.
    The law prohibits employment discrimination against union 
organizers and members and provides penalties for violations. The law 
also requires employers to reinstate workers fired for union activity.
    The right to strike is recognized but substantially restricted 
under the law. Under the Manpower Development and Protection Act (the 
Manpower Act), workers must give written notification to the 
authorities and to the employer seven days in advance for a strike to 
be legal, specifying the starting and ending time of the strike, venue 
for the action, reasons for the strike, and including signatures of the 
chairperson and secretary of the striking union. The law does not 
extend the right to strike to most civil servants or to workers in 
SOEs.
    A 2003 ministerial regulation declares illegal all strikes at 
``enterprises that cater to the interests of the general public or at 
enterprises whose activities would endanger the safety of human life if 
discontinued.'' Although this wording recalls the definition of an 
``essential industry,'' the regulation does not specify the types of 
enterprises affected, leaving this determination to the government's 
discretion. The same regulation also classifies strikes as illegal if 
they are ``not as a result of failed negotiations.''
    Before workers can strike, they must engage in lengthy mediation 
with the employer and proceed to mediation facilitated by a government 
mediator or risk having the strike declared illegal. In the case of an 
illegal strike, an employer may make two written appeals within a 
period of seven days for workers to return. Workers who do not respond 
to those appeals are considered to have resigned.
    The law provides for collective bargaining and allows workers' 
organizations that register with the government to conclude legally 
binding collective labor agreements (CLAs) with employers and to 
exercise other trade union functions. The law includes some 
restrictions on collective bargaining, including a requirement that a 
union or unions represent more than 50 percent of the company workforce 
to negotiate a CLA. External observers note that this excessive 
requirement adds additional barriers to enjoying the right to 
collective bargaining. The Manpower Act, which regulates collective 
bargaining, and general employment conditions, does not apply to 
workers in SOEs.
    On November 17, The Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration issued 
implementing regulations on the right to organize and bargain 
collectively. According to the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry, 
approximately 25 percent of companies with more than 10 employees had 
CLAs. Although most of these agreements went beyond the legal minimum 
provisions set by the government, more than a third of employers 
reportedly violated the terms of the CLA with relative impunity. 
Enforcement of CLAs varied based on the capacity and interest of 
individual regional governments.
    In practice, the government did not effectively enforce laws 
protecting freedom of association and prohibiting antiunion 
discrimination. Some unions reported local ministry offices 
prejudicially recommended denial of registration.
    Antiunion discrimination cases moved excessively slowly through the 
court system, sometimes taking up to six years. Bribery and judicial 
corruption in workers' disputes continued, and courts rarely decided 
cases in the workers' favor. While dismissed workers sometimes received 
severance pay or other compensation, they were rarely reinstated. 
Companies sometimes transferred union leaders to jobs where they could 
not continue their union activities. Managers in some locations 
reportedly employed thugs to intimidate and assault trade union members 
who attempted to organize legal strike actions, and at times, the 
police intervened inappropriately and with force in labor matters, 
usually to protect employers' interests.
    Labor activists continued to claim that companies orchestrate the 
formation of multiple unions, including ``yellow'' unions, to weaken 
legitimate unions.
    Activists reported that there were stronger antiunion sentiments 
and actions by employers in special economic zones (SEZs). For example, 
employers in the Batam SEZ tended to hire labor on two-year contracts 
and favored workers under 24 years of age, in part to inhibit union 
formation.
    Employees at the Surabaya Zoo established a labor union in June 
2010. However, the zoo management attempted to stop the union from 
operating. Police and forest rangers threatened the labor union members 
and tore down the labor union's signboards. Labor activists received 
threats if they continued to assist with unionization. One employee was 
fired for her role in the establishment of the union. Management 
reduced the salary and benefits of those who joined the union. The 
union was informally disbanded when the zoo's managing body refused to 
extend the contract of the labor union's activists, arguing that 
members participated in an illegal strike in 2010. While the union was 
legally intact at year's end, none of the members were active. The City 
of Surabaya Industrial Court asked zoo management to reemploy the 30 
fired union activists; zoo management has appealed this to the 
Constitutional Court. At year's end, the appeal was still pending and 
the union activists had not been reemployed.
    In practice, the cumbersome process required for a legal strike, as 
well as the government regulations included in the Manpower Act 
provided employers a clear means to obstruct a union's move to legally 
strike. Therefore, strikes tended to be unsanctioned or ``wildcat'' 
strikes that broke out after a failure to settle long-term grievances 
or when an employer refused to recognize a union. The primary reasons 
for strikes during the year were 1) demand for an increase in salary, 
2) suspension of overtime payment and/or regular salary, 3) unjust 
dismissal of workers, and 4) the illegal use of contract workers.
    Employer retribution against union organizers, including dismissals 
and violence, was not prevented effectively or remedied in practice. 
Employers commonly used intimidation tactics against strikers, 
including administrative dismissal of employees through use of the 
appeals process described above. Some employers threatened employees 
who made contact with union organizers. Management singled out strike 
leaders for layoffs when companies downsized.
    A notable series of strikes occurred at Freeport's copper and gold 
mine in Papua Province. Between July and December there were a series 
of negotiations and mediations punctuated by strike actions. Workers 
initially demanded a significant increase in minimum wages across the 
pay scale, reported to be in the range of 600 to 1,200 percent. 
Freeport responded with an 11 percent annual increase over two years. 
Freeport workers established roadblocks blocking access to Freeport's 
main road on October 11. Freeport and the union reached a labor 
agreement on December 23, and workers removed the roadblocks on 
December 25.
    Union leaders reported that they faced intimidation from mine 
operators, including withholding of wages of striking workers. 
Management at Freeport Indonesia also reported cases of intimidation, 
including pressure on contract workers by union members to join the 
strike. During the strike, an increased police presence near Timika 
aimed to prevent unrest. On October 10, one miner died during a clash 
between police and protestors. During the clash, police fired live 
ammunition at protesters.
    During the year workers staged protests in major cities demanding 
companies pay into the national social security system, put an end to 
corrupt business practices, and that the government pass the social-
safety-net bill. Parliament passed the demanded legislation on October 
28.
    In recent years employers have repeatedly filed criminal complaints 
against union officers following failed collective bargaining 
negotiations or lawful strikes. In a number of cases, union officers 
were prosecuted and even served prison time for destruction of property 
and interference with profits as a result of complaints brought by 
employers. Some provisions in criminal law have aided these tactics, 
such as a crime of ``unpleasant acts,'' which creates criminal 
liability for a broad range of conduct. There were credible reports of 
the police investigating or interrogating union organizers.
    The increasing trend of using contract labor directly affected 
unions' right to organize and bargain collectively. Under the Manpower 
Act, contract labor is to be used only for work that is ``temporary in 
nature.'' However, according to an International Trade Union 
Confederation report, many employers violated these provisions, 
sometimes with the assistance of local offices of the Manpower 
Ministry. In these cases, companies declared bankruptcy in order to 
avoid severance payments provided for under law, closed the factory for 
several days, and then rehired workers as contract labor at a lower 
cost. Union leaders and activists usually were not rehired. Labor 
courts have ruled in favor of workers who filed either for compensation 
or to be rehired. In most cases, however, the company has appealed to 
the Supreme Court where the labor court's decisions have been 
overturned.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were credible reports that 
such practices occurred, including forced and compulsory labor by 
children (see section 7.c.). Forms of forced labor included domestic 
servitude, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor in the 
mining, fishing, and agricultural sectors.
    On May 30, the government signed a protocol amending the 2006 
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the recruitment and placement of 
Indonesian domestic workers with the government of Malaysia. The 
amended MOU allows domestic workers to keep their passports instead of 
surrendering them to their employers, and guarantees them a weekly day 
off. The amended MOU does not set a minimum wage, nor does it prevent 
recruitment firms from charging high fees that, some observers argue, 
can result in instances of debt bondage.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Manpower Act establishes 15 as the minimum age for work and prohibits 
children under the age of 18 from working in hazardous sectors. 
Children 13 to 15 years of age may work in light work for no more than 
three hours per day and only under a number of other conditions, such 
as parental consent, no work during school hours, and payment of legal 
wages. Entrepreneurs hiring children must also meet their occupational 
safety and health requirements. A strong legal framework and National 
Action Plans address economic and sexual exploitation, including child 
prostitution, child trafficking, and the involvement of children in the 
narcotics trade, and provide severe criminal penalties and jail terms 
for persons who violate children's rights. The law and regulations 
explicitly prohibit forced labor by children.
    The government did not enforce minimum age laws effectively, and 
furthermore did not act effectively to eliminate forced child labor. 
Despite legislative and regulatory measures, most children who worked, 
including as domestic workers, did so in unregulated environments. 
Anecdotal evidence suggested that local labor officials did not 
investigate the workplaces of child domestic workers and carried out 
few child labor investigations in factories.
    An estimated six to eight million children exceeded the legal 
three-hour-daily work limit, working in agriculture, street vending, 
mining, clothing manufacture, and other areas. A 2009 survey from by 
the International Labor Organization and the National Statistics Agency 
reported that about four million working children age 10 to 17 are 
considered employed in wage work by the standard definition.
    Children worked in agriculture primarily on palm oil, tobacco, 
rubber, and tea plantations. Children also worked in fisheries, 
manufacturing (such as cottage factory footwear production, textiles, 
and cigarette production), logging, toy making, food processing (e.g., 
bird-nest gathering), and in the small-scale mining sector. Other 
children work in the informal sector selling newspapers, shining shoes, 
street vending, scavenging, and working with their parents in family 
businesses or cottage industries.
    A significant number of children worked against their will in 
prostitution; pornography; begging; drug sale, production, and 
trafficking; domestic service; and other exploitive situations, 
including a small number on fishing platforms.
    A domestic worker advocacy group estimated that there were four 
million domestic workers in the country, of whom at least 1.3 million 
were under age 18. Many domestic workers were not allowed to study and 
were forced to work long hours, received low pay, and generally were 
unaware of their rights. Child domestic work is considered one of the 
worst forms of child labor, as it often renders children vulnerable to 
sexual, physical, or psychological abuse.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage levels set by 
most local governments did not provide a worker and family with a 
decent standard of living. Most province-level minimum wage rates fell 
below the government's own calculation of basic minimum needs. During 
the year West Papua Province offered the highest minimum wage at 1.41 
million rupiah (approximately $160) per month, while the Manpower 
Ministry reported official minimum wages as low as 705,000 rupiah ($80) 
per month in East Java. Jakarta's minimum wage was 1.29 million rupiah 
($145) per month. As of March, the official poverty line was 233,740 
rupiah (approximately $26) per capita per month.
    The law establishes a 40-hour workweek, with one 30-minute rest 
period for every four hours of work. Companies often required a five-
and-a-half- or six-day workweek. The law also requires at least one day 
of rest weekly. The daily overtime rate was 1.5 times the normal hourly 
rate for the first hour and twice the hourly rate for additional 
overtime, with a maximum of three hours of overtime per day and no more 
than 14 hours per week. The law also requires employers to register 
workers with and pay contributions to the state-owned insurance agency.
    Both the law and regulations provide for minimum standards of 
industrial health and safety. Workers are obligated to report hazardous 
working conditions, and employers are forbidden by law from retaliating 
against those who do report hazardous working conditions. By law, 
workers have the right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions 
without jeopardizing employment.
    Local officials from the Manpower Ministry are responsible for 
enforcing regulations on minimum wage and hours of work, as well as 
health and safety standards. The Manpower Ministry continued to urge 
employers to comply with the law; however, government enforcement 
remained inadequate, particularly at smaller companies, and supervision 
of labor standards continued to be weak. There is no enforcement of the 
minimum wage in the informal sector.
    The practical observance of laws regulating benefits and labor 
standards, including wage and hours, varied by sector and region. 
Unions complained that companies relied upon excessive overtime in some 
garment and electronics assembly plants, to the detriment of workers' 
health and safety. Employer violations of legal requirements were 
fairly common, sometimes resulting in strikes and protests. The 
American Center for International Labor Solidarity reported workers in 
the garment industry worked extremely long hours, but because their pay 
slips did not specify the amount of overtime paid, they could not be 
certain they were fully compensated for overtime.
    On October 28, the DPR passed the Social Security Providers Bill 
after more than a year of debate. The new law merges four state-owned 
insurance companies into two not-for-profit entities under the 
supervision of the president. The new entities, one covering health and 
one covering employment-related insurance, will ultimately cover all 
workers regardless of employment sector. Analysts and labor observers 
described the new bill as a significant improvement over the previous 
system.
    Although labor law and ministerial regulations provide workers with 
a variety of benefits, it was estimated that, aside from government 
officials, only 10 percent of workers received social security 
benefits. Persons who worked at formal sector companies often received 
health benefits, meal privileges, and transportation, which was rarely 
provided for workers in the informal sector. The Manpower Act also 
requires employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace and to treat 
workers with dignity. Enforcement of health and safety standards in 
smaller companies and in the informal sector tended to be weaker or 
nonexistent.
    The country's worker safety record was poor. The state-owned 
insurance agency reported approximately 99,000 workplace accidents 
during the year, an average of 271 incidents per day. Additionally, 
workers who sought to leave an unsafe workplace could not avail 
themselves of this right.

                               __________

                                 JAPAN

                           executive summary
    Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. 
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, 
derives his authority to govern from the constitution. July 2010 upper-
house elections were considered free and fair. Security forces reported 
to civilian authorities.
    The leading human rights problems included the lack of due process 
for pretrial detainees; the exploitation of children; and societal 
discrimination against women in employment, children born out of 
wedlock, ethnic minority group members, persons with disabilities, and 
foreigners, including permanent residents.
    Other human rights problems included prison and detention center 
conditions, prosecutorial misconduct, journalistic self-censorship, 
domestic violence and sexual harassment against women, corruption, 
trafficking in persons, and the exploitation of foreign trainee 
workers.
    The government enforced laws prohibiting human rights abuses and 
prosecuted officials who committed them.
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 the government 
generally respected these provisions in practice.
    On December 27, an Okazaki Medical Prison official resigned after 
being sanctioned for physically abusing a patient. According to press 
reports, he grabbed, kicked, and beat the prisoner with a slipper when 
the prisoner refused to take oral medication.
    On August 5, the widow and the mother of a Ghanaian man, who died 
in March 2010 while being forcibly restrained during a deportation 
attempt, sued the government. Although an official autopsy did not 
determine the cause of death and noted no sign of physical harm, his 
widow stated she saw bruises when identifying the body, and immigration 
officials testified in the Diet (parliament) that he was gagged by a 
towel and forced into his seat by 10 officers. Police sent an 
investigation report to Chiba Prefecture prosecutors in 2010, but no 
charges were filed by the end of the year.
    The government continued to deny death-row inmates advance 
information about the date of execution and notified family members of 
executions after the fact. The government stated this policy was 
designed to spare prisoners the anguish of knowing when they were going 
to die. Some respected psychologists agreed; others demurred.
    Following the 2010 conviction of four instructors for abusing 
residents at a reform facility for juvenile offenders and subsequent 
allegations of abuse at other facilities, the government reported that 
it implemented human rights training for mid-level supervisors at the 
country's 52 juvenile training schools.
    Hazing, bullying, and sexual harassment continued to be reported as 
problems in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) during the year; 
the JSDF leadership penalized offenders, according to information 
received.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met international standards, except that several facilities 
were overcrowded, did not provide prisoners in solitary confinement 
with adequate access to potable water, or lacked sufficient heating in 
the winter or air conditioning in the summer. In some institutions, 
clothing and blankets were insufficient to protect inmates against cold 
weather. Most prisons did not provide heating during nighttime hours in 
winter despite freezing temperatures, subjecting inmates to a range of 
preventable cold injuries. Foreign prisoners in the Tokyo area 
presented to visiting diplomats during the year chilblains-affected 
fingers and toes of varying severity, the direct result of long-term 
exposure to cold. On September 8, Kobe District Court ordered the 
government to pay 43 million yen (approximately $558,000) to the family 
of a man who died in 2006 while a prisoner in the Kobe Detention House, 
finding the facility at fault for failing to seek medical assistance 
for the man, who family members claimed froze to death.
    Credible nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to report 
that prison management regularly abused solitary confinement rules, 
which set a maximum of three months, but with the possibility of 
extension every month thereafter if deemed necessary. Prison officials 
stated that solitary confinement is important in maintaining order in 
prisons at or above capacity. An NGO noted that during the year 
officials became more sensitive to the needs of ill detainees held in 
isolation in the wake of two deaths in 2010.
    Authorities reportedly held prisoners condemned to death in 
solitary for an average of almost eight years until their execution--
and according to Amnesty International (AI) in March, some of these 
prisoners were kept in solitary for decades--although authorities 
allowed them to receive visits by their families, lawyers, and others. 
AI also concluded that a number of death-row inmates had become 
mentally ill as a result of the isolation, although authorities 
summarily denied requests for their mental health records so no 
independent determination could be made. The law states that a 
prisoner's insanity is grounds for suspending an execution, but the 
government reported that there has never been such a case.
    Reliable NGOs and foreign diplomats also reported that some 
facilities continued to provide inadequate food and medical care. 
Foreign diplomats confirmed numerous cases in which the prison diet was 
inadequate to prevent significant weight loss, including loss of muscle 
mass. Cases of slow and inadequate medical treatment were documented, 
including in detainees and prisoners with preexisting medical 
conditions. Police and prison authorities were particularly slow in 
providing treatment of mental illness and continued to have no protocol 
for offering psychiatric therapy. NGOs, lawyers, and doctors also 
criticized medical care in police-operated pre-indictment detention 
centers and immigration detention centers. Poor sanitary and health 
conditions in the latter continued to result in complaints of common 
fungal infections among detainees. In the July 4 report of her July 
2010 visit, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human right to safe 
drinking water and sanitation raised concern about prisoner sanitation 
in protection cells.
    As of October there were 70,624 prisoners, a slight decrease from 
2010. This figure, which counts detained defendants and suspects as 
well as sentenced prisoners and convicts, included 5,330 female 
prisoners and 29 minors. Men and women prisoners were held in separate 
facilities in prisons and detention centers. Although the national 
prison population was significantly less than the country's facility 
capacity of 90,182 (in 2010), 13 prison facilities experienced 
overcrowding. Sentenced female prisoners, more than 120 percent of 
capacity nationwide, experienced the most constrained conditions. 
Minors were held separately from adults in prisons and regular 
detention centers, but regulations do not require that minors be held 
separately in immigration detention centers. Having acknowledged that 
overcrowding was a problem, the government expanded prison capacity by 
approximately 7,400 persons between 2007 and 2010.
    Reliable NGOs and foreign diplomats reported throughout the year 
that pretrial detainees routinely were held incommunicado for up to 23 
days before being allowed access to persons other than their attorneys 
or, in the case of foreign arrestees, consular personnel. Authorities 
often limited prisoners' access to visitors to immediate family 
members. The law allows for broad religious observance within prisons, 
as long as these activities do not interfere with prison management. 
Prisons are also required to allow for consultations with prison 
chaplains, but the frequency of visits and the range of religions 
represented varied widely by prison. As a result, routine access to 
religious observance was not guaranteed, and foreign diplomats stated 
that prison officials repeatedly rejected some prisoners' requests to 
join religious meetings by citing limits on group size.
    While authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request 
investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions, they 
provided the results of such investigations to prisoners in a letter 
offering little detail beyond a final determination. Alternative and 
suspended sentences were commonly used for first-time and nonviolent 
offenders.
    There were no ombudsmen serving on behalf of prisoners and 
detainees, although prison management regulations stipulate that 
independent committees inspect prisons and detention centers operated 
by the Ministry of Justice and detention facilities operated by police. 
The committees--which included physicians, lawyers, local municipal 
officials, representatives of local communities, and other local 
citizens--conducted visits and interviews and made recommendations 
during the year.
    By law there is also an inspection process for immigration 
detention facilities, but it was not completely independent. Domestic 
and international NGOs and international organizations noted throughout 
the year that this process failed to meet international prison 
inspection standards, citing the Ministry of Justice's provision of all 
logistical support for the inspection committee, the use of ministry 
interpreters during interviews with detainees, the lack of repeat 
visits to the same facilities, the ability of prison officials to 
screen lists of detainees to be interviewed, and the ability of 
ministry officials to access a locked mailbox where detainees may 
submit complaints to the committee.
    There is no inspection procedure for observing the country's 52 
juvenile reform facilities.
    During the year the International Committee of the Red Cross did 
not request any prison visits.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but credible NGOs and journalists continued to 
allege that police in large cities employed racial profiling to harass 
and sometimes arrest ``foreign-looking'' persons, particularly dark-
skinned Asians and persons of African descent, without cause.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Public 
Safety Commission, a cabinet-level entity, oversees the National Police 
Agency (NPA) and prefectural public safety commissions have 
responsibility for local police forces. 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. 
However, some NGOs criticized local public safety commissions for 
lacking independence from or sufficient authority over police agencies.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Authorities 
apprehended persons openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence 
and issued by a duly authorized official and brought detainees before 
an independent judiciary. Credible NGOs claimed that warrants were 
granted at high rates and that detention sometimes occurred even though 
the evidentiary grounds were weak.
    The use of police-operated detention centers placed suspects in the 
custody of their interrogators, although the law separates 
investigation from detention even when the same agency is responsible 
for both functions. The vast majority of arrested suspects were sent to 
police detention facilities, with a much smaller proportion sent to 
Justice Ministry-operated preindictment detention centers.
    The law provides detainees the right to a prompt judicial 
determination of the legality of their detention and requires 
authorities to inform detainees immediately of the charges against 
them. In practice, however, detained persons were often held for up to 
23 days with no charges filed.
    The law allows detainees, their families, or representatives to 
request that the court release an indicted detainee on bail. However, 
bail is not available during preindictment to persons detained in 
either police or Justice Ministry detention facilities. Reliable NGOs 
also stated that, although the practice is illegal, interrogators 
sometimes offered bail to a detainee in exchange for a confession.
    Suspects in pretrial detention are legally required to face 
interrogation, although NPA guidelines limit interrogations to a 
maximum of eight hours and prohibit overnight interrogations. Pre-
indictment detainees had access to counsel, including at least one 
consultation with a court-appointed attorney. Prisoner advocates stated 
that in practice this access continued to improve during the year in 
terms of duration and frequency. However, counsel may not be present 
during interrogations.
    Family members usually were allowed to meet with detainees, but 
only in the presence of a detention officer. The law allows police to 
prohibit detainees from having interviews with persons other than their 
counsel if there is probable cause that the suspect may flee or may 
conceal or destroy evidence. Many detainees, including most of those 
charged with drug offenses, were held incommunicado until indictment 
and were allowed only consular and legal access.
    Prosecutors at their discretion may partially record suspects' 
confessions, but respected NGOs pointed out that partial and 
discretionary recording could be misleading. While internal police 
supervisors increasingly are present during interrogations, there is no 
independent oversight. In response to the U.N. Committee against 
Torture's (UN CAT) 2007 recommendation that defense counsel be present 
during interrogations, in July the government rejoined that such a 
presence would inhibit the ability of an interrogator expeditiously to 
obtain true statements from a suspect.
    National Public Safety Commission regulations prohibit police from 
touching suspects (unless unavoidable), exerting force, threatening 
them, keeping them in fixed postures for long periods, verbally abusing 
them, or offering them favors in return for a confession. According to 
credible NGOs, however, the rules were not adequately enforced, and 
authorities continued to subject detainees to eight- to12-hour 
interrogation sessions during which authorities handcuffed them to a 
chair for the entire period and used aggressive questioning techniques.
    The NPA announced on March 24 that it had referred 30 cases of 
possible violations of interrogation guidelines for review (but it does 
not release review results). The NPA also stated that it had received 
474 complaints regarding interrogations during the same period. In 
April a court convicted Osaka police officer Kazuya Takahashi of 
illegal intimidation and fined him 300,000 yen (approximately $3,900), 
after a man in his custody surreptitiously recorded his September 2010 
interrogation and subsequently filed a complaint with prosecutors. All 
prefectures have trial programs to record limited sections of some 
interrogations; some prefectural governments began pilot programs to 
record entire interrogations.

    Pretrial Detention.--Authorities usually held suspects in police-
operated detention centers for an initial 72 hours. By law, this 
preindictment detention is allowed only where there is probable cause 
to suspect that a person has committed a crime and is likely to conceal 
or destroy evidence or flee, but it is used routinely in practice. 
After interviewing a suspect at the end of the initial 72-hour period, 
a judge may extend preindictment custody by up to two consecutive 10-
day periods. Prosecutors routinely sought and received these 
extensions. Prosecutors may also apply for an additional five-day 
extension in exceptional cases such as insurrection, foreign 
aggression, and disturbance. Because judges customarily granted 
prosecutorial requests for extensions, the system of pretrial 
detention, known as daiyou kangoku (substitute prison), usually 
continued for 23 days. Nearly all persons detained during the year were 
held in daiyou kangoku.

    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 the right to a fair trial for 
all citizens and that each charged individual receives a public trial 
by an independent civilian court, has access to defense counsel, and 
has the right to cross-examine witnesses. There is a lay judge (jury) 
system for serious criminal cases. A defendant is presumed innocent 
until proven guilty in a court of law, and defendants cannot be 
compelled to testify against themselves.
    Respected NGOs and lawyers continued to question whether defendants 
were presumed innocent in practice. According to NGOs, the majority of 
indicted detainees confessed while in police custody, although the 
government asserted in its July reply to the U.N. CAT that convictions 
were not based primarily on confessions and that interrogation 
guidelines ensure that suspects cannot be compelled to confess to a 
crime.
    In 2010 more than 99 percent of cases that reached trial resulted 
in conviction. Independent legal scholars alleged that the judiciary 
gives too much weight to confessions, although the government 
disagreed.
    Persons convicted on the basis of police-obtained confessions were 
later proved innocent. For example, on May 24, in a retrial ordered by 
the Supreme Court in light of new evidence, including revelations that 
police tampered with interrogation tapes, a court found two men not 
guilty who had confessed to and were convicted of murder in Ibaraki 
Prefecture in 1967. Paroled in 1996, they had insisted the confessions 
were coerced and sought exoneration.
    According to some independent legal scholars, trial procedures 
favor the prosecution, although the government demurred. The law 
provides for access to counsel; nevertheless, a significant number of 
defendants reported that this access was insufficient. The law does not 
require full disclosure by prosecutors unless the defending attorney is 
able to satisfy difficult disclosure procedure conditions. In practice 
this sometimes resulted in the suppression of material that the 
prosecution did not use in court. As a result, the legal 
representatives of some defendants claimed that they did not receive 
access to relevant material in the police record. In appeal attempts in 
some cases, defense attorneys were not granted access to possible 
exculpatory DNA evidence. Police responses in those cases were that all 
evidence was destroyed after the initial trial. On April 12, a court 
convicted and sentenced senior Osaka prosecutor Tsunehiko Maeda to 18 
months in prison for falsifying evidence and then concealing that 
criminal act in the case of a public servant on trial for alleged 
postal fraud. Chief Prosecutor Hiromichi Otsubo and Deputy Chief 
Prosecutor Motoaki Saga, who oversaw the investigation, were charged 
with knowingly concealing a crime, and their trial was ongoing at 
year's end.

    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. Persons have access to a 
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human 
rights violation. There are both administrative and judicial remedies 
for alleged wrongs.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice. A vocal and 
independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic 
political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--As reported by Freedom House 
and other NGOs during the year, press clubs continued to encourage 
noncritical and similar news coverage by fostering close relationships 
among media personnel, officials, and politicians that in turn led 
journalists to practice self-censorship in exchange for access. On 
April 25, a group of freelancers launched the privately funded Free 
Press Association of Japan to seek broader journalistic access to press 
conferences and information.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Ministry of Education's 
approval process for history textbooks continued to be a subject of 
controversy, particularly regarding the treatment of certain 20th 
century subjects. Some textbook authors accused the ministry of editing 
their writing in ways that distorted the intended meaning.
    The national anthem and flag continued to be controversial symbols. 
Teachers continued to be disciplined for refusing to sing the national 
anthem in front of the flag. On May 30, the Supreme Court ruled that 
requiring teachers to stand and sing the national anthem is 
constitutional. The Federation of Bar Associations and human rights 
organizations protested the ruling.
    There were no government restrictions on cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the International Religious Freedom 
Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other 
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to 
internally displaced persons, refugees, asylum seekers, and other 
persons of concern.

    Internally Displaced Persons.--On March 11, one of the strongest 
earthquakes ever measured--followed by a devastating tsunami and a 
nuclear power plant disaster in Fukushima Prefecture--displaced more 
than 470,000 persons from their homes for varying lengths of time. The 
government generally provided adequate shelter and other protective 
services and sought to provide permanent relocation or reconstruction 
options, but there were public complaints regarding tardy evacuation 
orders and temporary resettlement subsidies. Although only 678 persons 
remained in evacuation centers as of December 15, approximately 334,000 
persons were in nonpermanent housing.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The government continued a small-scale, pilot resettlement 
program; in the second year of this three-year program, 18 Burmese 
refugees arrived in Japan from Thailand during the year.
    Refugee and asylum applicants may ask lawyers to participate in 
their appeal hearings before refugee examiners. Although government-
funded legal support was not available for most refugee and asylum 
seekers requesting it, the Federation of Bar Associations funded a 
program that provided free legal assistance to those applicants who 
lacked financial means.
    In his March 21 report on a 2010 visit, the U.N. special rapporteur 
on the human rights of migrants expressed concern about the policy of 
detaining asylum seekers and other irregular migrants for prolonged 
periods. A Justice Ministry policy begun in 2010 to streamline the 
asylum petition process and reduce time spent in detention led to 
significant improvement during the year: The number of immigrants 
detained for more than one year fell from 115 in 2009 to 47 during 
2011. The policy stipulates that the cases of all detained asylum 
seekers must be reviewed quarterly and first-instance decisions must be 
completed within six months of application. Authorities completed 
first-instance decisions within approximately five months on average, 
more than 60 percent faster than in 2010.
    NGOs believed that inadequate explanation of the cause for 
rejecting an asylum application made appealing the decision difficult. 
Refugee groups reported that some asylum seekers received preferential 
consideration. Of the 402 individuals whom authorities in 2010 granted 
some form of humanitarian protection, 356--more than 88 percent--were 
from Burma; Burmese made up fewer than 30 percent of all asylum 
seekers.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion. However, refugee groups expressed concern during 
the year that, due to the government's high threshold for proof in 
adjudicating asylum applications, some asylum seekers may have been 
forcibly returned to situations of risk.

    Employment.--Applicants for refugee status normally are not allowed 
to work unless they meet certain conditions. To obtain the right to 
work, they must be in need and dependent on government shelters or NGO 
support. In the interim the Refugee Assistance Headquarters, a 
government-funded foundation, provides small stipends. However, budget 
limitations prevented many applicants from accessing this aid during 
the year.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees faced the same discrimination 
patterns that other foreigners did: reduced access to housing, 
education, and employment. Except for those who met the right-to-work 
conditions stated above, individuals whose refugee status was pending 
or on appeal also did not have the right to receive social welfare, 
rendering them completely dependent on overcrowded government shelters, 
illegal employment not subject to labor-law oversight, or NGO 
assistance. In his March 21 report, the U.N. special rapporteur on 
migrants expressed concern about the difficulties for migrant children 
to access education either in Japanese or foreign schools.

    Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary 
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees and provided 
it to 363 persons in 2010.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens the right to change their government 
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In July 
2010 the country held national elections for the House of Councillors, 
the upper house of the Diet, which were considered free and fair.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women held 52 of 480 seats 
in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Diet, and 44 of 
242 seats in the upper house. At year's end there were three female 
governors and one woman in the 18-member cabinet.
    Because some ethnic minorities are of mixed heritage and do not 
self-identify, it was difficult to determine the number of minorities 
that served in the Diet. Three Diet members acknowledged being 
naturalized Japanese citizens.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. 
Independent academic experts stated that ties between politicians, 
bureaucrats, and businessmen were close and that corruption remained a 
concern. NGOs criticized the frequent practice of retired senior public 
servants who took high-paying jobs with private firms that rely on 
government contracts. During the first half of the year, the NPA 
reported arrests in eight cases of bribery and one case of bid rigging. 
There were regular media reports of investigations into financial and 
accounting irregularities involving high-profile politicians and 
government officials, and the trial of a former senior party leader 
continued at year's end.
    Laws requiring financial disclosure for public officials were laxly 
enforced.
    The public has the legal right to access government information. 
There were no reports that the government denied such 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 governmental restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
usually were cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The national Human Rights 
Commission reports to the Justice Ministry. Human rights groups did not 
believe it was independent or effective and reported that it lacked 
public trust.
    There was no ombudsman office per se at the national level, 
although the Administrative Counseling System, a department of the 
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, provided many of the 
same functions as a national ombudsman office and its director general 
represented Japan on international ombudsman bodies. Nevertheless, it 
lacked independence from the government and had weak investigative 
powers.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, 
disability, language, and social status. Although the government 
enforced these provisions, discrimination against women, ethnic 
minority group members, and foreigners remained problems.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes all forms 
of rape involving force against women, including spousal rape, and the 
government generally enforced the law effectively. Evidence of force 
and physical resistance by the victim are necessary, however, for a 
sexual encounter to be considered rape. For example, Yamagata 
Prefecture prosecutors dropped gang-rape charges against three men in 
October 2010, citing a lack of objective evidence of force strong 
enough to overcome resistance, such as ripped clothing or bruises on 
the victim. According to NPA statistics, 1,289 rapes against women and 
girls were reported in 2010, and 542 were reported during the first 
half of the year. According to records maintained by the Supreme Court, 
222 persons were convicted on rape charges during the year, with 
punishments ranging from suspended sentences to 20 years in prison. 
Many police stations had female officers to provide confidential 
assistance to female victims.
    Although prohibited by law, domestic violence against women 
remained a problem. According to NPA statistics, in 2010 there were 
33,852 reported cases of domestic violence, with women constituting 
more than 98 percent of the victims. Statistics maintained by the 
Supreme Court showed that 15 persons were convicted of violating 
spousal violence protection orders, with punishments ranging from 
suspended prison sentences to two years in prison.
    Faced with continued calls for apology and compensation for 
``comfort women'' (foreign and citizen victims of forced prostitution 
during World War II), government officials continued to express remorse 
and pointed to previously provided compensation payments.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law includes measures to identify companies 
that fail to prevent sexual harassment, and prefectural labor offices 
and the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare provide these companies 
with advice, guidance, and recommendations. The ministry reported 51 
such cases identified and addressed from April 2010 to March of the 
current year. Companies that fail to comply with government guidance 
may be publicly identified, but officials reported that this has never 
been necessary. Sexual harassment in the workplace remained widespread, 
however, and from April 2010 to March 2011, the ministry reported 
receiving 11,749 consultations, 62.6 percent of which were from female 
workers. The ministry received consultations from employees in more 
than 10 percent of all the companies in Japan, with complaints per 
sector registered as high as 30 percent of the companies in the 
financial sector. On May 29, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation 
released survey results indicating that approximately 17 percent of 
female employees have suffered sexual harassment in the workplace, 
although most did not file a complaint or seek consultation. Government 
hotlines in prefectural labor bureau equal employment departments 
handle consultations concerning sexual harassment and mediate disputes 
when possible.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals could 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. Women had access to contraception and maternal 
health services, including skilled attendance during childbirth, 
prenatal care, and essential obstetric and postpartum care. Men and 
women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually 
transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The law prohibits sexual discrimination and 
generally provides women the same rights as men. The Gender Equality 
Bureau, a cabinet office in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food 
Safety, Social Affairs, and Gender Equality, continued to examine 
policies and monitor progress on gender equality. Its White Paper on 
Gender Equality 2011 concluded that the participation of women in 
society remained inadequate and called for a quota system to boost the 
number of women in senior positions in business, government, and 
elected office.
    Inequality in employment remained a societywide problem. Women 
constituted 42 percent of the labor force in 2010, and their average 
monthly wage was 227,600 yen (approximately $2,950), approximately two-
thirds of the monthly wage earned by men (328,300 yen, or approximately 
$4,260). Women held just 11 percent of managerial positions, and 70 
percent of employed women resigned after the birth of their first 
child.
    NGOs alleged that the country's efforts to implement 
antidiscrimination measures was insufficient, pointing to 
discriminatory provisions in the law, unequal treatment of women in the 
labor market, and low representation of women in high-level elected 
bodies. NGOs urged the country to abolish a six-month waiting period 
stipulated in the law for women but not men before remarriage, 
eliminate different age minimums for marriage depending on sex, adopt a 
system allowing for the choice of surnames for married couples, and 
repeal legal provisions that discriminate against children born out of 
wedlock.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--The nationality law grants 
citizenship at birth to the child of the following: a Japanese father 
who is either married to the child's mother or recognizes his 
paternity, a Japanese mother, or a child born in the country to parents 
who are both unknown or do not have nationality.

    Child Abuse.--Reports of child abuse continued to increase. From 
April 2010 through March 2011, local Child Guidance Centers acted on 
55,152 reports of child abuse by parents or guardians, an increase of 
more than 12,000 from the previous year, despite the latest statistics 
not including two prefectures that failed to report data because they 
were affected by the tsunami. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and 
Welfare commented that the jump in mistreatment reports reflected 
broadening public awareness of child abuse. According to the NPA, 
during the year 384 child abuse cases resulted in the arrest of 409 
people while 39 children were killed as a result of abuse by parents or 
guardians.
    To ameliorate the situation, municipal governments require that 
suspected abusive parents or guardians be interviewed by child welfare 
officials and provided with assistance as required. When necessary, 
suspect homes must also be inspected with police in a supporting role. 
The law grants child welfare officials the authority to prohibit 
abusive parents from meeting or communicating with their children. The 
law also bans abuse under the guise of discipline and mandates that 
anyone aware of suspicious circumstances must report the information to 
a local child counseling or municipal welfare center. On May 27, 
authorities revised the law to allow for suspending parental rights for 
two years; previously, parental rights could be suspended only 
indefinitely or not at all. Children's rights activists welcomed the 
more flexible rules.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Child prostitution is illegal, 
with a penalty of imprisonment with labor for up to five years or a 
fine of up to three million yen (approximately $39,000) for adult 
offenders and penalties of up to seven years imprisonment and fines of 
up to 10 million yen ($130,000) for intermediaries. Nonetheless, the 
continued practice of enjo kosai (compensated dating) and the existence 
of Web sites for online dating, social networking, and ``delivery 
health'' (call-girl or escort services) facilitated child prostitution.
    There are statutory rape laws. The minimum age for consensual sex 
varies by jurisdiction and ranges from 13 to 18 years. The penalty for 
statutory rape is no less than two years' imprisonment with mandatory 
labor.
    The country continued to be an international hub for the production 
and trafficking of child pornography. The commercialization of child 
pornography is illegal, and the penalty is imprisonment with labor for 
not more than three years or a fine not exceeding three million yen 
(approximately $39,000); police continued to crack down on this crime 
during the year. Although the distribution of child pornography, which 
often depicted the brutal sexual abuse of small children, is also 
illegal, the law does not criminalize its simple possession--a 
situation that continued to hamper police efforts to enforce the law 
effectively and participate fully in international law enforcement. 
Police reported 1,455 child pornography investigations involving 638 
child victims during the year, a more than 55-percent increase of both 
statistics compared with those in 2009.
    No national law addresses the unfettered availability of sexually 
explicit cartoons, comics, and video games, some of which depict scenes 
of violent sexual abuse and the rape of children. While the NPA 
maintained that no link has been established between these animated 
images and child victimization, other experts suggested children are 
harmed by a culture that appears to accept child sexual abuse. During 
the year the Tokyo Municipal Government implemented an ordinance to 
restrict the sale of such material to minors.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population is approximately 2,000 
persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the 
provision of other state services, and the government in the main 
enforced these provisions. However, in practice such persons faced 
limited access to these services, and the Federation of Bar 
Associations complained that discrimination was undefined and thus not 
enforceable through judicial remedies. The 2009 government-established 
advisory committee to help develop laws to enable Japan to ratify the 
U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities did not 
attain its objective by year's end.
    The law mandates that the government and private companies hire 
minimum proportions of persons with disabilities (including mental 
disabilities). Companies with more than 300 employees that do not 
comply must pay a fine of 50,000 yen (approximately $650) per vacant 
position per month. Public employment of persons with disabilities 
exceeded minimum proportions, but according to Ministry of Health, 
Labor, and Welfare statistics, the private sector lagged despite 
increases over previous years.
    Accessibility laws mandate that new construction projects for 
public use must include provisions for persons with disabilities. In 
addition the government grants low-interest loans and tax benefits to 
operators of hospitals, theaters, hotels, and other public-use 
facilities if they upgrade or install features to accommodate persons 
with disabilities. In the July 4 report of her July 2010 visit, the 
U.N. special rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and 
sanitation raised concern about housing discrimination that negatively 
affected the accessibility of persons with disabilities to water and 
sanitation.
    According to NGOs an estimated 20,000 homeless persons could not 
receive disability pensions and livelihood protection allowances, 
because they were considered to be without residence. As a result, due 
to inadequate protection by the social safety net and the social stigma 
against homelessness, a significant number of homeless individuals 
committed petty crimes to obtain the food and shelter provided by 
living in prison.
    Mental health professionals criticized as insufficient government 
efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness and inform the public 
that depression and other mental illnesses are treatable and 
biologically based. Police and prison authorities were particularly 
slow in providing treatment of mental illness and have no protocol for 
offering psychiatric therapy.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic minorities experienced 
varying degrees of societal discrimination.
    Although not subject to governmental discrimination, Buraku (the 
descendants of feudal era ``outcasts'') frequently were victims of 
entrenched societal discrimination. Buraku advocacy groups reported 
that despite the socioeconomic improvements achieved by many Buraku, 
widespread discrimination persisted in employment, marriage, housing, 
and property assessments. While the Buraku label is no longer 
officially used to identify people, the family registry system can be 
used to identify them and facilitate discriminatory practices. Buraku 
advocates expressed concern that employers, including many government 
agencies, which require family registry information from job applicants 
for background checks, may use this information to identify and 
discriminate against Buraku applicants.
    Despite legal safeguards against discrimination, the country's 
populations of Korean, Chinese, Brazilian, and Filipino permanent 
residents--many of whom were born, raised, and educated in Japan--were 
subjected to various forms of entrenched societal discrimination, 
including restricted access to housing, education, health care, and 
employment opportunities. Other foreign nationals resident in Japan as 
well as ``foreign-looking'' Japanese citizens reported similar 
discrimination and also said they were prohibited entry, sometimes by 
signs reading ``Japanese Only,'' to privately owned facilities serving 
the public, including hotels and restaurants. Noting that the 
discrimination is usually open and direct, respected NGOs complained of 
government inaction in prohibiting it. In addition, the March 21 report 
on the March 2010 visit by the U.N. special rapporteur on the human 
rights of migrants criticized Japan for lacking legislation to protect 
migrant rights and prohibit discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or 
nationality and for inadequately addressing the persistence of racial 
discrimination and xenophobia regarding migrants.
    In general, societal acceptance of ethnic Koreans who were 
permanent residents or citizens continued to improve steadily. In 2010, 
6,668 ethnic Koreans naturalized as Japanese citizens. Although 
authorities approved most naturalization applications, advocacy groups 
complained of excessive bureaucratic loopholes that complicated the 
naturalization process and a lack of transparent criteria for approval. 
Ethnic Koreans who chose not to naturalize faced difficulties in terms 
of civil and political rights, and according to Japan's periodic 
submissions to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial 
Discrimination, regularly encountered discrimination in access to 
housing, education, government pensions, and other benefits.
    A Japanese Social Insurance Agency enforcement directive explicitly 
makes it easier for employers to avoid paying pension and insurance 
contributions on behalf of their foreign employees who teach languages 
as compared with Japanese employees in similar positions. A labor union 
representing the teachers stated during the year that the directive 
provides impunity to employers who illegally fail to enroll foreign 
teachers in the system.
    Many foreign university professors, especially women, were hired on 
short-term contracts without the possibility of tenure.
    There was a widespread perception among citizens that 
``foreigners,'' including members of Japan-born ethnic minorities, were 
responsible for most crimes committed in the country. The media 
fostered this perception by heavily reporting crimes committed by non-
Japanese citizens, although Justice Ministry statistics showed that the 
crime rate for foreigners, excepting immigration violations, was lower 
than that for citizens.
    Many immigrants struggled to overcome obstacles to naturalization, 
including the broad discretion available to adjudicating officers and 
the great emphasis on Japanese-language ability. Aliens with five years 
of continuous residence are eligible for naturalization and citizenship 
rights. Naturalization procedures also require an extensive background 
check, which includes inquiries into the applicant's economic status 
and assimilation into society. The government defended its 
naturalization procedures as necessary to ensure the smooth 
assimilation of foreigners into society.
    Representatives of some ethnic schools continued to press the 
government to have their schools recognized as educational foundations 
and to accept the graduates of their high schools as qualified to take 
university and vocational school entrance exams. The Ministry of 
Education stated that the graduates of ethnic schools certified by 
international school associations as being equivalent to a 12-year 
program could take the entrance exam.
    Marches by nativist groups declined in frequency and intensity 
during the year compared with 2010, and there were fewer significant 
incidents.

    Indigenous People.--Although the Ainu enjoyed the same rights as 
all other citizens, when clearly identifiable as Ainu they faced 
discrimination. The law emphasizes preservation of Ainu culture, but it 
lacks some provisions that a few Ainu groups have demanded, such as 
recognition for land claims, reserved seats in the Diet and local 
assemblies, and a government apology.
    Although the government does not recognize ``the Ryukyu'' (a term 
that includes residents of Okinawa and portions of Kagoshima 
Prefecture) as indigenous people, it officially acknowledges their 
unique culture and history and has made efforts to preserve and show 
respect for these traditions.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Laws governing rape, sexual 
commerce, and other actions involving sexual intercourse do not apply 
to same-sex sexual activity, since sex is defined in Japanese law 
exclusively as male-to-female vaginal intercourse. This definition 
leads to lower penalties for perpetrators of male rape and greater 
legal ambiguity surrounding same-sex prostitution.
    NGOs that advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender 
persons reported some instances during the year of bullying, 
harassment, and violence.
    There is no national law that protects individuals against 
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, 
although some local governments have enacted laws prohibiting 
employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows private sector workers to form and join unions of their 
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements, 
provides the right to strike, and protects collective bargaining 
rights.
    The law places some limitations on public sector workers and 
employees of state-owned enterprises. Workers in sectors providing 
essential services, including electric power generation and 
transmission, transportation and railways, telecommunications, medical 
care and public health, and the postal service must give 10 days' 
advance notice to authorities prior to organizing a strike. Public 
sector employees do not have the right to strike but are permitted to 
participate in public employee organizations, which may negotiate 
collectively with their employers on wages, hours, and other conditions 
of employment. Employees involved in providing essential services are 
not afforded the right to collective bargaining. The law prohibits 
antiunion discrimination and provides for the reinstatement of workers 
fired for union activities.
    The government effectively enforced the law on forming and joining 
unions. Unions were free of government control and influence, although 
public service employees' basic union rights are governed by a separate 
law and restricted in ways that effectively require prior authorization 
to form unions. The government protected the right of unions to conduct 
activities. However, the continued increased use of short-term 
contracts, at times in violation of the law, undermined regular 
employment and frustrated organizing efforts.
    Collective bargaining was freely practiced, although some 
businesses changed their form of incorporation to a holding-company 
structure, not legally considered employers, to circumvent employee 
protections under the law. Similarly, Japanese employers increasingly 
hired part-time, short-term contract, or nonregular workers rather than 
permanent employees. Such workers made up more than one-third of the 
labor force. They worked for lower wages and often with less job 
security and benefits or in more precarious working conditions than 
career workers did. Many of these workers, who lost their jobs during 
the year, sought damages from their employers, alleging that the 
repeated renewals of their short-term contracts obligated their 
employers to convert them to career employees. To qualify for parity in 
wages and training with full-time workers, part-time workers must have 
parity with full-time workers in terms of tasks, overtime, and 
transfers, and in practice only 4 to 5 percent of part-time workers 
qualified.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, but there were reports that 
such practices occurred. Workers who entered the country illegally or 
who overstayed their visas risked nonpayment or underpayment of wages. 
Some companies illegally restricted the movement, communications, and 
travel documents of foreign laborers in the Industrial Trainee and 
Technical Internship Program and forced them to deposit paychecks into 
company-controlled accounts. The U.N. special rapporteur on the human 
rights of migrants stated in his March 21 report that the program's 
structure fails to protect its participants from exploitation. Some 
Chinese trainees were illegally required to pay fees and deposits 
valued at the equivalent of more than $5,000 before leaving for Japan. 
According to worker advocates, if victims reported mistreatment or 
exited the program early, brokers seized these assets.
    The law and Justice Ministry guidelines prohibit these practices, 
and Labor Standards Offices monitored workplace compliance with the 
law. The normal governmental response was to issue warnings and 
advisories and ban companies from future participation in the trainee 
program.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--By 
law children between the ages of 15 and 18 may perform any job that is 
not designated as dangerous or harmful. Children between the ages of 13 
and 15 may perform ``light labor'' only, and children under 13 may work 
only in the entertainment industry. These laws were effectively 
enforced in practice.
    Child labor was concentrated in the areas of trafficking in persons 
and child pornography (see section 6, Children).
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Minimum wages ranged from 645 
yen (approximately $8.40) to 837 yen ($10.85) per hour, depending on 
the industry and prefecture. The law imposes a fine of up to 500,000 
yen ($6,500) for employers who fail to pay a minimum wage. In 2009, 16 
percent of the population earned an annual income below the poverty 
line of 1.12 million yen (approximately $14,500).
    The law provides for a 40-hour workweek for most industries, 
mandates premium pay for hours worked above 40 in a week or eight in a 
day, sets limits on the number of overtime hours permitted in a fixed 
period, and prohibits excessive compulsory overtime. The law mandates 
paid leave on national holidays as well as at least 10 days of paid 
leave accrued per year following six months of full-time employment. 
The government sets occupational safety and health (OSH) standards.
    The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare is responsible for the 
enforcement of laws and regulations governing wages, hours, and OSH in 
most industries. The National Personnel Authority covers government 
officials. The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry covers OSH for 
the mining industry, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, 
Transport, and Tourism is responsible for OSH in the maritime industry. 
A total of 3,970 Labor Standards Inspectors enforced these laws and 
regulations. Labor unions frequently criticized the government for 
failing to enforce the law regarding maximum working hours, and it was 
widely accepted that workers, including those in government jobs, 
routinely exceeded the hours outlined in the law. From April 2010 to 
March 2011, surviving family members filed 802 applications with the 
Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare seeking recognition of a 
deceased individual as a karoshi (death-from-overwork) victim. The 
ministry officially recognized 285 karoshi victims during the year, but 
worker rights NGOs claimed that the number of victims was in reality 
much higher and overwork and other work conditions contributed to many 
of the 30,513 suicides during the year.
    The government effectively administered applicable OSH law and 
regulations in all sectors. Inspectors have the authority to suspend 
unsafe operations immediately. According to one-time data compiled for 
the Diet, they responded in 2009 to 48,448 complaints, inspected 
146,860 workplaces, ordered 4,553 places of business to suspend 
operations and correct OSH problems, and referred 1,110 cases to 
prosecutors.
    The number of workplace fatalities nearly doubled during year, 
largely resulting from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami which caused 
1,057 on-the-job deaths. From January 1 through November 30, there were 
845 workplace fatalities unrelated to the March 11 disasters, primarily 
in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Falls, automotive 
accidents, and injuries caused by heavy machinery were the most common 
causes of workplace fatalities during the year.
    Inspectors noted that foreign nationals participating in the 
Industrial Trainee and Technical Internship Program were frequently 
forced to work unpaid overtime and receive less than the minimum wage, 
among other labor violations. In August a press report stated that the 
Fukui Prefecture Labor Standards Office found all 54 companies 
participating in the program within the prefecture to be in violation 
of the law. NGOs and labor unions working with foreign workers reported 
noticeable improvement during the year in how companies treated foreign 
workers, in response to new rules governing the program and increased 
scrutiny of the labor standards of participating companies, but also 
stated that problems remained.

                               __________

                                KIRIBATI

                           executive summary
    Kiribati is a constitutional multiparty republic. The president 
exercises executive authority and is popularly elected for a four-year 
term. The legislative assembly nominates at least three, and no more 
than four, presidential candidates from among its members. 
Parliamentary elections held in October were considered generally free 
and fair. Anote Tong of the Boutokaan Te Koaua party remained president 
at year's end pending a presidential election scheduled for January 
2012. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Violence and discrimination against women, child abuse, and 
commercial sexual exploitation of children were the main human rights 
problems during the year.
    There were no reports that government officials committed human 
rights abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports 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 government officials employed them. Traditional village 
practice permits corporal punishment for criminal acts and other 
transgressions.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met international standards, and inmates had access to 
potable water. The government permitted monitoring visits by 
independent human rights observers, but there were no such visits 
during the year.
    As of August the prison system held 124 inmates. There were 112 
convicted prisoners, of whom 105 were men and seven were women, and 12 
pretrial detainees, all men. There were no juveniles (defined as those 
under age 18). There was no separate facility for juvenile offenders, 
but children under age 16 usually were not incarcerated. Juveniles ages 
16 to 17 generally may be detained no longer than one month in the 
adult facility; however, for more serious offenses, such as murder, 
juveniles over age 16 can be held in custody for more than a month and 
can be sentenced to longer terms. Pretrial detainees accused of serious 
offenses who did not meet bail were held with convicted prisoners. 
Persons charged with minor offenses normally were released on their own 
recognizance pending trial.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Although authorities permit complaints by inmates 
about inhumane conditions, the complaints are subject to censorship. 
There were no such complaints received, nor investigations undertaken, 
during the year. The government monitors prison conditions. The country 
does not have any ombudsman who can serve on behalf of prisoners and 
detainees. There were no specific steps taken during the year to 
improve record keeping or use alternatives to incarceration for 
nonviolent offenders.

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

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police force, under 
the Office of the President, maintains internal security. The country 
has no military force. Civilian authorities maintained effective 
control over the police, and the government has effective mechanisms to 
investigate and punish police abuse and corruption. There were no 
reports of impunity involving the security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--In some cases 
magistrates issued warrants before an arrest was made. Persons taken 
into custody without a warrant must be brought before a magistrate 
within 24 hours or within a reasonable amount of time when arrested in 
remote locations. These requirements generally were respected in 
practice. Many individuals were released on their own recognizance 
pending trial, and bail was granted routinely for many offenses. The 
law requires that arrested individuals be informed of their rights, 
which include the right to legal counsel during questioning and the 
right not to incriminate oneself. Two police officers must be present 
at all times during questioning of detainees, who also are provided the 
option of writing and reviewing statements given to police. Detainees 
were allowed prompt access to legal counsel. Public defenders, known as 
``people's lawyers,'' were available free of charge for arrested 
persons and others who needed legal advice.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this 
right. There is no trial by jury. Procedural safeguards include the 
presumption of innocence until proven guilty. An accused person must be 
informed of the charges and provided adequate time and facilities to 
prepare a defense. The law also provides for the right to confront 
witnesses, present evidence, access government-held evidence, and 
appeal convictions. Defendants facing serious criminal charges are 
entitled to free legal representation.
    Extrajudicial traditional communal justice, in which village elders 
decide cases and mete out punishment, remained a part of village life, 
especially on remote outer islands. Nonetheless, the incidence of 
communal justice continued to decline under pressure from the codified 
national law.

    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 individuals and 
organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and 
the government generally respected these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Press.--Although there were no government restrictions, 
there were some concerns about the lack of local independent media. 
Most locally based news media were owned and operated either by the 
government's Broadcasting and Publications Authority or a media company 
owned by a member of parliament.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. Although the law prohibits government restrictions on 
citizens' freedom of movement, it does not restrict such actions by 
traditional village councils.

    Exile.--The law provides for the forced expulsion from the country 
of a convicted person if ``in the interests of defense, public safety, 
order, morality, health, or environmental conservation.'' However, the 
government did not use forced exile.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. During the year there were no applications for asylum or 
refugee status.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 
legislature has 45 members: 43 are elected by universal adult suffrage; 
the Rabi Island Council of I-Kiribati (persons of Kiribati ancestry) in 
Fiji selects one; and the attorney general is an ex officio member. 
Parliamentary elections held in October were considered generally free 
and fair.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were four women in 
the legislature, two of whom were also cabinet ministers. Several 
permanent secretaries and deputy secretaries were women.
    The president and several members of the legislature were of mixed 
descent.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the government did not always implement the law effectively. Government 
officials have sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity, 
but there were no specific reports of government corruption during the 
year.
    Nepotism, based on tribal, church, and family ties, was prevalent. 
Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws. The 
auditor general is responsible for oversight of government 
expenditures. In reality the auditor general lacked sufficient 
resources, and findings of misappropriations and unaccounted for funds 
were generally ignored, or the investigations were inconclusive.
    Together with Nauru and Tuvalu, the country participated in a 
subregional audit support program, an initiative of the Pacific 
Association of Supreme Audit Institutions, with the goal of enabling 
public accounts to be audited to uniformly high standards in a timely 
manner.
    No law specifically provides for citizen or media access to 
government information. In practice the government was fairly 
responsive to individual requests for information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated 
without government restriction. Government officials were cooperative 
and responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
national origin, or color, and the government observed these 
prohibitions in practice; however, only native I-Kiribati may own land.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Spousal abuse and other forms 
of violence against women were significant problems. Alcohol abuse 
frequently was a factor in attacks on women. Rape, including spousal 
rape, is a crime, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, but 
sentences typically were much shorter.
    The law does not address domestic violence specifically, but 
general common law and criminal law make assault in all forms illegal. 
The law provides for penalties of up to six months' imprisonment for 
common assault and up to five years' imprisonment for assault involving 
bodily harm. While cultural taboos on reporting such crimes and police 
attitudes encouraging reconciliation over prosecution still exist, 
prosecutions for rape and domestic assault made up the majority of 
cases processed by the public prosecutor's office during the year.
    Following the 2009 publication of a study on the prevalence of 
domestic violence in the country, the government took additional steps 
to address violence against women. In 2009 Parliament passed a motion 
to support legal reform to eliminate domestic violence, and in 2011 the 
cabinet endorsed a policy and national action plan (2010-20) for the 
elimination of gender-based violence. The police force has a Domestic 
Violence and Sexual Offenses Unit, and unit officers participated in a 
capacity-building program, funded by a foreign government, that 
provided training in handling such cases. The police also ran a 24-hour 
hotline for victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse. The Catholic 
Church operated a shelter for women and children in Tarawa.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not prohibit sexual harassment. 
Information presented in workshops conducted in 2010 in connection with 
efforts to develop a national policy on gender equality indicated that 
sexual harassment was more widespread than previously regarded.

    Sex Tourism.--The law does not specifically prohibit sex tourism. 
Obscene or indecent behavior is banned. There were reports of foreign 
fishermen engaging in commercial sexual acts with minors (see section 
6, Children).

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children. Access to contraception, as well as prenatal, obstetric, and 
postnatal care, was available from public health hospitals and centers. 
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 90 percent of 
births were attended by skilled health personnel, and maternal 
mortality was estimated to be 158 deaths per 100,000 live births based 
on data from the 2005 census. According to indicators published by the 
Population Reference Bureau, an estimated 36 percent of married women 
ages 15-49 used some form of contraception, and an estimated 31 percent 
used modern contraceptive methods.

    Discrimination.--The law does not prohibit discrimination on the 
basis of gender, and the traditional culture, in which men are 
dominant, impeded a more active role for women in the economy. Women 
filled many government office and teaching positions. According to the 
most recent census in 2005, 56 percent of professionals were women 
(primarily teachers and nurses). Statistics generally were not well 
collected in the country, and data on the participation of women in the 
work force and on comparative wages were unavailable. Women have rights 
of ownership and inheritance of property as well as full and equal 
access to education. However, land inheritance laws are patrilineal, 
and sons are entitled to more land than daughters.
    The Citizenship Act contains some discriminatory provisions. For 
example, the foreign wife of a male citizen acquires citizenship 
automatically through the marriage; however, the foreign husband of a 
female citizen does not.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth in 
the country, unless the child acquires the citizenship of another 
country at birth through a noncitizen parent. Citizenship also is 
derived through one's father. The law requires registration of births 
within 10 days, but this time frame was not always observed in 
practice. During the year the government worked with support from 
UNICEF to improve timely registration of births.

    Child Abuse.--Chronic alcohol abuse leading to child abuse 
(physical and occasionally sexual) and neglect continued to be a 
serious problem. There is a police unit specifically focused on child 
and family violence.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Crewmembers of foreign fishing 
vessels that stopped in the country engaged in commercial sexual 
exploitation of women, some of whom were underage. Some girls worked as 
prostitutes in bars frequented by crewmembers. Local I-Kiribati, 
sometimes including family members, reportedly acted as facilitators, 
delivering girls to the boats. The girls generally received cash, food, 
or goods in exchange for sexual services.
    The minimum age for consensual sex is 15. Sexual relations with a 
girl under age 13 carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and 
sexual relations with a girl age 13-14 carries a maximum penalty of 
five years' imprisonment. The victim's consent is not a permissible 
defense under either provision; however, in the latter case, reasonable 
belief the victim was 15 or older is a permissible defense. While this 
provision applies only to female children, male-on-male sexual 
exploitation of children could be prosecuted under provisions against 
``unnatural'' offenses (which cover both male and female persons) and 
acts of ``gross indecency between males,'' with maximum penalties of 14 
and five years' imprisonment, respectively.
    The penal code has no specific provision concerning child 
pornography.
    See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip/.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The country's Jewish community was limited to a few 
foreign nationals, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip/.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, there were 
no formal complaints of discrimination in employment, education, or the 
provision of other state services for persons with physical, sensory, 
intellectual, or mental disabilities. Accessibility of buildings, 
communications, and information for persons with disabilities is not 
mandated, and there were no special accommodations for persons with 
disabilities. There were two main nongovernmental organizations that 
supported and advocated for persons with disabilities: Te Toa Matoa 
(Disabled Persons' Organization) and the School for the Disabled. The 
school offered special elementary education classes and programs for 
children with disabilities from age six to age 14. The central hospital 
on Tarawa had a wing for persons with mental disabilities, and there 
was a psychiatrist working on Tarawa. Physiotherapy services also were 
offered at the hospital for persons with physical disabilities.
    There was no government agency specifically responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Sodomy and acts of ``gross 
indecency between males'' are illegal, with maximum penalties of 14 and 
five years' imprisonment, respectively, but there were no reports of 
prosecutions directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons 
under these provisions. There were no reports of societal 
discrimination or violence based on sexual orientation or gender 
identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal discrimination or violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. A 
government-run HIV/AIDS taskforce coordinated outreach and educational 
activities concerning HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers to form and join independent 
unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. The law 
prohibits employment discrimination on a number of grounds, including 
political opinion, but does not specifically include union membership 
or activity as a prohibited ground of discrimination or provide for 
reinstatement of workers fired for union activity. The government did 
not control or restrict union activities; however, unions must register 
with the government.
    There were no official public sector trade unions, but nurses and 
teachers belonged to voluntary employee associations similar to unions 
and constituted approximately 30 to 40 percent of total union and 
association membership.
    The government's Public Service Office sets wages in the large 
public sector (53 percent of workers in the cash economy, according to 
the 2005 census). In a few statutory bodies and government-owned 
companies, however, employees could negotiate wages and other 
conditions. In the private sector, individual employees also could 
negotiate wages with employers. In keeping with tradition, negotiations 
generally were nonconfrontational. There were no collective bargaining 
agreements during the year and no instances reported in which the right 
to strike was denied. There were no reports of antiunion 
discrimination, and there were mechanisms to resolve any complaints 
that might arise.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports that 
such practices occurred.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of children under age 14. Children through 
age 15 are prohibited from industrial employment and employment aboard 
ships. Officers from the Ministry of Labor and Human Resources 
Development generally enforced these laws effectively. Children rarely 
were employed outside the traditional economy. Some girls worked as 
prostitutes in bars frequented by crews of foreign fishing vessels (see 
section 6, Children).
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Form of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no official minimum 
wage, but the Labor Ministry estimated the ``non-legislated'' minimum 
to be between A$1.60 and A$1.70 (approximately $1.63 and $1.73) per 
hour. There is provision for a minimum wage at the discretion of the 
Labor Ministry, but it has never been implemented. The standard wage 
income provided a marginally decent standard of living for a worker and 
family, but most of the working population worked within a subsistence 
economy.
    There is no legislatively prescribed workweek. Workers in the 
public sector worked 36.25 hours per week, with overtime pay for 
additional hours. There is no law or regulation governing the amount of 
overtime an employee may work, but there were no known reports of 
excessive compulsory overtime.
    Employment laws provide rudimentary health and safety standards for 
the workplace, which the Labor Ministry is responsible for enforcing. 
Employers are liable for the expenses of workers injured on the job, 
but a lack of qualified personnel hampered the government's ability to 
enforce employment laws. The ministry's labor officers are responsible 
for performing labor inspections, but no workplace inspections were 
conducted during the year. Workers do not have the right to remove 
themselves from hazardous work sites without risking loss of 
employment.

                               __________

                 DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

                           executive summary
    The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) \1\ 
is an authoritarian state led by the Kim family for more than 60 years. 
On December 30, Kim Jong Un was named supreme commander of the Korean 
People's Army following the December 17 death of his father Kim Jong 
Il. Kim Jong Un's grandfather, the late Kim Il Sung, remains ``eternal 
president.'' The most recent national elections, held in March 2009, 
were neither free nor fair. Security forces report to the supreme 
leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, and to the civilians and military 
officers that form the National Defense Commission, the supreme ruling 
body of the state.
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    \1\ The United States does not have diplomatic relations with the 
Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea does not allow 
representatives of foreign governments, journalists, or other invited 
guests the freedom of movement that would enable them to assess fully 
human rights conditions or confirm reported abuses. Some reports that 
rely on defector testimony can be dated because of the time lapse 
between departure from North Korea and contact with NGOs or officials 
able to document human rights conditions.
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    Citizens did not have the right to change their government. The 
government subjected citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of 
their lives, including denial of the freedoms of speech, press, 
assembly, association, religion, and movement and worker rights. There 
continued to be reports of a vast network of political prison camps in 
which conditions were often harsh and life threatening.
    Defectors continued to report extrajudicial killings, 
disappearances, arbitrary detention, arrests of political prisoners, 
and torture. The judiciary was not independent and did not provide fair 
trials. There continued to be reports of severe punishment of some 
repatriated refugees and their family members. There were reports of 
trafficked women among refugees and workers crossing the border into 
China.
    The government made no known attempts to prosecute officials who 
committed human rights abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were numerous 
reports that the government committed arbitrary and unlawful killings. 
Defector and refugee reports indicated that in some instances the 
government executed political prisoners, opponents of the government, 
repatriated defectors, and others accused of crimes with no judicial 
process. The law prescribes the death penalty for the most ``serious'' 
or ``grave'' cases of ``antistate'' or ``antination'' crimes, 
including: participation in a coup or plotting to overthrow the state; 
acts of terrorism for an antistate purpose; treason, which includes 
defection or handing over state secrets; suppressing the people's 
movement for national liberation; and ``treacherous destruction.'' In 
addition a 2007 penal code addendum extends executions to include less 
serious crimes such as theft, destruction of military facilities and 
national assets, fraud, kidnapping, smuggling, and trafficking.
    Border guards reportedly had orders to shoot to kill potential 
defectors, and prison guards were under orders to shoot to kill those 
attempting to escape from political prison camps. In November the press 
reported that border guards shot and killed an unidentified man as he 
attempted to cross the border near Hyesan.
    During the year nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that 
public executions continued, but no official statistics were available. 
The Republic of Korea (ROK or South Korea) think tank the Korean 
Institute for National Unification (KINU) 2011 White Paper on Human 
Rights in North Korea cited 53 public executions since 2009.

    b. Disappearance.--NGO, think tank, and press reports indicated 
that the government was responsible for disappearances.
    There was no progress in the investigation into the cases of 
suspected abductions of Japanese nationals by DPRK government entities. 
The DPRK had agreed to reopen the investigation after discussions with 
the Japanese government in 2008.
    ROK government and media reports indicated that the DPRK government 
also kidnapped other nationals from locations abroad in the 1970s and 
1980s. However, the DPRK government continued to deny its involvement 
in the kidnappings. The ROK Ministry of Unification reported that 
approximately 517 of its civilians, abducted or detained by DPRK 
authorities since the end of the Korean War, remained in the DPRK. ROK 
NGOs estimated 20,000 civilians were abducted by the DPRK during the 
Korean War.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The penal code prohibits torture or inhuman treatment, but 
many sources continued to report these practices. Numerous defector 
accounts and NGO reports released during the year described the use of 
torture by authorities in kwan-li-so political prisons. Methods of 
torture and other abuse reportedly included severe beatings, electric 
shock, prolonged periods of exposure to the elements, humiliations such 
as public nakedness, confinement for up to several weeks in small 
``punishment cells'' in which prisoners were unable to stand upright or 
lie down, being forced to kneel or sit immobilized for long periods, 
being hung by the wrists or forced to stand up and sit down to the 
point of collapse, and forcing mothers to watch the infanticide of 
their newborn infants. Defectors continued to report that many 
prisoners died from torture, disease, starvation, exposure to the 
elements, or a combination of these causes. The 2010 study, Witness to 
Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea (Witness to 
Transformation), published by the Peterson Institute for International 
Economics and based on a survey conducted in 2008, found that 
approximately half of the respondents who were detained in lower-level 
institutions (jip-kyul-so collection centers and ro-dong-dan-ryeon-dae 
labor training centers) reported seeing executions, an estimated three-
quarters reported forced starvation, and nearly a third reported 
witnessing deaths from beatings and torture.
    The KINU 2011White Paper on North Korean Human Rights indicated 
that officials had in some cases prohibited live births in prison and 
ordered forced abortions. In some cases of live birth, the white paper 
reported that prison guards killed the infant or left it to die. The 
white paper reported that guards also sexually abused female prisoners.
    Defectors reported that reeducation through labor, primarily 
through sentences at forced labor camps, was a common punishment and 
consisted of difficult physical labor, such as logging, mining, and 
tending crops under harsh conditions. Reeducation involved memorizing 
speeches by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--NGO, refugee, and press 
reports indicated that there were several types of prisons, detention 
centers, and camps, including forced labor camps and separate camps for 
political prisoners. Witness to Transformation described four main 
types of prison and detention facilities: kwan-li-so, political penal-
labor camps; kyo-hwa-so, correctional or reeducation centers; jip-kyul-
so, collection centers for low-level criminals; and ro-dong-dan-ryeon-
dae, labor training centers. Based on satellite imagery and defector 
testimony, one kwan-li-so camp, Camp 22, was estimated to be 31 miles 
long and 25 miles wide and hold 50,000 inmates. Defectors claimed the 
kwan-li-so camps contained unmarked graves, barracks, worksites, and 
other prison facilities. Kwan-li-so penal-labor camps are administered 
by the Ministry of State Security (MSS); kyo-hwa-so reeducation centers 
are administered by the Ministry of People's Security (MPS). During the 
year an NGO reported that five kwan-li-so facilities remained under the 
command of the MSS, including Kaecheon (Camp14) in South Pyongan 
Province, Yoduk (Camp 15) in South Hamkyung Province, Hwasung (Camp 
16), Chongjin (Camp 25), and Hoiryeong (Camp 22) in North Hamkyung 
Province. The same NGO reported the police began to dismantle the sixth 
facility, Bukchang (Camp 18) in South Pyongan Province, in 2006 and it 
was unclear if the camp remained in operation in 2011.
    Reports indicated that those sentenced to prison for nonpolitical 
crimes were typically sent to reeducation prisons where prisoners were 
subjected to intense forced labor. Those who were considered hostile to 
the government or who committed political crimes reportedly were sent 
to political prison camps indefinitely. In many cases family members 
were also detained if one member was accused or arrested. The 
government continued to deny the existence of political prison camps.
    Reports indicated that conditions in the prison camp and detention 
system were harsh and life threatening and that systematic and severe 
human rights abuses occurred. Many prisoners in political prison camps 
and the detention system were not expected to survive. Detainees and 
prisoners consistently reported violence and torture. Press reports and 
Witness to Transformation included defector accounts of public 
executions in political prison camps. According to refugees, in some 
places of detention, prisoners received little or no food and were 
denied medical care. Sanitation was poor, and former labor camp inmates 
reported they had no changes of clothing during their incarceration and 
were rarely able to bathe or wash their clothing. An NGO reported that 
one reeducation center was so crowded that prisoners were forced to 
sleep on top of each other or sitting up. The same NGO reported that 
guards at a labor camp stole food brought for inmates by their family 
members. Based on interviews with 15 former detainees at the Yoduk 
political prison, an Amnesty International report estimated that 40-
percent of inmates died of malnutrition.
    The South Korean and international press reported that kyo-hwa-so, 
or labor rehabilitation camps, hold populations of up to 10,000 
political prisoners, economic criminals, and ordinary criminals.
    Estimates of the total number of prisoners and detainees in the 
kwan-li-so camps ranged between 130,000-200,000. In July the ROK think 
tank Database Center on North Korean Human Rights reported that 138,000 
people were being held in DPRK detention centers, with between 130,500 
and 131,000 held in five active political prison camps, possibly 200-
300 in the Bukchang facility, and the rest dispersed in more than 182 
other locations. NGO and press reports estimated that there were 
between 182 and 490 detention facilities in the country.
    Information on the number of women and juvenile prisoners was not 
available. Anecdotal reports from the Database Center on North Korean 
Human Rights indicated that in some prisons women were held in separate 
units from men, but no information was available on whether conditions 
varied for women. One NGO reported that political prisoners sent to 
punishment facilities were subject to torture without consideration of 
their gender.
    One NGO reported that women make up the majority of prisoners in 
ro-dong dan-ryeon-dae, or labor-training centers; the majority of 
prisoners in these facilities were repatriated from China.
    Under the criminal procedure law, a criminal case is dismissed in 
the case of a crime committed by a person under 14 years of age, and 
under Article 62 public education is applied in case of a crime 
committed by a person above 14 and under 17 years of age.
    No information was available indicating whether prisoners and 
detainees had reasonable access to visitors. In past years defectors 
reported that Christian inmates were subjected to harsher punishment if 
their faith was made public. No information was available on whether 
prisoners or detainees could submit complaints to judicial authorities 
without censorship or request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. It is also not known whether results of 
investigations were made public. There was no information on whether 
the government investigated or monitored prison and detention 
conditions. Neither the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights 
situation in the DPRK nor the U.N. special rapporteur on torture have 
been allowed to independently access conditions inside the country.
    The government did not permit human rights monitors to inspect 
prisons and detention facilities. There was no information on whether 
there were ombudsmen to act on behalf of prisoners and detainees, 
consider such matters as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent 
offenders, alleviate inhumane overcrowding, address the status and 
circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders, improve the 
administration of pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping 
procedures, or ensure that prisoners did not serve beyond the maximum 
sentence for the charged offense.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but reports indicated that the government did not 
observe these prohibitions in practice. Witness to Transformation 
reported that authorities had a high level of discretion in detaining, 
arresting, prosecuting, and releasing people.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The internal security 
apparatus includes the Ministry of People's Security (MPS) and the 
Ministry of State Security (MSS). The security forces do not have 
adequate mechanisms to investigate possible security force abuses. 
There was no information that the government took action to reform the 
security forces.
    The MPS, responsible for internal security, social control, and 
basic police functions, is one of the most powerful organizations in 
the country. It controlled an estimated 144,000 public security 
personnel. The MPS maintains law and order, investigates common 
criminal cases, manages the prison system, controls traffic, monitors 
citizens' political attitudes, conducts background investigations, has 
responsibility for the census and civil registration, controls 
individual travel, manages the government's classified documents, 
protects government and party officials, and patrols government 
buildings and some government and party construction activities. Border 
Guards are the paramilitary force of the MPS and are primarily 
concerned with monitoring the border and with internal security.
    The formal public security structure was augmented by a pervasive 
system of informers throughout the society. Surveillance of citizens, 
both physical and electronic, was routine.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Revisions to 
the criminal code and the criminal procedure code in 2004 and 2005 
added shortened periods of detention during prosecution and trial, 
arrest by warrant, and prohibition of collecting evidence by forced 
confessions. There was no confirmation of whether these changes were 
incorporated in practice.
    Members of the security forces arrested and reportedly transported 
citizens suspected of committing political crimes to prison camps 
without trial. According to one South Korean NGO, beginning in 2008, 
the PSA was authorized to handle criminal cases directly without the 
approval of prosecutors. The change was reportedly made because of 
corruption among prosecutors. One NGO reported that investigators could 
detain an individual for the purpose of investigation up to two months.
    There were no restrictions on the government's ability to detain 
and imprison persons at will or to hold them incommunicado. Family 
members and other concerned persons found it virtually impossible to 
obtain information on charges against detained persons or the lengths 
of their sentences. Judicial review of detentions did not exist in law 
or in practice. There was no known bail system and no information on 
whether a lawyer was provided to detainees.
    During the year ROK NGOs reported the case of Shin Suk-ja, who was 
allegedly detained at the Yodok labor camp because her husband, Oh Kil-
nam, defected to the ROK.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution states that 
courts are independent and that judicial proceedings are to be carried 
out in strict accordance with the law; however, an independent 
judiciary did not exist. There was no information on whether 
authorities respected court orders. The constitution mandates that the 
central court is accountable to the Supreme People's Assembly, and the 
criminal code subjects judges to criminal liability for handing down 
``unjust judgments.'' Witness to Transformation reported that only 13 
percent of the 102 respondents who had been incarcerated in the country 
received a trial.

    Trial Procedures.--The MPS dispensed with trials in political cases 
and referred prisoners to the SSD for punishment. Little information 
was available on formal criminal justice procedures and practices, and 
outside access to the legal system was limited to trials for traffic 
violations and other minor offenses.
    The constitution contains elaborate procedural protections, 
providing that cases should be heard in public, except under 
circumstances stipulated by law. The constitution also states that the 
accused has the right to a defense, and when trials were held, the 
government reportedly assigned lawyers. Some reports noted a 
distinction between those accused of political, as opposed to 
nonpolitical, crimes and claimed that the government offered trials and 
lawyers only to the latter. There was no indication that independent, 
nongovernmental defense lawyers existed. According to a Washington Post 
article and the ROK National Human Rights Commission report, most 
inmates in prison camps were sent there without a trial and without 
knowing the charges against them. There were no indications that the 
right to the presumption of innocence was respected in practice.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--While the total number of 
political prisoners and detainees remained unknown, a 2011 report by 
the North Korea Database estimated that 138,000 people were held in 
detention centers, of whom 130,500 were held in five political prisons. 
Political prisoners are held separately from other detainees. NGOs and 
the press reported that political prisoners were subject to harsher 
punishments and fewer protections than other prisoners and detainees. 
The government considered critics of the regime to be political 
criminals. The government did not permit access to persons by 
international humanitarian organizations. Reports from past years 
described political offenses as including burning old currency or 
criticizing the government's currency revaluation, sitting on 
newspapers bearing Kim Il Sung's or Kim Jong Il's picture, mentioning 
Kim Il Sung's limited formal education, or defacing photographs of the 
Kims.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--According to Article 69 of 
the constitution, ``[c]itizens are entitled to submit complaints and 
petitions. The state shall fairly investigate and deal with complaints 
and petitions as fixed by law.'' Under the Law on Complaint and 
Petition, citizens are entitled to submit complaints to stop 
encroachment upon their rights and interests or seek compensation for 
the encroached rights and interests. Reports indicated these rights 
were not respected in practice.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for the inviolability of 
person and residence and the privacy of correspondence; however, the 
government did not respect these provisions in practice. The regime 
subjected its citizens to rigid controls. The government relied upon a 
massive, multilevel system of informants to identify critics and 
potential troublemakers. Entire communities sometimes were subjected to 
security checks. An ROK NGO reported that authorities entered homes 
without judicial authorization. Possessing ``antistate'' material and 
listening to foreign broadcasts were crimes that could subject the 
transgressor to harsh punishment, including up to five years of labor 
reeducation.
    The government monitored correspondence and telephone 
conversations. Private telephone lines operated on a system that 
precluded making or receiving international calls; international phone 
lines were available only under restricted circumstances.
    During the year press reports indicated the number of persons with 
access to an internal mobile phone network increased to an estimated 
one million. DailyNK reported that approximately 60 percent of the 
population of Pyongyang between the ages of 20 and 50 regularly used 
mobile phones. Mobile phone use was strictly monitored. The system was 
segregated from systems used by foreigners and could not be used for 
international calls. In the border regions adjacent to China, 
unauthorized Chinese mobile phones were reported to be used for making 
international calls. Those caught using such cell phones were 
reportedly arrested and required to pay a fine or face charges of 
espionage, or harsher punishments. In May CNN reported that the 
government initiated an intensive crackdown on illegal mobile phone use 
to prevent uprisings such as those in the Middle East.
    The Korean Worker's Party (KWP) is the key governing body in the 
country; party membership is dictated by social and family background 
and is the key determinant of social mobility. The government divided 
citizens into strict loyalty-based classes known as ``songbun,'' which 
determined access to employment, higher education, place of residence, 
medical facilities, certain stores, and marriage prospects.
    DPRK authorities practice collective punishment. Entire families, 
including children, have been imprisoned when one member of the family 
was accused of a crime. Collective punishment reportedly can extend to 
three generations.
    ROK NGOs reported that most of the 38 family members and other 
relatives of Park Nam-ki, who was allegedly executed in 2010 for his 
role in the 2009 currency revaluation, were sent to labor detention 
centers where they reportedly died of illness, severe malnutrition, and 
suicide.
    NGOs reported the eviction of families from their places of 
residence without due process. In April the press reported that 300 
families of defectors who had resettled in the ROK were relocated from 
Hoeryoung to a controlled area in South Hamkyoung province. In August 
ROK NGOs reported that the DPRK Central Party had established a policy 
of relocating the entire family of people found to be receiving help 
from relatives overseas.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press; 
however, the government prohibited the exercise of these rights in 
practice.

    Freedom of Speech.--There were numerous instances of persons being 
interrogated or arrested for saying anything that could be construed as 
negative towards the government.
    The constitution provides for the right to petition. However, the 
government did not respect this right. For example, when anonymous 
petitions or complaints about state administration were submitted, the 
MSS and MPS sought to identify the authors, who could be subjected to 
investigation and punishment.

    Freedom of Press.--The government sought to control virtually all 
information.
    Print media, broadcast media, and book publishing were all tightly 
controlled by the government. There were no independent media. The 
government carefully managed visits by foreigners, especially 
journalists. In September the Associated Press (AP) reached an 
agreement to expand its television service to an all-format news bureau 
in Pyongyang. International AP reporters were not resident in the 
country.

    Violence and Harassment.--Domestic journalists had little freedom 
to investigate stories or report freely. In 2010 an NGO reported the 
alleged execution of someone making an illegal international call to 
report on rice prices.
    During visits by foreign leaders, groups of foreign journalists 
were permitted to accompany official delegations and file reports. In 
all cases journalists were monitored strictly. Journalists generally 
were not allowed to talk to officials or to persons on the street. For 
all foreign visitors, including journalists, cell or satellite phones 
were held at the airport for the duration of the stay.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Domestic media censorship 
continued to be strictly enforced, and no deviation from the official 
government line was tolerated. The government prohibited listening to 
foreign media broadcasts except by the political elite, and violators 
were subject to severe punishment. Radios and television sets, unless 
altered, are set to receive only domestic programming; radios obtained 
from abroad had to be altered to operate in a similar manner. Elite 
citizens and facilities for foreigners, such as hotels, reportedly had 
access to international television broadcasts via satellite. The 
government continued to attempt to jam all foreign radio broadcasts.

    Internet Freedom.--Internet access for citizens was limited to 
high-ranking officials and other designated elites, including select 
university students. An ``intranet'' was reportedly available to a 
slightly larger group of users, including an elite grade school, select 
research institutions, universities, and factories, and a few 
individuals. The Korea Computer Center acted as the gatekeeper, 
downloading only acceptable information for access through the 
intranet. Reporters Without Borders reported that some e-mail access 
existed through this internal network.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted 
academic freedom and controlled artistic works. Curriculum was highly 
controlled by the state. Academic travel was severly restricted. A 
primary function of plays, movies, operas, children's performances, and 
books was to buttress the cult of personality surrounding the Kim 
family.
    According to North Korean media, Kim Jong-il frequently told 
officials that ideological education must take precedence over academic 
education in the schools. Indoctrination was carried out systematically 
through the mass media, schools, and worker and neighborhood 
associations. Indoctrination continued to involve mass marches, 
rallies, and staged performances, sometimes including hundreds of 
thousands of persons.
    The government continued its attempt to limit foreign influence on 
its citizens. Listening to foreign radio and watching foreign films is 
illegal; however, numerous NGOs reported that foreign DVDs, VCDs, CDs, 
and videotapes continued to be smuggled into the country. The 
government intensified its focus on preventing the smuggling of imports 
of South Korean popular culture, especially television dramas. 
According to media and NGO reports, in enforcing restrictions on 
foreign films, police were authorized to search people's homes to 
search for contraband DVDs. One NGO reported the majority of people 
incarcerated in low-level detention facilities were detained for 
watching illegal foreign films.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, 
the government did not respect this provision in practice and continued 
to prohibit public meetings not previously authorized.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, but the government failed to respect this provision in 
practice. There were no known organizations other than those created by 
the government. Professional associations existed primarily to 
facilitate government monitoring and control over organization members.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for the ``freedom to 
reside in or travel to any place''; however, the government did not 
respect this right in practice. During the year the government 
continued to control carefully internal travel. The government did not 
cooperate with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees or 
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance 
to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum 
seekers, stateless persons, or other persons.

    In-country Movement.--The government continued to restrict freedom 
to move within the country. Only members of a very small elite class 
and those with access to remittances from overseas had access to 
personal vehicles; movement was hampered by the absence of an effective 
transport network and by military and police checkpoints on main roads 
at the entry to and exit from every town.
    The government strictly controlled permission to reside in, or even 
to enter, Pyongyang, where food supplies, housing, health, and general 
living conditions were much better than in the rest of the country. 
Foreign officials visiting the country observed checkpoints on the 
highway leading into Pyongyang.

    Foreign Travel.--The government also restricted foreign travel. The 
government limited issuance of exit visas for foreign travel to 
officials and trusted businessmen, artists, athletes, and academics. 
Short-term exit papers were available for some residents on the Chinese 
border to enable visits with relatives or to engage in small-scale 
trade.

    Exile.--It was not known whether the law prohibits forced exile; 
the government reportedly forced the internal exile of some citizens. 
In the past it forcibly resettled tens of thousands of persons from 
Pyongyang to the countryside. Sometimes this occurred as punishment for 
offenses, although there were reports that social engineering was also 
involved. For example, although disabled veterans were treated well, 
other persons with physical and mental disabilities, as well as those 
judged to be politically unreliable, were sent out of Pyongyang into 
internal exile.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--The government did not allow 
emigration, and reports indicated that it tightened security on the 
border, which dramatically reduced the flow of persons crossing into 
China without required permits. NGOs reported strict patrols and 
surveillance of residents of border areas and a crackdown on border 
guards who may have been aiding border crossers in return for bribes.
    Substantial numbers of citizens have crossed the border into China 
over the years. Reports suggested that the number of North Koreans 
living in northeastern China declined during the year.
    The South Korean press reported that the government issued orders 
for guards to shoot-to-kill attempted border crossers. NGOs reported 
that Kim Jong Un called for stricter punishments for those suspected of 
illegal border crossing. The law criminalizes defection and attempted 
defection, including the attempt to gain entry to a foreign diplomatic 
facility for the purpose of seeking political asylum. Individuals who 
cross the border with the purpose of defecting or seeking asylum in a 
third country are subject to a minimum of five years of ``labor 
correction.'' In ``serious'' cases defectors or asylum seekers are 
subject to indefinite terms of imprisonment and forced labor, 
confiscation of property, or death. Many would-be refugees who were 
returned involuntarily were imprisoned under harsh conditions. Some 
sources indicated that particularlyharsh treatment was reserved for 
those who had extensive contact with foreigners, including those with 
family members resettled in the ROK.
    In the past, reports from defectors indicated that the government 
differentiated between persons who crossed the border in search of food 
(who might be sentenced only to a few months of forced labor or in some 
cases merely issued a warning) and persons who crossed repeatedly or 
for political purposes (who were sometimes sentenced to heavy 
punishments, including death). The law stipulates a sentence of up to 
two years of ``labor correction'' for the crime of illegally crossing 
the border.
    Repatriated refugees were subject to harsh punishments, including 
imprisonment. During the year the government reportedly continued to 
enforce the policy that all border crossers be sent to prison or 
reeducation centers. An NGO reported that families of resettled 
defectors in South Korea were treated harshly and were forcibly 
relocated to areas away from the border.
    Witness to Transformation reported that approximately one-quarter 
of defectors surveyed in 2004 who had successfully escaped North Korea 
reported having been arrested in China and repatriated to North Korea 
at least once before their successful departure.
    In October the press reported that more than 20 defectors were 
caught in China and likely repatriated.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 Convention 
relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, nor has the 
government established a system for providing protection for refugees. 
The government did not grant refugee status or asylum. The government 
had no known policy or provision for refugees or asylees and did not 
participate in international refugee fora.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens do not have the right to change their government 
peacefully. Following the death of Kim Jong Il on December 17, his son, 
Kim Jong Un, was given the title of Supreme Commander of the KPA. There 
was no effort to carry out this transition by democratic means.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Elections of local representatives to the SPA were held in July. The 
elections were neither free nor fair, and the outcome was virtually 
identical to prior elections. One NGO reported that travel certificates 
were reportedly not issued during the election period. The government 
openly monitored voting, resulting in nearly 100 percent participation 
and 100 percent approval. An NGO reported that citizens were ordered to 
participate in the July elections.

    Political Parties.--The government has created several ``minority 
parties.'' Lacking grassroots organizations, they existed only as 
rosters of officials with token representation in the SPA. The 
government regularly criticized the concept of free elections and 
competition among political parties as an ``artifact'' of ``capitalist 
decay.''

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women made up 20 percent of 
the membership of the SPA as of the 2003 elections. Women constituted 
approximately 4.5 percent of the membership of the Central Committee of 
the KWP but held few key KWP leadership positions.
    The country is racially and ethnically homogenous. Officially there 
are no minorities, and there was, therefore, no information on minority 
representation in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    It was not known whether the law provides criminal penalties for 
official corruption, whether the government implemented any such laws 
effectively, or how often officials engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity. Corruption was reportedly widespread in all parts of the 
economy and society. Corruption in the security forces was endemic.
    Reports of diversion of food to the military and government 
officials and bribery were indicative of corruption in the government 
and security forces.
    It was not known whether public officials are subject to financial 
disclosure laws and whether a government agency is responsible for 
combating corruption. There are no known laws that provide for public 
access to government information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no independent domestic organizations to monitor human 
rights conditions or to comment on the status of such rights. The 
government's North Korean Human Rights Committee denied the existence 
of any human rights violations in the country.
    The government allowed the U.S. special envoy for North Korean 
human rights issues to enter to the country and held brief 
conversations about human rights issues with him, it but did not allow 
access to assess human rights conditions outside of Pyongyang. The 
international NGO community and numerous international experts 
continued to testify to the grave human rights situation in the country 
during the year. The government decried international statements about 
human rights abuses in the country as politically motivated and as 
interference in internal affairs. The government asserted that 
criticism of its human rights record was an attempt by some countries 
to cover up their own abuses and that such hypocrisy undermined human 
rights principles.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government emphasized 
that it had ratified a number of U.N. human rights instruments but 
continued to refuse to cooperate with U.N. representatives. The 
government prevented the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of 
human rights in the DPRK, Marzuki Darusman, from visiting the country 
to carry out his mandate, which it continued to refuse to recognize. It 
rejected the offer of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human 
Rights to work with the government on human rights treaty 
implementation. The government did not grant entry to any thematic 
special rapporteurs, such as those on torture or violence against 
women.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution grants equal rights to all citizens. However, the 
government has reportedly never granted its citizens most fundamental 
human rights in practice, and it continued pervasive discrimination on 
the basis of social status.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The government appeared to 
criminalize rape, but no information was available on details of the 
law or how effectively it was enforced. Women in prison camps 
reportedly were subject to rape by prison guards and to forced 
abortions.
    Violence against women has been reported as a significant problem 
both inside and outside the home. No information was available on 
governtment efforts to combat rape, domestic violence, and other 
societal violence directed against women.

    Sexual Harassment.--Women who have left the country reported that 
although ``sexual violation'' was understood, ``sexual harassment'' is 
not defined in the DPRK. Despite the 1946 ``Law on Equality of the 
Sexes,'' defectors reported that sexual harassment of women was 
generally accepted due to patriarchal traditions. Defectors reported 
that there was little recourse for women who have been harassed.

    Reproductive Rights.--It was difficult to obtain accurate 
information regarding reproductive rights. The country's initial report 
to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
Against Women, submitted in 2002, claimed that ``family planning is 
mapped out by individual families in view of their actual circumstances 
and in compliance with laws, regulations, morality, and customs.women 
have the decision of the spacing of children in view of their own wish, 
health condition, and the like. But usually the spacing of children is 
determined by the discussion between the wife and the husband.'' The 
U.N. Population Fund estimated that the maternal mortality ratio in 
2008 was 250 per 100,000 live births. In 2000 the country reported in 
UNICEF's multiple indicator cluster survey that a doctor, nurse, or 
skilled midwife delivered 96.7 percent of babies.

    Discrimination.--The constitution states that ``women hold equal 
social status and rights with men''; however, although women were 
represented proportionally in the labor force, few women reached high 
levels of the party or the government.
    The press and think tanks have reported that while women were less 
likely than men to be assigned full-time jobs, they had more 
opportunity to work outside the socialist economy.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents and in some cases birth within the country's territory.

    Education.--The state provides 11 years of free compulsory 
education for all children. However, reports indicated some children 
were denied educational opportunities and subjected to punishments and 
disadvantages as a result of the loyalty classification system and the 
principle of ``collective retribution'' for the transgressions of 
family members. NGO reports also indicated some children were unable to 
attend school regularly because of hidden fees or insufficient food.
    Foreign visitors and academic sources reported that from fifth 
grade children were subjected to several hours a week of mandatory 
military training and that all children had indoctrination in school.
    Medical Care: It was not known whether boys and girls had equal 
access to state-provided medical care; access to health care was 
largely dependent upon loyalty to the government.

    Child Abuse.--Information about societal or familial abuse of 
children remained unavailable. Article 153 of the criminal law states 
that a man who has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 15 
shall be ``punished gravely.''

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There were reports of trafficking 
in young girls among persons who had crossed into China.

    Displaced Children.--According to NGO reports, there was a large 
population of street children, many of them orphans, who were denied 
entrance to public schools.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish population, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--Also see the Department of State's 
Trafficking in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--A 2003 law mandates equal access for 
persons with disabilities to public services; however, implementing 
legislation had not been passed. Traditional social norms condone 
discrimination against persons with physical disabilities. Although 
veterans with disabilities were treated well, other persons with 
physical and mental disabilities have been reportedly sent out of 
Pyongyang into internal exile, quarantined within camps, and forcibly 
sterilized. It was not known whether the government restricted the 
right of persons with disabilities to vote or participate in civic 
affairs.
    The Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled (KFDP) was 
founded in 1999 to coordinate the work with the disabled population 
country-wide.
    The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child repeatedly has 
expressed concern over de facto discrimination against children with 
disabilities and the insufficient measures taken by the state to ensure 
these children had effective access to health, education, and social 
services. UNICEF has noted that very high levels of malnutrition 
indicate serious problems for both the physical growth and psychosocial 
development of young children. The U.N. Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) estimated that 7.8 million people, 33 percent of the 
population, were undernourished. The FAO estimated 32 percent of 
children suffered from stunted growth.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws against 
homosexuality, but no information was available on discrimination based 
on sexual orientation or gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--No information was 
available regarding discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides for freedom of association, but workers do 
not have the right to organize, strike, or bargain collectively. There 
were no known labor organizations other than those created by the 
government. The KWP purportedly represents the interests of all labor. 
There was a single labor organization, the General Federation of Trade 
Unions of Korea (GFTUK). Operating under this umbrella, unions 
functioned according to a classic Stalinist model, with responsibility 
for mobilizing workers to support production goals and for providing 
health, education, cultural, and welfare facilities. By law unlawful 
assembly can result in five years of correctional labor. The government 
controls all aspects of employment, including assigning jobs and 
determining wages. Joint ventures and foreign-owned companies are 
required to hire their employees from government-vetted lists. Factory 
and farm workers were organized into councils, which had an impact on 
management decisions. Although the law stipulates that employees 
working for foreign companies can form trade unions and that foreign 
enterprises must guarantee conditions for union activities, the law 
does not protect workers who might attempt to engage in union 
activities from employer retaliation, nor does it impose penalties for 
employers who interfere in union activities.
    There was one special economic zone (SEZ) in the Rajin-Sonbong 
area. The same labor laws that apply in the rest of the country apply 
in the Rajin-Sonbong SEZ. Workers in the SEZ were selected by the 
government.
    Under a special law that created the Kaesong Industrial Complex 
(KIC), located close to the demilitarized zone between the ROK and the 
DPRK, special regulations covering labor issues negotiated with the ROK 
were in effect for the management of labor in the area. Those 
regulations did not contain provisions that guarantee freedom of 
association or the right to bargain collectively.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor. However, the government mobilized the 
population for construction and other labor projects, including on 
Sundays, the one day off a week. The penal code criminalizes forced 
child labor; however, there were reports that such practices occurred 
(see section 7.c.). ``Reformatory labor'' and ``reeducation through 
labor,'' sometimes of entire families, have traditionally been common 
punishments for political offenses. Forced and compulsory labor in such 
activities as logging, mining, tending crops, and manufacturing 
continued to be the common fate of political prisoners. According to 
HRW, one defector reported that he was forced to work 16 hours a day in 
a mine.
    The penal code requires that all citizens of working age must work 
and ``strictly observe labor discipline and working hours.'' There were 
numerous reports that farms and factories did not pay wages or provide 
food to their workers. According to reports from one NGO, during the 
implementation of short-term economic plans, factories and farms 
increased workers' hours and asked workers for contributions of grain 
and money to purchase supplies for renovations and repairs. According 
to the penal code, failure to meet economic plan goals can result in 
two years of ``labor correction.''
    Forced labor continued to take place in brick making, cement 
manufacturing, coal mining, gold mining, iron production, and textile 
industries. Foreign media and NGOs reported that authorities ordered 
university students to abandon their studies to work on construction 
projects related to centennial celebrations of the birth of Kim Il-sung 
planned for April 2012. They included completing 100,000 housing units 
and a hotel in Pyongyang.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
According to the law, the state prohibits work by children under the 
age of 16.
    School children sometimes were sent to work in factories or in the 
fields for short periods to assist in completing special projects, such 
as snow removal on major roads, or in meeting production goals. 
Thousands of children were reportedly held and forced to work in labor 
camps alongside their parents.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--No reliable data was available 
on the minimum wage in state-owned industries. After the 2002 economic 
reforms, compensation underwent significant change, as citizens sought 
to earn hard currency to support themselves and their families.
    The constitution stipulates an eight-hour workday; however, some 
sources reported that laborers worked longer hours, perhaps including 
additional time for mandatory study of the writings of Kim Il-Sung and 
Kim Jong-Il. The constitution provides all citizens with a ``right to 
rest,'' including paid leave, holidays, and access to sanitariums and 
rest homes funded at public expense; however, the state's willingness 
and ability to provide these services was unknown. Foreign diplomats 
reported that workers had 15 days of paid leave plus paid national 
holidays.
    The law recognizes the state's responsibility for providing modern 
and hygienic working conditions. The penal code criminalizes the 
failure to heed ``labor safety orders'' pertaining to worker safety and 
workplace conditions only if it results in the loss of lives or other 
``grave loss.'' Workers themselves do not have an enumerated right to 
remove themselves from hazardous working conditions.
    Leave or rest from work were sometimes compromised as mandatory 
participation in mass events on holidays, which might also require 
advance practice during work time. Workers were often required to 
``celebrate'' at least some part of public holidays with their work 
units and were able to spend a whole day with their families only if 
the holiday lasted two days. Citizens were required to participate in 
mourning activities following the death of Kim Jong-Il.
    In practice many worksites were hazardous, and the industrial 
accident rate was high.
    Citizens labored under harsh conditions while working abroad for 
North Korean firms and under arrangements between the government and 
foreign firms. Contract laborers worked in Africa; Central and Eastern 
Europe (most notably in Russia); Central, East, and Southeast Asia; and 
the Middle East. In most cases employing firms paid salaries to the 
North Korean government, and it was not known how much of that salary 
the workers received. Workers were typically watched closely by 
government officials while overseas and reportedly had little freedom 
of movement outside their living and working quarters. Wages of some of 
the several thousand North Koreans employed in Russia reportedly were 
withheld until the laborers returned home, making them vulnerable to 
deception by North Korean authorities.
    According to the ROK Ministry of Unification (MOU), 144 South 
Korean firms were operational at the KIC and approximately 50,000 North 
Korean workers were employed at KIC as of December. The MOU reported 
that the DPRK's Central Special Zone Development Guidance Bureau 
provided candidates for selection by South Korean companies. Under an 
inter-Korean agreement, North Korean workers at the KIC reportedly 
earned a monthly basic minimum wage of $60.77 after social welfare 
deductions (according to the KIC Labor Law, wages are set in U.S. 
dollars). Employing firms reported, however, that with overtime the 
average worker earned approximately $88 per month before deductions.
    Due to a lack of transparency, it was difficult to determine what 
proportion of their earned wages workers ultimately took home. Although 
the special laws governing the KIC require direct payment in cash to 
the workers, their wages were in fact deposited into accounts 
controlled by the North Korean government, which withheld a portion for 
social insurance and other benefits and then remitted the balance 
(reportedly approximately 70 percent) to the workers in an unknown 
combination of ``commodity supply cards,'' which could be exchanged for 
staple goods, and North Korean won, converted at the official exchange 
rate. Workers at the KIC do not have the right to choose employers. The 
KIC remained a highly sought-after place of employment.

                               __________

                           REPUBLIC OF KOREA

                           executive summary
    The Republic of Korea (South Korea or ROK) is a constitutional 
democracy governed by President Lee Myung-bak and a unicameral 
legislature. In 2008 the Grand National Party obtained a majority of 
National Assembly seats in a free and fair election. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities.
    The primary human rights problems reported were the government's 
interpretation of national security and other laws to limit freedom of 
expression and restrict access to the Internet as well as incidents of 
hazing in the military.
    Other human rights problems included some official corruption; 
sexual and domestic violence; children engaged in prostitution; 
trafficking in persons; societal discrimination against foreigners, 
defectors from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North 
Korea), and persons with HIV/AIDS; and limitations on worker rights.
    The government took steps to prosecute officials who committed 
abuses, and impunity was not evident.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.
    During the year there were 40 suicides among military personnel, 10 
of which were attributed to hazing, mistreatment, or an inability to 
adjust to military life. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) 
conducted independent investigations of these incidents and made no 
arrests. The ministry maintained a suicide prevention program.

    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.
    During the year the MND reported 14 hazing incidents resulting in 
physical injuries.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, including 
access to potable water, and the government permitted monitoring visits 
by independent human rights observers.
    The Ministry of Justice reported that the total number of prisoners 
as of December was 45,038, of whom 2,429 were women, 456 were 
juveniles, and 14,405 were pretrial detainees. According to the 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) International Center for Prison 
Studies, the correctional facilities were designed to hold 44,430 
prisoners. Authorities confined male and female prisoners in similar 
quarters, but each was specifically designed to meet particular 
population needs. For example, women's prisons contained special 
examination areas for women's health concerns and annual checkups.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and 
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions and documented the results of such investigations 
in a publicly accessible manner. The government monitored prison and 
detention center conditions.
    Although there were no prison ombudsmen, prisoners could petition 
the Ministry of Justice's Human Rights Violations Center or the 
National Human Rights Commission to make prison abuse claims. As of 
December, 212 petitions were submitted to the justice minister, all of 
which the Ministry of Justice investigated. One case was granted 
relief; the others were dismissed, refused, or transferred to other 
agencies. Of the 74 cases filed with the Human Rights Violations 
Center, one resulted in findings of relief for the petitioner, 17 cases 
were dismissed, 51 cases were refused, and five were transferred. The 
International Committee of the Red Cross, which maintains an office in 
Seoul, did not request prison visits during the year.
    Authorities managed prison records according to law, maintained 
them for various periods at relevant institutions, and systematically 
transferred them to the national records center after 30 years.
    There are no legal steps requiring alternative sentences for 
nonviolent offenders, but penalty fees, social services, and suspended 
sentences were determined on a case-by-case basis and used regularly.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these 
prohibitions. The National Security Law grants authorities the power to 
detain, arrest, and imprison persons believed to have committed acts 
intended to endanger the ``security of the state.'' NGOs continued to 
call for reform or repeal of the law, contending that its provisions do 
not define prohibited activity clearly. The Ministry of Justice 
maintained that the courts had established legal precedents for strict 
interpretation of the law that preclude arbitrary application.
    In February the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that 
prosecutors did not release false information about four NGO members 
who had been convicted in 2010 of illegal contact with agents of the 
DPRK and distribution of North Korean press material for the purpose of 
exalting DPRK leader Kim Jong-il in 2008. Two defendants had been 
sentenced to prison, and two defendants were placed on probation with 
sentences suspended.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Korean National 
Police Agency is responsible for internal security, under the 
supervision of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security. 
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over police, 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 
requires warrants in cases of arrest, detention, seizure, or search, 
except if a person is apprehended while committing a criminal act or if 
a judge is not available and authorities believe that a suspect may 
destroy evidence or escape capture if not arrested quickly. In such 
cases a public prosecutor or police officer must prepare an affidavit 
of emergency arrest immediately upon apprehension of the suspect. 
Police may not interrogate for more than six hours a person who 
voluntarily submits to questioning at a police station. Authorities 
must release an arrested suspect within 20 days, unless an indictment 
is issued. Ten additional days of detention are allowed in exceptional 
circumstances.
    There is a bail system. Human rights lawyers stated that 
authorities generally did not grant bail for detainees who were charged 
with committing serious offenses, might attempt to flee or harm a 
victim, or had no fixed address.
    The law provides for the right to representation by an attorney, 
including during police interrogation. There are no restrictions on 
access to a lawyer, but authorities can limit a lawyer's participation 
in an interrogation if the lawyer obstructs the interrogation or 
discloses information that impedes an investigation. The courts 
respected a defendant's right to a lawyer. During the trial stage and, 
under certain circumstances, during the pretrial stage, an indigent 
detainee may request that the government provide a lawyer.
    Access to family members during detention varied according to the 
severity of the crime being investigated. There were no reports of 
denial of access to legal counsel.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--As of the end of July, authorities arrested 10 
persons for violating the National Security Law, indicted six, and 
placed four others under investigation. Of those indicted, courts 
convicted two, and trial proceedings continued for four.
    In January police arrested a man for posting Internet messages that 
praised the North Korean government and its officials. He received a 
two-year suspended sentence.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides defendants with a number of 
rights in criminal trials, including the presumption of innocence, 
protection against self-incrimination, the right to a speedy trial, the 
right of appeal, and freedom from retroactive laws and double jeopardy. 
Trials are open to the public, but judges may restrict attendance if 
they believe spectators might disrupt the proceedings. There is a 
public jury system, but jury verdicts are not legally binding. Court-
appointed lawyers are provided by the government (at its expense) in 
cases where defendants cannot afford to provide their own legal 
counsel. When a person is detained, the initial trial must be completed 
within six months of arrest. Judges generally allowed considerable 
scope for the examination of witnesses by both the prosecution and 
defense. Defendants have the right to be present and consult with an 
attorney. They may confront or question witnesses against them, and 
they may present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. Defendants 
have access to relevant government-held evidence.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Ministry of Justice stated 
that no persons were incarcerated solely because of their political 
beliefs.
    The law requires military service by all male citizens and does not 
distinguish conscientious objectors from others who do not report for 
it; the penalty is up to three years in prison. Watchtower 
International, a Jehovah's Witnesses organization, reported that in 
December there were 761 Jehovah's Witnesses serving an average of 18 
months in prison for conscientious objection. As of December Watchtower 
reported it was monitoring 155 cases on appeal to the Supreme Court and 
15 cases before the Constitutional Court, two of which involved 
reservists. Constitutional Court rulings on the matter, most recently 
in 2011, upheld the law's constitutionality.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and there were no problems 
enforcing domestic court orders. Citizens had court access to bring 
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights 
violation. Administrative and judicial remedies are available for 
alleged wrongs.

    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 establishes 
conditions under which the government may monitor telephone calls, 
mail, and other forms of communication for up to two months in criminal 
investigations and four months in national-security cases. According to 
a National Assembly audit, the number of court-approved wiretappings 
significantly decreased, from 589 in the first half of 2010 to 58 in 
the first half of 2011.
    The government continued to require some released prisoners to 
report regularly to the police in accordance with the Security 
Surveillance Act.
    The National Security Law forbids citizens from listening to DPRK 
radio programs in their homes or reading books published in the DPRK if 
the government determines that the action endangers national security 
or the basic order of democracy in the country. These prohibitions were 
rarely enforced, however, and viewing DPRK satellite telecasts in 
private homes is legal.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent 
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political 
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The independent media were 
active and expressed a wide variety of views generally without 
restriction. Under the National Security Law, the government may limit 
the expression of ideas that praise or incite the activities of 
antistate individuals or groups.
    On March 21, the U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and 
protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression issued a 
report on his May 2010 visit. While laudatory of progress made, the 
report also expressed concern about increased restrictions on freedom 
of expression and specifically cited as concerns laws broadly making 
defamation a crime (which the rapporteur labeled as ``inherently harsh 
and [having a] disproportionate chilling effect.'') and providing the 
potential for controlling the dissemination of election or candidate 
information and banning books.
    In September the Supreme Court rejected a prosecution appeal and 
reaffirmed district and appeals court verdicts of not guilty in the 
case of four producers and one writer from the Munwha Broadcasting 
Corporation's PD Notebook program who had been charged in 2009 with 
spreading false rumors about the alleged health risks of eating U.S. 
beef.

    Internet Freedom.--There were some government restrictions on 
access to the Internet and reports that the government monitored e-mail 
and Internet chat rooms.
    Under the National Security Law, anyone who knowingly supports or 
encourages antistate entities faces punishment of up to seven years in 
prison. According to an October press report, the online activities of 
as many as 40 citizens were under investigation for such an offense.
    The government blocked violent, sexually explicit, gambling-
oriented, and other Web sites found to violate law and order, 
including, but not limited to, the illegal trade of internal organs, 
food, or medical supplies; violation of intellectual property rights; 
and the encouragement or planning of suicide. The government also 
continued to block DPRK Web sites and direct access to the DPRK's 
YouTube channel and Twitter account. Although viewing Web sites 
praising the DPRK regime remains lawful, disseminating information 
about those Web sites, including posting links to the sites, remains 
unlawful under the National Security Law. For example, authorities 
compelled Web site operators in September 2010 to remove more than 
80,000 pro-DPRK comments, according to a media report.
    In December the Korea Broadcasting and Communication Commission 
established a new ``Media Information Review/Investigation Team'' to 
monitor social networking services, applications, and online 
advertisements. According to media reports, the team is charged with 
reviewing pornography, the distribution of false information, 
defamation, cyber stalking, violations of laws on national security and 
the protection of juveniles, and any other criminal acts. If prohibited 
materials are found, the commission is empowered to issue the user a 
warning; prohibited material not thereupon removed would result in the 
blocking of the user's account.
    The March 21 U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of expression, 
reporting on his May 2010 visit, also stated concern about the law 
assigning the responsibility for controlling information on the 
Internet to intermediaries or private companies rather than to an 
independent body.
    At year's end the Constitutional Court had not determined the 
constitutionality of the government's expansion of the Network Act to 
require identity verification in order to permit messages to be posted 
on all Web sites operating a domestic server with more than 100,000 
visitors per day. A civic organization had requested the determination 
and alleged the expansion was an effort to limit freedom of expression 
since the law had previously set the threshold at 300,000 visitors per 
day.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government 
generally respected this right in practice. The law prohibits 
assemblies that are considered likely to undermine public order and 
requires police to be notified in advance of demonstrations of all 
types, including political rallies. Police must notify organizers if 
they consider an event impermissible under this law. Police routinely 
approved demonstrations, although they reportedly banned some protests 
by groups that had not properly registered or that were responsible for 
violent protests in the past.
    From August to November, after repeated warnings, police used water 
cannons to disperse demonstrators at labor and political protests that 
police stated were illegal; organizers claimed the protests were 
registered and legal. There were no reported injuries or subsequent 
legal actions.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right in 
practice. Associations operated freely, except those seeking to 
overthrow the government.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the International Religious Freedom 
Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    Foreign Travel.--In many cases travelers from the ROK to the DPRK 
must receive a Ministry of Unification briefing before departure. They 
must also demonstrate that their trip does not have a political purpose 
and is not undertaken to praise the DPRK or criticize the ROK 
government.
    Government officials restricted the movement of certain DPRK 
defectors by denying them passports.
    Citizens convicted of a crime for which the potential sentence is 
two years' imprisonment or longer may have their passport privileges 
revoked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. However, the 
government did not routinely grant refugee status or asylum.
    The Ministry of Justice's increase in the number of staff reviewing 
refugee applications and the movement of adjudication authority to the 
Seoul Immigration Office streamlined bureaucratic procedures and 
provided better access to translators--actions that resulted in quicker 
application processing. During the year the government approved 42 
applications and denied 277, compared with 47 approvals and 168 
rejections during 2010.
    In July the Seoul Administrative Court--in an unprecedented 
reversal of a Ministry of Justice denial--granted refugee status to 
three Iranian Muslims who had converted to Christianity while living in 
the country.

    Nonrefoulement.--On September 6, police and immigration officials 
arrested Jin Jingzhe, a self-proclaimed Chinese practitioner of Falun 
Gong who arrived in South Korea in 2008, and his wife. As of year's end 
authorities had released her, but his asylum request had been denied, 
and he remained in detention in Suwon under the threat of deportation 
to China. Since 2009, authorities have reportedly returned to China 10 
individuals who claimed to be Falun Gong practitioners, after courts 
refused their refugee/asylum requests.

    Employment.--Those granted refugee status are given resident status 
with employment authorization.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees are provided with basic living 
expenses and medical expenses if their income falls below the poverty 
line.
    The government continued its longstanding policy of accepting 
refugees from the DPRK who are entitled to citizenship in the ROK. The 
government resettled 2,737 such refugees during the year, and there 
were at year's end approximately 23,000 North Korean refugees living in 
South Korea. The DPRK Refugee Support Foundation provided services to 
assist refugees as they adjust to life in South Korea, including rental 
assistance, exemption of education fees, medical service assistance, 
business loans, and employment assistance. The government also operated 
30 Centers to Adjust to Regions, which educated refugees on adaptation 
to specific geographic areas, provided counseling services, and 
supported social adjustment.

    Temporary Protection.--Government guidelines provide for offering 
both temporary refugee status in the case of a mass influx of asylum 
seekers and an alternate form of protection--a renewable, short-term 
permit--to those who meet a broader definition of ``refugee.'' During 
the year the government provided temporary humanitarian protection to 
32 persons who may not qualify as refugees.
    As of January the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees 
reported 179 stateless persons in the country. It was unclear how many 
of them were children of refugees or migrants unable to obtain South 
Korean citizenship under the country's laws; authorities, however, gave 
them the same status as their parents.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens with the right to change their government 
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through 
periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal 
suffrage for all citizens age 19 or older.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--National 
Assembly elections in April 2008 were free and fair.
    During an October 26 by-election, National Election Commission Web 
sites suffered denial of service attacks. Police in December arrested a 
staffer of a Grand National Party member and four others, and the 
lawmaker resigned his position.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--In general elections, 50 
percent of each party's candidates for the 54 seats decided by 
proportional ballot must be women, and 30 percent of each party's 
candidates for the 245 single-member constituencies are recommended to 
be women. At year's end there were 45 women in the 299-seat National 
Assembly, with two of 16 National Assembly standing committees chaired 
by women. One of 14 Supreme Court justices and three of 15 cabinet 
ministers were women.
    There were no members of minority groups in the National Assembly.
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 
officials receiving bribes and violating election laws. As of July, 
according to the Ministry of Justice, 243 government officials had been 
prosecuted for abuse of authority, bribery, corruption, embezzlement, 
misappropriation, or falsification of official documents. As of 
December, courts convicted 10 National Assembly members of accepting 
illegal political funds and fined four, suspended four, and stayed the 
sentences of two. Four lost their National Assembly memberships.
    By law public servants above a specific rank must register their 
assets, including how they were accumulated, thereby making their 
holdings public. Several government agencies are responsible for 
combating government corruption, including the Board of Audit and 
Inspection, which monitors government expenditures, and the Public 
Service Ethics Committee, which monitors civil-servant financial 
disclosures and activities. The Anticorruption and Civil Rights 
Commission, operating on an annual budget of more than 63 billion won 
(approximately $54 million), manages public complaints and 
administrative appeals regarding corrupt government practices. During 
the year the commission logged approximately 32,000 civil petitions and 
reported investigating all of them and dismissing 35 percent as 
noncomplaints. The commission acted on 3,014 claims and used alternate 
dispute resolution to resolve the majority of them. The commission also 
evaluates the ``good governance and cleanliness'' of public 
organizations and during the year decreased the number of organizations 
under its purview from 712 in 2010 to 705.
    The country has a freedom of information act, and in practice the 
government granted public access to citizens and noncitizens alike, 
including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The National Human Rights 
Commission (NHRC), an independent government body established to 
protect and promote human rights, has no enforcement power, and its 
decisions are nonbinding. The NHRC investigates complaints, issues 
policy recommendations, and conducts education campaigns. In 2009 the 
U.N. Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights expressed 
concerns about NHRC independence as well as its downsizing by 21 
percent when ministries were downsized significantly less. On the 
NHRC's 10th anniversary in November, local media outlets also 
questioned the commission's independence.
    Ombudsman activities are the responsibility of the independent 
Anticorruption and Civil Rights Commission, which interacted with 
various government institutions, including the Office of the President, 
National Assembly, and ministries. The commission addressed complaints 
and concerns from both citizens and foreign residents and was trusted 
by the public (see also section 4).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law forbids discrimination on the basis of race, gender, 
disability, and social status, and the government effectively enforced 
it.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape. 
Although there is no specific statute that defines spousal rape as 
illegal, the courts have established a precedent by convicting spouses 
in such cases. The penalty for rape is at least three years in prison; 
if a weapon is used or two or more persons commit the rape, punishment 
ranges from a minimum of five years' imprisonment to life. If the 
perpetrator is a relative of the victim, the minimum prison sentence 
for rape or sexual assault increases from five years to seven and from 
three years to five, respectively.
    During the year the Ministry of Justice stated that there were 
9,144 reports of rape; 19,830 total reports of sexual violence, 
including rape; 20,159 offenders arrested; and 3,947 rape cases and 
8,883 sexual violence cases, including rape, prosecuted. No information 
was available on convictions or sentences. In 2010 there were 18,985 
reports and 8,385 prosecutions.
    The law defines domestic violence as a serious crime and enables 
authorities to order offenders to stay away from victims for up to six 
months. This order may be extended up to two years. Offenders may be 
sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison and fined up to seven 
million won (approximately $6,000) for domestic violence offenses and 
sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison and fined up to 20 
million won ($17,000) for violating domestic violence restraining 
orders. Offenders also may be placed on probation or ordered to see 
court-designated counselors. The law requires police to respond 
immediately to reports of domestic violence, and they were for the most 
part responsive.
    On June 29, the National Assembly passed the Special Act on the 
Punishment of Domestic Violence, which became effective on October 26. 
When there is a danger of domestic violence recurring and there is an 
immediate need for protection, the act allows a provisional order to be 
issued ex-officio or at the request of the victim. The provisional 
order may restrict the defendant from living in the same home or 
approaching within 109 yards of the victim and includes contacting the 
victim through the use of telecommunication devices. The Ministry of 
Justice reported the number of domestic violence cases decreased from 
7,359 in 2010 to 2,511 in 2011. No information was available on 
prosecutions, convictions, or sentences.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law obligates companies and organizations 
to take preventive measures against sexual harassment, and the 
government enforced the law effectively. Civil remedies are generally 
available for sexual harassment claims. At public institutions, 
administrative remedies are also available. The Ministry of Gender 
Equality and Family, which reports annually to the Cabinet Council and 
National Assembly, provided sexual harassment prevention training to 
approximately 15,000 public institutions.

    Reproductive Rights.--The law allows couples and individuals to 
decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to 
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination. 
Access to contraception and maternal health services, including skilled 
attendance during childbirth, prenatal care, and essential obstetric 
and postpartum care, were widely available. Women were equally 
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal rights under the 
constitution as men. The law permits a woman to head a household, 
recognizes a wife's right to a portion of a couple's property, and 
allows a woman to maintain contact with her children after a divorce. 
The law also allows a remarried woman to change her children's family 
name to her new husband's name.
    The law penalizes companies found to discriminate against women in 
hiring and promotions. A company found guilty of practicing sexual 
discrimination may be fined up to five million won (approximately 
$4,300).
    The Ministry of Employment and Labor reported that the labor force 
participation of women between the ages of 15 and 64 increased from 
53.6 percent in July 2010 to 54 percent as of July 2011. To increase 
the participation of women, the ministry maintained employment-training 
centers for women at 72 locations to provide job assistance to women, 
especially those with gaps in their employment history. The ministry 
also maintained an affirmative action program for public institutions 
with 50 or more employees and private institutions with 500 or more 
employees. The program requires these institutions to comply with a 
hiring plan devised by the ministry if they do not maintain a female 
workforce greater or equal to 60 percent of the average of relevant 
occupations.
    The number of women in entry-level civil service positions and new 
diplomatic positions continued to increase. However, women continued to 
experience a pay gap, since a higher percentage of working women tended 
to fill lower-paying, low-skilled, contract jobs.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship requires that one 
parent be a citizen of the country at the time of birth. Citizenship is 
also given in circumstances where parentage is unclear or if a person 
would otherwise be stateless. Domestic NGOs estimated that there were 
as many as 20,000 unregistered children in the country at the end of 
2010.

    Child Abuse.--In 2010 a total of 9,199 child-abuse cases were 
reported to the Ministry for Health and Welfare. The ministry's Child 
Protection Center intervened in 5,657 of the cases, 75 of which 
involved abuses in orphanages and childcare facilities. The ministry 
maintained shelters that provided protection, counseling, and treatment 
services to child abuse victims.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum sentence for rape of 
a minor is 10 years' imprisonment, and the minimum sentence for other 
sexual assaults involving a minor 13 years of age or younger is seven 
years. Other penalties include electronic monitoring of offenders and 
the public release of their personal information. The age of consent is 
13 years; moreover, it is illegal to deceive or pressure anyone under 
age 19 into having sexual intercourse. In August the National Assembly 
revised the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual 
Abuse to give sexual-violence victims the right to a court-appointed 
attorney.
    As of July the Act on Pharmacologic Treatment of Sexual Offenders' 
Sexual Impulse authorized courts to order a person convicted of a 
sexual crime against a child (under age 16) and diagnosed as a sexual 
deviant to undergo reversible hormonal treatment to curb the level of 
sexual impulse.
    The law prohibits child pornography. Offenders who produce or 
possess it for the purpose of selling, renting, or distributing it for 
profit are subject to a maximum of seven years' imprisonment and may be 
fined up to 20 million won (approximately $17,000). According to the 
National Police Agency, children were engaged in prostitution. As of 
July authorities caught 1,184 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 
buying or selling sex, which accounted for an estimated 9.7 percent of 
total offenders.
    The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family maintained 10 centers 
that provided counseling, treatment, and legal assistance to child 
victims of sexual violence.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There is a small Jewish population consisting 
almost entirely of expatriates. There were no reports of anti-Semitic 
acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services or other areas, and the government 
effectively enforced the law. The government effectively implemented 
laws and programs to ensure that persons with disabilities had access 
to buildings, information, and communications. The law establishes 
penalties for deliberate discrimination of up to three years in prison 
and 30 million won (approximately $26,000). The government, through the 
Ministry of Health and Welfare, continued to implement a comprehensive 
set of policies that included encouraging public and private buildings 
and facilities to provide barrier-free access, providing part-time 
employment, and employing a task force to introduce a long-term care 
system. The government operated rehabilitation hospitals in six 
regions, plus a national rehabilitation research center to increase 
opportunities and access for persons with disabilities.
    Any business with 50 full-time employees or more is required to 
meet an employment quota for persons with disabilities (3 percent for 
government agencies, 2.3 percent to 3 percent for public organizations, 
and 2.3 percent for private companies). Foreign companies operating in 
the export processing zones (EPZs) are exempt from these requirements. 
Any private company or public organization with 100 full-time workers 
or more is subject to a monthly penalty amounting to 530,000 won 
(approximately $460) for each person with a disability whom it fails to 
hire and, if the employment rate of workers with disabilities does not 
reach 50 percent of the required quota, an additional charge is 
imposed. During the year authorities charged establishments that failed 
to employ any persons with disabilities based on the minimum wage 
(approximately 940,000 won per month or $800). The government enforced 
this new requirement in phases, beginning with employers of 300 or more 
full-time workers and expanding gradually to include employers with 100 
or more full-time workers.
    Another part of enforcement involved disclosing in the media and 
the official gazette the names of businesses that fail to meet the 
quotas. In July the Ministry of Employment and Labor published the 
names of 39 government ministries and local governments, 64 public 
institutions, 749 private companies with 300 employees or more, and 
1,357 private companies with between 100 and 300 employees that failed 
to meet the quotas.
    On October 4, the Support for the Activities of Persons with 
Disabilities Act that the National Assembly passed in January became 
effective. Under it the government provided assistance to persons with 
disabilities, including bathing, home nursing care, and mobility 
assistance. The government also provided financial assistance to low-
income persons with severe disabilities.
    On August 4, the National Assembly passed the Support for Children 
with Disabilities Welfare Act (scheduled to become effective in August 
2012). It would provide support for the health and welfare of children 
with disabilities, including a support center, nursing service, and 
medical aid. The government also expanded services for children with 
disabilities by providing monthly financial aid to those with brain 
damage, furnishing up to 320 hours per year of in-home services to the 
families of children with disabilities, and operating a cultural 
program and family camp.
    In July for the first time in the company's history, the Korean 
Broadcasting System hired a visually impaired anchor. The anchor 
competed with 522 other candidates to obtain the highly sought-after 
position. Broadcasting companies continued to provide closed captions 
and signing interpreters for their hearing-impaired audiences.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Essentially racially 
homogeneous, the country's growing ethnic minority population passed 
the 1.2 million mark in 2010. To meet the projected growth in ethnic 
minorities due to the increasing number of migrant workers and foreign 
brides, the Ministries of Gender Equality and Family and of Employment 
and Labor continued programs to increase public awareness of cultural 
diversity and to assist foreign workers, wives, and multicultural 
families to adjust to life in the country.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The Ministry of Justice 
reported that the constitution's equality principles apply to lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. The law that installed 
the NHRC prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation 
and gives the NHRC the authority to review cases of such 
discrimination. From January 1 to July 31, the NHRC received one case 
of alleged discrimination against LGBT persons but did not find merit 
in the case.
    There are no specific laws punishing offenders or providing remedy 
to victims of discrimination or violence against LGBT persons. However, 
the government did punish perpetrators of violence against LGBT persons 
according to the law.
    Military and societal discrimination against LGBT persons 
persisted. In March the Constitutional Court found the military code of 
conduct provision that criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual activity 
between military personnel to be constitutional.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Some observers claimed 
that persons with HIV/AIDS continued to suffer from societal 
discrimination and social stigma. The law protects the confidentiality 
of persons with HIV/AIDS and protects them from discrimination.
    During the year the NHRC reported there were 287 employment-
discrimination cases filed. Seven complaints alleged age 
discrimination, and the NHRC recommended remedies in two of the cases.
    The media reported some violence against foreigners. For example, 
in May a man killed his foreign wife. The government continued to crack 
down on illegal matchmaking agencies and increased monitoring of legal 
ones. Additionally, the government opened premarriage education centers 
for those who plan to marry foreigners and provided language training 
and counseling to foreign spouses. Local NGOs and the media also 
reported that North Korean resettlers, although supported through 
government-funded resettlement programming, continued to face 
discrimination.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers with the right to associate freely in 
accordance with regulations. In July new amendments took effect that 
authorize union pluralism; they allow multiple unions to form at a 
single enterprise but permit only a single negotiation channel with 
management. The law constrains the right to organize freely for some 
workers, including public sector employees.
    The law permits workers to file complaints of unfair labor 
practices against employers who interfere with union organizing or who 
discriminate against union members. The law prohibits antiunion 
discrimination and allows for reinstatement of workers terminated for 
union activity.
    The constitution and law provide for the right to strike but limit 
it in certain circumstances. Among the workers employed at major 
defense corporations subject to the Defense Acquisition Program Act, 
those working in the areas of electricity generation, water supply, or 
production of defense products are not allowed to strike. This list of 
``essential services'' prohibited from striking is more broadly defined 
than international standards specify. Strikes are also prohibited for 
national and local government officials.
    By law unions must submit a request for mediation to the National 
Labor Relations Commission before a strike; otherwise, the strike is 
illegal. In most cases the mediation must be completed within 10 days; 
in the case of essential services, within 15 days. Strikes initiated 
following this period without majority support from union membership 
are illegal. Striking also is prohibited when a dispute has been 
referred to binding arbitration. Additionally, if striking employees 
resort to violence, unlawfully occupy premises, or damage facilities, 
their actions are deemed illegal. Strikes not specifically pertaining 
to labor conditions, including wages, benefits, and working hours, are 
also illegal.
    Striking workers may be removed by police from the premises and, 
along with union leaders, prosecuted and sentenced. The law prohibits 
retribution against workers who conduct a legal strike. The National 
Labor Relations Commission may require and has required employers found 
guilty of unfair practices to reinstate workers fired for union 
activities.
    The law permits some public servants to bargain collectively, 
although it restricts public service unions from collective bargaining 
on topics such as budgetary and policy-making matters. The law further 
prevents special public servants from joining unions unless they are 
equivalent to a general public official of grade six or below and are 
not engaging in foreign affairs and managing diplomatic information.
    As a result of new regulations allowing for union plurality, 
workers had more options for selecting a union and saw an overall 
improvement in union services. As of August 23, according to the Korea 
Employers Federation, 398 new trade unions had been established. The 
government recognized a range of other labor federations, including 
independent white-collar federations representing hospital workers, 
journalists, and office workers at construction firms and government 
research institutes. All labor federations generally operated without 
government interference.
    In practice laws banning education workers from engaging in certain 
political activities, such as joining a political party or openly 
endorsing a political party or candidate, have constrained unions' 
abilities to advocate for their positions. In January the Seoul 
District Court dismissed cases against 159 members of the Korean 
Teachers and Education Workers Union or found them not guilty of 
charges that they joined a political party when they launched 
antigovernment petitions in 2009. Many teachers, however, were assessed 
fines for contributing to a political party.
    On September 15, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against the 
Immigration Service's effort to deny Migrants Trade Union President 
Michael Catuira a work visa and deport him. At year's end the 
Immigration Service's appeal was pending.
    Although the constitution and law provide workers the right to 
strike and exempt them from legal responsibility in the case of a legal 
strike, in practice workers may still be penalized for striking if they 
engage in other illegal activities. For example, workers who use 
violence or participate in illegal activities may be prosecuted for 
``obstruction of business.'' This charge was often used to detain labor 
leaders and strikers in labor demonstrations, as in the case of Kim 
Jin-seok, who illegally occupied a crane from January until November 
during the Hanjin labor dispute. Once the strike ended, authorities 
issued a warrant for her arrest.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. The government generally 
enforced the law effectively; however, there were reports that some men 
and women from foreign countries were subjected to forced labor. 
Migrant workers who traveled to the ROK for employment sometimes 
incurred thousands of dollars in debts, contributing to their 
vulnerability to debt bondage. Observers noted that migrant workers 
commonly faced conditions indicative of forced labor, including 
deceptive recruiting practices, nonpayment of wages, and restrictions 
on workers' freedom of movement by withholding of passports (see 
section 7.d.).
    During the year there were some media reports that alleged that 
migrant workers were subjected to forced labor on ROK-flagged fishing 
vessels operating in the New Zealand exclusive economic zone. The ROK 
government initiated an investigation into the allegations, which 
continued at year's end.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and prohibits 
the employment of persons under age 15 without an authorization 
certificate from the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Authorities 
issued few such certificates for full-time employment, because 
education is compulsory through middle school (approximately age 15). 
To obtain employment, children under age 18 must obtain written 
approval from either parents or guardians. Employers must limit minors' 
overtime hours and are prohibited from employing minors at night 
without special permission from the ministry. The government 
effectively enforced this law through regular inspections, and child 
labor was not considered a problem.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Authorities set the annual 
national minimum wage at 4,320 won (approximately $3.73) per hour, a 
5.1 percent increase over 2010 and equal to the increase in the minimum 
cost of living. The minimum cost of living for a family of two was 
942,197 won ($800) per month, and the 2011 Poverty Statistics Yearbook 
reported that one-fourth of household incomes failed to meet the 
minimum.
    The law requires employers to allow 30 minutes' rest in a four-hour 
work period and one hour's rest in an eight-hour work period, to be 
taken within the work period. However, foreign companies operating in 
the EPZs are exempt from some labor regulations, including provisions 
that mandate paid leave, also referred to as ``weekly rest.''
    Persons working in the financial/insurance industry, publicly 
invested companies, state corporations, and companies with more than 20 
employees are required to receive premium pay for work in excess of 40 
hours per week at a 50 percent higher rate. The law also allows a 
flexible workhours system under which employers may require laborers to 
work up to 48 hours during certain weeks without paying overtime, so 
long as average weekly work hours for any given two-week period do not 
exceed 40 hours (and 52 hours during certain weeks without paying 
overtime, so long as average weekly work hours for any given three-
month period do not exceed 40 hours). Management may ask employees to 
work up to 56 regular hours in a given week, during which workers may 
work more than 12 hours per day, if both the employer and the employee 
agree.
    The government sets health and safety standards and is responsible 
for monitoring industry adherence to these standards.
    A set of regulations, including the Employee Permit System (EPS), 
outlines legal protections for migrant and foreign workers. Permit 
holders may work only in certain industries and have limited job 
mobility, but they generally enjoy the same rights and privileges as 
citizens.
    The government conducts labor inspections both proactively 
according to regulations and reactively in response to complaints. As 
of December there were 311 labor inspectors for industrial safety and 
welfare countrywide. According to the Korea Occupational Safety and 
Health Agency (KOSHA), inspectors at times faced difficulties in 
conducting inspections due to opposition from business owners or 
managers. The government provided technical assistance via KOSHA to 
resolve deficiencies discovered during inspections.
    Foreign workers legally employed in Korea are registered in the 
EPS. Workers registered with the EPS and legally employed in the 
country have more rights than workers who are illegally employed. 
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as of November there 
were approximately 547,000 foreign workers residing in the country, 
approximately 497,000 of whom were admitted under the EPS.
    Contract and other ``nonregular'' (part-time) workers accounted for 
a substantial portion of the workforce. The ministry reported that as 
of March there were approximately 5.77 million nonregular workers, 
comprising approximately 34 percent of the total workforce. In 2010 
nonregular workers, as reported by the ministry, performed work similar 
to regular workers but received approximately 87 percent of the wages 
of regular workers.
    The government continued to use the EPS to increase protections for 
and controls on foreign workers, while addressing the labor shortage in 
the manufacturing, construction, and agricultural sectors. In order to 
assist both employers and workers to understand better the applicable 
laws and regulations, the government provided pre-employment training 
to newly arrived foreign workers, workplace-adaptation training to 
those who changed workplaces, and training to employers who hired 
foreign workers.
    On September 29, the Constitutional Court rejected a challenge to 
the EPS law's three-workplace-changes limit as violating employment 
freedoms. Unless the Ministry of Justice grants an extension on 
humanitarian grounds, workers lose their legal status if they lose 
their job and do not find a new employer within three months. As of 
August 1, a revision to the Enforcement Regulations of the Act on 
Foreign Workers' Employment allows employers to apply to rehire foreign 
workers within seven days of the expiration date of the permit, easing 
the earlier deadline of at least 45 days.
    The government implemented social services and legal precedents to 
address complaints about the working conditions of foreigners. During 
the year the Ministry of Employment and Labor provided training on the 
EPS to employers hiring foreign workers and continued programs 
previously implemented for foreign workers to ease the difficulties of 
living and working in the country, including free legal advice, 
counseling, translation services, health checkups in their native 
language, and the establishment of several ``human rights protection 
centers for foreigners.'' In an effort to reach more foreign workers, 
telephone services were available in 10 languages.
    NGOs and local media reported that nonregular workers were at 
greater risk for discrimination because of their status and that 
foreign laborers sometimes faced physical abuse and exploitation from 
employers in the form of longer working hours and lower wages than 
their Korean counterparts. The NGO Korea Migrant Center received 
reports of abuse of female entertainment visa holders. The ministry 
reported that foreign workers filed 5,227 complaints related to unpaid 
wages during 2011.
    The government reports descriptions of and statistics on work-
related injuries and fatalities on a quarterly basis on its Web sites. 
As of September there were 69,066 industrial, work-related accidents, a 
decrease of 3,005 compared with the same period in 2010. There were 
also 1,582 fatalities reported, a decrease of 10 compared with the same 
period in 2010. KOSHA provided training and subsidies to improve work 
safety and reduce work-related accidents. Since extending its services 
to migrant workers, KOSHA made training modules and materials available 
in 10 languages at worksites.

                               __________

                                  LAOS

                           executive summary
    The Lao People's Democratic Republic is an authoritarian state 
ruled by the only party that the constitution legitimizes, the Lao 
People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The most recent National Assembly 
election was held on April 30, and almost all candidates were LPRP 
members vetted by the party. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    The most significant human rights problems were that the government 
continued to deny citizens the right to change their government, prison 
conditions were harsh and at times life-threatening, and corruption in 
the police and judiciary persisted.
    Other human rights problems included some police and security force 
abuse of prisoners and detainees; arbitrary arrest and detention; 
government infringements on freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and 
association, as well as the right to privacy; government restrictions 
on academic freedom; local restrictions on religious freedom; 
trafficking in persons; societal discrimination on the basis of sexual 
orientation and against persons with HIV/AIDS; and government 
restrictions on worker rights.
    The government did not take steps to prosecute and punish officials 
who committed abuses, and members of the police acted with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
credible reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary 
or unlawful killings, including against insurgent groups.
    There were no developments in the cases of persons allegedly killed 
by the military or police in previous years.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits the beating or torture of an arrested 
person. In practice police and security force members sometimes abused 
prisoners.
    Detainees occasionally were subjected to beatings and long-term 
solitary confinement in completely darkened rooms, and in many cases 
they were detained in leg chains or wooden stocks for long periods. 
Degrading treatment, the chaining and manacling of prisoners, and 
solitary confinement in small, unlit rooms were standard punishments in 
larger prisons, while smaller provincial or district prisons employed 
manacles and chains to prevent prisoners from escaping.
    In October an international human rights organization reported that 
police and local militia forcibly detained without due process and 
physically abused individuals at the Somsanga Drug Treatment and 
Rehabilitation Center in Vientiane and called for an investigation. 
However, foreign diplomats and international organization 
representatives based in Vientiane regularly visited the center 
throughout the year and found no evidence to support the report.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied 
widely but in general were harsh and occasionally life- threatening. 
Authorities did not make prison population statistics available. 
Prisons were overcrowded with poor ventilation, minimal sanitation 
facilities, inadequate access to food and potable water, and 
substandard medical care. Prisoners in larger, state-operated 
facilities in Vientiane generally fared better than those in provincial 
prisons. Food rations were minimal, and most prisoners relied on their 
families for subsistence. Most of the larger facilities allowed 
prisoners to grow supplemental food in small vegetable gardens, 
although there were periodic reports that prison guards took food from 
prisoners' gardens. Prison wardens set prison visitation policies. 
Generally family members could access prisoners and detainees, although 
sometimes the family did not live close to the jail; in some facilities 
families could make frequent visits, but in others, visits were 
severely restricted.
    Unlike 2010 there were no credible reports during the year from 
international organizations that authorities treated ethnic minority 
prisoners particularly harshly. Authorities used incommunicado 
detention as an interrogation technique and against perceived problem 
prisoners, although there were no specific reports of its use during 
the year. Although most prisons had some form of clinic, usually with a 
doctor or nurse on staff, medical facilities were extremely poor and 
medical treatment for serious ailments was unavailable. In some 
facilities prisoners could arrange treatment in outside hospitals if 
they could pay for the treatment and the expense of police escorts.
    Male and female prisoners were held in the same prisons but were 
placed in separate cells. Conditions for women generally were similar 
to or better than those for men. In some prisons juveniles were held 
with adult prisoners, although there were no official or reliable 
statistics available. Most juveniles were in detention for narcotics 
offenses or petty crimes.
    Prisoners and detainees could follow some religious observances, 
but no facilities were provided.
    Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities without censorship and to request investigation 
of credible allegations of inhumane conditions, although there were no 
reports that prisoners, detainees, or their family members made such 
requests for fear of exacerbating poor detention conditions. There were 
also no known investigations of complaints and no records of government 
investigation or monitoring of prison and detention center conditions.
    The government did not permit regular independent monitoring of 
prison conditions. At times it provided foreign diplomats access to 
some prisons, but such access was strictly limited. There were no 
ombudsmen to serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees.
    In certain cases the government allowed offenders convicted of 
nonviolent crimes to be released, without formally sentencing them to 
prison.
    The government made improvements to Phongtong Prison facilities for 
foreigners during the year. No information was available about 
improvements to any of the other 18 prisons.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but in practice some government officials did not 
respect these provisions, and arbitrary arrest and detention persisted.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of Public 
Security maintains internal security but shares the function of state 
control with the Ministry of Defense's security forces and with the 
LPRP and the LPRP's popular front organizations. The Ministry of Public 
Security includes local, traffic, immigration, and security (including 
border) police plus other armed police units. Additionally, 
communications police are responsible for monitoring telephone and 
electronic communications. The armed forces have domestic security 
responsibilities that include counterterrorism and counterinsurgency as 
well as control of an extensive system of village militias.
    Impunity remained a problem, as did police corruption, although 
there were no statistics available. The Ministry of Public Security's 
Inspection Department maintained complaint boxes throughout most of the 
country for citizens to deposit written complaints.
    The government cooperated with international organizations to 
implement a national strategy to strengthen law enforcement and deal 
with increased drug trafficking and abuse as well as related crime and 
police corruption.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police and 
military forces have arrest powers, although normally only police 
carried them out. The law provides detainees the right to a prompt 
judicial determination of the legality of detention. The law also 
requires that, within 24 hours of arrest, authorities notify detainees 
of the charges brought against them and inform next of kin, and 
generally this occurred. Prisoner access to family members and a lawyer 
was not assured but was generally allowed. There is a bail system, but 
it was nonfunctioning and arbitrarily implemented. There were no 
reports of detainees held incommunicado during the year, but 
authorities did place them under house arrest, particularly for health 
reasons.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Police continued to exercise wide latitude in 
making arrests, relying on exceptions to the requirement that warrants 
are necessary except to apprehend persons in the act of committing 
crimes or in urgent cases. Police reportedly sometimes used arrest as a 
means to intimidate persons or extract bribes.

    Pretrial Detention.--There is a one-year statutory limit for 
detention without trial. The length of detention without a pretrial 
hearing or formal charges is also limited to one year. The Office of 
the Prosecutor General reportedly made efforts to ensure that all 
prisoners were brought to trial within the one-year limit, but the 
limit occasionally was ignored. The Prosecutor General's Office must 
authorize police to hold a suspect pending investigation. Authorization 
is given in three-month increments, and a suspect must be released 
after a maximum of one year if police do not have sufficient evidence 
to bring charges. Authorities at times continued to detain prisoners 
after they completed their sentences, particularly in cases where 
prisoners were unable to pay court fines. In other cases prisoners were 
released contingent upon their agreement to pay fines later.

    Amnesty.--On December 30, the government issued a presidential 
decree granting amnesty to 665 prisoners, of whom 109 were women and 25 
were foreigners.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for the 
independence of the judiciary. The judiciary was weak, but there were 
no cases reported during the year of senior government or party 
officials influencing the courts. Impunity and corruption were 
problems; reportedly, some judges could be bribed. The National 
Assembly may remove judges from office for ``impropriety,'' although no 
judges were removed during the year.

    Trial Procedures.--By law defendants enjoy a presumption of 
innocence, but in practice judges usually decided guilt or innocence in 
advance, basing their decisions on the result of police or 
prosecutorial investigation reports. Most trials, including criminal 
trials, were little more than pro forma examinations of the accused and 
reviews of the evidence. Juries are not used. Trials that involve 
certain criminal laws relating to national security, state secrets, 
children under age 16, or certain types of family law are closed. The 
law provides for open trials in which defendants have the right to 
defend themselves with the assistance of a lawyer or other persons. 
Defense attorneys are provided at government expense only in cases 
involving children, cases with the possibility of life imprisonment or 
the death penalty, and cases considered particularly complicated, such 
as those involving foreigners. The law requires that authorities inform 
persons of their rights and states that defendants may have anyone 
assist them in preparing written cases and accompany them at trial. 
Nevertheless, only the defendant may present oral arguments at a 
criminal trial. Defendants are permitted to question witnesses and can 
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants have the 
right of appeal.
    Court litigants may select members of the Lao Bar Association to 
represent them at trial. The association is nominally independent but 
receives some direction from the Ministry of Justice. For several 
reasons, including the general perception that attorneys cannot affect 
court decisions, most defendants did not choose to have attorneys or 
trained representatives. The association's two satellite offices in 
Champasak and Oudomsay provinces provided legal services to citizens in 
need.
    All of the country's judges were LPRP members. Most had only basic 
legal training, and some zonal courts had few or no reference materials 
available for guidance. The National Assembly Legal Affairs Committee 
occasionally reviewed People's Supreme Court decisions for ``accuracy'' 
and returned cases to it or the Prosecutor General's Office for review 
when the committee believed decisions were reached improperly.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no available 
government statistics or reliable estimates of the number of political 
prisoners, but the following three were well known:
    Colonel Sing Chanthakoumane, an official of the pre-1975 
government, continued to serve a life sentence for antigovernment 
activities after a 1990 trial that was not conducted according to 
international standards. The government continued to ignore requests to 
release him on humanitarian grounds.
    Thongpaseuth Keuakoun and Seng-aloun Phengboun, arrested in 1999 
for attempting to organize a prodemocracy demonstration, continued to 
serve 15-year sentences for antigovernment activities.
    Authorities allowed families to visit them, but no humanitarian 
organization had regular access to them.
    There were no credible reports during the year of persons arrested, 
tried, and convicted under national security laws that prevent public 
court trials.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for 
independence of the judiciary in civil matters, but enforcement of 
court orders remained a problem. If civil or political rights are 
violated, one may seek judicial remedy in a criminal court or pursue an 
administrative remedy from the National Assembly. Regarding social and 
cultural rights, one may seek remedy in a civil court.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law generally protects privacy, including that of 
mail, telephone, and electronic correspondence, but the government 
reportedly violated these legal protections when there was a perceived 
security threat.
    The law prohibits unlawful searches and seizures. By law police 
must obtain search authorization from a prosecutor or a panel of 
judges, but in practice police did not always obtain prior approval, 
especially in rural areas. Security laws allow the government to 
monitor individuals' movements and private communications, including 
via cell phones and e-mail.
    The Ministry of Public Security regularly monitored citizen 
activities through a surveillance network that included a secret police 
element. A militia in urban and rural areas, operating under the aegis 
of the armed forces, shared responsibility for maintaining public order 
and reported ``undesirable elements'' to police. Members of the LPRP's 
front organizations, including the Lao Women's Union (LWU), the Youth 
Union, and the Lao Front for National Construction also played a role 
in monitoring citizens at all societal levels.
    The government continued to relocate some villagers for land 
concessions given to development projects and continued to relocate 
highland farmers, most of whom belonged to ethnic minority groups, to 
lowland areas under its plan to end opium production and slash-and-burn 
agriculture. In some areas officials persuaded villagers to move; in 
others villagers relocated spontaneously to be closer to roads, 
markets, and government services. While there were no reports of the 
government forcibly relocating villagers, there were reports of 
individuals displaced by government projects. Although the resettlement 
plan called for compensating farmers for lost land and providing 
resettlement assistance, this assistance was not available in many 
cases or was insufficient to give relocated farmers the means to 
adjust. Moreover, in some areas farmland allotted to relocated 
villagers was poor and unsuited for intensive rice farming, resulting 
in some relocated villagers experiencing increased poverty, hunger, 
malnourishment, and disease. The government relied on assistance from 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), bilateral donors, and 
international organizations to cover the needs of those recently 
resettled, but such aid was not available in all areas.
    The law allows citizens to marry foreigners only with prior 
government approval; marriages without it may be annulled, with both 
parties subject to arrests and fines. Premarital cohabitation with 
foreigners is illegal. The government routinely granted permission to 
marry, but the process was lengthy and burdensome, offering officials 
the opportunity to solicit bribes.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, but in 
practice the government severely restricted political speech and 
writing and prohibited most public criticism that it deemed harmful to 
its reputation.

    Freedom of Speech.--The law provides citizens with the right to 
criticize the government but also forbids slandering the state, 
distorting party or state policies, inciting disorder, or propagating 
information or opinions that weaken the state.

    Freedom of Press.--The state owned and controlled most domestic 
print and electronic media. Local news in all media reflected 
government policy. Although domestic television and radio broadcasts 
were closely controlled, the government did not interfere with 
broadcasts from abroad.
    Citizens had 24-hour access to international stations via satellite 
and cable television. The government required registration of receiving 
satellite dishes and payment of a one-time licensing fee, largely as a 
revenue-generating measure, but otherwise made no effort to restrict 
use.

    Violence and Harassment.--The government required foreign 
journalists to apply for special visas and restricted their activities. 
Authorities did not allow journalists free access to information 
sources but often permitted their travel without official escorts. When 
escorts were required, they reportedly were at journalists' expense.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Officials reviewed privately 
owned periodicals after publication and could penalize those whose 
articles did not meet government approval. The Ministry of Information 
and Culture's Mass Media Department confirmed that no publications 
during the year failed to obtain government approval. Publishers 
reportedly were aware of what the government would approve for 
publishing and therefore tended to practice self-censorship.
    Authorities prohibited the dissemination of materials deemed by the 
ministry to be indecent, subversive of ``national culture,'' or 
politically sensitive. Any person found guilty of importing a 
publication considered offensive to the national culture faced a fine 
of one to three times the value of the item or imprisonment for up to 
one year.

    Publishing Restrictions.--The government permitted the publication 
of several privately owned periodicals of a nonpolitical nature, 
including those specializing in business, society, and trade. While 
officials did not review in advance all articles in these periodicals, 
they reviewed them after publication and could penalize those whose 
articles did not meet government approval. A few foreign newspapers and 
magazines were available through private outlets that had government 
permission to sell them.

    Internet Freedom.--The government controlled all domestic Internet 
servers and retained the ability to block access to Internet Web sites 
it deemed pornographic or critical of government institutions and 
policies. The Lao National Internet Committee under the Prime 
Minister's Office administered the Internet system.
    The government sporadically monitored Internet usage.
    The Prime Minister's Office required all Internet service providers 
to submit quarterly reports and link their gateways to facilitate 
monitoring, but the government's enforcement capability appeared 
limited.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law provides for 
academic freedom, but in practice the government imposed restrictions. 
The Ministry of Education tightly controlled curricula in schools, 
including private schools and colleges.
    Both citizen and noncitizen academic professionals conducting 
research in the country may be subject to restrictions on travel, 
access to information, and publication. Although the government 
exercised control via requirements for exit stamps and other mechanisms 
over the ability of state-employed academic professionals to travel for 
research or obtain study grants, the government actively sought such 
opportunities worldwide and approved virtually all such proposals.
    The government required films and music recordings produced in 
government studios to be submitted for official censorship; however, 
uncensored foreign films and music were available in video and compact 
disc formats. The Ministry of Information and Culture attempted to 
limit the influence of Thai culture on Lao music and entertainment, but 
these attempts had little effect.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the 
government restricted this right in practice. The law prohibits 
participation in demonstrations, protest marches, or other acts that 
cause ``turmoil or social instability.'' Participation in such acts is 
punishable by prison terms of one to five years (see section 1.e.).

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides citizens the right to 
organize and join associations, but the government restricted this 
right in practice. For example, political groups other than popular-
front organizations approved by the LPRP are forbidden. A decree allows 
for the registration of nonprofit civil society organizations--
including economic, social-welfare, professional, technical, and 
creative associations--at the district, provincial, or national level, 
depending on the scope of work and membership. Only 10 organizations 
completed the application process and were registered formally; another 
70 awaited approval by year's end.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, but in practice the government imposed some restrictions. 
The government cooperated in some cases with the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

    Foreign Travel.--Citizens seeking to travel to contiguous areas of 
neighboring countries generally obtained the required permits easily 
from district offices. Those wishing to travel farther abroad were 
required to apply for passports.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--The government continued to refuse 
the UNHCR's request to reestablish an in-country presence, which it had 
in the 1990s, to monitor the reintegration of Hmong returnees from 
Thailand. The government continued to maintain that the UNHCR's mandate 
expired in 2001 and all former refugees had successfully reintegrated. 
During the year foreign diplomats, international organizations 
representatives (including senior UNHCR officials), and the press 
visited the villages of Phonekham in Borikhamxay Province and Phalak 
and Nongsan in Vientiane Province, where Lao Hmong who returned from 
Thailand in 2007-09 were resettled, including those involuntarily 
returned in 2009. The government in 2010 provided land, housing, and 
electricity plus a one-year supply of food. During the year the 
government worked on an irrigation system for Phonekham Village that 
was scheduled for completion in 2012, and it continued to make a 
concerted effort to provide the international community access, albeit 
controlled, to these resettlement villages.
    The government's policy--both for Hmong surrendering internally and 
for those returned from Thailand--was to return them to communities of 
origin whenever possible. On September 28, Lao authorities received 34 
Lao Hmong whom Thai authorities repatriated across the Mekong River 
near Nong Khai, Thailand. The returnees claimed that one Lao Hmong male 
drowned while being ferried across the river by boat, and 
unsubstantiated reports from elements of the Hmong diaspora alleged 
that Thai authorities beat him. The government reportedly sent these 
returnees back to their villages by year's end.
    The government maintained its policy of denying the right of return 
to persons who fled the country during the 1975 change of regime and 
were tried in absentia for antigovernment activities; there were no 
cases of such denial during the year.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--In the absence of 
comprehensive and timely monitoring by international organizations and 
independent observers, it was not possible to clarify the number and 
condition of IDPs in the country or the situation concerning their 
protection and reintegration, government restrictions on them, and 
their access to basic services and assistance. Nevertheless, the NGO 
Internal Displacement Monitoring Center's 2010 report identified three 
groups of IDPs that could total ``between several hundreds and several 
thousands,'' as follows: (1) Hmong who fled to Thailand and were 
forcibly returned; (2) individuals who should be considered as 
civilians but were living with Hmong insurgents (see section 6, 
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities); and (3) individuals, small in 
number, of non-Buddhist minority religious group members who reportedly 
were forced from their villages due to local restrictions on religious 
practices (see the Department of State's International Religious 
Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt).

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for 
asylum and the protection of stateless persons. The government did not 
routinely grant refugee or asylum status, but it showed some 
flexibility in dealing pragmatically with individual asylum cases.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens do not have the right to change their government. Although 
the constitution outlines a system composed of executive, legislative, 
and judicial branches, the LPRP controlled governance and the 
leadership at all levels through its constitutionally designated 
``leading role.''

    Elections and Political Participation.--The law provides for a 
representative national assembly, elected every five years in open, 
multiple-candidate, fairly tabulated elections with universal, adult-
suffrage voting by secret ballot. Election committees appointed by the 
National Assembly must approve all candidates for local and national 
elections. Candidates do not need to be LPRP members, but in practice 
almost all were.
    The National Assembly chooses members of the Standing Committee, 
generally based on the previous Standing Committee's recommendations. 
Upon such recommendations, the National Assembly elects or removes the 
president and vice president. The Standing Committee has the mandate to 
supervise all administrative and judicial organizations and the sole 
power to recommend presidential decrees. It also appoints the National 
Election Committee, which has powers over elections, including approval 
of candidates. Activities of the Standing Committee were not fully 
transparent.
    The National Assembly, upon the president's recommendation, 
formally elects the prime minister and other government ministers.

    Recent Elections.--The most recent National Assembly election was 
on April 30. Independent observers were not allowed to monitor the 
election process.

    Political Parties.--The constitution legitimizes only the LPRP; all 
other political parties are outlawed.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 33 women in the 
132-seat National Assembly, including two on the ten-member Standing 
Committee, and three women were members of the 13-member People's 
Supreme Court. The 61-seat LPRP Central Committee included five women, 
one of whom was also a member of the 11-member Politburo and president 
of the National Assembly. Of six ministers in the Prime Minister's 
Office, two were women. The minister of labor and social welfare also 
was a woman.
    While 80 percent of the population lived in rural areas and the 
village chief and village council handled most everyday matters, fewer 
than 1 percent of the village chiefs were women. The LWU--the LPRP mass 
organization focused on women's issues with a presence in every village 
and at every government level--is the only organization that has 
representation in every village, and only one member of the LWU 
represented women in each village council.
    There were seven members of ethnic minorities in the LPRP Central 
Committee, including two in the Politburo. The National Assembly 
included 50 members of ethnic minorities, while two of the 28 cabinet 
ministers were members of ethnic minority groups. The new president of 
the National Assembly was also a member of an ethnic minority. One of 
the People's Supreme Court justices was a member of an ethnic minority.
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 corruption 
continued to be a serious problem. Officials often engaged in corrupt 
practices with impunity. Wages of all government officials were 
extremely low, and many officials, such as police, had broad powers 
that they could easily abuse.
    Many police officers used their authority to extract bribes from 
citizens. Some judges reportedly could be bribed. Corrupt officials 
reportedly were seldom punished. Police were trained at the National 
Police Academy, but the extent to which the academy's curriculum 
covered corruption was unknown.
    In theory the Government Inspection and Anticorruption Committee, 
which was established in June, carries authority equal to a government 
ministry and has responsibility for uncovering corruption in all 
government ministries, including the Ministry of Public Security. 
Authorities arrested and administratively punished lower-level 
officials on occasion for corruption. There were no reports of criminal 
cases brought to trial. The government-controlled press rarely reported 
cases of official corruption.
    Central and provincial inspection organizations responsible for 
enforcing laws against corruption lacked defined roles and sufficient 
powers as well as adequate funding, equipment, and legal support from 
the government.
    Prior to taking their designated positions, senior officials were 
required by party policy to disclose their personal assets to the 
LPRP's Party Inspection Committee. The committee inspects the 
officials' assets before and after the officials have been in their 
positions. However, the LPRP used its control of government authorities 
and media to block public censure of corrupt officials who were party 
members.
    No laws provide for public access to government information, and in 
general the government closely guarded the release of any information 
pertaining to its internal activities, deeming such secrecy necessary 
for ``national security.''
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no domestic human rights NGOs.
    The government only sporadically responded in writing to requests 
for information on the human rights situation from international human 
rights organizations. However, the government maintained human rights 
dialogues with several foreign governments and continued to receive 
training in U.N. human rights conventions from several international 
donors.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government maintained 
contacts and cooperated with the International Committee of the Red 
Cross in various activities for the implementation of international 
humanitarian law. The government also continued to work on implementing 
the 2010 U.N. Universal Periodic Review recommendations that it had 
accepted.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--There is no ombudsman. A human 
rights division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responsibility 
for investigating allegations of human rights violations, although in 
practice it apparently had no authority to perform investigations or 
direct other ministries to undertake them.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equal treatment under the law for all 
citizens without regard to ethnicity, gender, social status, education, 
or faith. The government at times took action when well-documented, 
obvious cases of discrimination came to the attention of high-level 
officials, although the legal mechanism whereby citizens may bring 
charges of discrimination against individuals or organizations was 
neither well developed nor widely understood among the general 
population.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
with punishment set at three to five years' imprisonment. Sentences are 
significantly longer and may include capital punishment if the victim 
is under age 18 or is seriously injured or killed. In rape cases tried 
in court, defendants generally were convicted with sentences ranging 
from three years' imprisonment to execution. Rape was reportedly rare, 
although it was likely underreported, as was most crime. The country 
does not have a central crime database, nor does it provide crime 
statistics.
    Domestic violence is illegal, but there is no law against marital 
rape, and domestic violence often went unreported due to social stigma. 
Penalties for domestic violence, including battery, torture, and the 
detention of persons against their will, may include both fines and 
imprisonment. The law grants exemption from penal liabilities in cases 
of physical violence without serious injury or physical damage.
    LWU centers and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, in 
cooperation with NGOs, assisted victims of domestic violence. On 
November 25, the Counseling and Protection Center for Women and 
Children in Vientiane, operated by the LWU, launched a new nationwide 
hotline for individuals to report incidents of domestic violence and 
receive counseling over the telephone. An international NGO operating a 
shelter for homeless children noted that domestic violence was one of 
the main reasons why children leave homes to live on the streets of 
Vientiane. Overall statistics were unavailable on the number of abusers 
prosecuted, convicted, or punished, but the LWU estimated that the 
centers have assisted approximately 500 domestic violence victims since 
October 2010.

    Sexual Harassment.--Although sexual harassment is not illegal, 
``indecent sexual behavior'' toward another person is illegal and 
punishable by six months to three years in prison. Sexual harassment 
rarely was reported, with its extent difficult to assess.

    Reproductive Rights.--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 was generally available, although the 
means of contraception were not widely available in rural areas and 
were often financially out of reach. A 2011 U.N. Population Fund report 
estimated the contraceptive prevalence rate for women of reproductive 
age (15-49 years) in 2010 for all methods to be 38 percent and the 
maternal mortality ratio in 2008 to be 580 deaths per 100,000 live 
births. Deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth were the primary 
cause of death for women of reproductive age. Very few women had access 
to skilled birth attendants and very few medical centers were equipped 
to deal with complicated births, especially in small, nomadic, and 
ethnic villages. According to the U.N. Development Program, the major 
factors influencing maternal mortality in the country were the low 
contraceptive prevalence rate, the high unmet need for family planning 
among women of reproductive age (27 percent), the low percentage of 
deliveries assisted by trained health practitioners (23 percent), and 
the lack of access to emergency obstetric care. Antenatal care remained 
poor. Women and men had equal access to diagnostic services and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The law provides equal rights for women, but 
traditional attitudes and gender-role stereotyping kept women and girls 
in subordinate positions, preventing them from equally accessing 
education and business opportunities, and there was little government 
effort to redress this. The law also prohibits legal discrimination in 
marriage and inheritance, although varying degrees of culturally based 
discrimination against women persisted, with greater discrimination 
practiced by some hill tribes.
    The LWU operated nationally to promote the position of women in 
society, including conducting several programs to strengthen the role 
of women that were most effective in urban areas. Many women occupied 
decision-making positions in the civil service and private business, 
and in urban areas their incomes were often higher than those of men. 
Poverty continued to affect women disproportionately, especially in 
rural and ethnic minority communities. While rural women carried out 
more than half of total agricultural production in every field, the 
additional workloads of housework and child rearing also fell primarily 
on women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Regardless of where they are born, 
children acquire citizenship if both parents are citizens. Children 
born of one citizen parent acquire citizenship if born in the country 
or, when born outside the country's territory, if one parent has a 
permanent in-country address. Not all births were immediately 
registered.

    Education.--Education was compulsory, free, and universal through 
the fifth grade, although high fees for books and supplies and a 
general shortage of teachers in rural areas prevented many children 
from attending school. There were significant differences among the 
various ethnic groups in the educational opportunities offered to boys 
and girls. Although the government's policy is to inform ethnic groups 
on the benefits of education for all children, some ethnic groups did 
not consider education for girls either necessary or beneficial. 
Although school enrollment rates for girls remained lower than for 
boys, gender parity continued to increase.

    Child Abuse.--The law prohibits violence against children, and 
violators are subject to stiff punishments. Reports of the physical 
abuse of children were rare.

    Child Marriage.--The law allows marriage under age 18 in ``special 
and necessary cases,'' often cases of underage pregnancy, and a 
considerable percentage of women married before reaching that age.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law does not contain 
penalties specifically for child prostitution, but the penalty for sex 
with a child (defined as under age 15, the age of consent) is one to 
five years' imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 to three million kip 
(approximately $60 to $360). The law does not include statutory rape as 
a crime distinct from sex with a child or rape of any person. Child 
pornography is not treated differently from pornography in general, for 
which the penalty is three months' to one year's imprisonment and a 
fine of 50,000 to 200,000 kip ($6 to $24).
    A general increase in tourism in the country and a concomitant rise 
in child sex tourism in Southeast Asia in recent years attracted the 
attention of authorities, who sought to prevent child sex tourism from 
taking root. The government continued efforts to reduce demand for 
commercial sex through periodic raids and training workshops. The 
government and NGOs hosted seminars to train tourism-sector employees, 
including taxi drivers and tourism police. Many major international 
hotels in the cities of Vientiane and Luang Prabang displayed posters 
created by international NGOs warning against child sex tourism.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish community in the country, 
and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution provides citizens 
protection against discrimination but does not specify that these 
protections apply to persons with disabilities. Regulations promulgated 
by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the Lao National 
Commission for the Disabled protect such persons against 
discrimination, although the regulations lack the force of law.
    The Ministry of Health has primary responsibility for protecting 
the rights of persons with disabilities. Because of the large number of 
disabilities resulting from unexploded ordnance accidents, the ministry 
worked extensively on this issue, especially in coordination with 
international NGOs, to operate the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic 
Enterprise that supplied prosthetic limbs, corrected clubfeet, and 
provided education to deaf and blind persons.
    According to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the law 
requires that construction projects begun after 2009 provide facilities 
to persons with disabilities and elderly individuals, particularly in 
the construction of buildings, roads, and public places. The law does 
not mandate accessibility to buildings built before its enactment or 
government services for persons with disabilities, but during the year 
the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare established regulations 
regarding building access and built some sidewalk ramps in Vientiane. 
While there was some progress on accessibility, the lack of resources 
for infrastructure slowed the retrofitting of most buildings. There 
were no reports of discrimination in the workplace.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides for equal 
rights for all minority citizens and bars discrimination against them. 
Nonetheless, some societal discrimination persisted. Moreover, some 
critics charged that the government's resettlement program for ending 
slash-and-burn agriculture and opium production adversely affected many 
ethnic minority groups, particularly in the North. The program requires 
that resettled persons adopt paddy rice farming and live in large 
communities, ignoring the traditional livelihoods and community 
structures of these minority groups. International observers questioned 
whether the benefits promoted by the government--access to markets, 
schools, and medical care for resettled persons--outweighed the 
negative impact on traditional cultural practices. Some minority groups 
not involved in resettlement, notably those in remote locations, 
believed they had little voice in government decisions affecting their 
lands and the allocation of natural resources from their areas.
    Of the 49 official ethnic groups in the country, the Hmong are one 
of the largest and most prominent. There were a number of Hmong 
officials in the senior ranks of the government and the LPRP, including 
one Politburo member and five members of the LPRP Central Committee. 
However, some Hmong believed their ethnic group could not coexist with 
ethnic Lao. This belief fanned separatist or irredentist beliefs among 
some Hmong. The government focused limited assistance projects in Hmong 
areas to address regional and ethnic disparities in income, which 
helped ameliorate conditions in the poorest districts.
    Although there were no reports of attacks by the few remaining 
Hmong insurgent groups during the year, the government leadership 
maintained its suspicion of Hmong political objectives. Residual, 
small, scattered pockets of insurgents and their families remained in 
remote jungle areas. The government continued to reduce its efforts to 
combat them actively and continued to offer ``amnesty'' to insurgents 
who surrender, but because of their past activities, amnestied 
insurgents continued to be the focus of official suspicion and 
scrutiny. The government continued to refuse most international 
community offers to assist surrendered insurgents directly but allowed 
some aid from the U.N. and international agencies as part of larger 
assistance programs.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was no law prohibiting 
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but 
there was also no official discrimination based on either factor 
reported during the year. Within lowland Lao society, despite wide and 
growing tolerance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons, 
societal discrimination in employment and housing persisted, and there 
were no governmental efforts to address it. Reports indicated that 
lesbians faced greater societal stigma and discrimination than gay men.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no societal 
violence or official discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, but 
societal discrimination existed. The government actively promoted 
tolerance of those with HIV/AIDS, and it conducted public-awareness 
campaigns to promote understanding toward such persons.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law does not allow workers to form and join independent unions of 
their choice; they may form unions without previous authorization only 
if they operate within the framework of the officially sanctioned 
Federation of Lao Trade Unions, which in turn is controlled by the 
LPRP. In addition, the law does not permit unions to conduct their 
activities without government interference and prohibits union 
membership for foreign workers. The law does not prohibit strikes.
    There is no right to organize and bargain collectively. The law 
stipulates that disputes be resolved through workplace committees 
composed of employers, representatives of the local labor union, and 
federation representatives, with final authority residing in the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.
    The law stipulates that employers may not fire employees for 
conducting trade union activities, lodging complaints against employers 
about law implementation, or cooperating with officials on law 
implementation and labor disputes, and there were no reports of such 
cases.
    The government's bans on subversive activities or destabilizing 
demonstrations and its failure to provide the means to call a strike 
made strikes extremely unlikely, and no strike was reported during the 
year.
    The ministry generally did not enforce the dispute-resolution law, 
especially in dealings with joint ventures in the private sector. Labor 
disputes reportedly were infrequent. According to labor activists, the 
federation needed government permission to enter factories and had to 
provide advance notice of such visits, thereby rendering it powerless 
to protect workers who filed complaints. Workplace committees were used 
for resolving complaints, but there was no information on how effective 
these committees were in practice.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, except in time of war or 
national disaster. However, due to a limited number of inspectors and 
resources, the government did not effectively enforce these laws. 
Forced labor, including forced child labor (see section 7.c.), 
reportedly occurred in the agriculture industry, particularly on rubber 
plantations.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law allows for children between the ages of 14 and 18 to work up to 
eight hours per day, provided such work is not dangerous or difficult. 
There were no known reports of children working in hazardous 
environments. The ministries of public security and justice, and labor 
and social welfare, are responsible for enforcing these provisions, but 
enforcement was ineffective due to a lack of inspectors and other 
resources. Many children helped on family farms or in shops and other 
family businesses, but child labor was rare in industrial enterprises. 
Forced labor of Lao boys allegedly occurred in the agricultural sector, 
for example, on rubber plantations.
    On June 10, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare cooperated 
with the International Labor Organization to mark the World Day Against 
Child Labor by holding a seminar to raise awareness of child labor 
issues among government officials and workers' and employers' 
organizations.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government sets wages and 
salaries for government employees; management sets wages and salaries 
for private business employees. The Ministry of Labor and Social 
Welfare determines the minimum wage but has no regular schedule or 
transparent process for doing so. On November 23, the government passed 
a decree increasing the monthly minimum wage for private sector workers 
from 348,000 to 626,000 kip (approximately $42 to $75). Additionally, 
employers were required to pay an 8,500-kip ($1) meal allowance per 
day. The National Assembly, in consultation with the Ministry of 
Finance, last increased the minimum wage for civil servants and state 
enterprise employees to 405,000 kip ($49) per month in 2008. The 
government set the national poverty line at an average income of 
192,000 kip ($23) per person per month. In addition to their minimum 
wage, civil servants often received housing subsidies and other 
government benefits. Some piecework employees, especially on 
construction sites, earned less than the minimum wage.
    The law provides for a workweek limited to 48 hours (36 hours for 
employment in dangerous activities) and at least one day of rest per 
week. Overtime may not exceed 30 hours per month, and each period of 
overtime may not exceed three hours. The overtime pay rate varies from 
150 to 300 percent of normal pay. The overtime law was not effectively 
enforced. By law the government determines public holidays. Workers 
employed under an employment contract for an indefinite period or for a 
period of more than one year and who have worked for one full year are 
entitled to 15 days' annual leave. Workers in sectors involving heavy 
work or work that is hazardous to health, as specified in the law, are 
entitled to 18 days' annual leave with full pay at the normal rate.
    The law provides for safe working conditions and higher 
compensation for dangerous work. The law has no specific provision 
allowing workers to remove themselves from a dangerous situation 
without jeopardizing their employment. In case of death or injury on 
the job, employers are responsible for compensating a worker or the 
worker's family. Employers generally fulfilled this requirement in the 
formal economic sector. The law also mandates extensive employer 
responsibility for those disabled at work, and this provision appeared 
effectively enforced.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is responsible for 
workplace inspections, and its Labor Inspection Division estimated that 
there were approximately 40 inspectors in the country, but a lack of 
personnel and budgetary resources precluded effective law enforcement. 
Officials undertook unannounced inspections when notified of a 
violation of safe working standards, and employers were given three to 
six months to address violations before being fined. The Inspection 
Division confirmed that 142 workplace accidents and seven fatalities 
occurred in 2010.
    There were a number of undocumented immigrants in Laos, 
particularly from Vietnam, China, and Burma, and they were vulnerable 
to exploitation by employers. These immigrants primarily worked in 
construction, plantations, casinos, and service industries. The law 
sets the percentage of foreign laborers allowed to be hired by a 
company operating in the country and requires approval of foreign 
workers, but it does not provide specific work-condition protections 
for them. The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare estimated in October 
2010 that approximately 250,000 foreigners were working in the country.

                               __________

                                MALAYSIA

                           executive summary
    Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy. It has a 
parliamentary system of government headed by a prime minister selected 
through periodic, multiparty elections. The United Malays National 
Organization (UMNO), together with a coalition of political parties 
known as the National Front (BN), has held power since independence in 
1957. The most recent national elections, in 2008, were conducted in a 
generally transparent manner and witnessed significant opposition 
gains. In 2009 Najib Tun Razak was sworn in as prime minister. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The most significant human rights problems were restrictions on 
freedom of speech, assembly, and association; restrictions on the 
rights of migrants, including migrant workers and refugees; and the 
persistence of laws that allow detention without trial.
    Other human rights problems included some deaths during police 
apprehensions and while in police custody; caning as a form of 
punishment imposed by criminal and sharia courts; restrictions on 
freedom of press and religion; obstacles preventing opposition parties 
from competing on equal terms with the ruling coalition; and violence 
and discrimination against women. Longstanding government policies gave 
preferences to ethnic Malays in many areas. There were restrictions on 
union and collective-bargaining activity, and various practices 
continued to create vulnerabilities to child labor and forced labor, 
especially for migrant workers. The government continued to pursue the 
prosecution of the leader of the parliamentary opposition on sodomy 
charges.
    The government took steps to prosecute officials engaged in 
corruption and human rights abuses, although some degree of impunity 
existed.
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. One nongovernmental organization (NGO) asserted that 20 
individuals had been killed in police shootings between February and 
November. This reflects a downward trend from previous years; local 
media reported that police killed 35 and 108 persons while apprehending 
them in 2010 and 2009, respectively. State-influenced print media used 
a consistent narrative to describe these encounters: the suspect was 
stopped by police, then tried to attack police; the police killed 
suspect in self-defense, and evidence of criminal activity was found on 
the suspect's body. Local human rights groups suggested this pattern 
was used to justify deaths, usually of ethnic minorities, in police 
custody.
    On April 29, police shot and killed three persons, believed to be 
foreigners, at a palm oil estate in Maran Jengka. According to the 
police account, they spotted and pursued a stolen car. The car skidded 
and hit a tree; rather than surrendering when ordered by the police, 
the suspects ran towards the policemen wielding machetes, and the 
police shot them.
    On April 6, Selangor Customs Officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed was 
found dead on the first-floor badminton court of the Malaysia 
Anticorruption Commission (MACC) office. Sarbaini had been called in by 
MACC in connection with investigations into corruption cases involving 
customs officers. On September 26, the coroner's court ruled that the 
death was accidental and the result of a ``misadventure.'' The coroner 
speculated that Sarbaini was worried that he would be arrested, tried 
to exit via the window, lost his footing on the ledge, and fell to his 
death.
    On September 15, police officer Jenain Subi was found guilty of 
culpable homicide not amounting to murder and was sentenced to five 
years in jail for the April 2010 fatal shooting of 14-year-old 
Aminulrasyid Amzah, an ethnic Malay boy. Police had alleged that after 
a high-speed chase, Amzah placed his car into reverse and was 
attempting to run over the officers when they drew their weapons and 
fired.
    On June 9, a lawyer for the families of three youths whom the 
police shot dead in November 2010 presented a report of the postmortem 
examinations on two of the youths. The report indicated that they were 
shot at close range and that at least one of them was shot in the 
forehead at a 45-degree angle, suggesting that he was kneeling when he 
was shot.
    On January 28, the Petaling Jaya Selangor Sessions Court acquitted 
police constable Navindran Vivekanandan of the charge of causing 
grievous hurt in the January 2009 death of Kugan Ananthan, an ethnic 
Indian in police detention, on the basis that the prosecution had 
failed to establish a prima facie case against the accused.
    On July 21, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), established to 
investigate the 2009 death of Teoh Beng Hock from a fall in the MACC 
building, issued its conclusion that Teoh was driven to commit suicide 
following intense interrogation by three MACC officers. A coalition of 
more than 100 NGOs issued a statement criticizing the report for not 
addressing the interrogation methods used by MACC. On August 24, Teoh 
Beng Hock's brother filed a judicial review application to nullify the 
RCI's findings. At year's end the attorney general had not taken action 
against the implicated MACC officers.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--No law specifically prohibits torture; however, laws that 
prohibit ``committing grievous hurt'' encompass torture. In contrast to 
prior years, there were no reports of beatings and mistreatment by the 
nonprofessional People's Volunteer Corps (RELA) and immigration 
officials in immigration detention centers (IDCs). IDCs continued to be 
administered by the Immigration Department with RELA providing 
perimeter security.
    On September 21, lorry driver B. Prabakar and crane operator C. 
Soloman Raj filed suit against the police and the government, alleging 
that following their 2008 arrest they were tortured during 
interrogation. They claimed policemen beat them with a rubber hose, 
splashed hot water onto their bodies, and kicked and stepped on them. 
B. Prabakar also said he was ``hung'' on a ceiling fan with a rope and 
forced to admit to various criminal offenses.
    At year's end, the criminal case against former air force sergeant 
N. Tharmedran for allegedly conspiring to steal two jet engines, and 
his police report alleging that in 2010 he was tortured into confessing 
to the crime while in military detention, remained pending.
    Criminal law prescribes caning as an additional punishment to 
imprisonment for those convicted of some nonviolent crimes, such as 
narcotics possession, criminal breach of trust, and alien smuggling. 
The law prescribes up to six strokes of the cane for both illegal 
immigrants and their employers. More than 60 offenses are subject to 
caning, and judges routinely included caning in sentences of those 
convicted of such crimes as kidnapping, rape, and robbery. The caning 
was carried out with a half-inch-thick wooden cane that could cause 
welts and scarring. The law exempts men older than 50 and all women 
from caning. Male children between the ages of 10 and 18 may be given 
up to 10 strokes of a ``light cane.'' Statistics on caning were 
published only sporadically, but in a March statement in Parliament the 
government revealed that between 2005 and 2010 it had caned 29,759 
foreigners for various immigration offenses. In its 2010 publication, A 
Blow to Humanity--Torture by Caning in Malaysia, Amnesty International 
estimated that the government canes as many as 10,000 prisoners a year.
    Some states' Sharia--laws that exist under Islam with respect to 
certain family law matters and crimes under Islam but apply only to 
Muslims--also prescribe caning. Although federal law exempts all women 
from caning, there are no exemptions for women under Sharia, and the 
national courts have not resolved issues involving conflicts between 
the constitution, the penal code, and Sharia. In Sharia caning a 
smaller cane is used, and the caning official cannot lift the cane 
above the shoulder, thus reducing the impact. Additionally, the subject 
is fully covered with a robe so that the cane will not touch any part 
of the flesh. Local Islamic officials claimed that the idea is not to 
injure but to make offenders ashamed of their sin so that they will 
repent and not repeat the offense.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison overcrowding, 
particularly in facilities near major cities, remained a serious 
problem. In mid-2010 the national prison administration reported that 
the country's 31 prisons held 38,387 prisoners in locations designed to 
hold 32,600. According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, 
in mid 2010 women made up 6.6 percent and juveniles 2.2 percent of the 
total prison population. Generally, men were held separate from women, 
juveniles separate from adults, and pretrial detainees separate from 
convicted prisoners. Conditions for women in prison were not 
significantly different than for men. Individuals detained for reasons 
of national security did not face significantly different conditions 
from those of the general population.
    Local and international NGOs estimated most of the country's 16 
IDCs were at or beyond capacity, with some detainees held for a year or 
more. NGOs and international organizations involved with migrant 
workers and refugees made credible allegations of overcrowding, 
inadequate food, lack of regular access to clean water, poor medical 
care, poor sanitation, and lack of bedding in IDCs. An NGO with access 
to the IDCs claimed that these conditions and lack of medical screening 
and treatment facilitated the spread of disease. The government allowed 
local NGOs to visit IDCs from time to time; during the year local NGOs 
with mobile medical clinics were able to visit the IDCs at the Kuala 
Lumpur International Airport and at Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan, once 
every two weeks. One prominent NGO that visited IDCs during the year 
noted that although there had been some improvement in physical 
facilities, it did not see any improvement in the treatment of 
detainees. The NGO further observed that the IDCs could get quite 
crowded at certain times, such as immediately following a raid. An 
international NGO that advocates for refugees reported that unsanitary, 
overcrowded detention facilities with no air conditioning, inadequate 
clothing and food, and little access to medical care all contributed to 
continued deaths in IDCs.
    In August 2010 the Ministry of Home Affairs' secretary general 
publicly acknowledged that security measures and living conditions at 
all the IDCs were seriously deficient and that none met international 
standards. He added that a five agency committee had been set up to 
address the problem at IDCs and upgrade IDC standard operating 
procedures. Although the Ministry of Home Affairs occasionally asks a 
third party such as the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) 
to conduct checks on conditions in IDCs, there were no reports on any 
activities of the five-agency committee.
    On August 11, a former pretrial detainee, Ahmad Syaugey Abdul 
Ghani, lodged a report with SUHAKAM alleging human rights abuses during 
his two-week detention at Pengkala Chepa Prison, Kelantan. Ahmad 
claimed that between June 23 and July 5, he and 113 other prisoners 
were forced to strip naked in stages, with 10 to 20 prisoners being 
forced to strip at a time, in front of the other prisoners. Ahmad 
alleged that prisoners were told to defecate in front of other 
prisoners while they were caned on their feet as punishment for 
``wrongdoing.'' Ahmad was arrested on June 20 under the penal code for 
obstructing a public officer and behaving indecently in a police 
station. His trial was pending.
    Death of prisoners while in prison or detention occurred. Based on 
statistics disclosed by the Home Ministry in March, a total of 156 
persons died in police custody between 2000 and February 2011. A local 
NGO reported nine deaths in custody during the year, an increase from 
four in 2010. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, in a written reply to 
a member of Parliament (MP), stated that a total of 10 deaths in police 
custody were recorded in the first half of the year but asserted that 
most deaths were caused by disease.
    On January 7, M. Krishnan, 37, was found dead in the Bukit Jalil 
police lock-up. Police said the death was due to an ulcer. His wife 
claimed he had been tortured to death and had bruises on his back and 
his right eye, and an open cut on his right abdomen. She lodged a 
report at Sentul district police headquarters, asking that a second 
autopsy be conducted. The police ultimately agreed, and the autopsy 
confirmed the police's claim that the death was due to an ulcer.
    On September 27, the High Court ordered the government and the 
Penor prison director to pay RM590,900 (approximately $186,000) in 
damages to the family of an 18-year-old youth who died at the prison 
six years ago following an assault by 10 prison employees.
    On April 5, 109 irregular immigrants, dissatisfied with cramped 
living conditions, the food, and long detention periods, fled a 
detention camp in Negeri Sembilan after they burned down a dormitory 
block. Police recaptured 39 of them.
    Prisoners and detainees are allowed visitors during specified 
visiting hours, and, provided the religious practices were not derived 
from one of the sects of Islam that the government considers 
``deviant,'' there were no problems with religious observance. The 
Prisons Act does not provide a process for prisoners to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities. It allows judges to visit prisons 
to examine conditions and ask prisoners and prison officials about 
prison conditions. According to local NGOs, because prison authorities 
reportedly monitor all incoming and outgoing materials, complaints 
normally would not be sent through prison authorities. Communications 
between an attorney and his or her client are generally treated as 
private and confidential under the attorney-client privilege.
    The authorities generally did not permit NGOs and the media to 
monitor prison conditions. The government approved visits by the 
International Committee of the Red Cross and SUHAKAM officials on a 
case-by-case basis. Prisons provided potable water. Although there is 
no prison ombudsman, SUHAKAM serves as the government's de facto 
ombudsman, investigating human rights abuses, including those alleged 
to have taken place within the prison system. Prison and other 
officials did not take any noteworthy steps to improve recordkeeping, 
implement alternatives to sentencing for nonviolent offenders, or make 
significant improvements to prison conditions or administration during 
the year.
    The U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) had access to 
registered refugees and asylum seekers detained in IDCs and prisons. 
Historically, prison and IDC officials denied the UNHCR access to 
unregistered asylum seekers in detention; however, since 2009 IDCs 
scheduled UNHCR visits to interview some unregistered potential 
refugees. Through these interviews, the UNHCR secured the release of 
1,351 refugees from IDCs from January to August.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution stipulates that 
no person may be incarcerated unless in accordance with the law. 
However, the law allows investigative detention to prevent a criminal 
suspect from fleeing or destroying evidence while police conduct an 
investigation. Four laws, most notably the Internal Security Act (ISA), 
also permit preventive detention to incarcerate an individual suspected 
of criminal activity or to prevent a person from committing a future 
crime. Such laws severely restrict, and in some cases eliminate, access 
to timely legal representation and a fair public trial. In September 
Prime Minister Najib announced that the ISA and related emergency 
ordinances would be abolished and replaced by new legislation that 
would take into consideration the rights and freedoms in the 
constitution. A vigorous public debate on matters of arbitrary arrest 
and detention took place through the rest of the year. On November 24, 
Parliament passed a motion to revoke three 40-year-old emergency 
proclamations; Prime Minister Najib had said that the emergency 
situations that had threatened security, economic life, or public order 
no longer existed. The constitution provides that all laws passed 
pursuant to the proclamations of emergency expire six months after the 
emergency proclamations are lifted. Foremost among these is the 
Emergency Ordinance, which is one of several laws that allow for 
indefinite detention without trial.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The approximately 
102,000-member Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) force is under the command 
of the inspector general of police (IGP), who reports to the home 
affairs minister. The IGP is responsible for organizing and 
administering the police force. The Malaysia Department of Islamic 
Development (JAKIM) enforces Sharia, which applies only to Muslims. 
JAKIM sometimes receives assistance from the RMP when conducting raids. 
State-level Islamic religious enforcement officers also have the 
authority to accompany police on raids of private premises as well as 
public establishments to enforce Sharia, including violations such as 
indecent dress, alcohol consumption, or close proximity to members of 
the opposite sex. Religious authorities at the state level administer 
Sharia through Islamic courts and have jurisdiction over all Muslims. 
Sharia and the degree of their enforcement vary by state, and the 
penalties imposed by Sharia courts are limited under the law.
    RELA has authority to check travel documents and immigration 
permits of foreigners, conduct raids, detain and interrogate suspects, 
and conduct other security activities. Since 2009 the government has 
reduced RELA's involvement and authority in immigration matters. 
However, after the August 2010 escape of 20 Afghan nationals from an 
IDC near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Deputy Home Minister Lee 
Chee Leong announced that security for the IDCs would be transferred 
from immigration authorities to the Prison Department, with RELA 
providing perimeter security. NGOs and organizations dealing with 
refugee affairs reported that RELA continued to enforce immigration 
laws. On June 25, the RELA director general announced that RELA had 
halted all enforcement operations against undocumented foreign workers 
unless invited by the police or immigration department.
    In August RELA membership reached 2,690,000 members, an increase of 
more than half a million since 2010. The government took steps to 
increase RELA's overall role, specifically in assisting police with 
criminal matters. NGOs remained concerned that inadequate training left 
RELA members ill equipped to perform their duties. In December 2010 Koh 
Tsu Koon, minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said that due to 
the impossibility of stationing police officers on every corner, 
thousands of RELA members were deployed to assist police in the 
patrolling of high-crime areas. Reported abuses by RELA members 
included extortion, theft, pilfering items from homes, and pillaging of 
refugee settlements. However, such reports were fewer than in previous 
years.
    On March 1, police arrested a RELA member and three others in 
connection with a February 27 robbery and rape case. According to 
police the RELA member had lent a pair of handcuffs to two other 
suspects who had used it to impersonate policemen. The suspects 
allegedly abducted a woman and drove her to a hotel where they took 
turns raping her before robbing her of her cash and valuables. There 
were no known further developments in the case during the year.
    The government did not release information on how it investigated 
complaints against RELA members or how it administered disciplinary 
action. The Public Protection Authorities Act of 1948 and a 2005 
Amendment to Essential Regulations give RELA members legal immunity for 
official acts committed in good faith.
    The government has some mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse 
and corruption. There were NGO and media reports that security forces 
acted with impunity during the year.
    Police officers are subject to trial by the criminal and civil 
courts. Police representatives reported that there were disciplinary 
actions against police officers during the year. Punishments included 
suspension, dismissal, and demotion.
    The government continued to focus police reform efforts on 
improving salaries, quarters, and general living conditions of police 
officers. However, the status of other reforms, including the formation 
of an independent police complaints and misconduct commission, remained 
pending at year's end.
    The police training center continued to include human rights 
awareness training in its courses. SUHAKAM conducted human rights 
training and workshops for police, prison officials, and RELA several 
times during the year.
    On September 22, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered Nadzri Ahmad 
and the inspector general of police to pay Johari Kasman RM900,000 
($284,000) in damages. In 2004 Johari was shot in the back by police 
and became paralyzed from the waist down. The judge ruled that there 
was no justification for shooting an unarmed person in the back.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
permits police to arrest individuals for some offenses without a 
warrant and hold suspects for 24 hours without charge. A magistrate may 
extend this initial detention period for up to two weeks. Although 
police generally observed these provisions, local NGOs reported that a 
police practice of releasing suspects and then quickly rearresting them 
and holding them in investigative custody continued. The law gives an 
arrested individual the right to be informed of the grounds for his 
arrest by the police officer making the arrest.
    Bail is usually available for those accused of crimes not 
punishable by life imprisonment or death. The amount and availability 
of bail is determined at the judge's discretion. When bail is granted, 
accused persons usually must surrender their passports to the court.
    Police must inform detainees that they are allowed to contact 
family members and consult a lawyer of their choice. Police often 
denied detainees access to legal counsel and questioned suspects 
without giving them access to counsel. Police justified this practice 
as necessary to prevent interference in ongoing investigations, and 
judicial decisions generally upheld the practice. NGOs continued to 
speak out against a perceived police mentality of ``arrest first, 
investigate later.'' On some occasions law enforcement agencies did not 
promptly allow access to family members.
    The law allows the detention of a person whose testimony as a 
material witness is necessary in a criminal case if that person is 
likely to flee.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Four preventive detention laws permit the 
government to detain suspects without normal judicial review or filing 
formal charges: the ISA, Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of 
Crime) Ordinance, Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act, 
and Restricted Residence Act.
    The ISA empowers police to arrest without a warrant and hold for up 
to 60 days any person who acts ``in a manner prejudicial to the 
national security or economic life of Malaysia.'' During the initial 60 
day detention period in special detention centers, the ISA allows for 
the denial of legal representation and does not require that the case 
be brought before a court. The home minister may authorize further 
detention for up to two years, with an unlimited number of two-year 
extensions to follow. In practice the government infrequently 
authorized ISA detention beyond two two-year terms. Some of those 
released before the end of their detention period were subject to 
``imposed restricted conditions.'' These conditions limit freedom of 
speech, association, and travel inside and outside the country. An NGO 
that follows treatment of detainees reported that they received no 
complaints of mistreatment of ISA detainees.
    Even when there are no formal charges, the ISA requires that 
authorities inform detainees of the accusations against them and 
permits them to appeal to a nonjudicial advisory board for review every 
six months. However, advisory board decisions and recommendations are 
not binding on the home minister, not made public, and often not shown 
to the detainee.
    On August 2, Home Minister Hishammuddin announced the release of 
eight Immigration Department officers who had been held under the ISA 
since October 2010 for alleged connections with human trafficking or 
migrant smuggling activities. The minister said the detainees showed 
remorse for the mistakes they had made and had repented.
    Almost 4,500 people were detained under the ISA from 2000 to 2010. 
On June 5, police arrested Abdul Haris Syuhadi for allegedly recruiting 
for the terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiya. Between November 14 and 
16, 13 alleged members of Darul Islam, a forerunner of Jemaah Islamiya, 
were arrested under the ISA. A credible NGO reported 26 arrests and 20 
releases under the ISA during the year. According to the home minister, 
as of November 9, 37 individuals remained in detention under the ISA, 
plus 13 individuals being held in solitary confinement under the first 
60 days of detention. Reasons given for the detentions included alleged 
links to terror organizations, document forgery, and involvement in 
human smuggling syndicates.
    Under the Emergency Ordinance (EO), the home minister may issue a 
detention order for up to two years against a person if he deems it 
necessary for the protection of public order, ``the suppression of 
violence, or the prevention of crimes involving violence.'' On 
September 11, the RMP Vice, Gambling and Secret Societies Unit reported 
that 722 people were detained under the EO from January to August, 
including 10 women.
    On June 26, 31 members of opposition political party Parti Sosialis 
Malaysia (PSM) on their way to Penang were arrested at a roadblock on 
suspicion of spreading communism and conspiring to overthrow the 
government. One of them, a teenager, was released that day. On July 2, 
police released the 30 remaining detainees but rearrested six, 
including MP Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj; all were then held under the EO 
until their release on July 29. On August 3, the Penang Sessions Court 
charged the six PSM activists under section 43 of the Societies Act and 
section 29 of the Internal Security Act with the possession of 
allegedly subversive documents. The judge released them on bail. At the 
hearing on October 10, the police withdrew all charges against the 30.
    The Dangerous Drugs Act gives the government specific power to 
detain suspected drug traffickers without trial for up to 39 days 
before the home affairs minister must issue a detention order. Once the 
ministry issues the detention order, the detainee is entitled to a 
hearing before a court, which has the authority to order the detainee's 
release. Authorities may hold suspects without charge for successive 
two-year intervals with periodic review by an advisory board, whose 
opinion is binding on the minister. The review process, however, 
contains none of the procedural rights that a defendant would have in a 
court proceeding. Police frequently detained suspected narcotics 
traffickers under this act after courts acquitted them of formal 
charges. The government detained 751 persons under the preventive 
detention provisions of the act during the year. Deputy Home Minister 
Abu Seman Yusop reported that 92,861 people were arrested from January 
to October for drug-related offences. In 2010, 157,756 people were 
detained under various antinarcotics laws, an increase from 125,620 in 
2009.
    The Restricted Residence Act allowed the home affairs minister to 
order the arrest and detention of any person or to place individuals 
under restricted residence away from their homes for an initial period 
not to exceed five years, then renewable annually. These persons may 
not leave the residential district assigned to them, and they must 
present themselves to police on a daily basis. The minister was 
authorized to issue the restricted residence orders without any 
judicial or administrative hearings. For most of the year, the 
government continued to justify the act as a necessary tool to remove 
suspects from the area where undesirable activities were being 
conducted; however, the act was repealed on December 30. On October 5, 
Prime Minister Najib announced in Parliament that the home minister 
would free 125 detainees and cancel 200 warrants of those arrested 
under the Restricted Residence Act.
    On September 15, Prime Minister Najib announced the government's 
intention to repeal and replace the ISA and the EO with new legislation 
designed to prevent subversive acts, counter terrorist threats, and 
preserve public order and safety. The Bar Council and several human 
rights NGOs have called repeatedly over the years for the repeal of 
such laws and the ISA in particular, which does not allow judicial 
review of ISA decisions in any court except for issues of compliance 
with procedural requirements. The repeal of the ISA and the enactment 
of any replacement laws requires an act of Parliament, expected in 
early 2012.

    Pretrial Detention.--Crowded and understaffed courts often resulted 
in lengthy pretrial detention, sometimes lasting several years. The 
International Center for Prison Studies reported that as of mid-2010 
pretrial detainees made up 27.3 percent of the total prisoner 
population. On March 6, then chief justice Zaki Azmi announced that the 
number of criminal cases waiting to be heard at the High Courts had 
been reduced 22 percent. The sessions courts' backlog of civil cases 
was reduced by 46.5 percent and criminal cases by 12 percent. The 
magistrates courts backlog of civil cases was reduced by 57 percent and 
criminal cases by 56 percent. The government increased its use of plea 
bargaining during the year as a means of reducing case backlogs. In 
September Prime Minister Najib stated that from 2009 to 2011 the 
judiciary reduced its backlog of cases by 90 percent.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Three constitutional articles 
provide the basis for an independent judiciary; however, other 
constitutional provisions, legislation restricting judicial review, and 
additional factors limited judicial independence and strengthened 
executive influence over the judiciary.
    Members of the bar, NGO representatives, and other observers 
expressed serious concern about significant limitations on judicial 
independence, citing a number of high-profile instances of arbitrary 
verdicts, selective prosecution, and preferential treatment of some 
litigants and lawyers.
    On September 13, the Federal Court ruled that the findings of a 
Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) in a judge-fixing scandal were not 
reviewable. The RCI was originally formed in 2002 to investigate a 
videotape of a purported conversation in which a senior lawyer, V.K. 
Lingam, and a senior judge, Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim, discussed 
arrangements for assigning cases to ``friendly'' judges. The RCI 
released its findings in 2008, stating that it had determined that 
former prime minister Mahathir, UMNO Secretary General Tengku Adnan, 
and former chief justice Eusoff Chin among others were involved in 
manipulating judicial appointments and improperly influenced the 
promotion of judges. In 2009 in a written reply to opposition 
Democratic Action Party MP Karpal Singh's question on why there was no 
follow-up on the commission's findings, a minister in the Prime 
Minister's Department explained that the cases were closed for lack of 
evidence. In 2010 Lingam, along with Eusoff Chin and Ahmad Fairuz 
appealed--first to the Appeals Court and then to the Federal Court--the 
High Court's 2008 decision denying them permission to appeal the 
findings of the RCI.
    In 2008 authorities arrested parliamentary opposition leader Anwar 
Ibrahim for alleged consensual sodomy with a former aide. Prosecutors 
charged Anwar in court under the penal code for ``consensual carnal 
intercourse against the order of nature,'' which carries a potential 
sentence of 20 years in jail. The court released Anwar on bail.
    Anwar's trial began in February 2010, with his former aide and 
alleged victim, Saiful Bukhari, taking the stand as the prosecution's 
first witness. On May 16, the High Court ruled that the prosecution had 
proven a prima facie case against him and ordered Anwar to enter his 
defense. On August 22, Anwar started his defense by delivering a 
statement ``from the dock.'' The trial concluded on December 15, and a 
verdict was expected early in 2012. Prosecution for consensual sodomy 
between two adults is extremely rare in Malaysian jurisprudence.

    Trial Procedures.--English common law is the basis for the secular 
legal system. The constitution states that all persons are equal before 
the law and entitled to equal protection of the law. Defendants are 
presumed innocent until proven guilty. Trials are public, although 
judges may order restrictions on press coverage. Juries are not used. 
Defendants have the right to counsel at public expense if requested by 
an accused individual facing serious criminal charges. Strict rules of 
evidence apply in court. Defendants confronted witnesses against them 
and presented witnesses and evidence on their behalf, although judges 
sometimes disallowed witness testimony. Defendants may make statements 
for the record to an investigative agency prior to trial. Limited 
pretrial discovery in criminal cases impeded defendants' ability to 
defend themselves. Government-held evidence was not consistently made 
available. Attorneys must apply for a court order to obtain documents 
covered under the Official Secrets Act. Defendants may appeal court 
decisions to higher courts, but the law limits a defendant's right to 
appeal in some circumstances. The government stated that the limits 
expedite the hearing of cases in the upper courts, but the Bar Council 
declared that they impose excessive restrictions on appeals.
    In firearm and certain national security cases, a lower standard 
for accepting self-incriminating statements by defendants as evidence 
is in effect. Regulations also allow the authorities to hold an accused 
for an unspecified time before making formal charges.
    Sharia courts do not give equal weight to the testimony of women. 
Many NGOs complained that women did not receive fair treatment from 
Sharia courts, especially in matters of divorce and child custody.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The government and 
government officials can be sued in court for alleged violations of 
human rights. The structure of the civil judiciary mirrors that of the 
criminal courts. A large case backlog often resulted in delayed 
provision of court-ordered relief for civil plaintiffs. The courts 
increasingly encouraged the use of mediation and arbitration to speed 
settlements.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Various laws prohibit arbitrary interference with 
privacy rights; however, authorities infringed on citizens' privacy 
rights in some cases. Provisions in the security legislation allow 
police to enter and search without a warrant the homes of persons 
suspected of threatening national security. Police also may confiscate 
evidence under these provisions. Police used this legal authority to 
search homes and offices; seize computers, books, and papers; monitor 
conversations; and take persons into custody without a warrant. The 
government monitored e mails sent to Internet blog sites and threatened 
to detain anyone sending content over the Internet that the government 
deemed threatening to public order or security.
    JAKIM guidelines authorize JAKIM officials to enter private 
premises without a warrant if they deem swift action necessary to 
conduct raids on premises where they suspect Muslims are engaged in 
offenses such as gambling, consumption of alcohol, and sexual relations 
outside marriage.
    On February 14, the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur state religious 
departments detained 88 Muslims suspected of khalwat (close proximity 
to a member of the opposite sex) during a Valentine's Day operation.
    In corruption investigations, after a senior police official 
involved in the investigation submits a written application, the law 
empowers a deputy public prosecutor to authorize interception of any 
messages sent or received by a suspect. Information obtained in this 
way is admissible as evidence in a corruption trial. Security forces 
have broad authority to install surreptitious surveillance devices on 
private property. In addition, public prosecutors may authorize police 
to intercept postal and telecommunications messages if a prosecutor 
judges these likely to contain information regarding a terrorist 
offense. Intercepted communications from such efforts are admissible in 
court.
    Until it was officially repealed on December 30, the Restricted 
Residence Act permitted the Home Ministry to place criminal suspects 
under restricted residence in remote districts away from their homes 
for an initial period of up to five years, renewable on an annual basis 
thereafter.
    The government bans membership in unregistered political parties 
and organizations.
    Certain religious issues posed significant obstacles to marriage 
between Muslims and adherents of other religions. The government does 
not recognize marriages between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press; 
however, in practice the government restricted freedom of expression 
and intimidated journalists into practicing self-censorship. Government 
representatives cited protection of national security, public order, 
and friendly relations with other countries as reasons for the 
imposition of restrictions on the media.

    Freedom of Speech.--The law provides that legislation ``in the 
interest of security (or) public order'' may restrict freedom of 
speech. The election law makes it an offense for a candidate to 
``promote feelings of ill will, discontent, or hostility.'' Violators 
could be disqualified from running for office. The Sedition Act 
prohibits public comment on issues defined as sensitive, such as racial 
and religious matters. The government used the ISA, Sedition Act, 
Official Secrets Act, Universities and University Colleges Act, 
Printing Presses and Publications Act, criminal defamation laws, and 
other laws to restrict or intimidate political speech. Nevertheless, 
individuals frequently criticized the government publicly or privately 
and in online media. However, on some occasions the government 
retaliated against those who criticized it.

    Freedom of Press.--The government banned some foreign newspapers 
and magazines and occasionally censored foreign magazines or 
newspapers, most often for sexual content. The government exerted 
control over news content, both in print and broadcast media, required 
the annual renewal of publishing permits, punished publishers of 
``malicious news,'' and banned, restricted, and limited circulation of 
publications believed to threaten public order, morality, or national 
security.
    Parties in the ruling coalition owned or controlled a majority of 
shares in two of the three major English and most Malay daily 
newspapers. Businesspersons well connected to the government and ruling 
parties owned the third major English-language newspaper and all four 
major Chinese-language newspapers.

    Violence and Harassment.--Journalists were subject to harassment 
and intimidation due to their reporting. For example, there were 
reports of two journalists being threatened with physical violence by 
supporters of the proposed Lynas rare earth plant in Kuantan, and on 
August 3, police ordered a journalist with the online newsportal 
Malaysiakini to surrender his notebook to them.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The government continued to 
censor the media. This was done directly and indirectly by controlling 
news content; requiring the annual renewal of publishing permits; 
making publication of ``malicious news'' a punishable offense; 
empowering the home affairs minister to ban or restrict publications 
believed to threaten public order, morality, or national security; and 
limiting circulation to an organization's members only. A permit is 
required to own a printing press. The Printing Presses and Publications 
Act also prohibits court challenges to suspension or revocation of 
publication permits. As a result printers often were reluctant to print 
publications that were critical of the government for fear of reprisal. 
Such policies, together with antidefamation laws, inhibited independent 
or investigative journalism and resulted in extensive self censorship. 
On May 3, Utusan Melayu Corporation sacked one of Utusan Malaysia's 
senior editors and president of the National Union of Journalists, Hata 
Wahari, for issuing statements against the terms of employment. Hata 
was alleged to have incited racial dissent through his assertion in his 
October 2010 interview with Malaysiakini that Utusan was not relevant. 
He criticized Utusan Malaysia's lack of independence and stated that 
many of the country's media were too close to the government.
    On July 1, Malaysiakini reported that the Malaysia Communications 
and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which oversees all private television 
and radio stations, had advised electronic media and telecommunications 
operators in their news coverage to refer to the July 9 Bersih 2.0 
rally as an illegal gathering. MCMC reportedly gave the directive to 22 
media representatives who were invited to a seminar on June 30. 
Malaysiakini reported that MCMC, who organized the seminar, told 
editors that the news should highlight the difficulties and 
inconvenience the rally caused the public, as well as scenes of public 
property being vandalized and massive traffic congestion. MCMC also 
issued a warning that it would shut down Web sites deemed a threat to 
national security, including those promoting the Bersih 2.0 rally, and 
would not hesitate to take action against any Web site for breaching 
the MCMC Act.
    According to the government, censorship provisions ensured that the 
media did not disseminate ``distorted news'' and were necessary to 
preserve harmony and promote peaceful coexistence in a multiracial 
country. Despite these restrictions publications of opposition parties, 
social action groups, unions, Internet news sites, and other private 
groups actively covered opposition parties and frequently printed views 
critical of government policies. English-, Malay-, and Chinese-language 
press sometimes provided alternative views on sensitive issues, as did 
online media and bloggers.
    On September 23, The Malaysian Insider reported that a public 
service announcement video promoting the right to vote had been taken 
off the air at the direction of MCMC because the video featured some 
opposition leaders, as well as a prominent senior politician speaking 
about the country having problems. On July 19, the Home Ministry 
blacked out portions of an article in The Economist covering the July 9 
election reform rally and the related arrest of 1,600 people. The 
Publications Control and Qur'anic Text Division stated that the 
article, published on July 14, contained incorrect statements that 
could mislead readers.
    Radio and television stations were as restricted as the print media 
and were predominantly supportive of the government. News about the 
opposition was restricted and slanted. During the April Sarawak state 
elections, the mainstream media did not provide proportionate coverage 
of opposition candidates. Television stations censored programming in 
line with government guidelines. The government maintained a 
``blacklist'' of local and foreign performers, politicians, and 
religious leaders who were not allowed to appear on television or 
broadcast on radio.
    The government generally restricted remarks or publications, 
including books, that it judged might incite racial or religious 
disharmony.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The Defamation Act governs civil 
defamation disputes and sections of the penal code govern criminal 
defamation. Criminal defamation is punishable by a maximum of two years 
in jail, a fine, or both. On July 19, a High Court judge ordered 
political blogger Amizudin Ahmat to pay RM300,000 ($95,000) in damages, 
plus costs, in a defamation suit brought by Minister of Information, 
Communications and Culture Rais Yatim over a blog entry that suggested 
that Rais had raped his Indonesian maid. Amizudin filed an appeal on 
August 1. In February Malaysia's most famous blogger, Raja Petra 
Kamarudin, was found guilty of defaming senior lawyer Seri Muhammad 
Shafee Abdullah over three articles posted on his Web site Malaysia 
Today. Damages had not been decided because Raja Petra went into self-
imposed exile when the charges were first brought against him in 2008.

    Publishing Restrictions.--The Printing Presses and Publications Act 
requires domestic and foreign publishers to apply annually to the 
government for a permit and empowers the home affairs minister to ban 
or restrict publications believed to threaten public order, morality, 
or national security. Although judicial review may be sought for a 
banned book, the suspension or revocation of publication permits are 
not subject to judicial review. During the year the ministry continued 
to review, censor, and confiscate many foreign publications.
    The Home Ministry banned one new book during the year, down from 25 
in 2010. On August 2, a Home Ministry prohibitory order banned the 
publishing of Islam: Evil in the Name of God, by Jake Neuman, stating 
that it is ``the evil effort of certain quarters to sow hatred and 
negative sentiments against Islam among non-Muslims.'' The Home 
Ministry maintains a list of 1,511 titles banned since 1971.

    Internet Freedom.--The government for the most part maintained a 
policy of open and free access to the Internet. Individuals and groups 
could engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by 
e-mail. On February 12, Prime Minister Najib reiterated the 
government's stand that it would not resort to Internet censorship.
    In September 2010 the Home Ministry revealed that a government task 
force consisting of police, Internet regulators, the Ministry of 
Information, and the Attorney General's Chambers was monitoring the 
Internet for blog postings deemed harmful to national unity and would 
take action against those trying to stoke racial tensions. The 
government monitored e mails sent to Internet blog sites and threatened 
to detain anyone sending content over the Internet that the government 
deemed threatening to public order or security. A second task force 
existed to investigate complaints about possible threats to national 
security and unity. The government continued to warn Internet operators 
to avoid offensive or indecent content, or sensitive matters such as 
religion and race.
    On May 30, MCMC sent a letter to all Internet service providers, 
ordering them to block 10 prominent file-sharing Web sites because of 
alleged breaches of the Copyright Act.
    Criminal defamation laws and the existence of preventive detention 
laws led to some self-censorship from local Internet content sources 
such as bloggers, Internet news providers, and NGO activists.
    On April 15, a prominent NGO reported that many opposition and news 
Web sites fell victim to ``denial of service'' attacks in the period 
prior to the April 16 election in Sarawak. Inaccessible sites included 
Sarawak Report, Radio Free Sarawak, Dayak Baru Blog, and Malaysiakini, 
whose Twitter account was suspended. Malaysiakini reported that it was 
the victim of a limited, two-day denial of service attack over the July 
9 electoral reform rally weekend.
    The Communications and Multimedia Act requires certain Internet and 
other network service providers to obtain a license. Previously the 
government stated that it did not intend to impose controls on Internet 
use but that it would punish the ``misuse'' of information technology. 
The act permits punishment of the owner of a Web site or blog for 
allowing content of a racial, religious, or political nature that a 
court deems offensive.
    On March 15, the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court issued a discharge 
not amounting to acquittal to blogger Irwan Abdul Rahman, who had been 
charged in September 2010 under the Communication and Multimedia Act 
for ``creating and spreading lies with the malicious intent to hurt 
others.'' Irwan had posted a satire stating that the National Electric 
Company would sue the World Wildlife Federation for organizing the 
``Earth Hour Campaign'' encouraging consumers not to use electricity 
for an hour because such an event would cost the national corporation 
millions in unrealized revenue.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government placed some 
restrictions on academic freedom, particularly the expression of 
unapproved political views, and enforced restrictions on teachers and 
students who expressed dissenting views. The government continued to 
require that all civil servants, university faculty, and students sign 
a pledge of loyalty to the king and the government. Opposition leaders 
and human rights activists claimed that the government used the loyalty 
pledge to restrain political activity among civil servants, academics, 
and students.
    Although faculty members sometimes were publicly critical of the 
government, there was clear self-censorship among public-university 
academics whose career advancement and funding depended on the 
government. Self-censorship took place among academics at private 
institutions as well, spurred by fears that the government might revoke 
the licenses of their institutions. The law also imposes limitations on 
student associations and on student and faculty political activity.
    The government has long stated that students should be apolitical, 
and students are forbidden by law from being members of a political 
party. On that basis the government denied political parties access to 
student forums. According to student leaders, academic authorities 
sometimes expelled or fined students who signed antigovernment 
petitions. School authorities did not restrain propagation of 
government views on controversial issues on school campuses.
    On July 30, four National University of Malaysia students, known as 
the ``UKM4,'' were acquitted of disciplinary charges under the 
University and University Colleges Act (UUCA), which provides that no 
student ``shall express or do anything which may reasonably be 
construed as expressing support for or sympathy with or opposition to 
any political party, whether in or outside Malaysia.'' They had been 
brought before a disciplinary panel in 2010 because police and 
university officials found packages of political fliers in the vehicle 
in which they were traveling. The Court of Appeal also found some 
provisions of the UUCA unconstitutional (see section 2.b.).
    In the past the government censored and banned films for profanity, 
nudity, sex, violence, and certain political and religious content. 
Films in Hebrew, Yiddish, or from Israel are not allowed to be shown in 
cinemas. During the year 21 films were censored mostly for reasons of 
sex, nudity, brutality, and violence, but no particular films were 
banned. The high cost of producing an edited version of 3D movies led 
to some of them not being shown at all. Although the government allowed 
art-house foreign films at local film festivals, sexual content was 
censored by blocking the screen until the concerned scene was over.
    In October the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights 
group Seksualiti Merdeka was forbidden from holding its annual arts 
festival because of protest by government officials and religious 
leaders. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin called the event 
inappropriate and ``a waste of time.'' Media censorship rules forbid 
movies and songs that promote acceptance of LGBT persons.
    In June the youth wing of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic 
Party (PAS) sent a memorandum to the office of the Selangor chief 
minister, calling for a ban on an internationally sponsored music 
concert to be held in Shah Alam, a city in opposition-controlled 
Selangor. PAS Youth Chief Nasaruddin Tantawi said such concerts 
promoted a negative culture as men and women mixed freely. The concert 
took place as scheduled under preagreed guidelines. During the concert 
PAS Youth distributed 5,000 pamphlets urging youths to refrain from 
immoral behavior. In past years the youth wing of PAS protested against 
singers and groups it considered obscene and not in accordance with 
Islamic values. The government responded in the past by canceling or 
placing conditions on performances by some international performers.
    The PAS-led Kedah State government continued its policy of issuing 
entertainment licenses to female artists only for concerts for female 
audiences. In July the Kedah government announced a ban on the 
operation of entertainment outlets during the Ramadan month but later 
retracted the ban for non-Muslims. The state government also maintained 
a blanket ban on rock, reggae, pop, and dangdut (an Indonesian style of 
music) concerts that it first imposed in 2008, claiming such types of 
music could have a ``negative impact'' on youth.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association but allows 
restrictions deemed necessary or expedient in the interest of security, 
public order, or (in the case of association) morality.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The constitution states that all citizens 
have ``the right to assemble peaceably and without arms''; however, the 
government placed significant restrictions on this right through use of 
the Public Order Ordinance and the Police Act. The ordinance restricts 
public assemblies that could damage security and public order, while 
the act requires police permits for all public assemblies except for 
workers on picket lines. The act defines a public assembly as a 
gathering of five or more persons.
    The decision to grant a permit rests with the district police 
chief; however, senior police officials and political leaders 
influenced the granting or denial of some permits. Police granted 
permits routinely to government and ruling coalition supporters but 
used a more restrictive approach with government critics, opposition 
parties, NGOs, and human rights activists.
    On December 21, the upper house of Parliament passed a contentious 
Peaceful Assembly Act that had been passed on November 29 by the lower 
house of Parliament. The law, set to take effect upon official 
publication sometime in 2012, eliminates the need to apply for police 
permits, but it also bans street protests, does not allow for peaceful 
assembly by noncitizens and minors (under 15), and restricts where and 
when assemblies can be held. MPs from the opposition coalition, Pakatan 
Rakyat, walked out in protest before the vote on the bill. A variety of 
NGOs staged protests against the new law.
    Police took preemptive action to disrupt a planned February 27 
protest organized by the Human Rights Party (HRP), an ethnic Indian 
rights group, against the controversial novel Interlok, which the HRP 
claimed contains racial slurs. The police denied HRP's application to 
hold the demonstration and detained 109 persons in connection with the 
rally, some preemptively. Most of the 109 were released the same day, 
but eight were held overnight and released on bail the next day without 
being charged.
    On May 26, Bersih, an electoral reform advocacy group, announced 
plans for a gathering on July 9 to press for electoral reforms. In 
response Home Minister Hishammuddin stated the government's position 
that the rally was ``illegal,'' urged sponsors to call it off, and 
promised to clamp down on demonstrators if they threatened national 
security. The government also prohibited the wearing and distribution 
of Bersih's yellow shirts and declared Bersih an illegal organization 
under the Societies Act. Bersih countered that as a coalition of 62 
groups it need not be registered.
    On June 30, police raided Bersih's office in Petaling Jaya, as well 
as the office of an opposition MP, S. Manikavasagam. More than 150 
people were detained in the weeks before July 9 for suspected 
involvement in Bersih-related activities such as distributing leaflets; 
most were released after questioning. On June 26, 30 PSM members were 
arrested in Penang on suspicion of spreading communism and conspiring 
to overthrow the government. Six members, including MP Michael 
Jeyakumar Devaraj, were held under the Emergency Ordinance until their 
release on July 29 (see section 1.d). On July 8, police released a list 
of 91 individuals who were barred from entering Kuala Lumpur's central 
business district on July 9.
    The rally occurred on July 9. The police made arrests and broke up 
crowds by using tear gas and chemically laced water cannons. Third 
party observers estimated between 10,000 and 20,000 participants, 
although police estimated only 6,000 and rally organizers claimed as 
many as 50,000. Police confirmed 1,667 arrests, including 167 women and 
minors. Most of the arrested, including lead organizer and former Bar 
Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan, were freed by the end of the day. 
Although the police generally did not resort to physical violence, 
there were reports of minor injuries and one death, reportedly due to 
heart complications.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
association; however, the government placed significant restrictions on 
this right, and certain statutes limit it. Under the Societies Act, 
only registered organizations of seven or more persons may function as 
societies. The government sometimes refused to register organizations 
or imposed conditions when allowing a society to register. The 
government continued to ban the Communist Party and its affiliated 
organizations because they allegedly posed a national security threat, 
and on August 4, the Registrar of Societies refused registration to the 
HRP. On August 16, the High Court dismissed the HRP's appeal of the 
decision. The government also has the power to revoke the registration 
of an existing, registered society for violations of the act. Unlike in 
prior years, the government did not use this power of revocation 
against political opposition groups.
    The UUCA also restricts freedom of association. This act mandates 
university approval for student associations and prohibits student 
associations and faculty members from engaging in political activity 
(see section 2.a.). Many students, NGOs, and opposition political 
parties called for the repeal or amendment of the act. A number of 
individuals affiliated with the ruling coalition also supported 
reexamination of the act, but for most of the year the government 
maintained that the act still was necessary. On October 31, the Court 
of Appeals ruled that the section of the UUCA that disallows student 
expressions of support, sympathy, or opposition to any political party 
was unconstitutional. The government appealed the decision reportedly 
because of its implications for the separation of powers. On November 
24, Prime Minister Najib announced the government's intention to amend 
the UUCA to relax restrictions on student involvement in politics while 
continuing restrictions against politicians and political activity on 
campus.
    Some human rights and civil society organizations had difficulty 
obtaining government recognition as NGOs; as a result some NGOs were 
registered as companies, which presented legal and bureaucratic 
obstacles to raising money to support their activities. Some NGOs also 
reported that the government monitored their activities.
    On August 3, approximately 30 officers from the Selangor Islamic 
Department (JAIS) raided the Dream Centre Building at the Damansara 
Utama Methodist Church in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, during an annual 
thanksgiving dinner hosted by a private charitable organization, 
Harapan Komuniti. Attendees included 100 persons from various racial 
and ethnic backgrounds, including 12 Muslims. It was alleged that JAIS 
raided the event without a warrant, after receiving a report of an 
alleged attempt to proselytize Muslims (which is illegal). JAIS seized 
the program sheets and questioned the dinner guests. The JAIS director, 
Marzuki Hussin, clarified that the inspection was carried out under the 
Sharia Criminal Enactment (Selangor) 1995 based on information that a 
breaking-of-fast function would be held with a thanksgiving dinner in a 
church. On August 15, the 12 Muslims who attended the event gave their 
statements to JAIS and were told to appear at the Shah Alam Sharia 
Court on October 19. On October 10, Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris 
Shah announced that legal action could not be taken against any party 
because of lack of evidence. He added that the actions of JAIS were 
correct and did not breach any law enforceable in Selangor, and that 
the 12 Muslims would be subjected to counseling sessions by JAIS to 
``restore their belief and faith.''

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice, although there were some restrictions, particularly with 
respect to the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak. The government's 
cooperation with the UNHCR improved during the year, and the UNHCR 
reported greater access to government officials. The government 
generally did not impede other humanitarian organizations in providing 
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern, with the notable exception of failing to allow the 
UNHCR to assess the asylum claims of 11 ethnic Uighurs before they were 
deported on August 18.

    In-country Movement.--The eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak 
controlled immigration and required citizens from peninsular Malaysia 
and foreigners to present passports or national identity cards for 
entry, consistent with the agreement on Sabah and Sarawak becoming part 
of Malaysia in 1963. On September 29, human rights activist and 
Malaysian citizen Haris Ibrahim was denied entry into Sarawak. He and 
other civil society activists previously had been barred from entering 
the state in April during the Sarawak state election. The government 
regulated the internal movement of provisionally released ISA 
detainees. The government also used the Restricted Residence Act, which 
was repealed on December 30, to limit movements of those suspected of 
criminal activities.

    Foreign Travel.--Citizens must apply for government permission to 
travel to Israel.

    Exile.--The constitution provides that no citizen may be banished 
or excluded from the country. Nevertheless, two prominent citizens 
remained in exile at year-end. Chin Peng, the former leader of the 
communist insurgency, continued to live in Thailand because he was 
either unable or unwilling to satisfy a court ruling compelling him to 
show identification papers proving his citizenship. Dissident blogger 
Raja Petra Kamarudin remained in self-exile in London, declaring he 
would return to the country to face sedition charges when he was 
assured he would not be detained under the ISA.
    The Banishment Act, which provided for the banishment of 
noncitizens and which had not been used for more than 30 years, was 
repealed on December 30. The deportation of noncitizens continued to be 
implemented under the Immigration Act.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The government did not provide legal 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 the same time, the government generally cooperated with the 
UNHCR and did not deport individuals registered as refugees or persons 
of concern by the UNHCR and being processed for resettlement to third 
countries. The government occasionally reported potential persons of 
concern to the UNHCR.
    Because the UNHCR did not maintain a presence at the country's 
border, most asylum seekers traveled to Kuala Lumpur for 
determinations; in 2009 and early 2010 the UNHCR conducted mobile 
registrations in areas with high concentrations of refugees. As of 
December 31, the UNHCR reported 96,691 persons as asylum seekers and 
refugees, approximately 93 percent of whom were Burmese citizens with 
Chin and Rohingya being most numerous, and sizeable groups of Kachin, 
Karen, and Mon. According to the UNHCR, the country also hosted a 
population of some 80,000 Filipinos in the province of Sabah, an 
increase from an estimate of 60,000 in 2010, who are not recognized by 
the UNHCR or the Malaysian government as refugees, but for whom the 
government has assumed responsibility.

    Nonrefoulement.--Beginning in 2009 the government provided 
preferential treatment to those individuals carrying a UNHCR card. 
Reports of government deportation of some refugees and asylum seekers 
with UNHCR refugee cards effectively stopped as of 2009. Occasional 
reports by refugees of needing to pay bribes to police to avoid 
detention, despite carrying a UNHCR card, continued.
    On August 18, the government deported to China 11 ethnic Uighur 
individuals who had been denied access to the UNHCR, resulting in 
strong condemnation from several human rights groups who feared the 
Uighurs would be mistreated, tortured, or killed upon their return. The 
government asserted that they were involved in a people-smuggling ring 
and that China had requested their extradition. Three others, who had 
applied for refugee status with the UNHCR, were charged with possession 
of falsified documents, released on bail, and at year's end were 
awaiting trial. Two others were released without being charged.

    Refugee Abuse.--The government sometimes detained asylum seekers, 
either in police lockups or in immigration detention centers, until an 
asylum seeker's bona fides were established by the UNHCR. NGOs reported 
that detention facilities were overcrowded, unsanitary, and lacked 
adequate medical facilities (see section 1.c.). In 2010 eight people 
died at the detention center at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 
after a bacterial outbreak due to rats' urine in the water supply. One 
NGO reported that NGOs were allowed to visit only two of the eleven 
detention centers in the country.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no allegations from NGOs, 
international organizations, and civil society groups that immigration 
officials were involved in the trafficking of Burmese refugees from 
IDCs to Thailand, where some were trafficked further. NGOs and 
international organizations reported that since 2009, allegations of 
abuse of power by RELA decreased. On June 25, RELA's newly appointed 
director general, Datuk Mustafa Ibrahim, announced that RELA had halted 
all enforcement operations against undocumented foreign workers unless 
invited by immigration or law enforcement authorities.
    According to local NGOs and international organizations, IDCs 
allowed those with UNHCR documents access to the UNHCR while in 
detention. Refugees with UNHCR cards occasionally were arrested during 
raids conducted to arrest illegal migrants but were released after the 
authorities were satisfied with the documents. Since 2009 the 
authorities also provided the UNHCR access to potential refugees 
without UNHCR registration cards, as well as to all Burmese detainees 
in the IDCs, to verify whether they were asylum seekers.

    Employment.--Although they were not legally authorized to work, the 
government typically did not interfere with registered refugees doing 
odd jobs. During the year there were no official announcements 
concerning deliberations about allowing refugees to work. The 
government registered 2.3 million documented and undocumented foreign 
workers under a ``6P'' migrant registration exercise that began August 
23 and subsequently announced plans for a separate program for 
registration of refugees, in cooperation with the UNHCR, scheduled to 
be implemented in early 2012.

    Access to Basic Services.--The government provided access to health 
care for refugees with UNHCR cards at a discounted foreigner's rate; 
however, the costs generally were beyond their means. Mobile clinics 
run by NGOs existed, but access was limited. Refugees had no access to 
formal education, and although there were schools run by NGOs and 
ethnic communities, opportunities for schooling were limited by a lack 
of resources and qualified teachers. During the year UNHCR staff 
members conducted numerous visits to various prisons and IDCs located 
throughout the country to provide counseling and support to its persons 
of concern and ensure legal representation.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents. The 
citizenship of one or both of the parents, whether the parents are 
legally married, and the ability to produce valid identification and 
proof of citizenship are the key criteria for being able to pass 
citizenship to a child. The UNHCR estimated that there were 40,000 
stateless individuals in peninsular Malaysia alone, in addition to 
approximately 83,000 refugees and 12,000 asylum seekers. The Philippine 
government estimated that there were 30,000 children of undocumented 
Filipino workers in Sabah.
    Foreign women often may qualify for permanent resident (PR) status 
after five years of marriage to a citizen (10 years for foreign men). 
After two years of PR status, they would be eligible to apply for 
citizenship. While awaiting PR status, foreign spouses of citizens are 
usually granted visas to allow them an extended legal stay in the 
country. A local advocacy group for migrant workers reported that in 
the last five or six years, these processes have improved to include 
shorter waiting times in the processing of PR petitions and visas. 
Although nationality laws in the country are not overtly discriminatory 
on the basis of gender, ethnicity, or religion, some unevenness in 
application was evident. Refugees were at a particular disadvantage 
because they often were unable to provide valid documentation to prove 
citizenship in their countries of origin.
    Women may pass their citizenship to their children born in 
Malaysia, regardless of whether or not the child was born in wedlock, 
but Malaysian men may pass their citizenship to their children only if 
the child is born in wedlock. Children born abroad, in wedlock, to a 
citizen father and a foreign or citizen mother can be registered as 
Malaysian citizens. Children born abroad in wedlock to a citizen mother 
and a foreign father traditionally have been considered to have 
inherited the father's citizenship. In 2010 Home Minister Hishammuddin 
announced that such children could be registered as citizens, provided 
they meet certain requirements, but it was not clear whether this 
updated procedure had been implemented.
    Children born out of wedlock to foreign women are considered by 
Malaysian authorities to have inherited their mother's citizenship. 
Such births can be registered only upon production of valid proof of 
citizenship. This creates a risk of statelessness because many foreign 
women are unable to produce valid proof of citizenship, such as a 
passport. According to the UNHCR, there are many cases in which 
refugees or asylum seekers do not have valid proof of citizenship. In 
these cases the child's citizenship is listed as ``unknown'' on his or 
her birth certificate. The UNHCR did not have firm data for the number 
of children affected by this issue but estimated that it was a 
widespread problem among the population they served. These undocumented 
children were not able to attend public schools or access other 
services that require proof of identification or citizenship.
    Some refugees and asylum seekers marry Malaysian men. Although 
their children born in Malaysia are eligible for citizenship, the woman 
may have trouble registering the marriage and subsequently the child's 
citizenship because of inability to provide a valid passport or 
identification document. Some observers indicated that children born to 
Muslim refugees and asylum seekers often have an easier time receiving 
citizenship than non-Muslim refugees and asylum seekers. For Muslim 
marriages, a UNHCR document or other documentation may be accepted in 
lieu of a passport.
    A number of local NGOs and SUHAKAM were active on the issue of 
stateless children, doing research, conducting workshops, and running 
public awareness campaigns.
    Individuals without proof of citizenship are not able to attend 
schools, access government services such as reduced-cost health care, 
or own property. Stateless individuals technically do not have a right 
to work in the country, but many were able to find odd jobs. The UNHCR 
may provide birth registration or other documentation in some cases.
    By law anyone entering the country without appropriate 
documentation is considered illegal and faces mandatory imprisonment 
for a maximum of five years, a fine not to exceed RM10,000 ($3,160), or 
both, and mandatory caning not to exceed six strokes.
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 formally exercised this right in practice 
through periodic elections based on universal suffrage; however, while 
votes generally were recorded accurately, there were some 
irregularities that affected the fairness of elections, and this right 
was abridged in practice. The sizes of electoral districts vary, with 
rural districts generally smaller in population than urban districts. 
This has the effect of overrepresenting the rural vote, which 
historically has predominantly supported the ruling coalition.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In the 
2008 national elections the opposition parties won 49 percent of the 
popular vote, 82 of 222 parliamentary seats, 198 of 505 state assembly 
seats, and control of five of the 13 state governments. The 
opposition's electoral success for the first time since 1969 denied the 
ruling coalition a two-thirds majority in Parliament and thereby 
blocked the government's ability to amend the constitution at will. 
These gains came despite the fact that opposition parties were unable 
to compete on equal terms with the governing BN coalition, led by the 
UMNO party, which has held power at the national level since 
independence in 1957, because of restrictions on campaigning, freedom 
of assembly and association, and access to the media. The opposition 
parties won eight of 16 by-elections since the 2008 general election.
    Bersih 2.0 (see section 2.b.) actively campaigned for electoral 
reforms. Its principal demands included cleaning of the electoral roll, 
reform of postal voting, use of indelible ink to reduce the problem of 
``phantom'' voters, and a longer campaign period. A parliamentary 
select committee on electoral reform was established effective October 
3, and tabled an interim report on December 1. Among its ten 
recommendations were the use of indelible ink, implementation of early 
voting for security and armed forces personnel, extension of the postal 
ballot to citizens living overseas, allowing out-of-district voting, 
cleaning up the electoral roll, and strengthening the Election 
Commission (EC) to ensure its independence. On December 19, EC Chairman 
Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof announced that the EC had agreed to implement 
seven of the commission's ten recommendations before the next general 
election, including the use of indelible ink. Bersih 2.0 welcomed the 
announcement but also criticized it as being incomplete.

    Political Parties.--Opposition parties were unable to compete on 
equal terms with the governing BN coalition, which has held power at 
the national level since 1957, and could not operate without 
restriction or outside interference. The lack of equal access to the 
media was one of the most serious problems for the opposition in the 
2008 national elections and in the subsequent by-elections. News about 
the opposition was restricted and reported in a biased fashion. 
Opposition leaders also claimed that the Election Commission was under 
government control and lacked the independence needed to carry out its 
duties impartially. There were numerous opposition complaints of 
irregularities by election officials during the 2008 national election 
campaign; however, most observers concluded that they did not 
substantially alter the results. During the year NGOs and opposition 
party leaders continued to lodge allegations of illegally registered 
``phantom'' voters, reportedly brought in from other districts to vote 
in tightly contested districts; inflated voter rolls; nonregistered 
voters using fictitious names or the names of dead voters still listed 
on the voter rolls; and noncitizens registered to vote.
    The constitution states that parliamentary constituencies should 
have approximately equal numbers of eligible voters; however, in 
practice the numbers varied significantly, particularly between urban 
and rural districts. The most recently publicized data (for the 2008 
general election) showed that the Putra Jaya constituency had 6,606 
voters, while in urban Kuala Lumpur the Seputih constituency had 76,891 
voters. In Perak, Gopeng had 74,344 voters compared with Lenggong, with 
23,223 voters. Each of these constituencies had one MP.
    Over the years power increasingly has been concentrated in the 
prime minister, and Parliament's function as a deliberative body has 
deteriorated. Parliament rarely amended or rejected government-proposed 
legislation and did not give legislation proposed by the opposition 
serious consideration. Parliamentary procedures allow the speaker of 
parliament to suspend members, establish restrictions on tabling 
questions, edit written copies of members' speeches before delivery, 
and severely restrict members' opportunities to question and debate 
government policies. With the increased number of opposition MPs since 
2008, government officials often faced sharp questioning in Parliament, 
and the press reported in greater detail than in the past.
    Under the Local Government Act, elections of public officials were 
confined to state assemblies and the federal Parliament. The central 
government has appointed all local and city officials since the 1969 
race riots. Some politicians and NGO activists advocated reintroduction 
of local government elections.
    In prior years opposition figures in Parliament have been suspended 
from Parliament from time to time for reasons such as making misleading 
statements to Parliament and contempt occasioned by their opposition to 
another's suspension.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women faced no legal limits 
on participation in government and politics. As of December two of the 
32 cabinet ministers were women. Women held 22 of the 222 seats in the 
lower house and 13 of the 65 Senate seats.
    In practice the political dominance of the Malay majority meant 
that ethnic Malays held the most powerful senior leadership positions. 
Non-Malays filled 12 of the 29 ministerial posts and 21 of the 40 
deputy minister positions.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    The media reported numerous cases of alleged official corruption, 
and there was a broadly held perception of widespread corruption and 
cronyism within the governing coalition and in government institutions. 
On June 13, the newspaper The Star reported that MACC had arrested 442 
people from April 2010 to March 2011 for attempts to bribe enforcement 
officers. On August 23, MACC reported that it had arrested 46 people in 
Penang from January to July, with 20 of those suspected of having 
accepted bribes. On June 27, MACC reported that it had made 944 arrests 
in 2010, representing an 88.8 percent increase over 2009.
    On December 23, the High Court found Mohamed Khir Toyo, a former 
UMNO chief minister of Selangor, guilty of graft for illegally 
obtaining for himself and his wife two plots of land.
    On September 21, Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar confirmed 
the arrest of three senior MACC officers in connection with a RM1 
million ($316,000) extortion and robbery case.
    On September 15, the Putrajaya Sessions Court transferred the case 
of former transport minister Chan Kong Choy to the Kuala Lumpur High 
Court. As a member of former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's 
cabinet, Chan was charged with deceiving Badawi into approving Kuala 
Dimensi Sdn Bhd as the turnkey developer for the Port Klang Free Zone 
mega-transshipment hub project. Chan's predecessor was also charged 
with deception, and four other prominent figures were charged with 
various offenses for their involvement in the project, including 
criminal breach of trust and fraudulent claims. All of the cases 
remained pending at year's end.
    MACC is responsible for investigating and prosecuting corruption by 
both private and public bodies. Civil servants who refused or failed to 
declare their assets faced disciplinary actions and were ineligible for 
promotion.
    The Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 is designed to protect 
individuals who disclose information on corrupt practices in both the 
public and private sectors. The act states that anyone who has evidence 
of someone who has committed a corrupt practice, act, or fraudulent 
activity can file a complaint against that individual and refer the 
case to court. The whistleblower would be provided immunity from civil 
or criminal charges.
    The Official Secrets Act prohibits the dissemination of classified 
information. The act encompasses documents concerning national 
security, defense, and international relations. However, critics 
accused the government of using the act to prevent dissemination of 
materials and stifle dissent. Individual members of Parliament were 
allowed to request and obtain such information on an ad hoc basis, some 
of which was then made available to the public.
    On April 1, the opposition-controlled Selangor State Assembly 
passed the Selangor Freedom of Information Enactment, which upon 
implementation in 2012 is intended to allow public access to certain 
state documents. This is the first law of this type in the country.
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. In some cases 
government officials were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their 
views.
    The government allowed NGOs to function independently, met with 
representatives from NGOs and responded to some requests of NGOs. The 
government also suppressed some positive media coverage of NGOs that 
espoused views that were contrary to the ruling coalition's and took 
some actions against some NGO leaders. For example, the government 
detained some NGO leaders in connection with the planned rally for 
electoral reform in July (see section 2.b.), and the Sarawak state 
government barred some NGO leaders from traveling to Sarawak in 
connection with state elections in April. Amnesty International's 2010 
report Abused and Abandoned: Refugees Denied Rights in Malaysia noted 
that it was given unprecedented and unfettered access to three IDCs in 
and around Kuala Lumpur. UNHCR representatives and members of the 
diplomatic corps also noted increased willingness by the government to 
allow visits to IDCs and trafficking shelters.
    The federal government denied entry to several human rights lawyers 
and activists, and the Sarawak state government also prevented several 
domestic activists from visiting Sarawak. For example, on July 22, 
French lawyer William Bourdon was detained upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur 
on a domestic flight from Penang, where he had given a speech the night 
before regarding corruption allegations relating to a French company's 
sale of ``Scorpene'' submarines, and then deported.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated 
with some international organizations during the year. In addition to 
the improved cooperation with the UNHCR noted above, the International 
Organisation for Migration (IOM) worked with the Ministry of Women, 
Family, and Community Development on projects such as an international 
training academy on Langkawi Island and a review of antitrafficking 
laws. The government also worked with the IOM to assess shelters for 
trafficking victims.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--SUHAKAM was created by an act of 
Parliament and is headed by a chairman and commissioners who are 
appointed by the king on the recommendation of the prime minister. 
SUHAKAM was generally considered a credible monitor of some aspects of 
the human rights situation. SUHAKAM conducted training and 
investigations and provided reports and recommendations to the 
government. However, SUHAKAM is not empowered to inquire into 
allegations relating to ongoing court cases and must cease its inquiry 
if an allegation under investigation becomes the subject of a court 
case.
    SUHAKAM commissioners traveled throughout the country to educate 
community leaders, including police officials, on the importance of 
human rights. Commissioners also made several visits to prisons 
throughout the country to monitor conditions. They repeatedly noted the 
slow government response to their reports that touched on fundamental 
liberties.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equal protection under the law and 
prohibits discrimination against citizens based on race, sex, religion, 
descent, or place of birth. The law is silent on discrimination based 
on disabilities. However, the constitution also provides for the 
``special position'' of ethnic Malays and the indigenous groups of the 
eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak (collectively, bumiputra), and 
discrimination based on this provision persisted. One of the 
requirements to be considered an ethnic Malay is to be able to speak 
the Malay language.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including marital rape, 
is a criminal offense, as are most forms of domestic violence. The 
penal code states that rape is punishable by a prison term of up to 30 
years, caning, and a fine. Marital rape does not have a minimum 
penalty, but the maximum penalty is 5 years' imprisonment. There is no 
minimum jail term for a man convicted of statutory rape of a girl age 
15 years or less. The government enforced the law effectively. On May 
19, the Malay Mail reported the following RMP-released rape statistics: 
In 2010 there were 3,595 police reports lodged by rape victims, 
compared to 3,626 in 2009. Of the cases reported in 2010, police 
arrested 5,068 suspects. Unlike in prior years, the police did not 
publicly report the number charged, convicted, and punished on rape 
charges.
    In 2009 a sessions court in Pahang State sentenced a man to the 
maximum five years in jail, in what was believed to be the first 
successful prosecution of marital rape under the law after it was 
amended in 2007 to outlaw marital rape. There were no reports of such 
prosecutions in 2010 or 2011.
    The Malay Mail reported 3,171 domestic violence cases compared with 
3,643 in 2009, and 413 incest cases compared with 385 in 2009. As in 
the case of rape, the police did not report data on charges, 
convictions, and punishments for domestic violence cases. Many 
government hospitals had crisis centers where victims of rape and 
domestic abuse could make reports without going to a police station. 
NGOs and political parties also cooperated to provide counseling for 
rape victims, but cultural attitudes and a perceived lack of sympathy 
from the largely male police force resulted in many victims not 
reporting rapes. A leading women's NGO estimated that only 10 percent 
of rape cases were reported to police. Women's groups claimed that 
courts were inconsistent in punishing rapists.
    Although the government, NGOs, and political parties maintained 
shelters and offered other assistance to battered spouses, activists 
asserted that support mechanisms for victims of domestic violence 
remained inadequate. There was a sexual investigations unit at each 
police headquarters to help victims of sexual crimes and abuse. In 
order to help overcome the reluctance by victims of sexual crimes to 
report crimes and describe the details of what they experienced, the 
police began using a reenactment process, which allows the police to 
obtain information by asking the victim to agree or disagree with 
events depicted in a reenactment. In addition, police sometimes assign 
psychologists or counselors to provide emotional support. Women's 
rights activists claimed that police needed additional training in 
handling domestic abuse and rape cases.
    Some Sharia experts urged Muslim women to become more aware of the 
provisions of Sharia that prohibit spousal abuse and provide for 
divorce on grounds of physical cruelty. Provisions in state Sharia, 
however, generally prohibit wives from disobeying the ``lawful orders'' 
of their husbands and presented an obstacle to women pursuing claims 
against their husbands in Sharia courts. Muslim women were able to file 
complaints in civil courts.
    Reports of rape and spousal abuse drew considerable government, 
NGO, and press attention. Under the Domestic Violence Act, anyone who 
willfully contravenes a protection order by using violence against a 
protected person may be punished by imprisonment of up to one year and 
a maximum fine of RM2,000 ($630). In extreme cases involving ``grievous 
hurt'' inflicted using a deadly weapon, the maximum imprisonment 
increases to 20 years. Women's groups continued to criticize the act as 
inadequate and called for amendments to strengthen it. In their view 
the act failed to protect women in immediate danger because it requires 
that separate reports of abuse be filed with both the Social Welfare 
Department and the police, causing delay in the issuance of a 
restraining order. Cases also require visible evidence of physical 
injury.
    In October an amendment to the Domestic Violence Act passed that 
expands the definition of domestic violence to include mental, 
emotional, and psychological abuse as well as physical violence. It 
also allows courts to issue protective orders to prevent third parties 
from physically abusing, or even communicating with, victims of 
domestic violence and allows police to arrest a perpetrator when a 
protective order has been violated. A prominent women's rights NGO 
welcomed the amendment, but stated that it does not go far enough 
because it does not cover stalking and intimidation, applies only to 
marriage relationships, and does not make domestic violence a separate 
offense under the penal code. In addition, women's rights activists 
pointed out that despite the amendment's passage, its provisions had 
yet to be implemented by year's end.

    Female genital mutilation (FGM).--Some news articles reported that 
this practice was gaining in popularity, even among adult women, 
converts to Islam, and in urban centers (see children below).

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits a person in authority from 
using his position to intimidate a subordinate into having sexual 
relations. A government voluntary code of conduct provides a detailed 
definition of sexual harassment, which is meant to raise public 
awareness of the problem, but women's groups advocated passage of a 
separate law on sexual harassment. In past years the Malaysian 
Employers Federation opposed any attempt to legislate against sexual 
harassment in the workplace, arguing that government-imposed policies 
would unduly restrict the management of labor relations. One lawyer 
familiar with sexual harassment cases reported that the authorities 
take such claims seriously, but victims were often reluctant to report 
sexual harassment because of the difficulty of proving the offense, the 
length of the trial, and embarrassment. One women's rights NGO reported 
that approximately 500 sexual harassment cases were filed with the 
Women, Family and Community Development Ministry from 2000 to 2010; 
however, according to statistics provided by the ministry, nearly 900 
such cases were reported from 2000 to 2007. The ministry has not 
publicized yearly data since 2007.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children. Information 
on family planning was readily available from government and NGO 
sources. Contraceptives such as the birth-control pill and condoms were 
permitted and were locally available. Estimates of contraceptive use by 
women remained at approximately 50 percent. The great majority of 
births were attended by skilled medical personnel, and women generally 
had access to postpartum care. Women and men generally had equal access 
to diagnostic and treatment services for sexually transmitted 
infections, including HIV. According to the most recently published 
U.N. statistics, the maternal mortality rate was 31 per 100,000 live 
births in 2008.

    Discrimination.--The constitution prohibits discrimination against 
citizens based on sex. However, the law allows polygyny, which a small 
minority of Muslim men practiced. Islamic inheritance law generally 
favors male offspring and relatives. A small but steadily increasing 
number of women obtained divorces under the provisions of Sharia that 
allow for divorce without the husband's consent. Non-Muslim women are 
subject to civil and criminal law but not Sharia. The constitution 
gives men and women equal rights to inherit, acquire, own, manage, or 
dispose of any property, including land. Within the matriarchal 
Minangkabau community, women are favored in the sense that ownership of 
hereditary or tribal lands is restricted to women. The Guardianship of 
Women and Infants Act gives mothers equal parental rights. Four states 
extend the provisions of the act to Muslim mothers, and women's groups 
continued to urge the other states to do the same.
    Women experienced some economic discrimination in access to 
employment. On March 9, Minister of Women, Family, and Community 
Development (MWFCD) Shahrizat Jalil stated that 47.3 percent of 13.4 
million women in the country were in the labor force. The law provides 
that women are entitled to 90 days' maternity leave. Some pregnant 
women experienced employment discrimination. On July 13, the High Court 
in Shah Alam ruled in favor of Noorfadilla Ahmad Saikin, whose offer of 
employment had been withdrawn once the employer learned she was 
pregnant. The judge cited the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All 
Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the constitution in ruling 
that Noorfadilla had the right to be appointed as a relief teacher and 
that the revocation of her placement was unconstitutional. NGOs 
reported that women continued to be discriminated against in the 
workplace in terms of promotion and salary. On June 1, Minister 
Shahrizat made public ministry statistics showing that women occupied 
32.3 percent of decision-making positions in the public sector. Women 
were routinely asked their marital status during job interviews. In 
Kedah women entertainers are only allowed to perform in front of all-
female crowds, a policy that the NGO coalition Joint Action Group for 
Gender Equality has condemned as an infringement of gender-equality 
rights protected by the constitution.
    The government undertook a number of initiatives to promote 
equality for women and the full and equal participation of women in 
education and the work force. The Women's Ministry continued to develop 
programs and workshops to encourage women to enter the business 
community and operate small- and medium-sized enterprises.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents (see section 2.d.). Parents must register a child within 14 
days of birth. The authorities require citizens to provide their 
marriage certificate and both parents' Malaysian Government 
Multipurpose Card. Noncitizens must provide a passport or travel 
documents. Parents applying for late registration must prove the child 
was born in the country. The authorities do not enter the father's 
information for a child born out of wedlock unless there is a joint 
application by the mother and the person claiming to be the father. The 
authorities do not register children born to illegal immigrants or 
asylum seekers. The UNHCR registered children born to refugees. 
Marriages between Muslims and non Muslims are officially void. Couples 
in such marriages had difficulty registering births that recognize the 
father due to the invalidity of the marriage. Children without birth 
certificates are stateless and denied entry into both public and 
private schools. Stateless children (like noncitizens) were required to 
pay higher medical fees, which caused hardship in many cases.

    Education.--Education is free, compulsory, and universal through 
primary school (six years). Although primary education is compulsory, 
there was no enforcement mechanism governing school attendance.

    Child Abuse.--The number of physical child abuse cases increased 
approximately 26 percent, from 203 in 2009 to 257 in 2010, the highest 
number recorded in a five-year period, according to data provided by 
the RMP to the Malay Mail in May. Child abuse took the form of neglect 
(failure to provide basic needs), physical abuse, sexual abuse, and 
abandonment of infants. Punishment for child abuse can include being 
fined, jailed, whipped, or a combination thereof.
    The government recognized that sexual exploitation of children and, 
particularly in rural areas, incest were problems. The law provides for 
from six to 20 years' imprisonment and caning for individuals convicted 
of incest. The testimony of children is accepted only if there is 
corroborating evidence. This posed special problems for molestation 
cases in which the child victim was the only witness.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--There are no laws on female genital 
mutilation. FGM reportedly is common among some communities of Muslim 
Malays, particularly in rural villages in the northern part of the 
country. In 2009 the online news portal Malaysiakini reported that ``in 
Malaysia, FGM refers to the act of making a small scratch or using a 
sharp penknife to nick the prepuce of the vagina. It is usually 
performed on infants within a few months of birth, by medical doctors 
or midwives.''

    Child Marriage.--The minimum age of marriage for males is 18; 
Muslim girls below the age of 16 may marry with the approval of a 
Sharia court, but such marriages were uncommon. Based on the incidence 
of premarital HIV screenings of children, some NGOs concluded that the 
practice of child marriage continued despite lack of coverage in the 
media.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Any person convicted of a 
trafficking-in-persons offense involving a child for the purposes of 
exploitation faces punishment of imprisonment of three to 20 years and 
a fine. Under the penal code, the minimum age for consensual sex in 
Malaysia is 16 for both boys and girls; however, homosexual acts are 
illegal regardless of age or consent. Under Sharia, which applies only 
to Muslims, sex is forbidden outside of wedlock regardless of age or 
consent.
    The law outlaws pornography but does not address the involvement of 
children specifically.
    Statutory rape occurred and was prosecuted. A person convicted of 
statutory rape may receive punishment of imprisonment up to 30 years or 
whipping, or both. According to the MWFCD, most victims were below 15 
years of age. However, Islamic law provisions that consider a Muslim 
girl an adult after her first menstruation sometimes complicated the 
prosecution of statutory rape. Such a girl may in fact be charged with 
khalwat, an offense under Sharia, even if she is under the age of 18 
and her partner is an adult. Sharia courts sometimes were more lenient 
with males charged with khalwat, although in many cases Muslim men were 
charged and punished for statutory rape under civil law.
    Child prostitution existed, but child prostitutes often were 
treated as delinquents or illegal immigrants rather than victims.

    Displaced Children.--Sabah had a problem with street children. 
Estimates ranged from a few hundred to 15,000 children born in the 
country to illegal immigrant parents, some of whom were deported. These 
children lacked citizenship and access to government-provided support 
and often resorted to menial labor, criminal activities, and 
prostitution to survive.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--Estimates of the country's Jewish population were 
between 100 and 200 people. Other than occasional editorials in 
government-owned newspapers and statements by current and former 
political officeholders, which tend to blame civil society activity on 
``Jewish plots,'' there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Neither the constitution nor other laws 
explicitly prohibit discrimination based on physical or mental 
disabilities, but the government promoted public acceptance and 
integration of persons with disabilities.
    The government did not discriminate against persons with 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the 
provision of other state services. A public sector regulation reserves 
1 percent of all public-sector jobs for persons with disabilities. The 
government did not mandate accessibility to transportation for persons 
with disabilities, and few older public facilities were adapted for 
such persons. New government buildings were generally outfitted with a 
full range of facilities for persons with disabilities.
    A code of practice serves as a guideline for all government 
agencies, employers, employee associations, employees, and others to 
place suitable persons with disabilities in private sector jobs.
    Special education schools existed but were not sufficient to meet 
the needs of the population with disabilities.
    Following protests by disabled persons in past years, the 
government undertook initiatives to promote public acceptance of 
persons with disabilities, make public facilities more accessible to 
such persons, and increase budgetary allotments for programs aimed at 
aiding them. Recognizing that public transportation was not ``disabled-
friendly,'' the government maintained its 50 percent reduction of the 
excise duty on locally made cars and motorcycles adapted for persons 
with disabilities. The Ministry of Human Resources was responsible for 
safeguarding the rights of disabled persons.
    On September 9, Minister Shahrizat announced that the cabinet 
approved a proposal requiring all local authorities include a person 
with disabilities on planning and development committees. The proposal 
also suggested that local authorities set up an access auditing unit 
for the purpose of recommending access improvements for such persons to 
buildings and facilities.
    The 2008 Persons with Disabilities Act recognizes the rights of 
persons with disabilities to enjoy the benefits of public transport, 
housing, education, employment, and health care. However, there is no 
penalty for those who do not comply with its provisions. For example, 
there are bylaws requiring new buildings to provide access for persons 
with disabilities but also loopholes that allow local authorities to 
exempt compliance. Critics called the act a ``toothless tiger.''
    A prominent advocate for persons with disabilities pointed out that 
practical difficulties continued to outweigh any prodisabled laws or 
policies. For example, the 1 percent set-aside for public sector jobs 
was not in fact filled, and buildings still lacked adequate toilet and 
other facilities. He described elementary schools as being practically 
inaccessible to disabled students, requiring parents who had the means 
to come to school to carry their children up and down stairs, feed 
them, and carry their books to class. Some public transportation was 
equipped with ramps that can manually be put in place to assist 
disabled patrons, but they required driver assistance and were seldom 
used. The government does not pay caregivers of persons with 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Government regulations and 
policy provide for extensive preferential programs designed to boost 
the economic position of ethnic Malays or bumiputra, who constitute a 
majority of the population. Such programs limited opportunities for 
non-bumiputra in higher education, government employment, and ownership 
of businesses. Many industries were subject to race-based requirements 
that mandated bumiputra ownership levels, limiting economic 
opportunities for non-bumiputra citizens. According to the government, 
these policies were necessary to ensure ethnic harmony and political 
stability.
    Despite the government's stated goal of poverty alleviation, these 
race-based policies were not subject to upper income limitations and 
appeared to contribute to the widening economic disparity within the 
bumiputra community. Ethnic Indian citizens, who did not receive such 
privileges, remained among the country's poorest groups. Another goal 
of this policy is for bumiputra to hold 30 percent of the nation's 
wealth. According to several studies, the program reached or exceeded 
this target; however, official government figures placed bumiputra 
equity at 18.9 percent. The government did not respond to public 
requests to make its methodology available.
    In 2010 the prime minister unveiled a New Economic Model that 
called for restructuring the country's system of bumiputra ethnic 
preferences to reduce unequal treatment of different ethnicities by the 
government and to better target subsidies and preferences to the 
poorest citizens, regardless of ethnicity. Conservative bumiputra-
rights groups raised strong objections to any changes that could 
threaten ethnic preference programs. On February 8, Prime Minister 
Najib launched Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputra (Teraju) to strengthen 
further the bumiputra development agenda and boost its economic 
participation. Critics expressed concerns that Teraju would undermine 
the New Economic Model and failed to focus on merit-based affirmative 
action policies. The government claimed that it was necessary because 
bumiputra equity in the economy remained low.

    Indigenous People.--Indigenous people (the descendants of the 
original inhabitants of the peninsular region of the country and the 
Borneo states, such as the Penan) generally enjoyed the same 
constitutional rights as the rest of the population. However, in 
practice federal laws pertaining to indigenous people of the peninsular 
region, known as the Orang Asli, vested considerable authority in the 
non-Orang Asli minister for rural and regional development to protect, 
control, and otherwise decide issues concerning this group. As a result 
indigenous people in peninsular Malaysia had very little ability to 
participate in decisions that affected them. The special provision made 
under Article 153 of the constitution only ensures ``the special 
position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and 
Sarawak'' and makes no reference to the Orang Asli. The government did 
not effectively protect indigenous persons' civil and political rights.
    The Orang Asli, who numbered approximately 180,000 (0.86 percent of 
the population), constituted the poorest group in the country. 
According to the 10th Economic Plan covering the years 2011-15, 50 
percent of the 29,990 Orang Asli households were living below the 
poverty line. Of these, approximately 5,700 households (19 percent) 
were considered to be ultrapoor. In 2010 a local NGO that focused on 
Orang Asli rights estimated that these numbers underreported the 
population living in poverty because it considered only Orang Asli 
living in established villages--not those living deep in the 
rainforest. A government-sponsored national advisory council existed to 
monitor the development of Orang Asli; five of the council's 17 members 
were Orang Asli, and a local NGO reported that the council did not meet 
during the year. One Orang Asli held a senior management position in 
the government's Department of Orang Asli Development (known by its 
Malay acronym, JAKOA). The director general of the socioeconomic 
development section of JAKOA stated that 24 percent of JAKOA's 
employees were Orang Asli. JAKOA reported that the dropout rate among 
primary school children had improved from 30 percent to 20 percent 
since 2008. Moreover, the number of students who drop out between 
primary and secondary school declined from 50 percent to 30 percent 
during the same timeframe. One supporter of Orang Asli interests 
pointed out, however, that these statistics did not account for Orang 
Asli children who had never been to school at all. Approximately 300 
Orang Asli students attended university.
    Under the Aboriginal People's Act, Orang Asli are permitted to live 
on designated land not as owners but as tenants at-will, and they did 
not possess land rights. The law allows the government to seize land of 
indigenous peoples with the payment of compensation. Observers reported 
that over the years, the total area of land reserved for Orang Asli had 
decreased, and some land previously set aside as Orang Asli reserve was 
rezoned for development. Although the Orang Asli were given the 
authority to reside on the land, these rights were often undocumented. 
This led to confrontations between the Orang Asli and logging 
companies. While the government continued development in these areas, 
the Orang Asli struggled for rights to land. In 2008 the government 
announced it would grant land ownership rights of 125,000 acres of 
rural land currently belonging to state governments to 20,000 Orang 
Asli households. In 2009 the government instituted a new policy towards 
the Orang Asli designed to lift them out of poverty by giving two to 
six acres to each of the approximately 30,000 Orang Asli families to 
work and cultivate on their own. NGOs such as the Center for Orang Asli 
Concerns expressed disagreement with such plans, noting that what the 
Orang Asli stood to lose under such a program was far greater than what 
they stood to gain. Although JAKOA can act as an intermediary in 
implementing this policy, the final determination for compensation for 
land is a state matter.
    On August 16, JAKOA announced that it had concluded discussions 
with all state governments concerning the policy on granting land 
titles to the Orang Asli. On August 24, the president of the Malaysian 
Bar Council, Lim Chee Wee, (who represents a number of Orang Asli in 
several claims against developers and state agencies) said the Orang 
Asli did not welcome the announcement because it demonstrated the 
government's refusal to consult the Orang Asli community before 
formulating policies. On August 25, SUHAKAM Chairman Hasmy Agam said 
that SUHAKAM was disappointed that the government proceeded with the 
amendments without waiting for the completion of the government's 
national inquiry into the Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples, held on 
September 17 to October 1, and until ``all efforts have been made to 
obtain free, prior and informed consent from all stakeholders, 
especially the affected Orang Asli.''
    The uncertainty surrounding Orang Asli land ownership made them 
vulnerable to exploitation. Logging companies continued to encroach on 
land traditionally held by Orang Asli as well as that of indigenous 
groups in the Borneo states. Indigenous people in Sabah and Sarawak 
continued to protest encroachment by state and private logging and 
plantation companies onto land that they considered theirs under native 
customary rights.
    Laws allowing condemnation and purchase of land do not require more 
than perfunctory notifications in newspapers, to which indigenous 
persons may have no access. In past years this deprived some indigenous 
persons of their traditional lands with little or no legal recourse. In 
recent years court decisions recognizing native customary title in land 
have resulted in greater protections of the Orang Asli land rights; 
however, the decisions result in compensation to the plaintiffs, not 
return of confiscated lands. In 2007 the Federal Court, the country's 
highest court, found that native customary titles are recognized in 
common law.
    The 2007 petition filed by the Semalai, an Orang Asli group, to the 
high court to review a Pahang State government-ordered eviction from an 
area the Semalai claimed as their traditional land remained pending, 
with a hearing scheduled for March 2012. In 2007 a suit was filed 
against authorities who allegedly tore down an Orang Asli church in Gua 
Musang. In 2009 the high court declared that the demolition was not 
legal because it was done before the expiry of the 30-day notice given 
to the Orang Asli as required by law, that the Orang Asli had a right 
to occupy the land and to practice the religion of their choice under 
the constitution, but that the building was not legal because it did 
not comply with building regulations and that the land itself belongs 
to the government. The government appealed the judgment, and the case 
remained pending at year's end.
    The Penan, an indigenous community of Sarawak, used native 
customary rights to establish land ownership and stewardship. Each 
group of Penan maintained its own foraging area, which was passed down 
from one generation to another. Customary native lands were not always 
well demarcated. Indigenous rights groups alleged that Abdul Taib 
Mahmud, the chief minister of Sarawak, leased Penan and other 
indigenous groups' customary land to logging companies and land 
developers in exchange for political favors and money. Local observers 
claimed that logging companies harassed and sometimes threatened vocal 
Penan leaders and land-rights activists. The Sarawak Penan Association 
continued urging the state government to delineate the Penan's native 
customary land boundaries, revoke timber licenses that overlapped their 
land, stop issuing provisional leases for plantations, and halt all 
logging and plantation development activities on their land. The Penan 
tribe was among the poorest groups in the country and lived below the 
poverty line.
    In January the Sarawak Women for Women Society submitted a proposal 
to state and federal governments to the effect that logging companies 
should only be awarded contracts if they complied with conditions to 
protect Penan girls and women from sexual abuse. The proposal stemmed 
from allegations made in 2009 by an international NGO that reported 
that workers from two logging companies, including one owned by the 
chief minister's family, regularly sexually abused Penan women and 
girls, resulting in several pregnancies. In 2009 Minister Shahrizat 
confirmed that Penan girls had been raped and molested by timber 
company workers. The minister announced that the timber company was 
identified and police would take further action. Subsequently, Deputy 
Commissioner of Police for Sarawak Hamza Taib stated no further action 
would be taken on three of the cases, while the fourth was still 
pending. In July 2010 Minister Shahrizat visited the Penan community 
and urged the police to take these cases seriously. In August 2010 the 
logging company Samling threatened to withhold transport services for 
locals unless the Penan retracted their sexual abuse and rape 
allegations.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Laws against sodomy and 
``carnal intercourse against the order of nature'' exist but were 
rarely enforced. However, this law was the basis for the case against 
parliamentary opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (see section 1.e.). 
Religious and cultural taboos against same-sex sexual conduct were 
widespread. On April 18, the Terengganu State Education Department 
announced that it had sent 66 schoolboys, listed by their schools as 
students who displayed feminine qualities, to a camp where they 
received counseling on masculine behavior to discourage them from being 
gay and to guide them back ``to a proper path in life.'' The Joint 
Action Group for Gender Equality, among other groups, condemned the 
move and described the singling out of the boys as ``highly 
discriminatory.''

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The government's 
response to HIV/AIDS was generally nondiscriminatory, although 
stigmatization of AIDS sufferers was common.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows for limited freedom of association and for some 
categories of workers to form and join trade unions, subject to a 
variety of legal and practical restrictions. The laws provide for the 
right to strike and to bargain collectively, but both are severely 
restricted by regulations and by sector.
    The 1959 Trade Unions Act (TUA) prohibits interfering with, 
restraining, or coercing a worker in the exercise of the right to form 
trade unions or participation in lawful trade union activities. Defense 
or police officials, or public sector workers categorized as 
``confidential, managerial, and executive,'' are prohibited from 
joining a union. Additionally, the act restricts a union to 
representing workers in a ``particular establishment, trade, 
occupation, or industry or within any similar trades, occupations, or 
industries.'' The Industrial Relations Act (IRA) prohibits employers 
from taking retribution against a worker for participating in the 
lawful activities of a trade union.
    Enforcement of freedom of association lay primarily with the 
director-general of trade unions (DGTU). For example, the DGTU and, in 
some cases, the minister of human resources can refuse to register or 
withdraw registration from some unions, without judicial oversight. 
When registration is refused, withdrawn, or canceled, a trade union is 
considered an unlawful association. By law employers are prohibited 
from imposing conditions on union membership and activity in employment 
contracts. In theory foreign workers can join a trade union; however, 
the Immigration Department bars foreign workers from holding trade 
union offices.
    The IRA requires that an employer respond to a union's request for 
recognition within 21 days of application. If an employer does not 
respond to the union application within 21 days, the union must submit 
a written appeal to the DGTU within 14 days, who will then notify the 
minister of human resources of his findings. If the union fails to 
submit the appeal within the stipulated period or the minister decides 
that recognition is not to be accorded, the union is not recognized.
    While national unions are proscribed within Malaysia, there are a 
number of territorial federations of unions (the three territories 
being Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak). Trade unions were free 
to associate with these territorial federations, which must register 
separately as societies under the Societies Act and which exercised 
many of the responsibilities of national labor unions, although they 
cannot bargain on behalf of local unions. The government, however, 
prevented some trade unions, such as those in the electronics and 
textile sectors, from forming territorial federations. Instead of 
allowing a federation for all of Peninsular Malaysia, the electronics 
sector is limited to forming four regional federations of unions, while 
the textile sector is limited to state-based federations of unions, for 
those states which have a textile industry. Trade unions were permitted 
to affiliate with international trade union organizations, subject to 
the approval of the DGTU.
    There are two national labor organizations. The Malaysian Trade 
Union Congress (MTUC) is a society of trade unions in both the private 
and government sectors and is registered under the Societies Act. As 
such, the MTUC does not have collective bargaining or industrial action 
rights but provides technical support for affiliated members. The other 
national organization is the Congress of Unions of Employees in the 
Public and Civil Services, a federation of public employee unions 
registered under the TUA.
    Charges of discrimination against employees engaged in organizing 
union activities may be filed with the Ministry of Human Resources or 
the Industrial Court. The IRA limits worker compensation for wrongful 
termination to a maximum of two years from the time the employee was 
laid off. However, these and other provisions preventing management 
from taking reprisal actions against workers for union activity were 
not effectively enforced. A labor group blamed delays not on lack of 
resources or training (there are 27 relevant courts throughout the 
country, many headed by qualified personnel from the Attorney General's 
Chambers), but on a lack of understanding of the effect of delays on 
the workers involved and an accompanying lack of urgency.
    Although private sector strikes are legal, the right to strike is 
severely restricted. The IRA contains a list of ``essential services'' 
in which unions must give advance notice of any industrial action, 
including financial, transportation, utilities, communications, 
defense, security, and government sectors, and other industries 
designated by the minister of human resources as essential to the 
economy. The list includes sectors not normally deemed essential under 
International Labor Organization (ILO) definitions. The IRA further 
denies the right of unions and individuals to hold strikes protesting 
the lack of recognition of their union.
    Additionally, the process for conducting a legal strike is 
unwieldy. MTUC officials said that requirements imposed by the 
authorities were so stringent that it was almost impossible to strike. 
According to MTUC officials, there were no strikes during the year (and 
no major strikes since 1962).
    Private sector workers and, to a lesser extent, public sector 
workers, have the right to organize and bargain collectively, and 
collective bargaining was widespread in those sectors where labor was 
organized. In companies designated as having pioneer status, the 
government did not allow workers to affiliate with territorial union 
federations. In 2010 the government approved the formation of trade 
unions in the electronics sector, formerly a ``pioneer'' sector in 
which collective bargaining was restricted. The Electronics Industry 
Workers' Union (EIWU) (Southern Region) is an example of an electronics 
trade union that was recognized under the new policy. On January 27, 
the union at ST Microelectronics voted to join EIWU.
    The process of collectively bargaining is complex and lengthy. To 
commence collective bargaining, the trade union submits a proposal for 
a collective agreement to the employer and invites the employer to 
begin collective bargaining. The employer has 14 days in which to 
reply; if the employer accepts the invitation, collective bargaining 
must begin within 30 days. If the employer refuses to negotiate or 
fails to reply, or if there is a deadlock in the negotiations, a trade 
dispute is deemed to exist and the union may notify the DGTU, who will 
take conciliation measures, including whatever steps she/he deems 
necessary or expedient. If the parties are still unable to agree, the 
minister of human resources may refer the dispute to the Industrial 
Court for binding arbitration. Strikes or lockouts are prohibited while 
a dispute is before the Industrial Court.
    The ILO has repeatedly, including during the year, asked the 
government to amend the IRA to remove restrictions on the scope of 
subjects that can be collectively bargained. The law explicitly states 
that issues of transfer, promotion, appointments, dismissal, and 
reinstatement are internal management prerogatives; therefore, they are 
excluded from collective bargaining. The ILO has also called on the 
government to limit the amount of discretionary power allotted the DGTU 
and the minister, including when to intercede in bargaining.
    The minister would commonly order recognition of a union if at 
least 50 percent of the workers in the relevant establishment were 
members. This threshold, however, was often difficult to achieve 
because of the numbers of contract workers and workers who were 
designated as being in management or official roles and who were 
therefore not eligible for union membership. MTUC officials continued 
to express frustration about delays in the settlement of union 
recognition disputes. In practice it was common for such applications 
to be refused and unions to go unrecognized for one to four years.
    Government interference in union activities was rare; however, some 
trade unions reported that the government detained or restricted the 
movements of some union members under laws that allow temporary 
detention without the recipient being charged with a crime and that 
some foreign workers were not paid or were denied usual work because of 
their union activity. For example, in May MTUC lodged a complaint on 
behalf of five Indian nationals based in part on nonpayment of 7-10 
months' wages. The Labor Office investigated and on November 4, charged 
the employer for trafficking. A hearing was scheduled for January 2012.
    Many employment contracts for foreign workers contained provisions 
banning the worker from joining a trade union. NGOs reported that 
sometimes, in the absence of a formal union structure, the ``ring 
leaders'' or unofficial spokespersons for groups of foreign workers 
were singled out by their employers for unfair treatment, such as 
withholding work. The president of the newly formed electronic workers 
union for Renesas Semiconductor was dismissed in April following his 
posting on a blog about his union recognition claim. Labor activists 
claimed that his only ``crime'' was being responsible for organizing 
workers.
    The law has the practical effect of encouraging employers to hire 
contract workers who are then left without the ability to form a union 
because they are technically employed in a different industry 
(staffing) than that in which they are actually working (e.g., 
hospitality). One NGO reported that following its engagements with Sime 
Darby, the company agreed to switch to direct recruitment of full-time 
workers on at least two of its large plantations instead of using 
recruitment agencies. Similarly, observers noted that the government, 
by classifying more workers as self-employed, put further limits on 
their ability to organize.
    On September 21, the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) 
accused Maybank, the country's largest bank, of backing a new, in-house 
union in order to dodge a claim for bonuses. Maybank chief executive 
Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said that although 61 percent of Maybank 
employees in the clerical/non-clerical category were NUBE members, 
other employees decided to form the Maybank Non-Exectuive Union 
(Mayneu) on January 3. NUBE continued its dispute, initiated in 2009, 
with Maybank over bonuses and was seeking 80 months' pay for its 
members.
    In practice the fact that unions are only able to provide limited 
protection for workers, particularly foreign workers, created a 
disincentive to unionize. Some foreign workers reported to NGOs that 
workers who were successful in proving that their rights had been 
violated would at best be able to obtain their unpaid wages but no 
damages, costs, or interest. The employers suffered no additional 
penalty.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor. By law five agencies, including 
the Department of Labor, have enforcement powers, but their standard 
operating procedures did not always result in officers proactively 
searching for indications of forced labor. A variety of sources 
reported occurrences of forced labor, and conditions existed that 
created vulnerabilities to forced labor in commercial agriculture, the 
fishing industry, factories manufacturing computer components, garment 
production, restaurants, and domestic households.
    The main types of forced labor included debt bondage and 
involuntary domestic servitude. Conditions on some plantations created 
vulnerabilities to debt bondage, labor activists and human rights NGOs 
reported, as well as in some factories and other businesses. Labor 
union representatives described a typical pattern involving recruiting 
agents that impose high fees that sometimes made foreign workers 
vulnerable to debt bondage. Being indebted to their employers and often 
without their passports, affected workers were often forced to accept 
harsh working conditions, lower wages than promised and wage 
deductions, and poor housing, under threat of imprisonment or 
deportation.
    The government prosecuted several alleged exploiters of forced 
labor. The police and, to a lesser extent, the Immigration and Labor 
Departments initiated a combined 45 labor trafficking investigations 
during the year. The police initiated three prosecutions for labor 
trafficking but reported no convictions. The police reported that from 
January to November, officials issued 116 interim protection orders to 
suspected victims of labor trafficking and 74 protection orders. On 
September 30, Home Ministry Secretary-General Mahmood Adam announced 
that 136 people, including eight Malaysians, had been rescued in 53 
human trafficking cases--19 involving forced labor--between January and 
August.
    Although the Malaysian Passport Act criminalizes possession of 
someone else's passport ``without legal authority,'' NGOs continued to 
report that agents or employers in some cases drafted contracts that 
included a provision for employees to sign over the right to hold their 
passports to the employer or agent, while in other cases they simply 
confiscated employees' passports without contractual authority, thereby 
making employees more vulnerable to forced labor. This practice 
effectively made some foreign workers captives of the hiring company.
    One high-profile example of forced labor involved 31 Burmese 
migrant workers working at a factory run by the Malaysian subsidiary of 
Japanese electronics firm Asahi Kosei (M) Sdn Bhd. The workers alleged 
that they were being paid wages lower than promised when they agreed to 
come to Malaysia; that they suffered numerous illegal wage deductions, 
loss of cooking utensils, electricity and accommodation for lodging 
complaints; and that they were threatened with termination and 
deportation when they lodged complaints.
    When human rights blogger Charles Hector sought to publicize the 
workers' complaints, the company sued Hector for defamation, based on 
its argument that no direct contractual relationship existed between 
the workers and the company. In exchange for the company dropping its 
defamation suit, Hector retracted his statements. There were no reports 
of the outcome for the migrant workers involved.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of children younger than age 14 but 
permits some exceptions, such as light work in a family enterprise, 
work in public entertainment, work performed for the government in a 
school or in training institutions, or work as an approved apprentice. 
In no case may a child work more than six hours per day, more than six 
days per week, or at night. Government officials did not deny the 
existence of child labor in family businesses but maintained that 
foreign workers had largely replaced child labor and that child labor 
provisions were vigorously enforced.
    NGOs and trade unions reported that child labor was not a 
significant problem. The National Union of Plantation Workers reported 
that in the past, many Malaysians had worked on plantations as family 
units, and both children and adults, particularly ethnic Indians, 
experienced forced labor. During the year, however, the majority of 
plantation workers in Peninsular Malaysia were migrant workers who did 
not bring their families. For this reason the union reported that it 
was now very rare to find children involved in plantation work in 
peninsular Malaysia. Child labor in urban areas often was found in 
family food businesses, night markets, and small-scale industries. 
Child labor was also evident among domestic workers, especially 
Indonesians and Cambodians, as a result of document fraud (incorrect 
ages on travel and work documents). One NGO reported that stateless 
children in Sabah were especially vulnerable to labor exploitation, 
reportedly in the forms of forced begging and occurrences of work in 
service industries, including restaurants.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--No national minimum wage 
provision was in effect. Prevailing market wages generally provided a 
decent standard of living for citizens, although not for all migrant 
workers. According to the results of a 2010 survey conducted by the 
Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, the mean basic monthly salary of 
foreign workers engaged in the manufacturing sector was RM750 ($240). 
Wage councils, established by a 1947 act to provide a recommended 
minimum wage for sectors in which the market wage was deemed 
insufficient, had little impact on wages in any sector. According to 
MTUC officials, the wage councils had not met since 1996, and their 
recommended wages have long been obsolete.
    On June 30, Parliament passed the National Wages Consultative 
Council Act, which aims to set up a National Wages Consultative 
Council, to recommend the minimum wage and coverage for various 
sectors, types of employment, and regions. Both the MTUC and the 
Malaysian Employers' Federation opposed the act, united in the view 
that it gives the minister of human resources overly wide discretion in 
setting, amending, or cancelling minimum wage directives. The wage 
council will include at least five members each representing workers, 
employers, public officers, and other unspecified members. However, the 
government has full discretion to determine when the council may make 
its recommendations and to accept or reject them. Once the government 
accepts and implements a minimum wages order, it may amend or revoke 
the order at any time. The act imposes a RM10,000 ($3,160) fine for 
each worker if the employer fails to pay the basic salary designated by 
the council.
    Under the Employment Act, working hours may not exceed eight hours 
per day or 48 hours per workweek of six days. Each workweek must 
include a 24-hour rest period. The act also sets overtime rates and 
mandates public holidays, annual leave, sick leave, and maternity 
allowances. Limits on overtime vary by sector. The Labor Department of 
the Ministry of Human Resources is responsible for enforcing the 
standards, but a shortage of inspectors precluded strict enforcement.
    The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) covers all sectors of 
the economy except the maritime sector and armed forces. The act 
establishes a national Occupational Safety and Health Council, composed 
of workers, employers, and government representatives, to set policy 
and coordinate occupational safety and health measures. It requires 
employers to identify risks and take precautions, including providing 
safety training to workers, and compels companies that have more than 
40 workers to establish joint management-employee safety committees. 
The act requires workers to use safety equipment and cooperate with 
employers to create a safe, healthy workplace.
    Employers or employees who violate OSHA are subject to substantial 
fines or imprisonment for up to five years, although the MTUC 
complained that some employers flouted the rules with impunity. There 
are no specific statutory or regulatory provisions that provide a right 
for workers to remove themselves from dangerous workplace conditions 
without arbitrary dismissal.
    The Workmen's Compensation Act covers both local and foreign 
workers but provides no protection for foreign household workers. 
According to the government, foreign household workers are protected 
under the Employment Act with regard to wages and contract termination. 
However, these workers are excluded from provisions of the act that 
would otherwise ensure that they received one rest day per week, an 
eight-hour workday, and a 48-hour workweek. Bilateral agreements or 
memorandums of understanding (MOU) between Malaysia and some sending 
states have provisions for rest periods, compensation, and/or other 
conditions of employment.
    Mechanisms for monitoring workplace conditions were inadequate. 
Private, for-profit labor agencies, themselves often guilty of abuses, 
were often responsible for the resolution of abuse cases. Bilateral 
labor agreements with Indonesia did not provide adequate protections 
for household workers; however, a new MOU with Indonesia signed in May 
calls for the creation of a joint task force to monitor the situation 
regarding Indonesian domestic workers. The amended MOU also provides 
one rest day per week (or compensation) and rules on the repayment of 
recruitment fees. In December the Indonesian government lifted its ban 
on sending domestic workers to Malaysia after a minimum monthly wage 
was agreed (RM700 ($221), increased from RM450 ($142). The first 
workers under this new agreement were expected to arrive in April 2012.
    Like other employers labor contractors may be prosecuted for 
violating the law. The government investigated complaints of abuses, 
attempted to inform workers of their rights, encouraged workers to come 
forward with their complaints, and warned employers to end abuses.
    Workers have the right to take legal action against abusive 
employers. According to NGOs the courts generally sided with employees 
and ruled that employers must pay all back salary and compensate 
plaintiffs for injuries, but long delays in court proceedings and 
rulings often posed obstacles to foreign workers' access to the system 
of labor adjudication, particularly if they were illegal aliens.
    The law permits migrant workers to bring employment disputes to the 
Industrial Court. However, the policy of the court was not to hear 
complaints of migrants who were undocumented. Court proceedings were 
time consuming, which may also prevent migrant workers from seeking 
redress through the court system. Once their work visas expire, 
migrants require ``special passes'' to stay in the country--they would 
be permitted to follow the court case but would not be allowed to work. 
The passes are valid for one month and cost RM100 ($32) to renew. 
Renewal is subject to the discretion of the director general of 
immigration.
    Foreign migrant laborers, legal and illegal, often worked under 
difficult conditions, performed hazardous duties, had their pay 
withheld by employers, and had no meaningful access to legal counsel in 
cases of contract violations and abuse. Some workers alleged that their 
employers subjected them to inhumane living conditions, withheld their 
salaries, confiscated their travel documents, and physically assaulted 
them.
    Plantation workers generally received production-related payments 
or daily wages. Under a ``safety net'' agreement, workers are bound to 
work for 26 days per month, unless unable due to a natural disaster 
such as flooding or heavy rain, and are paid a minimum of RM650 ($205). 
There are three main categories of plantation workers: general field, 
harvest (constituting the majority), and tappers. Bonus or overtime 
rates depend on the productivity level. For example, tappers who bring 
in more than the minimum eleven kilos of rubber receive extra earnings, 
up to RM2,000 ($631) for the most productive tappers. Such agreements 
are approved by Malaysian Agriculture and Plantation Association and 
are in line with the Employment Act.
    Employers sometimes failed to honor the terms of employment and 
abused their household workers. For example, the contract terms for 
Indonesian domestic workers, who made up approximately 90 percent of 
all foreign household workers, were often vague and open to abuse. At 
the same time that arrivals from Indonesia dropped due to the 2009 ban, 
arrivals from Cambodia and other countries increased. An estimated 
30,000 Cambodian maids arrived in the first seven months of the year, 
and some encountered conditions similar to those that had led to 
Indonesia's ban. In July one young Cambodian maid was found dead under 
suspicious circumstances and another was rescued by police after she 
was allegedly abused and had her head shaved by her employer. In 
October the Cambodian government banned recruitment firms from sending 
domestic workers to Malaysia following numerous reports of abuses. The 
Cambodian ban remained in force at year's end; the Indonesian ban was 
lifted in December.
    On November 1, the Indian High Commission began implementing its 
revised guidelines for the employment of workers from India that 
included a minimum wage structure ranging from RM800 ($252) per month 
for unskilled workers (restaurant, construction) to RM1,400 ($442) per 
month for skilled domestic workers. According to the High Commission, 
Indian authorities do not grant workers clearance for travel to 
Malaysia unless they can produce a conforming employment contract that 
has been attested to by the High Commission in Kuala Lumpur as meeting 
the guidelines.
    On June 5, Isti Komariyah, a 26-year-old Indonesian maid, died on 
her way to the hospital after being physically abused by her employers. 
On June 16, the magistrates court in Kuala Lumpur charged her employer 
with murder, which carries a mandatory death penalty upon conviction.
    In January the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the appeal of Hau 
Yuan Tyng from her conviction for causing grievous harm to her 
Indonesian maid, Siti Hajar. In May 2010 Hau had been found guilty on 
three counts; she allegedly scalded Siti Hajar with boiling water as 
well as tortured and starved her. In dismissing Hau's appeal, the judge 
increased her jail time from eight years to 11 years and ordered her to 
pay RM5,000 ($1,580) in compensation to Siti Hajar.

                               __________

                            MARSHALL ISLANDS

                           executive summary
    The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a constitutional republic 
led by President Jurelang Zedkaia. On November 21, voters elected the 
Nitijela (parliament) in generally free and fair multiparty elections. 
The Nitijela, almost evenly divided between the two dominant political 
factions, is scheduled to elect a new president in January 2012. 
Security forces report to civilian authorities.
    The government continued to address human rights challenges 
including poor prison conditions, government corruption, violence 
toward women, child abuse, and lack of worker protections.
    The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who 
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the 
government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no 
reports that government officials employed them.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions did not 
meet international standards. Lighting, ventilation, and sanitation 
were inadequate, and there was no program to ensure regular access to 
outside activity. The jail is built into the police station and 
security is minimal. The walls are built of simple concrete blocks with 
the rebar exposed. There is no regular maintenance of the prison, and 
conditions continued to deteriorate. Prisoners have access to potable 
water.
    According to a Ministry of Justice official, as of August the 
country's only national prison, on Majuro Atoll, held 41 inmates--all 
male adults. Of these, 38 were convicted prisoners, and three were 
awaiting trial.
    There were no specialized prison facilities for female prisoners, 
including juveniles. During the year the government established a 
holding cell for up to two women at the National Police offices in 
Uliga. Generally, female prisoners were held under house arrest, 
although some were held temporarily in a separate police substation 
until released to house arrest. Male juveniles were held temporarily 
with the general prison population until their release to their 
parents. Pretrial detainees were not separated from the general prison 
population.
    Prisoners had reasonable access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. They were permitted to submit complaints about 
their treatment without censorship and request investigation of 
credible allegations of inhumane conditions. There were no reported 
cases of abuse during the year.
    The government permits prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, but there were no requests for such visits during the year.
    The country does not have an ombudsman, but the public defender has 
authority to serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees and advocates 
for their appropriate and timely release. Due to the small size of the 
country and the small prison population, inmates generally were known 
to the courts, and judges regularly reviewed pending cases.
    Authorities continued to limit improvements to only one wing of the 
Majuro prison. Little progress was made during the year, and sanitary 
conditions and overall security continued to be poor.

    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 police force, and the government 
has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and 
corruption. During the year there was one report of impunity in which 
police officers reportedly stole more than $3,000 (the U.S. dollar is 
the official currency) from the police station's evidence room. The 
money originally had been confiscated in an earlier raid on private 
apartments. Nonetheless, there were other reports that stated there was 
additional money stolen at the time of the raid. No disciplinary action 
was taken, and at year's end the case remained under investigation.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the 
constitution a warrant issued by a court is required for an arrest if 
there is adequate time to obtain one. The courts have interpreted this 
to exempt situations such as a breach of the peace or a felony in 
progress. The law provides detainees the right to a prompt judicial 
determination regarding the legality of the detention. Authorities 
generally respected this right and informed detainees promptly of the 
charges against them. There was a functioning system of bail, and 
detainees may request bond immediately upon arrest for minor offenses. 
Most serious offenses require the detainee to remain in jail until a 
hearing can be arranged, normally the morning after arrest. Detainees 
were allowed access to a lawyer of their choice and, if indigent, to 
one provided by the state. Families had access to detainees.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice, although there were unconfirmed reports from 
local business owners and the Attorney General's Office that government 
officials used their positions to protect family members from 
prosecution for alleged wrongdoing.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
    Defendants may choose either a bench trial or a four-member jury 
trial. Defendants normally opted for jury trials, which had a higher 
rate of acquittals. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and 
have the right to counsel. An attorney is provided at public expense 
for indigent defendants facing serious criminal charges. Defendants may 
question witnesses, examine government-held evidence, and appeal 
convictions. The constitution extends these rights to all citizens. 
Noncitizen defendants also enjoy these rights.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is no separate 
judiciary in civil matters, but there are administrative remedies for 
alleged wrongs, including human rights abuses, as well as judicial 
remedies within the general court 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.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech including for 
members of the press, and the government generally respected these 
rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a 
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of 
speech and of the press.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The need did not arise during the year for government 
cooperation with the Office of the U.N. 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.
    The law does not prohibit forced exile, but the government did not 
employ it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws do not provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the country has almost no history 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.--Recent Elections.--
Executive power is centralized in the president and his cabinet. The 
legislature consists of the Nitijela and a council of chiefs (Iroij), 
the latter of which is an unelected body and serves a largely 
consultative function dealing with custom and traditional practices. 
National elections were held on November 21 and were generally free and 
fair.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There are no legal 
impediments to women's participation in government and politics; 
however, traditional attitudes of male dominance, women's cultural 
responsibilities and traditionally passive roles, and the generally 
early age of pregnancies made it difficult for women to obtain 
political qualifications or experience. There was one woman in the 33-
member Nitijela who served as minister of health, and there were four 
women in the 12-seat House of Iroij. Since the country's founding there 
has always been a woman in the Nitijela, but never more than one.
    In the November national election, seven women ran, and one was 
elected. Several women served in prominent appointed government 
positions, including those of minister, secretary of health, secretary 
of foreign affairs, director of the Social Security Administration, 
banking commissioner, and director of the Environmental Protection 
Agency.
    There were no members of minorities in the legislature. There are 
few minorities in the country, and running for office requires land 
rights, which are only available to native Marshallese.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    While the law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, 
the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials 
sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. In September 
independent auditors reported that they had identified 12 problem areas 
in the country's 2010 financial statements. The auditors gave a 
qualified opinion on internal controls and compliance, noting 
deficiencies and material weaknesses in fiscal controls.
    Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws. The 
Attorney General's Office is responsible for investigating cases of 
alleged corruption.
    During the year, Kenneth Kedi, minister of transportation and 
communication, pled no contest to three misdemeanor charges of 
misconduct in public office and petty larceny, the first time a high-
level official had been indicted for corruption. The government dropped 
seven other felony charges related to improper use of public funds in a 
plea bargain. Minister Kedi remained in office after paying a $1,000 
fine.
    Also during the year, one individual was found guilty on charges 
made in December 2010 relating to corruption in the government's 
procurement practices at the Ministry of Finance. This individual, 
along with alleged co-conspirators in the Ministry of Finance, created 
fraudulent contracts between the government and private businesses. At 
year's end the sentencing for this individual remained pending, as did 
the trials of several alleged co-conspirators whose cases were filed in 
January.
    Voters looked to representatives for financial assistance, which 
pressured elected officials to use government authority to provide 
patronage to extended family members and supporters. There also were 
frequent allegations of nepotism in government hiring, especially for 
teachers, and in-depth studies found serious discrepancies between 
teacher pay and qualifications.
    The law does not provide specifically for public access to 
government information. Although there is no specific statutory basis 
for denying such information, the government held that the burden for 
overcoming a denial of access rests with the public. In most cases, in 
order to receive the information, a document must be filed with the 
court showing the reason the information is required.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic human rights organizations generally operated without 
government restriction, but few local groups existed. The government 
was not always responsive to the concerns of nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, 
race, color, language, national or social origin, place of birth, and 
family status or descent, and the government generally observed these 
provisions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, 
including spousal rape, and the government generally enforced the law 
when incidents were reported to officials. The law establishes 
penalties of up to 25 years' imprisonment for first-degree sexual 
assault. However, most observers believed that few sexual offenses were 
prosecuted, since cultural constraints discouraged victims from 
reporting such crimes to the police. The courts have promulgated rules 
designed to protect women filing rape charges during court testimony.
    New legislation passed in September specifically prohibits domestic 
violence. Previously, the law established criminal penalties for 
assault and battery, and domestic abuse was sometimes included in these 
categories. Spousal abuse was common; most assaults occurred while the 
assailant was under the influence of alcohol.
    According to a government survey published in the Marshall Islands 
Journal in 2009, more than 70 percent of female spouses had been abused 
during an unspecified time period. Violence against women outside the 
family also occurred, and women in urban centers risked assault if they 
went out alone after dark.
    Police generally responded to reports of rape and domestic assault, 
and the government's health office provided counseling in reported 
spousal and child abuse cases.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is not prohibited by law, and 
there is no reliable data regarding the incidence of harassment.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of children and the information 
and means to do so free from discrimination. Access to information on 
contraception, and to prenatal care, skilled attendance at delivery, 
and postpartum care were available on Majuro and Kwajalein Atolls; 
however, on remote atolls, only infirmaries with minimally trained 
attendants were available. The Ministry of Health provided free 
contraceptives, with particular emphasis on reducing the high rate of 
teenage pregnancy. According to indicators published in 2011 by the 
Population Reference Bureau, an estimated 45 percent of married women 
ages 15-49 used some form of contraception.
    Maternal mortality was approximately 0.15 to 0.3 percent (four 
reported maternal deaths in 2009 and two in 2010, with approximately 
1,340 births per year in the country), although maternal deaths in the 
outer islands may have been underreported. A large number of premature 
babies were born to young teenage mothers, with a resulting high number 
of babies born with physical and mental deficiencies.

    Discrimination.--Women generally enjoy the same rights as men under 
family law and in the judicial system. The inheritance of property and 
traditional rank is matrilineal, with women occupying important 
positions in the traditional system, although control of property often 
was delegated to male family members on behalf of female landowners. 
Tribal chiefs are the traditional authorities in the country; 
customarily, a chief is the husband or eldest son of the female 
landowner. The traditional authority exercised by women has declined 
with growing urbanization and movement of the population away from 
traditional lands. While female workers were prevalent in the public 
and private sectors, many were in low-paying jobs with little prospect 
for advancement. Men and women had pay equity for all government 
positions involving similar work.
    Women's groups under the NGO Women United Together in the Marshall 
Islands (WUTMI) continued to publicize women's issues and promote 
greater awareness of women's rights. Following the killing of a college 
teacher by her husband in August 2010, WUTMI worked with the government 
to strengthen legal penalties for domestic violence offenses. Police 
charged the murder victim's husband in her death, and he was sentenced 
in August to 20 years in prison. An off-duty police officer was outside 
the teacher's house when the killing occurred and reported to his on-
duty colleagues that he heard screams, and when the fighting subsided 
he called the police to report that the fight was over. Following this 
incident local NGOs provided additional training for police on how to 
respond properly to reports of domestic violence.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived through 
one's parents. Children born within the country to foreign parents do 
not acquire citizenship at birth but may apply for citizenship upon 
turning 18.

    Education.--There are various fees required for primary and 
secondary education. Although primary education is legally compulsory, 
it is not strictly enforced. In order to enter high school, students 
must take an admission exam, and not all are admitted due to space 
constraints.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse and neglect are criminal offenses, but 
public awareness of children's rights remained low, and child abuse and 
neglect remains common. Convictions for violations are punishable by up 
to 25 years in prison, depending on the degree of the offense. The law 
requires teachers, caregivers, and other persons to report instances of 
child abuse and exempts them from civil or criminal liability as a 
consequence of making such a report. Nonetheless, there were no reports 
of prosecutions during the year.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 16. The country's statutory rape law provides penalties of up to 
25 years' imprisonment for violators. No laws address child 
pornography.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were few Jewish residents in the country, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution states that no person 
may be treated in a discriminatory manner under law or by public 
officials, but it does not include disability in its listing of 
specific prohibited grounds of discrimination. In practice persons with 
physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities faced 
difficulties in obtaining employment and accessing health care and 
other state services. There were no laws or policies designed to ensure 
access for individuals with disabilities to buildings, public 
transport, education, communications, or information. There were no 
building codes, and in practice most buildings were not accessible to 
persons with disabilities. Hospitals and two major grocery stores had 
ramps for persons with disabilities.
    The government provided minimal support for persons with mental 
disabilities.
    There were no psychiatric facilities in the country. Persons whom 
the police deemed as exhibiting psychotic behavior were held with the 
general prison population and visited by a doctor. When prison 
officials protested the disruptions caused by this practice, other 
arrangements, such as house arrest, were made.
    There is no government agency specifically charged with protecting 
the rights of persons with disabilities in general. The Ministry of 
Health is charged with treating mental and physical disabilities, and 
the Ministry of Education is responsible for supporting special 
education for children with disabilities. In practice there were no 
special education classes for children with disabilities, except for a 
small foreign-funded class providing three months of instruction for 
the hearing impaired at Ebeye on Kwajalein Atoll and in Majuro. The 
attorney general is responsible for handling court cases involving 
complaints of discrimination against persons with disabilities, but no 
such cases were brought during the year.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--As in some previous years, the 
authorities appeared to selectively enforce immigration laws against 
migrants, particularly from the People's Republic of China. Some ethnic 
Chinese reported being threatened or attacked based on their race and 
receiving regular racial slurs. Other ethnic Chinese stated that taxi 
drivers commonly refused to stop for Chinese passengers, although most 
taxis were owned by Chinese businessmen. The local press reported that 
attacks on Chinese sailors by youth gangs were common. The government 
did not take any steps to address this problem.
    A law requires that employers who hire foreign workers make 
monetary contributions into a fund that provides job training for 
citizens. While many considered the law discriminatory against foreign 
workers, employers willingly paid the fee to hire technically skilled 
labor, which was not widely available in the country.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There is no law criminalizing 
consensual same-sex activity, and there were no reports of societal 
violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity. There were no 
reports of official or societal discrimination based on sexual 
orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, statelessness, 
or access to education or health care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no accounts 
of societal violence based on HIV/AIDS infection. There was some 
cultural stigma attached to HIV infection, and NGOs and the government 
conducted campaigns to provide HIV/AIDS education and encourage testing 
for the disease.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of freedom of association in general, 
and the government interpreted this right as allowing the existence of 
labor unions. With a small number of major employers, there were few 
opportunities for workers to unionize, and the country has a limited 
history and culture of organized labor.
    The law does not provide workers the right to strike, and there is 
no legislation concerning collective bargaining or trade union 
organization. There are no laws prohibiting antiunion discrimination or 
allowing for reinstatement if dismissed for union activity.
    In 2008 public school teachers formed the country's first labor 
union. During the year, the approximately 30-member union took no 
public action and did not engage in negotiation or collective 
bargaining. There were no reports of government restrictions on its 
activities.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits involuntary servitude, one form of forced labor. There were 
no reports of government enforcement of the law, and there were no 
reports of its practice among citizens.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There is no law or regulation setting a minimum age for employment of 
children, and the government took no preventive measures during the 
year. Children typically were not employed in the wage economy, but it 
was common for children to assist their families in fishing, 
agriculture, retailing, and other small-scale enterprises. This was 
particularly true in the subsistence economies of the more remote 
atolls.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law establishes a minimum 
wage of $2.00 per hour for both government and private-sector 
employees. This minimum wage has remained the same for over a decade, 
and there has been no legislation concerning maximum hours of work. No 
legislation exists that allows workers the right to remove themselves 
from situations that endanger their health or safety, and no 
legislation provides protection for workers who file official 
complaints about such conditions. The laws apply to foreign workers in 
the same workers in the same manner as indigenous citizens.
    There are no official poverty levels. However, the bottom tax 
bracket (under which no taxes are assessed) is $1,560 annually.
    Foreign employees and local trainees of private employers who had 
invested in or established a business in the country were exempt from 
minimum wage requirements. Most foreign workers--who constituted 
approximately 30 percent of the workforce (excluding agro-forestry) and 
most of the professional and technical classes in the country--earned 
considerably more than the minimum wage. Their earnings were estimated 
to average at least 50 percent higher than those of local workers.
    The Office of the Chief of Labor within the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs has the authority to make recommendations to the Nitijela on 
working conditions, such as the minimum wage, legal working hours, 
overtime payments, and the occupational health and safety standards for 
workers. However, there have been no policy recommendations, or 
political initiatives, by the Office of Chief of Labor during the past 
four years, and during 2011 the office did not conduct any inspections 
of workplaces related to health and safety conditions.
    On Sundays, most businesses are closed, and people generally 
refrained from working.

                               __________

                               MICRONESIA

                           executive summary
    The Federated States of Micronesia is a constitutional republic 
composed of four states: Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Individual 
states enjoyed significant autonomy and traditional leaders retained 
considerable influence, especially in Pohnpei and Yap. The elected 
unicameral Congress selects the president from among its four members 
elected from at-large state districts. On May 10, Congress reelected 
Emanuel Mori as president. The most recent elections for Congress, held 
in March, were considered generally free and fair, despite technical 
problems and some allegations of fraud in Chuuk. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities.
    Continued discrimination and violence against women and widespread 
corruption constituted to be the most prevalent human rights problems 
in the country.
    Other reported human rights problems included judicial delays, 
domestic violence, and child neglect.
    In some instances the government took steps to punish officials and 
their friends who committed abuses, but in many instances impunity was 
a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

    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. There were 
reports of beatings while in police custody in Chuuk and one 
substantiated case of a foreigner beaten by the chief of police while 
in custody. At year's end the case was under investigation, and the 
police chief was removed from office.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards. The government 
permitted prison visits by independent human rights observers, but none 
occurred during the year.
    At year's end the four states' prisons had approximately 95 inmates 
held in facilities with a total capacity of 150 prisoners. Pohnpei held 
18 persons, including one woman; Yap held 16 persons, including one 
female inmate; Kosrae held 13 inmates (all male); and Chuuk reportedly 
held 48 inmates, including one female prisoner and one mentally ill 
prisoner. Pretrial detainees usually were held within the same facility 
but separately from convicted prisoners. The female prisoners were held 
separately from male prisoners.
    There were no designated juvenile detention facilities, and the 
states seldom incarcerated juvenile offenders. Crimes by juveniles 
usually were resolved in a traditional, mediation-based manner between 
the families of the perpetrator and the victim. No juveniles were 
incarcerated as of year's end.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and 
potable water 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, but authorities rarely investigated 
such allegations. The government has the obligation to investigate and 
monitor prison and detention center conditions, but no information was 
available publicly whether it did so during the year. There is no 
ombudsman to serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees to consider 
such matters as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders 
to alleviate any overcrowding; addressing the status and circumstances 
of confinement of juvenile offenders; and improving 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 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 national, state, and local police 
forces, and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and 
punish abuse and corruption. Three cases of abuse of power were 
investigated in Pohnpei. No abuse was found in one case, one officer 
was suspended in another case, and one officer was given a warning in 
the third case. One case of police brutality was under investigation in 
Chuuk (see section 1.c.). Law enforcement agencies in Chuuk remained 
staffed with friends and relatives of powerful individuals.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants are 
required for arrests, and detainees were advised promptly of the 
charges against them. Detainees must be brought before a judge for a 
hearing within 24 hours of arrest, a requirement generally observed in 
practice. Most arrested persons were released on bail. Detainees 
generally had prompt access to family members and lawyers. However, in 
practice not all detainees who requested help from the Office of the 
Public Defender received adequate legal assistance because of lack of 
funding and properly trained lawyers.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Trials are 
public, although juveniles are allowed closed hearings. Judges conduct 
trials and render verdicts; there are no juries. Defendants enjoy a 
presumption of innocence and have the right to counsel, to question 
witnesses, to access government-held evidence, and to appeal 
convictions.

    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. The Supreme Court is 
responsible for hearing lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, 
human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of expression but does 
not refer specifically to speech or the press; however, the government 
generally respected these rights in practice.
    Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately 
without reprisal. The number of independent media outlets remained 
small, however, and there was a lack of consistently reliable access to 
broadcast media.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e 
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the International Religious Freedom 
Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country. Foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation are addressed in other areas of the law. In practice none 
of these rights was restricted. The need did not arise during the year 
for government cooperation with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--The government has not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees. There were no formal 
requests for refugee status or asylum during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--National 
congressional elections in March generally were free and fair. There 
were allegations of polling fraud in a special election to replace the 
governor in Chuuk in August, and the losing candidate filed two 
complaints. The court rejected the complaints and upheld the election 
results.

    Political Parties.--There are no restrictions on the formation of 
political groups; however, there were no significant efforts to form 
organized political parties, and none existed. Candidates generally 
sought political support from family and allied clan groupings, 
religious groups, and expatriate citizen communities. Only one 
congressional candidate ran on a platform in March. He unseated an 
incumbent.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Cultural factors in the 
male-dominated society limited women's representation in government and 
politics. Women were well represented in the middle and lower ranks of 
government at both the federal and state level but were scarcer in the 
upper ranks. A woman held the cabinet-level position of secretary of 
health services, and there was one female associate justice on the 
national Supreme Court and one female associate justice on the Pohnpei 
State Supreme Court. The country's first female ambassador was 
appointed permanent representative to the United Nations in 2010. One 
woman ran unsuccessfully for national office in the March elections. 
There were two elected women in the Pohnpei State legislature. There 
were no other women in the other state legislatures or in the national 
legislature.
    To the extent that the country is a multicultural federation, both 
the legislature and the executive included persons from various 
cultural backgrounds.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government sometimes implemented these laws effectively. However, 
officials generally engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
Government corruption was a serious problem, particularly in Chuuk. 
Criminal referrals from the Office of the National Public Auditor 
(ONPA) to the Department of Justice were not acted upon. The ONPA's 
findings and recommendations were generally ignored.
    Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws. The 
Office of the Attorney General has primary responsibility for combating 
government corruption. However, the national attorney general, 
appointed in 2007, was suspended from practice before the bar in 1999 
due to allegations of improper practices and at year's end remained 
suspended. Although the president attempted to reappoint him, the 
national Congress did not confirm the appointment. At year's end the 
office was filled by an acting attorney general.
    There is no national law providing for public access to government 
information. The speaker of Congress can declare any congressional 
documents confidential. State laws and practices varied. Legislative 
hearings and deliberations generally were open to the public. 
Information from other branches of government also was accessible; 
however, retrieval sometimes was delayed by the loss or mishandling of 
records. In March the state legislative building in Chuuk burned and 
all records destroyed. There were no reported cases of government 
denial of access to media, but there were only a small number of media 
outlets, and their reporting resources were limited.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Although there are no official restrictions, no local groups 
concerned themselves exclusively with human rights. Several groups 
addressed problems concerning the rights of women and children, and the 
government cooperated with these groups.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law provide explicit protection against 
discrimination based on race, sex, or language, but societal 
discrimination against women remained a problem. There are no laws 
against family violence or trafficking in persons.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Sexual assault, including 
rape, is a crime. There is no specific law against spousal rape. Sexual 
assault involving a dangerous weapon or serious physical or 
psychological harm to the victim is punishable by up to nine years' 
imprisonment in Chuuk and 10 years' imprisonment in the other three 
states, and a fine of up to $20,000 (the U.S. dollar is the national 
currency) in Kosrae and $10,000 in the other states. If neither a 
dangerous weapon nor serious physical harm is involved, the assault is 
punishable in all states by up to five years' imprisonment or a fine. 
Due to social stigma such crimes were underreported, and few cases were 
prosecuted. The curriculum at the police academy included programs to 
train police officers to recognize the problem. According to police and 
women's groups, there were a number of reports of physical and sexual 
assaults against women, both citizens and foreigners, outside the 
family context.
    Reports of spousal abuse, often severe, continued during the year. 
Although assault is a crime, there were no specific laws against 
domestic abuse. Effective prosecution of offenses was rare. In many 
cases victims decided against initiating legal charges against a family 
member because of family pressure, fear of further assault, or the 
belief that the police would not involve themselves actively in what is 
seen as a private family problem. Within the traditional extended 
family unit, violence, abuse, and neglect directed against spouses or 
children were deemed offenses against the family, not just the 
individual victims, and were addressed by a complex system of familial 
sanctions. However, traditional methods of coping with family discord 
were breaking down with increasing urbanization, monetization of the 
economy, and greater emphasis on the nuclear family. No government 
agency, including the police, has succeeded in replacing the extended 
family system or in addressing the problem of family violence directly.
    There were no governmental facilities to shelter and support women 
in abusive situations. In Chuuk a private facility for women's groups, 
funded by a foreign government, was opened at year's end, but it did 
not include a shelter. In 2010 the Pohnpei Department of Public Safety 
began a program of domestic violence education that included a hotline 
and training of its officers to handle domestic violence situations.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, 
and anecdotal reports suggested it was pervasive.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of children, and the information 
and means to do so free from discrimination. Access to information on 
contraception, prenatal care, skilled attendance at delivery, and 
postpartum care were widely available through private and public 
medical facilities. From 2005-09 the maternal mortality rate was 
estimated as 128 per 100,000 live births. According to indicators 
published by the Population Reference Bureau, skilled health personnel 
attended an estimated 80 percent of births, and an estimated 46 percent 
of married women ages 15-49 used modern contraceptive methods. The 
government conducted public information campaigns on reproductive 
health matters through posters and billboards; other types of local 
media were not readily available.

    Discrimination.--Women have equal rights under the law, including 
the right to own property, and there were no institutional barriers to 
education or employment. The largest employers were the national and 
state governments, and women received equal pay for equal work. The 
public sector comprised approximately half of the country's jobs, with 
5,000 plus in state and municipal government positions and 
approximately 2,500 in national government and government agencies or 
public enterprises. Societal discrimination against women continued, 
however, and cultural mores encouraged differential treatment for 
women. For example, in Yap women are prohibited from entering a meeting 
hall during men's meetings. In Chuuk women must bow in the presence of 
men during formal meetings. Nonetheless, women were active and 
increasingly successful in private business. A national women's working 
group composed of female national government employees, including the 
secretary of health and social services, was formed to advise the 
government. Additionally, several small nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs) were interested in women's issues, particularly those associated 
with family violence and abuse. The Women's Interest Section of the 
Department of Health and Social Services worked to protect and promote 
women's rights.
    The Chuuk Women's Advisory Council, an NGO, received a foreign 
government grant for a multipurpose center to be used initially as an 
office and eventually as a shelter for victims of domestic violence as 
well. At year's end it was only being used as an office.
    In July2010 the national government held a National Women's 
Conference that adopted three resolutions: asking all states to pass 
mandatory maternity leave for state employees, as the national and 
Kosrae State governments already had done; urging state governments to 
pass necessary laws to address domestic violence and other forms of 
violence against women; and endorsing a pending congressional bill to 
provide reserved seats for women in Congress. None has been enacted.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--A child acquires citizenship if one 
or both parents were citizens. Individual states maintain birth 
records.

    Education.--Although a compulsory education law requires all 
children to begin school at age six, not all did so, nor did they stay 
in school, and the law was not enforced. The law permits children to 
leave school when they reach the age of 14 years or after completing 
the eighth grade, but many students leave school before that.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse is illegal, although the constitution 
provides for a right of parental discipline. Cultural attitudes 
regarding parental discipline limited the reporting of abuse, although 
there were some anecdotal reports of child abuse and neglect.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The states' statutory rape laws 
apply to children age 13 and below in Chuuk, Yap, and Kosrae and age 15 
and below in Pohnpei. The maximum penalties vary according to state--
Chuuk: five years' imprisonment, $5,000 fine; Kosrae: 10 years, $20,000 
fine; Yap: 10 years, $10,000 fine; and Pohnpei: five years, $5,000 
fine. Only Pohnpei has a statute prohibiting child pornography. Both 
Chuuk and Pohnpei have provisions against exhibiting ``adult films'' in 
general; Yap and Kosrae have no such provisions. Both Chuuk and Pohnpei 
impose a penalty of six months' imprisonment for violations.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no known Jewish communities in the 
country, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination in 
public service employment against persons with physical disabilities. 
There were no reports of discrimination against persons with physical, 
sensory, intellectual, or mental disabilities in employment, access to 
health care, or provision of other state services; however, persons 
with disabilities usually did not seek employment outside the home. The 
government provided children with disabilities, including learning 
disabilities, special education, including instruction at home if 
necessary and if foreign funding was available. Neither laws nor 
regulations mandate accessibility to public buildings or services for 
persons with disabilities. In practice many buildings had ramps or only 
one story. There was one elevator in the two-story Pohnpei State 
government building. No policies or programs ensured access to 
information and communications for persons with disabilities.
    Due to a lack of facilities for treating mentally ill persons, the 
government housed some individuals with mental illnesses but no 
criminal background in jails. The authorities provided separate rooms 
in jails for persons suffering from mental illness, and state health 
departments provided medication as part of their programs to provide 
free treatment to all mentally ill residents.
    The national Health Services Department is responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities but does not provide 
significant services.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Each of the country's four 
states has a different language and culture. Traditionally the state of 
Yap had a caste-like social system with high-status villages, each of 
which had an affiliated low-status village. In the past those who came 
from low-status villages worked without pay for those with higher 
status. In exchange, those with higher status offered care and 
protection to those subservient to them. The traditional hierarchical 
social system has been gradually breaking down, and capable people from 
low-status villages can rise to senior positions in society. 
Nonetheless, the traditional system affected contemporary life. Persons 
from low-status backgrounds tended to be less assertive in advocating 
for their communities' needs, and low-status communities sometimes 
continued to be underserved.
    The national and state constitutions prohibit noncitizens from 
purchasing land, and foreign investment laws limit the types of 
businesses noncitizens can own and operate. The national Congress 
granted citizenship to non-Micronesians only in rare cases. There is no 
permanent residency status. For the most part, however, noncitizens 
shared fully in the social and cultural life of the country.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws 
criminalizing same-sex sexual activity. There were no reports of 
violence, official or societal discrimination, or workplace 
discrimination, against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
Although the law does not specifically provide for the right of workers 
to join a union, under the constitution citizens have the right to form 
or join associations, and national government employees by law can form 
associations to ``present their views'' to the government without being 
subject to coercion, discrimination, or reprisals. No workers, 
including foreign workers, were prohibited from joining unions, but for 
a variety of reasons--including the facts that most private-sector 
employment was in small-scale, family-owned businesses and the majority 
of the remaining working-age population was engaged in subsistence 
farming and fishing--there were no unions. No law deals specifically 
with trade unions or with the right to collective bargaining.
    There is no specific right to strike, but no law prohibits strikes. 
There were no employment-related disputes or demonstrations during the 
year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor. There are no laws against 
trafficking in persons.
    See section 7.d. and the Department of State's Trafficking in 
Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
National and state laws do not establish a minimum age for employment 
of children. In practice there was no employment of children for wages, 
but children often assisted their families in subsistence farming and 
in family-owned shops.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum hourly wage for 
employment with the national government was $2.65. All states had a 
minimum hourly wage for government workers: $2.00 in Pohnpei, $1.25 in 
Chuuk, $1.42 in Kosrae, and $1.60 in Yap. Only Pohnpei had a minimum 
wage for private sector workers: $1.35 per hour. The minimum wage was 
enforced through the tax system, and this mechanism was believed to be 
effective. Statistics were not readily available, but salaried persons 
were relatively well-off. As of 2000, 28.4 percent of the population 
was in the subsistence economy.
    National law sets a standard of an eight hour/five day workweek, 
with premium pay for overtime. A federal regulation requires that 
employers provide a safe workplace. No law for either the public or 
private sector permits workers to remove themselves from dangerous work 
situations without jeopardy to their continued employment.
    Working conditions aboard some foreign-owned fishing vessels 
operating in the country's waters continued to be very poor. Crewmen 
reported a high incidence of injuries, beatings by officers, and 
nonpayment of salary.

                               __________

                                MONGOLIA

                           executive summary
    Mongolia is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. The most recent 
presidential election, held in 2009 and considered largely free and 
fair, was won by former prime minister Tsakhia Elbegdorj of the 
Democratic Party. Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold and his majority 
Mongolian People's Party (MPP) continued to dominate the parliament but 
governed under a unity government with the Democratic Party. The MPP, 
formerly known as the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), 
changed its name during the year. A small remnant of the original MPRP 
kept the MPRP name and continued as a competing splinter party led by 
former president Nambar Enkhbayar. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    The three prominent human rights abuses were police abuse of 
detainees, uneven enforcement of the law and corruption within the 
judicial system, and a lack of transparency in government affairs. 
While the law provides for protection of basic human rights, there was 
a significant disconnect between human rights laws, regulations, and 
government pledges of support and what was implemented.
    Other human rights issues included poor conditions in detention 
centers, arbitrary arrests, government interference in the media, 
religious discrimination, including continued refusal by some 
provincial governments to register Christian churches, unlawful 
deportation of foreign citizens, opaque and complicated procedures for 
stateless persons to gain citizenship, secrecy laws and a lack of 
transparency in government affairs, inadequate measures to counter 
domestic violence against women, trafficking in persons, discrimination 
against persons with disabilities, discrimination against ethnic 
minorities, and violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons.
    The government took few steps to punish officials who committed 
abuses, and there was an atmosphere of official impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings during the year.

    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, sources 
reported that police, especially in rural areas, occasionally abused 
prisoners and detainees. The use of unnecessary force, particularly to 
obtain confessions, was common. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 
claimed guards or police sometimes meted out cruel punishment to 
inmates at police stations and detention centers. NGOs stated that some 
inmates were beaten and deprived of visitation rights in response to 
infractions committed in detention. According to an NGO working closely 
with the prison system, prisoners who attempted suicide were beaten and 
refused basic amenities and visitation rights.
    During the year the Office of the State Prosecutor General's 
Special Investigative Unit (SIU) received 50 complaints against 
officials suspected of torture. Of these, 37 were dismissed for failure 
to comply with the relevant code's definition of torture. According to 
Amnesty International (AI), the code was interpreted to apply only to 
investigators and exempts prosecutors and prison officials. Six of the 
torture complaints were under investigation by SIU, while seven were 
transferred to other departments. AI reported that while there was a 
reduction in physical forms of torture, complaints to SIU did not 
decline. Complaints more recently concerned coercion and threats, 
including threats from police to investigate family members if a 
confession was not forthcoming.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to AI conditions 
in prisons were poor but improved during the year. Prison and detention 
center conditions generally varied based on the facility. The new 
predetention facility, Number 461 Sonsgolon Predetention Center, had 
natural light and was well ventilated. Women and juveniles had at least 
30 minutes of exercise or outdoor time every day, and men had the same 
amount of time four days per week. The facility contained a clinic that 
could accommodate approximately 126 patients, and there was a full-time 
doctor, social worker, and psychologist on call. The facility had a 
significantly lower rate of tuberculosis than the previous predetention 
facility.
    In contrast, within the Denjin Myanga administrative detention 
facility, sources reported detainees found guilty of administrative 
offenses lived in squalid conditions due to overcrowding and poor 
ventilation. All prisoners were allowed outside three times per day and 
up to an hour each time, although during the winter severe weather 
precluded outside activities. Conditions in police-operated 
detoxification centers were equally poor. Inebriated individuals were 
detained in overcrowded holding cells for up to 24 hours. Officials 
reported they lacked the resources to provide adequate water, food, 
hygienic standards, adequate bedding, ventilation, and bathing 
facilities. In all detention facilities, prisoners had access to 
potable water.
    The General Executive Agency of Court Decision (GEACD) reported 25 
deaths during the year in prisons and three deaths in detention 
facilities. AI declared these totals were underestimated due to the 
practice of correctional officials releasing terminally ill patients 
from their ward shortly before their impending death.
    The GEACD reported there were 6,631 prisoners serving sentences, of 
whom 393 were women and 20 were juveniles. Number 461 Sonsgolon 
Predetention Center, which held prisoners awaiting trial, could house 
more than 1,000 detainees and held an estimated 700 in September. In 
addition the Denjin Myanga administrative detention facility in 
Ulaanbaatar was built to hold 160, but there were often more than 250 
detainees, particularly during the winter. U.N. officials reported 
children and adults often were not separated in police detention 
facilities and pretrial detainees were held with convicted prisoners. 
Conditions for men and women were similar; however, in general women 
were allowed more outdoor recreational time than men.
    The GEACD reported that ombudsmen are not able to serve on behalf 
of prisoners and detainees. No steps were taken to improve 
recordkeeping or use alternative sentencing for nonviolent offenders, 
although good behavior was a consideration for early probation. 
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. The law allows prisoners and detainees 
to submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and 
request investigations, but AI stated that in many cases this process 
was significantly flawed and failed to address legitimate complaints. 
The Prosecutor's Office and State Specialized Inspection Agency 
monitored prison and detention center conditions.
    The government generally allowed access to independent 
nongovernmental observers, but the access was limited to low- and 
medium-security facilities. However, even at these facilities, 
reportedly visitation requests had to be submitted in advance and the 
previous relatively unfettered access afforded to NGOs was limited.
    The government took several steps to improve overall conditions in 
prisons and detention centers. The parliament requires video and voice 
recording equipment in interrogation rooms, predetention centers, and 
prisons to help prevent abuses. At the Denjin Myanga administrative 
detention facility, the detention administration improved hygienic 
standards by purchasing washing machines and renovating public spaces. 
At year's end the GEACD reported the government invested 1.17 billion 
tugrik ($841,000) in prison renovation during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law provides that no person 
shall be arrested, detained, or deprived of liberty except by specified 
procedures; however, arbitrary arrest and detention occurred. 
Politicians from certain opposition parties complained about what they 
characterized as the arbitrary arrest and detention of certain members 
who were never formally charged. In particular authorities arrested 
certain politicians under the pretext of possibly opening a case; they 
were subsequently held for a period of days or weeks and then released. 
The press reported such cases and interviewed those detained.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--External security 
forces, who reported directly to the Ministry of Defense, are 
responsible for national defense but also assist internal security 
forces in providing domestic emergency assistance and disaster relief. 
The national police and the Border Force, who operate under the 
Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, are responsible for internal 
security. The General Intelligence Agency, whose civilian head reports 
directly to the prime minister, assists the aforementioned forces with 
internal security as well as foreign intelligence collection and 
operations.
    Civilian authorities largely maintained control over both external 
and internal security forces, yet mechanisms to investigate police 
abuses remained inadequate, primarily because of a lack of resources to 
pursue allegations. There were numerous instances of impunity involving 
the security forces reported during the year. Complaints against the 
police, prosecutors, and members of the judiciary were referred to the 
SIU. According to the SIU, police frequently blocked or impeded the 
work of its investigators, particularly when the targets of 
investigation were high-ranking police officials. During the first nine 
months of the year, the SIU received 50 complaints against law 
enforcement officials, opened cases on seven of these complaints, 
rejected 37, and transferred six to other agencies. Among these cases 
there was one conviction, two dismissals, and one still under 
consideration. At year's end one case before the court system was under 
investigation. There were no major government actions, including 
training, to reform the security forces.
    It was widely reported that ultranationalist groups enjoyed 
impunity due to police complacency and unwillingness to apprehend the 
offenders. Ultranationalists targeted LGBT persons, Chinese, and 
Koreans with threats, violence, and the extraction of protection money.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A judge-issued 
warrant is required to arrest a suspect. A ``pressing circumstances'' 
exception allows police to arrest suspects without a warrant. The U.N. 
reported that two-thirds of those accused of criminal offenses in 
Ulaanbaatar were arrested without court authorization.
    By law police must request a court order to continue holding 
suspects after 24 hours. If permission is obtained police may hold 
suspects for up to 72 hours before a decision is made to prosecute or 
release them. If a court order is not granted within 72 hours, police 
must release the suspect.
    Detainees generally were informed promptly of the charges against 
them. The maximum pretrial detention with a court order is 24 months; 
an additional six months are allowed for particularly serious crimes 
such as murder. Detainees had prompt access to family members and could 
be released on bail with the approval of a prosecutor.
    A detainee has the right to a defense attorney during pretrial 
detention and all subsequent stages of the legal process. If a 
defendant cannot afford a private attorney, the government must appoint 
an attorney. Despite this legal provision, many detainees were unaware 
of their right to a government-appointed attorney and did not assert 
it.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected this 
provision in practice; however, corruption and outside influence were 
increasingly problematic, particularly at the level of the Supreme 
Court. Bribery sometimes contributed to the dismissal of a case or 
reduction of a recommended sentence.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair public 
trial by a judge, but this was undermined by frequent bribery and a 
large caseload per judge. Defendants are innocent until proven guilty, 
and this was respected in practice. Defendants could question 
witnesses, present evidence, and appeal decisions. Juries were not 
used.
    In practice trials were often plagued by legal inconsistencies. 
There was a shortage of state-provided defense lawyers, and many 
defendants lacked adequate legal representation. Judges often relied on 
confessions, many of which were coerced by police, to convict 
defendants. Additionally, NGOs complained about witness intimidation, 
limited public access to trials, and an overall lack of transparency in 
court decisions.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Administrative and 
judicial remedies were available for alleged wrongs. Corruption, 
outside influence, and lack of enforcement of court orders were 
problems in the civil judicial system. Although by law victims of 
police abuse can sue for damages, in practice few were able to claim 
compensation.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The criminal code and constitution prohibit such 
actions; however, there were reports of government surveillance, 
wiretapping, and e-mail account intrusions against journalists and NGOs 
critical of the government.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice. Nevertheless, 
government interference with licensing and indirect intimidation of the 
press, particularly broadcast media, was evident.

    Freedom of Press.--The media law bans censorship of public 
information and any legislation that would limit the freedom to publish 
and broadcast; however, political influence in the media continued to 
be a problem. Observers stated that many newspapers and broadcast media 
were either affiliated with political parties or owned (fully or 
partly) by individuals affiliated with political parties, and that such 
affiliation strongly influenced their reports. The observers also noted 
underpaid reporters frequently demanded payment to cover or fabricate a 
story. Additionally, lack of transparency during the tendering process 
and lack of a fully independent licensing authority inhibited fair 
competition for broadcast frequency licenses and benefited those with 
political connections. At the provincial level, local government 
control of the licensing process similarly inhibited the development of 
independent television stations.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Press representatives alleged 
indirect censorship in the form of government and political party 
harassment. For example, the Media Office of the General Policy 
Authority sent a cooperation agreement valid for one year to all 
Ulaanbaatar-based television stations. The cooperation agreement 
provided safety for television stations and their journalists working 
at flashpoints. In exchange for providing this safety, the agreement 
imposed certain restrictions. It required the media to cooperate with 
the police to broadcast reports to defuse and resolve mass disorder and 
forbade the dissemination of information that encourages mass disorder 
during public demonstrations or compromises public or organizational 
privacy and state security.

    Libel Laws.--Press representatives often faced the threat of libel 
complaints and tax audits by government authorities. The law places the 
burden of proof on the defendant in libel and slander cases, and both 
defamation and insult were criminal charges.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail; however, 
there were reports that the government monitored some e-mail accounts.
    A representative of the LGBT Center alleged government monitoring 
of LGBT persons' personal e-mail accounts and stated that recent 
activity logs frequently listed unknown Internet protocol addresses 
within the country.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government generally cooperated with the Office of the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, 
asylum seekers, and other persons of concern.

    Foreign Travel.--Foreign residents must obtain exit visas to leave 
the country. Public and private entities increasingly used the visa 
requirement to pressure foreign investors to settle commercial disputes 
and force some NGOs, particularly nonprofit Christian organizations, to 
leave the country.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The constitution 
provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees, yet problems persisted in a few areas. For example, by law 
the procedure to acquire or reacquire citizenship should take no more 
than six months, but it often took considerably longer. The Immigration 
Agency asserted that under the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign 
Citizens, passed in 2010, there were now clearer provisions concerning 
deportation criteria. At the same time, the law provides more power to 
the Immigration Agency to deport individuals seeking refugee status.

    Employment.--Refugees are considered illegal migrants and as such 
do not have permission to work.

    Access to Basic Services.--Refugees generally lacked access to 
basic services such as health care and education.

    Stateless Persons.--The UNHCR reported that many thousands of 
ethnic Kazakh Mongolians renounced their Mongolian nationality upon 
moving to Kazakhstan in the early 1990s, but many who were unable to 
gain Kazakh citizenship returned to Mongolia, where they became 
stateless. The UNHCR reported that the process of reacquiring Mongolian 
nationality was long and complicated and recommended improving the 
implementation of relevant laws. In addition observers cited lack of 
awareness regarding the relevant law as a reason for statelessness. 
Furthermore, the process of verification with the Kazakh government was 
protracted. Adding to the confusion, the Mongolian Immigration Agency 
estimated there were 40,000 ethnic Kazakhs holding both Mongolian and 
Kazakhstani citizenship, despite the fact that Mongolia does not 
recognize dual citizenship.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens the right to change their government 
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In the 
most recent presidential election, held in 2009, the former prime 
minister and candidate of the opposition Democratic Party, Tsakhia 
Elbegdorj, defeated MPRP incumbent Nambar Enkhbayar. Independent 
observers described the election as largely free and fair.

    Political Parties.--Political parties could operate without 
restrictions or outside interference, although bias within the General 
Election Commission was a concern, particularly for smaller political 
parties.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were no legal 
impediments to the participation of women or minorities in government 
and politics, but their numbers remained small. There were three women 
in the 76-member parliament. One of the 15 cabinet ministers was a 
woman, as were seven of the 17 Supreme Court justices. Women and 
women's organizations were vocal in local and national politics and 
actively sought greater female representation in government 
policymaking.
    There were three ethnic Kazakhs serving in the parliament. There 
were two members of minority groups serving in the cabinet or on the 
Supreme Court.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not always implement the law effectively, 
and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    Corruption was perceived to be a serious and continuing problem in 
all branches and at all levels of government, particularly within the 
judiciary, customs service, and law enforcement agencies. Varying 
degrees of corruption at most levels of government resulted in a 
blurring of the lines between the public and private sectors. Conflicts 
of interest were frequent. The problem was compounded by ineffective 
governmental oversight bodies and media that frequently failed to 
expose corruption.
    The Independent Agency against Corruption is the government body 
responsible for combating corruption. While the agency was provided 
with a relatively large budget and broad mandate, public faith in the 
agency was low, and it was not viewed as politically impartial. 
Moreover, when the agency launched corruption investigations, the 
results of the investigations and subsequent court proceedings were not 
made public.
    The criminal code proscribes the acceptance of bribes by officials 
and provides for fines or imprisonment of up to five years. It also 
outlaws offering bribes to government officials. NGOs initially 
complained that one problem with the prosecution of bribery was that 
both the official soliciting the bribe as well as the person compelled 
to pay it are prosecuted. This led to less reporting of bribery. NGOs 
reported that the problem was somewhat alleviated after the government 
began granting limited immunity for those paying smaller bribes.
    Members of parliament are immune from prosecution during their 
tenure, preventing a number of allegations of corruption from going to 
trial. Corruption-related arrests and convictions were rare but 
increasing, but there was a sense that high-level cases were 
politically motivated.
    The anticorruption agency declared that nearly all of the most 
senior officials complied with the requirement to declare their assets 
and income (and those of relatives, including spouses, parents, 
children, and live-in siblings). The agency is also required to review 
the asset declarations of public servants, including police officers 
and members of the military, and this was carried out in practice. The 
agency received 495 reports of improprieties during the first 10 months 
of the year, of which it referred more than 47for criminal 
investigation.
    There was no law providing for public access to government 
information. The far-reaching State Secrets Law inhibited freedom of 
information and government transparency while at the same time 
undermining accountability. The law also hindered citizen participation 
in policy discussions and government oversight.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The National Human Rights 
Commission (NHRC) is responsible for monitoring human rights abuses, 
initiating and reviewing policy changes, and coordinating with human 
rights NGOs. It reports directly to the parliament. The NHRC consists 
of three senior civil servants nominated by the president, Supreme 
Court, and parliament for six-year terms. While the NHRC was not viewed 
as completely independent of political influence, it was considered 
somewhat effective relative to other agencies, and some of its 
reporting was viewed as credible.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law states that no person shall be discriminated against on the 
basis of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex, social origin, or 
status and that men and women shall be equal in political, economic, 
social, cultural fields, and family. The government generally enforced 
these provisions in practice.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The criminal code outlaws 
sexual intercourse through physical violence (or threat of violence) 
and provides for sentences of up to five years. If the victim is 
injured or is a minor, the maximum penalty is 10 years. Such a crime 
resulting in death, victimizing a child less than 14 years of age, or 
committed by a recidivist may result in 15 to 25 years' imprisonment or 
the death penalty. Gang rape is punishable by death. However, no law 
specifically prohibits spousal rape, which is commonly not recognized 
or prosecuted. Victims were often stigmatized and accused of not 
fulfilling their marital duties. As a result many NGOs blamed law 
enforcement officials for spousal rape victims' silence.
    During the year there were 237 rape cases, in which 336 persons 
were convicted, according to the Supreme Court research center. 
However, according to NGOs police referred only a small number of rape 
cases for prosecution, generally claiming there was insufficient 
evidence. In addition NGOs alleged many rapes were not reported and 
claimed that police and judicial procedures were stressful to victims 
and tended to discourage reporting of the crime. Social stigma also 
deterred reporting.
    Domestic violence remained a serious problem, particularly against 
women of low-income rural families. The law requires police to accept 
and file complaints, visit the site of incidents, interrogate offenders 
and witnesses, impose administrative criminal penalties, and bring 
victims to refuge. It also provides for sanctions against offenders, 
including expulsion from the home, prohibitions on the use of joint 
property, prohibitions on meeting victims and on access to minors, and 
compulsory training aimed at behavior modification. However, this level 
of service was rarely provided because the police lacked sufficient 
funding and, according to NGOs, were often reluctant to intervene in 
what was viewed as an internal family matter.
    Arrestees were sometimes held under an administrative penalty law 
rather than for domestic abuse, in which case they were fined 15,000 
tugrik ($11) and detained for up to 72 hours before being released. In 
addition domestic violence cannot be reported anonymously; callers must 
give their names and location, thereby dissuading individuals from 
reporting domestic abuse due to fear their identity might be leaked to 
the perpetrator.
    In 2010 there were 1,242 reported cases of domestic violence, 
nearly double the 720 in the previous year. The National Center against 
Violence (NCAV) believed that this was likely due to increased 
awareness of the resources available as a result of media campaigns 
about recent legislation changes. There have never been any domestic 
violence convictions due to the fact that, while domestic violence 
legislation exists, there is no implementing provision in the criminal 
code. Offenders are prosecuted under other criminal codes involving 
assault, infliction of injury to health, disorderly conduct, or 
hooliganism. The NCAV reported that of 18 clients requesting 
restraining orders, only two of the requests were granted. Moreover, 
the law fails to assign responsibility to particular agencies to 
execute restraining orders. The Mongolian Women's Legal Association 
reported that, as a result, restraining orders were poorly monitored 
and enforced. The law states restraining orders can be in effect only 
as long as victims are in a shelter, thus exposing them to danger upon 
their release.
    The NCAV stated that in the first six months of the year, it 
provided temporary shelter to 237 persons at its six locations and 
provided psychological counseling to more than 1,300 individuals. The 
NCAV launched domestic violence prevention campaigns without 
governmental support. State and local governments financially supported 
the NCAV in providing services to domestic violence victims. In total 
the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor (MSWL) provided 14.3 million 
tugrik ($10,270) in the first nine months of the year to assist victims 
of domestic violence.

    Sexual Harassment.--There are no laws against sexual harassment. 
NGOs stated there was a lack of awareness within society on what 
constituted inappropriate behavior, making it difficult to gauge the 
actual extent of the problem.

    Sex Tourism.--According to women's NGOs, sex tourism from South 
Korea and Japan remained a problem.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children and have the information and means to do so free from 
discrimination. The Ministry of Health reported that 83 percent of 
pregnant women had access to childbirth services, prenatal care, 
essential obstetric care, and postpartum care in 2009. According to the 
U.N. Population Fund's 2011 State of the World Population Report, 61 
percent of women ages 15-49 had access to modern methods of 
contraception. However, observers stated that public reproductive 
health-care facilities had long waiting times, a lack of 
confidentiality, and unprofessional treatment by medical personnel.

    Discrimination.--The law provides men and women with equal rights 
in all areas, including equal pay for equal work and equal access to 
education. In most cases these rights were enjoyed in practice. In 
February the parliament enacted the Law on Gender Equality. This law 
sets mandatory quotas for the inclusion of women within the government 
and political parties. It also outlaws discrimination on the basis of 
sex, appearance, or age. Women represented approximately half of the 
workforce, and a significant number were the primary wage earners for 
their families. The law prohibits women from working in certain 
occupations that require heavy labor or exposure to chemicals that 
could affect infant and maternal health, and the government effectively 
enforced these provisions. Many women occupied mid-level positions in 
government and business or were involved in the creation and management 
of new trading and manufacturing businesses. The mandatory retirement 
age of 55 for women is five years lower than that for men.
    Divorced women secured alimony payments under the family law, which 
details the rights and responsibilities regarding alimony and 
parenting. The former husband and wife evenly divided property and 
assets acquired during their marriage. In a majority of cases, the 
divorced wife retained custody of any children, but Monfemnet reported 
that divorced husbands often failed to pay child support without 
penalty. Women's activists said that because businesses were usually 
registered under the husband's name, ownership continued to be 
transferred automatically to the former husband.
    There was no separate government agency to oversee women's rights; 
however, there was the National Gender Center under the Prime 
Minister's Office, a national council to coordinate policy and women's 
interests among ministries and NGOs, and a division for women and youth 
concerns within the MSWL. In the parliament, a Standing Committee on 
Social Policy, Education, and Science focused on gender matters.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents, and births generally were registered immediately, although 
this was not always the case for those living in rural areas or 
landfill dumpsites. Failure to register can result in the denial of 
public services and ineligibility to participate in the Human 
Development Fund, which entitles each registered citizen to a share of 
the nation's mineral wealth as well as social welfare benefits in the 
form of fixed monthly cash distributions. This particularly affected 
citizens moving from urban to rural areas, who often had to wait 
decades to register and receive social services in their new location.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a significant problem, principally 
violence and sexual abuse. According to the governmental National 
Center for Children, both problems were most likely to occur within 
families.
    Child abandonment was a problem; other children were orphaned or 
ran away from home as a result of parental abuse, much of it committed 
under the influence of alcohol. Police officials stated that children 
of abusive parents were sent to shelters, but some observers indicated 
many youths were sent back to abusive parents.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Although against the law, the 
commercial sexual exploitation of children less than 18 years of age 
was a problem. According to NGOs there were instances where teenage 
girls were kidnapped, coerced, or deceived and forced to work as 
prostitutes. The minimum age for consensual sex is 16. Violators of the 
statutory rape law are subject to a penalty of up to three years in 
prison. The law prohibits the production, sale, or display of all 
pornography and carries a penalty of up to three months in prison. 
However, NGOs stated that child online pornography was not uncommon. 
Furthermore, NGOs reported there was no corresponding agency to deal 
with child pornography or sex advertisements on the Internet and that 
police did not investigate such crimes because they did not have the 
technical resources and were stretched thin with other duties.

    Displaced Children.--According to the MSWL, there were 38 temporary 
shelters and orphanages, six or seven of which were government-run. 
There were also seven social service day care centers caring for 168 
children. More than 1,100 children lived in shelters countrywide. 
Approximately 120 children were living on the street and 130 at dump 
sites.
    Minors who ran away from or were lost or abandoned by their parents 
were brought to the police-run Address Identification Center (AIC) in 
Ulaanbaatar to reconnect children with their families. With a capacity 
of 56, it sheltered 42 children in October. The AIC was unable to 
provide adequate medical attention to the children, many of whom could 
not access public health services for lack of an identification card. 
Since many of the children lacked identification cards, public 
hospitals refused to provide them even rudimentary treatment. The Law 
on the Provisional Detention of Homeless Children states that children 
should be kept in the AIC for no longer than seven days, yet in 
practice they were kept for up to 180 days. Children residing at the 
AIC for such long periods were not integrated into regular schools.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population was very small, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts during the year.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The labor law prohibits discrimination 
in employment and education against persons with disabilities. The law 
defines the types of disabilities as including those concerning 
physical, sensory, and mental but not intellectual attributes. The Law 
on Social Protection of the Disabled gives provincial governors and the 
Ulaanbaatar governor the responsibility to implement measures to 
protect the rights of persons with disabilities. However, the 
government did little to execute such measures, and in practice most 
persons with disabilities faced significant barriers to employment, 
education, and participation in public life.
    In February 2010 a new law took effect that mandates standards of 
physical access for persons with disabilities to newly constructed 
public buildings; however, by year's end the law had not been applied. 
Government buildings and public transportation remained largely 
inaccessible to persons with disabilities. Despite a law introducing 
standards for road construction, the persistence of open manholes, 
protruding obstacles, and unheeded crosswalks prevented many persons 
with disabilities from moving freely.
    Persons with disabilities could not fully participate in the 
political process; little accommodation was made for such persons at 
polling stations. There were no persons with disabilities in the 
parliament. The Mongolian National Federation of Disabled People's 
Organization (MNFDPO) estimated that, in the 2009 presidential 
election, only 34 percent of the electorate with disabilities cast a 
ballot. In comparison, the overall turnout rate for the voting age 
population was 55 percent. Persons with sight and hearing disabilities 
had difficulty remaining informed about public affairs due to a lack of 
accessible broadcast media.
    The government implemented various policies to provide benefits to 
and promote respect for persons with disabilities. It provided tax 
benefits to enterprises that hired persons with disabilities. 
Additionally, the law requires workplaces to hire three persons with 
disabilities for every 50 employees or pay a fine. However, NGOs 
reported that enforcement was a problem because most companies were 
reluctant to hire disabled persons and preferred to pay the fine. 
Furthermore the government failed to employ individuals with 
disabilities in the ratio required of employers.
    There were several specialized schools for youth with disabilities, 
but these students could also attend regular schools. However, in 
practice children with disabilities had limited access to education. 
The MNFDPO estimated that of 33,000 children with disabilities, 60 
percent failed to complete secondary education. The MNFDPO encouraged 
vocational education centers to work with children with disabilities so 
that they could eventually be capable of running small businesses.
    The law requires the government to provide benefits according to 
the nature and severity of the disability. Although the government 
generally provided benefits, the amount of financial assistance was 
low, and it did not reach all persons with disabilities owing to the 
absence of any system for such persons. The MNFDPO stated that benefits 
were provided in an ad hoc manner, often failing to meet the needs of 
the recipients.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual 
conduct is not specifically proscribed by law. However, AI and the 
International Lesbian and Gay Association criticized a section of the 
penal code that refers to ``immoral gratification of sexual desires,'' 
arguing that it could be used against persons engaging in same-sex 
sexual conduct. LGBT persons reported harassment and surveillance by 
police. Nonetheless, NGOs reported a marked improvement in police 
investigations of crimes against LGBT individuals as well as more 
respectful police treatment of victims.
    There were reports that individuals were assaulted in public and at 
home, denied service from stores and nightclubs, and discriminated 
against in the workplace based on their sexual orientation or gender 
identity. There also were reports of abuse of persons held in police 
detention centers based on their sexual orientation. Some media outlets 
described gay men and lesbians in derogatory terms and associated them 
with HIV/AIDS, pedophilia, and the corruption of youth.
    The government, while acknowledging that discrimination against 
LGBT individuals was a problem, stated that social acceptance of gay 
men and lesbians must be promoted before definitive steps can be taken.
    The law concerning rape (Article 126 of the criminal code) 
addresses only rape of female persons; rape of transgender individuals 
is not a crime under the article. According to the Asia Foundation, 
there were cases in which ultranationalists raped transgender persons; 
in other incidents boys and men were raped. Since the criminal code 
does not recognize such persons as victims, it was difficult to 
prosecute such rapes.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no official 
discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS; however, some societal 
discrimination existed. The public continued largely to associate HIV/
AIDS with same-sex sexual activity, burdening victims with the 
attendant social stigma.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law entitles workers to form or join independent unions and 
professional organizations of their choosing without previous 
authorization or excessive requirements, provides for the right to 
strike, and protects the right to collective bargaining. However, some 
legal provisions restrict these rights for groups such as foreign 
workers, public servants, and workers without formal employment 
contracts. Nevertheless, all groups have the right to organize, but the 
law restricts certain public servants from striking. The law protects 
the right of workers to participate in trade union activities without 
discrimination, and the government protected this right in general. The 
law provides for reinstatement of workers fired for union activity, but 
the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions (CMTU) states that it was 
not always enforced.
    The government prohibits third parties from organizing a strike. 
Moreover, persons employed in essential services, which the government 
defines as occupations critical for national defense and safety and 
includes police services, utilities, and transportation, do not have 
the right to strike. The list of essential services appeared to comply 
with International Labor Organization (ILO) guidelines.
    The law on collective bargaining regulates relations among 
employers, employees, trade unions, and the government. Wages and other 
conditions of employment are set between employers, whether public or 
private, and employees, with trade union input in some cases. The 
government does not allow intervention in collective bargaining by 
third parties, and its own role is limited to ensuring that contracts 
meet legal requirements concerning hours and conditions of work.
    Laws protecting the right to collective bargaining and freedom of 
association generally were enforced in practice, most often through the 
courts. The tripartite Labor Dispute Settlement Committee resolves 
disputes between workers and management.
    In late December South Gobi Sands, a foreign-owned mining company, 
was accused by former laid-off employees and the CMTU of dismissing 49 
of its employees allegedly for wanting to form a union to protect their 
rights to a clean and safe working environment and to ensure adequate 
social protection. South Gobi Sands countered that the layoffs were a 
result of financial difficulties encountered from a reduction in off-
work days coupled with salary increases.
    In another case the administration failed to enforce a 2009 court 
order requiring the compensation and rehiring of striking Aero Mongolia 
mechanics. When the strikers subsequently picketed, police forcibly 
removed the striking workers from the grounds while threatening arrest. 
The government also failed to enforce the law on employment stating 
that foreigners can be hired only for tasks that Mongolians cannot 
carry out--the Immigration Agency granted a work visa and the MSWL a 
work permit to a Dutch engineer to replace the striking workers. After 
the Supreme Court ruled against it, Aero Mongolia filed a new case 
during the year claiming the union to be illegal. The fired mechanics 
initially reported being blacklisted as a result of their union 
activities. Management ultimately hired back most but not all of the 
workers.
    There were also some violations of collective bargaining rights. In 
a case involving the Federated Food and Agriculture Union, a 
manufacturing enterprise fired 20 workers for protesting against 
mismanagement of the company. The matter continued at year's end.
    In a recent case, the mining agreement over Tavan Tolgoi was 
challenged by CMTU on the basis that it was formed outside the 
tripartite process without agreement between employers and employees on 
matters relating to workers' rights and social protections. The CMTU 
was also dissatisfied with the Ulaanbaatar city governor, who had not 
appointed an arbitrator to resolve such issues. The CMTU's main goal 
was to ensure that Mongolian labor (as opposed to foreign labor) 
predominated on the project. While hiring companies argued there was 
not a sufficient pool of skilled workers for technical and semiskilled 
labor, CMTU countered these skilled workers were available and 
underutilized. Negotiations continued between the development 
companies, the government, and CMTU on balancing the interests of all 
concerned parties.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law specifically 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children. However, 
there were isolated reports that such practices occurred.
    During the year prison labor was used on construction of the 
Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs building, during which one 
prisoner died in an accident. According to press reports, a criminal 
case was opened and the accident was under investigation. Opposition 
parties also announced that they would make sure that prisoners' bank 
accounts were checked to verify if prisoners were being paid for their 
labor.
    The NHRC stated a decline in forced labor within military units, 
whereby military officials subjected subordinates to cutting firewood, 
digging ditches, or working at construction sites owned by the 
officials' friends or relatives. During the year the NHRC signed a 
memorandum of understanding with the Mongolian Armed Forces, National 
Police, GEACD, Border Force, and State Specialized Inspection Agency 
not to use forced labor.
    An estimated 1,500 North Korean laborers were employed in the 
fields of mining, factory work, utilities, transportation, 
construction, customer service, and health. There was concern that some 
North Korean workers were not free to leave their employment or 
complain about unacceptable work conditions. Also, their freedom of 
movement and communication was restricted, and they received only an 
unknown fraction of the money paid to the North Korean government for 
their work.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits children under the age of 14 from working; those who are 
14 or 15 years of age may work up to 30 hours per week with parental 
consent. The workweek for children 16 and 17 years of age is capped at 
36 hours. Those under age 18 may not work at night, engage in arduous 
work, or work in hazardous occupations such as mining and construction.
    Labor inspectors assigned to regional and local offices are 
responsible for enforcement of these prohibitions and all other labor 
regulations. Inspectors have the authority to compel immediate 
compliance with labor legislation, but enforcement was limited due to 
the small number of labor inspectors and the growing number of 
privately owned enterprises. Inspectors generally did not conduct 
inspections in the informal sector.
    Forced child labor occurred in the construction and mining (coal, 
gold, and fluorspar mineral) sectors, although largely if not 
exclusively in the informal, artisanal mining sector.
    Children worked informally in petty trade, construction, hotels, 
restaurants, and unauthorized small-scale mining as well as scavenging 
in dumpsites and herding animals. While statistics were limited, 
widespread alcoholism, poverty, and parental abandonment made it 
necessary for many children to support themselves. The National Center 
for Children estimated the number of children in the labor force as 
high as 77,000; up to 90 percent of these children were involved in 
traditional animal husbandry, while only 1 percent was estimated to be 
involved in mining. While the government approved the National Program 
for the Worst Forms of Child Labor and revised its labor law during the 
year, it had yet to allocate resources to deal with the issue. When the 
ILO program to combat the worst forms of child labor concluded in 2010, 
all of the joint ILO-government initiatives were discontinued or 
drastically reduced due to lack of funding. Most of the ongoing 
programs were funded by district and city governments, with very 
limited support from the national level.
    International organizations continued to voice concern over child 
jockeys in horseracing. According to NHRC reports, more than 30,000 
child jockeys competed in horse races each year. Children commonly 
learn to ride horses at age four or five, and young children 
traditionally serve as jockeys during the national Naadam festival, 
where races range from two to nearly 20 miles. The state bans racing 
with child jockeys during the coldest period (October 18 through 
February 13), and there are regulations requiring adequate headwear. 
With increased NGO monitoring during horseracing events, there 
reportedly was greater adherence to these regulations.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum wage was 
140,400 tugrik ($100) per month. National poverty estimates are based 
on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. The 
surveys indicated approximately one-third of the population lived on 
1,618 tugrik ($1.16) a day or less and were unable to feed themselves 
sufficiently. The minimum wage, which applied to both public and 
private sector workers and was enforced by the Ministry of Labor, did 
not provide a decent standard of living. The problem was exacerbated by 
significant inflation over the past year. Many workers received less 
than the minimum wage, particularly at smaller companies in rural 
areas. The minimum wage was reset annually by the MSWL in consultation 
with trade union representatives and employers.
    The standard legal workweek is 40 hours, and there is a minimum 
rest period of 48 hours between workweeks. By law overtime work is 
compensated at either double the standard hourly rate or by giving time 
off equal to the number of hours of overtime worked. Pregnant women and 
nursing mothers are prohibited by law from working overtime. There is 
no law mandating sick leave for workers. According to the government, 
employers set their own rules in this regard.
    Laws on labor, cooperatives, and enterprises set occupational 
health and safety standards. Workers have the right to remove 
themselves from situations that endanger health or safety without 
jeopardy to their employment, and authorities enforced this right.
    These laws governing minimum wage and working hours generally were 
enforced, but enforcement of safety standards was inadequate. Although 
inspections were conducted both proactively and in response to 
complaints filed, the CMTU stated the MSWL had an insufficient number 
of inspectors. A CMTU representative also stated that fines imposed on 
companies not complying with labor standards were insufficient to 
induce management to resolve problems cited by inspectors.
    The near-total reliance on outmoded machinery and problems with 
maintenance and management led to frequent industrial accidents, 
particularly in the construction, mining, and power sectors. While 
industrial accidents increased alongside industrial and mining sector 
growth, most accidents occurred at unofficial construction sites and 
private mining areas. Large multinational projects, such as those at 
Tavan Tolgoi and Oyu Tolgoi, were better at ensuring safety standards.
    Foreign workers, the majority of whom were Chinese mining and 
construction workers, reportedly worked in conditions that did not meet 
government regulations. The MSWL did not monitor the working or living 
conditions of Chinese or North Korean laborers. North Korean worker 
conditions were not fully known, and secrecy surrounded the contractual 
agreements, labor rights, and compensation of these workers. However, 
observers stated that North Korean laborers likely failed to receive 
the minimum wage. In press reports, it was reported that Mongolian 
companies paid North Korean workers' wages directly to the government 
of North Korea. NGOs reported that Mongolian companies wishing to 
employ North Korean workers could do so through mediator companies. 
There were no official reports on labor exploitation, but there were 
several cases in which workers, mostly Chinese, were deported without 
receiving their wages. In one case an employer withheld food from 
approximately 40 Chinese workers. Such instances were confirmed as 
labor exploitation only if they went to court, but few if any cases 
ever moved past the investigatory phase before the foreign workers 
raising the complaints were deported.

                               __________

                                 NAURU

                           executive summary
    Nauru is a constitutional republic. The most recent parliamentary 
elections, held in June 2010, were generally free and fair. In November 
2010 Parliament reelected Marcus Stephen as president. On November 9, 
Stephen resigned in the face of corruption allegations, and on November 
10, Parliament elected Freddie Pitcher to replace him. A few days 
later, however, Pitcher lost a no-confidence vote after an additional 
Member of Parliament (MP) joined the opposition, and Sprent Dabwido 
became president. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Few human rights problems were reported.
    There were some allegations of government corruption, and there 
were some instances of domestic violence, child abuse, and 
discrimination against women.
    Impunity was not an issue, as there were no reports that government 
officials committed human rights abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports 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.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met international standards, and prisoners had access to 
potable water. The sole correctional facility could hold up to 60 
prisoners at full capacity. The facility houses a juvenile center, a 
women's prison, and a main prison. During 2010 (the latest statistics 
available) there were approximately 20 prisoners in detention, 
including one woman and no juveniles. There were five pretrial 
detainees held in the same facility. Short-term detainees (those held 
for no more than 24 hours, generally for drunk and disorderly 
behavior), including juveniles, were accommodated in the low-risk area 
of the prison.
    Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities through their families, lawyers, or directly 
with the officer in charge. All complaints were addressed by the 
officer in charge. If necessary, police assist in the investigation. 
Government representatives made weekly visits to the prison.
    The government affirmed it would permit monitoring visits by 
independent human rights observers, but none were reported. Prisoners 
had access to visitors and were permitted religious observance.
    There was no ombudsman who could serve on behalf of prisoners and 
detainees. Prison authorities provided daily reports to the 
correctional center management on the behavior of each prisoner. These 
reports were submitted to the Quarterly Remission Program, which could 
reduce a prisoner's sentence by a quarter of the total term based on 
good behavior. The recommendations were made by correctional center 
management to the secretary for justice, who issued final decisions. 
The program also was used to ensure prison terms were accurately 
monitored.

    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 national police 
under the Ministry of Police maintain internal security and as 
necessary, external security. The country has no military force. 
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the police, and 
the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse 
and corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the 
security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrests are 
made openly, based either on warrants issued by authorized officials or 
for proximate cause by a police officer witnessing a crime. Police may 
hold a person for no more than 24 hours without a hearing before a 
magistrate. There was a functioning bail system. The law provides for 
accused persons to have access to legal assistance, but in practice 
qualified assistance was not always readily available. Detainees were 
allowed prompt access to family members.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. 
Procedural safeguards are based on English common law. They include the 
presumption of innocence, the right to trial by jury, adequate time and 
facilities to prepare a defense, and prohibitions on double jeopardy 
and forced self-incrimination. Defendants have the right to be informed 
promptly of charges and consult with an attorney or have one provided 
at public expense when required ``in the interest of justice.'' They 
also have the right to confront witnesses, present evidence, access 
government-held evidence, and appeal convictions. Trials are public. 
Bail and traditional reconciliation mechanisms rather than the formal 
legal process were used in many cases, usually by choice but sometimes 
under communal pressure.

    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 
by individuals or organizations to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, 
or cessation of, human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and 
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and 
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Press.--lthough there were no government restrictions, 
there were few local independent media.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--Neither the constitution nor law 
specifically provides for freedom of movement within the country, 
foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, but the government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    Exile.--Neither the constitution nor law prohibits forced exile, 
but the government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The government had not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees. There were no requests for 
asylum or refugee status during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent ElectionsThe most 
recent parliamentary elections, held in June 2010, were generally free 
and fair but did not break an existing parliamentary deadlock; 
parliament remained evenly divided between government supporters and 
the opposition. In November 2010 the protracted standoff was resolved 
when parliament reelected Marcus Stephen as president after opposition 
member and former president Ludwig Scotty accepted the position of 
speaker. On November 9, however, Stephen resigned after another MP 
alleged he had taken kickbacks (see section 4) and on November 10, 
Freddie Pitcher replaced him as president. On November 15, Pitcher lost 
a parliamentary no-confidence vote after a progovernment MP switched to 
the opposition, and parliament elected Sprent Dabwido president.

    Political Parties.--Political parties could operate without 
restriction or outside interference, but there were no formal parties.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There are no legal 
impediments to participation in politics by women. However, women 
traditionally were less prominent in politics than men. No women stood 
as candidates in the parliamentary elections. The country's dually 
accredited permanent representative to the U.N. and ambassador to the 
United States was a woman. Women held some senior civil service 
positions, including the head of the civil service and the presidential 
counsel.
    There were no members of minorities in the parliament or cabinet. 
The country has a small and almost entirely homogenous Micronesian 
population.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
there are no financial disclosure laws or specific government agencies 
responsible for combating government corruption. In November opposition 
MP David Adeang--himself the subject of corruption allegations in 
2007--asserted that then president Stephen had sought kickbacks from 
foreign phosphate dealers. Stephen denied the allegations. By year's 
end there had been no investigation into the matter.
    There are no legal provisions for public access to government 
information, and the government did not freely provide such access.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The government did not restrict establishment or operation of local 
human rights organizations, but no such groups existed. No 
international human rights organizations maintained offices in the 
country, although there were no government restrictions.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
place of origin, color, creed, or sex, and the government generally 
observed these provisions.
    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence
    Rape is a crime punishable by up to life imprisonment. Spousal rape 
is not specifically identified as a crime, but police investigated and 
filed charges when allegations of rape were made against a spouse. 
Police investigated all reports of rape that they received, and cases 
were vigorously prosecuted by the courts.
    The law does not address domestic violence specifically, but 
domestic violence cases can be prosecuted under laws against common 
assault. The maximum penalty for simple assault is one year's 
imprisonment, and for assault involving bodily harm, three years' 
imprisonment.
    The government kept no statistics on the incidence of physical or 
domestic abuse of women. However, credible reports from women's 
organizations indicated that sporadic abuse occurred, often aggravated 
by alcohol use. Families normally sought to reconcile such problems 
informally and, if necessary, communally. The police and judiciary 
treated major incidents and unresolved family disputes seriously.

    Sexual Harassment.--There is no specific law against sexual 
harassment, but harassment involving physical assault could be 
prosecuted under the assault laws. Sexual harassment was not believed 
to be widespread.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children. The 
government-run medical system provided access to contraception and 
prenatal, obstetric, and postpartum care free of charge. A Department 
of Health survey on contraceptive use reported that 36 percent of 
surveyed married women used some form of contraception.

    Discrimination.--The law grants women the same freedoms and 
protections as men. The government officially provides equal 
opportunities in education and employment, and women may own property 
and pursue private interests. In practice, however, societal pressures 
and the country's impoverished economic circumstances often limited 
opportunities for women to exercise these rights fully. While women 
headed approximately one-third of all households, less than one- 
quarter of heads of households engaged in paid work were female. 
Overall 70 percent of male heads of households and 40 percent of female 
heads of households were economically active in either paid or unpaid 
work, according to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. More than 
half of the female heads of household were not working and were either 
unemployed (25 percent), were undertaking other activities, or were not 
able to work (29 percent).
    The Women's Affairs Office was responsible for promoting 
professional opportunities for women.
    Children.--Birth Registration
    Citizenship is derived from one's parents. The constitution also 
provides for acquisition of citizenship by birth in the country in 
cases in which the person would otherwise be stateless. The law 
requires registration of births within 21 days.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse statistics were not compiled, but 
anecdotal evidence indicated that some cases of abuse occurred. There 
were no prosecutions for child abuse during the year. Several 
nongovernmental organizations were concerned with youth and children's 
issues.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 17. Carnal knowledge of a girl under age 12 has a maximum 
penalty of life imprisonment. The penalty for unlawful carnal knowledge 
or attempted carnal knowledge of a girl under age 17 is six years' 
imprisonment. ``Indecent treatment'' of a girl under age 17 is 
punishable by two years' imprisonment, and indecent treatment of a boy 
under age 14 is punishable by seven years' imprisonment.
    There is no specific law against child pornography.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish community, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--During the year there were no confirmed 
reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
discrimination against persons with disabilities. Nonetheless, there 
was no reported discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, 
intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment, education, access 
to health care, or the provision of other state services. No 
legislation mandates services for persons with disabilities or access 
to public buildings. The government provides a welfare benefit to 
persons with disabilities. As part of aiding the participation in 
society of persons with disabilities, in 2009 the government began 
installing mobility ramps in public buildings. However, many buildings 
in the country were not accessible. Department of Education teachers 
provided rudimentary classes for a small group of students with 
disabilities; classes were held at a teacher's home.
    There is no government agency with specific responsibility for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. There are no formal 
mechanisms to protect persons with mental disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--More than 95 percent of the 
population report their ethnicity as Nauruan. Persons of Chinese and 
other Asian backgrounds constituted slightly more than 3 percent of 
heads of households, and i-Kiribati made up 1.5 percent. Unlike in some 
previous years, there were no reports during the year of violence 
targeting minorities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Sodomy is illegal, but there 
were no reports of prosecutions directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 
transgender persons. There were no reports of violence or 
discrimination against persons on the basis of sexual orientation or 
gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of violence or discrimination against persons based on HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides for the right of citizens to form and belong 
to trade unions or other associations. However, the country lacks 
formal trade unions and labor laws relating to unions. Historically, 
the transient nature of the mostly foreign workforce hampered efforts 
to organize trade unions. The right to strike is not protected, 
prohibited, or limited by law. There were no strikes during the year.
    Although there are no legal impediments, collective bargaining did 
not take place. A tiny private sector, mostly family-run stores and 
restaurants, employed approximately 1 percent of salaried workers. 
Salaries, working hours, vacation periods, and other employment matters 
for government workers, who constituted more than 90 percent of 
salaried workers, are governed by public service regulations.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports that 
such practices occurred.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets the minimum age of employment at 17. The Department of Human 
Resources and Labor is responsible for enforcing the law, which was 
respected by the only two significant employers: the government and the 
phosphate industry. The government enforced the law in the public 
sector but did not conduct any workplace inspections of private 
businesses during the year. Some children under 17 worked in small 
family-owned businesses.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government has a graduated 
salary system for public service officers and employees. At lower 
ranges the salaries did not provide a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. There was no minimum wage for private sector 
workers. There was no official poverty-level income figure, but 
approximately 26 percent of the population lived at the subsistence 
level.
    By regulation the workweek in both the public and private sectors 
was 35 hours for office workers and 40 hours for manual laborers. 
Neither the law nor regulations stipulate a weekly rest period, but 
most workers observed Saturdays and Sundays as holidays. There were 
provisions for premium overtime pay only for public sector workers; 
there were no specific regulations governing overtime for private 
sector workers.
    The government sets some health and safety standards, which the 
Department of Human Resources and Labor enforced in the public sector. 
The phosphate industry had a history of workplace health and safety 
requirements and compliance, but with the decline of the industry, 
enforcement of these regulations was lax. A gradual revival of the 
industry, which continued during the year, was accompanied by 
accusations that unfiltered dust discharge from the phosphate plant 
exposed workers and the surrounding communities to a significant health 
hazard. The government did not act to eliminate the problem, citing 
high costs. Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations 
that endanger health or safety without jeopardy to their employment.

                               __________

                              NEW ZEALAND

                           executive summary
    New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy. Citizens choose their 
representatives in free and fair multiparty elections, most recently 
held on November 26, when the National Party won 59 parliamentary seats 
and formed a minority coalition government with John Key as prime 
minister. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    There were no reports of widespread human rights problems, but 
indigenous persons disproportionately experienced societal problems and 
ethnic minority individuals experienced societal discrimination. There 
also were allegations during the year of labor abuses of crewmembers on 
board foreign chartered vessels fishing in the country's Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ).
    Violence against women also was a problem.
    The government took steps to prosecute officials who committed 
abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no 
reports that government officials employed them.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, including 
availability of potable water, and the government permitted monitoring 
visits by independent human rights observers.
    On May 20, three men were convicted of murder in the killing of a 
fellow prisoner at Auckland Prison in 2009. They were sentenced to life 
imprisonment on December 16. There have been no prison inmate deaths 
since this occurrence.
    At year's end the prison population was 8,378. Of these, 493 were 
female, 373 were between the ages of 15 and 19, and 4,273 
(approximately half) were of Maori descent.
    Persons accused of a crime who are 17 years of age or older are 
tried as adults and, if convicted, sent to adult prisons. Prisoners 
younger than 17 are managed in residential facilities operated by the 
national Child and Youth Welfare Agency.
    Authorities allow prisoners at least one personal visit each week 
for a minimum of 30 minutes, permit religious observance, and allow 
inmates to make uncensored complaints to statutory inspectors or the 
ombudsmen. The Ombudsmen Office reports to Parliament annually on its 
findings. The law provides for specified rights of inspection, 
including those by members of Parliament (MPs) and justices of the 
peace, and information was publicly available on complaints and 
investigations, subject to the provisions of privacy legislation.
    The law requires prison facilities to be inspected to ensure that 
they meet minimum standards, and improvements were made when 
deficiencies were identified.

    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 New Zealand Police 
is responsible for internal security, and the armed forces, under the 
Ministry of Defense, are responsible for external security. Civilian 
authorities maintained effective control over the security forces, and 
the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse 
and corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the 
security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A court-issued 
warrant is usually necessary to make an arrest, but police may arrest a 
suspect without a warrant if there is reasonable cause. Police officers 
may enter premises without a warrant to arrest a person if they 
reasonably suspect the person of committing a crime on the premises or 
have found the person committing an offense and are in pursuit. Police 
must inform arrested persons immediately of their legal rights and the 
grounds for their arrest.
    After arresting and charging a suspect, police may release the 
person on bail until the first court appearance. Court bail is granted 
after the first court appearance unless there is a significant risk 
that the suspect would flee, tamper with witnesses or evidence, or 
commit a crime while on bail. Police do not normally grant bail for 
more serious offenses such as assault or burglary. Authorities granted 
family members prompt access to detainees and allowed detainees prompt 
access to a lawyer of their choice and, if indigent, a lawyer provided 
by the government.

    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 public 
trial by jury, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this 
right. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and the right to 
counsel. They also have the right to present, confront, and question 
witnesses; access government-held evidence; and appeal convictions. A 
lawyer is provided at public expense if the defendant cannot afford 
counsel.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals and 
organizations may seek civil judicial remedies for human rights 
violations, including access to the Human Rights Review Tribunal. There 
are also administrative remedies for alleged wrongs through the Human 
Rights Commission (HRC) and the Office of Human Rights Proceedings.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press
    The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent 
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political 
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.
    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons
    The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, 
foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government 
generally respected these rights in practice. The government cooperated 
with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum
    The country's laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee 
status, and the government has established a system for providing 
protection to refugees.

    Durable Solutions.--The government accepts up to 750 refugees each 
year for resettlement from third countries and facilitates their local 
integration.

    Temporary Protection.--The government processed a total of 305 
requests to provide temporary protection to individuals outside the 
annual quota of 750 refugees accepted for resettlement. Outcomes 
included granted applications, a different visa granted on other 
grounds, or individuals absconded; a specific breakdown was not 
available.
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.--Recent Elections.--In the 
most recent general elections, held on November 26, the National Party 
won 59 of 122 parliamentary seats and formed a minority government in 
coalition with the ACT and United Future parties. The National-led 
government also had a cooperation agreement with the Maori Party. Four 
other parties were represented in Parliament: Labour, Green, New 
Zealand First, and Mana.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women participated fully in 
political life. There were 39 women among the 121 MPs and eight women 
on the executive council, which is composed of 28 ministers (20 within 
the cabinet and eight outside). The chief justice of the Supreme Court 
was a woman. There was one woman in the 24-seat parliament of the 
Associated State of the Cook Islands and four women in the 20-seat 
parliament of the Associated State of Niue.
    Seven seats in Parliament are reserved for persons of Maori 
ancestry. The number of Maori seats is adjusted every five years, based 
on the number of persons who register to vote on the Maori electoral 
roll. Persons of Maori ancestry can also become MPs by election or 
appointment to non-Maori seats.
    There were 21 Maori members, six members of Pacific Island descent, 
and six members of Asian descent in Parliament. The cabinet included at 
least three members of Maori ancestry.
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. Efforts to 
combat corruption and prosecution of corruption cases are handled 
through the Ministry of Justice and the independent Serious Fraud 
Office.
    The law requires MPs, including all ministers, to submit an annual 
report of financial interests, which is then disclosed publicly. Career 
civil servants are not subject to this requirement but are subject to 
ethics standards established by the State Services Commission.
    The law provides for public access to government information, 
including access for noncitizens and foreign media, to be provided 
within 20 working days of a request, and the government generally 
adhered to the law in practice. Information must be made available 
unless a good reason, such as concern for national security, exists for 
not doing so; the government did not abuse this provision. The 
requester must be given an estimate of any fees before the information 
is provided.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Ministry of Justice funds the 
active HRC, which operated as an independent agency without government 
interference. The commission had a staff of 60 and adequate resources 
to perform its mission. It submitted more than 50 legal and policy 
interventions during the year ending June 30, and the government 
responded to its recommendations, which led to several law changes. The 
HRC was considered effective and enjoyed high public confidence.
    The Office of the Ombudsmen, an organization responsible to 
Parliament but independent of the government, is charged with 
investigating complaints about the administrative acts, decisions, 
recommendations, and omissions of national and local government 
agencies; inspecting prisons; and following up on prisoner complaints. 
The office enjoyed government cooperation, operated without government 
or party interference, was adequately resourced, and was considered 
effective and trusted by the public. The office produced a wide variety 
of reports for the government that were available on its Web site.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, 
disability, age, and national or ethnic origin, and the government 
actively enforced these prohibitions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Violence against women 
affected all socioeconomic groups. The law criminalizes rape, including 
spousal rape. The maximum penalty is 20 years' imprisonment; however, 
indefinite detention may occur in cases where the parole board during 
its annual review believes that the prisoner poses a continuing threat 
to society. The Ministry of Justice reported no such cases during the 
July-December 2010 period, the most recent publicly available data.
    Domestic violence is a criminal offense. During the period July-
December 2010, police recorded 1,691 charges for ``sexual attacks,'' 
resulting in 659 convictions. During the same period, there were 12 
charges of spousal rape with three convictions, and four charges of 
``unlawful sexual connection with spouse'' with no convictions.
    The government's Task Force for Action on Violence Within Families 
continued to coordinate a variety of government initiatives to 
eliminate family violence, including its Te Rito program, a national 
strategy to address all forms and degrees of domestic violence.
    Police were responsive when domestic violence was reported. The 
government partially funded women's shelters, rape crisis centers, 
sexual abuse counseling, family violence networks, and violence 
prevention services.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--There were no cases of female 
genital mutilation (FGM) reported in the country during the year. 
However, a 2011 U.N. report commented that a growing number of women 
and girls among the country's immigrant communities have been subjected 
to or are at risk of FGM. The New Zealand Female Genital Mutilation 
Education Programme stated that ``there is no documented evidence'' 
that FGM currently occurs in the country.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and 
provides civil penalties. However, sexual contact induced by certain 
threats may also fall under the criminal code, with a maximum 14-year 
prison sentence. The HRC published fact sheets on sexual harassment and 
made sexual harassment prevention training available to schools, 
businesses, and government departments on a regular basis. In the year 
ending June 30, the HRC's disputes resolution team heard and resolved 
60 new human rights inquiries and complaints that cited the ground of 
sexual harassment. Additionally, two cases appeared before the director 
of the Office of Human Rights Proceedings. In one case the director 
decided to provide legal representation and the matter was before the 
Human Rights Review Tribunal at year's end.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children free from discrimination, 
coercion, or violence, and granted access to information on 
reproductive health. The government does not limit access to male 
contraception, and female contraception is available without parental 
consent to women age 16 and older. Skilled healthcare for women was 
widely available.

    Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal status and rights as 
men. While the law prohibits discrimination in employment and rates of 
pay for equal or similar work, the government acknowledged that a 
gender earnings gap persisted in practice. According to 2011 Department 
of Labor (DoL) survey statistics, women earned more than 90 percent of 
the average hourly earnings for men.
    The Ministry of Women's Affairs addresses problems of 
discrimination and gender equality, and there is a minister of women's 
affairs in the cabinet. The HRC has an equal opportunity employment 
team that focuses on workplace gender problems. This team regularly 
surveys pay scales, conducts a census of women in leadership roles, and 
actively engages public and private employers to promote compensation 
equality.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Children born in the country attain 
citizenship if either parent is a citizen or legal permanent resident 
of the country. Children born outside the country attain citizenship if 
either parent is a citizen born in the country. The law requires 
notification of births by both parents as soon as ``reasonably 
practicable'' (deemed as generally being within two months of the 
birth), and most births were registered within this time frame.

    Child Abuse.--Continuing a trend from the previous year, total 
cases of identified child abuse and neglect increased approximately 11 
percent in 2011 compared with 2010. According to the Ministry of Social 
Development, abuse or neglect was found in around two-fifths of the 
cases investigated. More public awareness campaigns were conducted to 
bring attention to this issue, which was believed to have led to more 
reports of concern. A disproportionately high number of reported cases 
of child abuse (approximately 45 percent) involved Maori children.
    The government promoted information sharing between the courts and 
health and child-protection agencies to identify children at risk of 
abuse. The Office of the Commissioner for Children played a key role in 
monitoring violence and abuse against children.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Commercial sexual exploitation of 
children remained a problem. A 2007 nationwide study--the most recent 
available--found that 1.3 percent of 772 surveyed sex workers were 
underage. When discovered, law enforcement authorities arrested and 
prosecuted violators. Citizens who commit child sex offenses overseas 
may be prosecuted in New Zealand courts. The law makes it an offense 
punishable by seven years' imprisonment to assist a person under 18 
years of age in providing commercial sexual services; to receive 
earnings from commercial sexual services provided by a person younger 
than 18; or to contract for commercial sexual services from, or be a 
client of, a person under 18. The law also makes it an offense to deal 
in individuals younger than 18 for sexual exploitation or engagement in 
enforced labor. The penalty for a person who sells, buys, transfers, 
barters, rents, hires, or in any other way enters into a dealing or 
takes an action involving a person under 18 for the purposes of sexual 
exploitation or enforced labor is 14 years' imprisonment.
    The government developed in concert with nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) a national plan of action against the commercial 
exploitation of children and operated programs to reintegrate children 
out of prostitution through vocational training and educational 
opportunities.
    The law provides that any person who has a sexual connection with a 
person younger than 16 years of age is liable to imprisonment for a 
term not exceeding 10 years.
    The law prohibits child pornography and provides for a NZ$10,000 
(approximately $8,000) fine of an individual, and NZ$30,000 ($24,000) 
of a corporate body, if a person makes, imports, supplies, distributes, 
possesses for supply, displays, or exhibits an objectionable 
publication. The law also provides a penalty of 10 years' imprisonment 
or a NZ$200,000 ($160,000) fine of a corporate body if a person commits 
such an act knowing that the publication is objectionable. Possession 
of objectionable material is also an offense punishable by a NZ$2,000 
fine ($1,600) for an individual and NZ$5,000 ($4,000) for a corporate 
body. A person knowingly possessing objectionable material is liable to 
a penalty of five years' imprisonment or a NZ$50,000 ($40,000) fine for 
an individual or a NZ$100,000 ($80,000) fine for a corporate body. It 
constitutes an aggravating factor to be taken into account in 
sentencing if the publication promotes or supports exploitation of 
children or young persons for sexual purposes, deals with sexual 
conduct with or by children or young persons, or exploits nudity of 
children or young persons.
    The Department of Internal Affairs Censorship Compliance Unit 
actively policed images of child sex abuse on the Internet and 
prosecuted offenders. The government maintains extraterritorial 
jurisdiction over child sex offenses committed by the country's 
citizens abroad.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbered approximately 7,000. 
Anti-Semitic incidents were rare.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment; education; access to 
places and facilities; and the provision of goods, services, housing, 
and accommodation. The government is prohibited from discriminating on 
the basis of physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental disability, 
unless such discrimination can be ``demonstrably justified.'' During 
the year the HRC received 279 disability-related complaints, which 
represented 26 percent of the total complaints received. Compliance 
with access laws varied.
    The government's Office for Disability Issues worked to protect and 
promote the rights of persons with disabilities. In addition, during 
the year both the HRC and the Mental Health Commission continued to 
address mental health problems in their antidiscrimination efforts.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Pacific Islanders, who made up 
7 percent of the population, experienced societal discrimination. The 
Ministries of Justice and Pacific Island Affairs had a program to 
identify gaps in delivery of government services to Pacific Islanders.
    Asians, who made up 10 percent of the population, also reported 
some societal discrimination. The government mandates a race relations 
commissioner who developed a Diversity Action Program aimed at the 
Maori, Pacific Islander, and Asian communities. The program includes an 
annual Diversity Forum to eliminate race-based discrimination. It was 
widely attended and considered effective.
    The Office of Ethnic Affairs within the Department of Internal 
Affairs focuses on improving dialogue and understanding about minority 
communities among the wider population.

    Indigenous People.--Approximately 15 percent of the population 
claimed at least one ancestor from the country's indigenous Maori 
minority. The law prohibits discrimination against the indigenous 
population. However, there was a continuing pattern of disproportionate 
numbers of Maori on unemployment and welfare rolls, in prison, among 
school dropouts, in infant mortality statistics, and among single-
parent households.
    Maori constituted approximately half of the prison population and 
42 percent of persons serving community-based sentences. The 
government, along with community partners, implemented several programs 
and services to reduce Maori recidivism and overrepresentation in the 
criminal justice system.
    Government policy recognized a special role for indigenous persons 
and their traditional values and customs, including cultural and 
environmental problems that affected commercial development. The 
Ministry of Maori Development, in cooperation with several Maori NGOs, 
sought to improve the status of indigenous persons.
    In March Parliament passed the Marine and Coastal Area Act to 
replace the controversial 2004 Foreshore and Seabed Act. The new act 
provides that the common marine and coastal area (formerly known as the 
foreshore and seabed) cannot be sold off, and guarantees public access, 
fishing, navigation, and existing use rights. Various Maori leaders 
expressed differing views on its passage. The Maori Party supported 
passage for addressing two fundamental rights that they contended were 
not addressed by the previous act: the right to access justice through 
the courts and property rights. However, some Maori groups and 
individuals, including MPs, protested the bill's passage for not 
providing any mechanism to claim private title of these marine and 
coastal areas--meaning that the title cannot be sold and that public 
access cannot be denied. Despite some initial outcry after its passage, 
little public debate about the act subsequently occurred.
    From January through December, the government settled three Maori 
claims related to the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, the country's founding 
document. Through the end of the year, 14 additional groups signed 
deeds of settlement and awaited legislation to make their deeds 
unconditional. A further 12 indigenous groups, known as ``iwis,'' moved 
into active negotiations, making a total of 78 iwi groups in various 
stages of claims, including the final legislative phase, which occurs 
after claims are settled.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits abuse, 
discrimination, and acts of violence based on sexual orientation and 
gender identity, and the government generally enforced the law. During 
the year the HRC received 205 discrimination complaints relating to 
gender identity or sexual orientation (19 percent of all complaints). 
The Ministry of Justice received no reports of societal violence or 
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits 
violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, and no such 
cases were reported.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers in the public and private sectors the right to 
form and join organizations of their choice without previous 
authorization or excessive requirements, and the law was applied in 
practice. The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
government interference, including the right to strike, and this right 
was exercised in practice. The law provides for the right of workers to 
organize and bargain collectively through unions, and workers exercised 
this right in practice. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and 
allows for reinstatement of workers fired for union activity. No such 
cases arose during the year that required government intervention.
    Contractors are not covered by most provisions of employment law 
and cannot join unions, bargain collectively, or benefit from certain 
leaves or overtime compensation.
    Strikes by providers of ``key services'' are subject to certain 
procedural requirements, including mandatory notice of three to 14 
days, depending on the service involved. Key services include: 
production, processing, and supply of petroleum products; production 
and supply of electricity, water, and sewer services; emergency fire 
brigade and police services; ambulance and hospital services; 
manufacturing of certain pharmaceuticals and dialysis solutions; 
operation of residential welfare or penal institutions; airport and 
seaport operations; and dairy production operations. The listing of 
some of these sectors is based on broader criteria than the 
International Labor Organization's definition of ``essential 
services.''
    To bargain collectively, unions must be registered, independent, 
governed by democratic rules, and have at least 15 members. Unions may 
not bargain collectively on social or political issues. Nearly all 
unionized workers were members of unions affiliated with the New 
Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU), a federation that included 
unions representing various trades and locations. A few small, 
nonaffiliated unions also existed.
    The law prohibits uniformed members of the armed forces from 
organizing unions and bargaining collectively. However, police have 
freedom of association and the right to organize and bargain 
collectively. With regard to strikes, the law prohibits sworn police 
officers (which includes all uniformed and plainclothes police but 
excludes clerical and support staff) from striking or taking any form 
of industrial action. Disputes that cannot be settled by negotiation 
between the police association and management are subject to 
compulsory, final-offer arbitration. The government effectively 
enforced applicable laws without lengthy delays.
    A labor law amendment passed in 2010 extends to all employers the 
ability of employers and employees to agree to trial periods of 90 days 
or less, during which employees are not permitted to raise a personal 
grievance for unjustified dismissal. Designed to improve labor-market 
flexibility and encourage employment of new staff members, particularly 
from groups that faced higher levels of labor-market disadvantage, this 
amendment became effective on April 1. Previously, 90-day trial periods 
applied only to small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. The 
NZCTU criticized this reform as undermining workers' rights. However, 
employees let go during the trial period may still raise a personal 
grievance on the grounds of sexual or racial harassment, 
discrimination, or unjustified disadvantage. If an employment problem 
arises during the trial period, the employee and the employer may 
access mediation services.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, and the government generally enforced these 
provisions effectively. There were no reports of forced labor during 
the year.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--By 
law children under age 16 may not work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 
6 a.m. The law also states that children enrolled in school may not be 
employed, even outside school hours, if such employment would interfere 
with their education. The law bans the employment of children under age 
15 in hazardous industries such as manufacturing, mining, and forestry. 
DoL inspectors effectively enforced these laws.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On April 1, the government 
increased the minimum hourly wage by NZ$0.25 to NZ$13.00 ($10.40). The 
separate new entrants' wage for 16- to 17-year-old workers was 
increased to NZ$10.40 ($8.32) for nonsupervisory workers with less than 
three months or 200 hours of employment. There was no official poverty-
level income figure, but researchers frequently used 50 percent of the 
median income as the poverty-level income; using this measure, full-
time workers earning the minimum wage were above the poverty level. A 
majority of the work force earned more than the minimum wage.
    A 40-hour workweek is traditional. There are legal limits regarding 
hours worked and premium pay for overtime work. The law does not 
provide specifically for a 24-hour rest period weekly; however, 
management and labor have accepted the practice, and it is the norm for 
most industries. The law provides for a minimum four-week annual paid 
vacation and 11 paid public holidays. Employees who work on a paid 
holiday are entitled to time and a half for that day and a day off with 
pay on another date. The armed forces are exempted from this benefit.
    By law employees are accorded one paid 10-minute rest break during 
a two- to four-hour work period, one paid 10-minute rest break and one 
unpaid 30-minute meal break during a four- to six-hour work period, and 
two paid 10-minute rest breaks and one unpaid 30-minute meal break 
during a six- to eight-hour shift.
    Extensive laws and regulations govern health and safety issues. 
Employers are obliged to provide a safe and healthy work environment, 
and employees are responsible for their own safety and health, as well 
as ensuring that their actions do not harm others. Workers have the 
legal right to strike over health and safety issues, as well as the 
right to withdraw from a dangerous work situation without jeopardy to 
continued employment. The government mandates employers to provide 
health insurance for their seasonal workers.
    The DoL is responsible for enforcing laws governing working 
conditions. DoL inspectors effectively enforced safety and health 
rules, and they had the power to shut down equipment if necessary. The 
DoL normally investigated reports of unsafe or unhealthy working 
conditions within 24 hours of notification. During the year the DoL 
received 9,600 complaints of health- or safety-related workplace 
incidents. Approximately 1,200 of these resulted in compliance or 
enforcement action.
    The NZCTU reported that in the mining and road transport 
industries, lack of adequate rest in practice resulted in increased 
safety risks and health risks for workers.
    During the year there were allegations by unions, Maori groups, and 
human rights organizations, among others, of labor abuses on foreign 
fishing vessels operating in the country's territorial waters. In 
August the government established a panel of inquiry to investigate and 
evaluate the economic and social costs and benefits of use of foreign 
chartered vessels in the country's fishing industry. The panel's 
mandate included making recommendations concerning government policy on 
use of such vessels and improvements in operational practices. The 
panel held hearings in October and was scheduled to release conclusions 
and recommendations in February 2012.

                               __________

                                 PALAU

                           executive summary
    Palau is a constitutional republic. The president, vice president, 
and members of the legislature (the Olbiil Era Kelulau) are elected for 
four-year terms. There are no political parties. In the generally free 
and fair elections held in November 2008, Johnson Toribiong was elected 
president. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The most significant human rights problems in the country occurred 
in the areas of government corruption and discrimination and abuse of 
foreign workers.
    Other human rights problems that occurred during the year were 
domestic violence and trafficking in persons.
    The government took steps to prosecute officials who committed 
abuses. Impunity was not a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

    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.--Conditions in the 
country's sole prison, although primitive, generally met international 
standards. The government permits visits by independent human rights 
observers; however, no visits were requested or made during the year. 
Overcrowding remained a problem. There were 73 prisoners, including 
four women and four juveniles. Prisoners have access to potable water.
    The few female prisoners were held in separate cells but were 
permitted to mingle with male inmates during daylight hours. Prison 
conditions for female inmates were the same as for male prisoners.
    Prisoners had access to visitors and held religious observance. 
They were permitted to file complaints, and authorities investigated 
allegations of mistreatment. Authorities also monitored prison 
conditions.
    The government does not have an ombudsman. Officials took measures 
to alleviate overcrowding through a work-release program and other 
programs allowing prisoners to take academic courses at a local 
community college; provided separate confinement for juveniles; and had 
established procedures for recordkeeping. Prisoners and detainees could 
raise problems through private attorneys or court-appointed attorneys.

    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 civilian 
authorities maintained effective control over the national police and 
marine police in Koror and Peleliu states, and the government has 
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. 
There were no reports of impunity involving security forces during the 
year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires warrants for arrests. Warrants are prepared by the Office of 
the Attorney General and signed by a judge. The law provides for a 
prompt judicial determination of the legality of detention, and this 
was observed in practice. Detainees were informed promptly of the 
charges against them and had prompt access to family members and 
lawyers. If a detainee could not afford a lawyer, the public defender 
or a court-appointed lawyer was available. There was a functioning 
system of bail.
    A person arrested has the right to remain silent and to speak to 
and be visited by counsel, a family member or his employer. Those 
arrested must be released or charged within 24 hours, and must be 
informed of the preceding rights.

    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 
government has an independent public defender system.
    Trials are public and are conducted by judges; certain crimes 
warrant jury trial. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, the 
right of appeal and the right to consult with an attorney. They can 
question witnesses, present evidence on their own behalf, and access 
government-held evidence in their cases. The law extends these rights 
to all defendants.

    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 for lawsuits involving 
allegations of human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech including for members of 
the press, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a 
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of 
speech and of the press.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, 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 on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion.

    Durable Solutions.--During the year the government provided 
temporary protection to one refugee from Ethiopia.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens the right to change their government 
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 
November 2008 voters elected a new congress, Johnson Toribiong as 
president, and Kerai Mariur as vice president. The president, vice 
president, and congress serve four-year terms. The Council of Chiefs, 
consisting of the highest traditional chiefs from each state, advises 
the president on traditional laws and customs. Although there have been 
political parties in the past, there were none during the year.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There are no legal 
impediments to women's participation in government and politics. Two 
women were elected to the Senate in the November 2008 general 
elections. Women constituted 16 percent of state legislators. Five 
women served as state governors during the year. Three female associate 
justices served in the Supreme Court, and five of the country's nine 
judges were women. A woman was appointed to serve as the attorney 
general.
    There were two members of minorities in the House of Delegates.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Government corruption was a problem, which the government took some 
steps to address. 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. Public officials are required to file annual financial 
disclosure statements with the Ethics Commission. The Office of the 
Special Prosecutor and the Office of the Public Auditor are responsible 
for combating government corruption. The Office of the Special 
Prosecutor has been vacant since March 2010.
    In June the chief of the Division of Fish and Wildlife was 
sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined $5,000 (the U.S. dollar 
is the official currency) for five criminal counts: misconduct in 
public office, obstruction of justice, violation of the Code of Ethics, 
conversion of public funds and aiding and abetting forgery. The five-
year imprisonment sentence was suspended.
    The law provides for the right of citizens and noncitizens 
including foreign media to examine government documents and observe 
official deliberations of any government agency, and the government 
generally respected this provision in practice.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international groups concerned with human 
rights generally operated without government restriction. Government 
officials were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    There were no visits by U.N. representatives or other international 
governmental organization. There were no reports by international 
groups on 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 generally observed these 
provisions.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape, 
is a crime punishable by a maximum of 25 years' imprisonment. During 
the year there was no reported case of rape. There are no laws on 
domestic violence. Cases that would be characterized as domestic 
violence are prosecuted as assault and battery. Alcohol and drug abuse 
contributed to violence and crime against women and children. According 
to the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Health, and 
women's groups, reported cases of women and children as victims of 
crimes represented a relatively small percentage of cases of actual 
abuse. Assault is a criminal offense, punishable by up to six months in 
jail or a fine of up to $100, and the police responded when such cases 
were reported; women, however, were reluctant to press charges against 
their spouses. There were no shelters for victims. The government 
conducted public education efforts to combat abuse against women and 
children.
    In November the country commemorated the Elimination of Violence 
Against Women and Children with a presidential proclamation, and 
government and community leaders appeared on television and radio talk 
shows urging better treatment of women and children and to end the 
vicious cycle of violence that all too often begins at home.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal and did not appear 
to be a major problem.

    Reproductive Rights.--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 at the government's Belau 
National Hospital. People have access to contraceptive products 
available from Belau National Hospital, private clinics, and department 
stores. According to the government, the maternal mortality rate was 
reported to be at zero in 2007. Women and men were given equal access 
to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted 
infections.

    Discrimination.--Women have the same legal rights as men and enjoy 
those rights. The inheritance of property and of traditional rank is 
matrilineal, with women occupying positions of importance within the 
traditional system. There were no reported instances of unequal pay for 
equal work or gender-related job discrimination. There are laws 
protecting women from job discrimination and providing equal pay for 
equal work. The Bureau of Aging and Gender, under the Ministry of 
Community and Cultural Affairs, promotes gender workplace equality.
    A local women's group held an annual conference on women's and 
children's issues, including health, education, drug abuse, 
prostitution, and traditional customs and values. Government officials, 
including the president, vice president, ministers, and traditional 
chiefs, participated.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship of a child is derived 
from the parents. A child born to foreign national parents is 
registered as a citizen of those countries. Births are registered 
immediately, and there has not been a report of failure to register.

    Child Abuse.--Children's rights generally were respected, although 
there were isolated reports of child neglect. Law enforcement officers 
including the Office of Victims of Crime aggressively investigated and 
prosecuted cases of violence against children.
    The Office of Victims of Crimes, under the Ministry of Health's 
Office on Social Health, deals with women, children, and men who are 
victims of crimes. The Office of Victims of Crimes reported that most 
violence or abuse against children happened in the home or place of 
residence and generally involved members of the family. The Office of 
Victims of Crimes worked closely with the law enforcement officers and 
the Office of the Attorney General on cases involving children.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There were no reports of children 
under age 18 engaging in prostitution. Commercial sexual exploitation 
of children is not a problem, and there were no reported cases. There 
are no laws on commercial sexual exploitation of children.
    The age of consensual sex is 16, and the penalty for statutory rape 
is not more than five years' jail term. The law does not specifically 
address child pornography.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

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

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities. 
The Disabled Persons' Anti-discrimination Act and the Programs and 
Services for Handicapped Children Act cover both persons with mental 
disabilities and persons with physical disabilities, and the government 
enforced the provisions of these acts. No discrimination was reported 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to 
health care, or the provision of other state services. The government 
provides a monthly stipend of $50 for persons with disabilities. The 
law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities, and the 
government generally enforced these provisions in practice. Public 
schools had special education programs to address problems encountered 
by persons with disabilities.
    The government agency Ngak Mak Tang (Everyone Matters) is 
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits noncitizens 
from purchasing land or obtaining citizenship. The only legal mechanism 
to obtain a citizenship is by blood, meaning that one of the parents 
must be Palauan. Children born to noncitizens inherit their parents' 
citizenship. Foreign workers constituted approximately 55 percent of 
the workforce. A majority of citizens viewed the recent rapid increase 
in foreign workers negatively. Foreign workers and their dependents, 
both documented and undocumented, accounted for nearly a third of the 
population. Foreign residents were subject to discrimination and were 
targets of petty and sometimes violent crimes, as well as other harmful 
acts against the persons and property. Foreign residents made credible 
complaints that the authorities did not pursue or prosecute crimes 
committed against noncitizens with the same vigor as crimes against 
citizens.
    In addition some foreign nationals experienced discrimination in 
employment, pay, housing, education, and access to social services, 
although the law prohibits such discrimination.
    The Division of Labor handles cases of workplace discrimination 
against foreign workers.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of cases 
of violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender 
identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of cases of violence or discrimination against person with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of all persons to assemble peacefully 
and to associate with others for any lawful purpose, including the 
right to join and organize labor unions. However, there were no active 
labor unions or other employee organizations; the majority of 
businesses were small-scale, family-run enterprises employing relatives 
and friends.
    The law does not provide for the right to strike, and the 
government has not addressed this issue. There were no workers' strikes 
or protests during the year.
    There is no law concerning trade union organization, collective 
bargaining, or antiunion discrimination. Market forces determine wages 
in the cash economy.
    There are no export processing zones.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports 
that such practices occurred. There were also reports of foreign 
workers, particularly domestic helpers and unskilled laborers, forced 
to accept jobs different from those for which they were recruited. 
Employers sometimes verbally threatened or withheld passports and 
return tickets of foreign workers desiring to leave unfavorable work 
situations. The Division of Labor worked with employers and employees 
to address these problems.
    There were no reports of forced or compulsory labor by children. 
Regulations require foreign workers to be at least 21 years old to 
obtain a work permit.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law states that the government shall protect children from 
exploitation. The Division of Labor is responsible for enforcing laws 
and regulations relating to child labor. There is no minimum age for 
employment. Children typically were not employed in the wage economy, 
but some assisted their families with fishing, agriculture, and small-
scale family enterprises.
    By regulation no foreigner under age 21 may be admitted into the 
country for employment purposes, and the government generally enforced 
this regulation effectively.
    See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--A 1999 law sets the minimum wage 
at $2.50 per hour, but foreign workers are not included under the 
minimum wage law. It generally was assumed that legislators 
specifically exempted foreign contract workers from the minimum wage 
law to ensure a continued supply of low-cost labor in industries that 
the legislators often controlled. The national minimum wage provided a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Anecdotal evidence 
indicated that unskilled workers (usually foreigners) for commercial 
firms were paid only $1.50 to $2.00 per hour; wages for domestic 
helpers employed in private households were lower still.
    In addition to their wages, foreign workers usually were provided 
basic accommodations and food gratis or at nominal cost. The country 
continued to attract foreign workers from the Philippines, China, and 
Bangladesh. During the year there were more than 6,000 foreign 
nationals with work permits in the country; of these, roughly 60 
percent were from the Philippines, 15 percent from China, and 10 
percent from Bangladesh.
    There is no legislation concerning maximum hours of work. The 
Division of Labor has established some regulations regarding conditions 
of employment for nonresident workers. The division may inspect the 
conditions of the workplace and employer-provided housing on the 
specific complaint of the employees, but enforcement was sporadic. 
Working conditions varied in practice.
    Although there are occupational and safety standards, the law does 
not specifically provide workers the right to remove themselves from 
situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardizing 
their continued employment, and no law protects workers who file 
complaints about such conditions. Anecdotal evidence suggested that 
noncitizens would likely lose their employment if they removed 
themselves from situations that endangered health or safety. Since 
foreign workers generally are not permitted to change employers and 
must depart the country if their contract ends for any reason, such 
workers were reticent about reporting abuses. There were no reports to 
the government of violations of occupational health or safety standards 
during the year. The Division of Labor enforces safety standards and 
laws.
    Reports of mistreatment of foreign workers by their employers 
continued during the year. The foreign workers most likely to be abused 
were those who worked under contracts as domestic helpers, farmers, 
waitresses, beauticians, hostesses in karaoke bars and massage parlors, 
construction workers, and other semiskilled workers, the majority of 
whom were from the Philippines, China, and Bangladesh. The most 
commonly reported abuses included misrepresentation of contract terms 
and conditions of employment, withholding of pay or benefits, and 
substandard food and housing. There were also complaints of physical 
abuse. In a number of instances local authorities took corrective 
action when alerted by social service and religious organizations. The 
Division of Labor helped to resolve disputes or complaints between 
employers and foreign workers.

                               __________

                            PAPUA NEW GUINEA

                           executive summary
    Papua New Guinea is a constitutional, federal, multiparty, 
parliamentary democracy. On August 2, Peter O'Neill was elected prime 
minister when the speaker of Parliament declared the premiership vacant 
due to the prolonged illness and absence of former prime minister Sir 
Michael Somare. On December 12, the Supreme Court declared O'Neill's 
election unconstitutional and restored Somare as prime minister. On the 
same day Parliament disqualified Somare as a member of Parliament (MP) 
and reelected O'Neill as prime minister. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities, but there were some instances in which they acted 
independently of civilian control.
    The principal human rights abuses were severe police abuse of 
detainees; violence and discrimination against women; and vigilante 
killings and abuses, some related to alleged involvement in sorcery and 
witchcraft.
    Other human rights problems included arbitrary or unlawful killings 
by police; poor prison conditions; lengthy pretrial detention; 
infringement of citizens' privacy rights, particularly in highland 
areas; government corruption; abuse and sexual exploitation of 
children; trafficking in persons; discrimination against persons with 
disabilities; intertribal violence; and ineffective enforcement of 
labor laws.
    Despite minor reforms to the justice system, the government 
frequently failed to prosecute or punish officials who committed 
abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the 
government, and impunity was pervasive.
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 killed a number of persons during the year. According to police 
reports, most killings occurred during gunfights with criminal suspects 
who were resisting arrest. However, public concern about police 
violence persisted.
    In October a group of traditional landowners in the East New 
Britain Province opposed to a controversial oil palm project told the 
media that they had been assaulted by drunken police officers. The 
police commissioner ordered an investigation into the allegations. At 
year's end no results had come out of the investigation. On December 8, 
the police commissioner issued an order withdrawing all police from 
logging camps after allegations that police were abusing their powers 
in dealing with opponents of logging. There were claims police in 
logging camps had been involved in beating people with iron bars and 
fan belts, raiding villages in the middle of the night, and 
drunkenness. At year's end no investigation was conducted and no 
charges brought against any officers.

    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, 
individual police members frequently beat and otherwise abused suspects 
during arrests and interrogations and in pretrial detention. There were 
numerous press accounts of such abuses, particularly against young 
detainees. On June 29, the Supreme Court introduced human rights rules 
to fast track human rights cases through the justice system by making 
it easier for the public to begin court proceedings.
    In May 2010 the U.N. special representative on torture, Manfred 
Nowak, visited the country on a fact-finding mission at the invitation 
of the government. He reported systemic beatings of detainees by police 
upon arrest and within the first hours of detention, including during 
interrogation. He also reported severe punishment of prison escapees 
that he characterized as amounting to torture, including brutal 
beatings with bush knives and gun butts, shooting detainees at close 
range, and cutting detainees' tendons with axes and bush knives after 
they were apprehended with the intent of disabling them. He further 
reported that the victims usually were kept in cells without any 
medical treatment, a practice that occasionally led to their deaths.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Despite minor improvements 
to existing cells and increased capacity, prison conditions remained 
poor, and the prison system continued to suffer from serious 
underfunding. In 2011 Australian assistance continued toward upgrading 
these facilities. Two prisons--in Tari, Southern Highlands, and Daru, 
Western Province--remained closed during the year due to tribal 
conflicts and unresolved health issues, respectively. Neither prisons 
nor police detention centers had proper medical care facilities.
    Overcrowding in prisons and police cells remained a serious problem 
in some facilities. According to the correctional services 
commissioner, all but five of the country's prisons experienced 
overcrowding during the year. The holding capacity of the country's 
prisons was 4,366 beds
    At year's end there were 4,134 inmates, with overcrowding existing 
in some of the prisons. Of the total number of inmates, almost one-
third were pretrial detainees. There were a total of 259 female 
inmates. Within the inmate population, there were 2840 convicted 
prisoners, 1140 pretrial detainees, and 154 male juveniles--consisting 
of 90 convicted prisoners and 64 pretrial detainees.
    In some areas infrequent court sessions, slow police 
investigations, and bail restrictions for certain crimes continued to 
exacerbate overcrowding.
    Male and female inmates usually were held separately, but some 
rural prisons lacked separate facilities, and there were reports in the 
past of assaults on female prisoners. Pretrial detainees were held in 
the same prisons as convicted prisoners but had separate cells.
    During the year, 13 of the country's 19 prison facilities had 
separate accommodations for juvenile offenders; the remaining five did 
not. The Catholic Church operated three juvenile reception centers to 
hold minors awaiting arraignment prior to posting of bail. Human Rights 
Watch (HRW) reported that juveniles routinely were held with adults in 
police detention cells, where they were often assaulted by older 
detainees. Police denied juvenile court officers access to police 
cells.
    Prisoners had reasonable access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to 
submit credible complaints of inhumane conditions without censorship to 
the Ombudsman Commission for investigation, or directly to the judicial 
authorities. The Ombudsman Commission was mandated to visit prisons but 
could not effectively monitor and investigate prison conditions due to 
lack of adequate funds and staff. There were no known steps taken to 
improve recordkeeping or use alternatives to sentencing for nonviolent 
offenders.
    The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human 
rights observers, but no visit was made 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 commissioner who 
directs the national police force reports to the minister for internal 
security. Divisions related to clan rivalries and a serious lack of 
resources diminished police effectiveness and hampered internal 
security activities. Police impunity was also a serious problem.
    Police shootings are investigated by the police department's 
Internal Affairs Office and reviewed by a coroner's court. If the court 
finds that the shooting was unjustifiable or due to negligence, the 
police officers involved are tried. Families of persons killed or 
injured by police may challenge the coroner's finding in the National 
Court, with the assistance of the Public Solicitor's Office. A 
coroner's court also investigates and reviews cases of police shootings 
of bystanders during police operations. Despite these prescribed 
procedures, in many cases investigations remained unresolved. This was 
largely due to a lack of funding and resources to complete 
investigations, especially in rural areas where the shootings often 
occurred; police officers' reluctance to give evidence against their 
own colleagues involved in shootings; and public fear of retribution 
from police, resulting in a lack of credible witnesses coming forward.
    An Ombudsman Commission deals specifically with public complaints 
and concerns about members of the police force.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the law, 
to make an arrest police must have reason to believe that a crime was 
committed, is in the course of being committed, or will be committed. A 
warrant is not required, and police made most arrests without one. 
Police, prosecutors, and citizens may apply to a court for a warrant; 
however, police normally did so only if they believed it would assist 
them in carrying out an arrest.
    Only National or Supreme Court judges may grant bail to persons 
charged with willful murder or aggravated robbery. In all other cases, 
police or magistrates may grant bail. Arrested suspects have the right 
to legal counsel, to be informed of the charges against them, and to 
have their arrests subjected to judicial review; however, the 
government did not always respect these rights. Detainees had access to 
counsel, and family members had access to detainees.

    Pretrial Detention.--Due to very limited police and judicial 
resources and a high crime rate, suspects often were held in pretrial 
detention for lengthy periods. Although pretrial detention is subject 
to strict judicial review through continuing pretrial consultations, 
the slow pace of police investigations, particularly in locating 
witnesses, and occasional political interference or police corruption 
frequently delayed cases for months. In addition circuit court sittings 
were infrequent because of shortages of judges and travel funds. Some 
detainees were held in jail for up to two years because of the shortage 
of judges.

    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 legal system is based on English common law. 
The law provides for a presumption of innocence and due process, 
including a public trial, and the court system generally enforced these 
provisions. Judges conduct trials and render verdicts; there are no 
juries. Defendants have the right to an attorney. The Public 
Solicitor's Office provides legal counsel for those accused of 
``serious offenses'' (charges for which a sentence of two years or more 
is the norm) who are unable to afford counsel. Defendants and their 
attorneys may confront witnesses, present evidence, access government-
held evidence, plead cases, and appeal convictions. The law extends 
these rights to all citizens. The shortage of judges created delays in 
both the process of trials and the rendering of decisions.

    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. District courts may order 
``good behavior bonds,'' commonly called ``protection orders,'' in 
addition to ordering that compensation be paid for violations of human 
rights. However, courts had difficulty enforcing judgments. In 
addition, many human rights matters were handled by village courts, 
which were largely unregulated. Village and district courts often 
hesitated to interfere directly in domestic matters. Village courts 
regularly ordered that compensation be paid to an abused spouse's 
family in cases of domestic abuse rather than issue a domestic court 
order.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions; however, 
there were instances of abuse. Police raids and searches of illegal 
squatter settlements and homes of suspected criminals often were marked 
by a high level of violence and property destruction. Police units 
operating in highland regions sometimes used intimidation and 
destruction of property to suppress tribal fighting.
    At year's end there was no further information on the status of a 
2009 lawsuit filed by landowners in Porgera against the police, 
charging that, during an operation against alleged illegal mining and 
criminal activity in the area, police also destroyed more than 300 
homes of legal residents.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and 
the government generally respected these rights in practice. All 
newspapers included a variety of editorial viewpoints and reported on 
controversial topics. There was no evidence of officially sanctioned 
government censorship; however, newspaper editors complained of 
intimidation tactics aimed at influencing coverage.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however, 
the government often limited this right in practice. Public 
demonstrations require police approval and 14 days' notice. Asserting a 
fear of violence from unruly spectators, police rarely gave approval.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The government did not grant refugee status or asylum.

    Durable Solutions.--In February during a special operation headed 
by the police, approximately 170 illegal border crossers who lacked 
proper documentation--including men, women and children from West 
Papua--were peacefully repatriated from Vanimo, West Sepik Province, 
following a police sweep of seven suspected Operesi Papua Merderka 
camps.
    Registered refugees residing in the East Awin refugee settlement 
were granted a certificate of identity that allowed them to travel 
freely within the country and to West Papua.

    Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection 
to individuals who may not qualify as refugees. With support from the 
UNHCR, the government continued to provide protection to approximately 
2,300 persons residing at the East Awin refugee settlement who fled the 
Indonesian province of West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). Another 5,000 
such persons, classified by the government as ``border crossers,'' 
lived in villages adjacent to the border with Indonesia, and 
approximately 2,400 lived in urban areas, including the capital, Port 
Moresby.
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 but flawed elections based on universal suffrage.
    On April 4, Deputy Prime Minister Sam Abal was appointed acting 
prime minister after then Prime Minister Michael Somare was found 
guilty of tax-related offenses (see section 4). On August 2, Peter 
O'Neill was elected prime minister when the speaker of Parliament 
declared the premiership vacant due to Somare's prolonged illness and 
absence. On December 12, the Supreme Court declared O'Neill's election 
unconstitutional and restored Somare as prime minister. On the same day 
Parliament amended the legislation to disqualify Somare as a member of 
Parliament for the second time and reelected O'Neill as prime minister. 
A political impasse ensued when the governor general failed to 
recognize O'Neill and instead swore in Somare's minority government. On 
December 21, the governor general reversed his earlier decision, citing 
flawed legal advice, and recognized O'Neill as prime minister based on 
Parliament's decision of December 12. At year's end Somare maintained 
that he was still the rightful prime minister despite having a minority 
government and indicated he was seeking further clarification from the 
courts.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The most 
recent general election was held in 2007. Bribery, voter intimidation, 
and undue influence were widespread in some parts of the country during 
the election. After the election the National Court registered 53 
election petitions that alleged illegal practices: by year's end, 33 
petitions had been dismissed and 14 withdrawn. Two by-elections and 
four judicial recounts were ordered.
    In May 2010 presidential and parliamentary elections were held for 
the government of the autonomous Bougainville Province. International 
observers deemed the elections generally free and fair.

    Political Parties.--Political parties could operate without 
restriction or outside influence. In February 2010 the governor of the 
National Capital District launched a new political party, the United 
Democratic Front, with a stated goal of fighting government corruption.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There is no law limiting 
political participation by women, but the deeply rooted patriarchal 
culture impeded women's full participation in political life. There was 
one woman in the 109-seat Parliament. She served as minister of 
community development until August 2, when the government changed, and 
was reappointed to the position after the Supreme Court decision on 
December 12 restoring Sir Michael Somare as prime minister. There were 
no female provincial governors. Unlike in previous years where there 
was only one female judge, as of March 18, there were three female 
judges of the National and Supreme courts. All judges sit on both 
courts.
    On November 23 Parliament passed a bill for a constitutional 
amendment to allow for up to 22 reserved seats for women in Parliament. 
At year's end Parliament had yet to muster the required two-thirds 
majority vote required to allow for amendments to other related laws to 
determine the number of reserved seats and entitlements of those 
occupying the seats.
    There were six minority (non-Melanesian) MPs. Of these, one was in 
the cabinet, and three were provincial governors.
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.
    Corruption at all levels of government was a serious problem due to 
weak public institutions, leadership, and governance; lack of 
transparency; politicization of the bureaucracy; and use of public 
resources to meet traditional clan obligations.
    In September the government filed corruption charges against the 
former minister for national planning, Paul Tientsen, for 
misappropriation of funds, conspiracy to defraud the state, and abuse 
of office. Tientsen fled to Australia but returned and was arrested in 
November. He was re-arrested in the same month on further corruption 
charges for diverting state funds to his own private company. At year's 
end both cases were still before the courts.
    In June 2010 Finance Minister Patrick Pruaitch was suspended from 
office after the Supreme Court ruled that under the law an official 
referred to a leadership tribunal for allegations of official 
misconduct is automatically suspended from office. Pruaitch had been 
referred to such a tribunal. He appealed the referral and the 
suspension was overturned and he was reinstated as Minister for Finance 
and Treasury until August 2, when there was a change in government. At 
year's end the case was pending the court's decision on Pruaitch's 
application for a stay order against the Ombudsman Commission's 
decision to refer his case to the public prosecutor.
    On November 3, the National Court dismissed charges against the 
operations chief of the National Capital District, Andy Bawa, who was 
then reinstated.
    A trial remained pending in the case of MP Tonny Puana, who in 
November 2010 was arrested and charged with misappropriation of funds 
and false pretenses.
    Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws as 
stipulated in the leadership code of conduct. The Ombudsman Commission, 
Leadership Tribunal, and Public Accounts Committee are key 
organizations responsible for combating government corruption.
    On March 21, a leadership tribunal made up of three foreign judges 
found former prime minister Sir Michael Somare guilty of 13 counts of 
filing late and for turning in incomplete financial returns to the 
Ombudsman Commission. Somare was suspended from office without pay from 
April 4-18. He did not return to office following his suspension due to 
his prolonged health condition. He was replaced as prime minister in 
August and was dismissed as an MP in September.
    In April 2010 Parliament took a preliminary vote to pass an 
amendment to the constitution that removes the power of the Ombudsman 
Commission to issue directives to individuals and organizations to 
preserve and uphold the conduct of public office holders. The Ombudsman 
Commission had used this power to issue directives preventing payments 
from public funds to officeholders it believed were using such funds 
improperly. A final vote on the bill proposing the amendment had not 
taken place by year's end.
    No law provides for public access to government information. The 
government published frequent public notices in national newspapers and 
occasional reports on specific issues facing the government; however, 
it generally was not responsive to individual requests, including media 
requests, 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 
were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Ombudsman Commission is 
responsible for investigating alleged misconduct and defective 
administration by governmental bodies, alleged discriminatory practices 
by any person or body, and alleged misconduct in office by leaders 
under the Leadership Code. While it operated without government or 
political party interference, constraints in staffing resources often 
caused delays in investigations and thus in completion and release of 
reports. The government did not act on the commission's 2009 report, 
which concluded that then prime minister Somare was complicit in 
illegal government actions in arranging the 2006 repatriation of a 
former Solomon Islands attorney general, who was facing criminal 
charges in Australia.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equal protection under the law 
irrespective of race, tribe, place of origin, color, or sex; however, 
enforcement of the provisions was not effective.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Violence against women, 
including gang rape and domestic violence, was a serious and prevalent 
problem.
    Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime punishable by 
imprisonment, and prison sentences were imposed on convicted 
assailants, but few rapists were apprehended. The willingness of some 
communities to settle incidents of rape through material compensation 
rather than criminal prosecution made the crime difficult to combat. 
The legal system allows village chiefs to negotiate the payment of 
compensation in lieu of trials for rapists.
    Domestic violence is criminalized yet existed at high levels 
throughout the country and was generally committed with impunity. Since 
most communities viewed domestic violence as a private matter, few 
victims pressed charges, and prosecutions were rare. Widespread sexual 
violence committed by police officials and their unresponsiveness to 
complaints of sexual or domestic violence deterred reporting by both 
women and men. Traditional village mores, which served as deterrents 
against violence, were weak and largely absent when youths moved from 
their villages to larger towns or to the capital. According to Amnesty 
International (AI), approximately two-thirds of women in the country 
have been struck by their partners, with the number approaching 100 
percent in parts of the Highlands. AI reported that there were only 
three shelters for abused women in Port Moresby, all privately run; the 
situation was even worse outside the capital.
    Violence committed against women by other women frequently stemmed 
from domestic disputes. In areas where polygyny was customary, an 
increasing number of women were charged with murdering one of their 
husband's other wives. Independent observers indicated that 
approximately 90 percent of women in prison had been convicted for 
attacking or killing another woman.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is not illegal, and it was a 
widespread problem.

    Reproductive Rights.--Under the country's family planning policy, 
couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and responsibly 
the number, spacing, and timing of their children free from violence 
and coercion. However, in practice the decision of the husband or male 
partner on such matters usually prevailed over the wishes of the woman. 
Access in practice to contraception and adequate prenatal, obstetric, 
and postnatal care was hindered by logistical problems faced by the 
Health Department in distributing supplies. Medical facilities also 
were limited in their capacity to provide adequate services to the 
growing population. According to indicators published by the Population 
Research Bureau, 26 percent of married women between the ages of 15 and 
49 used some form of contraception. The country's estimated maternal 
mortality ratio exceeded 250 deaths per 100,000 live births.

    Discrimination.--Although laws have provisions for extensive rights 
for women dealing with family, marriage, and property disputes, gender 
discrimination existed at all levels. Although some women have achieved 
senior positions in business, the professions, and the civil service, 
traditional discrimination against women persisted. Many women, even in 
urban areas, were considered second-class citizens. Women continued to 
face severe inequalities in all spheres of life: social, cultural, 
economic, and political. There is no employment antidiscrimination law.
    Village courts tended to impose jail terms on women found guilty of 
adultery while penalizing men lightly or not at all. By law a district 
court must endorse orders for imprisonment before the sentence is 
imposed, and circuit-riding National Court justices frequently annulled 
such village-court sentences. Polygyny and the custom in many tribal 
cultures of paying a ``bride price'' tended to reinforce the view that 
women were property. In addition being purchased as brides, women 
sometimes were given as compensation to settle disputes between clans, 
although the courts have ruled that such settlements denied the women 
their constitutional rights.
    According to statistics published by the U.N. Educational, Social, 
and Cultural Organization, women continued to lag behind men in 
literacy and education; 53 percent of women were literate, compared 
with 62 percent of men. The Ministry of Community Development, Religion 
and Family Affairs was responsible for women's issues and had 
considerable influence over the government's policy toward women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived through 
birth to a citizen parent.

    Education.--Primary education was not free, compulsory, or 
universal. Substantial fees were charged and posed a significant 
barrier to children's education. Many children did not progress further 
than primary school. With foreign funding assistance, the government 
abolished school fees for students in grades one and two in an effort 
to increase primary school enrollment.

    Child Abuse.--Sexual abuse of children was believed to be frequent. 
Independent sources confirmed that, in two major cities, 1,000 or more 
cases of child sexual abuse were reported in 2009. Incest is a crime 
and reportedly increased in frequency.

    Child Marriage.--The legal age for marriage is 18 for boys and 16 
for girls. There is a lower legal marriage age (16 for boys and 14 for 
girls) with parental and court consent. However, customary and 
traditional practices allow marriage of children as young as age 12, 
and child marriage was common in many traditional, isolated rural 
communities. Child brides frequently were taken as additional wives or 
given as brides to pay family debts and often were used as domestic 
servants. Child brides were particularly vulnerable to domestic abuse.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 16. The maximum penalty for violators is 25 years' imprisonment 
or, if the child is under age 12, life imprisonment. Child pornography 
is illegal; penalties range from a minimum of five to a maximum of 15 
years' imprisonment. There were cases of commercial sexual exploitation 
of children in urban areas, including minors working in bars and 
nightclubs. HRW documented numerous instances of police abuse of 
children.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish community in the country, 
and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities, 
there are no antidiscrimination laws. Persons with physical, sensory, 
intellectual, and mental disabilities faced discrimination in 
employment, education, access to health care, and provision of other 
state services. No legislation mandates accessibility to buildings, and 
most buildings were not accessible. There were no policies or programs 
to assist persons with disabilities in obtaining access to 
communications and information.
    Through the National Board for the Disabled, the government granted 
funds to a number of nongovernmental organizations that provided 
services to persons with disabilities. The government provided free 
medical consultations and treatment for persons with mental 
disabilities, but such services were rarely available outside major 
cities. In several provinces, apart from the traditional clan and 
family system, services and health care for persons with disabilities 
did not exist. Most persons with disabilities did not find training or 
work outside the family structure.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Centuries-old animosities among 
isolated tribes, a persistent cultural tradition of revenge for 
perceived wrongs, and the lack of police enforcement sometimes resulted 
in violent tribal conflict in the highland areas. During the year 
tribal fighting continued in the highlands provinces. The number of 
deaths resulting from such conflicts continued to rise due to the 
increased availability of modern weapons.
    On September 30, 15 people were killed during a tribal clash 
between the Agarabi and Kamano tribes of the Eastern Highlands 
Province. Police said guns and knives were used in the fighting and a 
whole settlement was burned to the ground. On October 19 police 
reported that seven people had been gunned down and several others 
wounded in a tribal fight in Enga province as a result of an ongoing 
conflict between two tribes from the Porgera area, which has claimed 
numerous lives and lead to the destruction of property over the last 
few years.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Sodomy and acts of ``gross 
indecency'' between male persons are illegal. The maximum penalty for 
sodomy is 14 years' imprisonment, and for acts of gross indecency 
between male persons (a misdemeanor), three years. However, there were 
no reports of prosecutions directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 
transgender (LGBT) persons under these provisions during the year. 
There were no specific reports of societal violence or discrimination 
against LGBT persons, but they were vulnerable to societal 
stigmatization.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of government discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; however, 
there was a strong societal stigma attached to HIV/AIDS infection that 
prevented some individuals from seeking HIV/AIDS-related services. The 
nongovernmental Business Coalition against HIV/AIDS worked to combat 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
    There were numerous press reports during the year of vigilante 
killings and abuses, some of which were related to alleged involvement 
in sorcery and witchcraft. For example, in October three men were 
tortured and killed by villagers in the Pangia District in the Southern 
Highlands Province for allegedly using sorcery to kill a young man. In 
December six people in the West Sepik Province were killed after being 
accused of witchcraft and sorcery.
    In December, upon completion of a review of the Sorcery Act of 
1971, the Constitutional and Law Reform Commission recommended to 
Parliament that the act be repealed by the end of 2012. The government 
had ordered the review in 2009.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of workers in the public and private 
sectors to form and join independent unions, conduct legal strikes, and 
bargain collectively; however, the government may intervene in strikes 
and collective bargaining processes. Workers in the informal sector are 
not covered by these laws.
    The law requires that unions register with the Department of Labor 
and Industrial Relations (DLIR). Although the law provides for the 
right to strike for workers, the government may and often did intervene 
in labor disputes to require arbitration before workers could legally 
strike. Under the law the government has discretionary power to 
intervene in collective bargaining by canceling arbitration awards or 
declaring wage agreements void when they are contrary to government 
policy.
    The law prohibits both retaliation against strikers and antiunion 
discrimination by employers against union leaders, members, and 
organizers. However, that prohibition does not extend to workers in the 
informal sector. The law does not provide for reinstatement of workers 
dismissed for union activity.
    The DLIR was responsible for enforcing labor laws, but did so 
selectively. The DLIR did not always act to prevent retaliation against 
strikers or protect workers from antiunion discrimination. The 
ineffectiveness can be attributed to lack of sufficient manpower and 
resources in the Labor Department.
    Workers exercised the right to form and join unions in practice. 
The government did not use registration to control unions; however, an 
unregistered union has no legal standing and thus cannot operate 
effectively. Unions were independent of both the government and 
political parties.
    Employees of some government-owned enterprises went on strike on 
several occasions during the year, primarily to protest against 
privatization policies or in pay disputes. In most cases the strikes 
were brief and ineffective.
    Workers in both the public and private sectors engaged in 
collective bargaining. The DLIR and the courts are involved in dispute 
settlement. There were no reports of violations of collective 
bargaining rights.
    During the year antiunion practices were widespread in the logging 
industry, which was known for extremely low wages and poor working 
conditions, including debt bondage and cramped and nonhygienic 
accommodation of workers. In July 2010 the International Transport 
Workers' Federation (ITF) reported that members of the ITF-affiliated 
Papua New Guinea Maritime and Transport Workers' Union employed by the 
fishing company Frabelle reportedly were told by their employer that 
they would lose their jobs unless they agreed to sign a petition giving 
up their union membership.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, but the government 
did not effectively enforce such laws and there were reports that 
forced labor occurred in practice.
    There were no significant government efforts to prevent and 
eliminate forced labor during the year.
    There were instances of women and children forced into involuntary 
domestic servitude (see section 7.c.), often by members of their 
immediate family or tribe, and of men forced to work in logging and 
mining camps. There were also reports of a growing number of foreign 
workers, particularly from China and other Pacific nations, entering 
the country illegally and being subjected to conditions of forced labor 
in mines and logging camps and in commercial sexual exploitation.
    See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law establishes the minimum working age as 16; for hazardous work, the 
minimum age is 18. However, children between the ages of 11 and 18 may 
be employed in a family business or enterprise, provided they have 
parental permission, a medical clearance, and a work permit from a 
labor office. This type of employment was rare, except in subsistence 
agriculture. Work by children between the ages of 11 and 16 must not 
interfere with school attendance.
    The DLIR is responsible for enforcing child labor laws; however, 
enforcement was not effective due to lack of resources and weak 
penalties.
    There were children selling cigarettes, food, CDs, and DVDs on the 
street and in grocery stores near mining and logging camps. Some 
children (primarily girls) worked long hours as domestic servants in 
private homes, often to repay a family debt to the ``host'' family. In 
some cases the host family was a relative who had informally 
``adopted'' the child. There were reports of child prostitution.
    Also see the U.S. Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms 
of Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/ocft/tda/htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 100.80 kina 
(approximately $41.06) per week for workers in all sectors, including 
new entrants into the labor force between the ages of 16 and 21.
    The law regulates minimum wage levels, allowances, rest periods, 
holiday leave, and overtime. The law limits the workweek to 42 hours 
per week in urban areas and 44 hours per week in rural areas, and it 
provides for premium pay for overtime work. There is no prohibition on 
excessive compulsory overtime. The law provides for at least one rest 
period of 24 consecutive hours every week. Labor laws do not apply to 
workers in the informal sector.
    The DLIR is responsible for enforcing the laws on minimum wage and 
hours of work, the Industrial Health and Safety Law, and related 
regulations. The law requires inspection of work sites on a regular 
basis; however, due to a shortage of inspectors, inspections took place 
only when requested by workers or unions. Although the DLIR and the 
courts attempted to enforce the laws on minimum wage and hours of work, 
they were not effective, in part due to insufficient penalties to deter 
violations.
    Violations of wage, overtime, and occupational safety and health 
laws and regulations were common in the logging, agricultural and 
construction sectors due to the government's lack of manpower to 
continuously monitor working conditions in these sectors. Workers in 
these sectors were also subject to hazardous and exploitative 
conditions.
    Workers' ability to remove themselves from hazardous working 
conditions depended on their workplace. Unionized workers had some 
measure of protection in such situations. The law protects legal 
foreign workers but many illegal foreign workers lacked full legal 
protection and were vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Informal 
sector workers were similarly excluded.

                               __________

                              PHILIPPINES

                           executive summary
    The Philippines is a multiparty, constitutional republic. May 2010 
national elections--which were generally free and fair but marked by 
incidents of violence and allegations of vote buying and electoral 
fraud--resulted in the selection of President Benigno S. Aquino III, 
members of the bicameral legislature, and leaders of provincial and 
local governments. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Leading human rights problems were as follows: continued arbitrary, 
unlawful, and extrajudicial killings by national, provincial, and local 
government agents and by antigovernment insurgents; an underresourced 
and understaffed justice system that resulted in limited 
investigations, few prosecutions, and lengthy trials of human rights 
abuse cases; and widespread official corruption and abuse of power.
    Other human rights problems included allegations of prisoner/
detainee torture and abuse by security forces, violence and harassment 
against leftist and human rights activists by local security forces, 
disappearances, warrantless arrests, lengthy pretrial detentions, 
overcrowded and inadequate prison conditions, killings and harassment 
of journalists, continued internally displaced persons (IDPs), violence 
against women, local government restrictions on the provision of birth-
control supplies, abuse and sexual exploitation of children, 
trafficking in persons, limited access to facilities for persons with 
disabilities, lack of full integration of indigenous people, absence of 
law and policy to protect persons from discrimination based on sexual 
orientation and gender identity, suspected vigilante killings, child 
labor, and ineffective enforcement of worker rights.
    The government investigated and prosecuted only a limited number of 
reported abuses, and concerns about impunity persisted.
    Long-running Communist and separatist insurgencies resulted in 
killings of soldiers and police in armed clashes. Terrorist 
organizations--Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG); Jemaah Islamiya (JI); and New 
People's Army (NPA), the military wing of the country's Communist 
Party--and rogue elements of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation 
Front (MILF) killed security forces, local government officials, and 
other civilians. These organizations also were linked with kidnappings 
for ransom, bombings that caused civilian casualties, and reports of 
the use of child soldiers in combat or auxiliary roles.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were several 
reports that security forces committed a number of arbitrary and 
unlawful killings, including in connection with combat operations 
between government forces and Muslim rebels in parts of the islands of 
Mindanao (see section 1.g.). Killings of activists by security or 
paramilitary forces as well as killings of judicial officials and local 
government leaders by antigovernment insurgents continued to be serious 
problems.
    The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), an independent government 
agency, investigated 78 new complaints of politically motivated 
killings involving 95 alleged victims during the year--a decrease from 
the 87 complaints investigated in 2010. The CHR suspected personnel 
from the Philippine National Police (PNP) were involved in 11 of the 
complaints and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in seven 
others. Suspects in the remaining complaints were members of the 
terrorist NPA, ordinary citizens, or unidentified.
    During the year the PNP Task Force Usig (TFU)--responsible for 
investigating and monitoring killings of media members, militant/labor 
activists, and foreigners--identified five new cases of killings in 
2011 (using different criteria than the CHR). Of the 166 cases of such 
killings recorded since 2001 and monitored by the TFU, 103 were filed 
in court and prosecutors' offices, 62 were under investigation, and one 
was closed. There were no convictions of state actors during the year.
    Reports by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) on the number of 
alleged extrajudicial killings and torture cases during the year 
varied. The NGO Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People's 
Rights) recorded 39 victims of extrajudicial killings by government 
forces in 2011, compared with 46 victims in 2010. The credible Report 
on Philippine Extrajudicial Killings: 2001-2010 recorded 21 
extrajudicial killing victims from January to August 2011, compared 
with 19 victims in the comparable period of 2010. The NGO Task Force 
Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) also reviewed allegations of 
summary executions by government security forces. It was unable to 
investigate all allegations it received but counted five cases 
involving five victims of alleged summary executions by government 
forces during the year, compared with nine cases involving 11 victims 
in 2010.
    On February 25, four unidentified men abducted Rodel Estrellado, a 
farmer activist and member of Bayan Muna (a political party 
representing workers' organizations) in Malilipot, Albay Province. Two 
days later, his family confirmed that a body recovered in Bato, 
Camarines Sur Province, was that of Estrellado. A police investigation 
revealed that, hours before Rodel Estrellado's disappearance, a 
military spokesperson reported that alleged NPA member ``Elmer 
Estrellado'' was killed in an armed encounter in Bato and that a member 
of the military based in Tigaon, Camarines Sur Province, filed a report 
that same afternoon confirming the death of ``Elmer Estrellado'' in an 
operation in Bato. On May 19, Estrellado's wife filed a murder case 
with the Camarines Sur provincial prosecutor against nine AFP members. 
Authorities transferred the case from the Camarines Sur Provincial 
Prosecution Office to the Albay Provincial Prosecution Office, where 
preliminary investigation continued at year's end. The AFP suspended 
general court martial proceedings against the nine suspects when the 
murder case was filed and relieved them of their duties and 
responsibilities.
    On November 30, a Manila court ordered the arrest of PNP Senior 
Inspector Joselito Binayug and six other police officers (former 
station commander Rogelio Rosales, Jr.; Joaquin de Guzman; Rodolfo Ong; 
Dante Bautista; Nonito Binayug; and Rex Binayug) for their involvement 
in the March 2010 torture and killing of detained robbery suspect 
Darius Evangelista in Manila. Television carried a video of the 
incident in August 2010, and authorities dismissed Binayug from the PNP 
on January 14 and stripped him of his pension and other benefits.
    The trial before a designated ``special court'' that began in 
September 2010 of those accused of involvement in the 2009 massacre of 
57 individuals in Maguindanao Province continued during the year. Of 
the 196 accused individuals, 65 suspects were detained and arraigned, 
28 individuals were detained but arraignment was pending, and 103 
suspects remained at large (including 10 police officers and four 
soldiers).

    b. Disappearance.--According to credible local human rights NGOs, 
government forces and antigovernment insurgents were responsible for 
disappearances. During the year the CHR investigated seven new cases of 
enforced disappearances, abductions, and kidnappings involving 30 
victims, compared with 23 cases involving 107 victims in 2010. The CHR 
investigations implicated civilian perpetrators in the kidnapping of 16 
individuals; antigovernment NPA insurgents in the kidnapping of seven 
individuals; and the PNP and AFP in the abduction of one victim each. 
Of the 30 victims, 19 returned to their families after being released 
by their captors, and two surfaced alive and reported they had not been 
detained or kidnapped. The CHR investigations implicated four PNP 
officials in one case and10 unidentified members of the military in 
another.
    The PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management 
(DIDM) reported that authorities began proceedings against 393 PNP 
personnel during the year for various human rights violations and 
resolved 80 of the cases, as follows: cases against 52 individuals were 
dismissed/closed; 14 individuals were exonerated; seven individuals 
were suspended; three personnel were demoted; three personnel were 
dismissed from service; and one individual forfeited pay. The three 
dismissed personnel were in connection with cases involving murder, 
physical injury, and torture. At year's end another police officer was 
undergoing summary dismissal procedures for alleged involvement in a 
kidnap-for-ransom case, and authorities had investigated seven police 
officers for kidnapping and dismissed one of the cases.
    During the year the NGO Families of Victims of Involuntary 
Disappearances (FIND) monitored four reported disappearance cases 
involving four victims and members of the military and police as 
suspects. As of year's end three were found alive, and one was still 
missing. Two victims had been in military custody and were detained at 
provincial jails facing criminal charges, while the military reportedly 
released the third.
    Some victims' families asserted that courts and police failed to 
address adequately their complaints concerning disappearances in which 
security force involvement was suspected. A limited number of cases 
moved forward, and investigative and judicial inaction on previous 
cases of disappearance resulted in low rates of prosecution and 
conviction. Evidence of a kidnapping or killing is required to file 
charges, and in many cases evidence and documentation were unavailable 
or not collected. A Supreme Court rule enables family members of 
alleged victims of disappearances or any person whose right to life, 
liberty, and security has been violated or threatened to compel 
government agencies to provide statements in court about what they know 
of the circumstances of a disappearance or extrajudicial killing and 
the victims' status.
    On July 5, the Supreme Court upheld the CHR findings that named 
First Lieutenant Harry Baliaga, Jr., an active-duty member of the 
army's 56th Infantry Battalion based in Bulacan Province, as the 
``principal by direct participation'' in the 2007 abduction of activist 
Jonas Burgos, although it dropped former president Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo as a respondent in the case. The court issued a writ of habeas 
corpus and ordered the Court of Appeals to revive the habeas corpus 
case that Burgos's mother had filed that year against the military. At 
year's end the Court of Appeal's habeas corpus hearing continued. 
Burgos's mother had also filed arbitrary detention charges with the 
Department of Justice against Lieutenant Baliaga, Colonel Delquiades 
Feliciano, Colonel Eduardo Ano, and other members of the 56th Infantry 
Battalion. At year's end these charges were under preliminary 
investigation.
    On December 16 the Department of Justice recommended the indictment 
of two Army retirees (major general Jovito Palparan, Jr., former 
commander of the Seventh Infantry Division, and master sergeant Rizal 
Hilario) and two active-duty military personnel (Lieutenant Colonel 
Felipe Anotado, Jr., and Staff Sergeant Edgardo Osorio) for the 
kidnapping and illegal detention of University of the Philippines 
student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, who disappeared in 
Bulacan Province in 2006. On December 19, Angeles City airport 
authorities stopped Palparan, the highest-ranking military officer to 
be indicted on such a charge in the last 25 years, from departing 
abroad but did not detain him in the absence of a current court order. 
On December 21, a court issued a hold-departure order for Palparan, and 
the AFP handed over the two active-duty personnel to the PNP. At year's 
end the two retirees remained at large, and the PNP, National Bureau of 
Investigation, and government departments were coordinating efforts to 
apprehend them.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits torture, and evidence obtained 
through its use is inadmissible in court. However, members of the 
security forces and police were alleged to have routinely abused and 
sometimes tortured suspects and detainees. According to the CHR and 
reliable human rights groups, the use of excessive force and torture 
remained an ingrained part of the arrest and detention process. Common 
forms of abuse during arrest and interrogation included electric shock, 
cigarette burns, and suffocation.
    During the year the CHR investigated 47 cases of alleged torture 
involving 56 victims, with police, military, and other law enforcement 
officers identified as suspects, compared with 46 cases involving 121 
victims in 2010. During the year the TFDP documented 21 cases of 
torture involving 27 victims and alleged that security forces were 
responsible, compared with 35 cases involving 57 victims in 2010.
    Reports continued that prison guards physically abused inmates. The 
CHR and TFDP reported that abuse by prison guards and other inmates was 
common, but prisoners, fearing retaliation, refused to lodge formal 
complaints. Women in police custody were particularly vulnerable to 
sexual and physical assault by police and prison officials. Human 
rights activists believed suspected ASG and NPA members in captivity 
were particular targets for abuse. Authorities sometimes punished 
police who committed assault or abuse.
    On July 23, members of the army's Special Operations Task Force in 
Basilan Province, Mindanao, arrested 39-year-old baker Abdul Khan Ajid 
in Sumisip for suspected ASG membership and participation in the 2001 
Lamitan siege. On July 27, Ajid's wife filed a petition for habeas 
corpus, and upon a judge's order, the military presented Ajid in court 
that same day. The judge committed Ajid to the Isabela City Provincial 
Jail pending a determination of the legality of his arrest. As of 
year's end the case was unresolved, and Ajid remained in jail. The AFP 
initiated three separate investigations within 24 hours of Ajid's 
appearance in public, as a result of the assignment of human rights 
officers to every unit battalion size or larger. The AFP completed its 
investigations on August 3, determined that Ajid had been physically 
tortured and suffered serious injuries and second-degree burns during 
three days in military custody, and accused three military personnel of 
torture and violating the law. Authorities dishonorably discharged two 
staff sergeants from active service and filed a case against Captain 
Guidagen with the Efficiency and Separation Board. As of year's end 
there were no criminal charges filed against the three.
    There were allegations of rape and sexual harassment by PNP 
officials. During the year NGO Tanggol Bayi (Defend Women) reported 
that female inmates in the PNP custodial center at Camp Crame were 
removed from their cellblocks at night and forced to sit with jail 
officers during drinking sessions and that women prisoners were 
required to massage male guards and wash their clothes.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
rudimentary and sometimes harsh. Jails and prisons were often 
overcrowded, lacked basic infrastructure, and provided prisoners with 
inadequate nutrition and medical attention. Lack of potable water, poor 
sanitation, and poor ventilation continued to cause health problems. 
During the year the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Bureau of 
Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) reported 732 deaths in prison due 
to various illnesses, including cardiopulmonary arrest and pulmonary 
tuberculosis. Some prisoners, including women and children, were abused 
by other prisoners and prison personnel. The slow judicial process 
exacerbated overcrowding.
    The BuCor, under the Department of Justice, administered seven 
prisons and penal farms for prisoners sentenced to terms exceeding 
three years. During the year BuCor facilities held 36,295 prisoners, 
including 2,165 women. The official capacity was 17,719, resulting in 
facility operation at 105 percent above capacity.
    The BJMP, under the Department of Interior and Local Government 
(DILG), and the PNP controlled approximately 990 city, district, and 
municipal jails that held pretrial detainees, persons awaiting final 
judgment, and convicts serving sentences of three years or less. The 
DILG reported that BJMP jails operated at an average of 351 percent 
more than designated capacity, and Manila City Jail, built to hold 
1,000 inmates, held 5,300 at the start of the year.
    BJMP regulations, which require male and female inmates to be held 
in separate facilities and, in national prisons, overseen by guards of 
the same sex, were not uniformly enforced. All BJMP- and PNP-staffed 
jails had separate cells for women and minors, but in provincial and 
municipal prisons, male guards sometimes supervised female prisoners 
directly or indirectly. Although prison authorities attempted to 
segregate children or place them in youth detention centers, in some 
instances children were not fully segregated from adult inmates. Girls 
were sometimes held in the same cells as women. Lack of adequate food 
for minors in jails and prisons was a concern (see section 6, 
Children).
    From January to November, BJMP and PNP jails held 66,825 prisoners, 
95 percent of whom were pretrial detainees. The remainder had been 
convicted of various crimes. Of the total number of prisoners and 
detainees, 6,107 were adult women and 501 were minors. During the same 
period the BJMP released 104 minor inmates, usually in response to a 
court order following a petition by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) 
or the inmate's private lawyer or through NGO-led appeals.
    Prisoners and detainees generally had access to visitors, but local 
NGOs reported that authorities restricted family visitation at times 
for some political detainees. Prison officials noted that security 
concerns and space limitations at times restricted prisoner access to 
visitors. Muslim officials reported that while Muslim detainees were 
allowed to observe their religion, Roman Catholic masses were often 
broadcast by loudspeaker to prison populations made up of both Catholic 
and non-Catholic prisoners and detainees. There were no reports that 
authorities censored or blocked prisoner or detainee complaints or 
requests for investigation of inhumane conditions. International 
monitoring groups, including the International Committee of the Red 
Cross, were allowed free access to jails and prisons.
    BuCor continued to automate inmate records in order to fast track 
the release of qualified inmates. The PAO worked with BuCor and the 
BJMP to address the status and circumstances of confinement of juvenile 
offenders and improve pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping 
procedures to ensure that prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum 
sentence for the charged offense. Improvement of BuCor's prison record 
facility and installation of additional equipment for updating inmates' 
records continued during the year. Additional dormitories were under 
construction at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City. 
Classification of inmates qualified for colony assignment continued 
during the year, with a total of 1,335 inmates transferred to less 
congested BuCor facilities.
    BJMP paralegal officers continued to monitor and help expedite 
court cases and secure needed documents from the courts for speedy 
disposition of inmates' cases. Through this program, authorities 
released 14,163 inmates from BJMP jails from January to November. Since 
its implementation in 2008, the Supreme Court's enhanced mobile courts 
program, ``Justice on Wheels,'' facilitated the release of 6,470 
inmates, provided medical and dental assistance to 13,385 inmates, and 
successfully mediated 6,970 cases. During the year the program 
facilitated the release of 1,200 inmates and successfully mediated 140 
cases in more than 20 provinces. The DILG launched its e-Dalaw (e-
Visit) system--which allows inmates to connect with their families, 
locally or abroad, through supervised Internet video calls--at the 
Quezon City Jail in October and the Manila City Jail on December 1. The 
BuCor continued to partner with the Department of Health, international 
organizations, and others to implement a tuberculosis control and 
prevention program in National Capital Region jails and prisons.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law requires a judicial 
determination of probable cause before issuance of an arrest warrant 
and prohibits holding prisoners incommunicado or in secret places of 
detention; however, in a number of cases, police and the AFP arrested 
and detained citizens arbitrarily. During the year the TFDP documented 
71 cases of illegal arrest and detention involving 97 victims. The CHR 
tracked 27 cases of arbitrary arrest involving 57 victims and 46 cases 
of illegal detention involving 72 victims.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Department of 
National Defense directs the AFP, which Shares responsibility for 
counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations with the PNP. In the 
AFP's 2010 Internal Peace and Security Plan, the government recognized 
that achieving lasting peace, security, and economic development 
requires a ``whole of nation'' approach, including increasingly 
transitioning internal security functions to the PNP. The PNP leads 
internal security functions in most of the country, although the AFP 
continues to direct security functions in regions with a high incidence 
of conflict, notably certain areas of Mindanao. The DILG directs the 
PNP, which is responsible for law enforcement and urban 
counterterrorism, but governors, mayors, and other local officials have 
considerable influence over local police units, including approval of 
top departmental and municipal officers and provision of resources.
    The 138,825-member PNP has deep-rooted institutional deficiencies 
and continued to suffer from a widely held and accurate public 
perception that corruption remained a problem. The PNP's Internal 
Affairs Service remained largely ineffective. Members of the PNP were 
regularly accused of torture, soliciting bribes, and other illegal 
acts. Efforts continued to reform and professionalize the institution 
through improved training, expanded community outreach, and pay raises 
implemented in June.
    Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control over 
the PNP and AFP, although the government had insufficient mechanisms to 
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. From January to August, 
there were 238 administrative cases filed against 238 PNP members, 
including administrative officials and officers, for various human 
rights violations. Of the cases filed, 54 were resolved, and 162 were 
undergoing summary proceedings as of August. The PNP dismissed three 
individuals in connection with these cases. The AFP Human Rights Office 
continued to monitor and review alleged human rights abuses involving 
members of the military. During the year the Human Rights Office 
investigated 59 reported incidents of human rights violations involving 
18 AFP personnel and 24 units. Of these incidents, 22 occurred during 
the year, including four concerning killings; five, torture/illegal 
detention/illegal arrest; five, harassment/threats/abuse of authority; 
and eight, child rights violation/occupation of schools. Investigations 
conducted for human rights violations committed during the year 
resulted in four dishonorable discharges and 10 personnel undergoing 
general court martial proceedings or hearings with the Efficiency and 
Separation Board. Authorities filed criminal charges against nine 
persons in connection with the February 25 killing of Elmer Estrellado 
(see section 1.a.). During the year the Office of the Ombudsman, an 
independent agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting 
charges of public abuse and impropriety, received 344 cases involving 
military and law enforcement officers allegedly committing human rights 
abuses; the cases included killings, injuries, arbitrary detention or 
unlawful arrest, and torture, and most were filed against low-ranking 
police and military officials. As of year's end all cases were under 
investigation.
    The police and military routinely provided human rights training to 
their members, augmented by training from the CHR. In February the AFP 
began to overhaul the education and training of individual soldiers as 
directed by its 2010 plan. The AFP also continued to adhere to 2005 
Presidential Memorandum Order Number 259, which states that human 
rights- and international humanitarian law-related subjects must be 
incorporated in all AFP education and training courses and undertaken 
by all officers and enlisted personnel. Moreover, successful completion 
of these training courses is required for recruitment, entry, 
promotion, reassignment, designation, and foreign schooling.
    The PNP maintained a network of 1,744 human rights desk officers at 
the national, regional, provincial, and municipal levels. The CHR 
continued to note that senior PNP officials appeared receptive to 
respecting the human rights of detainees, but rank-and-file awareness 
of detainee rights remained inadequate. The Commission on Appointments 
determines whether senior military officers selected for promotion have 
a history of human rights violations and solicits input from the CHR 
and other agencies through background investigations. A promotion can 
be withheld indefinitely if the commission uncovers a record of abuses. 
Negative findings, however, do not preclude promotion, and there were 
no reports of promotions withheld on human rights grounds as of August.
    Cooperation and coordination between police and prosecutors 
remained limited. Human rights groups and the CHR continued to note 
little progress in implementing and enforcing reforms aimed at 
improving the effectiveness of investigations and prosecutions of 
suspected human-rights violations, such as the July 2010 Justice 
Department Memo Circular to guide prosecutor-police cooperation in the 
investigation of political and media killings. Funding for the main 
government witness protection program managed by the Department of 
Justice remained inadequate, and the CHR did not receive funding for 
its separate witness protection program during the year. Potential 
witnesses were at times unable to obtain protection due to funding 
constraints or procedural delays.
    Government-armed civilian militias supplemented the AFP and PNP; 
the AFP held operational control of Citizens' Armed Force Geographical 
Units (CAFGU), while the Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs) fell 
under PNP command. These paramilitary units often received minimal 
training and were poorly monitored, tracked, and regulated. Some 
politicians and clan leaders, particularly in Mindanao, maintained 
their own private armies and at times co-opted CVO and CAFGU members 
into these armies. Human rights NGOs linked state-backed militias and 
private armies with numerous human rights abuses, including the 2009 
massacre of 57 civilians in Maguindanao Province. The prosecution of 
that case continued to proceed slowly due to its complexities and 
justice system inefficiencies (see section 1.a.). Such delays continued 
the perception of impunity for national, provincial, and local 
government actors accused of human rights abuses.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Citizens are 
required to be apprehended with warrants issued by a duly authorized 
official based on sufficient evidence and brought before an independent 
judiciary. However, there were some reports during the year of 
citizens, including minor children, being picked up by security forces 
without warrants and detained arbitrarily. The law permits warrantless 
arrests and detention without charges for up to three days for 
allegedly committing or attempting to commit acts of terrorism, but 
this authority was not exercised.
    Detainees have the right to a judicial review of the legality of 
their detention and, except for offenses punishable by a life sentence, 
the right to bail. The law provides an accused or detained person the 
right to choose a lawyer and, if indigent, to have one provided by the 
state. Authorities are required to file charges within 12 to 36 hours 
for arrests made without warrants, with the time to file charges 
increasing based on the seriousness of the crime. Lengthy pretrial 
detention remained a problem, due largely to the under-resourced 
justice system. The BJMP released 14,163 inmates from January to 
November as part of jail decongestion programs. Large jails employed 
paralegals to monitor inmates' cases, prevent detention beyond the 
maximum sentence, and assist decongestion efforts.
    The NPA and some Islamic separatist groups were responsible for a 
number of arbitrary detentions, including kidnappings and hostage 
taking for ransom.
    On February 13, in San Jorge, Samar Province, AFP members arrested 
Ericson Acosta, an artist, freelance journalist, and cultural worker 
who was writing a human rights background document when captured. He 
was arrested without a warrant, not informed of the reason for his 
arrest, and denied the right to counsel. While detained in a military 
camp, Acosta was allegedly subjected to prolonged interrogation and 
forced to admit NPA membership. After two days he was brought to a 
police station and charged with illegal possession of explosives (which 
NGOs claimed were planted). On July 12, the prosecutor denied Acosta's 
request that the charges be dismissed and recommended charges be filed 
in court. In September Acosta sought Justice Department review of the 
decision to proceed to trial. At year's end he remained in the Calbayog 
City Provincial Jail, and Justice Department review was pending.
    Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem. Trials took place in 
short sessions that were spread out as witnesses and court time became 
available, which created lengthy delays. Furthermore, there was a 
widely recognized need for more prosecutors, judges, and courtrooms. 
Judgeship vacancy rates were high; of the total 2,187 trial-court 
judgeships, 537 were vacant as of August. Courts in Mindanao and poorer 
provinces had higher vacancy rates than the national average. Sharia 
(Islamic law) court positions were particularly difficult to fill 
because of the requirement that applicants be members of both the 
Sharia Bar and the Integrated Bar. All five sharia district court 
judgeships and 39 percent of circuit court judgeships remained vacant. 
Sharia courts do not have criminal jurisdiction.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice. Corruption through personal connections and 
sometimes bribery resulted in impunity for some wealthy or influential 
offenders. Overall, the judicial system continued to suffer from a lack 
of sufficient personnel, inefficient processes, and long delays. The 
Report on Philippine Extrajudicial Killings: 2001-2010 audited pending 
cases and computed the average trial duration for extrajudicial and 
enforced disappearance cases to be longer than five years. These 
factors contributed to widespread skepticism that the judicial process 
could deliver due process and equal justice. The Supreme Court 
continued efforts to ensure speedier trials, sanction judicial 
malfeasance, increase judicial branch efficiency, and raise public 
confidence in the judiciary. No judges were dismissed or disciplined as 
of August.

    Trial Procedures.--The law requires all persons accused of crimes 
to be informed of the charges against them, have the right to counsel, 
and be provided a speedy and public trial before a judge. Defendants 
are presumed innocent and have the right to confront witnesses against 
them, present evidence in their favor, review government evidence, and 
appeal convictions; these legal requirements were generally 
implemented. The authorities respected defendants' right to be 
represented by a lawyer, but poverty often inhibited a defendant's 
access to effective legal representation. Skilled defense lawyers 
staffed the PAO under the Department of Justice, but their workload was 
large and resources were scarce. The PAO provided legal representation 
for indigent litigants at trial; however, during arraignment, courts 
may appoint, at their option, any lawyer present in the courtroom to 
provide counsel to the accused.
    The law provides that cases should be resolved within set time 
limits once submitted for decision: 24 months for the Supreme Court, 12 
months for a court of appeals, and three months for lower courts. 
However, these time limits were not mandatory and were not respected in 
practice. In effect there were no time limits for trials. Government 
officials estimated that it takes an average of five to 10 years to 
obtain a conviction and that the national conviction rate was 20 
percent. The system relied heavily on witnesses' testimony and gave 
relatively little weight to circumstantial and forensic evidence.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Various human rights NGOs 
maintained lists of incarcerated persons they considered political 
prisoners. Some NGOs asserted it was frequent practice to make 
politically motivated arrests of persons for common crimes or on 
fabricated charges and to continue to detain them after their sentences 
expired. The TFDP tracked 316 political prisoners and detainees as of 
year's end, an increase from the 289 individuals recorded in 2010; the 
majority were pretrial detainees. The BJMP reported 149 political 
detainees as of year's end, a decrease from the 389 detainees tracked 
in 2010. The BJMP cited an increase in the number of released political 
detainees and the transfer of detainees to BuCor prisons as reasons for 
the decline in the number of political prisoners during the year.
    The government used NGO lists as one source of information in the 
conduct of its pardon, parole, and amnesty programs. For example, the 
TFDP recorded 39 political prisoners released from prisons or detention 
centers as of August.
    The government permitted access to alleged political prisoners by 
international humanitarian organizations on a regular basis.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary is 
independent and impartial in civil matters. Complainants have access to 
local trial courts to seek civil damages for, or cessation of, human 
rights abuses. There are administrative remedies as well as judicial 
remedies for civil complaints; however, cases often were dismissed.

    Property Restitution.--NGOs claimed the AFP sometimes appropriated 
civilian facilities or private property without providing compensation 
to residents.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--While the government generally respected restrictions 
on search and seizure within private homes, searches without warrants 
occurred. Judges generally declared evidence obtained illegally to be 
inadmissible.
    The government generally respected the privacy of its citizens, 
although leaders of communist and leftist organizations and rural-based 
NGOs complained of alleged patterns of surveillance and harassment.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
For decades the Philippines has contended with a communist insurgency 
supported by a nationwide NPA presence; armed secessionist movements in 
southern areas predominantly populated by persons self-identifying as 
Moros; and violence from smaller, transnational terrorist organizations 
(such as the ASG and JI) as well as from criminal syndicates. During 
the year government forces killed a number of civilians during clashes 
with these groups. Some citizen groups complained that the AFP, in 
confronting the ASG and NPA, illegally detained citizens, destroyed 
houses, and displaced residents. Clashes between the AFP and separatist 
MILF forces, as well as incidents of interclan vendettas leading to 
violence (known as rido), continued in central Mindanao and resulted in 
civilian deaths and the displacement of thousands.

    Killings.--Government forces acknowledged civilian deaths in the 
course of their military operations against the NPA, MILF, and other 
insurgent groups. During the year AFP operations killed 166 insurgents 
(57 suspected NPA, 54 ASG and 55 MILF members). The PNP reported 
killing 19 NPA insurgents in various operations from January to 
December.
    Antigovernment groups were responsible for killing AFP soldiers, 
police, and civilians. Military sources reported that 113 AFP members 
were killed in action during encounters with rebel and terrorist groups 
during the year: 61 by the NPA, 32 by the MILF, and 20 by the ASG. 
Insurgents killed 20 PNP officers as of year's end. There were media 
reports that Islamic separatist groups set fire to villages.
    The AFP recorded 49 bombings by insurgents that killed 12 civilians 
during the year. The government suspected that ASG- or JI-linked groups 
were responsible for bombings in Cotabato, Jolo, and Zamboanga cities 
that killed civilians; no group(s) claimed responsibility. The 
government also attributed fatal bombings in Basilan and beheadings in 
Sulu provinces to the ASG. On July 28, the ASG killed seven AFP 
marines, two of whom were beheaded, during an encounter in Jolo, Sulu.
    Communist insurgents, mainly from the NPA, used roadside bombs, 
ambushes, and other means to kill political figures, military and 
police officers, and civilians--including suspected military and police 
informers. During the year the NPA claimed responsibility for the 
killings of two former rebels and a police asset in the following three 
separate incidents in Batangas Province: the April 16 killing of a man 
known as ``Magno'' in Balete, the April 23 killing of Dennis Ramos in 
Calatagan, and the April 28 killing of police asset Richard Villarin in 
Balayan. The NPA and other criminal extortion groups also harassed 
government offices or burned businesses, farms, and private 
communication facilities to enforce the collection of ``revolutionary 
taxes.''

    Abductions.--Various armed criminal and terrorist groups, including 
the ASG, in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago kidnapped numerous 
civilians. Victims often were ransomed or rescued by authorities.
    During the year the ASG, NPA, and other kidnap-for-ransom groups 
abducted at least 40 individuals (12 government workers and security 
personnel, 10 businessmen, eight foreign citizens, three fishermen, and 
seven local residents) in several areas of Mindanao (Lanao del Norte, 
Basilan, Cotabato City, Sulu, and the Zamboanga Peninsula). As of 
December, 32 were either rescued or released and eight remained missing 
or captive. During the year the NPA accorded ``prisoner of war'' status 
to four jail guards abducted on July 21 and put Mayor Henry Dano of 
Lingig, Surigao del Sur Province, on trial before a ``people's court.'' 
On October 8 and 9, the four jail guards and Mayor Dano, respectively, 
were released.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--Leftist and human-rights 
activists reported harassment by local security forces, including rape 
and abuse of detainees by police and prison officials.

    Child Soldiers.--The U.N. monitored incidents of the recruitment 
and use of children in armed conflicts and worked to verify these 
incidents during the year. In an October 11 report, the NGO Human 
Rights Watch criticized both the use of child soldiers by 
antigovernment insurgent groups and the alleged AFP practice of 
detaining children and fabricating stories of their child soldiering. 
Government reporting mechanisms for children in armed conflict were 
inconsistent between agencies and regions, especially in conflict-
affected areas due to security concerns, making it difficult to 
evaluate the scope of this problem in the country. See also the 
Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at http://
state.gov/j/tip.
    In a May 2010 report, the U.N. identified the ASG, NPA, and MILF as 
among the world's ``persistent violators of prohibitions on the use of 
children in armed conflicts.'' According to the report, these groups 
have recruited or used child soldiers at least since 2005. It noted the 
progress made with the MILF when its representatives signed the 2009 
action plan to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to 
release children from all MILF units. During the April visit of the 
special representative of the U.N. secretary general for children in 
armed conflict (SRSG-CAC), MILF leadership agreed that the process of 
registration of children associated with the armed group would be 
completed in nine months, after which a period of reintegration and 
rehabilitation of the children would begin. The government continued 
its support of the UN-MILF action plan on the issue of the recruitment 
and use of children in the armed conflict in Mindanao, but extension of 
the plan remained pending at year's end.
    In April during the visit of the SRSG-CAC, the National Democratic 
Front, the political arm of the country's Communist Party, agreed to 
develop a similar action plan with the U.N.
    During the year the NPA reportedly targeted children for 
recruitment as combatants and noncombatants. The NPA claimed it 
assigned persons 15 to 18 years of age to self-defense and noncombatant 
duties, but there were reports that the NPA continued to use minors in 
combat. AFP records showed 14 child soldiers, allegedly recruited by 
the NPA, who voluntarily surrendered to authorities during the year.
    The ASG continued to recruit teenagers to fight and participate in 
its activities.
    The May 2010 U.N. report also noted isolated cases of minors, ages 
15-17, who were voluntarily recruited into the paramilitary CAFGU 
entities that fall under AFP operational control. The AFP Human Rights 
Office reported an incident in January of a minor inadvertently 
accepted for training preparatory to appointment in a CAFGU. Upon 
discovery of his real age, the minor's appointment was canceled, and he 
was immediately reintegrated with his family.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--Clashes between the MILF and AFP 
continued and caused the number of IDPs to fluctuate. Most IDPs were in 
the central Mindanao provinces of Lanao del Norte, Cotabato, and 
Maguindanao (see section 2.d.). The AFP sometimes used civilian 
facilities, such as schools, to quarter soldiers during military 
operations in remote areas, which interfered with their normal 
activities.
    The NPA continued to subject military personnel, police, local 
politicians, and other persons to its so-called courts for ``crimes 
against the people'' and executed some of the ``defendants.'' The MILF 
also maintained its own ``people's courts.''
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and 
the government generally respected these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide variety of views without restriction, including criticizing the 
government. Most media outlets were criticized for lacking rigorous 
journalistic standards and reflecting the particular political or 
economic orientations of owners, publishers, or patrons--some of whom 
were close associates of present or past high-level officials. Special 
interests often used bribes and other inducements to solicit one-sided 
and erroneous reports and commentaries that supported their positions.

    Violence and Harassment.--Journalists continued to face harassment 
and threats of violence from individuals critical of their reporting. 
Human rights NGOs frequently criticized the government for failing to 
protect journalists. The National Union of Journalists continued to 
accuse police and local elected officials of subjecting journalists to 
harassment and surveillance as well as failing to investigate killings 
of journalists.
    The NGO Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility reported eight 
journalists killed and contended that five of them were killed while 
carrying out journalistic tasks. The TFU, which also tracks killings of 
media practitioners, classified two of these cases as work-related 
killings, part of its recorded 41 media practitioners slain in work-
related killings since 2001; this total does not include the 31 media 
members killed in the Maguindanao massacre, which was monitored by a 
special task force established solely to investigate the case (see 
section 1.a.).
    In an April 17 open letter to the president, members of the press, 
together with journalism professors from the University of the 
Philippines and student journalists with the College Editors Guild of 
the Philippines, warned that ``.failure to prosecute the killers of 
journalists as well as those of political activists.is sending the 
dangerous signal that.killings can continue during your watch without 
the perpetrators being punished.''
    On September 7, the secretary of justice replaced the original 
panel of prosecutors and ordered a reinvestigation of the case of the 
January 24 shooting and killing of Radio Mindanao Network commentator 
and antimining advocate Gerardo Ortega in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan 
Province. Authorities had filed murder charges at the prosecutor's 
office against 10 individuals, including well-known government 
officials, but on June 8, the Justice Department dismissed the cases 
against six individuals, including the officials, and found probable 
cause to proceed only against the other four. Ortega's case was pending 
reinvestigation at year's end.
    Authorities used criminal defamation prosecutions, with the 
possibility of imprisonment and fines, to harass and intimidate 
journalists. For example, an Iligan City councilor's defamation 
complaint (he had been accused of lying on air about the city budget) 
resulted in the April 18 arrest of Radio DxRJ journalist Alberto 
Loyola; he was released on bail pending trial.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events, although student 
groups at some universities accused security forces of harassing 
student political groups. The Cultural Center of the Philippines closed 
an exhibit in August after Roman Catholic and lay groups filed charges 
against the center director, the board, and an artist for displaying a 
piece of art it considered indecent.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, returning 
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of 
concern.

    Foreign Travel.--The government limited foreign travel in several 
respects, such as when a citizen had a pending court case, and 
discouraged travel by vulnerable workers to areas in which they faced 
personal security risks, including the risk of being exploited or 
trafficked. The government retained its formal ban on travel to Iraq 
for the purposes of employment, but the Department of Foreign Affairs 
estimated that 6,000 Filipinos worked there. The travel ban also 
included Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. The 
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration sought to regulate and 
control departures for work abroad and required citizens to register 
with government agencies and receive predeparture screening, training, 
and certification before traveling for employment overseas to ensure 
workers were not being exploited or trafficked.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The four-decade-long conflict 
between the government and Moro armed groups, sporadic interclan 
fighting, and severe flooding in Mindanao generated significant 
internal displacement in 2011. There were continuing counterinsurgency 
campaigns against the ASG, primarily in Sulu and Basilan provinces, 
plus clashes with the NPA in most provinces--but mainly in remote areas 
of Negros Oriental, Surigao del Sur, Davao del Norte, and Compostella 
provinces--that caused sporadic and small-scale displacement.
    The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
estimated the number of IDPs at more than 46,000 as of October, 
including approximately 10,000 resulting from 50 interclan incidents 
between January and October. In addition, Tropical Storm Washi in mid-
December killed more than 1,000 persons and affected approximately 
722,000 across 13 provinces, according to the government's National 
Risk Reduction and Management Council. As of year's end more than 
73,000 storm-related IDPs remained in 55 evacuation centers.
    Two years after hostilities ended between the AFP and MILF, the 
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) 
reported in July that 4,538 displaced families--a substantial reduction 
from previous years--were living in camps and relocation sites in 
southern Mindanao, with a majority in Maguindanao Province. The NGO 
Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) reported a February 
figure of approximately 15,000 IDPs remaining in camps. Other IDPs were 
living in informal settlements or with host communities in both rural 
and urban areas, but they were not included in official government 
data, and although estimated by the IDMC to number several thousand in 
February, their precise number remained unknown.
    In August the government launched the PAMANA (Peaceful and 
Resilient Communities) program, a peace and development effort to 
respond to the needs of communities countrywide that were affected by 
armed conflict. PAMANA adopts a ``whole of nation'' strategy in which 
all government agencies as well as civil society organizations and 
donor groups pool efforts and resources to help empower families in 
conflict areas. During the year the government launched the IDP Shelter 
Assistance Project with a 195-million-peso (approximately $4.5-million) 
fund to build 2,815 shelters for displaced families in the provinces of 
Maguindanao and North Cotabato.
    Government agencies, often with support from U.N. agencies and 
other international donors, provided food assistance and other goods 
(although NGOs noted that food aid was sometimes delayed); constructed 
shelters and public infrastructure; repaired schools; built sanitation 
facilities; offered immunization, health, and social services; and 
provided cash assistance and skills training. The government permitted 
humanitarian organizations access to IDP sites. Security forces did not 
target IDPs, but military operations were sometimes carried out near 
IDP sites, which risked casualties and damage and restricted freedom of 
movement. At times the government encouraged IDPs to return home, but 
they often were reluctant due to insecurity and food scarcity. The IDMC 
speculated that some also remained because they had better access to 
basic facilities and livelihood opportunities than in their home areas.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--No comprehensive 
legislation provides for granting refugee status or asylum. The Justice 
Department refugee unit determines which asylum seekers qualify as 
refugees. During the year the department received 21 asylum 
applications; at year's end it had granted one, denied seven, and 
continued 13 under review.

    Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The government cooperated with the 
UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugee transit 
through the country. As of October the Justice Department reported 97 
transiting refugees in country, not including emergency transit. A 2009 
Department of Foreign Affairs-UNHCR memorandum of agreement permits the 
emergency transit of refugees through the Philippines for onward 
resettlement in another country, and the UNHCR recorded the transit of 
243 such refugees 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 through periodic, free, 
and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In May 
2010 the country conducted nationwide elections for president, both 
houses of congress, provincial governors, and local government 
officials. It was the country's first automated election, and 
procedural problems caused extensive polling delays. International and 
national observers viewed the election as generally free and fair, but 
there were numerous incidents of violence and allegations of fraud in 
some areas. The PNP recorded 180 election-related violent incidents 
that resulted in the deaths of 55 individuals between January and June 
2010. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) recorded 96 election-
protest cases filed due to allegations of vote buying, anomalies, and 
irregularities. As of year's end 16 were resolved, and the remaining 
cases were pending investigation or a motion for reconsideration.
    On November 18, authorities arrested Congresswoman and former 
president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Manila on charges of electoral 
fraud and tampering with 2007 senatorial elections, following action by 
COMELEC. At year's end she was under hospital arrest at the Veterans 
Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
    Some 300,000 poll-station workers, mostly teachers, were denied the 
right to vote when COMELEC failed to create procedures allowing them to 
vote at their assigned polls, which generally were outside their 
designated precinct.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were no restrictions 
in law or practice on participation by women and minorities in 
politics. There were three women in the 24-seat Senate and 64 women in 
the 285-seat House of Representatives. There were six women in the 32-
member cabinet, two female associate justices on the 15-member Supreme 
Court, 16 women among the 80 governors, and 298 women among the 
1,621mayors.
    There were no Muslim or indigenous senators and no Muslim or 
indigenous cabinet members. There were 11 Muslim members in the House 
of Representatives, mostly elected from Muslim-majority provinces, and 
one member of indigenous descent. Muslims, indigenous groups, and other 
citizens argued that electing senators from a nationwide list favored 
established political figures from the Manila area and preferred 
therefore the election of senators by region, which would require a 
constitutional amendment.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
corruption remained a very serious problem, and in spite of government 
efforts to file charges and obtain convictions in a number of cases, 
officials engaged in corrupt practices with relative impunity. To 
combat this problem, the constitution established the independent 
Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan (an anticorruption 
court). Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws.
    On December 28, the Office of the Ombudsman filed graft and 
corruption charges at the Sandiganbayan against former president Gloria 
Macapagal-Arroyo in connection with the cancelled $329 million National 
Broadband Network project agreement with China's ZTE Corporation. Also 
charged with graft were former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, 
former transportation and communication secretary Leandro Mendoza, and 
former COMELEC chairman Benjamin Abalos. During the year the government 
obtained convictions against 52 officials in 171 corruption cases, 
including those on June 22 of a mayor of the municipality of Leyte and 
a former mayor in Nueva Ecija Province.
    There were reports of widespread corruption among prison guards and 
some prison officials, complaints of judicial workers accepting bribes 
or being threatened to delay or derail cases, and accusations that PNP 
members solicited bribes and conducted illegal acts.
    The law provides for the right to information on matters of public 
concern, but there is no legislation that defines procedures for such 
access or penalties for officials who fail to disclose lawfully 
available data. Denial of such information has occurred, especially 
when related to an irregularity in government transactions. Several 
government departments posted contracts and bid documents online for 
public viewing, but overall, little government information was 
available during the year.
    On July 26, the Supreme Court denied an appeal seeking reversal of 
the court's decision declaring unconstitutional the creation of the 
Philippine Truth Commission that had been established in 2010 to 
investigate presidential corruption.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--A number of 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. According to the government, 14 U.N. special rapporteurs 
submitted visit requests, and four visits were scheduled for 2012.
    Human rights activists continued to encounter occasional 
harassment, mainly from security forces or local officials from areas 
in which incidents under investigation took place. On December 21, the 
U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders 
noted that defenders in the Philippines faced a high risk of harm when 
working on problems connected with land and the environment, including 
killings, assaults, ill treatment, and threats.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The CHR continued to fulfill its 
mandate to protect and promote human rights; investigate all human 
rights violations, including those requested by NGOs; and monitor 
government compliance with international human rights treaty 
obligations. Nonetheless, according to the CHR, its monitoring and 
investigation of alleged violations continued to face difficulties due 
to insufficient resources: Its nationwide 2011 budget of approximately 
267 million pesos ($6.2 million) was 6 percent less than in 2010.
    Approximately three-quarters of the country's 42,000 villages have 
human rights action centers, which coordinated with CHR regional 
offices. Nevertheless, the CHR believed that it lacked sufficient 
funding and staff to investigate and follow up all cases presented to 
its regional and subregional offices.
    The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent agency with 
jurisdiction to handle complaints regarding all public officials and 
employees. In March the House of Representatives impeached the 
ombudsman, Merceditas Gutierrez, and on May 6, three days before a 
Senate trial, she resigned. Gutierrez had been criticized for 
inefficiency and inability to prosecute high-profile cases, and she 
also suffered from low public confidence due to her perceived close 
ties to the family of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Retired 
Supreme Court associate justice Conchita Carpio-Morales became 
ombudsman in July. Although many human rights NGOs perceived the 
appointment of the new ombudsman as a welcome development, concerns 
remained regarding the office's administrative and institutional 
weaknesses.
    The House of Representatives and the Senate have committees on 
human rights and justice. Credible NGOs reported that both lacked 
effectiveness and were unable to attain final passage of laws aimed at 
minimizing domestic human rights abuses. Many human rights bills passed 
by the two committees remained stagnant in the Senate and House during 
the year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination against women, 
children, persons with disabilities, and minorities; however, vague 
regulations and budgetary constraints hindered implementation of these 
protections.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape, 
is illegal, with penalties ranging from 12 years' imprisonment to a 40-
year sentence with no option for pardon or parole until 30 years have 
been served (reclusion perpetua) plus a lifetime bar from political 
office. Penalties for forcible sexual assault range from six to 12 
years' imprisonment. The NGO Tanggol Bayi (Defend Women) criticized the 
government for failing to protect rape victims adequately and provide a 
safe environment for cases to be filed. During the year the PNP 
received 1,059 rape cases: 1,038 were filed in court, four were under 
investigation, and 17 were referred to other agencies for further 
investigation. Statistics were not available on prosecutions, 
convictions, and punishments during the year for cases filed by the 
PNP, although the BuCor reported that its prisons and penal farms held 
6,967 prisoners convicted of rape, 5,381 of whom were serving 40-year 
sentences, while another 30 were serving life sentences. There 
continued to be reports of rape and sexual abuse of women in police or 
protective custody--often women from marginalized groups, such as 
suspected prostitutes, drug users, and lower-income individuals 
arrested for minor crimes--including allegations of rape perpetrated by 
PNP officials.
    Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem. The law 
criminalizes physical, sexual, and psychological harm or abuse to women 
and their children committed by their spouses or partners. During the 
year the PNP reported 8,332 cases of domestic violence against women 
and children: 7,997 were filed in court, 54 were under investigation, 
159 were settled, and 122 were referred to other agencies for further 
investigation. Statistics were not available on prosecutions, 
convictions, and punishments during the year for cases filed by the 
PNP. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) extended 
assistance to 760 victims of wife beating from January to September--
statistics that likely significantly underreported the level of 
violence against women and children. A local women's support group 
noted that, in smaller localities, perpetrators of abuse sometimes used 
personal relationships with local authorities to avoid prosecution. On 
other occasions women who sought to file complaints through the police 
were told to pay special fees before their complaints could be 
registered.
    The PNP and DSWD both maintained help desks to assist victims of 
violence against women and to encourage the reporting of crimes. With 
the assistance of NGOs, the CHR, and the Philippine Commission on Women 
(PCW)--a government agency--officers received gender-sensitivity 
training to deal with victims of sexual crimes and domestic violence. 
The PNP maintained a central women and children's unit and 1,823 women 
and children's desks throughout the country to deal with these matters.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, but it 
remained widespread and underreported in the workplace due to victims' 
fear of losing their jobs. Women in the retail industry worked on 
three- to six-month contracts and were often reluctant to report sexual 
harassment for fear their contracts would not be renewed.

    Sex Tourism.--Although prostitution was illegal, sex tourism--with 
clients from domestic sources, the United States, Europe, Australia, 
the Middle East, and other East Asian countries--continued during the 
year.

    Reproductive Rights.--The constitution upholds the basic right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. 
However, the provision of health care services is the responsibility of 
local governments, and although men and women generally were treated 
equally, restrictions on the provision of birth-control supplies by 
government-run health facilities in some localities reduced the 
availability of family-planning resources for impoverished women. 
During the year several village authorities proposed or issued 
ordinances limiting the use of contraceptives. For instance, in January 
Ayala Alabang Village, an exurb of Metro Manila, and in March seven 
villages in Bataan Province issued ordinances banning condoms and other 
forms of modern contraceptives without a medical prescription. While 
artificial contraception could be purchased on the open market in most 
areas, it remained unaffordable for many of Manila's poorest residents.
    Social hygiene clinics in urban areas served everyone who sought 
consultation and treatment. Women and men were equally diagnosed and 
treated for sexually transmitted infections. The Department of Health 
trained rural health physicians in diagnosis and treatment, but local 
health offices faced resource constraints. According to the 2008 
National Demographic Health Survey, 91 percent of pregnant women had at 
least four prenatal care visits, 44 percent of births were facility 
based, and 62 percent of births were attended by skilled birth 
attendants.

    Discrimination.--By law but not always in practice, women have most 
of the rights and protections accorded to men. Women are accorded the 
same rights as men regarding the ownership, acquisition, management, 
administration, enjoyment, and disposition of property and assets. 
Married women generally have property ownership rights equal to married 
men. However, in Muslim and indigenous communities, property ownership 
law or tradition grants married males more property ownership rights 
than married females.
    No law mandates nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring 
practices, and women in the labor force reportedly earned 37-47 percent 
less than men. Some labor unions claimed female employees suffered age 
discrimination and punitive action when they became pregnant. Although 
women faced workplace discrimination, they continued to occupy 
positions at all levels of the workforce. In a July labor-force survey, 
58 percent of government officials, corporate executives, managers, and 
supervisors were women. The survey also revealed that of the 2.8 
million unemployed persons, 37.4 percent were women.
    The law does not provide for divorce, although courts generally 
recognized the legality of divorces obtained in other countries if one 
of the parties was a foreign national. Marriage may be terminated 
through a legal annulment, but the cost precludes annulment as an 
option for many families. Many lower-income couples simply separated 
informally without severing their marital ties. The law provides that 
in child-custody cases resulting from annulment, illegitimacy, or 
divorce in another country, children under age seven are placed in the 
care of the mother unless there is a court order to the contrary. 
Children age seven and older normally also remain with the mother, 
although the father may dispute custody through the courts.
    The PCW, composed of 10 government officials and 11 NGO leaders 
appointed by the president, is the primary policy-making and 
coordinating body on matters of women and gender equity. During the 
year the PCW continued to advocate for passage of the reproductive 
health and domestic helper's bills, both of which were pending in 
Congress, and stepped up its campaign against violence against women.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth 
within the country's territory or from one's parents. The government 
continued to promote birth registration; health facility-based births 
were immediately registered, while those occurring outside facilities 
were less likely to be registered immediately, if at all. Credible NGOs 
confirmed their previous estimates that there were more than two 
million unregistered children in the country, primarily among Muslim 
and indigenous groups. Children could be deprived of education if they 
lacked required documents, such as birth certificates. The DSWD 
continued working closely with local governments to address this 
deficiency.

    Education.--Elementary and secondary education is free and 
compulsory through age 11, but the quality of education remained poor, 
and access was not universal. The Department of Education's 2011 
education sector assessment showed approximately six million out-of-
school youth. According to the 2008/2009 Philippines Human Development 
Report, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had the highest 
percentage of illiterate and out-of-school youths in the country (17 
percent, compared with 6 percent nationally), mainly due to poverty; 
insufficient access to information and opportunity; and a lack of 
peace, order, and security.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse remained a problem. From January to 
September, DSWD offices served 5,095 victims of child abuse, 64 percent 
of whom were girls. Approximately 38 percent of the girls were victims 
of sexual abuse. UNICEF praised the country's laws protecting children 
in its Annual Country Report 2010 but noted that enforcement 
``remain[ed] a challenge.'' Several cities ran crisis centers for 
abused women and children. Foreign and domestic pedophiles abused and 
exploited children, and the government continued its efforts to 
prosecute accused pedophiles and deport foreign ones.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 12 years. The statutory rape law criminalizes sex with minors 
under the age of 12 and sex with a child under age 18 involving force, 
threat, or intimidation. The maximum penalty for child rape is 
reclusion perpetua plus a lifetime bar from political office. Child 
pornography is illegal, and penalties range from one month to life in 
prison plus fines from 50,000 to five million pesos (approximately 
$1,150 to $115,000), depending on the gravity of the offense. Despite 
these penalties, law enforcement agencies and NGOs reported that minors 
continued to be used unlawfully in the production of pornography and in 
cybersex activities.
    Child prostitution continued to be a serious problem, and the 
country remained a destination for child sex tourism. Of the 5,095 
victims of child abuse whom DSWD offices served from January to 
September, approximately 3 percent were victims of sexual exploitation. 
The National Bureau of Investigation and the PNP worked closely with 
the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to target and close 
facilities suspected of prostituting minors. During the year DOLE 
closed six establishments that had recruited 31 minors; trials 
continued at year's end.

    Displaced Children.--UNICEF estimated in 2009 that there were 
250,000 street children, many of whom appeared abandoned and engaged in 
scavenging or begging. During the year the DSWD provided services to 
617 street children nationwide. NGOs alleged that vigilantes with ties 
to government authorities were responsible for killing street children 
engaged in petty crime in Davao and other major cities (see section 6, 
Other Societal Violence). Displacement affected children in central 
Mindanao, but generally they had access to government services (see 
section 2.d.).

    Institutionalized Children.--The law and executive orders provide 
for the welfare and protection of institutionalized children. Police 
stations have child- and youth-relations officers to ensure that child 
suspects are treated appropriately, but procedural safeguards often 
were ignored in practice. According to the BJMP, as of November 501 
minors were held in ``preventive detention'' while their trials were 
underway. Many child suspects were detained for extended periods 
without access to social workers and lawyers and were not segregated 
from adult criminals, although there were three DSWD detention centers 
for children in Manila. During the year government agencies and NGOs 
transferred 446 minor prisoners to DSWD rehabilitation centers, of 
which there were 11, and continued to work to secure the release of 
minors wrongfully imprisoned or younger than age 15. NGOs believed that 
children held in integrated conditions with adults were highly 
vulnerable to sexual abuse, recruitment into gangs, forced labor, 
torture, and other mistreatment.

    International Child Abductions.--The Philippines is not a party to 
the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.
    An estimated 400 to 1,000 mostly foreign nationals of Jewish 
heritage lived in the country. There were no reports of anti-Semitic 
acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, 
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health 
care, and other social services. The law provides for equal physical 
access for persons with both physical and mental disabilities to all 
public buildings and establishments, but in practice many barriers 
remained.
    The National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons formulated 
policies and coordinated the activities of all government agencies for 
the rehabilitation, self-development, and self-reliance of persons with 
disabilities and their integration into the mainstream of society. 
DOLE's Bureau of Local Employment maintained registers of persons with 
disabilities that indicate their skills and abilities, monitored 
private and public places of employment for violations of labor 
standards regarding persons with disabilities, and promoted the 
establishment of cooperatives and self-employment projects for persons 
with disabilities. One reliable NGO reported that the government 
continued to have limited means to assist persons with disabilities in 
finding employment, and such persons had limited recourse when their 
rights were violated because of the financial barriers to filing a 
lawsuit.
    The DSWD operated two assisted-living centers in Metro Manila and 
five community-based vocational centers for persons with disabilities 
nationwide. From January to September, the DSWD provided services to 
2,684 persons with disabilities.
    Advocates for persons with disabilities contended that equal-access 
laws were ineffective due to weak implementing regulations, 
insufficient funding, and government programs that were inadequately 
focused on integration. Many public buildings, particularly older ones, 
lacked functioning elevators. Many schools had architectural barriers 
that made attendance difficult for persons with disabilities.
    Government efforts to improve access to transportation for persons 
with disabilities were limited. Two of Manila's three light-rail lines 
were wheelchair accessible, but many stops continued to have 
unrepaired, out-of-service elevators. Buses lacked wheelchair lifts, 
and one NGO claimed that private transportation providers, such as 
taxis, often overcharged persons with disabilities or refused them 
service. A small number of sidewalks had wheelchair ramps, which were 
often blocked, crumbling, or too steep; the situation was worse in many 
smaller cities and towns.
    The constitution provides for the right of persons with physical 
disabilities to vote, although persons with mental disabilities are 
disqualified from voting. Persons with physical disabilities may have 
the assistance of a person of their choice in order to vote. In 
practice many persons with disabilities did not vote because of the 
physical barriers described above.

    Indigenous People.--Although no specific laws discriminate against 
indigenous people, the remoteness of the areas that many inhabit and 
cultural bias prevented their full integration into society. Indigenous 
children often suffered from lack of health, education, and other basic 
services. NGOs estimated that up to 70 percent of indigenous youth left 
or never attended school because of discrimination they experienced. 
According to the NGO Alliance of Indigenous Peoples' Organizations in 
the Philippines (KAMP), only a few government units in the country 
complied with the longstanding legal requirement for the mandatory 
representation of indigenous persons in policy-making bodies and local 
legislative councils.
    Indigenous people suffered disproportionately from armed conflict, 
including displacement from their homes, because they often inhabited 
mountainous areas favored by guerrillas. Their lands were often the 
sites of armed encounters, and various parties to the fighting actively 
recruited them. The Task Force for Indigenous Peoples' Rights (TFIP) 
continued to lobby for an appropriate mechanism through which 
indigenous people could be recognized as an official party and 
represented in peace talks between the government and MILF. The TFIP 
and KAMP reported a number of killings of indigenous persons opposed to 
mining interests and lobbied against encroachment by mining companies 
on indigenous land.
    From January to August, the National Commission on Indigenous 
People (NCIP) reported five cases of human rights violations due to 
land conflict, including the May 17 killing of Agta tribal leader 
Armando Maximino in Casiguran, Aurora Province. The violations included 
harassment, intimidation, and displacement of indigenous people by 
government security forces in Tanay, Rizal Province; Iriga City; and 
Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur Province. The NCIP referred these cases to the 
CHR, PNP, and OPAPP; all were under investigation at year's end. Other 
NGOs reported the use of security forces to protect mining and other 
private interests in indigenous areas.
    The NCIP, staffed by tribal members, implemented constitutional 
provisions to protect indigenous people, including the awarding of 
Certificates of Ancestral Land and Ancestral Domain Titles covering 
more than 458,000 acres of land claimed by indigenous people from 
January to August. It awarded such ``ancestral domain lands'' based on 
communal ownership, stopping sales of the lands by tribal leaders. In 
addition, the NCIP considers ``ancestral sea'' claims, since some 
indigenous groups--such as the Sama-Bajau, which customarily resided in 
fishing areas of western Mindanao, Malaysia, and Indonesia--
traditionally practiced migratory fishing. Approvals have been limited, 
and a large number of the Sama-Bajau have been displaced from western 
Mindanao by continuing conflict, poverty, and lack of access to 
ancestral seas.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--A coalition of lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) NGOs submitted a midyear report to the 
U.N. Universal Periodic Review that criticized the government for the 
absence of law and policy to protect persons from discrimination based 
on sexual orientation and gender identity. From January to August, the 
NGO Philippine LGBT Hate Crime Watch recorded 29 killings of LGBT 
individuals, linked the killings to prejudice or hate crimes, and 
referred them to the CHR and PNP for investigations, which were pending 
at year's end. LGBT NGOs reported societal discrimination based on 
sexual orientation and gender identity, including in employment and 
education.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Vigilante groups, 
including some with suspected ties to state actors, were suspected of 
summary killings of alleged adult criminals and minors involved in 
petty crime in the six major cities of Metro Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de 
Oro, Tagum, Davao, and General Santos. For example, the NGO Coalition 
Against Summary Execution recorded 71 cases of suspected vigilante 
killings in Davao City from January through September.
    The law prohibits discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS and 
provides for basic health and social services for them. However, there 
was some evidence of discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients in the 
government's provision of health care, housing, and insurance services.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of most Filipino workers, with the 
exception of the military and police, to form and join trade unions. 
Laws also prohibit organizing by short-term contract and foreign-
national workers, unless a reciprocity agreement exists between the 
countries. Labor laws apply uniformly throughout the country, including 
in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
    Strikes in the private sector are legal, although unions are 
procedurally required to provide strike notice, respect mandatory 
cooling-off periods, and obtain majority-member approval before calling 
a strike. By law the reason for striking must be relevant to the labor 
contract or the law, and all means of reconciliation must have been 
exhausted. The law provides that union officers who knowingly 
participate in an illegal strike may be dismissed and, if convicted, 
imprisoned for up to three years, although there has never been such a 
conviction.
    Government workers are prohibited from joining strikes under threat 
of automatic dismissal. Instead, government workers may file complaints 
with the Civil Service Commission, which handles administrative cases 
and arbitrates disputes between workers and their employers.
    Law and regulations provide for the right to organize and bargain 
collectively in both the private sector and in corporations owned or 
controlled by the government. Similar rights are afforded to most 
government workers. Use of short-term contractual labor, particularly 
by large employers, continued to be prevalent. Some employers choose to 
employ such workers, who are not permitted to organize with long-term, 
``regular'' workers, as a means of minimizing unionization.
    By law antiunion discrimination, especially in hiring, constitutes 
an unfair labor practice and can carry criminal or civil penalties. 
There is no explicit provision to provide for reinstatement.
    DOLE has general authority to enforce laws on freedom of 
association and collective bargaining. Allegations of intimidation and 
discrimination in connection with union activities are grounds for 
review before the quasi-judicial National Labor Relations Commission 
(NLRC) as possible unfair labor practices. Before disputes reached the 
NLRC, DOLE provided mediation services through a board, which settled 
most of the unfair labor practice disputes. Through the mediation 
board, DOLE also worked to improve the functioning of labor-management 
councils in companies that already had unions.
    The DOLE secretary--and in some special cases, the president--may 
intervene in some labor disputes by assuming jurisdiction and mandating 
a settlement if either official determines that the strike-affected 
company is vital to the national interest. Labor rights advocates 
criticized the government for intervening in labor disputes in sectors 
that they contended were not vital to the national economy. During the 
year DOLE reported two strikes involving 3,828 workers in the industry 
and services sector.
    Collective bargaining was practiced, but it was subject to 
hindrance by employers, and union leaders were subject to reprisal. In 
the public sector, collective bargaining was limited to a list of terms 
and conditions of employment that could be negotiated between 
management and public employees. Nonnegotiable items were those that 
required appropriation of funds, including healthcare and retirement 
benefits, and those that involved the exercise of management 
prerogatives, including appointment, promotion, compensation, and 
disciplinary action.
    Created in 2010, the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council 
(NTIPC) serves as the main consultative and advisory mechanism 
concerning labor and employment. It functions primarily as a forum for 
tripartite advice and consultation among organized labor, employers, 
and government in the formulation and implementation of labor and 
employment policies. It also serves as the central entity to monitor 
recommendations and ratifications of International Labor Organization 
(ILO) conventions. DOLE, through the NTIPC, is charged with 
coordinating the investigation, prosecution, and resolution of cases 
pending before the ILO concerning allegations of violence and 
harassment directed at labor leaders and trade union activists. During 
the year DOLE assumed jurisdiction in five labor dispute cases.
    In practice trade unions were independent of the government. Unions 
have the right to form or join federations or other labor groups, and 
many join national and international confederations. According to union 
leaders, however, management frequently threatened union members with 
dismissal and sometimes illegally dismissed union organizers during the 
year. Additionally, the military maintained a presence in some 
workplaces and interfered in labor disputes.
    Killings and harassment of labor leaders and advocates continued to 
be a problem, although to a lesser extent than in the mid-2000s. During 
the year the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) documented 
four cases involving killings of five labor leaders, compared with five 
killings in 2010. For example, on March 8, unknown assailants killed 
Cielito Baccay, a union officer and founder of the Maeno-Giken Workers 
Organization (MAGIKWO) in Dasmarinas, Cavite Province. Some labor 
groups linked this killing to the continuing dispute between MAGIKWO 
and the management of Maeno-Giken, Inc. and suspected that the incident 
was a form of harassment and union busting. Management denied any 
connection to the killing, and the case remained under investigation as 
of year's end.
    In addition, during the year the CTUHR documented 11 cases of 
threats, harassment, and intimidation affecting 73 workers and labor 
advocates, 11 cases of physical assault, and three cases of protests 
violently dispersed.
    On April 1, DOLE reaffirmed its December 2010 ruling in favor of 
the association representing flight attendants and stewards of 
Philippine Airlines (PAL), which granted back-salary increases, a 
compulsory retirement age of 60 years, and other benefits. DOLE has 
also brokered talks between members of the Philippine Airlines 
Employees Association (PALEA) and management since December 2010 
regarding plans to outsource a number of ``non-core'' positions, which 
would reduce the workforce by 2,600. On September 27, four days before 
the changes became effective, PALEA members walked off the job in 
protest, effectively shutting down the airline. On November 9, the 
airline's management filed criminal complaints against 41former 
employees who allegedly harassed airline staff and blocked PAL's 
catering services on October 29. By year's end the criminal cases 
against the former employees were pending in court, and the majority of 
the 2,600 non-core positions had been outsourced.
    In practice local SEZ directors claimed authority to conduct their 
own inspections as part of the zones' privileges intended by the 
legislature. Hiring often was controlled tightly through SEZ labor 
centers. For these reasons, and in part due to organizers' restricted 
access to the closely guarded zones and the propensity among zone 
establishments to adopt fixed-term, casual, temporary, or seasonal 
employment contracts, unions had little success organizing in the SEZs.
    Unions continued to claim that local political leaders and 
officials who governed the SEZs explicitly attempted to frustrate union 
organizing efforts further by maintaining union-free or strike-free 
policies. Unions also claimed that government security forces were 
stationed near industrial areas or SEZs to intimidate workers 
attempting to organize and alleged that companies in SEZs used 
frivolous lawsuits as a means of harassing union leaders. Finally, 
labor rights groups reported that some firms used bankruptcy as a 
reason for closing and dismissing workers attempting to organize. By 
law bankruptcy is an acceptable reason for closing a firm, unless there 
is a pattern in which it was falsified and used to deny worker rights. 
The Philippines Export Zone Authority engaged the NGO Verite on this 
problem with no marked progress by year's end.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, but there were reports that forced labor of 
adults and children (see section 7.c.) continued to occur, mainly in 
fishing, maritime industries, small-scale factories, domestic service, 
agriculture, and other areas of the informal sector.
    Trade unions reported poor compliance with the law, due in part to 
the prevalence of forced labor in the informal sector and the inability 
of the government to inspect labor practices in that sector.
    The government did not provide data on the number of victims 
removed from forced labor during the year but noted that in August it 
assisted 38 fishermen in filing six cases of qualified trafficking for 
forced labor and one case of violating the antichild-abuse law 
involving a recruiter for a fishing company from Negros Oriental 
Province. At year's end all cases continued.
    During the year credible NGOs also reported incidents of forced 
labor in domestic service in the country, although most cases focused 
on Filipino workers abroad.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15, except 
under the direct and sole responsibility of parents or guardians, and 
sets the maximum number of working hours for them at four hours per day 
and no more than 20 hours per week. Children ages 15-17 are limited to 
eight working hours per day, up to a maximum of 40 hours per week. The 
law forbids the employment of persons under age 18 in hazardous or 
dangerous work.
    Child labor remained a common problem, and a significant number of 
children were employed in the informal sector as domestic workers in 
the urban economy or as unpaid family workers in rural agricultural 
areas. NGO and government officials continued to report cases in which 
family members sold children to employers for domestic labor or sexual 
exploitation. The April 2010 Philippine Labor Force Survey estimated 
there were more than 2.4 million working children between the ages of 
15 to 17 in the country; the majority were laborers and unskilled 
workers. There were no recent, reliable estimates of the number of 
working children below age 15, but UNICEF's Annual Country Report 2010 
noted uneven survey data indicating approximately four million children 
between the ages of five and 17 worked at least four hours a day, 
including a million child domestic workers who were almost all girls. 
Child workers were often exposed to hazardous working environments in 
industries such as mining, fishing, pyrotechnic production, domestic 
service, garbage scavenging, and agriculture, especially sugar cane 
plantations.
    Most child labor occurred in the informal economy, often in family 
settings. The government, in coordination with domestic NGOs and 
international organizations, continued to implement programs to develop 
safer options for children, return them to school, and offer families 
viable economic alternatives to child labor. Although the government 
devoted additional resources to programs that sought to prevent, 
monitor, and respond to child labor during the year, resources remained 
inadequate.
    The government imposed fines and instituted criminal prosecutions 
for child labor violations in the formal sector, such as in 
manufacturing. DOLE continued its efforts to remove child workers from 
hazardous situations. From January to September, DOLE conducted four 
operations involving the removal of 24 child laborers.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Tripartite regional wage boards 
of the National Wage and Productivity Commission increased the daily 
minimum wage rates for agricultural and nonagricultural workers in 10 
out of 13 regions during the year. Minimum wages in the nonagricultural 
sector were highest in the National Capital Region, where the minimum 
daily wage rate was 426 pesos (approximately $9.80). The lowest minimum 
wage rates were in the Southern Tagalog Region, where daily 
agricultural wages were 199 pesos ($4.60). The law exempts minimum-wage 
earners from paying income tax.
    Given the overall low minimum wage, coupled with the fact that many 
workers are not covered by the regulations, several labor groups 
protested in May that the national minimum wage did not provide 
adequate worker protection. The government estimate from 2009 claimed 
that a family of five needed a daily income of 231 pesos ($5.30) to 
stay out of poverty. On December 1, the National Statistical 
Coordination Board reported 3.9 million families living below the 
poverty line.
    By law the standard workweek is 48 hours for most categories of 
industrial workers and 40 hours for government workers, with an eight-
hour-per-day limit. The government mandates an overtime rate of 125 
percent of the hourly rate on ordinary days and 130 percent on rest 
days and holidays. The law mandates one day of rest each week. There is 
no legal limit on the number of overtime hours that an employer may 
require.
    The law provides for a comprehensive set of occupational safety and 
health standards. However, workers do not have a legally protected 
right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without 
risking loss of employment.
    Most labor laws apply to foreign workers who must obtain work 
permits and may not engage in certain occupations. Typically, their 
work conditions were better than those faced by citizens, as they were 
generally employed in the formal economy and were recruited for high-
paying, specialized positions.
    DOLE's Bureau of Working Conditions is mandated to monitor and 
inspect compliance with labor law in all sectors, including workers in 
the formal sector, nontraditional laborers, and informal workers, and 
to conduct inspections of SEZs and businesses located there. The 
department employed 254 labor inspectors nationwide to monitor and 
enforce all aspects of the law, including by conducting inspections of 
compliance with core labor and occupational safety standards and 
minimum wages.
    There were gaps and uneven applications of law. For example, 
regional wage board orders covered all private sector workers except 
domestic servants and others employed in the service of another person; 
as the law allows, these individuals were frequently paid less than the 
minimum wage for other occupations. Boards also exempted some newly 
established companies and other employers from the rules because of 
factors such as business size, industry sector, export intensity, 
financial distress, and level of capitalization. As a result of these 
exemptions, the law did not cover a substantial number of workers. 
During the year the boards granted minimum wage exemptions to 137 
establishments, about which unions filed complaints.
    DOLE acknowledged that insufficient inspection funds impeded its 
ability to investigate labor law violations effectively, especially in 
the informal sector and the 66,360 companies with 10 to 199 workers. 
These midsized companies, unionized establishments, and those with 
collective bargaining agreements were permitted to file voluntary self-
certifications to verify law compliance. DOLE provided training and 
advisory services for enterprises with less than 10 workers to help 
them with compliance and allowed establishments with more than 200 
workers to undertake voluntary self-assessments of compliance.
    DOLE also acknowledged that a shortage of inspectors made law 
enforcement difficult. Penalties for noncompliance with increases or 
adjustments in the wage rates as prescribed by law are a fine of 25,000 
pesos ($580) to 100,000 pesos ($2,300) and/or two to four years' 
imprisonment at the court's discretion. In addition to fines, the 
government used administrative procedures and moral suasion to 
encourage employers to rectify violations voluntarily.
    DOLE conducted only sporadic inspections to enforce limits on 
workweek hours. During the year labor inspectors made 1,843 checks on 
company compliance with general labor and working standards and found 
140 to have violations.
    DOLE has responsibility for policy formulation and review of 
standards for working conditions, but with too few inspectors 
nationwide, local authorities often must accomplish enforcement. DOLE 
continued a campaign to promote safer work environments in small 
enterprises.
    Violations of minimum wage standards and the use of contract 
employees to avoid the payment of required benefits were common, 
including in government-designated SEZs. During the year the Bureau of 
Working Conditions inspected 30,727 firms: 10,049 were found to have 
violated core labor standards, 6,066 of which were found to be out of 
compliance with minimum wage rates. Many firms hired employees for less 
than minimum apprentice rates, even if there was no approved training 
in their production-line work. Complaints about nonpayment of social 
security contributions, bonuses, and overtime were particularly common 
with regard to companies in SEZs.
    During the year DOLE's Occupational Safety and Health Center 
provided training and information dissemination to 13,726 participants 
involving 3,716 companies to reduce accidents and illnesses at work. 
The NGO Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development, which 
conducts research on occupational health and safety issues, recorded 90 
deaths and 76 injuries due to work. Statistics on actual work-related 
accidents and illnesses were incomplete, as incidents (especially in 
agriculture) were underreported. For example, on March 25, DOLE imposed 
double indemnity penalties and fines totaling 6.95 million pesos 
($160,000) on the general contractor and 13 subcontractors of the Eton 
construction project in Makati City who were involved in a January 27 
accident that killed 10 workers.
    The government and several NGOs worked to protect the rights of the 
country's overseas citizens, most of whom were temporary or contract 
workers. Although the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration 
(POEA) successfully registered and supervised domestic recruiter 
practices, authorities often lacked sufficient resources to ensure 
worker protection overseas. The government continued to place financial 
sanctions on, and bring criminal charges against, domestic recruiting 
agencies found guilty of unfair labor practices. For example, in May 
the POEA cancelled the recruitment license of Great World International 
Management, Inc., and in August the Justice Department filed cases 
against three suspected recruiters from the firm who reportedly 
recruited women illegally to work as domestic workers in Kuwait. 
Applicants had paid the agency placement fees, but the promised work 
never materialized.

                               __________

                                 SAMOA

                           executive summary
    Samoa is a constitutional parliamentary democracy that incorporates 
traditional practices into its governmental system. Executive authority 
is vested in Head of State Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, elected by 
parliament in 2007. The unicameral parliament, elected by universal 
suffrage, is composed of the heads of extended families (matai). The 
most recent parliamentary elections were held in March and were marred 
by charges of bribery, treating, and gifting during the campaigns. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The principal human rights problems were poor prison conditions and 
domestic violence against women.
    Other human rights problems included police abuse, abuse of 
children, and discrimination against women and non-matai.
    The government took steps to prosecute officials who committed 
abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the 
government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and the 
government generally observed these prohibitions in practice. However, 
there were some allegations of police abuses.
    Two police officers were charged with inflicting bodily harm after 
a woman alleged she was assaulted and beaten with a stick by female 
officers while being questioned in January. In November the two 
officers were convicted. One was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. 
The second did not receive a prison sentence but was discharged from 
the police force.
    In August the Supreme Court ordered the government to pay 
restitution and damages of WST$103,048 ($46,004) to a Nigerian national 
in a lawsuit claiming compensation for assault, battery, and false 
imprisonment that occurred in January. While in police custody, the 
Nigerian national was assaulted three times for refusing to depart on 
an ordered deportation flight. He had refused to board the flight after 
claiming police and immigration officials did not return his passport 
and bankbook, which were lost during investigations.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions improved 
but overall remained below international standards. Although the 
government built new facilities and improved cell conditions, these 
actions were insufficient to provide for the increasing prison 
population. There were a total of approximately 427 inmates in the 
prison system, including 28 women and 37 juveniles. The Tafaigata men's 
prison, the country's most congested, had 23cells of various sizes, 
including eight century-old concrete cells that measured approximately 
30 feet by 30 feet and held 26 to 30 inmates each. Only basic 
provisions were made with respect to food, water (including potable 
water), and sanitation. Cell lighting and ventilation remained poor; 
lights remained on only from dusk until 9 p.m. All cells had one toilet 
and one shower facility each, which were Shared communally. There were 
approximately 290 inmates and another 45 held separately in three 
holding cells awaiting trial.
    The separate Tafaigata women's prison had five cells that were 
approximately 15 feet by nine feet, and each held four to six inmates. 
There was also one separate holding cell for female inmates awaiting 
trial and one security cell. Physical conditions, including ventilation 
and sanitation, generally were better in the women's prison than in the 
men's prison. There were 28 inmates at the women's facility.
    Juveniles (under 21 years) were housed at the Olomanu Juvenile 
Center, where physical conditions generally were better than in adult 
facilities. The 37 juveniles were housed in three separate homes and 
lived as a community in a 300-acre compound.
    At the Tafaigata men's prison five new cells were built to hold at 
least 10 inmates. In July the Vaiaata Corrections Facility completed 
refurbishment of two homes that were used as communal holding 
facilities for the 27 inmates.
    Prisoners were permitted escorted hospital visits for medical 
checks as necessary. A room at the police officers' headquarters served 
as a medical clinic, but no doctor or nurse was assigned to the 
facility.
    Prisoners at all facilities including the juvenile facility are 
required to do manual labor approximately 40 hours per week. This labor 
generally consists of agricultural work and cooking to provide food for 
the inmates and prison staff. The government permitted family members 
and church representatives to visit prisons weekly. This was often on 
Sundays, when families were allowed to bring food parcels and clothing 
for inmates.
    Overnight detainees were held at two holding cells at police 
headquarters in Apia and one cell at Tuasivi. The cells had good 
lighting, sanitation, and ventilation.
    Prisoners and detainees were permitted religious observance. 
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to 
judicial authorities and request investigation of allegations of 
inhumane conditions, and authorities investigated such allegations and 
documented the results in a publicly accessible manner. The government 
investigated and monitored prison and detention center conditions.
    The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human 
rights observers, including the Red Cross and other diplomatic 
missions. The Office of the Ombudsman is legally mandated to receive 
and investigate complaints of prisoners and detainees on issues of 
inhumane overcrowding; status and circumstances of juvenile offenders; 
and improvement of pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping 
procedures. The Ombudsman's Office received no complaints or reports by 
prisoners during the year. Prisoners also could lodge complaints with 
the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) within the Police Department. The 
PSU received approximately three to five complaints during the year. 
Most prisoner complaints were lodged with the PSU because many inmates 
were not aware they could file complaints with the Ombudsman's Office.

    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 national Samoan 
Police Force (SPF) maintains internal security. Enforcement of rules 
and security within individual villages is vested in the fono (council 
of matai). The country has no standing military force. Civilian 
authorities maintained effective control over the SPF, and the 
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and 
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the SPF during 
the year. A lack of resources and capacity-building efforts limited 
police effectiveness.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The Supreme 
Court issues arrest warrants based on compelling evidence. The law 
provides for the right to a prompt judicial determination regarding the 
legality of detention, and the authorities generally respected this 
right in practice. Detainees were informed within 24 hours of the 
charges against them or they were released. There was a functioning 
bail system. Detainees were allowed prompt access to a lawyer of their 
choice. The government provides a lawyer for indigent detainees upon 
request at court.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.
    Due to staff shortages, some Supreme Court and district court 
judges faced a backlog of pending cases. Pretrial detainees at the 
Taifagata compound were on average detained for six months or more.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. 
A trial judge examines evidence and determines if there are grounds to 
proceed. Defendants have the presumption of innocence. Trials are 
public except for trials of juveniles, which only immediate family 
members may attend. Juries (also known as assessors) are used only for 
the most serious offenses, such as murder, manslaughter, and rape. 
Defendants have the right to be present and to timely consultation with 
an attorney, at public expense if required. Defendants may confront 
witnesses and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. 
Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence, 
and defendants have the right to appeal a verdict.
    Many civil and criminal matters were handled by village fono, which 
varied considerably in their decision-making styles and the number of 
matai involved in the decisions. The Village Fono Act recognizes the 
decisions of the fono and provides for limited appeal to the Lands and 
Titles Court and the Supreme Court. The nature and severity of the 
dispute determine which court receives an appeal. A further appeal may 
be made to the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court has ruled that the 
fono may not infringe upon villagers' freedom of religion, speech, 
assembly, or association. The government began a review of the Village 
Fono Act to determine whether it gives the fono excessive authority to 
limit individual rights under a broadly defined ``public order'' 
exception. In September the government consulted villages nationwide on 
this question, but no conclusions were reached by year's end.

    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 bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights 
violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The laws prohibit such actions, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. However, there is 
little privacy in villages, where there can be substantial societal 
pressure on residents to grant village officials access without a 
warrant. There were reports of some village fonos having banished 
individuals or families from villages (see section 2.d.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent 
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning political system 
combined to ensure freedom of speech and press. The law stipulates 
imprisonment for any journalist who, despite a court order, refuses to 
reveal a confidential source upon request from a member of the public. 
However, there has been no court case invoking this law.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government generally did 
not restrict academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. However, traditional law governs villages, and village fono 
regularly banned citizens from village activities or banished citizens 
from the village for failing to conform to village laws or obey fono 
rulings. Cases of village banishment were rarely made public. Of those 
cases that became known during the year, reasons for banishment 
included murder, rape, adultery, and unauthorized claims to land and 
matai title. There are also reports of villages banning religious 
activities of villagers who do not belong to the ``designated'' village 
faith. In some cases civil courts overruled banishment orders. Some 
banished persons were accepted back into the village after performing a 
traditional apology ceremony.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws 
provide for the granting of refugee status, but the government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. No such 
requests 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 generally fair elections based on universal 
suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--General 
elections were held in March and generally considered fair. The Human 
Rights Protection Party retained government for the seventh consecutive 
term. For the first time in the country's independent history, a second 
party, the Tautua Samoa Party, received enough votes to form an 
official opposition. Following the elections eight electoral petitions 
were filed on various grounds of bribery, treating, and gifting during 
a campaign. Of the eight electoral petitions submitted to the Supreme 
Court, one was withdrawn, three were dismissed, and four resulted in 
orders to conduct by-elections as the four winning candidates were 
found guilty of various charges of bribery, treating and gifting during 
a campaign. All by-elections took place in July.

    Political Parties.--General election electoral amendments 
restricted some members of the opposition from registering as 
candidates. The amendments required candidates to obtain the signature 
and approval of a government-paid village representative, mayor, or 
church minister in their respective candidate applications. Two 
opposition candidates were refused these approvals when the village 
fonos agreed to have only one candidate run, waiving the need for 
elections. On appeal the Supreme Court upheld the electoral amendments.
    While the constitution gives all citizens above age 21 the right to 
vote and run for office, by social custom candidates for 47 of the 49 
seats in parliament are drawn from the approximately 30,000 matai, who 
are selected by family agreement. Although both men and women may 
become matai, only 8 percent were women. Matai control local 
governments through the village fono, and their titles are determined 
by appointment rather than direct election.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Despite various government, 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) and political party initiatives to 
increase female candidate participation in the general elections, only 
two women were elected to the 49-member parliament: one was named 
minister of justice and the other associate minister of women, 
community, and social development. One woman served as head of a 
constitutional office, one woman as governor of the central bank, five 
women as chief executive officers of government ministries, and six 
women as general managers of government corporations.
    The political rights of citizens who are not of ethnic Samoan 
heritage are addressed by reserving two parliamentary seats for at-
large members of parliament, known as ``individual voters'' seats. One 
at-large cabinet minister and parliamentarian was of mixed European-
Samoan heritage. Citizens of mixed European-Samoan or Chinese-Samoan 
heritage were well represented in the civil service.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government generally implemented the law effectively. Penalties 
ranged from several months to several years of imprisonment if 
convicted. There were isolated reports of government corruption during 
the year.
    In July the cabinet ordered a performance audit of the Electricity 
Power Corporation as well as the suspension of two senior management 
officials and the nonrenewal of the contract of the then general 
manager. The cabinet order came after revelations regarding large 
payments made as cash gifts to various villages, vendors, and police 
officers. The audit revealed many questionable purchases, unauthorized 
bonuses, and other unaccounted-for monies.
    Although public officials were not subject to financial disclosure 
laws, such disclosure was encouraged by codes of ethics applicable to 
boards of directors of government-owned corporations. The law provides 
for an ombudsman to investigate complaints against government agencies, 
officials, or employees, including allegations of corruption. The 
ombudsman may require the government to provide information relating to 
a complaint.
    By law government information is subject to disclosure in civil 
proceedings, unless the information is considered privileged or its 
disclosure would harm the public interest. In the case of other 
information requests, petitioners had to navigate a cumbersome 
bureaucratic process, and consequently information was not always 
obtainable in a timely manner.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Office of the Ombudsman was 
generally considered effective and operated free from government or 
political party interference. The government usually adopted its 
recommendations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status, and the government generally 
respected these provisions in practice. However, politics and culture 
reflected a heritage of matai privilege and power, and members of 
certain families of high traditional status possessed some advantages.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal, but there is 
no legal provision against spousal rape. The penalties for rape range 
from two years' to life imprisonment, but a life sentence has never 
been imposed. Many cases of rape went unreported because common 
societal attitudes discouraged such reporting. In recent years, 
however, authorities noted a rise in the number of reported cases of 
rape. This appeared to be a result of efforts by government ministries 
and local NGOs to increase awareness of the problem and the need to 
report rape cases to police. Rape cases that reached the courts were 
treated seriously, and the conviction rate was generally high.
    The constitution prohibits abuse of women, but common societal 
attitudes tolerated their physical abuse within the home. Such abuse 
was common and typically went unreported due to social pressure and 
fear of reprisal. Village fono typically punished domestic violence 
offenders, but only if the abuse was considered extreme (that is, 
visible signs of physical abuse). Village religious leaders also were 
permitted to intervene in domestic disputes. When police received 
complaints from abused women, the government investigated and punished 
the offender, including by imprisonment. Domestic violence is charged 
as common criminal assault, with penalties ranging from several months 
to one year in prison. The government did not keep statistics 
specifically on domestic abuse but acknowledged the problem as one of 
considerable concern. The Ministry of Police has a nine-person Domestic 
Violence Unit, which worked in collaboration with NGOs that combated 
domestic abuse. NGO services for abused women included public 
antiviolence awareness programs, confidential hotlines, in-person 
counseling and other support, and shelters.

    Sexual Harassment.--There is no law specifically prohibiting sexual 
harassment, and there were no reliable statistics concerning its 
extent. It likely was underreported, due to the lack of sexual 
harassment legislation and a cultural constraint against publicly 
shaming or accusing someone, even if justifiable. There was little 
incentive for victims to report instances of sexual harassment, as they 
could jeopardize their career or family name by going forward with such 
complaints.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children and to have the information and means to do so free from 
discrimination. The National Health Service, private hospitals, the 
Ministry of Health's public awareness programs, general practitioners, 
and various health care centers provided information and access to 
contraception and access to maternal health services, which included 
skilled attendance during childbirth, prenatal care, and essential 
obstetric and postpartum care.

    Discrimination.--Women have equal rights under the constitution and 
statutory law, and the traditionally subordinate role of women was 
changing, albeit slowly, particularly within the more conservative 
segments of society. The Ministry of Women, Community, and Social 
Development oversees and helps secure the rights of women. To integrate 
women into the economic mainstream, the government sponsored numerous 
programs, including literacy and training programs for those who did 
not complete high school.
    A labor law provision prohibits employment of women between 
midnight and 6 a.m. unless the commissioner of labor grants special 
permission. This regulation was generally observed.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth in 
the country if at least one parent is a citizen; the government may 
also grant citizenship by birth to a child born in the country if the 
child would otherwise be stateless. Citizenship also is derived by 
birth abroad to a citizen parent who either was born in Samoa or 
resided there at least three years. Births are not always registered 
immediately, and some are not registered until many years later. 
Legally children without a birth certificate are not allowed to attend 
primary schools, but this was not strictly enforced.

    Child Abuse.--Law and tradition prohibit the severe abuse of 
children, but both tolerate corporal punishment. Although there were no 
official statistics available, press reports indicated a rise in 
reported cases of child abuse, especially incest and indecent assault 
cases, which appeared to be due to citizens' increased awareness of the 
need to report physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of children. The 
government aggressively prosecuted such cases.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 16 years; the maximum penalty for violators is seven years' 
imprisonment. There is no specific criminal provision regarding child 
pornography; however, child pornography cases can be prosecuted under a 
provision of law that prohibits distribution or exhibition of indecent 
material. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for two years.
    The Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration and the Ministry 
of Education, in collaboration with NGOs, carried out educational 
activities to address domestic violence and inappropriate behavior 
between adults and children and promote human rights awareness.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The country had no organized Jewish community, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--During the year there were no confirmed 
reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There is no law pertaining specifically 
to the status of persons with disabilities or regarding accessibility 
for them. Tradition dictates that families care for persons with 
disabilities, and this custom was observed widely in practice. There 
were no reports of discrimination against persons with disabilities, 
including physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities, in 
the areas of employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services. Many public buildings were old, and 
only a few were accessible to persons with disabilities. Most new 
buildings provided better access, including ramps and elevators in most 
multistory buildings.
    The Ministry of Women, Community, and Social Development has 
responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Sodomy and ``indecency between 
males'' are illegal, with maximum penalties of seven and five years' 
imprisonment, respectively. However, these provisions were not actively 
enforced with regard to consensual same-sex sexual activity between 
adults. Although there were no reports of societal violence based on 
sexual orientation or gender identity, there were isolated cases of 
discrimination.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the rights of workers to form and join independent 
unions, to conduct legal strikes, and to bargain collectively. However, 
there were certain restrictions on the right to strike for government 
workers, imposed principally for reasons of public safety.
    Workers legally have unrestricted rights to establish and join 
organizations of their own choosing.
    The Supreme Court has upheld the right of government workers to 
strike, subject to certain restrictions, and workers exercised this 
right in practice. Although workers in the private sector have the 
right to strike, there were no private sector strikes during the year.
    The government effectively enforced applicable laws, and in 
practice freedom of association was respected. The Public Service 
Association functioned as a union for all government workers, who made 
up approximately 8,000 of the approximately 25,000 workers in the 
formal economy. Unions generally conducted their activities free from 
government interference.
    Workers exercised the right to organize and bargain collectively in 
practice. The Public Service Association engages in collective 
bargaining on behalf of government workers, including bargaining on 
wages. Arbitration and mediation procedures are in place to resolve 
labor disputes, although such disputes rarely arose.
    There were no known instances of antiunion discrimination during 
the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, and the government generally enforced laws 
in this regard. There is an exception in the constitution for service 
required by Samoan custom. A key feature of the matai system is that 
non-matai men perform work within their village in service to their 
families and the village as a whole. Most persons did so willingly; 
however, the matai may compel those who do not.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits employing children under the age of 15 except in ``safe 
and light work.'' The law does not apply to service rendered to family 
members or the matai, some of whom required children to work for the 
village, primarily on village farms. The law prohibits any student from 
being engaged in light or heavy industrial activity within school hours 
of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The law, however, does not ban vending by children 
under age 14 altogether. The law prohibits children under 15 from work 
that could harm their physical or moral health.
    The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Labor refers complaints of 
illegal child labor to the attorney general for enforcement, but no 
cases were prosecuted during the year.
    There were no reliable statistics available on the extent of child 
labor. Children frequently were seen vending goods and food on Apia 
street corners. The government has not definitively determined whether 
this practice violates the country's labor laws, which cover only 
persons who have a place of employment. Although the practice may 
constitute a violation of the law, local officials mostly tolerated it. 
The extent to which children were required to work on village farms 
varied by village, although anecdotal accounts indicated the practice 
was quite prevalent. Work performed by younger children was confined 
primarily to household chores, yard work, and light work gathering 
fruits, nuts, and plants. Some boys began working on plantations as 
teenagers, helping to gather crops such as coconuts and care for 
animals. Some children reportedly were employed in domestic service.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There were two minimum wages: 
WST $2.00 ($0.89) per hour for the private sector, and WST $2.65 
($1.18) for the public sector. Wages in the private sector are 
determined by competitive demand for the required skills but should not 
be less than the minimum private sector wage. Approximately three-
quarters of the working population worked within the subsistence 
economy and had no formal employment, and according to the Samoan 
Census Bureau's 2008 poverty report, 26.9 percent of the population 
resided below the basic needs poverty line.
    The provisions of the Labor Act cover only the private sector; a 
separate law, the Public Service Act, covers public sector workers. 
Labor laws stipulate a standard workweek of no more than 40 hours, or 
eight hours per day (excluding meal times), and prohibit compulsory 
overtime. For the private sector, overtime pay is specified at time and 
a half, with double time for work on Sundays and public holidays and 
triple time for overtime on such days. For the public sector, there is 
no paid overtime, but compensatory time off is given for overtime work. 
There generally are nine paid public holidays per year.
    The Occupational Safety Hazard Act establishes certain rudimentary 
safety and health standards for workplaces, which the Ministry of 
Commerce, Industry, and Labor is responsible for enforcing. The law 
also covers persons who are not workers but who are lawfully on the 
premises or within the workplace during work hours. Safety laws do not 
generally apply to agricultural service rendered to the matai or to 
work done within individual families' homes.
    Independent observers reported that safety laws were not enforced 
strictly, except when accidents highlighted noncompliance. Work 
accidents were investigated when reports were received. Many 
agricultural workers, among others, were inadequately protected from 
pesticides and other dangers to health. Government education and 
awareness programs addressed these concerns by providing appropriate 
training and equipment to agricultural workers.
    While the law does not address specifically the right of workers to 
remove themselves from dangerous work situations, the commissioner of 
labor investigates such cases, without jeopardy to continued 
employment. Information was not available on specific government 
investigations during the year. Government employees are covered under 
different and more stringent regulations, which were enforced 
adequately by the Public Service Commission.

                               __________

                               SINGAPORE

                           executive summary
    Singapore is a parliamentary republic in which the People's Action 
Party (PAP), in power since 1959, overwhelmingly dominates the 
political scene. Opposition parties actively participated in the May 7 
parliamentary elections and the August 27 presidential election, which 
were generally free and fair; however, the PAP continued to benefit 
from procedural obstacles in the path of political opponents. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The government has broad powers to limit citizens' rights. While 
the 2011 general and presidential elections generally were seen as 
open, free, and fair, the government benefitted from the use of legal 
restrictions that handicap the political opposition. The Internal 
Security Act (ISA) permits preventive detention without warrant, filing 
of charges, or normal judicial review; in recent years it has been used 
against alleged terrorists and was not used against persons in the 
political opposition.
    The following human rights problems also were reported: mandated 
caning as an allowable punishment for some crimes, infringement of 
aspects of citizens' privacy rights, restriction of speech and press 
freedom and the practice of self-censorship by journalists, restriction 
of freedoms of assembly and association, and some limited restriction 
of freedom of religion.
    The government prosecutes officials who commit human rights abuses, 
although there were no instances of such prosecutions reported during 
the year. There were no reports of impunity involving the security 
forces during the year and therefore impunity did not appear to be a 
problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

    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 the government 
generally respected these prohibitions.
    The law mandates caning, in addition to imprisonment, as punishment 
for approximately 30 offenses involving violence, such as rape and 
robbery, and for nonviolent offenses such as vandalism, drug 
trafficking, and violation of immigration laws. Caning is discretionary 
for convictions on other charges involving the use of force, such as 
kidnapping or voluntarily causing grievous hurt. All women, men over 
age 50 or under age 16, men sentenced to death whose sentences have not 
been commuted, and persons determined medically unfit are exempt from 
punishment by caning. During the year 2,318 convicted persons were 
sentenced to judicial caning, and 98.9 percent of caning sentences were 
carried out.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards.
    During the year the total number of prisoners and detainees in 
custody of the authorities was 12,376, of whom 9.1 percent were women. 
Female prisoners were held in a separate facility from male prisoners. 
In 2010, 94 inmates, ages 17 and 18, comprised the juvenile prison 
population, which included drug rehabilitation center inmates. The 
designed capacity of the prison system was 16,254.
    The frequency and type of visitors allowed was determined by the 
category of the inmate. In general, family members and close relatives 
were allowed to visit inmates. The Prison Authority must approve 
nonrelatives who wish to visit. Most inmates were allowed visits twice 
a month. Prisoners awaiting trial were allowed visits every weekday. 
Most inmates were allowed up to three visitors in a visit session. The 
prison system also uses televisits. There were nine teleconference 
centers located throughout the city-state, including one specifically 
for visits by children under age 21.
    Religious services within the prison system were provided by 
volunteers from religious organizations such as the Prison Fellowship, 
the Buddhist Federation, the Roman Catholic Prison Ministry, SANA 
(Muslim), and the Sikh Welfare Council.
    Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities without censorship and to request investigation 
of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. The Board of Visiting 
Justices, made up of justices of the peace appointed by the minister 
for home affairs, is responsible for the basic welfare of the prisoners 
and conducts prison inspections. All inmates have access to the 
visiting justices. Prisoners had access to potable water. Nonviolent 
offenders may be offered the option of paying a fine or being placed on 
probation in lieu of incarceration.
    Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane 
conditions and documented the results of such investigations in a 
publicly accessible manner. The government investigated and monitored 
prison and detention center conditions. The Institutional Discipline 
Advisory Committee renders an opinion to the director of prisons on 
whether corporal punishment ordered by a superintendent on any inmate 
for committing an institutional offense in penal institutions or drug 
rehabilitation centers is excessive.
    The government did not allow human rights monitors to visit 
prisons; however, diplomatic representatives were given regular, 
frequent consular access to citizens of their countries.

    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 national police, 
under the direction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, maintains internal 
security and the armed forces, under the direction of the Ministry of 
Defense, is responsible for external security.
    Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the police 
force and the armed forces, and the Ministry of Home Affairs and the 
Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had effective mechanisms to 
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of 
impunity involving the security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides that, in most instances, arrests are to be carried out after 
issuance of an authorized warrant; however, some laws, such as the ISA, 
provide for arrests without warrants. Those arrested under warrants 
must be charged before a magistrate within 48 hours. The majority of 
those arrested were charged expeditiously and brought to trial. A 
functioning bail system exists. Those who face criminal charges are 
allowed counsel; however, there is no access to counsel during an 
initial arrest and investigation before charges are filed. The 
government assigned attorneys to represent indigent persons accused of 
capital crimes. The Law Society administered a legal aid plan for some 
other accused persons who could not afford to hire an attorney.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Some laws--the ISA, the Criminal Law (Temporary 
Provisions) Act (CLA), the Misuse of Drugs Act (the drug act), and the 
Undesirable Publications Act (UPA)--have provisions for arrest and 
detention without a warrant. Under the ISA, CLA, and drug act, 
executive branch officials can order continued detention without 
judicial review. The ISA has been employed primarily against suspected 
security threats; in recent years such threats have come from suspected 
terrorists. The CLA has been employed primarily against suspected 
organized crime and drug trafficking.
    The ISA and the CLA permit preventive detention without trial for 
the protection of public security, safety, or the maintenance of public 
order. The ISA authorizes the minister for home affairs, with the 
consent of the president, to order detention without filing charges if 
it is determined that a person poses a threat to national security. The 
initial detention may be for up to two years, and the minister for home 
affairs may renew the detention for an unlimited number of additional 
periods of up to two years at a time with the president's consent. 
Detainees have a right to be informed of the grounds for their 
detention and are entitled to counsel. However, they have no right to 
challenge the substantive basis for their detention through the courts. 
The ISA specifically excludes recourse to the normal judicial system 
for review of a detention order made under its authority. Instead, 
detainees may make representations to an advisory board, headed by a 
Supreme Court justice, which reviews each detainee's case periodically 
and must make a recommendation to the president within three months of 
the initial detention. The president may concur with the advisory 
board's recommendation that a detainee be released prior to the 
expiration of the detention order, but he is not obligated to do so.
    During the year three men were detained under the ISA for alleged 
involvement with regional terrorist organizations. Jumari Kamdi and 
Samad Subari were identified as members of the Jemaah Islamiya (JI) 
terrorist network, and Abdul Majid Kunji Mohammad was a member of the 
Philippine-based Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
    At year's end 16 detainees, including persons detained in previous 
years, were held under the ISA as suspected terrorists. The majority 
was suspected of belonging to JI; two were suspected of self-
radicalization, and two were detained for suspected involvement with 
the MILF.
    A religious rehabilitation program designed to wean detained 
terrorists from extremist ideologies is in effect, and a number of 
detainees were released under the program, subject to Restrictive 
Orders (ROs). The authorities stated that all of the detainees released 
cooperated in investigations and responded positively to 
rehabilitation.
    At year's end 47 persons were on ROs. This number included both 
released detainees and suspected terrorists who were never arrested. A 
person subject to an RO must seek official approval for a change of 
address or occupation, for overseas travel, or for participation in any 
public organization or activity. There is also a category of Suspension 
Direction (SD), which prohibits association with militant or terrorist 
groups or individuals as well as travel outside the country without the 
prior written approval of the government. During the year one person 
was subject to an SD. Detainees released on ROs and SDs were monitored 
by the authorities and required to report to authorities on a regular 
basis.
    On September 1, authorities released one Singapore JI detainee, 
Mohamed Khalim bin Jaffar, being held under the ISA, on a RO. On 
December 5, Muhammad Zamri bin Abdullah, who was self-radicalized, was 
released from detention and placed on an RO.
    The CLA comes up for renewal every five years and was last renewed 
in 2009. Under the CLA the minister for home affairs may order 
preventive detention, with the concurrence of the public prosecutor, 
for an initial period of one year, and the president may extend 
detention for additional periods of up to one year at a time. The 
minister must provide a written statement of the grounds for detention 
to the Criminal Law Advisory Committee (CLAC) within 28 days of the 
order. The CLAC then reviews the case at a private hearing. CLAC rules 
require that detainees be notified of the grounds of their detention at 
least 10 days prior to this hearing, in which a detainee may represent 
himself or be represented by a lawyer. After the hearing the committee 
makes a written recommendation to the president, who may cancel, 
confirm, or amend the detention order. Persons detained under the CLA 
have recourse to the courts via an application for a writ of habeas 
corpus. Persons detained without trial under the CLA are entitled to 
counsel, but they may challenge the substantive basis for their 
detention only to the CLAC. The CLA was used almost exclusively in 
cases involving narcotics or criminal organizations and has not been 
used for political purposes. In 2008, the most recent year for which 
statistics were available, the government issued 64 detention orders 
and six police supervision orders, and 290 persons were in detention 
under the CLA at the end of 2008.
    Persons who allege mistreatment while in detention may bring 
criminal charges against government officials alleged to have committed 
such acts; no such cases were reported during the year.
    Both the ISA and the CLA contain provisions that allow for modified 
forms of detention such as curfews, residence limitations, requirements 
to report regularly to the authorities, limitations on travel, and, in 
the case of the ISA, restrictions on political activities and 
association.
    The drug act also permits detention without trial in an approved 
institution for the purpose of the treatment and rehabilitation of drug 
addicts. Under the drug act, if a suspected drug abuser tests positive 
for an illegal drug, the director of the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) 
may commit the person to a drug rehabilitation center for a six-month 
period, which is extendable by a review committee of the institution 
for up to a maximum of three years. During the year 1,280 persons were 
held in drug rehabilitation centers while eight persons were held in 
the Inhalant Treatment Center. Under the Intoxicating Substances Act, 
the CNB director may order treatment for up to six months of a person 
believed to be an inhalant drug abuser.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence; however, in practice constitutionally authorized laws 
that limit judicial review permit restrictions on individuals' 
constitutional rights. The president appoints judges to the Supreme 
Court on the recommendation of the prime minister and in consultation 
with the chief justice. The president appoints subordinate court judges 
on the recommendation of the chief justice. The term of appointment is 
determined by the Legal Service Commission (LSC), of which the chief 
justice is the chairman. Under the ISA and the CLA, the president and 
the minister for home affairs have substantial de facto judicial power, 
which explicitly (in the case of the ISA) or implicitly (in the case of 
the CLA) excludes normal judicial review. These laws provide the 
government with the power to limit, on vaguely defined national 
security grounds, the scope of certain fundamental liberties that 
otherwise are provided for in the constitution.
    Unlike in past years there were no instances of government leaders 
using defamation suits against political opponents or critics.
    Some commentators and representatives of international 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) said that the LSC's authority to 
rotate subordinate court judges and magistrates and its and the chief 
justice's discretion with regard to extending the tenure of Supreme 
Court judges beyond the age of 65 undermined the independence of the 
judiciary.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides all defendants with the right 
to a fair trial, and independent observers viewed the judiciary as 
generally impartial and independent, except in a small number of cases 
involving direct challenges to the government or the ruling party. The 
judicial system generally provides citizens with an efficient judicial 
process. In normal cases the Criminal Procedure Code provides that a 
charge against a defendant must be read and explained to him as soon as 
it is framed by the prosecution or the magistrate. Trials are public 
and heard by a judge; there are no jury trials. Defendants have the 
right to be present at their trials and to be represented by an 
attorney; the Law Society administers a criminal legal-aid plan for 
those who cannot afford to hire an attorney. In death penalty cases, 
under the state administered Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital 
Offenses, anyone facing a capital charge is eligible to be assigned 
counsel; no eligibility criterion is imposed.
    Defendants also have the right to question opposing witnesses, 
provide witnesses and evidence on their own behalf, and review 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants enjoy a 
presumption of innocence and the right of appeal in most cases. Despite 
the general presumption of innocence, the drug act stipulates that a 
person, who the prosecution proves has illegal narcotics in his 
possession, custody, or control, shall be assumed to be aware of the 
substance and places the burden on the defendant to prove otherwise. 
The same law also stipulates that, if the amount of the narcotic is 
above set limits, it is the defendant's burden to prove he or she did 
not have the drug for the purpose of trafficking. Convictions for 
narcotics trafficking offenses carry lengthy jail sentences or the 
death penalty, depending on the type and amount of the illegal 
substance.
    Persons detained under the ISA or CLA are not entitled to a public 
trial. Proceedings of the advisory board under the ISA and CLA are not 
public.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is no 
differentiation between civil and criminal judicial procedures. The 
subordinate courts handled the majority of civil cases. Access to the 
courts is open, and citizens and residents have the right to sue for 
infringement of human rights. There were attempts to use legal action 
against the government for alleged human rights violations.
    f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence
    The constitution does not address privacy rights; remedies for 
infringement of some aspects of privacy rights are available under 
statutory or common law. The government generally respected the privacy 
of homes and families. Normally the police must have a warrant issued 
by a court to conduct a search; however, they may search a person, 
home, or property without a warrant if they decide that such a search 
is necessary to preserve evidence or under the discretionary powers of 
the ISA, CLA, the drug act, and the UPA.
    Law enforcement agencies, including the Internal Security 
Department and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, had 
extensive networks for gathering information and conducting 
surveillance and highly sophisticated capabilities to monitor telephone 
and other private conversations. No court warrants are required for 
such operations. Most residents believed that the authorities routinely 
monitored telephone conversations and the use of the Internet. Most 
residents also believed that the authorities routinely conducted 
surveillance of some opposition politicians and other government 
critics.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Freedom of SpeechThe constitution provides for freedom of 
speech and freedom of expression but permits official restrictions on 
these rights, and in practice the government significantly restricted 
freedom of speech and of the press with regard to criticism of the 
government. Government intimidation and pressure to conform resulted in 
self-censorship among many journalists; however, there was increased 
debate in newspapers and on the Internet on many public issues such as 
the institution of a minimum wage, public transportation, immigration 
policy, salaries of elected officials, and the role of the president. 
The government-linked media extensively covered opposition parties and 
candidates.
    Citizens do not need a permit to speak at indoor public gatherings 
outside the hearing or view of nonparticipants, unless the topic refers 
to race or religion. During the 2011 parliamentary elections, 
opposition parties held rallies as often as the ruling party.
    The government effectively restricted the ability to speak or 
demonstrate freely in public to a single location called Speakers' 
Corner, which is located in a public park. Prospective speakers must be 
citizens and show their identification cards. Events need not be 
registered in advance with the police but must be preregistered online 
with the government. While it was not necessary to declare speech 
topics in advance, regulations governing the Speakers' Corner state 
that ``the speech should not be religious in nature and should not have 
the potential to cause feelings of enmity, ill will, or hostility 
between different racial or religious groups.'' Subject to obtaining a 
police permit, permanent residents and foreigners may also speak or 
participate in or organize activities at the Speakers' Corner.
    On January 20, the High Court rejected appeals by Singapore 
Democratic Party Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan and party supporter 
Yap Keng Ho against convictions for speaking in public without a permit 
on four occasions. The court decided that because Chee did not apply 
for a license, there was no decision for the court to review. Chee was 
fined S$5,000 ($4,167) on each of the four charges against him, while 
Yap was fined S$2,000 ($1,667) on each of the four charges. Both men 
served jail time in default of paying their fines.

    Freedom of Press.--Under the ISA the government may restrict or 
place conditions on publications that incite violence, counsel 
disobedience to the law, have the potential to arouse tensions in the 
country's diverse population, or might threaten national interests, 
national security, or public order. The ISA has not been invoked 
against political opponents of the government since 1998.
    Government leaders urged that news media support the goals of the 
elected leadership and help maintain social and religious harmony. In 
addition to strict defamation and press laws, the government's 
demonstrated willingness to respond vigorously to what it considered 
personal attacks on officials led journalists and editors to moderate 
or limit what was published.
    The government strongly influenced both the print and electronic 
media. Two companies, Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH) and 
MediaCorp, owned all general circulation newspapers in the four 
official languages--English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. MediaCorp was 
wholly owned by a government investment company. SPH was a private 
holding company with close ties to the government; the government must 
approve (and can remove) the holders of SPH management shares who have 
the power to appoint or dismiss all directors or staff. As a result, 
while newspapers printed a large and diverse selection of articles from 
domestic and foreign sources, their editorials, coverage of domestic 
events, and reporting of sensitive foreign relations topics usually 
closely reflected government policies and the opinions of government 
leaders.
    Columnists' opinions and letters to the editor expressed a moderate 
range of opinions on public issues.
    Government-linked companies and organizations operated all domestic 
broadcast television channels and almost all radio stations. Only one 
radio station, the BBC World Service, was completely independent of the 
government. Some Malaysian and Indonesian television and radio 
programming could be received, but satellite dishes were banned, with 
few exceptions. Cable subscribers had access to numerous foreign 
television news channels and many entertainment channels. International 
news channels are not censored but entertainment programs are censored 
to remove coarse language, representations of homosexuality, and 
explicit sexual content.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The Media Development 
Authority (MDA), a statutory board under the Ministry of Information, 
Communications, and the Arts (MICA), continued to regulate heavily 
broadcast and print media, and other media, including movies, video 
materials, computer games, and music. Banned publications consisted 
primarily of sexually oriented materials but also included some 
religious and political publications. Both the MDA and MICA developed 
censorship standards with the help of a citizen advisory panel. The 
ISA, the UPA, and the Films Act allow the banning, seizure, censorship, 
or restriction of written, visual, or musical materials if authorities 
determine that such materials threaten the stability of the state, 
contravene moral norms, are pornographic, show excessive or gratuitous 
sex and violence, glamorize or promote drug use, or incite racial, 
religious, or linguistic animosities. The MDA has the power to sanction 
broadcasters for broadcasting what it believes to be inappropriate 
content. All content shown between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. must be suitable 
for viewers of all ages.
    A substantial number of foreign media operations were located 
within the country, and a wide range of international magazines and 
newspapers could be purchased uncensored. However, under the Newspaper 
and Printing Presses Act (NPPA), the government may limit the 
circulation of foreign publications that it determines interfere with 
domestic politics. The NPPA requires foreign publications that report 
on politics and current events in Southeast Asia, with circulation of 
300 or more copies per issue, to register, post a S$200,000 
(approximately $153,000) bond, and name a person in the country to 
accept legal service. The requirements for offshore newspapers apply to 
nine foreign newspapers, of which, three are exempted.
    The government may limit (or ``gazette'' ) the circulation of 
publications. The government also may ban the circulation of domestic 
and foreign publications under provisions of the ISA and the UPA. The 
Broadcasting Act empowers the minister for information, communication, 
and the arts to gazette or place formal restrictions on any foreign 
broadcaster deemed to be engaging in domestic politics. Once gazetted, 
a broadcaster can be required to obtain express permission from the 
minister to continue broadcasting in the country. The government may 
impose restrictions on the number of households receiving a 
broadcaster's programming, and a broadcaster may be fined up to 
S$100,000 (approximately $76,500) for failing to comply.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--In past years critics charged that 
government leaders used defamation lawsuits or threats of such actions 
to discourage public criticism and intimidate opposition politicians 
and the press. Conviction on criminal defamation charges may result in 
a prison sentence of up to two years, a fine, or both. There were no 
such defamation cases during the year.
    The attorney general may bring charges for contempt of court, and 
he used this power during the year to charge at least one author who 
published criticisms of the judiciary.
    On May 27, the Singapore Court of Appeal dismissed freelance 
journalist and author Alan Shadrake's appeal against his conviction for 
contempt of court. The author of the antideath penalty book Once a 
Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock was sentenced to six weeks 
in jail and a fine of S$20,000 ($15,300). Shadrake was immediately 
deported following the completion of his jail term in July.

    Internet Freedom.--Although residents generally had unrestricted 
access to the Internet, the government subjected all Internet content 
to the same rules and standards as traditional media. However, the 
government did not appear to enforce many restrictions on Internet 
content, and some banned videos and other materials were accessible 
online. Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of views 
via the Internet, including by e-mail. During the national elections, 
both the ruling and opposition parties made extensive use of the 
Internet to air their views and publicize their platforms and 
candidates. Internet service providers (ISPs) are required to ensure 
that content complies with the MDA's Internet code of practice. The MDA 
also regulates Internet material by licensing the ISPs through which 
local users are required to route their Internet connections. The law 
permits government monitoring of Internet use, and the government 
closely monitored Internet activities such as social media posts, 
blogs, and podcasts. The MDA was empowered to direct service providers 
to block access to Web sites that, in the government's view, undermined 
public security, national defense, racial and religious harmony, or 
public morals. Political and religious Web sites must register with the 
MDA. Although a government-appointed review panel recommended the 
government cease banning100 specific Web sites that the government 
considered pornographic, inciting racial and religious intolerance, or 
promoting terrorism and extremism, the ban remained.
    In February the Registry of Political Donations classified The 
Online Citizen (TOC), a sociopolitical blog, as a political 
association. On the advice of the Attorney General's Chambers, TOC, 
with activities related mainly to politics in Singapore, met the 
definition of a political association as defined in the Political 
Donations Act. TOC may not receive foreign donations or anonymous 
donations over S$5,000 ($4,167).

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--All public institutions of 
higher education and political research had limited autonomy from the 
government. Although faculty members are not technically government 
employees, in practice they were subject to potential government 
influence. Academics spoke, published widely, and engaged in debate on 
social and political issues. However, they were aware that any public 
comments outside the classroom or in academic publications that 
ventured into prohibited areas--criticism of political leaders or 
sensitive social and economic policies, or comments that could disturb 
ethnic or religious harmony or appeared to advocate partisan political 
views--could subject them to sanctions. Publications by local academics 
and members of research institutions rarely deviated substantially from 
government views.
    Under the Films Act the MICA minister is authorized to ban any 
film, whether political or not, that in his opinion is ``contrary to 
the public interest.'' The Films Act does not apply to any film 
sponsored by the government and allows the MICA minister to exempt any 
film from the act.
    Certain films barred from general release may be allowed limited 
showings, either censored or uncensored, with a special rating. Films, 
including banned films, were available through You Tube and other Web 
sites.
    During the year the government-funded National Arts Council 
provided S$5.19 million ($3.99 million) in grants under the Major 
Grants Scheme. Artists are said to self-censor to preserve access to 
these grants.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides citizens the right to peaceful 
assembly but permits parliament to impose restrictions ``it considers 
necessary or expedient'' in the interest of security, public order, or 
morality; in practice the government restricted this right. Public 
assemblies, including political meetings and rallies, require police 
permission. The threshold for a public assembly was previously an event 
involving at least five persons, but an act passed in 2009 redefined 
``public assembly'' to include events staged by as few as one person. 
However, citizens do not need permits for indoor speaking events unless 
they touch on ``sensitive topics'' such as race or religion, or for 
qualifying events held at Speakers' Corner. Spontaneous public 
gatherings or demonstrations were virtually unknown. Police also have 
the authority to order a person to ``move on'' from a certain area and 
not to return to the designated spot for 24 hours.
    On August 3, six members of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) 
appealed their conviction and sentences for taking part in an illegal 
assembly on National Day in 2008. Authorities fined the six between 
S$900 ($750) and S$1,000 ($833) in October 2010 after being found 
guilty of assembling without a permit. The gathering was held to 
publicize SDP's ``Tak Boleh Tahan'' (Malay for ``cannot take it'' ) 
campaign against high ministerial salaries, the goods and service tax, 
and the cost of living. They did not apply for a permit citing a 
previous event in 2008 that was not deemed to be an unlawful assembly. 
The court's decision was pending at year's end.
    The government closely monitored political gatherings regardless of 
the number of persons present.

    Freedom of Association.--Most associations, societies, clubs, 
religious groups, and other organizations with more than 10 members are 
required to register with the government under the Societies Act. The 
government denied registration to groups that it believed were likely 
to have been formed for unlawful purposes or for purposes prejudicial 
to public peace, welfare, or public order. The government has absolute 
discretion in applying criteria to register or dissolve societies. 
During the year the Registry of Societies received 216 registration 
applications. Of these 149 were approved, two were denied, and 65 were 
pending at year's end.
    The government prohibits organized political activities except by 
groups registered as political parties or political associations. This 
prohibition limits opposition activities disproportionately and 
contributes to restricting the scope of unofficial political expression 
and action. The PAP was able to use nonpolitical organizations, such as 
residential committees and neighborhood groups, for political purposes 
far more extensively than opposition parties. Political associations 
are subject to strict financial regulations, including a ban on 
receiving foreign donations. Due to laws regulating the formation of 
publicly active organizations, there were few NGOs apart from 
nonpolitical organizations such as religious groups, ethnically 
oriented organizations, environmental groups and providers of welfare 
services.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide 
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, 
and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights 
in practice; however, it limited them in certain circumstances. The 
government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for 
Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection 
and assistance to asylum seekers and other persons of concern.

    In-country Movement.--Citizens' choice of where to live sometimes 
was limited by the government's legal requirement for ethnic balance in 
publicly subsidized housing, in which the majority of citizens lived. 
The government required all citizens and permanent residents over age 
15 to register and to carry identification cards. The government may 
refuse to issue a passport and did so in the case of former ISA 
detainees. Under the ISA a person's movement may be restricted. 
According to official press releases, at year's end there were 47 
suspected terrorists subject to such restrictions.

    Foreign Travel.--Men are required to serve 24 months of uniformed 
national service upon turning 18 years of age. They also are required 
to undergo reserve training up to age 40 (for enlisted men) or 50 (for 
officers). Male citizens and permanent residents with national service 
reserve obligations are required to advise the Ministry of Defense if 
they plan to travel abroad. Males 13 years of age or older who have not 
completed national service obligations are required to obtain exit 
permits for international travel if they intend to be away for three 
months or more. To obtain the required permit, a prospective traveler 
must in certain cases post a bond equal to S$75,000 (approximately 
$57,350) or 50 percent of the combined gross annual income of both 
parents for the preceding year, whichever is greater. The bond 
requirement applies to male travelers age 16+ years and above for 
travel exceeding three months, and to male travelers age 13 to 16+ for 
travel lasting two years or more.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--The right of voluntary repatriation 
was extended to holders of national passports. The government actively 
encouraged citizens living overseas to return home or at least to 
maintain active ties with the country. A provision of the law allows 
for the loss of citizenship by citizens who reside outside the country 
for more than 10 consecutive years, but it was not known to have been 
used.
    In exchange for allowing former members of the Communist Party of 
Malaya (CPM) residing outside the country to return to Singapore, the 
government requires that they renounce communism, sever all links with 
the CPM, and agree to be interviewed by the Internal Security 
Department about their past activities. Some former CPM cadres accepted 
these conditions and returned, but some observers estimated that 
approximately 30 alleged CPM members have not.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, although the 
government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees on a case-by-case basis.
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. 
Opposition parties can contest elections, and the voting and vote-
counting systems are fair and free from tampering; however, the PAP, 
which has held power continuously and overwhelmingly for five decades, 
has used the government's extensive powers to place formidable 
obstacles in the path of political opponents.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 
national elections held in May were free, fair, and open to a viable 
opposition. The general elections operate under the first-past-the-post 
system. Following the May elections, the PAP (having captured 60.1 
percent of the vote) held 81 of 87 elected constituency seats in 
parliament. Six opposition parties combined for 39.8 percent of the 
vote and one of them, the Workers' Party (WP), won six elected seats, 
including their first ever Group Representation Constituency (GRC). A 
constitutional provision assures at least nine opposition members in 
parliament; there are three non-constituency members of parliament 
(NCMP) in the 12th parliament, two from the WP and one from the 
Singapore People's Party. NCMPs are chosen from the highest finishing 
runners-up in an election.
    The opposition continued to criticize what it described as PAP 
abuse of its incumbency advantages to handicap opposition parties. The 
PAP maintained its political dominance in part by circumscribing 
political discourse and action; however, restrictions were relaxed 
during the campaign period. The belief that the government might 
directly or indirectly harm the employment prospects of opposition 
supporters inhibited opposition political activity; however, there were 
no confirmed cases of such retaliation.
    The law provides for a president to be popularly elected for a six-
year term from among candidates who are approved by a constitutionally 
prescribed committee selected by the government. In August Tony Tan was 
elected president in the first contested presidential election since 
1993. In the four-way race, Tan won with 35.2 percent of the vote.
    Voting is compulsory, and 93 percent of eligible voters voted in 
the most recent general election.

    Political Parties.--The PAP has an extensive grassroots system and 
a carefully selected, highly disciplined membership. The establishment 
of government-organized and predominantly publicly funded Community 
Development Councils (CDCs) further strengthened the PAP's position. 
The CDCs promoted community development and cohesion and provided 
welfare and other assistance services. The PAP dominated the CDCs even 
in opposition-held constituencies from which it threatened to withdraw 
publicly funded benefits.
    The PAP completely controlled key positions in and out of 
government, influenced the press, and benefited from weak opposition 
parties. Often the PAP's methods were fully consistent with the law and 
the normal prerogatives of a parliamentary government, but the overall 
effect was to perpetuate PAP supremacy. The constitutional requirement 
that members of parliament resign if expelled from their party helped 
ensure backbencher discipline. Since 1988 the PAP changed all but 12 
single-seat constituencies into GRCs of four to six parliamentary 
seats, in which the party with a plurality wins all of the seats. 
According to the constitution, such changes are permitted to ensure 
ethnic minority representation in parliament; each GRC candidate list 
must contain at least one ethnic minority candidate. These changes made 
it more difficult for opposition parties, all of which had very limited 
memberships, to fill multimember candidate lists. The opposition 
fielded candidates in 26 of the 27 constituencies in the 2011 general 
elections.
    Although political parties legally were free to organize, they 
operated under the same limitations that applied to all organizations, 
and the authorities imposed strict regulations on their constitutions, 
fundraising, and accountability. There were 28 registered political 
parties in the country, but only seven of these were active. Six 
opposition parties contested the 2011 general elections. Political 
organizations are subject to strict financial regulations, including a 
ban on receiving foreign donations. Government regulations hindered 
attempts by opposition parties to rent office space in government 
housing blocks or to establish community foundations. In addition 
government influence extended in varying degrees to academic, community 
service, and other NGOs.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There is no legal bar to 
the participation of women in political life; women held 19 of the 87 
elected parliamentary seats. There was one female senior minister of 
state and three female ministers of state. Three of the 17 Supreme 
Court justices were women. The solicitor general was a woman.
    There are no restrictions in law or practice against minorities 
voting or participating in politics; they actively participated in the 
political process and were well represented throughout the government, 
except in some sensitive military positions. Malays made up 
approximately 13 percent of the general population and held 
approximately 14 percent of elected seats in parliament. Indians made 
up approximately 9 percent of the general population and held 
approximately 11 percent of the elected seats in parliament. There were 
four ethnic Indian ministers and one ethnic Malay minister. Two of the 
17 members of the Supreme Court were ethnic Indian; there were no 
Malays on the court.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the government generally implemented these laws effectively.
    On October 28, a court convicted two former Singapore Land 
Authority (SLA) employees for their roles in cheating government 
agencies of S$12.5 million ($10 million) in the nation's biggest 
public-sector fraud since 1995. The court sentenced James Koh Seah, 
former deputy director at SLA, to 22 years' imprisonment for cheating 
and money laundering, while his subordinate, Christopher Lim Chai Meng, 
received 15 years in jail for the same offenses.
    Although the salaries of senior officials are public information 
and political parties must report donations, there is no financial 
disclosure law. The Corrupt Practices Investigation Board, which 
answers directly to the prime minister, is responsible for 
investigating and prosecuting corruption by government officials.
    No laws specifically provide for public access to government 
information.
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 and these organizations investigated and 
published their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views. Efforts by 
independent organizations to investigate and evaluate government human 
rights policies faced the same obstacles as those faced by opposition 
political parties. NGOs were subject to registration under the 
Societies Act.
    The government did not prevent international human rights 
organizations from observing human rights-related court cases.
    Some international human rights NGOs criticized the government's 
policies in areas such as capital punishment, migrant workers' rights, 
and freedom of assembly. The government generally ignored such 
criticisms or published rebuttals.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution states that all persons are equal before the law 
and entitled to the equal protection of the law, and the government 
generally respected these provisions in practice; there is no explicit 
provision granting equal rights to women and minorities. Mindful of the 
country's history of intercommunal tension, the government took 
numerous measures to ensure racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural 
nondiscrimination. Social, economic, and cultural benefits and 
facilities were available to all citizens regardless of race, religion, 
or gender.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The government enforced the 
law against rape, which provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years and 
caning for offenders. Under the law rape can be committed only by a 
man, and spousal rape is generally not a crime. However, husbands who 
force their wives to have intercourse can be prosecuted for other 
offenses, such as assault. Spousal rape is a criminal offense when the 
couple is separated, subject to an interim divorce order that has not 
become final, or subject to a written separation agreement, as well as 
when a court has issued a protection order against the husband. During 
the year 23 persons were prosecuted for rape; four were convicted, one 
accused was given a discharge not amounting to acquittal, and 18 were 
awaiting trial. The Ministry of Education and the police carried out 
programs aimed at preventing rape.
    The law criminalizes domestic violence and intentional harassment. 
A victim of domestic violence can obtain court orders barring the 
spouse from the home until the court is satisfied that the spouse has 
ceased aggressive behavior. The law prescribes mandatory caning and a 
minimum imprisonment of two years for conviction on any charge of 
``outraging modesty'' that caused the victim fear of death or injury. 
The press gave prominent coverage to instances of abuse or violence 
against women. A 2009 survey by a local NGO found that 9 percent of 
respondents reported having experienced some form of sexual or physical 
violence in their lifetime. Several voluntary welfare organizations 
provided assistance to abused women. During the year there were 2,871 
applications for personal protection orders, 54 percent of which were 
filed by wives for protection against their husbands.

    Sexual Harassment.--There are no specific laws prohibiting stalking 
or sexual harassment; however, the Miscellaneous Offenses Act (MOA) and 
laws prohibiting insults to modesty were used successfully to prosecute 
these offenses. Under the MOA a person who uses threatening, abusive, 
or insulting words or behavior can incur a fine of up to S$5,000 
($3,800). A 2008 survey by a local NGO found that 54 percent of 
respondents (58 percent of women and 42 percent of men) reported having 
experienced some form of sexual harassment at work. The Ministry of 
Manpower, the National Trades Union Council, and the Singapore 
Employers Federation jointly operated a venue for public feedback and 
advice on fair employment practices.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children. Contraceptive supplies and information, provided by the 
Ministry of Health, as well as public and private doctors, were readily 
available. Medical services were available, including for sexually 
transmitted diseases, and were provided without discrimination. The 
national birthrate was well below replacement levels and since the mid-
1980s the government has pursued pronatalist policies, which provide 
comprehensive clinical services and a wide range of social and fiscal 
incentives.

    Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, 
including civil liberties, employment, commercial activity, and 
education. They accounted for 56.8 percent of civil service employees. 
There are no laws that mandate nondiscrimination in hiring practice on 
the basis of gender, prohibit employers from asking questions about a 
prospective employee's family status during a job interview, provide 
for flexible or part time work schedules for employees with minor 
children, or establish public provision of childcare.
    For the most part, Muslim marriage falls under the administration 
of the Muslim Law Act, which empowers the Sharia (Islamic law) court to 
oversee such matters. The law allows Muslim men to practice polygyny, 
although requests to take additional spouses may be refused by the 
Registry of Muslim Marriages, which solicits the views of an existing 
wife or wives and reviews the financial capability of the husband. 
During the year there were 36 applications for polygynous marriage of 
which seven were approved. The rest were rejected, withdrawn, or 
remained pending at the end of the reporting period. Polygynous 
marriages constituted 0.4 percent of Muslim marriages.
    Both men and women have the right to initiate divorce proceedings; 
however, in practice some women faced significant difficulties that 
prevented them from pursuing such proceedings. This included the lack 
of financial resources to obtain legal counsel. Men do not have the 
right to seek alimony from their wives in cases of divorce or 
separation.
    In recent years women constituted approximately 55 percent of the 
labor force and were well represented in many professions. During the 
year the employment rate for women between the ages of 25 to 54 was 73 
percent. However, women held few leadership positions in the private 
sector and following the most recent cabinet reorganization held no 
cabinet-level positions in the government. Women were overrepresented 
in low-wage jobs such as clerks and secretaries. In 2008 salaries for 
women ranged upwards from 66 percent of men's salaries depending on the 
occupational grouping.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents, and birth registration was essentially universal.

    Child Abuse.--The Children and Young Persons Act criminalizes the 
ill-treatment of children, which includes physical, emotional, and 
sexual abuse. The government enforced the law against child abuse and 
provided support services for child abuse victims.

    Child Marriage.--By law minors are defined as under age 18, and 
children are defined as those under 14. Individuals under 18 wishing to 
marry must obtain a license from the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and 
Community Development (MCYS). Couples in which one person is under 18 
or where both people are between 18 and 21 are required to attend a 
marriage preparation program before they can be issued a marriage 
license.

    Harmful Traditional Practices.--A non-invasive form of female 
genital mutilation is prevalent among the Muslim population. Normally 
involving nicking the prepuce, the procedure is performed by female 
doctors at Muslim clinics, usually on female infants or prepubescent 
girls. It is markedly different from more severe forms of genital 
mutilation.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Some child prostitution occurred. 
During the year authorities identified 27 girls under the age of 18 who 
were involved in prostitution-related activities; nine persons were 
convicted of crimes relating to commercial sexual exploitation of 
persons under 18; and 68 persons were under investigation at year's 
end.
    The age of consent to noncommercial sex is 16. Sexual intercourse 
with anyone under 16 is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, or with 
a fine, or with both. The authorities may detain persons under 18 who 
are believed to be engaged in prostitution (such persons are not 
prosecuted), as well as prosecute those who organize or profit from 
prostitution, who bring women or girls to the country for prostitution, 
or who coerce or deceive women or girls into prostitution.

    Institutionalized Children.--The Children and Young Persons Act 
created a juvenile court system and established protective services for 
children orphaned, abused, ``troubled,'' or with disabilities. MCYS 
worked closely with the National Council for Social Services to oversee 
children's welfare cases. Voluntary organizations operated most of the 
homes for children, while the government funded a substantial portion 
of living expenses and overhead, as well as expenses for special 
schooling, health care, and supervisory needs.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of international Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The size of the Jewish community was approximately 
800 to 1,000 persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts, and 
synagogues held regular Sabbath services.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The MCYS is responsible for protecting 
the rights of persons with disabilities. MCYS' Enabling Masterplan 
2007-11 outlined a five-year policy roadmap for the programs and 
services in the disability sector.
    Electoral law allows those voters who, incapacitated by blindness 
or other physical cause, are unable to vote in the manner described by 
law to receive voter assistance by other authorized citizens to mark 
and cast their ballots.
    The government maintained a comprehensive code on barrier-free 
accessibility; it established standards for facilities for persons with 
physical disabilities in all new buildings and mandated the progressive 
upgrading of older structures. There was no comprehensive legislation 
addressing equal opportunities for persons with disabilities in 
education or employment; however, the National Council of Social 
Services, in conjunction with various voluntary associations, provided 
an extensive job training and placement program for persons with 
disabilities. A tax deduction of up to S$100,000 (approximately 
$76,500) was available to employers to defray the expense of building 
modifications to benefit employees with disabilities. The country 
allows guide dogs for the blind into public places and on trains, but 
the laws do not cover buses and taxis. During the year 100 percent of 
public trains and 47 percent of buses were wheelchair accessible. All 
major pedestrian thoroughfares have curb cuts.
    Informal provisions permit university matriculation for those with 
visual or hearing impairments or other physical disabilities. 
Approximately 10,200 children with intellectual disabilities attended 
mainstream schools during the year. There were 20 special education 
schools that enrolled 4,854 students. All primary and secondary schools 
were equipped with basic handicap facilities such as handicap toilets 
and first-level wheelchair ramps. Approximately 22 percent of all 
primary and 19 percent of secondary schools were equipped with full-
handicap facilities.
    The government provided funds for two distinct types of early 
education programs for children with special needs. The Early 
Intervention Program for Infants and Children (EIPIC) provides 
educational and therapy services for children up to age six who have 
handicaps or special needs. There were 1,485 children enrolled in the 
12 EIPIC programs. At the 18 Integrated Child Care Program Centers 
(ICCPs), special needs children engaged in the same group activities as 
the other children while also receiving enhancements of the normal 
child care curriculum. During the year, 95 special needs children were 
enrolled in the ICCPs.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic Malays constituted 
approximately 13 percent of the population. The constitution 
acknowledges them as the indigenous people of the country and charges 
the government to support and promote their political, educational, 
religious, economic, social, cultural, and language interests. The 
government took steps to encourage greater educational achievement 
among Malay students. However, ethnic Malays have not reached the 
educational or socioeconomic levels achieved by the ethnic Chinese 
majority, the ethnic Indian minority, or the Eurasian community. Malays 
remained underrepresented at senior corporate levels and, some 
asserted, in certain sectors of the government and the military. This 
reflected their historically lower educational and economic levels, but 
some argued that it also was a result of employment discrimination. 
Some ethnic Indians also reported that discrimination limited their 
employment and promotion opportunities. Government guidelines called 
for eliminating language referring to age, gender, or ethnicity in 
employment advertisements; restrictive language pertinent to job 
requirements, such as ``Chinese speaker'' remained acceptable. These 
guidelines were generally followed.
    The Presidential Council on Minority Rights examined all pending 
bills to ensure that they were not disadvantageous to a particular 
group. It also reported to the government on matters that affected any 
racial or religious community.
    Government policy enforced ethnic ratios, applicable for all ethnic 
groups, for publicly subsidized housing.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--After failure of a 2007 
attempt to repeal the section of the penal code criminalizing sex 
between men, Prime Minister Lee stated that the authorities would not 
actively enforce the statute.
    In the campaign for the May elections, a government minister was 
accused of having played ``the gay card,'' hinting that his opponent 
supported a ``gay agenda.'' Although the minister ultimately won 
reelection, this was widely believed to have hurt his campaign.
    The Media Development Authority rated the film ``Courage Unfolds'' 
as R21. Produced by the Campaign of the International Gay and Lesbian 
Human Rights Commission's Asia program, the 30-minute documentary 
highlighted issues faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 
(LGBT) persons in Asia and how the Yogyakarta Principles were a tool 
that LGBT activists could use in their human rights advocacy. The R21 
rating restricts the location of screenings and the viewing audience of 
the film. Additionally, films rated R21 may not be released on home 
video formats and may not be advertised on television.
    In February Singapore's Board of Film Censors upheld its decision 
to impose a one-print release on the film ``The Kids are All Right,'' 
which had already been rated R21. This was the first time a single-
screen release has been imposed. The board responded to Cathy-Keris 
Films' appeal by stating that ``one-print serves as a signal to the 
public at large that such alternative lifestyles should not be 
encouraged.''

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Some individuals with 
HIV/AIDS claimed that they were socially marginalized and faced 
employment discrimination if they revealed their condition. The 
government discouraged discrimination, supported initiatives that 
countered misperceptions about HIV/AIDS, and publicly praised employers 
that welcomed workers with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides all citizens the right to form associations, 
including trade unions. Workers have the legal right to strike. 
Collective bargaining was a normal part of labor-management relations 
in the industrial sector and is provided for in the Industrial 
Relations Act.
    Parliament may impose restrictions on the right of association 
based on security, public order, or morality grounds. The right of 
association was restricted by the Societies Act and by labor and 
education laws and regulations (see section 2.b.). Under these laws any 
group of 10 or more persons is required to register with the 
government. The Trade Unions Act authorizes the formation of unions 
with broad rights, but restricts organization of uniformed personnel or 
government employees. The Amalgamated Union of Public Employees was 
declared exempt from these provisions, and its scope of representation 
expanded to cover all public sector employees except the most senior 
civil servants. The government also has broad powers to refuse to 
register a union, to cancel a union's registration, and to approve a 
new union's rules or changes to an existing union's rules.
    The Trade Unions Act restricts the right of trade unions to elect 
their officers and to choose whom they may employ. Foreigners and those 
with criminal convictions may not hold union office or become employees 
of unions. However, the minister of manpower may grant exemptions. The 
Trade Unions Act limits the objectives for which unions can spend their 
funds and prohibits payments to political parties or the use of funds 
for political purposes.
    Almost all of the unions were affiliated with the National Trade 
Union Congress (NTUC), an umbrella organization with a close 
relationship with the government and the ruling PAP, and bolstered by 
dual roles of Lim Swee Say as both NTUC secretary-general and cabinet 
minister. NTUC policy prohibited union members who supported opposition 
parties from holding office in affiliated unions. While the NTUC was 
financially independent of the PAP, the two shared a common ideology 
and worked closely with management in support of nonconfrontational 
labor relations.
    The NTUC was free to associate regionally and internationally.
    Workers in ``essential services'' are required to give 14 days' 
notice to an employer before striking, and there is a prohibition on 
strikes by workers in three sectors: water, gas, and electricity. No 
specific laws prohibit retaliation against strikers. The law provides 
that before striking, more than 50 percent of unionized workers must 
vote in favor of the strike by secret ballot, as opposed to the more 
common practice of 51 percent of those participating in the vote. There 
were no strikes during the year.
    Most disagreements were resolved through informal consultations 
with the Ministry of Manpower. If conciliation failed, the disputing 
parties usually submitted their case to the tripartite Industrial 
Arbitration Court (IAC), which was composed of representatives from 
labor and management and chaired by a judge. In limited situations the 
law provides for compulsory arbitration, which has not been used since 
1980. The IAC must certify collective agreements before they go into 
effect. The IAC may refuse certification at its discretion on the 
ground of public interest.
    In practice, collective bargaining was a normal part of labor-
management relations in the industrial sector. Because almost all 
unions were affiliated with the NTUC, it almost has an exclusive 
authority to exercise collective bargaining power. Union members may 
not reject collective agreements negotiated between their union 
representatives and the employer. Transfers and layoffs are excluded 
from the scope of collective bargaining. However, in practice employers 
consulted with unions on both issues and the Tripartite Panel on 
Retrenched Workers issued guidelines calling for early notification to 
unions of layoffs.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. There were reports 
of practices indicative of forced labor. The Ministry of Manpower, as 
part of the Inter-agency Trafficking in Persons Taskforce, is 
responsible for combating labor trafficking and improving labor 
conditions for workers. There were approximately 2,500 workplace safety 
and health officers working for the Ministry of Manpower.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
government enforced the Employment Act, which prohibits employment of 
children under the age of 13. Restrictions on the employment of 
children between the ages of 13 and 16 are rigorous and were fully 
enforced. Children under the age of 15 generally are prohibited from 
employment in the industrial sector. Exceptions include family 
enterprises; children may work in a business in which only members of 
the same family are employed. A child age 13 or older may be employed 
in light work, subject to medical clearance. Employers must notify the 
commissioner of labor within 30 days of hiring a child between the ages 
of 15 and 16 and attach a medical certification of the child's fitness 
for employment. The incidence of children in permanent employment was 
low, and abuses were almost nonexistent.
    Ministry of Manpower regulations prohibit night employment of 
children and restrict industrial work for children between the ages of 
15 and 16 to no more than seven hours a day, including the hours spent 
in school. Children may not work on commercial vessels, with moving 
machinery, on live electrical apparatus lacking effective insulation, 
or in any underground job. The minister of manpower effectively 
enforced these laws and regulations.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There are no laws or regulations 
on minimum wages or unemployment compensation. Agreements between 
management and labor were renewed every two to three years, although 
wage increases were negotiated annually. The National Wages Council, a 
group composed of labor, management, and government representatives, 
issued yearly guidelines on raises and bonus pay that served as the 
starting point for bargaining agreements. Subject to negotiation in 
each enterprise, up to 10 percent of salaries were considered 
``variable'' each month, allowing companies to eliminate that portion 
of pay if there were financial problems. The labor market generally 
offered citizens and permanent residents good working conditions and 
relatively high wages that provided a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. In 2009 the median income among all households 
headed by a citizen or permanent resident was S$58,200 ($44,530); among 
employed households headed by a citizen or permanent resident, the 
median income was S$64,776 ($49,560).
    The Employment Act sets the standard legal workweek at 44 hours and 
provides for one rest day each week. For employees covered by the 
Employment Act, the overtime rate is at least 1.5 times the basic 
hourly rate of pay. An employee is permitted to work up to a limit of 
72 hours of overtime in a month. Employers that require their employees 
to work more than 72 hours of overtime a month are required to apply 
for overtime exception from the Ministry of Manpower. The act does not 
cover managerial or executive positions nor does it include foreign 
domestic workers.
    The Ministry of Manpower effectively enforced laws and regulations 
establishing working conditions and comprehensive occupational safety 
and health laws. Enforcement procedures, coupled with the promotion of 
educational and training programs, were implemented to reduce the 
frequency of job-related accidents. Starting in 2009, the ministry 
tightened the factory registration scheme for some 8,000 higher-risk 
factories. The new scheme strengthens the requirements for 
implementation of risk management and safety and health management 
system in these higher-risk factories, including construction 
worksites, shipyards, metal working factories, and petrochemical 
plants. While workers have the right under the Employment Act to remove 
themselves from a dangerous work situation, their right to continued 
employment depended upon an investigation by the ministry.
    Because of a domestic labor shortage, the number of foreign work 
permit holders in 2009, including foreign household workers, was 
856,000. There were no reliable estimates of the number of foreigners 
working illegally. Most foreign workers were unskilled laborers and 
household servants from other Asian countries. Although substantial 
numbers of foreign workers held white-collar jobs, foreign workers were 
generally concentrated in low-wage, low-skill jobs and were often 
required to work long hours. Employers are required by law to provide 
their workers with a minimum standard of housing. In 2009 the Ministry 
of Manpower removed 18,800 foreign workers from unacceptable housing. 
Although the great majority of the approximately 196,000 foreign 
domestic workers (mainly from the Philippines, and Indonesia) worked 
under clearly outlined contracts and reported no complaints against 
their employers or employment agencies, there were regular reports of 
employers arrested for abuse or mistreatment of their household 
workers. The authorities fined or imprisoned employers who abused 
maids. In 2009 the Ministry of Manpower collected unpaid wages on 
behalf of maids in 219 cases. Pregnancy is a breach of the standard 
work permit conditions for foreign domestic workers, and the government 
may cancel work permits and require repatriation of foreign domestic 
workers who become pregnant.
    The Employment Act protects foreign workers such as the many 
employed in the construction industry; however, domestic servants are 
not covered by the act and are not eligible for limited free legal 
assistance from the government. The NTUC reported that it advocated for 
the rights of all migrant work-permit holders through its Migrant 
Workers' Forum. In addition the Ministry of Manpower offered 
conciliation services for all employees, foreign or local. The Labor 
Relations and Workplaces Division of the ministry provided free 
advisory and mediation services to foreign workers experiencing 
problems with employers. Foreign household workers are assisted by the 
Foreign Manpower Management Division. The government allowed 
complainants to seek legal redress and operated a hotline for maids. In 
2009 the hotline received approximately 3,456 calls, 95 percent of 
which were general inquiries.
    In April legislation came into effect that significantly increased 
the safeguards for foreign domestic workers (FDWs). Among other things 
it capped the fees payable by FDWs to employment agencies in the 
country at one month's salary per year of the employment contract. 
Observers believed the law effectively eliminated concerns about FDWs 
falling into debt bondage, although unscrupulous agencies in sending 
countries could charge exorbitant fees.

                               __________

                            SOLOMON ISLANDS

                           executive summary
    The Solomon Islands is a constitutional multiparty parliamentary 
democracy. Parliamentary elections held in August 2010 were considered 
generally free and fair, although there were incidents of vote buying. 
In August 2010 Parliament elected Danny Philip as prime minister. 
Philip resigned on November 11 ahead of a vote of no-confidence and 
Gordon Darcy Lilo was elected prime minister. Security forces reported 
to civilian authorities. The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon 
Islands (RAMSI), a multinational police-centered force organized by the 
Pacific Islands Forum, continued its assistance during the year.
    Human rights problems during the year included lengthy pretrial 
detention, government corruption, and violence and discrimination 
against women.
    The government with assistance from RAMSI took steps to prosecute 
officials who committed abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no 
confirmed reports of such practices during the year. There were a few 
allegations by detainees that they were mistreated by police during 
questioning, but they often lacked substantiating evidence.
    In January the parole board released Member of Parliament (MP) and 
Fisheries Minister Jimmy Lusibaea, convicted in November 2010 of 
assault and sentenced to two years and nine months' imprisonment. The 
board stated that his release was for good behavior and for having 
undergone rehabilitation. One week later Minister for Police James Tora 
reduced his sentence to one month using his discretion under Section 30 
of the Correctional Services Act, and Lusibaea resumed office as a 
member of parliament.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, and the 
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
    At year's end there were 179 convicted prisoners and 83 pretrial 
detainees in the country. Of these, six were juveniles. There were no 
female prisoners during the year.
    Prisoners had reasonable access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to 
submit complaints and request investigations of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. Complaints and requests were screened by the 
respective prison commanders. The Professional Standards Unit of the 
Correctional Service and the Office of the Ombudsman investigated 
credible allegations of inhumane conditions and documented the results 
in a publicly accessible manner. The government, through the judiciary 
and Office of the Ombudsman, investigated and monitored prison 
conditions.
    The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human 
rights observers, and such visits occurred during the year.
    Although the Office of the Ombudsman has authority to investigate 
complaints of inhumane prison conditions, it does not have specific 
legal authority to consider on its own initiative such matters as 
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenses or improving 
pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had a program 
in place to cover costs for family visits to long-term prisoners from 
other provinces held in Honiara.

    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 Royal Solomon Islands Police 
(RSIP), and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and 
punish corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the 
security forces during the year. A commissioner, who reports to the 
minister of police, heads the RSIP force of 1,134 members, including 
159 women. The RSIP force is unarmed and had no access to weapons or 
non-lethal means of coercive force during the year.
    This force was supported by 250 RAMSI Participating Police Force 
officers, who served in line positions and in logistical and financial 
support. The RAMSI Participating Police Force and the RAMSI Military 
Contingent were the only armed security forces in the country. Peter 
Marshall, a New Zealander, who was appointed police commissioner in 
2008, ended his secondment in February to return to New Zealand. Walter 
Kola, a local, was appointed acting police commissioner on February 7 
and continued in that position at year's end.
    While police were more effective under RAMSI, the RSIP continued to 
be weak in investigation and reporting. The police service has an 
inspection unit to monitor police discipline and performance. Officials 
found to have violated civil liberties are subject to fines and jail 
sentences.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides for a judicial determination of the legality of arrests. 
Detainees generally were informed promptly of the charges against them 
and have the right to counsel. The Public Solicitor's Office provided 
legal assistance to indigent defendants, and detainees had prompt 
access to family members and to counsel. There was a functioning system 
of bail. However, delays in adjudication of the large number of cases 
before the courts resulted in lengthy pretrial detention for some 
detainees.
    During the year RAMSI had 10 legal advisors from Australia, New 
Zealand, and the Pacific islands: four worked with the Office of the 
Director of Public Prosecutions and six with the Public Solicitor's 
Office. The advisors helped to build the expertise of the government's 
lawyers and contributed to reducing the backlog of cases.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
    Trial procedures normally operated in accordance with British 
common law, with a presumption of innocence, access to attorneys, and 
the rights to access government-held evidence, confront witnesses, and 
appeal convictions. The law extends these rights to all citizens. 
Judges conduct trials and render verdicts; there are no juries. Accused 
persons are entitled to counsel, and an attorney was provided at public 
expense for indigent defendants facing 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 
and impartial judiciary in civil matters; local courts and magistrates' 
courts have civil jurisdiction. In addition, the constitution provides 
that any person whose rights or freedoms have been contravened may 
apply directly to the High Court for redress.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
PressThe constitution provides for freedom of speech including for 
members of the press, and the government generally respected these 
rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a 
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of 
speech and of the press.

    Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--The Solomon Islands Media 
Strengthening Scheme (SOLMAS), which RAMSI initiated in 2008, continued 
during the year. SOLMAS worked with the Media Association of Solomon 
Islands, Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation, and Department of 
Communications to provide training and technical support to local 
journalists.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the 
government generally respected this right in practice. Demonstrators 
must obtain permits, which the government generally granted.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees 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's laws do not provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The 
government did not grant refugee status or asylum during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 
August 2010 national parliamentary elections were regarded as generally 
free and fair, although there was evidence of vote buying. The report 
of the Commonwealth Observer Group stated that people spoke explicitly 
to them about the distribution of gifts and money by political parties 
and candidates to influence voter behavior. In 2010, Parliament elected 
Danny Philip as prime minister. Philip resigned on November 11 and 
Parliament elected Gordon Darcy Lilo as prime minister.

    Political Parties.--Political parties could operate without 
restriction, but they were institutionally weak, with frequent shifts 
in political coalitions and unstable parliamentary majorities.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Male dominance in 
government limited the role of women. There were no women in the 50-
member Parliament. In July the government replaced two of the five 
women who served as permanent secretaries in 2010. Unlike in 2009, 
there were no female judges on the High Court.
    There was one minority (non-Melanesian) MP.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Government 
corruption and impunity in both the executive and legislative branches 
continued to be serious problems.
    Police corruption was not a serious problem during the year. 
However, some observers criticized the police as more loyal to their 
respective ethnic group, or wantok (extended family), than to the 
country as a whole.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws under 
the leadership code of conduct. The Office of the Leadership Code 
Commission (LCC) investigates matters of misconduct involving MPs or 
senior civil servants. If the LCC finds that there is conclusive 
evidence of misconduct, it sends the matter to the Department of Public 
Prosecution, which may then proceed with legal charges. The LCC 
chairman and two part-time commissioners constitute a tribunal that has 
the power to screen certain cases of misconduct and apply fines of up 
to SI $5,000 (approximately $665) for MPs or senior civil servants. The 
Office of the Ombudsman is responsible for investigating public 
complaints of government maladministration.
    No law provides for public access to government information. In 
practice the government generally was responsive to inquiries from the 
media during the year.
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.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated 
with international governmental organizations and permitted visits by 
U.N. representatives and other organizations. There were a number of 
visits from U.N. representatives during 2011 including a visit by U.N. 
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in September; however, no public reports 
were released.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Guadalcanal Peace Building and 
Reconciliation Committee, formed in 2007 to plan the reconciliation and 
peace process on Guadalcanal, continued to work with the Malaita Peace 
and Reconciliation Committee in consultation with the government. The 
Committees in consultation with the Guadalcanal and Malaita Peace Desks 
at the Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace facilitated 
the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) by liaising 
with impacted persons to encourage them to come forward and testify at 
the public hearings conducted by the TRC. They also assisted the TRC 
with its exhumation program during the year. Four out of 205 missing 
persons were found and identified, and their remains were returned to 
their respective families.
    The constitution provides for an ombudsman, with the power to 
subpoena and to investigate complaints of official abuse, mistreatment, 
or unfair treatment. While the Ombudsman's Office has potentially far-
ranging powers and operated without governmental or political party 
interference during the year, it was limited by a shortage of 
resources.
    During the year the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) 
continued to conduct hearings and take statements regarding the ethnic 
crisis. In May the TRC conducted the first public hearings of former 
militants, and during the year public hearings included both victims 
and former militants. Hearings done in 2010 were only for the victims 
of the crisis. At year's end the TRC was in the process of compiling 
all of its reports in preparation to submit its final recommendations 
to the prime minister per its mandate.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides that no person--regardless of race, place 
of origin, color, or disability--shall be treated in a discriminatory 
manner with respect to access to public places. The constitution 
further prohibits any laws that would have discriminatory effects and 
provides that no person should be treated in a discriminatory manner by 
anyone acting in an official capacity. Despite constitutional and legal 
protections, women remained the victims of discrimination in the male-
dominated society. Unemployment remained high, and there were limited 
job opportunities for persons with disabilities.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Violence against women, 
including rape and domestic abuse, remained a serious problem but was 
underreported. Among the reasons cited for the failure to report many 
incidents of abuse were pressure from male relatives, fear of 
reprisals, feelings of shame, and cultural taboos on discussion of such 
matters.
    The maximum penalty for rape is life imprisonment. Spousal rape is 
not a crime. As part of the police curriculum, officers received 
specialized training on how to work with rape victims. The police have 
a Sexual Assault Unit, staffed mostly by female officers, to combat the 
problem.
    The law does not specifically address domestic violence; however, 
there are provisions against common assault. Although statistics were 
unavailable, incidents of domestic violence appeared to be common, and 
police confirmed that domestic violence complaints were received every 
week.
    In the cases of domestic abuse that were reported, victims often 
dropped charges before the court appearance, or the case was settled 
out of court. In cases in which charges were filed, the time lapse 
between the charging of an individual and the subsequent court hearing 
could be as long as two years. The magistrates' courts dealt with 
physical abuse of women as with any other assault, but prosecutions 
were rare.
    Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) conducted awareness campaigns 
on family violence during the year. The Family Support Center and a 
church-run facility for abused women provided counseling and other 
support services for women. The Family Support Center did not have an 
in-house lawyer and depended heavily on the Public Solicitor's Office 
for legal assistance for its clients.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is not illegal and was a 
widespread problem.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children. Contraception and adequate prenatal, obstetric, and postnatal 
care were accessible at all government hospitals and rural health 
clinics, and all nurses were trained to provide family planning 
services. According to indicators published by the Population Reference 
Bureau, an estimated 35 percent of married women ages 15-49 used some 
form of contraception and an estimated 27 percent used modern 
contraceptive methods. The U.N. Population Fund estimates one hundred 
maternal deaths per one hundred thousand live births. An estimated 86 
percent of births were attended by skilled health personnel. Women and 
men had equal access to diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted 
infections, including HIV.

    Discrimination.--The law accords women equal legal rights, 
including the right to own property. However, most women were limited 
to customary family roles, which prevented them from taking more active 
roles in economic and political life. A shortage of jobs also inhibited 
the entry of women into the workforce. Employed women were 
predominantly engaged in low-paying and low-skilled jobs.
    The Solomon Islands National Council of Women and other NGOs 
attempted to make women more aware of their legal rights, including 
voting rights, through seminars, workshops, and other activities. The 
Women's Development Division within the Ministry of Women, Youth, and 
Children's Affairs also addressed women's issues.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is acquired through 
one's parents. The country's laws do not allow dual citizenship for 
adults, and persons who acquire dual citizenship at birth must decide 
by age 18 which citizenship they wish to retain. Births frequently were 
not registered immediately due to lack of infrastructure, but the 
delays did not result in denial of public services to children.

    Education.--Education was not free or compulsory, and the high cost 
of school fees severely limited attendance at secondary and higher 
institutions. School attendance rates were lower for girls than for 
boys, and the dropout rate was higher for girls.

    Child Abuse.--The law grants children the same general rights and 
protections as adults. There are laws designed to protect children from 
sexual abuse, child labor, and neglect, but few resources were provided 
to enforce the law. Child sexual and physical abuse remained 
significant problems, according to the coordinator of the Family 
Support Center in Honiara. However, children generally were respected 
and protected within the traditional extended family system, in 
accordance with a family's financial resources and access to services. 
Virtually no children were homeless or abandoned.

    Child Marriage.--Both boys and girls may legally marry at age 15, 
and the law permits marriage at age 14 with parental and village 
consent, but marriage at such young ages did not appear to be common.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 15. The maximum penalty for sexual relations with a girl under 
age 13 is life imprisonment, and for sexual relations with a girl above 
age 12 but under age 15, it is five years' imprisonment. Consent is not 
a permissible defense under either of these provisions; however, in the 
latter case, reasonable belief that the victim was 15 or older is a 
permissible defense. Child pornography is illegal, with a maximum 
penalty of 10 years' imprisonment. However, there were reports of use 
of children in the production of pornography.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--There were reports that persons were 
trafficked to, from, or within the country.
    See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There is no law or national policy 
protecting persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental 
disabilities, and no legislation mandates access to buildings for such 
individuals. In practice very few buildings were accessible to persons 
with disabilities. There were no special accommodations for persons 
with disabilities to ensure access to information and communications. 
Their protection and care were left to the extended family and NGOs. 
The country had one educational facility for children with 
disabilities, which was supported almost entirely by the ICRC. A 
disability center in Honiara assisted persons with disabilities in 
finding employment; however, with high unemployment countrywide and few 
jobs available in the formal sector, most persons with disabilities, 
particularly those in rural areas, did not find work outside of the 
family structure.
    Persons with mental disabilities were cared for within the family 
structure; there were very limited government facilities for such 
persons. The Kilufi Hospital in Malaita operated a 10-bed ward for the 
treatment of psychiatric patients. A psychiatrist resident in Honiara 
ran a clinic at the National Referral Hospital.
    The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for protecting the 
rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country comprises more than 
27 islands with approximately 70 language groups. Many islanders see 
themselves first as members of a clan, next as inhabitants of their 
natal island, and only third as citizens of their nation. Tensions and 
resentment between the Guadalcanalese and the Malaitans on Guadalcanal 
culminated in violence beginning in 1998. The presence of RAMSI greatly 
reduced ethnic tension between the two groups, and in previous years 
the Peace and Reconciliation Ministry organized reconciliation 
ceremonies. However, underlying problems between the two groups 
remained, including issues related to jobs and land rights.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Sodomy is illegal, as are 
``indecent practices between persons of the same sex.'' The maximum 
penalty for the former is 14 years' imprisonment and for the latter 
five years. However, there were no reports of prosecutions directed at 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons under these provisions 
during the year. There were no reports of violence or discrimination 
against persons on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was societal 
stigma toward persons with HIV/AIDS, but there were no specific reports 
of disownment by families as reported in the past and no reports of 
violence targeting persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution implicitly recognizes the right of workers to form or 
join unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. The law 
protects workers against antiunion activity but does not specifically 
provide for reinstatement.
    While public sector workers were able to organize, the law did not 
provide for organizing by workers in the informal sector.
    The law permits strikes in both the public and private sectors. A 
notice to the government 28 days prior to a strike is required for 
strikes to be legal.
    In 2009 the government issued an official notice prohibiting 
strikes by civil servants in essential services. There were procedures 
in place designed to provide these workers due process and protect 
their rights. The government defines essential services to include but 
not be limited to the health, public security, aviation, marine, 
immigration, and disaster relief sectors.
    Wages and conditions of employment were determined by collective 
bargaining, usually at the level of individual firms. Disputes between 
labor and management that cannot be settled between the two sides are 
referred to the Trade Disputes Panel (TDP) for arbitration, either 
before or during a strike. Employees are protected from arbitrary 
dismissal or lockout while the TDP is deliberating. The three-member 
TDP, composed of a chairman appointed by the judiciary, a labor 
representative, and a business representative, is independent and 
neutral. The TDP's decisions are binding on the parties.
    In practice, workers exercised their rights to associate freely and 
bargain collectively. However, the small percentage of the workforce in 
formal employment meant that employers had ample replacement workers if 
disputes were not resolved quickly.
    In July the government formed a three-member committee to settle 
the longstanding standoff between the Solomon Islands National Union of 
Workers (SINUW) and the Russell Islands Plantation Limited (RIPEL), 
which resulted in a settlement proposal with RIPEL mortgages. On August 
26, RIPEL and the government signed an agreement for the government to 
take over land and properties in Yandina Russell Island and pay RIPEL 
SB $34 million (approximately $4.6 million). Former RIPEL workers, the 
majority of whom are members of the SINUW who went on strike in 2003, 
are shareholders in RIPEL and agreed to the government's takeover of 
RIPEL. On November 25, the Court of Appeal dismissed SINUW's appeal of 
a March High Court judgment which had ordered SINUW to pay RIPEL SB 
$7.3 million ($1 million) in compensation for damages caused by the 
strike.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, except as part of a court 
sentence or order; however, the law contains no penalties for 
violators. There were no consistent methodologies or techniques to 
enforce the law. The government basically relied on labor inspectors to 
report on any instances of forced or compulsory labor during regularly 
scheduled routine inspections. However, there was a lack of manpower 
and resources to effectively enforce the laws. There were unconfirmed 
reports of forced domestic servitude and persons forced to work in 
logging camps. During the year the Division of Labor made a submission 
for the government to set up a Labor Advisory Board to review certain 
labor laws including those relating to forced labor to establish 
effective mechanisms for implementation and include penalties for 
violators. At year's end the submission was with the Attorney General's 
office for vetting and gazetting.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law forbids labor by children under age 12, except light agricultural 
or domestic work performed in the company of parents or other labor 
approved by the commissioner of labor. Children under age 15 are barred 
from work in industry or on ships, except aboard training ships for 
educational purposes; those under age 18 may not work underground in 
mines, or at night in any industry. The law does not limit the number 
of hours a child could work. The commissioner of labor is responsible 
for enforcing child labor laws, but few resources were devoted to 
investigating child labor cases.
    Given the low wages and high unemployment, there was little 
incentive to employ child labor in the formal wage economy; however, 
there were reports of children working as cooks and performing other 
tasks in logging camps, where conditions often were poor.
    Also see the U.S. Department of Labor's annual Findings on the 
Worst Forms of Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/
tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was SI $4.00 
($0.53) per hour for all workers except those in the fishing and 
agricultural sectors, who received SI $3.50 ($0.47).
    The law regulates premium pay, sick leave, the right to paid 
vacations, and other conditions of service. The standard workweek is 45 
hours and is limited to six days per week. There are provisions for 
maternity leave and for premium pay for overtime and holiday work. The 
Labor Act prohibits excessive compulsory overtime.
    Safety and health laws appeared to be adequate. The Safety at Work 
Act requires employers to provide a safe working environment and 
forbids retribution against an employee who seeks protection under 
labor regulations or removes himself from a hazardous job site. Laws on 
working conditions and safety standards apply equally to foreign 
workers and citizens.
    Both an active labor movement and an independent judiciary provided 
enforcement of labor laws in major state and private enterprises. The 
commissioner of labor, the public prosecutor, and police are 
responsible for enforcing labor laws; however, they usually reacted to 
complaints rather than routinely monitoring adherence to the law. The 
extent to which the law was enforced in smaller establishments and in 
the subsistence sector was unclear.
    According to the president of the Council of Trade Unions, 
authorities did not effectively enforce the health and safety law 
provisions. He also noted that during the year, there were numerous 
violations of the occupational safety and health laws.
    At year's end the Labor Division recorded 243 work-related 
accidents including 12 fatalities; 11 workers in the logging industry 
were killed on the job, while one worker in the manufacturing industry 
was killed. Accidents were largely due to negligence of failure to 
adhere to safety practices by both employees and employers. Workers in 
the logging, construction and manufacturing industries were subject to 
hazardous and exploitative working conditions.

                               __________

                                 TAIWAN

                           executive summary
    Taiwan is governed by a president and a parliament selected in 
multiparty elections. In March 2008 voters elected as President Ma 
Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang Party (KMT) in an election that 
international observers considered free and fair. Security forces 
report to civilian authorities.
    Principal human rights problems reported during the year were 
corruption and violence against women and children.
    During the year the authorities indicted more than 400 officials, 
including 54 high-ranking officials, on corruption charges. There were 
no reports of impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the authorities 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 stipulates that no violence, threat, 
inducement, fraud, or other improper means should be used against 
accused persons, and there were no reports that the authorities 
employed them.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards. Prisoners had 
access to potable water, and authorities permitted visits by 
independent human rights observers. As of July there were 58,247 adults 
(53,368 men and 4,879 women) and fewer than 1,000 juveniles imprisoned. 
Prisons operated at 122.2 percent of designed capacity.
    All prisoners and detainees have access to visitors. During the 
active investigation phase of their cases, a small number of detainees, 
on a court order, may be deprived of the right to have visitors. All 
prisoners and detainees are permitted religious observance. Prisoners 
are able to meet with religious leaders, who visit on a regular basis, 
and may request additional meetings with religious leaders as well.
    Authorities permit prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to 
prison appellate committees comprised of wardens, anticorruption 
officials, and outsiders, or to judicial authorities without 
censorship, although in practice all correspondence is screened 
entering and leaving the facilities. Nonviolent offenders may be fined 
or given suspended sentences as an alternative to prison sentences.
    When a prisoner makes allegations of inhumane conditions, prison 
authorities investigate the claims and release the results of their 
investigation to the judicial authorities and occasionally to the 
press. Authorities investigate and monitor prison and detention center 
conditions. The authorities also allow independent nongovernmental 
monitors to investigate prison conditions.

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

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police 
Administration (NPA) of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) has 
administrative jurisdiction over all police units, although city mayors 
and county magistrates appoint city and county police commissioners. 
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the NPA, and the 
authorities have 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.--A warrant or 
summons is required by law, except when there is ample reason to 
believe the suspect may flee, or in urgent circumstances, as specified 
in the Code of Criminal Procedures. Indicted persons may be released on 
bail at judicial discretion. By law prosecutors must apply to the 
courts within 24 hours after arrest for permission to continue 
detaining an arrestee. The authorities generally observed these 
procedures, and trials usually took place within three months of 
indictment. Prosecutors may apply to a court for approval of a pretrial 
detention of an unindicted suspect for a maximum of two months, with 
one possible two-month extension. Judicial reform advocates have urged 
limiting pretrial detention in order to protect better defendants' 
rights. Currently courts may request pretrial detention in cases in 
which the potential sentence is five years or more and when there is a 
reasonable concern that the suspect could flee, collude with other 
suspects or witnesses, or tamper or destroy material evidence.
    While courts are required to appoint counsel after an indictment is 
filed, the law does not specify what lawyers could or should do to 
protect the rights of indigent criminal suspects during initial police 
questioning. The Judicial Yuan (JY) and the NPA operate a program to 
provide legal counsel during initial police questioning to qualifying 
indigent suspects who have a mental disability or have been charged 
with a crime punishable by three or more years in prison. Detained 
persons may request the assistance of the Legal Aid Foundation (LAF), 
which provides professional legal assistance through its 21 branch 
offices to persons who would not otherwise have legal representation. 
The LAF is a nongovernmental organization that is funded by the JY, in 
accordance with the Legal Aid Act of 2004. The LAF provided these 
services to all individuals. During regular consultations with police 
and when participating in police conferences, LAF officials constantly 
remind police of their obligation to notify suspects of the existence 
of such counseling. Whether a suspect should be detained incommunicado 
or held under house arrest is proposed by the prosecutor and decided by 
the court. Suspects and prisoners may be prohibited from receiving 
visitors, but they are entitled to meet and consult with their legal 
counsel.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, the judicial system suffered from some 
corruption. Although the authorities made efforts to eliminate 
corruption and to diminish political influence in the judiciary, some 
residual problems remained. During the year judicial reform advocates 
pressed for greater public accountability, reforms of the personnel 
system, and other procedural reforms. Some political commentators and 
academics also publicly questioned the impartiality of judges and 
prosecutors involved in high-profile and politically sensitive cases. 
In June the Legislative Yuan (LY) passed the Judges' Act, which had 
been pending for 20 years, to create a new mechanism that includes the 
participation of experts and other nonjudicial representatives to 
assess the performance of judges and to select out incompetent ones. 
While the law has been passed, it will not come into effect until 2012 
and thus has not yet led to any tangible changes. The 2009 trial of 
former president Chen Shui-bian and his wife Wu Shu-jen heightened 
public scrutiny of preindictment and pretrial detention, prosecutorial 
leaks, other possible prosecutorial misconduct, and transparency in 
judicial procedures (see section 4).

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution establishes the right to a fair 
trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. 
Judges, rather than juries, decide cases; all judges are appointed by 
and answer to the JY. A single judge, rather than a defense attorney or 
prosecutor, typically interrogates parties and witnesses.
    Trials are public, although court permission may be required to 
attend trials involving juveniles or potentially sensitive issues that 
might attract crowds. A defendant's access to evidence held by the 
prosecution is determined by the presiding judge on a case-by-case 
basis. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and 
have the right to an attorney.
    The law states that a suspect may not be compelled to testify and 
that a confession shall not be the sole evidence used to find a 
defendant guilty. All convicted persons have the right to appeal to the 
next higher court level. Persons sentenced to terms of imprisonment of 
three years or more may appeal beyond that level.

    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. Administrative remedies are 
available in addition to judicial remedies for alleged wrongs, 
including human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
authorities generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech including for 
members of the press, and the authorities generally respected these 
rights in practice. The independent media were active and expressed a 
wide variety of views without restriction, but they were often 
criticized for lacking rigorous journalistic standards.
    In June the Taipei Prison barred inmate and former president Chen 
Shui-bian from writing a special column for Next Magazine. The prison 
said its review had found Chen's article to be politically provocative 
and therefore damaging to the prison's reputation. The prison's 
decision sparked criticism that Chen's freedom of speech was being 
suppressed. Later the same month, the prison partially reversed its 
decision and allowed the magazine to publish Chen's later articles.

    Freedom of Press.--In January the LY passed an amendment to the 
Budget Act to ban governing agencies, state-run enterprises, and state-
funded institutions from placing advertisements packaged as news 
reports and programs into television programming. The amendment came in 
response to public criticism of the authorities' actions, as critics 
and activists said the authorities' placement of ads had deterred some 
media outlets from criticizing policy. The authorities denied having 
used advertising revenue from government ads to manipulate the media.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--In July the Council of Grand 
Justices ruled it was constitutional for police to impose a fine on an 
Apple Daily reporter for following a model and her husband for two 
months in 2008 on tips that the husband was having an extramarital 
affair. The couple claimed the reporter's moves constituted harassment. 
The court ruling noted that the constitution protected both individual 
freedom and freedom of the press, but found that the reporter had 
violated the law because news gathering should be done on issues and 
individuals of public interest. Local media criticized the ruling, 
saying it had seriously hurt press freedom in Taiwan. Critics charged 
that limiting the types of issues journalists could follow amounted to 
censorship.
    In July the National Communications Commission (NCC) approved the 
application of Next TV (a unit of Next Media Group) to launch a news 
channel on cable, after the NCC had earlier rejected two applications 
from the company. The NCC said Next TV had improved its content and 
Next Media Group Chairman Jimmy Lai agreed to seven conditions to clean 
up his animated news service. Lai also promised to set up a cross-media 
ethics committee and cancel animated news that depicted sex and nudity, 
the NCC said.
    In 2009 the Taipei City Government barred primary and middle 
schools in the city from subscribing to Apple Daily and added that 
anyone wishing to borrow Apple Daily from Taipei public libraries must 
provide identification proving the applicant was 18 years or older. At 
year's end the ban remained in effect.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no official restrictions on access to 
the Internet. Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of 
views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no restrictions 
on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Opposition party legislators and human rights 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) claimed that the law 
unconstitutionally restricted free speech and assembly and called for 
it to be amended or abolished. They claimed the law unfairly 
disadvantaged smaller organizations and was being selectively enforced. 
The Taiwan Association for Human Rights and more than a dozen other 
civic groups formed an alliance to advocate removing restrictions on 
street protest demonstrations and eliminating the requirement to apply 
to police authorities for permission to hold a demonstration.
    In 2009 the authorities charged two professors for organizing 
``Wild Strawberry'' student demonstrations for failing to obtain 
permits in advance as required by the assembly law. In December the 
court found one of the professors not guilty as he was not the 
architect of the demonstrations. The trial of the other professor 
remained pending as the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on the 
constitutionality of the assembly law. In July a prosecutor indicted 
three individuals for protesting without a permit at the Taoyuan 
International Airport against the authorities' condemnation of their 
land to facilitate the building of a Mass Rapid Transit system line. 
The case was pending.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides this right and the 
authorities generally respected it in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the authorities generally respected these rights in 
practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--Taiwan law does not 
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status. The authorities 
have not established a system for providing protection to refugees 
because a bill regarding the handling of refugees is pending in the 
legislature. All People's Republic of China (PRC) citizens unlawfully 
present are required by law to be returned to the PRC. As of September 
the eight PRC nationals who had sought asylum between 2008 and 2010 
were still residing in the country with financial assistance and 
subsidies provided by the National Immigration Agency.

    Nonrefoulement.--Throughout the year authorities repatriated 
undocumented immigrants to their countries of origin. According to the 
MOI, there were 53 undocumented PRC immigrants deported to the mainland 
during the year (47 men and six women). At year's end 122 undocumented 
PRC immigrants and 777 non-PRC undocumented immigrants were awaiting 
deportation.

    Durable Solutions.--Except for a few who failed to produce identity 
papers, all Tibetans gained legal residence in 2009. There were no new 
cases of Tibetans being granted legal residence 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.--Recent Elections.--In 2008 
the Kuomintang Party (KMT) won a significant majority in the LY 
following the implementation of a new single-member-district electoral 
system. Two months later the KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou 
won the presidency. Observers regarded the elections as free and fair.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 33 women in the 
113-member LY. Nine of the 48 Executive Yuan (cabinet) members were 
women. The mayor of Kaohsiung, the island's second largest city, was a 
woman. Two of the 15 Constitutional Court justices were women. At least 
half of the at-large seats won by a political party were required to be 
filled by women.
    Representatives of the indigenous population participated in most 
levels of the political system. They held six reserved seats in the LY, 
half of which were elected by plains tribes and half by mountain 
tribes. Indigenous persons accounted for approximately 2 percent of the 
population; their allocation of legislative seats was more than double 
their proportion of the population.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the authorities generally implemented these laws effectively.
    In July the authorities established the Agency against Corruption 
under the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to further combat corruption. In 
addition, in November the legislature passed amendments to the Anti-
Corruption Act that expanded its scope and increased the penalties for 
public servants who are unable to explain the origins of suspicious 
assets or property, or who lie about the source of such assets.
    In June the LY passed amendments to the Anti-Corruption Statute 
that forbade attempted bribery of public officials, even if the 
attempts did not result in any illegal activities. Previously, 
attempted bribery had been a crime only if the bribes could be shown to 
have influenced public officials in the execution of their duties.
    There were allegations of official corruption during the year. 
Former president Lee Teng-hui was indicted in June for corruption and 
money laundering. Lee was accused of collaborating with his aide to 
embezzle National Security Bureau secret funds totaling NT$232.5 
billion ($7.79 billion) to finance the establishment and operations of 
a think tank.
    The Taiwan High Court retried the cases involving former president 
Chen Shui-bian and his wife Wu Shu-jen on charges of corruption, money 
laundering, forgery, and embezzlement. In the verdict handed down in 
August, Chen and Wu were found not guilty of embezzlement of a special 
state affairs fund. The court did not alter Chen's previous sentence of 
two years and eight months in prison for money laundering and forgery. 
Chen was incarcerated for corruption after he was convicted late in 
2010 for his involvement in an industrial zone land procurement scandal 
and, in a separate bribery case, for accepting bribes to help a friend 
get a position in a government-invested business entity.
    In 2009 the LY amended the Act for the Punishment of Corruption to 
require civil servants to account for the sources of abnormal increases 
in their assets and to make failure to do so a punishable offense. All 
public servants are subject to the Public Servants' Property 
Declaration Law. The MOJ and its newly established subordinate Agency 
against Corruption are in charge of combating official corruption.
    The Access to Government Information Law stipulates that all 
government information be made available to the public upon request 
with the exception of national secrets, professional secrets, personal 
information, and protected intellectual property. The law provides that 
registered citizens, companies, and groups may submit information 
requests and may appeal denied requests. These privileges are extended 
on a reciprocal basis to citizens of foreign countries.
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 restriction, investigating and publishing 
their findings on human rights cases. The authorities often were 
cooperative and responsive to the views of such groups.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equality of citizens before the law 
irrespective of sex, religion, race, class, or party affiliation. The 
MOI is in charge of protections for persons with disabilities. The 
authorities enforced these laws effectively.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape, 
is a crime, and violence against women, including rape and domestic 
violence, remained a serious problem. Because victims were socially 
stigmatized, many did not report the crime, and the MOI estimated that 
the total number of sexual assaults was 10 times the number reported to 
police.
    The law provides protection for rape victims. Rape trials are not 
open to the public unless the victim consents. The law permits a charge 
of rape without requiring the victim to press charges.
    The law establishes the punishment for rape as not less than five 
years imprisonment, and those convicted usually were given prison 
sentences of five to 10 years. According to the MOI, during the year 
there were 6,568 reports filed for rape or sexual assault. Of these 
reports, 2,370 persons were indicted and 1,919 persons were convicted. 
According to the MOJ, the average prosecution rate for rape and sexual 
assault over the past five years was approximately 50 percent, and the 
average conviction rate of cases prosecuted was about 90 percent.
    During the year there were 104,315 cases of domestic violence 
reported. Authorities prosecuted 3,292 persons for domestic violence 
and convicted 2,469 persons. During the year 36,791 protection orders 
were issued to domestic violence victims. Typically, persons convicted 
in domestic violence cases were sentenced to less than six months in 
prison. Social pressure not to disgrace their families discouraged 
abused women from reporting incidents to the police. The law allows 
prosecutors to take the initiative in investigating complaints of 
domestic violence, without waiting for a spouse to file a formal 
lawsuit.
    The law requires all cities and counties to establish violence 
prevention and control centers to address domestic and sexual violence, 
child abuse, and elder abuse. These centers provided victims with 
protection, medical treatment, emergency assistance, shelter, legal 
counseling, education, and training on a 24-hour basis.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment in the workplace is a crime, 
punishable by fines of NT$100,000 to NT$1 million (approximately $3,350 
to $33,500) and imprisonment for up to two years. All public employers 
and larger private employers are required to enact preventive measures 
and establish complaint procedures to deter sexual harassment. Women's 
groups complained that, despite the law and increased awareness of the 
issue, judicial authorities remained dismissive of sexual harassment 
complaints.

    Reproductive Rights.--Individuals and couples had the right to 
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children and had the 
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and 
violence. Unmarried persons, however, are prohibited by law from 
obtaining fertility treatments. Access to contraception and skilled 
attendance during childbirth and the postpartum period were widely 
available. Women and men were given equal treatment for diagnosis and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--The law prohibits discrimination based on gender. 
The law provides for equal treatment with regard to salaries, 
promotions, and assignments. The law entitles women to request up to 
two years of unpaid maternity leave and forbids termination of 
employment because of pregnancy or marriage. Central and local 
agencies, schools, and other organizations are required to develop 
enforcement rules and set up gender equality committees to oversee the 
implementation of the law. One NGO claimed that the authorities were 
not doing enough to raise public awareness of this issue.
    Women's advocates noted that women continued to be promoted less 
frequently, occupied fewer management positions, and worked for lower 
pay than did their male counterparts. Women made up 50 percent of the 
service industry workforce and the total workforce. According to the 
Council for Labor Affairs (CLA), salaries for women averaged 82 percent 
of those for men performing comparable jobs.

    Gender-biased Sex Selection.--Taiwan's ratio of males to females at 
birth was between 1.085 and 1.108. According to the Control Yuan (CY), 
women over 35 who already have two children had the highest sex ratio. 
In 2010 Taiwan banned medical institutions from conducting gender-
biased sex selection. Clinics and hospitals with higher rates of 
imbalance were put under surveillance and doctors who facilitate 
gender-biased sex selection can be fined.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's 
parents or by birth on the island. The MOI and its subordinate 
Children's Bureau are responsible for the protection of the rights and 
welfare of children and the law included provisions to protect them.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse continued to be a widespread problem. A 
reliable NGO reported that sexual abuse was more prevalent than the 
public realized and estimated that the number of victims was 
approximately 20,000 annually. According to the MOI, 22,094 cases, 
including cases of physical, mental, or sexual abuse or harm due to 
guardian neglect, were reported during the year. Central and local 
authorities, as well as private organizations, continued efforts to 
identify and assist high-risk children and families and to increase 
public awareness of child abuse and domestic violence.
    The law stipulates that persons discovering cases of child abuse or 
neglect must notify the police or welfare authorities. Child welfare 
specialists must notify the local authorities within 24 hours, and 
authorities must take appropriate measures within 24 hours. Regulations 
encourage officials to respond to investigation requests within four 
days. The MOI Children's Bureau and NGO specialists monitored cases to 
ensure that requirements were met. An official hotline accepted 
complaints of child abuse and offered counseling. Courts are required 
to appoint guardians for children whose parents are deemed unfit.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for engaging in 
consensual sexual relations is 18. Persons who engaged in sex with 
children under age 14 faced sentences of three to 10 years in prison. 
September 2010 Supreme Court rulings for offenses involving sexual 
assault on children under the age of seven resulted in a minimum 
sentence of seven years in prison. Those who engage in sex with minors 
between ages 14 to 16 receive a mandatory prison sentence of three to 
seven years. Solicitors of sex with minors older than 16 but younger 
than 18 face up to one year in prison or hard labor, or a fine of up to 
three million New Taiwan dollars ($100,500). According to the Child 
Welfare Bureau, 235 minors were rescued from prostitution and placed in 
shelters during the year.
    The extent to which child prostitution occurred was difficult to 
measure because of increased use of the Internet and other 
sophisticated communication technologies to solicit clients. In August 
the police cracked a large prostitution ring composed of more than 50 
high school girls who solicited clients through the Internet.
    Advertisements related to prostitution were prohibited, and the law 
was enforced in practice. Under the law citizens arrested abroad for 
having sex with minors can also be indicted and convicted of 
patronizing underage prostitutes in foreign countries, although no such 
cases have occurred in the past four years. The law also prohibits 
child pornography, and violators are subject to sentences of up to six 
months and substantial fines.
    At year's end 393 persons had been indicted and 253 persons 
convicted of violating the Child and Youth Sexual Transaction 
Prevention Act, which criminalizes child prostitution and the 
possession and distribution of child pornography. The law requires 
publication of violators' names in newspapers.

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

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities and sets minimum fines for 
violations. The law was enforced.
    The MOI and the CLA are responsible for protecting the rights of 
persons with disabilities. The law stipulates that the authorities must 
provide services and programs to members of the population with 
disabilities. Free universal medical care is provided to persons with 
disabilities. NGOs continued to assert that more public nursing homes 
were needed and that current programs, such as home care services, 
needed to be expanded to meet the growing needs of those with 
disabilities, a growing number of which were elderly persons.
    In January the LY passed the Protection Act on the Rights of the 
Disabled to increase job opportunities for the blind. According to the 
law, blind individuals must account for 10 percent of employees hired 
by governing agencies and state-run enterprises with more than 10 
employees.
    The law stipulates that new public buildings, facilities, and 
transportation equipment must be accessible to persons with 
disabilities, and this requirement was generally met. In November, 
however, a disabilities rights group staged a large protest complaining 
that transportation equipment still fails to meet the basic needs of 
disabled persons in most areas of Taiwan.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--As of 2010, foreign-born 
spouses, primarily from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, or Thailand, 
accounted for 3 percent of the population, and an estimated 8.7 percent 
of all births were to foreign-born mothers. Foreign spouses were 
targets of discrimination both inside and outside the home.
    In May the National Immigration Agency extended the permitted 
length of stay for parents of Chinese spouses from two to six months if 
the purpose of the visit is to take care of pregnant Chinese spouses or 
those who have suffered a miscarriage.
    The authorities offered free Chinese-language and child-raising 
classes and counseling services at community outreach centers to assist 
foreign-born spouses' integration into society. The Legal Aid 
Foundation provided legal services to foreign spouses and operated a 
hotline to receive complaints. The MOI also operated its own hotline 
with staff conversant in Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Indonesian, 
English, and Chinese.
    PRC-born spouses must wait six years to apply for Taiwan residency, 
whereas non-PRC spouses may apply after only three years. PRC spouses 
are also permitted to work in Taiwan immediately on arrival.

    Indigenous People.--There are 14 identified non-Chinese groups of 
indigenous people, accounting for approximately 2 percent of the 
population. The law protects the civil and political rights of these 
indigenous persons. The Indigenous Peoples Basic Act stipulates that 
the authorities should provide resources to help indigenous individuals 
develop a system of self-governance, formulate policies to protect 
their basic rights, and promote the preservation and development of 
their language and culture. Critics complained that the authorities did 
not do enough to preserve aboriginal culture and language. In January 
the Amis aboriginal group staged a rally in front of the presidential 
office in protest of the takeover of their lands by the authorities. 
Asserting that a people without lands would eventually become extinct, 
they called on the authorities to apologize and to return their lands. 
In March several aboriginal activists called on the LY to pass an 
antidiscrimination law that would penalize discriminatory remarks 
against the aboriginal peoples.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws prohibiting 
consensual same-sex sexual activity. According to lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights activists, violence against 
LGBT persons with HIV and AIDS was a problem, but instances of police 
pressure on LGBT-friendly bars and bookstores continued to decrease 
during the year. LGBT rights activists alleged that restrictions on 
doctors providing fertility treatments to unmarried persons unfairly 
resulted in discrimination against LGBT persons, who are not permitted 
to marry. Employers convicted of discriminating against job seekers on 
the basis of sexual orientation face fines of up to NT$1.5 million 
($50,250).
    Plans to begin teaching LGBT issues in the elementary and junior 
school curriculums, in accordance with the 2004 Gender Equity Education 
Act, were canceled due to ``lack of social consensus.''

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was reported 
discrimination, including employment discrimination, against persons 
with HIV/AIDS. In February an AIDS activist group accused the local 
authorities in Taipei of a person with HIV/AIDS from taking part in a 
vocational training program and of disseminating discriminatory remarks 
against persons with HIV/AIDS in the program's online brochure. The 
discriminatory Web page was removed, and the person was referred to 
another vocational training center where he could receive better care. 
An amendment of the AIDS Prevention and Control Act allows a foreign 
spouse with HIV to remain in Taiwan, if he/she can show the infection 
came from the spouse or from medical treatment received in Taiwan. The 
amended law, renamed the HIV Prevention and Patients' Rights Protection 
Act, also stipulates that citizens with HIV cannot be denied access to 
education, medical services, housing, or other necessities.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The right to unionize is protected by the constitution but is regulated 
under the Labor Union Act (LUA) and other laws. The right to strike is 
provided by law but is highly regulated. The law gives workers the 
right to bargain collectively, although some workers are excluded.
    Although the law previously had prohibited teachers, civil 
servants, and some defense industry employees from forming unions, an 
amendment to the LUA effective in May relaxed restrictions on teachers' 
right to associate, although they still are prohibited from striking. 
As of August teachers had formed 23 unions and one federation of 
teachers' unions. The amended LUA also offered additional categories 
under which workers could form unions. For example, workers in the same 
industry can form industrial unions.
    In addition to expanding the right to associate, the amended LUA 
also offers protections for associated labor. The LUA prohibits 
discrimination, dismissal, or other unfair treatment of workers for 
union-related activities. Violators face fines of NT$30,000-NT$150,000 
($1,005-$5,025). There were several examples of employers being fined 
for retaliation during the year. The amended LUA also allows foreign 
workers more freedom to form unions, including the right to assume 
leadership in a union. Although labor unions may draw up their own 
rules and constitutions, labor union registrations still require the 
approval of the CLA, and the authorities have the power to order unions 
to cease part or all of their operations if they break a law or violate 
their charter.
    At the end of March approximately 29 percent of the 11.1 million-
person labor force belonged to one of the 4,495 registered labor 
unions. Many of these members were also members of one of the 10 
island-wide labor federations.
    Under the LUA teachers and defense industry employees are not 
afforded the right to strike. Workers in industries such as utilities, 
hospital services, and telecommunication service providers are allowed 
to strike only if they promise to maintain basic services during the 
strike period. The amended Labor Dispute Settlement Law (LDSL) took 
effect on May 1. The LDSL stipulates that authorities may prohibit, 
limit, or break up a strike during a disaster.
    The LDSL divides labor disputes into two categories: ``rights 
disputes'' and ``adjustment disputes.'' Workers are only allowed to 
strike in adjustment disputes, which include issues such as 
compensation and working schedules. The law forbids strikes in rights 
disputes, which could include collective agreements, labor contracts, 
regulations, and other issues. Rights disputes must be settled through 
arbitration or judicial process. The law requires mediation of labor 
disputes when the authorities deem disputes to be sufficiently serious 
or to involve unfair practices. The law also prohibits labor and 
management from disturbing the ``working order'' while mediation or 
arbitration is in progress. On average, the mediation process takes 20-
50 days and arbitration takes 45-80 days.
    Labor unions charged that during employee cutbacks, labor union 
leaders were sometimes laid off first or dismissed without reasonable 
cause. Despite this practice, according to the Taiwan Confederation of 
Trade Unions and other labor groups, the amended labor law 
regulations--including the LUA, the LDSL, and the Collective Agreement 
Law--have had a positive effect on workers' rights in association, 
collective bargaining, and dispute resolution.
    Continued improvement in the economy and employment led to a 
decrease in the number of labor disputes. There were 20,824 labor 
disputes in the first 11 months of the year, a 5.9 percent decrease 
from the same period in 2010. Of these, 13,880 cases were related to 
wage and severance disputes.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. However, there were reports 
that such practices occurred. There was evidence of forced labor in 
such sectors as household care giving, farming, fishing, manufacturing, 
and construction (see section 7.d.).
    The law criminalizes forced labor, and public awareness campaigns 
included worker education pamphlets, foreign worker hotlines, and 
Ministry of Education programs on trafficking as part of the broader 
human rights curriculum.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Labor Standards Law (LSL) stipulates age 15, when compulsory education 
ends, as the minimum age for employment. Children under 16 years of age 
are not permitted to do heavy or hazardous work, and their working 
hours are limited to eight hours per day on normal working days only.
    County and city labor bureaus effectively enforced minimum-age laws 
by ensuring the implementation of compulsory education. There were no 
documented cases of violations of these laws. Labor inspectors did find 
17 cases in 2010 of 15-year-olds being asked to work overtime or night 
shifts. Statistics were not available that would show the disposition 
of these specific cases, but Council of Labor Affairs officials said 
that in most cases the employers were fined up to NT$20,000 ($670).

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The LSL provides standards for 
working conditions and health and safety precautions. As of June an 
estimated 6.6 million of the 8.3 million salaried workers held jobs 
covered by the LSL. Those not covered included management employees, 
health-care workers, gardeners, bodyguards, teachers, doctors, lawyers, 
civil servants, local government contract workers, employees of 
farmers' associations, and domestic workers. An increase in the minimum 
wage to NT$17,880 per month ($600), or NT$98 per hour ($3.28), took 
effect in January.
    The average manufacturing wage was more than double the legal 
minimum wage, and the average wage for service industry employees was 
even higher. The average monthly wage increased 5.3 percent to 
NT$44,430 ($1,488) in 2010. According to labor statistics, however, 
workers' real wages were lower than they were 10 years ago in spite of 
an average 4 percent annual economic growth rate over the past decade. 
Labor experts and scholars attribute this decline in wages to increased 
competition for jobs due to the migration abroad of many industries. 
The poverty income level is estimated by the authorities to be 60 
percent below the average disposable income of the median households in 
a designated area. By this definition, the poverty income level is 
NT$14,794 ($496) per person in Taipei, NT$11,832 ($396) per person in 
New Taipei City, NT$10,244 ($343) per person in Taiwan province, and 
NT$11,146 ($373) per person in Kaohsiung City.
    Foreign household caregivers and domestic workers are covered by 
the Employment Services Act, which does not provide for a minimum wage 
or overtime pay, set limits on the workday or workweek, or provide for 
minimum breaks or vacation time. At the end of July, 194,000 of the 
409,000 foreign household caregivers and domestic workers had applied 
for coverage under the Employment Services Act.
    Legal working hours were 336 hours per eight-week period (for an 
average of 42 hours per workweek). A five-day workweek was mandated for 
the public sector, and, according to the CLA, more than half of private 
sector enterprises also implemented a five-day workweek. According to 
local labor laws, only ``authorized specialists'' approved by the CLA 
were exempt from the five-day workweek. In practice, however, 
violations of the five-day workweek maximum were common. After several 
high-profile ``death by overwork'' cases led the authorities to conduct 
an inspection of common workweek practices, the CLA found that 
approximately 700,000 employees had been asked to work overtime without 
pay. Approximately 400,000 employees were told by their company that 
they were ``authorized specialists'' who were exempt from workweek 
maximums, while in fact the CLA had approved only 100,000 employees to 
work in the authorized specialist category. The survey also found that 
in 2010, 27 percent of surveyed employees had been asked to work in 
excess of the 12-hour-per-day maximum. To address this issue, the LY in 
June passed an amendment to the Labor Standards Law raising by 500 
percent the fine for violating legal work maximums, from NT$60,000 to 
NT$300,000 ($2,010 to $10,050) for violations, and mandated that the 
name of the offending company would be broadcast to the public.
    The law provides standards for health and safety and gives workers 
the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without 
jeopardy to their continued employment. There was widespread criticism, 
however, that the CLA did not effectively enforce workplace health and 
safety laws and regulations. In the first half of the year, the CLA's 
292 inspectors conducted 41,891 inspections, a decrease of 3.6 percent 
from the same period of 2010. Those 292 inspectors were responsible for 
inspecting approximately 310,000 enterprises covered by the 
Occupational Safety and Health Law. Labor NGOs and academics argued 
that the labor inspection rate was far too low to serve as an effective 
deterrent against labor violations and unsafe working conditions, 
especially for labor in small and medium factories. Labor groups 
repeatedly urged the CLA to strengthen its inspection regime.
    Regulations require intensified inspection and oversight of foreign 
labor brokerage companies. NGOs reported that some labor brokers and 
employers regularly collected high fees or loan payments from foreign 
workers, using debts incurred in the source country as a tool for 
involuntary servitude. At the end of July, there were 409,434 
documented migrant workers in Taiwan; of these, 168,188 were from 
Indonesia, 80,620 from the Philippines, 71,457 from Thailand, and 
89,164 from Vietnam. The CLA estimated there were 30,000 undocumented 
workers. NGOs asserted that foreign workers were often unwilling to 
report employer abuses for fear the employer would terminate the 
contract and deport them, leaving them unable to pay back debt accrued 
to brokers or others.
    An employer may deduct only labor insurance fees, health insurance 
premiums, income taxes, and meal and lodging fees from the wages of a 
foreign worker. Violators face fines of NT$60,000 to NT$300,000 ($2,010 
to $10,050) and loss of hiring privileges. Critics, however, complained 
that violations continued and that the CLA did not effectively enforce 
statutes and regulations intended to protect foreign laborers from 
unscrupulous brokers and employers.
    The CLA operated a Foreign Worker Direct-Hire Service Center that 
allowed local employers to rehire their foreign employees, especially 
caregivers, without a broker. NGOs, however, argued that complicated 
procedures and restrictions on eligibility to use the service prevented 
widespread implementation, and they advocated lifting restrictions on 
transfers between employers.
    The service center also permitted the direct rehiring of foreign 
workers engaged in manufacturing, fisheries, construction, and other 
industries. NGOs and academics urged the CLA to provide basic labor 
protections such as minimum wage, overtime, and a mandatory day off for 
household caregivers and domestic workers.
    The National Immigration Agency is responsible for all immigration-
related policies and procedures for foreign workers, foreign spouses, 
immigrant services, and repatriation of undocumented immigrants. The 
CLA is responsible for work permits and services related to occupation. 
The CLA also provides mediation services and may permit the transfer of 
employees in situations where the employee has suffered exploitation or 
abuse.
    Except for victims of trafficking in persons or employer abuse, 
foreign workers deemed to have worked illegally faced heavy fines, 
mandatory repatriation, and a permanent ban on reentering Taiwan.

                               __________

                                THAILAND

                           executive summary
    Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a revered king who has 
traditionally exerted strong influence. A coalition government led by 
Yingluck Shinawatra and her Puea Thai (For Thais) Party came to power 
in August following national elections on July 3 for the National 
Assembly lower house that were generally viewed as free and fair. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The most persistent human rights problems included the following: a 
number of abuses by government security forces and local defense 
volunteers in southern Thailand in the context of the continuing Muslim 
separatist insurgency; the continued reported use at times of excessive 
force by security forces, including police killing, torturing, and 
otherwise abusing criminal suspects, detainees, and prisoners; and 
continued government limits on freedoms of speech and press.
    Other human rights problems included poor, overcrowded, and 
unsanitary prison and detention facility conditions; occasional 
arbitrary arrests and detention; government limits on freedom of 
assembly; insufficient protection for vulnerable populations, including 
refugees; violence and discrimination against women; sex tourism; 
sexual exploitation of children; trafficking in persons; discrimination 
against persons with disabilities, minorities, hill tribe members, and 
foreign migrant workers; child labor; and some limitations on worker 
rights.
    Authorities occasionally dismissed, arrested, prosecuted, and 
convicted security force members who committed abusive behavior, but 
official impunity continued to be a serious problem, especially in 
provinces where the 2005 Emergency Decree, the 2008 Internal Security 
Act, and martial law remained invoked.
    In the southernmost provinces, the great majority of victims of the 
violence associated with the separatist insurgency were civilians not 
taking an active part in hostilities.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports 
that security forces at times used excessive and lethal force against 
criminal suspects and committed or were connected to extrajudicial, 
arbitrary, and unlawful killings. According to the Ministry of 
Interior's Investigation and Legal Affairs Bureau, security forces--
including police, military, and other agencies--killed 72 suspects 
during the arrest process between October 2010 and September 2011. The 
police department with jurisdiction over the location of the killings 
investigated each case, although no details were available. For 
example, on April 27, Royal Thai Army (RTA) soldiers and forestry 
officials reportedly killed two suspects and wounded six in Phrae 
Province while raiding suspected illegal loggers; an investigation of 
the incident continued at year's end (see also section 2.d., Refugee 
Abuse).
    While there were no confirmed reports that the government or its 
agents committed politically motivated killings during the year, there 
were at least five deaths linked to attacks suspected of being 
politically motivated. For example, on June 16, assailants shot and 
killed Suban Chirapanvanit, a major Bhum Jai Thai Party canvasser and 
aide to the de facto party leader, and also shot his wife in Bangkok in 
what was widely believed to be a politically motivated incident. Police 
arrested three suspects, one of whom had previously faced charges in a 
politically motivated shooting; charged them with premeditated murder; 
and continued at year's end to seek a fourth suspect. Additionally, 
there was an unconfirmed report that Democrat Party candidate Thaenkhun 
Chit-issara accused a member of parliament and an air force officer of 
possible involvement in the killing of Chutidet Suwannakoet, a 
canvasser, near Bangkok on December 10. As of year's end, no charges 
had been filed.
    There were reports of killings during the year in connection with 
the conflict in the southernmost provinces (see section 1.g.).
    At year's end commissions continued to investigate the April and 
May 2010 clashes between security forces and antigovernment protesters 
in Bangkok and the Northeast that resulted in the deaths of 79 
civilians, 11 security force members, and two foreign journalists. The 
Truth for Reconciliation Commission of Thailand--which released its 
first interim report in April, recommendations to the government in 
September, and its second interim report in December--found that 16 of 
the deaths resulted from security force action. On September 19, on 
instructions from Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, the 
Department of Special Investigations transferred the investigation of 
these 16 deaths, suspected to have been caused by security forces, to 
the Metropolitan Police. It remained unclear how many were killed by 
security forces, armed factions associated with the protests, or 
accidentally, and no one had been charged with illegal or excessive use 
of force for any protest-related deaths as of year's end.
    At year's end there were no developments in the National Human 
Rights Commission (NHRC) investigation of the May 2010 death of 
Sulaiman Naesa, whose body reportedly showed signs of torture, at the 
Inkhayuthboriharn Army Camp.
    After investigation, authorities in May closed the case of police 
killing suspected drug trafficker and killer Manit Toommuang, while he 
was in custody in June 2010; police claimed self-defense.
    There were no developments by year's end in the case of Makhoseng 
Pohtae, a suspected militant who died in custody in August 2010 due to 
injuries reportedly received while being tortured by Yala Province 
police. An internal investigation by the Southern Border Provinces 
Police Command found the abusing officers guilty of misconduct, but 
there were no developments in the subsequent National Counter-
Corruption Commission (NCCC) investigation.
    On July 20, the Ministry of Defense and the RTA settled a 2009 
civil suit regarding the case of Imam Yapa Kaseng, who died after 
interrogation while in army custody in 2008, by paying his family 5.2 
million baht (approximately $173,000) and expressing regret. A 
potential NCCC criminal proceeding against five RTA suspects, under 
consideration since 2008, remained pending.
    There were several clashes reported between Thai security forces 
and illegal cross-border loggers throughout the year. Most occurred in 
Sisaket Province and involved Cambodian citizens suspected of crossing 
into Thailand. For example, six Cambodians were reportedly killed in 
four separate incidents in border areas of Sisaket Province in October.
    In addition there were clashes and artillery fire reported between 
Thai and Cambodian security forces in early February and late April in 
the area of the Preah Vihear temple/border dispute and in Surin and 
Sisaket provinces that resulted in unconfirmed reports of at least one 
Thai civilian killed and thousands of Thai and Cambodian villagers 
temporarily displaced.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no confirmed reports of politically 
motivated disappearances, although nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 
sympathetic to the cause of antigovernment protesters reported that at 
year's end the whereabouts of up to 18 individuals remained unknown 
following their dispersal in April-May 2010. There also were multiple 
media reports of numerous protesters having fled to Cambodia. (Also see 
the April possible forced disappearance case in Yala Province in 
section 1.g., Abductions.)
    On March 11, the Court of Appeals acquitted the five police 
officers charged with the 2004 disappearance of Muslim attorney and 
human rights activist Somchai Neelaphaijit, who had been representing 
suspects allegedly tortured by high-ranking police. However, at year's 
end the case remained before the NCCC. In addition on August 29, an 
assailant or assailants shot and killed Jehrohanee Yusoh, the wife of 
Abduloh Abukaree, who had disappeared in 2009. He was a key witness in 
the Department of Special Investigations case against the high-ranking 
police allegedly connected to the disappearance of Somchai 
Neelaphaijit.
    In June the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary 
Disappearances requested a visit, but one had not been arranged by 
year's end.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution specifically prohibits such practices. 
There is no law that specifically prohibits torture, although it is 
punishable as an offense against the person. Additionally, Section 17 
of the April 2010 Emergency Decree effectively provides immunity from 
prosecution to security officials for actions committed during the 
performance of their duties.
    Credible NGOs and legal entities continued to report that police 
and military members occasionally tortured and beat suspects to obtain 
confessions, and newspapers continued to report numerous cases of 
citizens accusing police and other security officials of brutality. By 
year's end there had been one prosecution, although no conviction, of a 
military official for alleged torture; there also were criminal actions 
being pursued against Royal Thai Police (RTP) officers.
    On March 1, a court sentenced Police Senior Sergeant Major Suraphat 
(formerly known as Phairat) Sibuason of Phlap Phla Chai 1 Police 
Station, Bangkok, to six years' imprisonment for abuse of power after 
he arrested a female Burmese migrant worker and forced her to have sex 
with him in exchange for being freed without charge in 2009.
    The NHRC, in a September 2010 report, found that torture occurred 
widely and systematically in the southernmost provinces. The study, 
which examined 35 alleged torture cases since 2006, found that state 
officials widely used beating and intimidation tactics. Torture tactics 
included covering the victims' heads with plastic so they were unable 
to breathe, applying lit cigarettes to body parts, beating victims with 
a wooden stick covered by a sponge, and using electric shocks. 
According to the report, most of the abusers were members of the armed 
forces or police who arrested and detained suspects under special laws 
including martial law, the Internal Security Act, and the Emergency 
Decree. The report was submitted to the government (the armed forces, 
police, and Interior Ministry), and at year's end the NHRC was awaiting 
a response.
    In January and February, two prominent NGOs filed a petition 
protesting the use of brutality by RTA Task Force 38 in Narathiwat 
against suspected southern Muslim militants and alleging that Task 
Force 38 was secretly assigned as the preliminary interrogation unit to 
question suspects. The petitioners claimed to have evidence of at least 
seven torture cases involving the Task Force.
    On August 10, the Criminal Court in Bangkok convicted Suderueman 
Malae, a 2004 torture victim, of maliciously giving false information 
to inquiry officers and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment. At 
year's end the case was under appeal, and Suderueman was released on 
bail. Suderueman had been a client of disappeared attorney and human 
rights activist Somchai Neelaphaijit (see section 1.b.) and had claimed 
that Police Major General Chakthip Chaijinda had been involved in the 
torture of Suderueman and others.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor. Most prisons and detention centers were overcrowded. There were 
approximately 250,000 prisoners in prisons and detention facilities 
designed to hold 150,000. Sleeping accommodations were insufficient, 
medical care was inadequate, and communicable diseases were widespread 
in some prisons, although prisoners generally had access to potable 
water supplied as tap water treated by water purification. Seriously 
ill prisoners at times were transferred to provincial or state 
hospitals.
    According to the Ministry of Interior Investigation and Legal 
Affairs Bureau, 1,122 persons died in official custody from October 
2010 to September 2011. Authorities attributed most of those deaths to 
natural causes. On February 17, guards shot and killed two prisoners 
during a riot in Ratchaburi Provincial Prison.
    Prison authorities sometimes used solitary confinement of not more 
than one month, as permitted by law, to punish male prisoners who 
consistently violated prison rules or regulations; the Department of 
Corrections maintained that the average confinement was approximately 
seven days. Authorities also used heavy leg irons to control prisoners 
who were deemed escape risks or possibly dangerous to other prisoners.
    More than 27 percent of the prison population consisted of pretrial 
detainees, who were not segregated from the general prison population, 
although those detained under the Emergency Decree in the southernmost 
provinces often were held in military camps or police stations rather 
than prisons. Men, women, and children rarely were held together in 
police station cells pending indictment. Separate detention facilities 
for juvenile offenders were available in all provinces. Conditions for 
women were typically better than for men, in large part because much of 
the maintenance and cleaning was managed and implemented by the 
prisoners themselves.
    Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees or 
their representatives to submit complaints without censorship to 
ombudsmen but not directly to judicial authorities. The Ministry of 
Justice, through its Department of Corrections, was responsible for 
investigating and monitoring prison and detention facility conditions, 
but authorities rarely investigated complaints and did not make public 
the results of such investigations.
    Recordkeeping was generally substandard, infrequent, and out of 
date, with prisoners tracked through letters and phone calls rather 
than a modern online data-sharing system. Authorities often gave 
nonviolent offenders, minors, and convicts with disabilities 
alternative penalties rather than imprisonment, such as probation, 
suspended sentences, fines, or restrictions on movement. Official 2009-
10 statistics showed fewer than 17 percent of convictions resulted in 
prison sentences served.
    Conditions in immigration detention centers (IDCs) remained poor. 
The Immigration Police Bureau, reporting to the RTP, administered the 
IDCs, which were not subject to many of the regulations that govern the 
regular prison system. Overcrowding and a lack of basic medical care 
continued to be serious problems. Juveniles above the age of 14 were 
detained with adults in IDCs. There also continued to be complaints of 
inadequate and culturally inappropriate food, especially by Muslim 
detainees. There were reports that detainees, including children, were 
not permitted sufficient exercise at some facilities. There were two 
unconfirmed reports that guards physically abused IDC detainees.
    The government permitted visits to prisons and IDCs by independent 
human rights observers, and International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC) representatives were allowed to meet prisoners without third 
parties present, made repeated visits, and also received access to all 
police facilities in the southernmost provinces. However, the military 
continued not to approve ICRC requests to visit prisoners detained in 
military detention facilities in the four southernmost provinces, where 
detainees allegedly were mistreated. For example, there had been no 
observer visits to the Inkayuth Military Camp, Pattani Province, since 
2008 (and there was unverified information that the camp's detention 
center was closed in November). Representatives of the Office of the 
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had access to some 
detainees at the Suvarnabhumi Airport IDC in Bangkok, but it varied on 
a case-by-case basis. UNHCR officials were able to interview detainees 
in Suan Phlu IDC, and access continued for third countries to process 
recognized refugees for resettlement.
    Ombudsmen may consider and investigate complaints and petitions 
received from prisoners and provide recommendations to the Department 
of Corrections. However, they are not empowered to act on a prisoner's 
behalf, nor may they involve themselves in a case unless an official 
complaint is received (see also section 5).
    Individuals who use drugs may be detained in compulsory 
rehabilitation centers (there were 86 such centers in 2010), and it was 
government policy to use these facilities to convert drug addicts into 
``decent citizens.'' The law requires no informed consent before drug 
users are sent to such centers, no individual clinical assessment of 
the severity of an individual's drug dependence, no due process, and no 
follow-up for those treated. Media reports catalogued abuses of addict 
detainees, including physical abuse, and the absence of some health 
services, such as medically assisted detoxification; HIV prevention, 
treatment, care, and support; and evidence-based drug dependence 
treatment. The individuals operating rehabilitation centers were 
generally military personnel with no medical background. Additionally, 
civil society groups operating harm-reduction projects faced barriers 
to delivering their services to drug users, and there were reports that 
law enforcement officers arrested and harassed outreach workers acting 
within this government-approved project.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution specifically 
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, although government forces 
occasionally arrested and detained persons arbitrarily. The Emergency 
Decree, which gives the government authority to detain persons without 
charge for up to 30 days in unofficial places of detention, remained in 
effect in the three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, and 
Narathiwat. The decree was in addition to martial law, which continued 
in 31 border-region and southernmost provinces and allows for detention 
without charge for a maximum of seven days.
    Emergency Decree provisions make it very difficult to challenge a 
detention before a court. Under the decree detainees should have legal 
access to counsel, but in practice there was no assurance of prompt 
access to legal counsel or family members, nor were there transparent 
safeguards against the mistreatment of detainees. Additionally, the 
decree effectively provides broad-based immunity from criminal, civil, 
and disciplinary liability for officials acting under its provisions.
    On August 16, the Udon Thani Court granted bail of one million baht 
(approximately $33,000) each to 22 detained protesters from the United 
Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD or ``Red Shirts'' ) 
charged with rioting and arson in Udon Thani Province when authorities 
violently dispersed the Bangkok protest in May 2010. Lawyers affiliated 
with the UDD movement continued to pursue bail for the remaining red-
shirt detainees jailed in Bangkok, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, 
Mukdahan, Chiang Rai, and Chiang Mai provinces. At year's end 41 of the 
original 422 remained in detention pending investigation or trial, and 
10 had been sentenced and were imprisoned.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The RTP has the 
authority to minimize threats to internal security and suppress 
criminal activity. It is under the direct supervision of the prime 
minister and a 20-member police commission. The police commissioner 
general is appointed by the prime minister subject to cabinet and royal 
approval. The Border Patrol Police has special authority and 
responsibility in border areas to combat insurgent or separatist 
movements.
    The Internal Security Act (ISA) created the Internal Security 
Operations Command (ISOC) as a state agency under the command of the 
prime minster, who acts as ISOC director. The ISOC is considered an 
interagency monitoring body, with both civilian and military 
representation. The ISA also authorizes broad powers for the military. 
On January 17, as an exception, the government maintained the ISA in 
Mae Lan District, Pattani Province, without using the Emergency Decree 
or martial law, as a pilot project to study the effectiveness of the 
ISA alone in maintaining security and decreasing violence in the South. 
The experiment resulted in a similar or reduced incidence of violence 
in the district, which is small and historically has had a low 
incidence of violence compared with the region. An additional four 
districts in Songkhla Province were under both the ISA and Emergency 
Decree. The Emergency Decree provides the government greater powers 
than the ISA and therefore takes precedence. The ISA was lifted in 
Bangkok on May 24. Human rights organizations and academics criticized 
the government for using the ISA to respond to alleged threats to 
national security by restricting fundamental rights.
    There were reports that police abused prisoners and detainees, 
generally with impunity. Complaints of police abuse may be filed 
directly with the superior of the accused police officer, the Office of 
the Inspector General, or the police commissioner general. The NHRC, 
Lawyers' Council of Thailand (LCT), NCCC, Supreme Court of Justice, 
Justice Ministry, and Office of the Prime Minister also accept 
complaints of police abuse and corruption, as does the Office of the 
Ombudsman. The NHRC received 84 complaints of police abuse during the 
year.
    When police receive a complaint, an internal investigation 
committee first takes up the matter and may temporarily suspend the 
officer involved in the complaint during the investigation. Various 
administrative penalties exist, and serious cases can be referred to a 
criminal court.
    At year's end the joint NCCC-Office of the Attorney General (OAG) 
committee investigation into the April 2009 attempted killing of 
People's Alliance for Democracy leader Sondhi Limthongkul continued, 
and the police officer and two soldiers for whom arrest warrants were 
issued remained free.
    Procedures for investigating suspicious deaths, including deaths 
occurring in police custody, require that a prosecutor, forensic 
pathologist, and local administrator participate in the investigation 
and that, in most cases, family members have legal representation at 
the inquests. However, these procedures continued not to be followed 
much of the time. Families rarely took advantage of a provision in the 
law that allows them to bring personal lawsuits against police officers 
for criminal action during arrests.
    Under a cabinet mandate, the Ministry of Defense requires that 
service members receive human rights training. Routine training 
occurred at various levels, including for officers, noncommissioned 
officers, enlisted personnel, and recruits. Additionally, military 
service members deploying in support of counterinsurgency operations in 
the South also received specific human rights training, including 
training for detailed, situation-specific contingencies.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--With few 
exceptions the law requires police to obtain a warrant from a judge 
prior to making an arrest. In practice the system for issuing arrest 
warrants was subject to misuse by police and a tendency by the courts 
automatically to approve all requests for warrants. By law persons must 
be informed of likely charges against them immediately after arrest and 
allowed to inform someone of their arrest. The law provides for access 
to counsel for criminal detainees; however, lawyers and human rights 
groups claimed that police often conducted interrogations without 
providing access to an attorney. In the southern provinces, lawyers 
reported that under the Emergency Decree they were denied adequate 
access to detained clients, and some individuals reported they were 
denied permission to visit detained family members. Foreign detainees 
sometimes were pressured to sign confessions without the benefit of a 
competent interpreter/translator. The Justice Ministry and OAG were 
authorized to provide an attorney to indigent detainees at public 
expense, but there was no definitive data available as to the extent of 
provision.
    Under normal conditions the law allows police to detain criminal 
suspects for 48 hours after arrest for investigation. Court permission 
is required to extend detentions for additional periods (up to 84 days 
for the most serious offenses) to conduct investigations. Lawyers 
reported that police rarely brought cases to court within the 48-hour 
period. Laws and regulations place offenses for which the maximum 
penalty is less than three years under the jurisdiction of the district 
courts, which have different procedures. In these cases police are 
required to submit cases to public prosecutors within 72 hours of 
arrest. According to the LCT, pretrial detention of criminal suspects 
for up to 60 days was not uncommon.
    The law provides defendants the right to request bail, and the 
government generally respected this right. However, some human rights 
groups reported that police frequently either did not inform detained 
suspects of their right to request bail or refused to recommend bail 
after a request was submitted, particularly in drug arrests and cases 
involving violence in the southernmost provinces.
    Under martial law the military has the authority to detain persons 
without charge for a maximum of seven days, and under the Emergency 
Decree, a person may be detained for up to 30 days without charge.
    In February a public prosecutor dismissed criminal charges against 
Suthachai Yimprasert, assistant professor of history at Chulalongkorn 
University, who was arrested in May 2010 under the Emergency Decree for 
distributing leaflets critical of the government and detained without 
charge at a military camp in Saraburi Province for two weeks.
    In January a public prosecutor dismissed charges against Amornwan 
Charoenkij, whom police had arrested in October 2010 under the 
Emergency Decree for selling flip-flop shoes printed with the faces of 
the prime minister and deputy prime minister (along with a statement 
authorities deemed to be criticism of the two) and released on bail.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary. Although the judiciary generally was regarded as 
independent, it was subject to corruption and outside influences. 
According to human rights groups, the lack of progress in several high-
profile cases involving alleged police and military abuse diminished 
the public's trust in the justice system and discouraged some victims 
of human rights abuses (or their families) from seeking justice.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of 
innocence. There is no trial by jury. A single judge decides trials for 
misdemeanors; two or more judges are required for more serious cases. 
The constitution provides for a prompt trial, although a large backlog 
of cases remained in the court system. While most trials are public, 
the court may order a closed trial, particularly in cases involving 
national security, the royal family, children, or sexual abuse.
    In ordinary criminal courts, defendants enjoy a broad range of 
legal rights, including access to a lawyer of their choosing; however, 
indigent defendants are not automatically provided with counsel at 
public expense. The LCT budget was reduced by more than 12 percent from 
2010, following a 15 percent decrease from 2009. Legal aid often was 
provided on an intermittent, voluntary, public-service basis and was of 
low standard. Some NGOs reported that legal aid lawyers pressured their 
clients into paying additional fees directly to them, but the LCT's 
Lawyer Etiquette Division explained that clients must pay expenses, 
such as travel, incurred by their attorney. The court is required to 
appoint an attorney in cases where the defendant disputes the charges, 
is indigent, or is a minor, as well as in cases where the possible 
punishment is more than five years' imprisonment or death. Most free 
legal aid came from private groups, including the LCT and the Thai 
Women Lawyers Association. There is no discovery process; consequently, 
lawyers and defendants do not have access to evidence prior to trial. 
The law provides for access to courts or administrative bodies to 
appeal or seek redress, and the government generally respected this 
right.
    Several NGOs continued to express concern over the lack of adequate 
protection for witnesses, particularly in cases involving alleged 
police wrongdoing. The Justice Ministry Office of Witness Protection 
had limited resources and primarily played a coordinating role. In most 
cases witness protection was provided by the police, but six other 
state agencies also participated in the program. Witnesses, lawyers, 
and activists involved in cases of alleged police abuse reported that 
protection was inadequate and that they were intimidated by the police 
sent to provide protection.

    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. The law provides for access 
to courts and administrative bodies to bring lawsuits seeking damages 
for, or cessation of, a human rights violation, and the government 
generally respected this right. However, Sections 16 and 17 of the 
Emergency Decree, in force in three provinces, expressly exclude 
scrutiny by the Administrative Courts or civil or criminal proceedings 
against government officials, although victims may seek compensation 
from a government agency instead.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution specifically prohibits such actions, 
and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. 
However, martial law and the Emergency Decree give government security 
forces authority to conduct warrantless searches, and this authority 
was used in the southernmost provinces and border areas. There were 
complaints during the year from persons claiming that security forces 
abused this authority, but the decree provides security forces broad 
immunity from prosecution.
    Security services monitored persons, including foreign visitors, 
who espoused extremist or highly controversial views.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The internal conflict in the ethnic Malay, Muslim-majority, 
southernmost provinces (Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, and portions of 
Songkhla) continued throughout the year. As a result of frequent 
bombings and other attacks by suspected insurgents and as a result of 
government security operations, tension between the local ethnic Malay 
Muslim and ethnic Thai Buddhist communities remained high, alongside a 
distrust of security officials. The Emergency Decree in effect in this 
southern area gives military, police, and civilian authorities 
significant powers to restrict certain basic rights and delegates 
certain internal security powers to the armed forces. The decree also 
provides security forces broad immunity from prosecution. Moreover, 
martial law imposed in 2006 remained in effect in Narathiwat, Pattani, 
and Yala provinces, giving a wide range of powers to security forces. 
(See also section 1.d., Role of the Police and Security Apparatus, 
concerning a pilot project of maintaining only the ISA without the 
Emergency Decree or martial law in one district.)

    Killings.--Human rights groups accused government forces of 
extrajudicial killings of individuals suspected of involvement with 
separatists. For example, NGOs reported that on February 11 and 26, RTA 
task forces assigned to the southernmost region shot and killed five 
suspected insurgents while investigating a January 19 weapons theft in 
which four soldiers were killed.
    According to statistics from the NGO Deep South Watch, separatist 
violence throughout the year resulted in 489 individuals killed and 
1,044 injured in 905 incidents, similar to 2010 figures. As in previous 
years, separatists frequently targeted government representatives, 
including teachers and district and municipal officials as well as 
military personnel in bombings, shootings, and kidnappings. Separatists 
also killed and injured both Buddhist and Muslim civilians from many 
walks of life.
    Some government-backed civilian defense volunteers, most of them 
ethnic Thai Buddhists from villages in the South, continued to receive 
basic training and weapons from security forces. Human rights 
organizations expressed concerns about vigilantism against ethnic Malay 
Muslims by these defense volunteers and other civilians.

    Abductions.--There were no confirmed reports that individuals 
disappeared after being questioned by security officials in the 
southern provinces. However, reputable NGOs reported the possible 
forced disappearances of two men (Ibbroheng Kahong and Dunhami Marae) 
who had been missing since April when they requested the return of 
their boat, which the Border Patrol Police (Neresuan Camp) in Amphoe 
Bannang Sata, Yala Province, had seized. Police told the missing men's 
relatives they had not seen the two men.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--The government continued 
to arrest suspected militants, some of them juveniles, and in some 
cases held them for a month or more under Emergency Decree and martial 
law provisions. Human rights organizations considered the arrests 
arbitrary, excessive, and needlessly lengthy, and they expressed 
concerns about detention facility overcrowding. Civil society groups 
accused the army of torturing some suspected militants at detention 
facilities.
    Martial law allows for detention without charge up to seven days 
without court or government agency approval in the provinces of 
Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala. The Emergency Decree, in effect in the 
same areas, allows authorities to arrest and detain suspects for up to 
30 days without charge. After the expiration of this period, 
authorities may begin holding suspects under normal criminal law. 
Unlike under martial law, these latter detentions require the consent 
of a court, although human rights NGOs complained that courts did not 
always exercise their right to review these detentions. In some cases a 
suspect was in fact held first under martial law for seven days and 
then detained for an additional 30 days under the decree. The Southern 
Border Province Police Command stated that its personnel arrested 143 
persons under the decree during the year. It was unclear whether anyone 
was detained under martial law alone.

    Child Soldiers.--Regulations prohibit formal recruitment of 
children under age 18 to serve as Territorial Defense Volunteers, and 
in practice volunteers generally joined at age 20 or older, but there 
was anecdotal information that a small number of children were involved 
informally in such groups. There were no reports of youth under age 18 
conscripted or recruited into governmental armed forces. Regarding 
separatist groups, however, there were reports of recruitment of 
children under age 18 to carry out attacks.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Other Conflict-related Abuses.--Human rights organizations alleged 
that the military mailed official letters to village headmen or local 
district officers in the four southernmost provinces, inviting them to 
nominate a specific number of ``voluntary villagers'' to attend a 
workshop. Credible sources claimed that villagers who attended these 
training sessions were, in the past, subjected to interrogations and 
collection of biometric data (fingerprints, DNA samples, and 
photographs), but this practice has become less common and may have 
completely ended. Nonetheless, the military continued to use written 
and verbal demands to require attendance at these events.
    During the year insurgents burned two schools in the southernmost 
provinces. The Ministry of Education reported that since 2004, 
insurgents had burned more than 330 schools in the South, 40 of them 
more than once. The government frequently armed ethnic Thai Buddhist 
and ethnic Malay Muslim civilians, fortified schools and temples, and 
provided military escorts to monks and teachers. In some cases the 
military has used schools as barracks. According to the ministry, 187 
teachers, students, and education staff were killed and 307 others 
injured due to separatist violence since 2004. During the year 13 
students were injured and five were killed and 20 school personnel were 
injured and 13 were killed due to separatist violence--all increases 
from 2010. Separatist violence included attacks on medical facilities. 
According to the Ministry of Public Health, 86 public health volunteers 
had been killed, 58 health volunteers injured, and 25 community health 
centers burned or bombed in the South since 2004. According to the NGO 
Deep South Watch, separatists killed one public health official, 
compared with two public health officials killed and two injured in 
attacks on three facilities in 2010.
    While official statistics were not available, there were reports--
such as the November 15 report of the NGO Internal Displacement 
Monitoring Center--that more than 30 percent of Thai Buddhists and 10 
percent of ethnic Malay Muslims have fled violence-affected areas in 
the South to other provinces since 2004 (see section 2.d.). In August a 
member of the Southern Border Provinces Administration and Development 
Advisory Council stated to the media that almost all Buddhists had left 
remote rural areas and that approximately 60,000 of the original 
200,000 Buddhists remained in urban areas of the southernmost 
provinces, but this data was unverified.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution and law specifically provide for freedom of 
speech and press with some exceptions, although the government used 
Emergency Decree authority to limit these rights during the year in 
southern provinces. The government continued to monitor television and 
radio broadcasters and exert pressure on broadcast media to cooperate 
in disseminating constructive and ``balanced'' news. Nevertheless, the 
media and civil society vocally criticized government authorities 
throughout the year. Print, broadcast, and online media covered news 
critical of the government and its senior-level officials and carried 
interviews with opposition figures.
    The international and independent media operated freely, except in 
coverage of matters deemed a threat to national security or offensive 
to the monarchy. By law the government may restrict freedom of 
expression to preserve national security, maintain public order, 
preserve the rights of others, protect public morals, and prevent 
insults to Buddhism. The law also allows police under a court order to 
restrict or confiscate publications and other materials for disturbing 
the peace, interfering with public safety, or offending public morals.

    Freedom of Speech.--Criminal Code Article 112, the so-called lese-
majeste law, makes it a crime--punishable by up to 15 years' 
imprisonment for each offense--to criticize, insult, or threaten the 
king, queen, royal heir apparent, or regent. The law also allows 
citizens to initiate lese-majeste complaints against each other, and 
there were several cases in which private citizens did so. Trials may 
be conducted in secret, and the content of the alleged offenses may be 
prohibited from public disclosure; human rights organizations and 
academics expressed concern over the chilling effect these factors may 
have on freedom of expression. On December 9, the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Human Rights in Thailand expressed concern about 
continuing lese-majeste trials and the harshness of resulting 
sentences.
    Significantly increased prosecutions for lese-majeste offenses 
started in 2006 and continued through 2011. Official statistics varied 
by agency, but in the decade before 2006, there were approximately five 
new lese-majeste charges on average annually, compared with 478 new 
charges involving Article 112 in 2010 that the Office of the Judiciary 
reported. In 2011 through October, the Office of the Judiciary reported 
85 new charges. The overall conviction rate remained nearly 100 
percent.
    On April 30, authorities arrested publisher and labor organizer 
Somyot Phruksakasemsuk on lese-majeste charges based on two articles 
published in Voice of Thaksin magazine in 2010. The court denied bail, 
and his trial began on November 21 and continued at year's end.
    On December 8, a court sentenced dual national Joe Gordon (also 
known as Lerpong Wichaikhammat) to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment 
for lese-majeste offenses. Authorities had arrested Gordon in May for 
involvement, while living in a foreign country, with a Web site that 
linked to the digital, translated version of a banned biography of the 
Thai monarch entitled, The King Never Smiles, and he had pleaded 
guilty.
    On July 24, the Constitutional Court ruled that the secret trial 
which had convicted political activist Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul 
(also known as ``Da Torpedo'' ) on three counts of lese majeste--
resulting in an 18-year prison sentence in 2009--was not 
unconstitutional and the original conviction should stand. On December 
15, the Criminal Court resentenced her to 15 years in prison, and she 
stated she would not appeal.

    Freedom of Press.--Government entities owned and controlled all 
radio and broadcast television stations, including the 524 officially 
registered ``regular'' AM and FM stations. The armed forces and police 
owned another 244 radio stations, ostensibly for national security 
purposes. Other owners of national broadcast media included the 
government's Public Relations Department and the Mass Communication 
Organization of Thailand, a former state enterprise of which the 
government owned a majority share. Nearly all stations were leased to 
commercial companies.
    The law provides for the regulation of radio and television 
frequencies and three categories of broadcast licenses (public service, 
community service, and commercial). The National Broadcasting and 
Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) allocates broadcast frequencies 
and regulates broadcast media. Radio stations must renew their licenses 
every seven years. Radio signals are broadcast via government 
transmitters. Stations are required by law to broadcast 30-minute, 
government-produced newscasts twice daily and to register with the 
NBTC.
    On April 28, the police commissioner announced that police had 
raided 13 community radio stations in Bangkok as well as northern and 
northeastern provinces on April 26 for illegal possession of 
transmission equipment and illegal broadcasting. On July 5, police and 
NBTC officials raided six community radio stations in Nakhon Ratchasima 
Province.

    Violence and Harassment.--A few journalists were subjected to 
physical attacks due to their reporting. For example, on June 26, two 
gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed Sawai Chimphli, a public school 
teacher and owner of a community radio station in Ubon Ratchathani 
Province, while he was on the air. The motive remained unknown at 
year's end.
    In August red-shirt supporters accused Somjit Nawakruasurithorn, a 
television reporter, of asking the prime minister aggressive questions, 
protesting her actions, and calling for her dismissal. Three media 
groups (the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, the News 
Broadcasting Council of Thailand, and the Thai Journalists Association) 
called for an end to intimidation that they stated was designed to gag 
the press and suppress dissent.
    The killings of two foreign journalists, who died while covering 
antigovernment protests in Bangkok in April and May 2010, remained 
under investigation by the Department of Special Investigations (see 
section 1.a.).
    On August 18, the Nakhon Pathom Province Court convicted six 
defendants of involvement in the July 2010 killing of Kongpop Sawasdi, 
a reporter for the Thai Rath newspaper in Nakhon Pathom who also owned 
the local newspaper, Pathom Post, and had written about a corruption 
case involving a local politician. The court sentenced Chanin 
Leepaiboon, a former Nakhon Pathom Administration Organization member 
who ordered the killing, and Apirak Timpitak, the gunman, to death and 
imposed prison terms of 20-50 years for four accomplices (Wien 
Nitcharoen, Prathip Yotkaew, Naret Saenthet, and Kamphon Misin). At 
year's end their appeals were pending. Authorities gave a seventh 
suspect, Prasan Phantei, immunity in exchange for his testimony against 
the others.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--By invoking the Emergency 
Decree in the three southernmost provinces, the government may restrict 
print and broadcast media, online news, and social media networks 
there. The decree empowers the government ``to prohibit publication and 
distribution of news and information that may cause the people to panic 
or with an intention to distort information.'' It also authorizes the 
government to censor news considered a threat to national security.
    Journalists generally were free to comment on government activities 
and institutions without fear of official reprisal. Nonetheless, they 
occasionally practiced self-censorship, particularly with regard to the 
monarchy and national security. Broadcast media were subject to 
government censorship, both directly and indirectly, and self-
censorship was evident. Nevertheless, broadcast media reported 
criticism of the government.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--Defamation is a criminal offense, 
punishable by a fine of up to 200,000 baht (approximately $6,700) and 
two years' imprisonment. During the year criminal courts made several 
rulings on defamation and libel cases against political activists and 
politicians.
    At year's end the appeal continued in the case of People's Alliance 
for Democracy leader Sondhi Limthongkul: A court released him on bail 
following his conviction in 2009 of defamation for statements 
criticizing a former deputy prime minister during a 2007 television 
program. He had been sentenced to two years in prison without 
probation.

    Internet Freedom.--The government imposed some restrictions on 
access to the Internet and reportedly monitored Internet chat rooms and 
social media. Individuals and groups generally could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, 
although there were several content limitations, such as lese majeste, 
pornography, and gambling.
    The law establishes procedures for the search and seizure of 
computers and computer data in certain criminal investigations and 
gives the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology 
authority to request and enforce the suspension of information 
disseminated via computer. A maximum five-year prison sentence and a 
100,000 baht (approximately $3,300) fine may be imposed for posting 
false content on the Internet that undermines public security, causes 
public panic, or hurts others. A maximum 20-year sentence and 300,000 
baht ($10,000) fine may be imposed if an offense results in the death 
of an individual. The law also obliges Internet service providers to 
preserve all user records for 90 days in case officials wish to access 
them. Any service provider who gives consent to or intentionally 
supports the publishing of illegal content is also liable to 
punishment. Most prosecutions continued to be for content-related 
offenses. By law a court order is required to ban a Web site, although 
this requirement was not always applied in practice. Media activists 
criticized the law, stating that the offenses were defined too broadly 
and some penalties were too harsh.
    Additionally, the government used provisions of the Emergency 
Decree to block thousands of Web sites and specific URLs without being 
required to obtain a court order. Web site operators whose sites are 
blocked under the decree are given no warning, and there is no appeals 
process. Despite the lifting of the decree in December 2010, Web sites 
blocked under such provisions remained inaccessible, including popular 
Internet freedom advocacy blogs such as ``Freedom Against Censorship 
Thailand'' and ``Thai Political Prisoners.''
    There was continued Internet censorship, and use of the law 
continued to stifle certain areas of freedom of expression. The 
government closely monitored and blocked thousands of Web sites that 
criticized the monarchy. Many political Web boards and discussion 
forums chose to self-censor and monitor discussions closely to avoid 
being blocked, and newspapers disabled or restricted access to their 
public comment sections to minimize exposure to possible lese majeste 
charges.
    On November 24, the Minister of Information and Communications 
Technology stated that authorities had asked Facebook to remove 26,000 
URLs of user accounts in August and September and 60,000 in October and 
November with content deemed offensive to the monarchy. The ministry 
also stated that those who spread such online content--``either 
directly or indirectly''--by ``liking,'' ``sharing,'' or posting 
comments on social networking sites could be prosecuted under the 
Computer Crime Act and lese-majeste laws.
    On December 1, the ministry introduced the Cyber Security Operation 
Center, an office dedicated to monitoring the Internet for ``content 
deemed harmful to the people of Thailand, especially lese-majeste 
content.'' The new center was an expansion of the Internet Security 
Operation Center and designed to focus more on monitoring social 
networking sites.
    The RTP Electronic Crime Suppression Division reported receiving 
776 computer-related complaints during the year that resulted in 442 
investigations--a complaint rate markedly greater than the 47 in 2009 
or 285 in 2010. Most cases involved alleged defamation, lese majeste, 
and illegal activity such as gambling and pornography.
    On September 2, authorities arrested Suraphak Phuchaisaeng, a 
freelance computer programmer from Nongkhai Province, for allegedly 
creating an antimonarchy Facebook page--the first known arrest for lese 
majeste under the new Puea Thai-led government--and charged him on 
November 25 without setting bail.
    On March 15, the Criminal Court sentenced Thanthawut 
Thaweewarodomkul (also known by his online name, Red Eagle), whom 
authorities had arrested in April 2010, to 13 years' imprisonment for 
his role as webmaster of a UDD Web site.
    On November 23, Amphon Tangnopphakhun, age 61, received a 20-year 
prison sentence--reportedly the lengthiest such sentence ever--for 
sending four Short Message Service text messages that included lese-
majeste content to the private secretary of former prime minister 
Abhisit Vejjajiva in May 2010. He was arrested in August 2010.
    The trial in the first of two lese-majeste prosecutions of 
Chiranuch Premchaiporn, executive director of Prachatai, an independent 
online newspaper, began in February and continued at year's end. Her 
conviction could result in 20 years' imprisonment, because unrelated 
third parties--one of whom had similar charges dismissed on January 
31--posted comments on Prachatai.com that authorities deemed offensive 
to the monarchy, and the comments allegedly were not removed quickly 
enough. The case could set a precedent for intermediary liability under 
the law.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted 
academic discussions of the monarchy. For example, on May 11, after RTA 
officers filed a complaint, Thammasat University professor and noted 
historian Somsak Jiamthirasakul voluntarily appeared at a police 
station to be charged with lese majeste for discussing the future of 
the monarchy. Police did not arrest him, and his case remained pending 
at year's end.
    Cultural events may be censored, usually for reasons of public 
decency. By law the state is authorized to ban the release of movies 
that ``offend the monarchy, threaten national security, hamper national 
unity, insult faiths, disrespect honorable figures, challenge morals, 
or contain explicit sex scenes.'' The law stipulates that all films to 
be screened, rented, exchanged, or sold in the country must be screened 
and approved by the Film and Video Classification Committee. For 
example, in May the Ministry of Culture and the Administrative Court 
upheld the 2010 ban on the film, Insects in the Backyard, which told 
the story of a transgender single father and featured scenes with child 
prostitutes and same-sex sexual activity. Additionally, theater owners 
and broadcasters frequently removed content before submitting films to 
the board.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--There were no 
developments related to the visit requested by the U.N. special 
rapporteur on freedom of association and assembly on September 6.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
assembly, and the government respected this right with some exceptions. 
Martial law, which gives the military authority to restrict freedom of 
assembly, remained in effect in 31 border region and southern 
provinces. The Emergency Decree, in effect in three of the southernmost 
provinces, also provides authority to limit freedom of assembly.
    The provinces of Surat Thani, Phuket, and Phang Nga have their own 
regulations that prohibit migrant workers--specifically individuals 
from Cambodia, Burma, and Laos--from forming gatherings, while Samut 
Sakhon Province prohibits gatherings of more than five persons. These 
provisions continued not to be enforced strictly. Employers and NGOs 
may request permission from authorities for migrant workers to hold 
cultural gatherings and were often not required to do so if the 
gatherings were on private property.
    Authorities did not restrict the UDD, which organized the April-May 
2010 political protests, from holding gatherings or protests throughout 
the year, although the Department of Special Investigations, Truth for 
Reconciliation Commission (see section 5), RTP, NHRC, and RTA continued 
to investigate those events. These investigations focused on the deaths 
of UDD demonstrators during the government's response as well as 
terrorism, lese majeste, arson, robbery, and other charges against UDD 
members and demonstrators. At year's end up to three dozen of the cases 
had resulted in convictions, 10 of which remained in force after the 
December royal proclamation (see section 1.d., Amnesty).

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution specifically provides for 
freedom of association, although exceptions are made ``to protect 
public interests, to maintain public peace and order or good morals, or 
to prevent economic monopoly.''
    The law prohibits the registration of a political party with the 
same name or emblem as that of a legally dissolved party.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation. The government generally respected these rights in 
practice, with some exceptions for ``maintaining the security of the 
state, public peace and order or public welfare, town and country 
planning, or youth welfare.'' The government usually cooperated with 
the Office of the UNHCR and humanitarian organizations in providing 
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern, although with restrictions. Cooperation with the 
UNHCR to protect certain groups remained uneven, which limited the 
UNHCR's ability to provide its protection to all nationalities. 
Refugees and asylum seekers outside of designated border camps 
continued to be treated as illegal migrants, subject to arrest and 
detention. During the year the government regularized the process of 
bail for detained refugees and asylum seekers and, on May 30, released 
96 detainees.

    In-country Movement.--The government restricted the free movement 
of members of hill tribes and other minority groups who were not 
citizens but held government-issued identity cards. The holders of such 
cards are prohibited from traveling outside their home districts 
without prior permission from the district office or outside their home 
provinces without permission from the provincial governor. Offenders 
are subject to fines or a jail term of 45-60 days. Persons without 
cards may not travel at all. Human rights organizations reported that 
police at inland checkpoints often asked for bribes in exchange for 
allowing stateless persons to move from one district to another.
    Refugees residing in the nine camps on the border with Burma were 
not allowed freedom of movement and were by law confined to refugee 
camps. A refugee apprehended outside one of the official camps is 
subject to fines, detention, deregistration, and deportation.
    Migrant workers who have undergone nationality verification and 
have passports are free to travel throughout the country. Those only 
holding work permits are restricted from traveling outside the province 
where they work without permission.
    Other long-time noncitizen residents, including thousands of ethnic 
Shan and other non-hill tribe minorities, are required to seek 
permission from local authorities for domestic travel.

    Foreign Travel.--Other long-time noncitizen residents, including 
thousands of ethnic Shan and other non-hill tribe minorities, are also 
required to seek permission from local authorities for foreign travel.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Unprecedented flooding in 
late 2011 caused the closure of an estimated 18,000 businesses and the 
displacement of approximately 650,000 workers in 19 provinces. The 
government established shelters in temples, universities, and stadiums 
for flood-affected victims countrywide and provided accommodation, 
food, and medical services.
    The government provided some flood relief to migrant laborers from 
Burma, Cambodia, and Laos and did not deny relief to individuals based 
on status. Relief agencies provided information on accessing relief, 
although the lack of interpreters hindered efforts. The government 
announced it would not deport flood-affected migrants found outside 
their permit zone. Nevertheless, immigration officials in the Mae Sot 
area reportedly arrested and deported migrants lacking passports. In 
addition, some migrants reportedly turned themselves in and sought 
assistance in returning to their home countries. Many workers from 
Burma chose to return home: Officials estimated 50,000-100,000 returned 
via Mae Sot, Tak Province. NGOs reported that officials on both sides 
of the border at Mae Sot demanded bribes from migrants. Additionally, 
the media reported inadequate support overall for migrant flood victims 
in the border regions.
    Official figures were unavailable, but several sources noted the 
departure of significant numbers of residents from the violence-
affected southernmost provinces (see also section 1.g., Other Conflict-
related Abuses). Official registration data indicated small net losses 
in population between 2004 and 2010 in Yala and Pattani provinces, but 
a small net gain in Narathiwat Province.

    Protection of Refugees.--Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. 
Nevertheless, authorities continued to host significant numbers of 
refugees, provide some protection against their expulsion or return, 
and allow persons fleeing fighting in neighboring countries to cross 
the border and remain until fighting ceased. In addition, non-Burmese 
refugees recognized by the UNHCR and registered Burmese refugees 
residing in official refugee camps were permitted to resettle in third 
countries.

    Access to Asylum.--The law does not provide for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status. Asylum seekers and non-Burmese refugees who 
reside outside official refugee camps are by law considered illegal 
migrants. If arrested, they are subject to indefinite detention at IDCs 
in Bangkok and other provinces (see section 1.c.).
    The results of the pilot screening of Burmese asylum seekers by 
government-instituted Provincial Admissions Boards (PABs) remained 
under review by the government, and expansion of the screening process 
to the remaining five camps did not occur by year's end. An estimated 
60,000 Burmese have not registered due to the operationally defunct 
status of the general PABs.
    The UNHCR was limited in its ability to provide its protection 
mandate to some Lao Hmong and Burmese outside the official camps as 
well as to all North Koreans. It continued to have access to asylum 
seekers in the main IDC in Bangkok and at Suvarnabhumi International 
Airport to conduct status interviews and monitor new arrivals. 
Resettlement countries were allowed to conduct processing activities in 
the IDC, and NGOs were able to provide health care, nutritional 
support, and other humanitarian assistance.
    In August the media reported that authorities had arrested a 
Chinese Uighur male on immigration charges and immediately turned him 
over to Chinese authorities. The UNHCR was unable to interview the 
individual to determine if he was seeking asylum before his 
deportation.
    The government continued to allow the UNHCR to monitor the 
protection situation of the more than 144,000 Burmese refugees and 
asylum seekers living in the nine camps along the Burmese border but 
prohibited the UNHCR from having an assistance role in the camps. NGOs, 
funded by the international community, provided basic humanitarian 
assistance in the camps, including food, education, shelter, water, 
sanitation, housing, and other services. Government authorities issued 
identification cards to registered refugees living in the camps. 
Outside the camps, government officials did not distinguish between 
asylum-seeking Burmese and other undocumented Burmese migrants, 
regarding all as illegal migrants. Generally, authorities took those 
arrested to the border and deported them.
    The government continued to facilitate third-country resettlement 
of camp refugees, and during the year resettled 9,262 Burmese from 
camps to other countries. Refugees residing in the nine camps along the 
border who were not registered with the government were not eligible 
for third-country resettlement. When registered refugees resettle, 
hundreds of unregistered family members have been left behind without 
reunification prospects. In addition, beneficiaries of foreign-
government-approved refugee and asylee family-reunification visas were 
not permitted to depart Thailand. Although the government agreed in 
principle to register family members through special PABs, by year's 
end no special PABs had been initiated.

    Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion, and during the year thousands of asylum seekers 
entered the country and its refugee camps. However, NGOs estimated that 
army border units returned thousands of Burmese asylum seekers--mostly 
those seeking refuge from border skirmishes--to Burma before they could 
reach established refugee camps.
    Beginning November 2010 through early 2011, more than 30,000 ethnic 
Karen and other Burmese entered the country at the town of Mae Sot, 
Phop Phra District, Tha Son Yang, and Three Pagodas Pass to flee 
fighting between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, often aligned with 
other ethnic armies, and the Burmese army. While active fighting was 
underway, fleeing populations generally were permitted to remain in the 
country at designated sites outside the official camps. The UNHCR, 
NGOs, and community-based organizations provided food, water, shelter, 
health, and sanitation services to most populations. When the fighting 
ceased, the RTA facilitated the return of the displaced Burmese to 
Burma with the promise that they could cross again if fighting resumed. 
Some NGOs reported coerced or forced returns by the RTA before 
conditions were safe. At the beginning of the year, approximately 6,000 
of these Burmese remained in Thailand. In the spring a few communities 
consisting of several hundred Burmese lived in hiding with relatives on 
the Thai side of the border. NGOs reported that fighting in various 
locations on the Burmese side of the border continued until midyear.
    In January the Royal Thai Navy reportedly intercepted three boats 
carrying Rohingya (a stateless, predominantly Muslim group residing in 
western Burma) passengers. Thai authorities took the first boat with 91 
passengers into custody and, according to the passengers, towed the 
boat out to sea and set them adrift. On February 6, Indian authorities 
rescued them off the Nicobar Islands. A number of the passengers 
reportedly required hospitalization for dehydration and exposure. Thai 
authorities placed the 135 passengers of the other two boats, of whom 
14 were minors, in immigration custody. The national welfare agency 
took nine of these minors into custody and held them in a shelter while 
contacting their parents; the other passengers were held in southern 
Thailand IDCs, and the UNHCR and NGOs had access to them. From 
September to December, authorities reportedly encountered another five 
to seven boats at sea, provided humanitarian assistance, and allowed 
them to continue on. Additionally, authorities reportedly seized other 
boats carrying 221 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants on or near Thai 
territory, arrested the migrants, took them to the border with Burma, 
and released them.
    Authorities continued to detain 44 Rohingya individuals from the 
interception of boats in 2009. During 2011 three detainees from the 
2009 group reportedly died in custody, including two minors. The UNHCR 
and NGOs had access to detainees from previous years. During the year 
authorities released all detained Rohingya at the border with Burma, 
and at year's end there were no reports of Rohingya detained anywhere 
in Thailand.
    On December 17, the government deported Kha Yang, a Lao Hmong, 
through an informal mechanism to Laos, where he was in custody at 
year's end. Authorities had forcibly returned him to Laos in 2009 as 
part of a group of 158 UNHCR-recognized Hmong refugees, and he had 
subsequently returned to Thailand.
    Immigration Police continued to arrest and detain asylum seekers 
and refugees in Bangkok, including women and children. Ninety-six were 
known to be in detention at year's end, primarily from Sri Lanka and 
Vietnam. Bail agreements in 2011 between the Immigration Police and 
several registered Thai NGOs resulted in the first-time release of 
significant numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from indefinite 
detention upon receipt of bail. By year's end authorities had released 
157 refugees and four asylum seekers.

    Refugee Abuse.--On September 28, Yang Chao, one of a group of Lao 
Hmong returnees being irregularly repatriated to Laos near Nong Khai, 
Thailand, drowned in the Mekong River. Although unsubstantiated, 
foreign-based elements of the Hmong diaspora alleged that Thai 
authorities had beaten him, and there was no known investigation.

    Employment.--The law prohibits refugees from working in the 
country. Burmese refugees in the official camps are prohibited from 
working outside the camps.
    The government allowed undocumented migrant workers from 
neighboring Burma, Cambodia, and Laos to work legally in certain 
economic sectors if they registered with authorities and began a 
process to document their status (see section 7.d.).

    Access to Basic Services.--The international community provided 
basic services for refugees living inside closed camps.
    A complicated medical referral system hampered the ability of 
refugees to seek some necessary medical services. On October 3, the NGO 
Doctors Without Borders--which provided basic medical services to 
thousands of undocumented migrants and vulnerable populations outside 
refugee camps--announced its withdrawal from Thailand after 36 years of 
operation, because of alleged government interference and the NGO's 
inability to obtain permission to continue providing health care 
services.
    Refugee children generally did not have access to the Thai 
education system; NGOs provided schooling, with some coordination with 
the Ministry of Education regarding curriculum.

    Temporary Protection.--Throughout the year small groups of 
individuals fleeing fighting in Shan State, Burma, crossed into 
Thailand. There were no reports of their forced return to Burma by the 
government, although persons of Shan ethnicity are not permitted to 
enter the refugee camps, pursue refugee status, or seek resettlement to 
third countries.

    Stateless Persons.--Since revision of its nationality and civil 
registration laws in 2008, the government has made considerable 
progress in identifying stateless individuals, providing documentation 
to preclude statelessness, and opening paths to citizenship for long-
time residents. The government reportedly estimated that 550,000 
persons in Thailand could be considered stateless, mainly residing in 
the northern region. Many are members of hill tribes, also known as 
highlanders. Others are migrants from Burma who do not have evidence of 
Burmese citizenship, ethnic minorities who have registered with civil 
authorities, previously undocumented minorities, and displaced persons 
(refugees) residing in border camps. A significant percentage of them 
may be eligible for Thai citizenship under the law, if they file 
applications.
    Citizenship is not automatically conferred by birth within the 
country. By law citizenship is based on birth to one or both Thai 
parents, marriage to a Thai man, or naturalization. It may also be 
acquired by means of special government-designated criteria implemented 
by the Interior Ministry with approval from the cabinet or as a result 
of nationality law (see also section 6, Children). The labyrinth of 
citizenship-related laws and regulations and the existence of 
substantial gray areas within and among them continued to lead to their 
uneven application.
    The law stipulates that every child born in the country will 
receive an official birth certificate, regardless of the parents' legal 
status. In practice many parents did not obtain birth certificates for 
their children due to the complexity of the process, the need to travel 
from remote areas to district offices, and a lack of recognition of the 
importance of the document. There were reports of some local officials 
charging for the certificate although it is supposed to be free. During 
the year authorities fully implemented the provision of birth 
certificates in refugee camps, and as of the end of November, they 
issued more than 1,700 birth certificates to newborns. In some camps 
birth certificates were issued only to children of registered refugees.
    By law, as noncitizens, stateless highlanders may not vote or own 
land, and their travel is restricted. Stateless persons are prohibited 
by law from participating in certain occupations reserved for citizens, 
including farming, although in practice officials permitted noncitizen 
highlanders to undertake subsistence agriculture. Stateless persons had 
difficulty accessing credit and government services, such as education 
or health care. Many stateless highlanders lived in poverty. Without 
legal status, stateless persons were vulnerable to various forms of 
abuse.
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, free, and fair elections based 
on universal, compulsory suffrage. The constitution provides for the 
election of all members of the 500-seat House of Representatives and 77 
members of the 150-seat Senate. It also provides for the appointment of 
73 additional Senate members by a selection committee composed of 
members of the judiciary and other regulatory bodies, last designated 
on April 12.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The July 
3 national election for the House of Representatives generally was 
considered free and fair, although there were allegations of vote 
buying, minor procedural irregularities, and scattered but unconfirmed 
reports of intimidation by local military and government officials. The 
Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) reported 590 complaints of fraud 
in relation to the national election. Among them, the ECT completed 201 
investigations--which led to 194 dismissals, two reelections, and five 
findings of fraud that were referred to the Supreme Court--and 238 
complaints were either dismissed by the ECT or withdrawn by petitioners 
without full investigation; the rest were under investigation at year's 
end.
    During the year officials also held a vote recount for the July 3 
national election in Yala Province.
    There were several reports of election-related violence during the 
year (also see section 1.a.). At least five injuries were linked to 
attacks suspected of being politically motivated, including the March 2 
car bombing that injured Anon Charoensuk, a local politician and 
canvasser for the Social Action Party, and the May 10 shooting of 
Pracha Prasopdi, a former Puea Thai member of parliament from Samut 
Prakan Province. At year's end authorities had not charged anyone in 
the former case but had charged four suspects in the latter. Another 
dozen such cases involved politicians as victims during the year, but 
the relationship to elections was not clear.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The constitution encourages 
political parties to consider a ``close proximity of equal numbers'' of 
both genders. Women have the right to vote and run for positions, but 
there were relatively few elected female officials. A major exception 
was the election of Thailand's first female prime minister, Yingluck 
Shinawatra, during the year. The July 3 national election resulted in 
81 women in the 500-seat lower house joining 25 women in the 150-seat 
Senate. Women chaired six of the Senate's 22 standing committees, but 
they chaired none in the lower house and held three of the 36 cabinet 
positions.
    Few members of ethnic minorities held positions of authority in 
national politics. Muslims from the South held significant elected 
positions at the national level, although they continued to be 
underrepresented in appointed local and provincial government positions 
staffed by the centralized national civil service. There were 30 Muslim 
and seven Christian members of parliament.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. 
Government implementation of the law was weak, and officials sometimes 
engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    Corruption remained widespread among members of the police. There 
were numerous incidents of police charged with abduction, sexual 
harassment, theft, and malfeasance plus reports that police tortured, 
beat, and otherwise abused detainees and prisoners, generally with 
impunity. During the year police officers were arrested for drug 
trafficking, convicted on extortion charges, and reportedly involved 
with intellectual property rights violations. For example, a group of 
four officers was suspected of conspiracy to commit murder, and a 
police officer was purportedly involved in illegal logging.
    At year's end the 2009 warrant for the arrest of former prime 
minister Thaksin Shinawatra continued in force, and the Supreme Court 
of Justice's case against him regarding a government bank loan to Burma 
remained suspended. He continued to reside outside the country.
    The NCCC and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) continued to 
investigate allegations of corruption committed by members of the 
government led by Thaksin Shinawatra from 2001-06. The NCCC and OAG 
findings triggered several cases at the Supreme Court of Justice's 
Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions. The NCCC 
brought several other cases to court and reported that there were 9,555 
cases pending investigation in December. In the 12-month period ending 
October 1, the NCCC received 3,092 cases and completed 2,040 cases, 186 
of which required further action, including disciplinary actions, 
impeachments, and referrals to the courts, the OAG, or a joint NCCC-OAG 
committee.
    In August the OAG decided not to indict three of seven prominent 
former government ministers and other high-ranking officials on charges 
of malfeasance related to a 2004 purchase of fire trucks, and cited 
insufficient evidence for its decision. The NCCC stated it would pursue 
cases against the seven accused without going through the OAG. All 
seven cases were pending at year's end.
    In addition to the NCCC and OAG, other entities playing a role in 
combating corruption included the Anti-Money Laundering Office, Supreme 
Court, Ombudsman's Office, Administrative Courts, and Justice Ministry.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws.
    The constitution provides public access to government information, 
and there were no reports that government agencies denied citizens' 
requests for such information that was lawfully available. If a 
government agency denies a request, a petition may be made to the 
Official Information Commission, and petitioners may appeal the 
commission's preliminary ruling to an appellate panel. Requests for 
information may be denied for reasons of national security and public 
safety. According to the commission, the vast majority of petitions 
were approved. There were 587 petitions received and 247 appeals during 
the year.
    On August 23, the NCCC convicted the former director of the Tourism 
Authority, Chuthamat Siriwan, and her daughter, Chittisopha Siriwan, 
for corruption related to a 2010 film festival bribery case. At year's 
end the case was under OAG examination.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights 
organizations generally operated without government restriction, 
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. 
However, NGOs that dealt with sensitive political matters, such as 
opposition to government-sponsored development projects or border 
matters, faced periodic harassment. Human rights workers focusing on 
violence in the southern provinces were particularly vulnerable to 
harassment and intimidation by government agents and militant groups. 
Very few NGOs were accorded tax-exempt status, which sometimes hampered 
their ability to secure adequate funding.
    On July 28, gunmen shot and killed Thongnak Sawekchinda, an 
environmental activist in Samut Sakhon Province, in front of his house. 
He had protested the transport and use of coal that resulted in water, 
air, and soil pollution. Police arrested seven suspects, some of whom 
claimed a local coal transportation company hired them, and the 
provincial public prosecutor's office continued to examine the case at 
year's end.
    On September 11, assailants shot and killed Thatsakamon Ob-om, 
former parliamentary candidate and a leader of a Karen ethnic minority 
movement in Kaeng Krachan National Reserve forest, in Amphoe Ban Lat, 
Phetchaburi Province. His movement had petitioned and protested the 
government's destruction of several Karen homes.
    On October 11, the Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Court announced a 
Supreme Court decision upholding the conviction of environmental 
activist Jintana Kaewkhao and her sentence of four months' imprisonment 
for trespassing against a company building a coal-fired plant in the 
Hin Krut and Bo Nok areas of the province. She was given a royal pardon 
in December.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--According to a December 21 
U.N. report, there were no developments regarding the 2010 visit 
requested by the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human 
rights defenders.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The constitution mandates an 
independent NHRC composed of seven members with expertise in the 
protection of human rights, recruited by a committee, and selected by 
the Senate. It is tasked with producing an annual report on the human 
rights situation in the country. During the year the commission 
received 1,029 petitions, of which 608 qualified for investigation, but 
modest staffing and resources hampered progress. The government 
responded to NHRC recommendations with an explanation or action 
approximately half the time and adopted approximately one in five 
recommendations. Although a draft report on the April-May 2010 
political protests was leaked in July and roundly criticized, no 
official document was released by year's end. The combined 2010/11 
report was scheduled for release in early 2012. Several civil society 
leaders rated the current NHRC poorly and publicly debated whether the 
weakness was institutional or simply a result of capacity limitations 
among commissioners.
    The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent agency and has the 
power to consider and investigate complaints lodged by any aggrieved 
citizen. Following an investigation, the office may refer a case to a 
court for further review or provide recommendations for further action 
to the appropriate agency. All petitions are examined, but the office 
cannot compel agencies to comply with its recommendations. The office 
is required to submit annual performance reports to the prime minister 
and National Assembly. Its 2011 budget was 190 million baht 
(approximately $6.3 million), up from 156 million baht ($5.2 million) 
in 2010. From October 2010 to September 2011, the office received 2,135 
new petitions, continued investigating 1,123 cases from the previous 
year, and resolved 1,816 cases. More than 80 percent of cases were 
completed within one year. Surveys in 2010 by the King Prachadhipok 
Institute concluded that 52 percent of the public trusted the Office of 
the Ombudsman.
    The following two parliamentary committees addressed human rights 
problems: the House Standing Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice, and 
Human Rights, and the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, Rights 
and Liberties, and Consumer Protection. Human rights advocates 
generally believed the committees were well intentioned but lacked the 
enforcement capability required to be effective. They also were 
described as reactive, difficult to access, and hampered by the 
political affiliations of their chairmen.
    Following the dispersal of the 2010 antigovernment protests, then-
prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, as part of a proposed national 
reconciliation plan, formed three commissions to investigate and make 
recommendations. The chairman of the National Reform Committee 
dissolved it in July as governing power was about to transfer and 
before the outgoing government acted on the committee's report. The 
second, the Assembly for National Reform, which is responsible for 
mobilizing persons from all sectors of society to participate in 
national reform, was reportedly still active but had not produced 
significant results.
    The third, the Truth for Reconciliation Commission, established as 
independent and chaired by Khanit na Nakhorn, received continuing 
support and resources from the governments of then prime minister 
Abhisit Vejjajiva and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to establish 
causes, document facts, determine appropriate remedies, and recommend 
steps to prevent a recurrence of large-scale protests. Its April 24 
interim report noted that it lacked subpoena power and witness 
protection capability and that its credibility was ``obstructed'' since 
it had been established and was funded by the government (see also 
section 1.a.).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equal treatment without respect to 
race, gender, religion, disability, language, or social status. 
Nonetheless, in practice some discrimination existed, and government 
enforcement of equal protection statutes was uneven.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal, although the 
government did not always enforce the law effectively. The law permits 
authorities to prosecute spousal rape, and prosecutions occurred. 
According to the police, 3,537 rape cases were reported during the 
year, with one case in which the victim was killed, and police arrested 
suspects in 1,542 of these cases, including the one that resulted in 
the victim's death. The Health Ministry reported that 12,554 women 
older than age 18 (74 percent between the ages of 25 and 45) reported 
abuse in 2010 and sought assistance from the ministry's One Stop Crisis 
Center. Of these victims, 75 percent reported physical abuse, and 15 
percent reported sexual abuse.
    The law specifies penalties ranging from four years' to life 
imprisonment, as well as fines, for rape or forcible sexual assault, 
depending on the age of the victim, severity of the assault, and 
physical and mental condition of the victim afterward. The amount of 
the fine depends on the severity of injury to the victim and generally 
varies from 8,000 to 40,000 baht (approximately $267 to $1,300). The 
law also provides that any individual convicted twice for the same type 
of criminal rape within three years is liable to receive increased 
penalties for recidivism. According to court statistics, 1,635 cases 
involving sexual assault were filed with the courts, and 530 were 
completed. Sentencing information was not available.
    NGOs believed that rape continued to be a serious problem. 
According to academics and women's rights activists, rapes and domestic 
assaults were underreported, in part because state agencies tasked with 
addressing the problem were not adequately funded and law enforcement 
agencies were perceived to be incapable of bringing perpetrators to 
justice. Police sought to change this perception and continued to 
encourage women to report sexual crimes through the use of female 
police officers in metropolitan Bangkok and three other provinces.
    Domestic violence against women continued to be a significant 
problem. The law imposes a fine of up to 6,000 baht (approximately 
$200) or up to six months' imprisonment for violators and provides 
authorities, with court approval, the power to prohibit offenders from 
remaining in their homes or contacting family members during trial. The 
law also establishes measures designed to facilitate both the reporting 
of domestic violence complaints and reconciliation between the victim 
and the perpetrator. Additionally, the law restricts media reporting on 
domestic violence cases in the judicial system.
    Some domestic violence crimes, particularly cases where the victim 
was seriously injured, were prosecuted under provisions for assault or 
violence against a person where harsher penalties could be levied. 
Domestic violence frequently went unreported, and police often were 
reluctant to pursue reports of domestic violence. NGO-supported 
programs included emergency hotlines, temporary shelters, and 
counseling services to increase awareness of domestic violence, HIV/
AIDS, and other matters involving women. The government's crisis 
centers, located in some state-run hospitals, cared for abused women 
and children, although several centers faced budget difficulties. 
State-run hospitals referred abused women to external organizations 
when in-hospital services were not available.
    The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) 
reported that 831 cases of domestic violence were recorded during the 
year nationwide. In 136 cases the victims chose to pursue criminal 
charges, while in 367 cases they chose not to, and 141 cases remained 
in consultation at year's end; the rest of the choices were unknown. At 
year's end 105 of the criminal cases were under police or public 
prosecutors' investigation and court mediation, prosecutors dismissed 
four, eight reached plea agreements, 12 were found guilty, five were 
dismissed by the court, and two were under appeal. Sentencing 
information was unavailable. Of the individuals involved, 588 alleged 
abusers were male and 52 were female, and 604 victims were female and 
70 were male; data for the others were unavailable.
    The MSDHS continued to develop a community-based system, operating 
in all regions of the country, to protect women from domestic violence. 
The program focused on training community representatives from each 
community on women's rights and abuse prevention to increase community 
awareness.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal in both the public 
and private sectors. The law specifies fines of not more than 20,000 
baht (approximately $667) for individuals convicted of sexual 
harassment. Private sector employees must file criminal charges if they 
have a sexual harassment claim. The punishment depends on the degree of 
harassment and age of the victim. Abuse categorized as an indecent act 
may result in imprisonment of up to 15 years and a fine of up to 30,000 
baht ($1,000). The law governing the civil service also prohibits 
sexual harassment and stipulates five levels of punishment: probation, 
docked salary, salary decrease, suspension, and termination. NGOs 
claimed that the legal definition of harassment was vague and 
prosecution of harassment claims difficult.

    Sex Tourism.--Sex tourism was a problem, but sources differed as to 
its extent. Although there are no laws that specifically address it, 
laws on prostitution and trafficking in persons contain provisions to 
combat it.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals could decide freely 
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children, and they 
had the information and means to do so free from discrimination. The 
publicly funded medical system provided access to contraceptive 
services and information, prenatal care, skilled attendance during 
childbirth, and essential obstetric and postpartum care. Women had 
equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted 
infections.
    According to data from the Population Reference Bureau, 
approximately 77 percent of married women and girls ages 15 to 49 used 
modern contraception methods. Although statistics were unavailable, the 
percentage of unmarried women, men, adolescents, ethnic minorities, and 
migrant workers who had access to contraception was estimated to be 
lower. Approximately 98 percent of births were attended by skilled 
health personnel, and the lifetime risk for death during childbirth was 
estimated at one in 1,200. Prenatal and postnatal care was estimated to 
be accessible to more than 90 percent of mothers and babies.

    Discrimination.--In general women enjoy the same legal status and 
rights as men. Nonetheless, women experienced discrimination on 
occasion.
    The law does not mandate nondiscrimination in hiring practices on 
the basis of gender, and discrimination in hiring was common. For 
example, it is not illegal to ask a prospective employee for family 
status during an interview. Women are not allowed to work in all the 
same industries as men. Government regulations require employers to pay 
equal wages and benefits for equal work, regardless of gender. 
Nonetheless, in practice women received lower pay for equal work in 
many sectors of the economy, and women were concentrated in lower-
paying jobs. Women were able to own and manage businesses freely.
    Women were unable to confer citizenship on their nonnational 
spouses in the same way as men.
    Military academies (except for the nursing academy) did not accept 
female students, although a significant number of instructors at those 
academies were women. According to the Armed Forces Personnel 
Directorate, 58 women held the rank of general or above across all 
military branches and within the Ministry of Defense as of December. 
The Police Cadet Academy for commissioned officers accepts female 
cadets, and 60 of 240 places in the 2012 cadet class were reserved for 
women. According to the Office of the Civil Service Commission, women 
held 24 percent of executive-level civil service positions at year's 
end.
    The government's Bureau of Women's Affairs and Family Development 
was designed to promote the legal rights of women, notably through the 
suboffice of the Bureau of Gender Equality Promotion, but it is not an 
independent agency. It worked with NGOs and did not take a leading role 
in women's rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is not automatically 
conferred by birth within the country, but all children born in 
Thailand are entitled to birth registration. By law citizenship is 
based either on birth to one or two Thai parents, marriage to a Thai 
man, or naturalization. It may also be acquired by means of special 
government-designated criteria implemented by the Interior Ministry 
with cabinet approval or as a result of nationality law. According to 
NGOs, highlanders and other stateless individuals on occasion did not 
register births with the authorities because administrative 
complexities, misinformed and unscrupulous local officials, language 
barriers, and restricted mobility made it difficult to do so (see also 
section 2.d.).

    Education.--Education is compulsory, free, and universally provided 
for 15 years. While this policy is applicable to Thai and non-Thai 
children, migrant children in practice have more limited access to 
schooling due to frequent moves and a lack of the Thai language. 
Violence in the southern provinces, especially that aimed at public 
school teachers, sporadically forced the temporary closure of public 
schools and disrupted the educational process there. Many NGOs reported 
that most children of registered migrant workers, particularly in Samut 
Sakhon and Chiang Mai provinces and Mae Sot District, were permitted to 
attend public schools, but language barriers, distance from school, and 
frequent relocations to follow parents to new job sites prevented some 
migrant children from attending school. These children also remained 
without access to community services provided to children attending 
public schools, such as day-care centers, government-subsidized free 
milk, and lunch privileges. Migrant workers who could afford to pay 
often chose to send their children to private nurseries or day-care 
centers at their own expense.

    Child Abuse.--The law provides for the protection of children from 
abuse, and laws on rape and abandonment carry harsher penalties if the 
victim is a child. The law imposes a jail term of seven to 20 years' 
imprisonment and a fine of up to 40,000 baht (approximately $1,300) for 
sexual intercourse with a victim under age 13. If the victim is between 
the ages of 13 and 15, the penalty is four to 20 years' imprisonment 
and the same range of fines.
    The Health Ministry reported that 13,190 children reported abuse in 
2010 and sought assistance from the ministry's One Stop Crisis Center. 
Of these victims, 88 percent were girls; 68 percent reported sexual 
abuse, and 21 percent reported physical abuse. Police continued their 
reluctance to investigate abuse cases, and rules of evidence made 
prosecution of child abuse difficult. The law is designed to protect 
witnesses, victims, and offenders under age 18, and procedures--with a 
judge's consent--allow children to testify in abuse and pedophilia 
cases on videotape in private surroundings in the presence of a 
psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker. However, many judges 
declined to use videotaped testimony, citing technical problems and the 
inability to question accusers and defendants directly in court. Some 
children's advocates claimed that sexually abused girls received better 
physical and psychological care than male victims did. Persons accused 
of pedophilia were charged under appropriate age-of-consent and 
prostitution laws.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Child prostitution remained a 
problem. According to government officials, academics, and NGO 
representatives, boys and girls, especially among migrant populations, 
were sometimes forced, coerced, or lured into prostitution. While it 
was widely believed there were fewer incidents of citizens forced into 
prostitution, children from poor families remained vulnerable, and 
there were some incidents of parents who forced their children into 
prostitution. Citizens and foreign sex tourists continued to commit 
pedophilia.
    The law imposes heavy penalties on whoever procures, lures, 
compels, or threatens children under age 18 for the purpose of 
prostitution and provides that a customer who has sexual intercourse 
with a prostitute under age 15 shall be subject to two to six years in 
prison and a fine of up to 120,000 baht (approximately $4,000). If the 
prostitute is between the ages of 15 and 18, the prison term is one to 
three years, and the fine is up to 60,000 baht ($2,000). Parents who 
allow a child to enter into prostitution may also be punished and have 
their parental rights revoked. Those who procure children for 
prostitution face strict penalties, and the punishment is more severe 
if the minors involved are under age 15. The law prohibits the 
production, distribution, import, or export of child pornography. The 
penalty is imprisonment for not more than three years and a fine of not 
more than 6,000 baht ($200). The law also imposes heavy penalties on 
persons who sexually exploit children, both boys and girls, younger 
than age 18 and defines punishments for pimping, trafficking for labor 
exploitation, and human smuggling.

    Displaced Children.--Authorities generally referred street children 
to government-provided shelters, but many, especially foreign illegal 
migrants, reportedly avoided the shelters due to fear of being 
deported. Ultimately the government either sent citizen street children 
to school, to occupational training centers, or to their families with 
social-worker supervision. Some street children from other countries 
were repatriated.
    Street children were often omitted from national reports on child 
labor matters, and national statistics on street children often 
included only citizens. During 2008-09 the MSDHS reported that 15 of 
139 human trafficking cases were a result of forced begging. While 
there are no accurate numbers of beggars, the Bangkok Metropolitan 
Administration estimated in January 2010 that approximately half of the 
beggars in Bangkok were migrants, primarily Cambodian, and the other 
half were Thai. Groups of child beggars included homeless children; 
kidnapped children; and children who are deployed by parents during 
school break, evenings after school, or weekends. Some migrants 
compelled their children to beg to contribute to household income.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980 
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community is very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic incidents.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, 
and mental disabilities in education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services, but government enforcement was not 
effective. The law also mandates that persons with disabilities have 
access to information, communications, and newly constructed buildings, 
but these provisions were not uniformly enforced. The law allows 
employment discrimination against persons with disabilities, and 
activists continued to work for amendments.
    Persons with disabilities who register with the government are 
entitled to free medical examinations, wheelchairs, and crutches. The 
government provided five-year, interest-free, small business loans for 
persons with disabilities.
    The Community Based Rehabilitation Program remained active in all 
provinces, while the Community Learning Center for People with 
Disabilities project operated in 30 provinces. A National People with 
Disabilities Day is observed annually on November 14.
    The government maintained 43 special schools for students with 
disabilities. The Ministry of Education reported that there were 76 
centers nationwide offering special education programs for preschool-
age children, one in each province. All state schools nationwide, 
approximately 30,000, are required by law to accept students with 
disabilities. There also were nine government-operated and at least 23 
NGO-operated training centers for persons with disabilities, including 
both full-time and part-time or seasonal centers. The government 
operated 111 state shelters specifically for persons with disabilities, 
including two day care centers for autistic children. In addition there 
were private associations providing occasional training for persons 
with disabilities. There were reports of schools turning away students 
with disabilities, although the government claimed that such incidents 
occurred because schools did not have appropriate facilities to 
accommodate them.
    Some persons with disabilities who found employment were subjected 
to wage discrimination. Government regulations require private firms 
either to hire one person with a disability for every 100 other workers 
or contribute to a fund that benefits persons with disabilities, but 
this provision was not uniformly enforced. Government officials 
estimated that as many as half of all firms complied with the law 
during the year; the chairman of the Council of Disabled People of 
Thailand believed the number to be 35 to 45 percent, mostly due to 
inadequate government follow-up with companies. Some state enterprises 
had discriminatory hiring policies.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Two groups--former belligerents 
in the Chinese civil war and their descendants living in the country 
since the end of the civil war, and children of Vietnamese immigrants 
who resided in 13 northeastern provinces--continued to live under laws 
and regulations that could restrict their movement, residence, 
education, and occupation. The Chinese are confined to living in the 
three northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Mae Hong Son. 
According to the Interior Ministry, none were granted citizenship 
during the year.

    Indigenous People.--Noncitizen members of hill tribes continued to 
face restrictions on their movement, could not own land, had difficulty 
accessing bank credit, and although protected by labor laws, often were 
subjected to labor violations. They also were barred from state welfare 
services such as universal health care.
    The law provides citizenship eligibility to certain categories of 
highlanders who were not previously eligible (see section 2.d.). 
Although the government supported efforts to register citizens and 
educate eligible hill tribe persons about their rights, activists 
reported that widespread corruption and inefficiency, especially among 
highland village headmen and district and subdistrict officials, 
contributed to a continued backlog of pending citizenship applications 
as well as improperly denied applications.
    Hill tribe members continued to face societal discrimination 
arising in part from the belief that they were involved in drug 
trafficking and environmental degradation.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--No laws criminalize sexual 
orientation. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) groups were 
able to register with the government, although there were some 
restrictions on the language that may be used in registering their 
group names. They reported that police treated LGBT victims of crime 
the same as other persons except in the case of sexual crimes, where 
there was a tendency to downplay sexual abuse or not to take harassment 
seriously. The law does not permit transgender individuals to change 
their gender on identification documents.
    On September 12, Bangkok's Central Administrative Court ordered the 
Ministry of Defense to stop describing transgender persons as 
``permanently mentally disabled'' in conscription records, and the 
military reportedly complied. Some rights advocates considered this a 
significant step toward reducing the harmful effects on future 
employment opportunities caused by the policy of relieving gay and 
transgender persons from duty under the draft because of their assumed 
detrimental effect on the military's strength, image, and discipline.
    There was some continued commercial discrimination based on sexual 
orientation and gender identity. For example, some life insurance 
companies refused to issue policies to gay men, although four major 
insurance companies sold policies to LGBT citizens with provisions for 
full transfer of benefits to same-sex partners. NGOs alleged that some 
nightclubs, bars, hotels, and factories denied entry or employment to 
gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
faced the psychological stigma associated with rejection by family, 
friends, colleagues, teachers, and the community, although intensive 
educational outreach efforts and an online campaign may have reduced 
this stigma in some communities. There were continued reports that some 
employers refused to hire persons who tested HIV-positive following 
employer-mandated blood screening. According to the Thailand Business 
Coalition on AIDS, an estimated 8,000 businesses pledged not to require 
HIV/AIDS tests for employees nor to discharge infected employees and 
vowed to hold regular awareness campaigns, with 1,505 pledging during 
the year.
    At year's end the NHRC had not issued its final recommendation in 
the case of the so-called AIDS temple, Wat Phrabat Namphu, which 
sheltered many dying AIDS patients but also displayed corpses as a 
cautionary tale--allegedly with patients' consent. A preliminary 
agreement permitted the temple to display anonymous corpses.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows private sector workers to form and join trade unions of 
their choosing without prior authorization, but it does not allow civil 
servants, including public schoolteachers, soldiers, and police, to 
form or register a union. In March the cabinet approved a draft law 
proposed by the Office of the Civil Service Commission to allow civil 
servants (excluding soldiers and police) to form or register a union, 
and as of year's end the draft remained under review by the Council of 
State. By law civil servants may form and register associations, but 
these associations do not have the right to bargain collectively.
    State-owned enterprise workers by law have the right to form 
unions. Noncitizen migrant workers, whether registered or illegally 
present, do not have that right nor the right to serve as union 
officials, but registered migrants may be members of unions organized 
and led by Thai citizens. The law restricts affiliations between state 
enterprise unions and private sector unions.
    Antiunion actions by employers are prohibited, although the law 
also requires that union officials be full-time employees of the 
company or state enterprise, which makes them vulnerable to employers 
seeking to discipline workers who served as union officials or who 
attempted to form unions. The law prohibits permanent union staff, thus 
limiting the ability of unions to organize in depth and be politically 
active. Workers may be dismissed for any reason, provided severance 
payment is made. The law does not provide for reinstatement but a court 
decision can allow for the reinstatement of an employee and 
compensation of salary for losses while absent from work.
    The law permits workers to strike after an employee has submitted a 
demand resulting in a deadlock between the employer and employee. 
Workers must submit a letter of notification at least 24 hours in 
advance. The government has the authority to restrict private sector 
strikes that would affect national security or cause severe negative 
repercussions for the population at large, but it seldom invoked this 
provision and did not do so during the year.
    The law forbids strikes in ``essential services,'' which are 
defined more broadly than under International Labor Organization (ILO) 
criteria and include sectors such as telecommunications and public 
transportation. The law prohibits the termination of employment of 
legal strikers, but employers are permitted to hire workers to replace 
strikers. Strike action in the private sector was constrained by the 
legal requirement to call a general meeting of trade union members and 
obtain strike approval by at least 50 percent of all union members.
    The law provided for the right of citizen private sector workers to 
organize and bargain collectively and defined the mechanisms for 
collective bargaining plus government-assisted conciliation and 
arbitration in cases under dispute.
    Labor law enforcement was inconsistent and in some instances 
ineffective in protecting workers who participated in union activities. 
For example, labor courts ordered reinstatement of employees in some 
cases where dismissal resulted from union activity and was therefore 
illegal, but since the process to request reinstatement was lengthy and 
costly for the employee, most cases were settled out of court through 
severance payments to the employee with no punishment of employers.
    A system of labor courts exercised judicial review over most 
aspects of labor law for the private sector. The Ministry of Labor 
reported that 29,638 charges were referred to the Central Labor Court 
in 2010: most conflicts involved violations of law and working-
condition agreements.
    Problems of collective labor relations were adjudicated through the 
tripartite Labor Relations Committee (LRC) and are subject to review by 
labor courts. Workers may also seek redress through the NHRC. In 
private sector labor disputes that cannot be resolved through 
negotiations or voluntary arbitration and may affect the national 
economy or public order, the Ministry of Labor may refer them to the 
LRC for settlement, but this legal authority was seldom used. Redress 
of grievances for state enterprise workers was handled by the State 
Enterprise Relations Committee. Labor leaders generally were satisfied 
with the treatment that their concerns received in these forums, 
although they complained that unjustly dismissed union leaders were 
awarded only back wages with no punitive sanctions against the 
employer, thus failing to dissuade employers from firing union 
organizers and activists.
    A substantial number of migrants worked in factories near border-
crossing points, where there were frequent reports of law violations 
and few labor inspections. Labor inspectors generally could not speak 
the languages of migrant workers, which hampered the ability of migrant 
workers to report violations. In practice the right to organize was 
exercised. Registered migrants did join unions run by Thai nationals, 
but language barriers and the segregation of Thai and migrant workers 
by industry meant that their numbers remained low.
    Labor activists and some civil servants interpreted the 
constitution as broadening the freedom of association to include 
granting civil servants the right to form a union, and a small number 
of civil servants attempted to organize a union. Civil servants held a 
conference in 2011, but there was no additional information on their 
ability to organize.
    The law constrained the capacity and sustainability of unions by 
allowing only two government-licensed outside advisers to assist a 
union in collective bargaining. Local-level Ministry of Labor offices 
reportedly blocked the licensing of labor advisers deemed ``too 
activist.'' Furthermore, employers have the right to block any licensed 
adviser from advising a labor union during collective bargaining 
negotiations. Unions must use advisers whom the employer deems 
acceptable. In practice this meant that employers had the freedom to 
choose their advisers at the collective bargaining table, but labor 
unions did not. Union leaders and outside observers noted that this 
interfered with the ability to negotiate, train union members, and 
develop expertise in collective bargaining and that it contributed to 
rapid turnover in union leaders.
    During 2010 the Department of Labor Protection and Welfare reported 
170 informal conflicts between employers and employees involving 
110,334 employees: 145 conflicts were resolved without walkouts, eight 
were referred to a labor court, and 17 continued under the department's 
process. The department also reported 66 formal labor disputes, a 
significant drop from the number in 2009, and one lockout with two 
strikes that involved 2,155 employees. Most disputes were related to 
wages and other benefits.
    Employers reportedly discriminated against workers who sought to 
organize unions. While the law protects workers who submit demands 
relating to working conditions, it does not protect workers from 
employer reprisal for union activities prior to the registration of the 
union. As a result of late-2011 flooding in industrial park areas in 
the central region, union activists reported dismissals of union 
members who claimed losses as a result of flooding. There were also 
cases reported of workers being dismissed from their jobs for engaging 
in union activities. In some cases the labor courts ordered workers 
reinstated if the grounds for their dismissals were proven unlawful. 
Some of these workers were subsequently reinstated.
    In practice severance pay upon dismissal was not always provided 
despite legal requirements. NGOs reported that some workers who were 
dismissed during the floods received severance pay lower than the 
amount legally required.
    The requirement for 50 percent union member approval set a high 
barrier to conducting a legal strike. Some employers used unfavorable 
work assignments and reductions in work hours and bonuses to punish 
strikers. According to the ILO, the law provides for penalties, 
including imprisonment and possible compulsory labor, for strikers in 
state-owned enterprises.
    On July 28, the Central Labor Court ruled legal the request of 
State Railways of Thailand (SRT) to dismiss seven union leaders, 
including the president of the State Railway Workers Union of Thailand, 
Sawit Kaewwan, who had organized a work stoppage to protest unsafe 
engines after a crash in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province in 2009 resulted 
in seven fatalities. In addition the court ordered the workers to pay 
SRT 15 billion baht (approximately $500 million) plus annual interest 
for damages incurred. The NHRC, ILO, and local NGOs stated that the 
strike sought to improve train safety conditions, not damage the 
company, and that the dismissals constituted an abuse of worker rights. 
At year's end the case was under appeal in the Supreme Court.
    On October 7, the LRC ruled that three workers should be reinstated 
with compensation since they had been dismissed unfairly from their 
positions at KFC outlets in Bangkok for advocating better pay and 
attempting to organize a union. The employer, Yum Restaurants 
International (Thailand), reinstated the workers but also appealed the 
court decision. One NGO reported that workers were reinstated but 
harassed by fellow workers in an attempt to force them to quit.
    Labor brokerage firms used a ``contract labor system'' under which 
workers signed an annual contract. Although contract laborers performed 
the same work as direct-hire workers, often they were paid less and 
received fewer, or no, benefits. By law businesses must provide 
contract laborers ``fair benefits and welfare without discrimination.'' 
Regardless of whether the contract labor employee was outsourced and 
collected wages from a separate company, by law the contracting 
business is the overall employer, and equal pay and benefits are 
required for subcontract and regular employees.
    In practice legal provisions that define who can join a union 
(``employees working for the same employer'' or ``employees in the same 
description of work'' ), coupled with requirements that the union 
represent a certain percentage of the workforce, could hamper 
collective bargaining efforts where contract workers are not considered 
part of the potential bargaining unit but make up a substantial portion 
of the workforce. Because contract workers are classified as working in 
the ``service industry,'' as opposed to the ``manufacturing industry,'' 
they may not join an industrial union. This restriction on joining with 
full-time employees of industries often diminished the ability to 
bargain collectively as a larger group.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, except in the case of national 
emergency, war, or martial law, or to avoid imminent public calamity. 
Despite efforts by the government to enforce and raise awareness of the 
law, problems of forced labor of men, women, and children persisted in 
a small proportion of the economy, particularly in those sectors where 
foreign migrant labor was common.
    Employers often kept possession of migrant workers' registration 
and travel documents, which restricted their movement outside the work 
site, despite laws prohibiting this practice. Reportedly, some migrant 
workers requested that employers hold their documents for safekeeping.
    Reports of sweatshops and abusive treatment continued in a few 
sectors, including seagoing trawlers, garment factories, and shrimp and 
seafood-processing facilities. The large numbers of migrants from 
Burma, Cambodia, and Laos in those sectors created opportunities for 
abuse (see section 7.d.). For example, workers reported that employers 
prevented their leaving their work sites.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Sufficient legal protections generally exist for children in the formal 
economic sector. The law regulates the employment of children under age 
18 and prohibits employment of children under age 15, although an 
exception exists for children 13 to 15 years old who have parental 
permission to perform agricultural work during school breaks or 
nonschool hours as long as the employers provide a safe work 
environment.
    Employers may not require children under age 18 to work overtime or 
on a holiday and may not require work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. 
without prior Labor Ministry approval. Children under age 18 must not 
be employed in hazardous work, which includes any activity involving 
metalwork, hazardous chemicals, poisonous materials, radiation, and 
harmful temperatures or noise levels; exposure to toxic microorganisms; 
operation of heavy equipment; work underground or underwater; and work 
in places where alcohol is sold or in massage parlors. The maximum 
penalty for violating these prohibitions is one year in prison, fines 
up to 200,000 baht (approximately $6,700), or both.
    The law provides limited coverage to workers in some informal 
sectors, such as fishing and domestic employment, and allows for 
issuance of ministerial regulations to address sectors not therein 
covered. Such regulations increased protections for child workers in 
domestic and agricultural sector work.
    The Ministry of Labor was the primary agency charged with enforcing 
child labor laws and policies. Labor inspectors, widely considered to 
be too few and reactive to complaints rather than proactive, generally 
could not speak ethnic minority languages, which hampered their ability 
to communicate with workers, especially migrant workers. In an effort 
to improve labor law enforcement, the ministry's Department of Labor 
Protection and Welfare inspection plan for the year prioritized labor 
inspections of small factories (those with fewer than 50 workers), 
which were believed to be high risk for the use of child labor. In line 
with prevailing cultural norms, the inclination of labor inspectors 
when dealing with violators was to negotiate promises of better future 
behavior rather than seek prosecution and punishment. The legal 
requirement for a warrant hampered inspection of private homes to 
monitor the welfare of child domestic workers.
    The Social Security Office under the ministry reported there were 
51,139 children ages 15 to 18 formally working and registered in the 
social security system in 2010. This figure was almost 40 percent less 
than in 2009; the reduction may have resulted from the constitutional 
extension of free education from nine to 12 years and government policy 
that extended free education, including coverage of fees, books, and 
uniforms, further to 15 years. The Department of Labor Protection and 
Welfare under the ministry reported that labor inspectors inspected 
3,624 working children between ages 15 and 17 in 2010 and found only 
one case of violation of underage children working in a small factory 
in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. The number of working children 
inspected increased from 2,774 in 2009 and demonstrated increased 
efforts by the ministry to inspect small facilities (often suspected of 
employing most child labor).
    In practice children (sometimes underage) were found working in 
agriculture, the garment industry, seafood processing, fishing-related 
industries, and the informal sector. There was reason to believe that 
some garments, pornography, shrimp, and sugarcane were produced and 
processed by child labor in violation of international standards. In 
urban areas most underage individuals worked in the service sector, 
including in gasoline stations, small-scale industry, and restaurants. 
Observers believed that while the prevalence decreased, some children 
(usually foreign) were exploited in street selling, begging, domestic 
service, and agriculture work, sometimes in a system of debt bondage. 
Many of these foreign children, predominantly migrants from Burma, 
Cambodia, and Laos, were in the country illegally, which increased 
their vulnerability to exploitation. There continued to be reports of 
street children who were bought, rented, or forcibly ``borrowed'' from 
their parent(s) or guardian(s) to beg alongside women in the street.
    Beyond urban areas, children worked in agriculture, garment, and 
fishing-related industries. Child labor was less evident in larger, 
export-oriented factories and registered processing facilities. NGOs 
reported some cases of child labor in garment factories along the 
Burmese border in Mae Sot District.
    The total number of child laborers, legal and illegal, was likely 
much larger when considering child laborers in the informal sector, 
including unregistered migrant children. According to a study funded by 
the ministry and ILO, labor abuse of child citizens continued to 
decline, and such children made up less than 1 percent of the 
workforce. However, there was no comprehensive survey of child labor 
throughout the country.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national daily minimum wage 
ranged from 159 to 221 baht (approximately $5.30 to $7.37), depending 
on the cost of living in various provinces. The national poverty line 
is 56 baht/person/day ($1.87). On November 23, the government sought to 
help flood-affected employers by announcing postponement of the prime 
minister's promised increase in the minimum wage to 300 baht daily 
($10) from January to April 2012. The government also sets separate 
wages for state enterprise employees and civil servants with some 
additional flexibility given to each ministry or department.
    The maximum workweek by law is 48 hours, or eight hours a day over 
six days, with a limit on overtime of 36 hours per week. Employees 
engaged in ``dangerous'' work, such as chemical, mining, or other 
industries involving heavy machinery, may work a maximum of 42 hours 
per week and are not permitted overtime. Petrochemical industry 
employees may not work more than 12 hours per day and may work 
continuously only for a period not exceeding 28 days. Legal protections 
do not apply to all sectors. For example, the law does not completely 
cover household domestic workers.
    The Ministry of Labor promulgated the Occupational Safety, Health, 
and Environment Act in January regarding work conditions.
    The law prohibits pregnant workers from working on night shifts, 
overtime, and holidays, with dangerous machinery, or on boats. In some 
cases a pregnant employee who works in an office position that is not 
physically demanding may work overtime, if the employee consents. 
Despite the law's prohibition against dismissing pregnant workers, 
there continued to be reports that employers laid off workers who 
became pregnant. There is no law affording job protection to employees 
who remove themselves from dangerous work situations.
    The ministry is responsible for ensuring that employers adhere to 
minimum wage requirements in the formal sector, but enforcement was 
mixed. Some formal sector workers nationwide received less than the 
minimum wage, particularly in rural provinces. The ministry reported 
that 26 percent of inspected workplaces did not pay the minimum wage, 
especially small enterprises. Labor protections also apply to 
undocumented workers, but many unskilled and semiskilled migrant 
workers worked for wages that were at times significantly less than the 
minimum wage.
    The ministry also enforces laws related to occupational safety and 
health. In 2010 it employed 678 inspectors for an estimated 387,000 
workplaces, and according to ministry statistics, they inspected 16,867 
workplaces during the year and found 1,372 workplaces (9 percent) in 
violation of health and safety regulations, most involving fire 
accidents, failure to establish safety committees, and inappropriate 
levels of heat, light, and noise.
    The law imposes minor penalties and fines on employers that violate 
it, which one NGO considered insufficient. The new Occupational Safety, 
Health, and Environment Act went into effect on July 16, but its impact 
on worker safety was unclear at year's end. According to the Department 
of Labor Protection and Welfare, the incidence of legal violations 
regarding workers' safety was highest in consumer goods production, 
hotels, restaurants, and the construction industry.
    During 2010 there were 146,511 reported incidents of diseases and 
injuries from industrial accidents, including 103,813 minor 
disabilities (resulting in no more than three days' work missed) and 
42,698 disabilities resulting in more than three days' work missed 
(including permanent disabilities and deaths). The rate of incidents 
occurring in the informal and agricultural sectors and among migrant 
workers was believed to be higher but underreported. Occupational 
diseases rarely were diagnosed or compensated, and few doctors or 
clinics specialized in them. Many young migrant women employed along 
the border with Burma had limited, substandard medical-care options. In 
medium- and large-sized factories, government health and safety 
standards often were applied, but overall enforcement of safety 
standards was lax. In the informal sector, health and safety 
protections continued to be substandard.
    Redress for workers injured in industrial accidents was rarely 
timely or sufficient. Few court decisions were handed down against 
management or owners involved in workplace disasters.
    The government worked toward regularizing migrant labor to help 
promote safe work conditions and reduce migrants' vulnerability to 
abuse. Authorities required migrants to register and undergo 
nationality verification. Those who register are permitted to work and 
live temporarily in Thailand for two years and have access to social 
security and healthcare benefits. Children of registered migrants are 
entitled to register for residential permits if their parents have such 
permits.
    Migrants without documentation remained vulnerable and without 
recourse to law. Threatened and actual deportation remained a problem. 
Credible NGOs reported migrants often paid additional fees to police 
and immigration officials if caught without documentation in order to 
avoid deportation. NGOs complained that a June 2 order by former prime 
minister Abhisit to deport undocumented migrants exacerbated the 
situation. In response to criticism, the Ministry of Labor requested 
that Immigration Police refrain from deportation during the 
registration period. As of November the government reported that the 
total number of registered migrant workers in Thailand from Burma, 
Cambodia, and Laos reached an estimated 1.9 million. The government 
announced that another registration round was scheduled to occur in 
2012 to help register the remaining unregistered population, which may 
number as high as one million but fluctuated due to regular cross-
border travel.
    As part of a broader policy to facilitate legal status for 
migrants, the government implemented process improvements in 2011, 
including the establishment of one-stop service centers in Bangkok and 
16 provinces, a clear outline and detailed information on the 
registration process and fees, a hotline for migrant communities, a 
pamphlet designed to reassure relatives of migrants and border-crossing 
workers, and a Web site in Thai and other languages. The government 
also examined ways to permit migrant workers flexibility to change 
employers if one mistreats migrants or violates the law.
    Migrant workers who complete nationality verification have access 
to Social Security Office funds. The government recruited private 
insurance companies to establish a separate Workers' Compensation Fund 
for migrant workers, but at year's end the fund had not been 
established due to lack of funding. NGOs reported several cases of 
registered migrants who had not passed nationality verification and 
were denied accident compensation.
    NGOs reported poor working conditions for both documented and 
undocumented migrants. Labor inspectors had limited resources, and NGOs 
noted concerns about the practice of giving advance warning of planned 
labor inspections. Migrants reportedly received well below the minimum 
wage, worked long hours in unhealthy conditions, and lived with the 
fear of arrest and deportation if unregistered. Civil society observers 
continued to criticize the government's handling of vulnerable migrant 
workers. In the Thai/Burma border area of Mae Sot, brokers often 
shadowed workers at Thai deportation centers, flagging their arrival at 
the Burmese border to procure additional fees from migrants.
    Exploitive labor supply agencies charged Thai citizens working 
overseas large, illegal recruitment fees which frequently equaled their 
first- and second-year earnings. In many cases recruited workers did 
not receive promised benefits and incurred significant debt. NGOs noted 
that local moneylenders, mostly informal, contributed to this practice 
by offering loans at exorbitant interest rates so workers could pay 
recruitment fees, some of which were as high as 500,000 baht 
(approximately $16,700). The Ministry of Labor's Department of 
Employment issued regulations limiting the maximum charges for 
recruitment fees, but effective enforcement of the rules was difficult. 
On May 25, the ministry signed a two-year agreement to draw on ILO 
technical support to improve the recruitment and protection of Thai and 
foreign workers.
    During the year the Department of Employment reported investigating 
labor fraud by migrant labor recruitment agencies and suspending two 
licenses, compared to nine suspensions in 2010. Authorities also 
identified 377 individuals in 321 cases as subject to criminal 
investigation for possible violation of the law.

                               __________

                              TIMOR-LESTE

                           executive summary
    Timor-Leste is a multiparty parliamentary republic. President Jose 
Ramos-Horta was head of state. Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao 
headed a five-party coalition government formed following free and fair 
elections in 2007. National security forces reported to civilian 
authorities, but there were some problems with discipline and 
accountability.
    Principal human rights problems included police use of excessive 
force during arrest and abuse of authority; arbitrary arrest and 
detention; and an inefficient and understaffed judiciary that deprived 
citizens of due process and an expeditious and fair trial.
    Other human rights problems included gender-based violence, 
violence against children including sexual assault, corruption, uneven 
access to civil and criminal justice, warrantless search and arrest, 
and poor prison conditions.
    The government took concrete steps to prosecute members of the 
security services who used excessive force or inappropriately treated 
detainees. However, public perceptions of impunity persisted.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
politically motivated killings by the government or its agents during 
the year; however, on May 14, a Falintil Defense Forces (F-FDTL) 
soldier beat an elderly woman to death for engaging in witchcraft. The 
soldier was convicted of murder and was dismissed from the F-FDTL 
following a disciplinary process.
    The investigation into the 2010 case of F-FDTL soldiers who beat a 
civilian to death in Laivai, Lautem, remained ongoing.

    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 the government 
generally respected the prohibition against torture; however, there 
were incidents of cruel or degrading treatment of civilians by police 
and military personnel. Parliamentarians, nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs), the U.N. Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), and the 
Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice received 
complaints about the use of excessive force by security forces. Most 
involved beatings, use of excessive force during incident response or 
arrest, threats made at gunpoint, and intimidation.
    In August, members of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) 
were accused of beating a woman in their custody in the district of 
Baucau. The PNTL denied the accusation, but an official investigation 
opened by the Ministry of Justice continued at year's end.
    In 2010 the police detained individuals who were alleged members of 
the Popular Council for the Defense of the Democratic Republic of 
Timor-Leste (CPD-RDTL), as part of a larger operation against 
``ninjas'' in the Bobonaro and Covalima Districts. Accusations that 
some of the detained were beaten were not investigated.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met international standards. Despite some improvements in 
2010 and 2011 with regard to access to food and potable water, police 
station detention cells generally did not comply with international 
standards and lacked sanitation facilities and bedding.
    The authorities ran two prisons, located in Dili (Becora) and 
Gleno. Together the two prisons held 260 individuals and had an 
estimated capacity of 420 inmates. About half of the inmates were 
pretrial detainees charged with homicide, robbery, or sexual assault. 
Eight of the prisoners were women, and 17 were juveniles. Although 
there were no separate facilities for women and youth offenders, all 
female inmates were housed in a separate block of the Gleno prison. 
Conditions were the same for male and female prisoners. Alternative 
sentences for nonviolent offenders were not available.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and 
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions; the results of such investigations were shared 
with NGOs and the U.N. The government investigated and monitored prison 
and detention center conditions.
    UNMIT and NGO personnel noted allegations of mistreatment of 
prisoners by prison guards during the first 72 hours of imprisonment 
and a lack of special facilities for the mentally ill, who consequently 
were detained with other prisoners.
    The government permitted prison visits by the International 
Committee of the Red Cross and independent human rights observers. The 
Ombudsman's Office was able to conduct detainee monitoring in Dili. It 
was not clear whether an ombudsman could serve on behalf of prisoners 
and detainees more broadly, could address the status of juvenile 
offenders, or could improve pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping 
procedures.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, there were many instances in which these 
provisions were violated, often because magistrates or judges were 
unavailable to issue warrants or make determinations on detentions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The law designates the 
PNTL as the body with responsibility for law enforcement and 
maintenance of order within the country. The Border Police Unit, 
Immigration Unit, and Maritime Police Unit of the PNTL also have some 
responsibility for external security as it relates to the border, in 
coordination with the F-FDTL. By law, the F-FDTL has no role in 
internal security unless specifically requested and approved by the 
government, the president, and parliament but it may be used to support 
the police in joint operations. In practice, the roles and relationship 
between the PNTL and F-FDTL were still evolving. The prime minister 
also serves as minister of defense and security. Civilian secretaries 
of state for security and defense oversaw the PNTL and F-FDTL, 
respectively. The president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, 
but the chief of defense, the F-FDTL's senior military officer, 
exercised effective day-to-day command. The police commissioner handles 
the day-to-day operations of the PNTL and answers to the secretary of 
state for security.
    The PNTL, with UNMIT assistance, continued efforts to reform, 
restructure, and rebuild in the wake of its collapse during the 
political crisis of 2006. During the year UNMIT returned executive 
policing authority to the PNTL after UNMIT determined the PNTL 
demonstrated the ability to perform policy responsibilities adequately 
in the remaining three districts under UNMIT authority. More than 460 
International Stabilization Force personnel from Australia and New 
Zealand supported the police and security forces.
    When UNMIT returned executive policing authority to the PNTL in 
March, 199 officers had not been screened for integrity and past crimes 
or misbehavior. Following the handover, the Office of the Secretary of 
State for Security completed its review of these officers, with 
criminal and/or disciplinary action recommended against 121 officers. 
At year's end the cases were still pending referral to the Office of 
the Prosecutor-General or further internal disciplinary investigation.
    In spite of improvements, the PNTL remained poorly equipped and 
undertrained, subject to numerous credible allegations of abuse of 
authority, mishandling of firearms, and corruption. During the year an 
opposition parliamentarian and an international NGO continued earlier 
criticism of the emphasis on a paramilitary style of policing, which 
includes highly armed special units and does not sufficiently delineate 
between the military and the police.
    Efforts were made to strengthen the PNTL's internal accountability 
mechanisms. At year's end the Professional Standards and Discipline 
Office (PSDO) had only 67 cases, down from 456 cases the previous year. 
At the district level there were serious obstacles to the functioning 
of the PSDO. PSDO officers were appointed by, and reported to, the PNTL 
district commander. Persons with complaints about police behavior 
experienced obstacles when attempting to report violations including 
repeated requests to return at a later date or to submit their 
complaint in writing. The Organic Police Law promulgated in 2009 does 
not provide for guaranteed participation from the civilian sector in 
police oversight.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires judicial warrants prior to arrests or searches, except in 
exceptional circumstances; however, this provision was often violated. 
The extreme shortage of prosecutors and judges outside of the capital 
contributed to police inability to obtain required warrants.
    Government regulations require a hearing within 72 hours of arrest 
to review the lawfulness of an arrest or detention and to provide the 
right to a trial without undue delay. During these hearings the judge 
may also determine whether the suspect should be released because 
evidence is lacking or because the suspect is not considered a flight 
risk. The countrywide shortage of magistrates meant that police often 
made decisions without legal authority as to whether persons arrested 
should be released or detained after 72 hours in custody. This 
contributed to an atmosphere of lawlessness and impunity. Judges may 
set terms for conditional release, usually requiring the suspect to 
post some sort of collateralized bail (whether financial or property 
based) and to report regularly to police.
    The law provides for access to legal representation at all stages 
of the proceedings, and provisions exist for providing public defenders 
to indigent defendants at no cost. Public defenders were in short 
supply. Most were concentrated in Dili and Baucau, with other areas 
lacking the same level of access. Many indigent defendants relied on 
lawyers provided by legal aid organizations. A number of defendants who 
were assigned public defenders reported that they never saw their 
lawyer, and there were concerns that some low priority cases were 
delayed indefinitely while suspects remained in pretrial detention. 
Detainees were not held incommunicado, and when lawyers were available 
they did not have issues accessing their clients.

    Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detainees comprised approximately 50 
percent of the total prison population. Trial delays were most 
frequently caused by judicial inefficiency and staff shortages. In many 
cases the length of pretrial detention equaled or exceeded the length 
of the sentence upon conviction. The pretrial detention limit of six 
months and the requirement that such detentions be reviewed every 30 
days need not apply in cases involving certain serious crimes. The 30-
day review deadline was also missed in a large number of cases 
involving less serious crimes, exacerbating the pretrial detention 
problem.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides that judges shall 
perform their duties ``independently and impartially without improper 
influence'' and requires public prosecutors to discharge their duties 
impartially; however, judicial independence did not exist in practice. 
Access to justice was constrained by a wide array of challenges in the 
judicial system, including: concerns about the impartiality of some 
judicial organs, a severe shortage of qualified personnel, a complex 
legal regime and a legal regime that is based on different legal 
sources, including Portuguese-era, Indonesian-era, and interim U.N. 
administration-era law and regulation in addition to laws enacted since 
independence. A major challenge is the fact that laws were written and 
courts operated in Portuguese, a language not spoken by the majority of 
the population.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, 
trials are before judges, and defendants do not have a right to trial 
by jury. Defendants have the right to consult an attorney, and the 
government provides attorneys to indigent defendants. Defendants can 
confront hostile witnesses and present other witnesses and evidence; 
however, immediate family members cannot be compelled to testify. 
Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence 
and have a right of appeal to higher courts.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil judicial procedures 
were beset by the same problems encountered by the judicial system as a 
whole. The Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice can sue 
government agencies/agents for alleged human rights abuses; however, 
the ombudsman's approach has been to refer allegations of abuse to the 
prosecutor general or the leadership of the PNTL or F-FDTL.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
    A 2003 land law broadly defines what property belongs to the 
government and was criticized as disregarding many private claims. Some 
residents of land defined as public property were evicted during the 
year, and many of those evictions were criticized by some local human 
rights groups.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed 
a wide variety of views without restrictions.
    Violence and Harassment
    In June 2010, PNTL officers at the Government Palace beat a 
journalist from Diario Nacional. The journalist later withdrew his 
complaint, so no investigation was conducted.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government generally did 
not restrict academic freedom or cultural events. Academic research on 
Tetum and other indigenous languages must be approved by the National 
Language Institute.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The law on assembly and demonstrations 
establishes guidelines on obtaining permits to hold demonstrations, 
requires police be notified four days in advance of any demonstration 
or strike, and establishes set-back requirements at some buildings. 
However, in practice demonstrations were allowed to take place without 
the requisite advance notification, and the set-back requirement was 
rarely observed.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right in 
practice. However, in 2010 there were accusations that during the anti-
'' ninja'' activities, the PNTL intimidated members of CPD-RDTL, trying 
to force their resignations from the organization.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    Travel by road to the western enclave of Oecussi required visas and 
lengthy stops at Timorese and Indonesian checkpoints at the border 
crossings.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The 
government granted refugee status; however, there were concerns that 
the country's regulations governing asylum and refugee status may 
preclude genuine refugees from proving their eligibility for such 
status. For example, persons who wish to apply for asylum have only 72 
hours to do so after entry into the country. Foreign nationals already 
present in the country have only 72 hours to initiate the process after 
the situation in their home country becomes too dangerous for them to 
return safely. A number of human rights and refugee advocates 
maintained that this time limit contravened the 1951 Convention 
relating to the Status of Refugees. These advocates also expressed 
concern that no written explanation is required when an asylum 
application is denied.
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. Citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, 
free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 
president and parliament were separately elected to five-year mandates 
in generally free and fair national elections in 2007. The government 
headed by Prime Minister Gusmao is a five-party coalition controlling 
37 seats in the 65-seat parliament.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 19 women in 
parliament. Women held three senior ministerial positions--finance, 
justice, and social solidarity--one vice-minister position, and one 
secretary of state position. In May, the president approved changes to 
the election law that included a provision requiring that women make up 
at least one third of the candidates on each political party's list for 
parliamentary elections.
    The country's small ethnic minority groups were well integrated 
into society. The number of members of these groups in parliament and 
other government positions was uncertain.
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. By law 
the Anticorruption Commission is charged with leading national anti-
corruption activities and has the authority to refer cases for 
prosecution. The Anti-corruption Commission was established in 2010, 
taking responsibility for corruption cases from the Office of the 
Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice.
    The Anti-Corruption Commission transferred to the Prosecutor 
General's Office several high-profile corruption cases, including 
accusations against two cabinet ministers. Charges were pending in both 
cases.
    There were accusations of police corruption in the country. Some of 
the accusations involved bribes accepted by the border police along the 
extensive land borders with Indonesia, and bribes accepted by police 
from brothels that engaged in trafficking in persons.
    The country does not have financial disclosure laws. In 2009 Prime 
Minister Gusmao demanded that all cabinet officials in his government 
complete financial disclosure documents, but during the year only the 
vice foreign minister completed the disclosure.
    The law stipulates that all legislation, Supreme Court decisions 
(when the court is established), and decisions made by government 
bodies must be published in the official gazette. If not published, 
they are null and void. Regulations also provide for public access to 
court proceedings and decisions and the national budget and accounts. 
In practice there were concerns that public access to information was 
constrained. For example, the official gazette was published only in 
Portuguese, although the law requires publication in Tetum as well.
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 cooperated with these organizations, but during the year there 
were instances of security authorities preventing or resisting efforts 
to monitor human rights compliance.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The independent Office of the 
Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice is responsible for the promotion 
of human rights and good governance and has its own budget and 
dedicated staff. It has the power to investigate and monitor human 
rights abuses and governance standards, and to make recommendations to 
the relevant authorities. The Ombudsman's Office was located in Dili, 
with satellite offices in Same, Bobonaro, Oecussi, and Baucau. It had 
limited ability to conduct outreach or activities in other districts. 
The Human Rights Monitoring Network, made up of ten NGOs, closely 
cooperated with the ombudsman. There were no reports of government 
interference in Ombudsman activities.
    Based on recommendations from the Indonesia-Timor-Leste Commission 
on Truth and Friendship (CTF), parliament debated a national 
reparations program and creation of an ``Institute for Memory'' during 
the year, but at year's end no legislation implementing the CTF 
recommendations had been passed.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Government regulations prohibit all forms of discrimination. 
Nonetheless, violence against women was a problem, and discrimination 
against women, persons with disabilities, and members of minority 
groups occurred.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Gender-based violence remained 
a serious concern. Although rape is a crime, punishable by up to 20 
years in prison, failures to investigate or prosecute cases of alleged 
rape and sexual abuse were common, as were long delays. Authorities 
reported that the backlog of court cases led some communities to 
address rape accusations through traditional law, which does not always 
provide justice to victims. The definition of rape under the penal code 
appears broad enough to make spousal rape a crime, although that 
definition had not been tested in the courts. An UNMIT report released 
in September described a lack of accountability in the cases of nine 
women with disabilities who were raped during the year. The UNMIT 
report suggested the women were targeted for attack because of their 
disability.
    In May 2010, parliament passed the Law against Domestic Violence. 
The law was enacted to provide protection and defense to vulnerable 
groups including women, children, the elderly, and persons with 
disabilities, against all forms of violence, exploitation, 
discrimination, abandonment, oppression, sexual abuse, and 
mistreatment. During the year, the authorities received 210 reports of 
domestic abuse. The Ministry of Justice was investigating 81 cases, the 
police were investigating 16 cases, the court was processing 20 cases 
and two people were convicted of domestic abuse.
    Domestic violence against women was a significant problem, often 
exacerbated by the reluctance of authorities to respond aggressively. 
Cases of domestic violence and sexual crimes generally were handled by 
the PNTL's Vulnerable Persons Units (VPUs). Women's organizations 
assessed VPU performance as variable: Some officials actively pursued 
cases and others preferred to handle them through mediation or as 
private family matters. VPU operations were severely constrained by 
lack of support and resources. Police at times came under pressure from 
community members to ignore cases of domestic violence or sexual abuse. 
The new PNTL disciplinary code allows the PNTL to impose disciplinary 
sanctions on police who commit domestic violence in their own homes. 
The government actively promoted awareness campaigns to combat violence 
against women, including rape.

    Sexual Harassment.--No law prohibits sexual harassment, which was 
reportedly widespread, particularly within some government ministries 
and the police.

    Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. 
Women's access to family planning information, education, and supplies 
was limited principally by economic considerations. Contraceptive use 
was low, although the Ministry of Health and NGOs promoted both natural 
and modern family planning methods, including the distribution of 
intrauterine devices, injectable contraceptives, and condoms. The 
results of a demographic and health survey released in 2010 indicated 
significant improvements in mortality rates, but adult women continued 
to suffer from higher mortality than men, and 42 percent of such deaths 
were associated with pregnancy and childbirth. According to 2010 
estimates by the U.N. Population Fund, the maternal mortality rate in 
the country was 370 deaths per 100,000 live births. Thirty percent of 
women had skilled attendance during childbirth, 61 percent of mothers 
received antenatal care from a medical professional, and only 32 
percent of mothers received postpartum care. Women and men had equal 
access to diagnostic and treatment services for sexually transmitted 
diseases, including HIV/AIDS. An UNMIT report released in September 
described a woman with disabilities who was sterilized without consent 
after giving birth.

    Discrimination.--Some customary practices discriminate against 
women. For example, in some regions or villages where traditional 
practices hold sway, women may not inherit or own property. Traditional 
cultural practices such as payment of a bride price also occurred. 
Women were also disadvantaged in pursuing job opportunities at the 
village level.
    The constitution guarantees equal rights to own property, but in 
practice traditional inheritance systems tended to exclude women from 
land ownership. Parliament debated a national land law, which included 
more specific rights for women's ownership of land, but at year's end 
no land law legislation had passed.
    The secretary of state for the promotion of equality in the Prime 
Minister's Office is responsible for the promotion of gender equality. 
UNMIT's Gender Affairs Unit also monitored discrimination against 
women. Women's NGOs worked under an umbrella organization called Rede 
Feto (Women's Network). Rede Feto coordinated the work of NGOs working 
on women's issues and provided input to draft legislation on women's 
issues, such as the recent Law on Domestic Violence. The secretary of 
state for the promotion of equality and the advisor to the prime 
minister for civil society coordinated and supported the work of Rede 
Feto.
    The Ministry of Social Solidarity and women's organizations offered 
some assistance to female victims of violence, including shelters for 
victims of domestic violence and incest, a safe room at the national 
hospital for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and 
escorts to judicial proceedings.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Children acquire citizenship both 
through birth within the territory of the country and by having a 
citizen parent. A Central Civil Registry registers a child's name at 
birth and issues birth certificates. The rate of birth registration was 
low.

    Education.--The constitution stipulates that primary education 
shall be compulsory and free. Legislation has been adopted requiring 
compulsory education until 14 years of age; however, no system has been 
established to enforce compulsory education, nor has a system been 
established to ensure provision of free education. According to U.N. 
statistics, approximately 20 percent of primary-school-age children 
nationwide were not enrolled in school; the figures for rural areas 
were substantially higher than those for urban areas. In the aggregate, 
male children were more likely to attend school than were female 
children.

    Child Abuse.--In rural areas heavily indebted parents sometimes 
provided their children as indentured servants as a way to settle the 
debt. If the child was a girl, the receiving family could also demand 
any dowry payment normally owed to the girl's parents.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There is no clearly defined age 
below which sex is by definition nonconsensual. Violence against 
children and child sexual assault were significant problems. Some 
commercial sexual exploitation of minors occurred. The penal code 
describes a vulnerable victim for purposes of rape as a ``victim aged 
less than 17 years'' and provides an aggravated sentence. The penal 
code separately addresses ``sexual abuse of a minor,'' which is 
described as one ``age less than 14 years,'' and also separately 
addresses ``sexual acts with an adolescent,'' which it defines as ``a 
minor aged between 14 and 16 years.'' The penal code also makes both 
child prostitution and child pornography crimes and defines a ``child'' 
for purposes of those provisions as a ``minor aged less than 17 
years.'' The penal code also criminalizes abduction of a minor, 
although it does not define what constitutes a minor for purposes of 
that section.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no indigenous Jewish population, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the constitution protects the 
rights of persons with disabilities, the government has not enacted 
legislation or otherwise mandated accessibility to buildings for 
persons with disabilities, nor does the law prohibit discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities. There were no reports of discrimination against persons 
with disabilities in employment, education, or the provision of other 
state services; however, in many districts children with disabilities 
were unable to attend school due to accessibility problems.
    Training and vocational initiatives did not address the needs of 
persons with disabilities. In the past some persons with mental 
disabilities faced discriminatory or degrading treatment due in part to 
a lack of appropriate treatment resources or lack of referral to 
existing resources; it was not clear whether this situation had 
improved. Mentally ill persons were incarcerated with the general 
prison population and were denied needed psychiatric care. An office in 
the Ministry of Social Solidarity was responsible for protecting the 
rights of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are 
eligible for monthly special monetary stipends through the Ministry of 
Social Solidarity.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Tensions between persons from 
the eastern districts (Lorosae) and persons from the western districts 
(Loromonu) appeared to be greatly reduced, and no specific incidents 
were observed during the year.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law makes no reference to 
homosexual activity. Gay men and lesbians were not highly visible in 
the country. There were no formal reports of discrimination based on 
sexual orientation or gender identity, due in part to limited awareness 
of the issue and a lack of formal legal protections.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--According to the East 
Timor Law and Justice Bulletin (ETLJB), the principal international NGO 
that runs an HIV/AIDS transmission reduction program excludes gay men 
from its program.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law permits workers to form and join worker organizations without 
prior authorization, provides for the right to strike, and allows for 
collective bargaining. Unions may draft their own constitutions and 
rules and elect their representatives; however, attempts to organize 
workers generally were slowed by inexperience, a lack of organizational 
skills, and the fact that more than 80 percent of the workforce was in 
the informal sector. There are official registration procedures for 
trade unions and employer organizations. By year's end the government 
had begun compiling data on the percentage of unionized workers in the 
formal sector.
    Freedom of association and collective bargaining rights were 
respected in practice. While the law prohibits dismissal for union 
activity, it also allows for financial compensation in lieu of 
reinstatement, thus partially weakening the protection against 
employers' interference. The law prohibits foreigners from 
participating in the administration of trade unions, although there was 
no evidence that this prohibition was enforced.
    The law on assembly and demonstrations could be used to inhibit 
strikes but was not used in this way.
    In practice workers generally had little experience negotiating 
contracts, promoting worker rights, or engaging in collective 
bargaining and negotiations. The Ministry of Social Solidarity is the 
government agency charged with labor dispute settlement.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Government 
regulations prohibit forced or compulsory labor, although there were 
reports that such practices occurred. The placement of children in 
bonded labor by family members in order to pay off family debts 
occurred during the year.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law generally prohibits children under age 15 from working. However, 
there are circumstances under which work for children between the ages 
of 15 and 18 is restricted and circumstances under which children under 
15, can work legally. The minimum age does not apply to family-owned 
businesses, and many children worked in the agricultural sector. Child 
labor in the informal sector was a major problem. In practice, 
enforcement of the labor code outside of Dili was limited.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not stipulate a 
minimum wage. The law provides for a standard work week of 40 hours, 
standard benefits such as overtime and leave, and minimum standards of 
worker health and safety. The Ministry of Social Solidarity is 
responsible for enforcing the labor code. A National Labor Board and a 
Labor Relations Board exist, and there are no restrictions on the 
rights of workers to file complaints and seek redress. Workers have the 
right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions without 
jeopardizing employment; however, it was not clear whether they could 
avail themselves of this right in practice. The official national 
poverty income level is $0.88 per day. (The U.S. dollar is the local 
currency.) An estimated 41 percent of the population lived below the 
poverty line.

                               __________

                                 TONGA

                           executive summary
    The Kingdom of Tonga is a constitutional monarchy under King Siaosi 
(George) Tupou V. Political life is dominated by the king, the 
nobility, prominent commoners, and democratic reform figures. The most 
recent parliamentary elections, held in November 2010, were deemed 
generally free and fair, and in December 2010 Parliament elected a 
nobles' representative, Lord Tu'ivakano, as prime minister.
    Domestic violence, discrimination against women, and government 
corruption were the most prevalent human rights problems.
    The privileged status enjoyed by the royal family and nobility 
contributed to a lack of government transparency and socioeconomic 
mobility. The government also at times restricted media coverage of 
certain political topics. A state of emergency imposed after a 2006 
riot in the capital of Nuku'alofa was in effect at the beginning of the 
year but was lifted in early February.
    There were no reports that government officials committed human 
rights abuses during the year.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards. Prisoners had 
access to potable water. The government permitted monitoring visits by 
international human rights observers, but there were no such visits 
during the year.
    At year's end the country's four prisons and other detention 
facilities--located on the main islands of Tongatapu, Vava'u, Ha'apai, 
and 'Eua--held a total of 158 inmates, including three pretrial 
detainees. Of the total, four were women and 17 were juveniles (defined 
as under age 20). The maximum total prison capacity was 222. Prisoners 
had access to visitors and were permitted religious observance. The 
authorities permitted prisoners to submit complaints without censorship 
to the prison officer-in-charge, who then forwarded them to the 
commissioner of prisons for review and action. At least once every 
quarter, a group of three to five persons called ``visiting officers,'' 
chosen by the cabinet and normally including a police magistrate, a 
physician, and a member of the clergy, visited the prisons to hear any 
prisoner complaints or grievances. Prisoners also are permitted to 
submit complaints to judicial authorities.
    The country does not have an ombudsman who can 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. However, overcrowding was not a 
problem during the year, and the authorities maintained a tracking 
system to ensure that prisoners were not held beyond the maximum 
sentence for their offense.

    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 national police, 
under the minister of police and prisons, maintain internal security. 
The Tonga Defense Services (TDS), under the minister of defense (a 
position held by the prime minister during the year), is responsible 
for external security. In emergency situations the TDS also shares 
domestic security duties with the police. The king is the commander in 
chief of the TDS. Civilian authorities maintained control over the TDS 
and police, and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate 
and punish security force abuse and corruption. There were no reports 
of impunity involving the security forces during the year. Complaints 
against police are referred to the Police Employment Committee, which 
determines the severity of the complaint and refers it to the Police 
Board. The committee may take disciplinary action against police 
officers, but refers serious breaches to the board. The board has the 
power to determine the action that should be taken in response to a 
serious breach of discipline, including dismissal from the force. 
Entry-level police training included training on corruption, ethics, 
transparency, and human rights.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides for the right to judicial determination of the legality of 
arrest, and this was observed in practice during the year. Under normal 
circumstances police have the right to arrest detainees without a 
warrant, but detainees must be brought before a local magistrate within 
24 hours. In most cases magistrates set bail. The law permits unlimited 
access by counsel and family members to detained persons. Indigent 
persons could obtain legal assistance from the Community Law Center 
(CLC). However, the CLC did not have a dedicated source of funding 
during the year and was dependent on donations.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice, although the system has been modified to 
increase the king's judicial appointment power. In 2010 the king 
transferred authority to appoint judges to the lord chancellor, 
appointed by the monarch, from the Judicial Services Commission, which 
he disbanded. The lord chancellor also has authority to investigate 
complaints against judges, a responsibility that previously rested with 
the Judicial Services Commission. The change ostensibly was made to 
insulate judicial appointments from parliamentary influence, but 
opponents asserted it would compromise the independence of the 
judiciary.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. 
Trials are public, and defendants have the option to request a seven-
member jury. Defendants are presumed innocent, have access to 
government-held evidence, and may present witnesses, question witnesses 
against them, and appeal convictions. They have the right to be present 
at their trials and consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Public 
defenders are not provided, but the CLC provided free legal advice and 
representation in court. Local lawyers occasionally took pro bono 
cases.

    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. Any violation of a human 
right provided for in the law can be addressed in the courts.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, but 
the government did not always respect these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Press.--Media outlets reported on political developments 
and high-profile court cases but exercised self-censorship regarding 
high-profile individuals. The government-owned Tonga Broadcasting 
Commission's board directed that all programming be reviewed by board-
appointed censors prior to broadcast, including coverage of the 2010 
election campaign.
    Beginning in late 2010, parliamentary debates were made accessible 
to both private and publicly owned media. The debate minutes were 
available publicly online within days after the debates.

    Libel Laws.--In a May civil case, a court ruled that the newspaper 
Kele'a had defamed Clive Edwards, an unsuccessful candidate for 
Parliament in the 2010 elections, and fined the newspaper 14,275 
pa'anga ($8,100). The day before the elections, the newspaper published 
a list of candidates, including Edwards, that it claimed had been 
assembled and supported by the government. The editor stated the list 
was obtained from the then government. Government witnesses stated the 
government did not provide any such information. Edwards had sued the 
newspaper, alleging that the article was false and adversely affected 
his candidacy.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the 
government generally respected this right in practice. In February the 
government lifted a state of emergency that had been in effect since a 
2006 riot in the capital of Nuku'alofa.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the government generally respected this right in 
practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.

    Exile.--The law does not prohibit forced exile, but the government 
did not employ it in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do 
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the 
government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. However, during the year the government granted refuge and 
Tongan citizenship to former Fijian army officer Ratu Tevita Roko 
Uluilakeba Mara, who fled to Tonga after being charged with sedition in 
Fiji. Mara had claimed the charges were politically motivated, and 
Tonga denied Fiji's extradition request.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Parliament has 26 elected members. Of these, 17 are popularly elected 
and nine are nobles elected by their peers. Parliament elects the prime 
minister, who appoints the cabinet. Up to four cabinet members may be 
selected from outside Parliament; they then also are seated in 
Parliament during their tenure in the cabinet. The most recent 
parliamentary elections, held in November 2010, were deemed generally 
free and fair.
    Although the majority of members of Parliament are chosen by 
popular vote, the king retains significant powers, such as those to 
withhold his assent to laws and dissolve Parliament.

    Political Parties.--Nobles and cabinet members associated with the 
royal family have traditionally dominated the Parliament and 
government. For several decades a democracy movement has been building, 
and since 2005 three proreform political parties have been registered, 
although during the year only two were active.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were no women elected 
to Parliament. One woman joined the government and Parliament by direct 
appointment to the cabinet. A woman may become queen, but the 
constitution forbids a woman to inherit hereditary noble titles or 
become a chief.

    There were no members of minorities in the government or 
Parliament..--Section 4. Official Corruption and Government 
Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. The 
government sometimes implemented the law, but officials engaged in 
corrupt practices with impunity, and corruption remained a serious 
problem. Since 2008 the Office of the Auditor General has reported to 
Parliament directly, instead of to the prime minister. The Office of 
the Anti-Corruption Commissioner is empowered to investigate official 
corruption.
    There were unconfirmed reports of government corruption during the 
year. Incidents of bribe taking and other forms of corruption in the 
police force reportedly occurred. Government preferences appeared to 
benefit unfairly businesses associated with government officials, 
nobles, and the royal family. There is no law requiring financial 
disclosure for public officials. The royal family continued to exert 
significant influence over public finances.
    The law does not specifically allow for public access to government 
information, and such access was a problem, especially when the 
government deemed the information sensitive.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated 
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their 
findings on human rights cases. Government officials were fairly 
cooperative and responsive to their views.
    Government offices include a commission on public relations that 
investigates and seeks to resolve complaints about the government.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law confirms the special status of members of the royal family 
and the nobility. While social, cultural, and economic facilities were 
available to all citizens regardless of race and religion, members of 
the hereditary nobility had substantial advantages, including control 
over most land and a generally privileged status.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is punishable by up to 15 
years' imprisonment. The law does not recognize spousal rape. The 
incidence of rape appeared to be infrequent, although there were no 
reliable statistics. Rape cases reported were investigated by the 
police and prosecuted under the penal code. According to the police, 
there were three cases of rape reported in 2011. Nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) often reported higher figures than the police.
    The law does not address domestic violence specifically, but it can 
be prosecuted under laws against physical assault. The Police Domestic 
Violence Unit has a ``no drop'' policy in complaints of domestic 
assault, and these cases proceed to prosecution in the magistrates' 
courts. The no drop policy was introduced in 2009 because many women 
were reluctant to press charges against their spouses due to cultural 
constraints. During the year there were approximately 300 cases of 
domestic violence reported to the Police Domestic Violence Unit. 
Following reports of abuse, victims received counseling from the unit's 
officers. Perpetrators were also provided counseling. The police worked 
with the National Center for Women and Children as well as the Women 
and Children Crisis Center to provide shelter for abused women. The 
Free Wesleyan Church operated a hotline for women in trouble, and the 
Salvation Army provided counseling and rehabilitation programs.
    The Police Domestic Violence Unit, together with various NGOs, 
including the National Center for Women and Children, the Women and 
Children Crisis Center, and the Salvation Army, conducted public 
awareness and prevention campaigns against domestic violence. 
Statistics compiled by the Women and Children Crisis Center indicated 
that as of October, 241 persons received assistance from the center 
during the year, including 169 women, 10 men, and 62 children.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is not a crime, but physical 
sexual assault can be prosecuted as indecent assault. Sexual harassment 
of women sometimes occurred, based on complaints received by the Police 
Domestic Violence Unit.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children. Public hospitals and health centers and a regional NGO's 
clinic provided free information about and access to contraception. 
Under a Ministry of Health policy, a woman is not permitted to undergo 
a tubal ligation at a public hospital without the consent of her 
husband or, in his absence, her male next of kin. Public hospitals and 
health centers provided free prenatal, obstetric, and postpartum care.

    Discrimination.--Inheritance laws, especially those concerned with 
land, discriminate against women. Women can lease land, but inheritance 
rights pass through the male heirs. Under the inheritance laws, the 
claim to a father's estate by a male child born out of wedlock takes 
precedence over the claim of the deceased's widow or daughter. If there 
are no male relatives, a widow is entitled to remain on her husband's 
land as long as she does not remarry or engage in sexual intercourse. 
Both the inheritance laws and the land rights laws increased economic 
discrimination experienced by women in terms of their ability to access 
credit and own and operate businesses.
    Women had lower labor force participation rates than their male 
counterparts (74.6 percent for men compared with 52.7 percent for 
women). Unemployment levels were higher for women, at 7.4 percent, 
compared with 3.6 percent for men. Average weekly earnings were higher 
for men--127 pa'anga ($68) compared with 112 pa'anga ($60) for women. 
Women who rose to positions of leadership often had links with the 
nobility. Some female commoners held senior leadership positions in 
business and government, including that of governor of the Reserve 
Bank.
    The Office of Women within the Ministry of Education, Women, and 
Culture is responsible for facilitation of development projects for 
women. During the year the office assisted women's groups in setting up 
work programs.
    The National Center for Women and Children and the Women and 
Children Crisis Center focused on domestic abuse and improving the 
economic and social conditions of women. Other NGOs, including Ma'a 
Fafine Moe Famili (For Women and Families, Inc.) and the Tonga National 
Women's Congress, promoted human rights, focusing on the rights of 
women and children. Several religiously affiliated women's groups also 
advocated for women's legal rights.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Birth in the country does not 
confer citizenship. Citizenship is derived from one's parents or from 
the citizen parent if only one parent is a citizen. The law requires 
births to be registered within three weeks, and this was usually done 
in practice.

    Child Abuse.--According to Police Domestic Violence Unit 
statistics, during the year there were 33 reports of assaults on 
children up to age 19 (28 girls and five boys).

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual 
sex is 16 years. Violators may be charged with indecent assault on a 
female, which carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment; 
indecent assault of a child carries a maximum sentence of five years. A 
separate provision of law prohibits carnal knowledge of a girl under 
age 12, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The law also 
prohibits child pornography, with penalties of a fine of up to 100,000 
pa'anga ($53,475) or up to 10 years' imprisonment for individuals and a 
fine of up to 250,000 pa'anga ($133,700) for corporations.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known resident Jewish community, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no legally mandated 
provisions for services for persons with physical, sensory, 
intellectual, or mental disabilities. There were no formal complaints 
of discrimination in employment, education, and provision of other 
government services. However, there were no programs to ensure access 
to buildings for persons with disabilities, and in practice most 
buildings were not accessible. There also were no programs to ensure 
access to communications and information for persons with disabilities. 
The Tonga Red Cross Society operated a school for children with 
disabilities and conducted occasional home visits. A program of the 
Ministry of Education, Women, and Culture to assimilate children with 
disabilities into primary schools continued during the year. The queen 
mother ran a center providing accommodation and meals for adults with 
disabilities. There was an NGO advocating on behalf of persons with 
disabilities.
    There was no specific government agency with responsibility for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the Ministry of 
Labor, Commerce, and Industries, ownership and operation of food retail 
stores in the country has been legally restricted to citizens since 
1978. Despite this policy the retail sector in many towns was dominated 
by Chinese nationals, who also moved into unrestricted sectors of the 
economy. There were reports of crime and societal discrimination 
targeted at members of the Chinese minority.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Sodomy is illegal, with a 
maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment, but there were no reports of 
prosecutions directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons 
under this provision. A subculture of transgender dress and behavior 
was tolerated, and a prominent NGO and annual festival highlighted 
transgender identities. There were no reports of violence against 
persons based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of discrimination or violence against persons based on HIV/AIDS status.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers to form and join independent 
unions, strike, and engage in collective bargaining, but regulations on 
the formation of unions, strikes, and collective bargaining were never 
promulgated. There is no law specifically prohibiting antiunion 
discrimination or providing for reinstatement of workers fired for 
union activity. There were no official unions. The Friendly Islands 
Teachers Association and the Tonga Nurses Association were incorporated 
under the Incorporated Societies Act but have no formal bargaining 
rights under the act. The Public Servants Association acted as a de 
facto union representing all government employees. There have been 
strikes, but none took place during the year.
    Collective bargaining was not known to take place in practice. 
There were no known reports of antiunion or antiassociation 
discrimination during the year. There was no dispute resolution 
mechanism in place specifically for labor disputes, although persons 
could take their cases to court.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports that such 
practices occurred among citizens. There were anecdotal reports that 
some foreign workers may have been coerced into forced labor.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although there is no legislation prohibiting child labor, the practice 
did not exist in the wage economy. According to the National Center for 
Women and Children and other NGOs, some school-age children were 
working in the informal sector in traditional family activities such as 
subsistence farming and fishing.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no minimum wage law, 
although there are government guidelines for wage levels set by the 
Ministry of Labor, Commerce and Industries. According to the Asian 
Development Bank, 23 percent of workers in 16 communities surveyed in 
2005 earned less than 29 pa'anga ($16) per week. Data from the 2009 
Household Income and Expenditure Survey (the latest available) 
indicated that 3.1 percent of the population lived in absolute poverty 
and 22.5 percent lived below the basic needs poverty line. While the 
latter group did not live in absolute poverty, they struggled to meet 
extra costs like education, transport, and utility bills.
    Labor laws and regulations, enforced by the Ministry of Labor, 
Commerce, and Industries, limited the work week to 40 hours. There are 
no laws mandating premium pay for overtime or prohibiting excessive 
compulsory overtime.
    The ministry enforced labor laws and regulations in the wage sector 
of the economy, particularly on the main island of Tongatapu, but 
enforcement in the agricultural sector and on the outer islands was 
less consistent.
    Few industries exposed workers to significant danger, and 
industrial accidents were rare. Workers have the right to remove 
themselves from situations that endangered health or safety without 
jeopardy to their employment; however, the authorities seldom enforced 
this right.

                               __________

                                 TUVALU

                           executive summary
    Tuvalu is a constitutional parliamentary democracy. Following 
generally free and fair parliamentary elections in September 2010, a 
loose coalition of eight of the 15 members of Parliament (MPs) formed a 
new government and selected Maatia Toafa as prime minister. However, in 
December 2010 Parliament ousted Toafa in a vote of no confidence and 
selected Willy Telavi as the new prime minister. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities.
    There were human rights problems in a few areas. In particular, 
there were concerns that traditional customs and social patterns led to 
and perpetuated religious and social discrimination, including 
discrimination against women. Domestic violence also was a problem.
    In January the government banned public gatherings and meetings in 
the capital, Funafuti, following demonstrations by residents of 
Nukufetau Island demanding removal of one of their MPs. The ban ended 
in mid-February.
    There were no reports that government officials committed human 
rights abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:

    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports 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.
    Local hereditary elders exercise traditional discretionary 
punishment and disciplinary authority. This includes the right to 
inflict corporal punishment for infringement of customary rules, which 
can be at odds with national law. However, during the year there were 
no reports of such corporal punishment.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, and prisoners 
had access to potable water. The government permitted visits by 
independent human rights observers, but there were no such visits 
during the year.
    As of November the prison system held 12 convicted prisoners (11 
men and one woman). There were no juvenile offenders (defined as those 
under age 18) or pretrial detainees.
    Prisoners had access to visitors and were permitted religious 
observance. Prisoners could submit complaints without censorship 
through the Office of the People's Lawyer. During the year the 
government did not investigate or monitor prison conditions and did not 
receive any complaints or allegations of inhumane prison conditions.
    The country does not have a formal ombudsman who can act on behalf 
of prisoners and detainees.
    Renovations were made to the women's prison during the year.

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

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police, 
under the Office of the Prime Minister, maintain internal security. The 
country has no military force. Civilian authorities maintained 
effective control over the national police service, and the government 
has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish police abuse and 
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security 
forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
permits arrests without warrants if a police officer witnesses the 
commission of an unlawful act or has ``reasonable suspicion'' that an 
offense is about to be committed. Police estimated that the majority of 
arrests were of this type. Police may hold a person arrested without a 
warrant for no more than 24 hours without a hearing before a 
magistrate. When a court issues an arrest warrant, the maximum 
permissible detention time before a hearing must be held is stated on 
the warrant and normally is one to two weeks.
    There was a functioning system of bail. Arrested persons generally 
were promptly informed of the charges against them, although 
bureaucratic delays sometimes occurred because persons charged with 
serious offenses to be tried in the High Court must wait for its 
semiannual session. A ``people's lawyer'' (public defender) was 
available free of charge for arrested persons and other legal advice. 
Persons on the outer islands did not have ready access to legal 
services because the people's lawyer was based on the main island of 
Funafuti and infrequently traveled to the outer islands. The country 
had no attorneys in private practice.

    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 public 
trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The 
law provides for a presumption of innocence. Judges conduct trials and 
render verdicts; there are no juries. Defendants have the right to 
consult with an attorney in a timely manner and have access to an 
independent public defender. They also have the right to confront 
witnesses, present witnesses and evidence, access government-held 
evidence, and appeal convictions.

    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. Individuals and organizations 
may seek civil remedies for human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Press.--Although there were no government restrictions, 
there were no locally based private, independent media. The 
government's Media Department controlled the country's sole radio 
station.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government 
generally respected this right in practice. On January 13, however, 
following demonstrations by residents of Nukufetau demanding removal of 
one of their MPs, the government imposed a two-week ban on public 
gatherings, meetings, and processions in the capital of Funafuti under 
the provisions of a public order ordinance. The government stated that 
it imposed the ban because of a threatening letter constituents sent to 
the MP. The senior magistrate's court declined to take up a complaint 
brought by some village leaders contesting the constitutionality of the 
ordinance. On January 28, the government loosened the ban, permitting 
public gatherings provided organizers obtained advance permission from 
the police commissioner. The ban expired two weeks later and was not 
renewed further.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the government respected this right in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department's International 
Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--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. During the year there were no applications for asylum or 
refugee status.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens the right to change their government 
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 
September 2010 general elections were generally free and fair. An 
eight-member majority of the newly elected Parliament selected Maatia 
Toafa as prime minister. In December 2010 Parliament ousted Toafa in a 
no-confidence vote and selected Willy Telavi as the new prime minister.

    Political Parties.--There were no formal political parties. 
Instead, Parliament tended to divide between an ad hoc faction with at 
least the necessary eight votes to form a government and an informal 
opposition faction.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Participation by women in 
government and politics was limited, largely due to traditional 
perceptions of women's role in society. There were no women in the 15-
member Parliament. One woman served as a cabinet minister. There were 
no members of minorities in Parliament or the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for some forms of official 
corruption, such as theft; however, laws against corruption are weak. 
Concerns remained that public funds sometimes were mismanaged and that 
government officials sometimes benefited unfairly from their positions, 
particularly in regard to overseas travel and related payments and 
benefits.
    The law provides for annual, public ministerial reports, but 
publication was spotty and often nonexistent. The Auditor General's 
Office, responsible for providing government oversight, was 
underfunded. Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure 
laws.
    Since 2009, together with Nauru and Kiribati, the country has 
participated in a subregional audit support program, an initiative of 
the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions, with the goal of 
enabling public accounts to be audited to uniformly high standards in a 
timely manner.
    There is no law providing for public access to government 
information. In practice the government was somewhat cooperative in 
responding to individual requests for such information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focused 
entirely on human rights, although there were no known barriers to 
their establishment. Some human rights advocates, such as the Tuvalu 
National Council of Women, operated under the auspices of the Tuvalu 
Association of Nongovernmental Organizations, which was composed 
primarily of religious organizations. The people's lawyer monitored 
sentencing, equality before the law, and human rights issues in 
general. This institution, which at times was critical of the 
government, nonetheless was supported by the government, which 
frequently sought its advice. The few other local organizations 
involved in human rights issues generally operated without government 
restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human 
rights cases. However, opportunities to publicize such information 
locally were severely limited due to the lack of local print and 
electronic media. Government officials were somewhat cooperative and 
responsive to local organizations' views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and 
place of origin, and the government generally enforced these 
prohibitions. In 2005 the High Court stated that the omission of gender 
as a basis of discrimination in the constitution was deliberate, and 
there is no constitutional protection against sex discrimination.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is a crime punishable by 
a minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment, but spousal rape is not 
included in the legal definition of this offense. There were both 
arrests and trials for rape-related offenses during the year.
    The law does not specifically address domestic violence. Acts of 
domestic violence were prosecuted under the assault provisions of the 
penal code. The maximum penalty for common assault is six months' 
imprisonment, and for assault with actual bodily harm, five years' 
imprisonment.
    A 2007 demographic and health survey conducted by the Secretariat 
of the Pacific Community reported that approximately 47 percent of the 
women surveyed had experienced some type of violence in their lifetime. 
Nine percent experienced sexual violence, 25 percent experienced other 
physical violence, and a further 12 percent were victims of both sexual 
and other physical violence. Many cases of rape and domestic violence 
went unreported due to lack of awareness of women's rights and 
traditional and cultural pressures on victims. Human rights observers 
criticized the police for seeking to address violence against women 
using traditional and customary methods of reconciliation rather than 
criminal prosecution. The Women's Crisis Center, operated by the Tuvalu 
National Council of Women, provided counseling services, but there were 
no shelters or hotlines for abused women. The police have a Domestic 
Violence Unit. The government also participated in a regional program 
providing training for police in handling domestic violence cases.

    Sexual Harassment.--The law does not specifically prohibit sexual 
harassment but prohibits indecent behavior, which includes lewd 
touching. Sexual harassment was not widely reported. There were no 
known reported cases during the year.

    Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to 
decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and 
have the means and information to do so free from discrimination, 
coercion, and violence. The nongovernmental Tuvalu Family Health 
Association provided information and education about, and access to, 
contraception. Government hospitals also offered family planning 
services and provided free prenatal, obstetric, and postnatal care. 
Virtually all births were attended by skilled health personnel.

    Discrimination.--There remained areas in which the law contributes 
to an unequal status for women, such as land inheritance rights and 
child custody rights. In practice women held a subordinate societal 
position, constrained both by law in some instances and traditional 
customary practices. Nonetheless, women increasingly held positions in 
the health and education sectors, headed a number of NGOs, and were 
more active politically. In the wage economy, men held most higher-
paying positions, while women held the majority of lower-paying 
clerical and retail positions. Additionally, as women tended not to own 
capital, few women were able to access credit to start businesses.
    There is a Department of Women within the Office of the Prime 
Minister.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived through 
one's parents. The law requires births to be registered within 10 days, 
and this was generally observed in practice.

    Child Abuse.--The government did not compile child-abuse 
statistics, and there were no reported cases of child abuse or child 
prostitution during the year. However, anecdotal evidence indicated 
that child abuse occurred. Corporal punishment, in the form of strokes 
of a cane or paddle, was common in schools.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The age of consent for sexual 
relations is 15. Sexual relations with a girl below age 13 are 
punishable by up to life imprisonment. Sexual relations with a girl 
older than age 12 but younger than age 15 are punishable by up to five 
years' imprisonment. The victim's consent is irrelevant under both 
these provisions; however, in the latter case, reasonable belief that 
the victim was 15 or older is a permissible defense. There is no 
specific provision of law pertaining to child pornography.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no known Jewish community, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--During the year there were no confirmed 
reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit 
discrimination on the basis of physical, sensory, intellectual, or 
mental disability. There were no known reports of discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, or the 
provision of other state services. However, supplementary state 
services to address the special needs of persons with disabilities were 
very limited. There are no mandated building accessibility provisions 
for persons with disabilities. Although the one multistory government 
building had elevators, they were not operational, and there were no 
elevators in other multistory buildings. Persons with disabilities had 
limited access to information and communications. The Fusi Alofa 
Association (Tuvalu National Disabled Persons Organization) and the 
Tuvalu Red Cross undertook regular home visits to persons with 
disabilities and conducted educational programs to raise community 
awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities and advocate for 
such persons. The Fusi Alofa Association ran basic education classes in 
Funafuti for children with disabilities who were not able to attend 
school.
    The Community Affairs Department in the Ministry of Home Affairs 
and Rural Development is responsible for protecting the rights of 
persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Sodomy and acts of ``gross 
indecency between males'' are illegal, with maximum penalties of 14 and 
seven years' imprisonment, respectively, but there were no reports of 
prosecutions directed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender 
persons under these provisions during the year. Societal discrimination 
against persons based on sexual orientation or gender identitywas not 
common, and there were no reports of such discrimination during the 
year.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
faced some societal discrimination. Local agents of foreign companies 
that hired seafarers from Tuvalu to work abroad barred persons with 
HIV/AIDS from employment. The government and NGOs cooperated to inform 
the public about HIV/AIDS and to counter discrimination. There were no 
reports of violence against persons based on HIV/AIDS status.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers to form and join independent 
unions, choose their own labor representatives, and conduct legal 
strikes. The law also provides for conciliation, arbitration, and 
settlement procedures in cases of labor disputes. Public sector 
employees, such as civil servants, teachers, and nurses, were members 
of professional associations that did not have union status. Most of 
the working-age population (approximately 75 percent) lacked permanent 
employment and worked in the informal and subsistence economy, so few 
unions existed. The only registered trade union, the Tuvalu Overseas 
Seamen's Union, was independent of the government. There were no 
reports of antiunion discrimination.
    Although there are provisions for collective bargaining and the 
right to strike, in practice the few individual private sector 
employers set their own wage scales. No strike has ever taken place. 
Both the private and public sectors generally used nonconfrontational 
deliberations to resolve labor disputes.

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

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits children under age 14 from working in the formal labor 
market. The law also prohibits children under age 15 from industrial 
employment or work on any ship and stipulates that children under age 
18 are not allowed to enter into formal contracts, including work 
contracts. However, a separate provision of law allows children age 15 
or older to enter into apprenticeships of up to five years, subject to 
approval by the commissioner of labor. No restrictions are placed on 
the type of work that a child apprentice may perform, but he or she 
must be medically examined and determined to be physically and mentally 
fit for employment in the specified occupation. Apprentices may 
lawfully live away from their families; in such cases, under the law 
the contract must adequately provide for the supply of food, clothing, 
accommodation, and medical attention to the apprentice. However, the 
government did not have sufficient resources to monitor and enforce 
child labor law provisions effectively. Children rarely were employed 
outside the traditional economy of subsistence farming and fishing.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law provides for the 
government to set a minimum wage, but in practice the Department of 
Labor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Labor has not set a 
national minimum wage rate. The minimum annual salary in the public 
sector was approximately A$3,000-A$4,000 (approximately $3,060-$4,080). 
There was no recent poverty-level income figure available, but this 
minimum salary was barely sufficient to allow a worker and family in 
the wage economy to maintain a decent standard of living. According to 
traditional custom, however, extended families help support their less 
well-off members.
    The law sets the workday at eight hours, and the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and Labor may specify the days and hours of work for 
workers in various industries. Although there is provision in the law 
for premium pay for overtime work, no premium overtime rates have been 
established. The law provides for rudimentary health and safety 
standards. It requires employers to provide adequate potable water, 
basic sanitary facilities, and medical care. Workers may remove 
themselves from work situations that endanger health or safety without 
jeopardy to their jobs. The law also protects legal foreign workers.
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Labor is responsible for the 
enforcement of wage and hour and health and safety regulations, but the 
ministry did not have sufficient resources to enforce the laws during 
the year. The Department of Labor had only one staff member.
    In practice private sector wages were typically somewhat lower than 
the minimum public sector wage rate.

                               __________

                                VANUATU

                           executive summary
    Vanuatu is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a freely 
elected government. Parliament reelected the current head of 
government, Prime Minister Sato Kilman, in June after a court had 
annulled his December 2010 appointment to the same position. The most 
recent national elections, held in September 2008, were considered 
generally free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Violence against women remained one of the most prominent human 
rights abuses during the year.
    The government continued to address human rights challenges 
including police violence, poor prison conditions, arrests without 
warrants, an extremely slow judicial process, government corruption, 
and violence and discrimination against women.
    Government efforts to prosecute and punish abuses by the police 
were minimally effective.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings. In April a commission of inquiry was established to 
investigate why the findings and recommendations of the coroner's 
report into the death of escaped prisoner John Bule were not 
implemented, but its appointment was revoked two weeks later after the 
Vanuatu police force challenged the coroner's report in the court of 
justice. The challenge was pending before the court at year's end. In 
2010 authorities released the report of a coroner's inquest conducted 
by New Zealand Justice Nevin Dawson in Bule's case. The report 
highlighted police abuse by the Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), a police 
paramilitary unit, and called for an inquiry into Bule's death and a 
scaling down of the VMF's powers. The report noted instances of 
intimidation during the inquest, including a death threat against 
Dawson from a senior VMF officer. Bule died after sustaining multiple 
injuries while in police custody following his recapture in 2009.

    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 of police and correctional officer abuse of criminal 
suspects and prison inmates, respectively.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions at the three 
prisons in Port Vila improved only slightly during the year with 
foreign donor funding but remained below international standards. 
Prisoners had access to potable water. Deaths of prisoners while 
incarcerated were not prevalent.
    Following the 2008 release of a report detailing prisoner 
complaints about poor conditions at the main Port Vila prison, and a 
subsequent 2009 court order directing the public prosecutor to 
catalogue prisoner injuries and illnesses, only one case was referred 
to the court, without resolution.
    At year's end the prison system held a total of 183 inmates, 
including 158 convicted prisoners and 25 pretrial detainees. There were 
two female prisoners and three male juvenile prisoners (defined by law 
as persons under age 16). Although there is no legislated maximum 
capacity for existing prison facilities, the total prison capacity 
during the year was 210. Male inmates were incarcerated in overcrowded 
facilities. Persons deemed mentally unfit to stand trial were held with 
the general prison population.
    According to the center manager of the Correctional Services 
Department, the existing facilities, especially in Port Vila, made 
total separation of juveniles from adults difficult, and in some cases 
juveniles were held with adults during the year. However, he stated 
that the number of juveniles in custody remained very low.
    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 Office of the Ombudsman is mandated to 
investigate complaints of human rights violations; however, no 
investigations related to prison conditions were undertaken during the 
year. Supreme Court justices regularly visited prisons to monitor 
conditions.
    The government permitted prison monitoring visits by independent 
human rights observers. During the year representatives from the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Human Rights visited the prisons in Port Vila.
    The Ombudsman Commission is not authorized to consider on its own 
initiative such matters as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent 
offenders to alleviate overcrowding; the status and circumstances of 
confinement of juvenile offenders; and improvements to pretrial 
detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures to ensure that prisoners 
do not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged offenses. The 
commission can investigate specific complaints received from prisoners 
relating to such matters, but it did not undertake any such 
investigations 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 national police 
maintain internal security, and its paramilitary VMF comprise the 
country's entire externally focused military force. The commissioner of 
police heads the police force, including a police maritime wing, the 
paramilitary VMF, the Immigration Department, the National Disaster 
Management Office, and the National Fire Service. Police effectiveness 
was hampered by a lack of resources and involvement in ancillary 
activities such as search and rescue operations, immigration, and 
national disaster response.
    Civilian authorities were hampered by a lack of resources in 
maintaining effective control over security forces and did not have 
effective mechanisms to punish abuse or corruption. There were 
allegations of police impunity, in particular with regard to the VMF. 
The report of a coroner's inquiry into the 2009 death in custody of 
recaptured prison escapee John Bule (see section 1.a.) characterized 
the VMF as a force with a ``culture of violence'' that considered 
itself ``above the law.''
    The Office of the Ombudsman is mandated to investigate complaints 
of security force abuses.
    During the year foreign assistance continued to address some of the 
problems confronting the force. Actions taken under the assistance 
projects included recruitment of new officers, establishment of 
additional police posts on outer islands and in rural areas, and police 
building repairs and maintenance. Under a five-year capacity-building 
project begun in 2006, seven Australian Federal Police officers were 
attached to the Vanuatu Police Force as advisors.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A warrant 
issued by a court is required for an arrest; however, police made a 
small number of arrests without warrants during the year. The 
constitutional provision that suspects must be informed of the charges 
against them generally was observed in practice.
    A system of bail operated effectively; however, some persons not 
granted bail spent lengthy periods in pretrial detention due to 
judicial inefficiency. Detainees were allowed prompt access to counsel 
and family members. The Public Defender's Office provided counsel to 
indigent defendants.

    Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detainees constituted nearly one-
eighth of the total prison population. Judges, prosecutors, and police 
complained about large case backlogs due to a lack of resources and 
limited numbers of qualified judges and prosecutors. Years could pass 
before a case was brought to trial.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. 
The judicial system is derived from British common law. Judges conduct 
trials and render verdicts; there are no juries. The courts uphold 
constitutional provisions for a fair public trial, a presumption of 
innocence until guilt is proven, a prohibition against double jeopardy, 
a right to counsel, a right to judicial determination of the validity 
of arrest or detention, a right to question witnesses and access 
government-held evidence, and a right of appeal. The law extends these 
rights to all citizens. The Public Defender's Office provides free 
legal counsel to indigent defendants.

    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 for human rights 
violations; however, police were often reluctant to enforce domestic 
court orders, particularly when the orders concerned their own family 
or clan members. This resulted in the reluctance of women to lodge 
complaints with the police.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press
    The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and the 
government generally respected these rights in practice.

    Violence and Harassment.--In March the minister for public 
utilities and infrastructure, Harry Iauko, was fined 15, 000 vatu 
(approximately $164) after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting the 
January 2009 assault on Marc Neil-Jones, publisher of the Vanuatu Daily 
Post newspaper.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High 
Commissioner for Refugees in providing protection and assistance to 
internally displaced persons, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless 
persons, and other persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's 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. The government did not grant refugee status or asylum.

    Temporary Protection.--According to the immigration compliance 
officer, at year's end three Sri Lankans and one Indonesian from West 
Papua remained in Port Vila awaiting resettlement in a third country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The most 
recent national parliamentary elections were held in September 2008; 
they were considered generally free and fair. Allegations of bribery 
and electoral fraud were raised against then foreign minister Bakoa 
Kaltongga, two other politicians, and a former ambassador to the U.N. 
The allegations included bribery of electoral officials and 
discrepancies in voting rolls that led to some voters being turned away 
from polling booths. According to the chief electoral officer, 13 
petitions were filed alleging irregularities in the elections. Of 
these, six were upheld in court, resulting in three recounts and three 
by-elections. Of the two petitions before the Supreme Court during the 
year, one was dismissed and one remained pending a decision at year's 
end.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--Traditional attitudes 
regarding male dominance and customary familial roles hampered women's 
participation in economic and political life. There was one woman in 
the 52-member parliament. No women served in the cabinet. The solicitor 
general--the second-ranking official (under the attorney general) in 
the Office of the State Law--was a woman.
    A small number of ethnic minorities (non-Melanesians) served in 
parliament and in the cabinet, including as the minister of economy.
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.
    There were reports of government corruption during the year. The 
law provides for the appointment of public servants on the basis of 
merit; however, in practice political interference at times hampered 
the effective operation of the civil service.
    The ombudsman reported that, while police corruption sometimes 
occurred, his office received no specific complaints during the year.
    Members of parliament and elected members of provincial governments 
are subject to a leadership code of conduct, which includes financial 
disclosure requirements. However, the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed 
that some officials did not comply with these disclosure requirements. 
The Ombudsman's Office and Auditor General's Office are key government 
agencies responsible for combating government corruption.
    No law provides for public access to government information. In 
practice the government's response to requests for information from the 
media was inconsistent.
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, investigating and publishing their 
findings on human rights cases. Government officials often were 
cooperative and responsive to their views.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The president appoints a 
government ombudsman to a five-year term in consultation with other 
political leaders. Since its establishment the Ombudsman's Office has 
issued a number of reports critical of government institutions and 
officials. However, it did not have adequate resources or independent 
power to prosecute, and the results of its investigations may not be 
used as evidence in court proceedings. Cases reported to the ombudsman 
and deemed to be valid were referred to the Public Prosecutor's Office 
for further action, but there were few prosecutions.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, place of 
origin, language, or sex; however, women remained victims of 
discrimination in the tradition-based society.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Although rape is a crime, with 
a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, spousal rape is not cited 
specifically in the law, and police frequently were reluctant to 
intervene in what were considered domestic matters.
    Violence against women, particularly domestic violence, was common, 
although no accurate statistics existed. Most cases of violence against 
women, including rape, went unreported because women, particularly in 
rural areas, were ignorant of their rights or feared further abuse.
    The Family Protection Act (FPA), which entered into force in 2009, 
covers domestic violence, women's rights, children's rights, and family 
rights. Violators could face prison terms of up to five years or a fine 
of up to 100,000 vatu (approximately $1,095) or both. In 2010 the 
government established a Family Protection Unit (FPU) at police 
headquarters in Port Vila to deal with issues addressed by the FPA. 
According to the FPU, during the year it issued 302 protection orders. 
A protection order does not require proof of injury; as long as there 
is a threat of violence, police can issue an order.
    There were no government programs to address domestic violence, and 
media attention to the abuse was limited. As part of the New Zealand 
government's regional Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Program, 
Radio Vanuatu had a bi-monthly program for police to raise awareness 
and discuss issues relating to domestic violence. The Department of 
Women's Affairs played a role in the process for implementing the 
Family Protection Act. The Police Academy provided training in the 
handling of domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Police have a 
``no drop'' policy under which they do not drop reported domestic 
violence cases; if the woman later wishes to withdraw her complaint, 
she must go to court to request that it be dropped.
    Churches and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operated 
facilities for abused women. NGOs also played an important role in 
educating the public about domestic violence, but did not have 
sufficient funding to implement their programs fully.

    Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is not illegal and was a 
problem.

    Reproductive Rights.--According to the country's family planning 
policy guidelines, couples and individuals have the right to decide 
freely the number, spacing and timing of their children. This right was 
generally upheld in practice. According to the national reproductive 
health coordinator, the Ministry of Health provides training on, and 
works to raise awareness of, human rights and gender equity with regard 
to reproductive health services and behavior. The country is 
predominantly a patriarchal society, and sometimes decisions on family 
planning and contraceptive use were made by the man in the relationship 
without taking the woman's views into consideration. According to 
country indicators published by the Population Reference Bureau, an 
estimated 38 percent of married women ages 15-49 used some form of 
contraception, with 37 percent using modern contraceptive methods. The 
ministry cooperated with the Department of Labor on the Male 
Involvement in Reproductive Health Project, which worked to sensitize 
men in the workforce about reproductive health issues. A regional 
adolescent health and development program funded by the U.N. Population 
Fund worked with schools to strengthen school-based clinics and to 
incorporate counseling and services.
    The country's geographical layout in relation to service delivery 
points, both between islands and inland, sometimes made it difficult to 
obtain access to contraception; essential prenatal, obstetric, and 
postpartum care; and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV. Obstacles included lack of adequate roads and the high 
cost of transport to reach health-care facilities. Women were equally 
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections.

    Discrimination.--While women have equal rights under the law, they 
were only slowly emerging from a traditional culture characterized by 
male dominance, a general reluctance to educate women, and a widespread 
belief that women should devote themselves primarily to childbearing. 
The majority of women entered into marriage through ``bride-price 
payment,'' a practice that encouraged men to view women as property. 
Although the law does not prohibit women from owning or inheriting 
land, in practice women generally were barred by tradition from land 
ownership. Many female leaders viewed village chiefs as major obstacles 
to social, political, and economic rights for women.
    In practice women experienced discrimination in access to 
employment, credit, and pay equity for substantially similar work. The 
Employment Act prohibits women from working in certain sectors of the 
economy at night. Vanuatu Transparency Limited and the South Pacific 
Commission, through a program of the Pacific Regional Rights Resource 
Team, worked to increase awareness of women's legal rights. The 
government, with the assistance of the U.N. Development Program, ran 
the Vanuatu Women's Development Scheme (VANWODS). VANWODS provided poor 
and disadvantaged women with microloans to start income-producing 
activities, with the goal of making these activities progressively more 
self-financing. Women interested in running for public office received 
encouragement from the Vanuatu Council of Women and the Department of 
Women's Affairs, which also offered training programs and funding.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived through 
one's parents. Births are usually registered immediately unless the 
birth has taken place in a very remote village or island. Failure to 
register does not result in denial of public services.

    Education.--The government stressed the importance of children's 
rights and welfare, but there were significant problems with regard to 
education. Although the government stated a commitment to a free and 
universal education policy, school fees served as a barrier to 
education.
    School attendance is not compulsory. Boys tended to receive more 
education than girls did. Although attendance rates were similar in the 
early primary grades, fewer girls advanced to the higher grades. A 
significant portion of the population, perhaps as high as 50 percent, 
was functionally illiterate.

    Child Abuse.--Child abuse was not believed to be extensive; 
however, the government did little to combat the problem. NGOs and law 
enforcement agencies reported increased complaints of incest and rape 
of children in recent years, but no statistics were available.
    Children generally were protected within the traditional extended 
family system. Members of the extended family played an active role in 
a child's development. Virtually no children were homeless or 
abandoned.

    Child Marriage.--The legal age for marriage is 21, although boys 
between 18 and 21 and girls between 16 and 21 may marry with parental 
permission. In rural areas and some outer islands, some children 
married at younger ages.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Some children under age 18 were 
engaged in prostitution.
    Section 97 of the penal code addresses statutory rape. It provides 
for a maximum legal penalty for violators of five years' imprisonment 
if the child is over age 12 but under age 15, or 14 years' imprisonment 
if the child is under age 12.
    Child pornography is illegal. The maximum penalty is five years' 
imprisonment if the child is age 14 or older, and seven years' 
imprisonment if the child is under age 14.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The country's Jewish community was limited to a few 
foreign nationals, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There is no law specifically 
prohibiting discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, 
intellectual, or mental disabilities. There is a national policy 
designed to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, but the 
government did not implement it effectively. There were no special 
programs to assist persons with disabilities and no legislation 
mandating access to buildings, information, and communications for 
them. Their protection and care were left to the traditional extended 
family and NGOs. In practice most buildings were not accessible to 
persons with disabilities. Due to a high rate of unemployment, few jobs 
were available for persons with disabilities. Persons with mental 
illness generally did not receive specialized care; members of their 
extended families usually attended to them.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Most of the population is 
Melanesian. Small minorities of Chinese, Fijians, Vietnamese, Tongans, 
and Europeans generally were concentrated in two towns and on a few 
plantations. Most of the land belongs to indigenous tribes and cannot 
be sold, although prime real estate was increasingly leased to others. 
Within the limits of this system of land tenure, there generally were 
no reports of discrimination against ethnic minorities; however, only 
indigenous farmers may legally grow kava, a native herb, for export.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of 
societal violence or discrimination against persons based on sexual 
orientation or gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--In 2010 a group of 
villagers killed two brothers whom they accused of using sorcery to 
cause the deaths of two staff members of a secondary school in 2009. 
Police arrested five suspects, who were later released on bail. Two of 
the suspects jumped bail before questioning. At year's end they were 
still at large, and police were still investigating the matter.
    There were no reports of societal violence or discrimination 
against persons based on HIV/AIDS status.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides all workers with the rights to organize and join 
unions, to strike, and to collective bargaining. Unions require 
government permission to affiliate with international labor 
federations, but the government has not denied any union such 
permission. The law prohibits retaliation for legal strikes. In the 
case of private-sector employees, complaints of violations of freedom 
of association are referred to the Department of Labor for conciliation 
and arbitration. In the public sector, the Public Service Commission 
handles complaints of violations. Unions are required by law to give 30 
days' notice of intent to strike and to provide a list of the names of 
potential strikers. While the law does not require union recognition or 
reinstatement, it prohibits antiunion discrimination once a union is 
recognized. Complaints of antiunion discrimination are referred to the 
Department of Labor. The government effectively enforced applicable 
laws without lengthy delays and appeals.
    Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were 
respected in practice.
    Unions exercised the right to organize and bargain collectively in 
practice.
    There were no known employee complaints of such discrimination 
received by the labor department during the year.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reports that 
such practices occurred.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits children under age 12 from working outside family-owned 
agricultural production, where many children assisted their parents. 
The employment of children from 12 to 18 years of age is restricted by 
occupational category and conditions of labor, including employment in 
the shipping industry and nighttime employment. However, the Department 
of Labor did not effectively enforce these laws. There were four 
inspectors within the labor department who were also responsible for 
cases of child labor. The department confirmed that there were no 
reported cases of child labor during the year and apart from verbal 
awareness done by the department no other action was taken during the 
year to address child labor. In practice children were employed in 
agriculture and some in commercial sexual exploitation.
    Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor at http://dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 26,000 vatu 
(approximately $285) per month. The minimum wage was enforced 
effectively. According to Asian Development Bank recent estimates 40 
percent of all Ni-Vanuatu and 50 percent of the rural population have 
incomes below the international poverty line. However, most families 
were not dependent solely on wages for their livelihood, supplementing 
their incomes through subsistence farming.
    Various laws regulated benefits such as sick leave, annual 
vacations, and other conditions of employment, including a 44-hour 
maximum workweek that included at least one 24-hour rest period. The 
Employment Act provides for a premium of 50 to 75 percent over the 
normal rate of pay for overtime work. Maternity leave pay provided a 
full salary for up to 12 weeks.
    The Employment Act, enforced by the Department of Labor, includes 
provisions for safety standards. Workers have the right to remove 
themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to their 
continued employment. Laws on working conditions and safety standards 
apply equally to foreign workers and citizens.
    However, the safety and health law was inadequate to protect 
workers engaged in logging, agriculture, construction, and 
manufacturing, and the four inspectors attached to the Department of 
Labor could not enforce the law fully. The labor department confirmed 
that some companies in these sectors were paying workers below the 
minimum wage rate and making employees work long hours without paying 
overtime. Many companies in these sectors did not provide personal 
safety equipment and standard scaffolding for workers. The government 
responded by issuing improvement notices to companies and drafting an 
Occupational Health and Safety Bill which will include harsher 
penalties for non-compliance to health and safety laws.

                               __________

                                VIETNAM

                           executive summary
    The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled 
by a single party, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by General 
Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and 
President Truong Tan Sang. The most recent National Assembly elections, 
held in May, were neither free nor fair, since the CPV's Vietnam 
Fatherland Front (VFF), an umbrella group that monitors the country's 
mass organizations, vetted all candidates. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    The most significant human rights problems in the country were 
severe government restrictions on citizens' political rights, 
particularly their right to change their government; increased measures 
to limit citizens' civil liberties; and corruption in the judicial 
system and police.
    Specific human rights abuses included continued police mistreatment 
of suspects during arrest and detention, including the use of lethal 
force, as well as austere prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and 
detention for political activities, and denial of the right to fair and 
expeditious trial. Political influence, endemic corruption, and 
inefficiency strongly distorted the judicial system. The government 
increasingly limited privacy rights and freedoms of the press, speech, 
assembly, movement, and association; increasingly suppressed dissent; 
further restricted Internet freedom; reportedly was involved in attacks 
against critical Web sites; and spied on dissident bloggers. Freedom of 
religion continued to be subject to uneven interpretation and 
protection, with significant problems continuing, especially at 
provincial and village levels. Police corruption persisted at various 
levels. The government maintained its prohibition of independent human 
rights organizations. Violence and discrimination against women as well 
as trafficking in persons continued, as did sexual exploitation of 
children and some societal discrimination based on ethnicity, sexual 
orientation and gender identity, and HIV/AIDS status. The government 
limited workers' rights to form and join independent unions and 
inadequately enforced safe and healthy working conditions.
    The government inconsistently took steps to prosecute and punish 
officials who committed abuses, and members of the police sometimes 
acted with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        from:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no 
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings, but there were reports of 19 deaths of persons in 
custody during the year as well as abuses of lethal force.
    For example, in March Trinh Xuan Tung died in custody in Hanoi 
after Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Ninh beat him while in detention 
for a traffic violation. Authorities suspended Ninh pending 
investigation, and at year's end the scheduling of a trial was expected 
in early 2012.
    In April in Dong Nai Province, local police officers beat Nguyen 
Cong Nhut to death after detaining him for five days for allegedly 
stealing tires. The case was reported to the Supreme People's Court and 
at year's end remained under investigation.
    In March a court convicted police officer Nguyen The Nghiep of 
excessive use of force and sentenced him to seven years in prison for 
the death by beating of Nguyen Van Khuong, who was arrested for a 
traffic violation in Bac Giang Province in July 2010. Authorities also 
banned Nghiep for life from the police force and ordered him to pay 155 
million Vietnamese dong (VND) (approximately $7,380) to the deceased's 
family, which his family did.
    In September authorities charged four former prison guards (Hoang 
Dinh Nam, Nguyen Van Tho, Le Huu Thiet, and Tran Van Phuc) in the 
Central Highlands with using plastic batons to beat to death inmate 
Truong Thanh Tuan in September 2010. A court directed the four to pay 
VND 129 million (approximately $6,140) to the victim's family.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    There continued to be no information on the whereabouts of Thich 
Tri Khai, a monk from the unregistered Unified Buddhist Church of 
Vietnam whom authorities arrested in 2008, and Le Tri Tue, a founder of 
the Independent Workers' Union whom authorities placed in custody in 
2007.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits physical abuse, but police commonly 
mistreated suspects during arrest or detention. Incidents of physical 
harassment, intimidation, and the questioning of family members were 
reported in several locations, including but not limited to Hanoi, Ho 
Chi Minh City, and Bac Giang and Dong Nai provinces.
    For example, in April local police arrested and beat Tran Van Du 
from Soc Trang Province while interrogating him in custody. In October 
the Soc Trang People's Court sentenced the following police officers 
for ``intentionally inflicting injury'' : Vo Van Ut Deo to two years' 
imprisonment; Danh Nhan, eight years; Tran Tuan Khai, four years; and 
Nguyen Quoc Thang, two years.
    In August Hanoi police officials opened an investigation into an 
alleged ``deliberate physical assault'' by police Captain Minh after 
Internet footage showed him stomping on a detained protester during a 
demonstration over Chinese sovereignty claims in the South China Sea 
(East Sea) in July. Authorities placed Minh on administrative leave but 
later cleared and reinstated him.
    Land-rights protesters in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, and 
several provinces in the Mekong Delta continued to report instances of 
physical harassment and intimidation by local authorities. Most 
incidents between local authorities and ethnic minorities involved 
land, money, or domestic disputes. For example, the People's Court of 
Gia Lai Province convicted nine Montagnards of ``undermining unity 
policy'' and sentenced them to prison for what human rights groups 
reported were advocacy activities related to Montagnard rights or land 
disputes. The sentences handed down in April were as follows: Siu Hlom, 
12 years; Siu Nheo and Siu Brom, 10 years each; Rah Lan Mlih, Ro Mah 
Pro, and Rah Lan Blom, nine years each; and Kpa Sin and Ro Man Klit, 
eight years each. In December the court also sentenced Siu Thai (Ama 
Thuong), arrested in April, to 10 years' imprisonment.
    The government reported in September that more than 32,300 drug 
users--the large majority of whom were administratively sentenced to 
forced detoxification without judicial review--were living in the 121 
drug-detention centers countrywide. According to the government, the 
stated population did not exceed the intended capacity of the centers, 
which had separate facilities for women. At these centers, according to 
a September report from a nongovernmental organization (NGO), 
authorities allegedly forced individuals to perform menial work under 
harsh conditions and mistreated them (see section 7.b.). After his 
November visit, the U.N. special rapporteur on health criticized these 
centers as ineffective and counterproductive.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
austere but generally not life threatening. Overcrowding, insufficient 
diet, lack of access to potable water, and poor sanitation remained 
serious problems. Prisoners generally were required to work but 
received no wages. Authorities sometimes placed prisoners in solitary 
confinement, thus depriving them of reading and writing materials for 
periods of up to several months. Family members continued to make 
credible claims that prisoners received benefits by paying bribes to 
prison officials or undertaking hunger strikes.
    Prisoners had access to basic health care, although in many cases 
officials prevented family members from providing medication to 
prisoners. Family members of imprisoned activists who experienced 
health problems claimed medical treatment was inadequate and resulted 
in greater long-term health complications. In July and September, 
respectively, two long-term prisoners convicted and jailed for 
attempting to overthrow the government (Nguyen Van Trai, a member of 
the People's Action Party of Vietnam, and Truong Van Suong) died in 
prison from liver cancer and heart disease, respectively.
    The total number of prisoners and detainees was not publicly 
available. Pretrial detainees were held separately from convicted 
prisoners. Juveniles generally were held in prison separately from 
adults, but on rare occasions, they were held in detention with adults 
for short periods due to the unavailability of space. Men and women 
were held separately but treated equally. Political prisoners were 
typically sent to specially designated prisons that also held other 
regular criminals, and in most cases, political prisoners were kept 
separate from nonpolitical prisoners. Authorities completely isolated 
some high-profile political prisoners from all others. While prison 
sentences could be extremely lengthy, prisoners were not forced to 
serve beyond the maximum sentence for their charged offense.
    Authorities limited prisoners to one 30-minute family visit per 
month and generally permitted family members to give supplemental food 
and bedding to prisoners. Prisoners did not have the right to practice 
their religion in public, nor to have access to religious books and 
scriptures, although authorities allowed Roman Catholic priest and 
democracy activist Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly (rearrested in July) to keep 
a Bible, pray, and give communion. Prisoners were allowed to submit 
complaints to prison management and judicial authorities, but their 
complaints were routinely ignored.
    Previously, authorities had permitted the International Committee 
of the Red Cross to visit prisons, but no such visits occurred during 
the year. Authorities allowed foreign diplomats to make one limited 
prison visit and meet with a prominent prisoner. State control of the 
media restricted reporting on living conditions. There were no prison 
ombudsmen, and no individuals were allowed to serve on behalf of 
prisoners and detainees to consider such matters as alternatives to 
incarceration for nonviolent offenders.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law allows the government to 
detain persons without charges indefinitely under vague ``national 
security'' provisions. The government also arrested and indefinitely 
detained individuals under other legal provisions and subjected several 
dissidents throughout the country to administrative detention or house 
arrest.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Internal security is 
the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Security, although in some 
remote areas, the military is the primary government agency and 
performs public safety functions, including maintaining public order in 
the event of civil unrest. The ministry controls the police, a special 
national security investigative agency, and other internal security 
units. It also maintains a system of household registration and block 
wardens to monitor the population. While this system was less intrusive 
than in the past, it continued to monitor individuals suspected of 
engaging, or being likely to engage, in unauthorized political 
activities. Credible reports suggested that local police used 
``contract thugs'' and ``citizen brigades'' to harass and beat 
political activists and others, including religious worshippers, 
perceived as undesirable or a threat to public security.
    Police organizations exist at the provincial, district, and local 
levels and are subject to the authority of people's committees at each 
level. At the commune level, it is common for guard forces composed of 
residents to assist the police. The police were generally effective at 
maintaining public order, but police capabilities, especially 
investigative, were generally very limited, and training and resources 
were inadequate. Several foreign governments assisted in training 
provincial police and prison management officials to improve their 
professionalism.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
outlines the process by which individuals are taken into custody and 
treated until authorities adjudicate their cases. The Supreme People's 
Procuracy (Public Prosecutor's Office) issues arrest warrants, 
generally at the request of police. However, police may make an arrest 
without a warrant based on a complaint filed by any person. The 
procuracy issues retroactive warrants in such cases. The procuracy must 
issue a decision to initiate a formal criminal investigation of a 
detainee within nine days; otherwise, police must release the suspect. 
In practice the nine-day regulation was often circumvented.

    Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly for 
political activists, remained a problem. According to activist groups 
and diplomatic sources, the government sentenced at least 29 arrested 
activists during the year to a total of 165 years in jail and 70 years 
of probation for exercising their rights. Authorities also increasingly 
charged political dissidents with ``attempting to overthrow the state'' 
due to their alleged membership in political parties other than the 
CPV. While violators of this legal provision had the possibility of 
receiving the death penalty, they typically received prison sentences 
of up to seven years. The government also used decrees, ordinances, and 
other measures to detain activists for the peaceful expression of 
opposing political views (see section 2.a.).
    For example, in February police in Ho Chi Minh City detained Nguyen 
Dan Que for allegedly urging individuals to take part in mass protests 
demanding political reforms but released him after three days of 
questioning. Local police continued to monitor him closely throughout 
the year.
    In April police detained political dissidents Pham Hong Son and Le 
Quoc Quan for ``causing public disorder'' in an attempt to attend the 
open trial of fellow political activist Cu Huy Ha Vu but released them 
nine days later.
    Peaceful protests during the year in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi 
over Chinese sovereignty claims in the South China Sea (East Sea) 
resulted in the temporary detention and surveillance of several protest 
organizers, and there were reports that local security officials 
prevented individuals from leaving their homes to take part in the 
demonstrations. Moreover, on November 27, authorities detained activist 
Bui Thi Minh Hang in Ho Chi Minh City for participating in one such 
``illegal'' protest and previously participating in related protests in 
July and August in Hanoi. In December authorities sentenced her without 
due process to two years at a reeducation camp near Hanoi.
    Authorities also subjected religious and political activists to 
varying degrees of informal detention in their residences. For example, 
Ho Chi Minh City local police continued to monitor prominent activists 
Nguyen Dan Que and Do Nam Hai closely.

    Pretrial Detention.--The investigative period typically lasted from 
three months for less serious offenses (punishable by up to three 
years' imprisonment) to 16 months for exceptionally serious offenses 
(punishable by more than 15 years' imprisonment or capital punishment) 
or more than two years for national security cases. However, at times 
investigations lasted indefinitely. By law the procuracy may also 
request additional two-month periods of detention after an 
investigation to consider whether to prosecute a detainee or ask police 
to investigate further. Investigators sometimes used physical abuse, 
isolation, excessively lengthy interrogation sessions, and sleep 
deprivation to compel detainees to confess.
    By law detainees are permitted access to lawyers from the time of 
their detention; however, authorities used bureaucratic delays to deny 
access to legal counsel. In cases investigated under national security 
laws, authorities prohibited defense lawyers' access to clients until 
after an investigation had ended and the suspect had been formally 
charged with a crime, most often after approximately four months. Under 
regulations, investigations may be continued and access to counsel 
denied for more than two years. In addition a scarcity of trained 
lawyers and insufficient protection of defendant rights made prompt 
detainee access to an attorney rare. In practice only juveniles and 
persons formally charged with capital crimes were assigned lawyers.
    Attorneys must be informed of and allowed to attend interrogations 
of their clients. However, a defendant first must request the presence 
of a lawyer, and it was unclear whether authorities always informed 
defendants of this right. Attorneys also must be given access to case 
files and be permitted to make copies of documents. Attorneys were 
sometimes able to exercise these rights.
    Police generally informed families of detainees' whereabouts, but 
family members could visit a detainee only with the permission of the 
investigator, and this permission was not regularly granted. During the 
investigative period, authorities routinely denied detainees access to 
family members, especially in national security cases. Before a formal 
indictment, detainees also have the right to notify family members, 
although a number of detainees suspected of national security 
violations were held incommunicado. There is no functioning bail system 
or equivalent system of conditional release. Time spent in pretrial 
detention counts toward time served upon conviction and sentencing.
    Courts may sentence persons to administrative detention of up to 
five years after completion of a sentence. In addition police or mass 
organizations can propose that one of five ``administrative measures'' 
be imposed by people's committee chairpersons at district and 
provincial levels without a trial. The measures include terms ranging 
from six to 24 months in either juvenile reformatories or adult 
detention centers and generally were applied to repeat offenders with a 
record of minor offenses, such as committing petty theft or 
``humiliating other persons.'' Terms of 24 months were standard for 
drug users and prostitutes. Individuals sentenced to detention 
facilities were forced to meet work quotas to pay for services and 
detention costs. Chairpersons may also impose terms of ``administrative 
probation,'' which generally took the form of restriction on movement 
and travel. Authorities continued to punish some individuals using 
vaguely worded national security provisions of the law.

    Amnesty.--In honor of National Day, the government amnestied 
approximately 10,535 prisoners on August 29, the overwhelming majority 
of whom had ordinary criminal convictions. Among those released were 
the following five individuals convicted of committing national 
security crimes: three ethnic Montagnards from Dak Lak Province (Y 
Dhiam Eban, Y Bien Nie, and Y Kim Kbuor) charged with ``undermining 
national unity,'' as well as Nguyen Van Tinh from Haiphong and Tran Duc 
Thach from Nghe An Province, both charged with antistate 
propagandizing.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for the 
independence of judges and lay assessors, but in practice they were not 
independent. The CPV controlled the courts at all levels through its 
effective control over judicial appointments and other mechanisms, and 
in many cases it determined verdicts. As in past years, political 
influence, endemic corruption, and inefficiency strongly distorted the 
judicial system. Most, if not all, judges were members of the CPV and 
chosen at least in part for their political views. The party's 
influence was particularly notable in high-profile cases and other 
instances in which authorities charged a person with challenging or 
harming the party or state.
    There continued to be a shortage of trained lawyers and judges. The 
Vietnam Bar Federation falls under the supervision of the VFF and is 
closely coordinated with the Ministry of Justice and the Vietnam 
Lawyers Association. The federation, which oversees local bar 
association functions, continued during the year to develop a 
professional code of conduct for lawyers.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides that citizens are 
innocent until proven guilty, although many lawyers complained that 
judges generally presumed guilt. Trials generally were open to the 
public, but in sensitive cases judges closed trials or strictly limited 
attendance. Juries are not used.
    The public prosecutor brings charges against an accused person and 
serves as prosecutor during trials. Defendants have the right to be 
present and have a lawyer at trial, although not necessarily the lawyer 
of their choice, and this right was generally upheld in practice. 
Defendants unable to afford a lawyer generally were provided one only 
in cases involving a juvenile offender or with possible sentences of 
life imprisonment or capital punishment. The defendant or defense 
lawyer has the right to cross-examine witnesses, but there were cases 
in which neither defendants nor their lawyers were allowed to have 
access to government evidence in advance of the trial, cross-examine 
witnesses, or challenge statements. Defense lawyers commonly had little 
time before trials to examine evidence against their clients. In 
national security cases, judges occasionally silenced defense lawyers 
who were making arguments on behalf of their clients in court because 
the judges deemed the arguments reactionary. Convicted persons have the 
right to appeal. District and provincial courts did not publish their 
proceedings, but the Supreme People's Court continued to publish the 
proceedings of all cases it reviewed.
    There continued to be credible reports that authorities pressured 
defense lawyers not to take as clients any religious or democracy 
activists facing trial. Human rights lawyers were restricted, harassed, 
arrested, disbarred, and in some cases detained for representing 
political activists. For example, on August 12, the Dak Lak Bar 
Association dismissed Huynh Van Dong for serving as a defense lawyer in 
May for two defendants charged with subversive acts against the state. 
Additionally, given their previous convictions, lawyers Le Tran Luat, 
Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Le Quoc Quan were not permitted to practice law. 
During the April trial of activist Cu Huy Ha Vu, one of his attorneys 
(Tran Vu Hai) accused the Hanoi People's Court of violating criminal 
procedure by refusing to publicize the documents by which the court 
made its accusation. When the court refused to drop the charges and 
declare a mistrial, activist Vu sent his lawyers away in protest; the 
court found him guilty and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There continued to be no 
precise estimates of the number of political prisoners. The government 
reportedly held more than 100 political detainees at year's end, 
although some international observers claimed there were more (see also 
section 1.d., Arbitrary Arrest). Diplomatic sources reported the 
existence of four reeducation centers in the country holding 
approximately 4,000 prisoners.
    For example, on February 8, authorities arrested Vu Quang Thuan, 
democracy activist and chairperson of the Vietnam Restoration Movement, 
upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City for 
propagandizing against the state. He awaited trial at year's end.
    On December 23, authorities arrested and detained Viet Khang (also 
known as Vo Minh Tri) after he composed and sang two songs to express 
his view on the government's handling of the dispute with China 
regarding sovereignty in the South China Sea (East Sea). At year's end 
his detention reportedly continued in Ho Chi Minh City.
    At year's end dissident Nguyen Ba Dang, a member of the People's 
Democratic Party, awaited trial. Police had arrested him in January 
2010 in Hai Duong Province for distributing antistate propaganda.
    In March the Tra Vinh Province Appeals Court upheld the original 
sentences of three members of the United Workers-Farmers Organization--
nine years' imprisonment for Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung and seven years' 
imprisonment for Do Thi Minh Hanh and Doan Huy Chuong--whose 
convictions were for causing public disorder to oppose the government. 
Police had arrested them for distributing pamphlets in February 2010 
that called on citizens to advocate for democracy and freedom of 
assembly and to fight attempted invasions from China.
    In September the Dong Nai Province People's Court sentenced Pham 
Thi Phuong, a member of the Vietnam Populist Party, to 11 years in 
prison for activities to overthrow the government. Authorities had 
arrested her and her husband, Pham Ba Huy, in Ho Chi Minh City in April 
2010 for reportedly planning a campaign to bomb statues throughout the 
city. At year's end Pham Ba Huy continued to await trial.
    In January Binh Phuoc People's Court convicted Phung Lam from Binh 
Phuoc Province of propagandizing against the state and sentenced him to 
seven years in prison. Police had arrested him in June 2010 for alleged 
ties to the Democratic Party of Vietnam (DPV) and DPV chairman Nguyen 
Sy Binh, claiming that Lam posted articles opposing the government on 
the Internet. Lam had fled to Cambodia in May 2010, but police arrested 
him when he attempted to return to visit his family.
    During a one-day closed trial in May, the Ben Tre People's Court 
convicted several defendants of attempting to overthrow the government 
and sentenced them as follows: Tran Thi Thuy from Dong Thap Province, 
eight years' imprisonment and five years' probation; Pham Van Thong, 
Ben Tre Province, seven years' imprisonment and five years' probation; 
Pastor Duong Kim Khai, Ho Chi Minh City, six years' imprisonment and 
five years' probation; and Cao Van Tinh, Con Tho Province, five years' 
imprisonment and five years' probation. The other three (congregant 
Pham Ngoc Hoa, Nguyen Thanh Tam, and lay pastor Nguyen Chi Thanh) were 
each sentenced to two years' imprisonment and three years' probation. 
In August Thuy, Thong, Khai, and Tinh appealed; the court reduced 
Khai's sentence to five years' imprisonment and Tinh's sentence to four 
years' imprisonment, and denied the appeals of Thuy and Thong. Police 
had arrested Thuy, Thong, Khai, and Tam in July-August 2010 for alleged 
ties to a banned, foreign-based, prodemocracy group and for organizing 
and advocating on behalf of land-rights claimants in Ben Tre and Dong 
Thap provinces. Police had also arrested Hoa and Thanh, affiliated with 
Khai and the unrecognized Mennonite Church, in November 2010 for their 
alleged ties to the same prodemocracy group and their work with Khai.
    On March 22, authorities deported foreign citizen Le Kin, whom they 
had arrested in October 2010 in Ho Chi Minh City for attempting to 
overthrow the government through his alleged involvement with overseas 
political organizations critical of the government.
    In August an appeals court upheld the Hanoi People's Court sentence 
in April of attorney Cu Huy Ha Vu to seven years in jail for antistate 
propagandizing. Police had arrested him in November 2010 for his 
Internet articles and interviews with foreign media criticizing the 
prime minister. In November Vu's appeal of his sentence was 
unsuccessful.
    In February the Hanoi People's Court convicted Vu Duc Trung and Le 
Van Thanh, affiliated with the Falun Gong movement, of ``illegally 
broadcasting information [into China] and operating information 
networks without a license'' and sentenced them to three and two years' 
imprisonment, respectively. Police had arrested them in Hanoi in 
November 2010 for broadcasting Falun Gong radio programs.
    In March the People's Court of Tri Ton District, An Giang Province, 
sentenced Chau Heng, a Khmer Krom land-rights activist to two years' 
imprisonment for ``deliberately destroying property and creating social 
disorder.'' Police had arrested Heng in December 2010 as he reentered 
Vietnam after being denied political refugee status by the Office of 
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Thailand. Heng had 
led protests in 2007 and 2008 against local government land seizures.
    Also in August the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court sentenced Pham 
Minh Hoang, a dual national and professor at the Ho Chi Minh City 
University of Technology, to three years' imprisonment followed by 
three years' house arrest for alleged ties to a foreign-based 
prodemocracy group, posting critical comments online against the 
government under a pseudonym in 2010, and activities aimed at 
overthrowing the government. Hoang admitted guilt and asked to return 
to a foreign country. An appeals court in Ho Chi Minh City in November 
reduced the imprisonment from three years to 17 months, and Hoang 
continued to serve his sentence at year's end.
    In March the appellate division of the Ho Chi Minh City People's 
Court reduced Le Thang Long's original sentence from five years' 
imprisonment to three-and-a-half years. In May the Ho Chi Minh City 
People's Court denied the appeal of businessman and blogger Tran Huynh 
Duy Thuc and upheld his original sentence of 16 years' imprisonment. 
Long and Thuc--as well as prominent attorney Le Cong Dinh and DPV 
leader and Viet Youth for Democracy cofounder Nguyen Tien Trung--had 
all been arrested in 2009 and tried jointly in Ho Chi Minh City in 
January 2010 for involvement in a plot to create new political parties 
and overthrow the government. Dinh and Trung had pleaded guilty to 
joining political parties other than the CPV but had denied attempting 
to overthrow the government. During the year there were no developments 
in the cases of Dinh and Trung.
    On August 29, the government amnestied and released Bloc 8406 
member Tran Duc Thach (see section 1.d., Amnesty). Authorities had 
arrested Thach plus Bloc 8406 members Vu Van Hung and Pham Van Troi in 
2008, convicted them in 2009 of antistate propagandizing for displaying 
banners that criticized the CPV and advocated multiparty democracy, and 
sentenced them to prison (Thach and Hung, three years' imprisonment; 
Troi, four years). In January 2010 the Hanoi Appellate Court--with 
foreign diplomats and journalists excluded--had upheld the prison 
sentences.
    In July authorities returned Roman Catholic priest and activist 
Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly to prison to complete the remainder of his 
eight-year prison term for propagandizing against the state. 
Authorities had arrested him in 2007 in connection with his role in 
cofounding the Bloc 8406 movement and the Vietnam Progressive Party but 
had granted him a one-year humanitarian release in March 2010 to seek 
treatment for a brain tumor following two strokes in 2009 (see also 
section 1.c.).
    Several other political dissidents affiliated with outlawed 
political organizations--including the People's Democratic Party, 
People's Action Party, Free Vietnam Organization, DPV, United Workers 
and Farmers Organization, Bloc 8406, and others--remained in prison or 
under house arrest in various locations.
    Authorities also continued to detain and imprison other individuals 
who used the Internet to publish ideas on human rights, government 
policies, and political pluralism (see section 2.a., Internet Freedom).
    Authorities released several persons, including political activists 
and religious leaders, during the year, including the following:
    In June authorities released activist and dissident author Tran 
Khai Thanh Thuy from prison, and she resettled abroad. A Hanoi court 
had convicted Thuy and her husband, Do Ba Tan, in February 2010 of 
assault and had sentenced her to three-and-one-half years in prison and 
him to two years' probation following a 2009 incident in which 
unidentified individuals attacked them.
    On July 1, authorities released democracy activist Ngo Quynh, who 
had been convicted and imprisoned for antistate propagandizing in 2009.
    In March activist lawyer Nguyen Van Dai completed his 2007 sentence 
of four years in prison for posting appeals for a multiparty state on 
the Internet, and authorities released him to begin his sentence of 
four years' house arrest.
    In September Pham Ba Hai, leader of the Bach Dang Giang Foundation 
and a Bloc 8406 member, completed his 2006 sentence of five years in 
prison for antistate propaganda. At year's end he was serving two 
years' house arrest.
    In February authorities released political activist and former 
police officer Tran Van Thieng, age 75. A court in Ho Chi Minh City had 
convicted him in 1991 of attempting to overthrow the government by 
``trying to publish a book that distorted historical information'' 
about Vietnam and had sentenced him to 20 years' imprisonment.
    In October 2010 the Can Tho Police Security Investigation Agency 
and the People's Procuracy of Can Tho released Doan Van Chac from any 
wrongdoing and declined any further investigation into his case. Police 
had arrested him in June 2010 after he had evaded arrest since 
participating as a juvenile in a 1983 campaign against the government 
that resulted in the deaths of three officials.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is no clear or 
effective mechanism for pursuing a civil action to redress or remedy 
abuses committed by authorities. Civil suits are heard by 
administrative, civil, and criminal courts, all of which follow the 
same procedures as in criminal cases and are adjudicated by members of 
the same body of judges and lay assessors. All three levels were 
subject to corruption, lack of independence, and inexperience.
    By law a citizen seeking to press a complaint regarding a human 
rights violation by a civil servant is required first to petition the 
officer accused of committing the violation for permission to refer the 
complaint to the administrative courts. If a petition is refused, the 
citizen may refer it to the officer's superior. If the officer or his 
superior agrees to allow the complaint to be heard, the matter is taken 
up by the administrative courts. If the administrative courts agree 
that the case should be pursued, it is referred either to the civil 
courts for suits involving physical injury seeking redress of less than 
20 percent of health-care costs resulting from the alleged abuse, or to 
the criminal courts for redress of more than 20 percent of such costs. 
In practice this elaborate system of referral and permission ensured 
that citizens had little effective recourse to civil or criminal 
judicial procedures to remedy human rights abuses, and few legal 
experts had experience with the system. The government continued to 
disallow the use of class action lawsuits against government 
ministries, thus limiting land rights petitioners from sending joint 
complaints to numerous government agencies.

    Property Restitution.--A 2009 decree offers compensation, housing, 
and job training for individuals displaced by development projects. 
However, there were widespread complaints, including from the National 
Assembly, that compensation was inadequate or delayed. There were also 
widespread reports of official corruption and a general lack of 
transparency in the government's process of confiscating land and 
moving citizens to make way for infrastructure projects. Some members 
of ethnic minority groups in the Central and Northwest Highlands 
continued to complain that they had not received proper compensation 
for land the government confiscated to develop large-scale, state-owned 
enterprises.
    For example, in February Pham Thanh Son self-immolated on the 
sidewalk outside the Danang City People's Committee building to protest 
the confiscation of his family's property by local officials and their 
refusal to hear his appeal.
    On November 3, 50 to 70 police officers tried to remove an 
``illegal'' sign, posted weeks earlier on the roof of the Thai Ha 
church in Hanoi, which called on the government to return land the 
church once owned. Security officials reportedly injured one church 
member while attempting to crash through the front gate. On December 2, 
security officials detained 30 parishioners and two clergy members, 
including the head Thai Ha priest, after 150-200 parishioners 
peacefully protested for the land's return. By year's end all detainees 
were released.
    In January, upon appeal, the Danang City People's Court commuted 
the sentences of all the remaining defendants in a land-rights protest 
that led to police clashes with Roman Catholic parishioners in a 
funeral procession in Con Dau Village in May 2010 and set them free. 
Police had arrested six parishioners accused of starting the 
altercation and damaging a police vehicle. The court initially tried 
them in October 2010 for public disorder and denied three of them legal 
representation; four individuals received nine- and 12-month jail 
sentences, and the remaining two defendants received suspended 
sentences.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but the government did 
not respect these prohibitions in practice. Household registration and 
block warden systems existed for the surveillance of all citizens. 
Authorities focused particular attention on persons suspected of being 
involved in unauthorized political or religious activities.
    The government pursued a population and reproductive health 
strategy that set a target average number of children per couple (see 
section 6, Women).
    Forced entry into homes is not permitted without orders from the 
public prosecutor, although security forces seldom followed these 
procedures and instead asked permission to enter homes with an implied 
threat of repercussions for failure to cooperate. During the year 
police forcibly entered homes of a number of prominent dissidents--such 
as Pham Hong Son, Nguyen Thanh Giang, Le Quoc Quan, and Le Tran Luat--
and removed personal computers, cell phones, and other material.
    Government authorities continued to open and censor targeted 
persons' mail; confiscate packages and letters; and monitor telephone 
conversations, e-mail, text messages, and fax transmissions. The 
government cut the telephone lines and interrupted the cell phone and 
Internet service of a number of political activists and their family 
members.
    CPV membership remained a prerequisite to career advancement for 
all government and government-linked organizations and businesses. 
However, economic diversification continued to make membership in the 
CPV and CPV-controlled mass organizations less essential to financial 
and social advancement.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and 
Press.--Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of 
speech, including for members of the press, the government continued to 
use broad national security and antidefamation provisions to restrict 
these freedoms. The law defines the crimes of ``sabotaging the 
infrastructure of socialism,'' ``sowing divisions between religious and 
nonreligious people,'' and ``conducting propaganda against the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam'' as serious offenses against national 
security. It also expressly forbids ``taking advantage of democratic 
freedoms and rights to violate the interests of the state and social 
organizations.''

    Freedom of Speech.--The government continued to restrict speech 
that criticized individual government leaders; promoted political 
pluralism or multiparty democracy; or questioned policies on sensitive 
matters such as human rights, religious freedom, or sovereignty 
disputes with China.

    Freedom of Press.--The CPV, government, and party-controlled mass 
organizations controlled all print, broadcast, and electronic media. 
The government exercised oversight through the Ministry of Information 
and Communication, under the overall guidance of the CPV Propaganda and 
Education Commission. Private ownership of any media outlet continued 
to be prohibited.
    Foreign journalists must be approved by the Foreign Ministry's 
press center and based in Hanoi, with the exception during the year of 
one correspondent reporting solely on economic matters who lived in and 
worked from Ho Chi Minh City while accredited to Hanoi. Foreign 
journalists are required to renew their visas every three to six 
months. The allowed number of foreign media employees was limited, and 
Vietnamese employees working for foreign media are required to register 
with the Foreign Ministry.
    The procedure for foreign media outlets to hire local reporters and 
photographers and receive accreditation approval continued to be 
cumbersome. The press center nominally monitored journalists' 
activities and approved, on a case-by-case basis, requests for 
interviews, photographs, filming, or travel, which must be submitted at 
least five days in advance. Reporters temporarily on assignment in the 
country are typically assigned a Foreign Ministry minder--with the cost 
paid by the news organization. By law foreign journalists are required 
to address all questions to government agencies through the Foreign 
Ministry, although this procedure often was ignored in practice. 
Foreign journalists noted that they notified authorities about their 
travel outside Hanoi when it involved a story that the government would 
consider sensitive or where the travel was in an area considered 
sensitive, such as the Northwest or Central Highlands.

    Violence and Harassment.--During the year security officials 
attacked or threatened several journalists reportedly because of their 
coverage of sensitive stories. For example, in February Ho Chi Minh 
City police detained freelance reporter Ta Phong Tan, a member of the 
Free Journalists Club, for 24 hours and allegedly beat him for writing 
articles critical of government policies.
    In April police arrested publisher Bui Chat after he returned from 
overseas where the NGO International Publishers Association had given 
him their Freedom to Publish Award. Police held Chat for four days and 
later summoned him for further questioning by security officials. 
Several days later police detained blogger Ngo Thanh Tu (also known as 
Thien Sau) in Ho Chi Minh City, as he tried to depart on an 
international flight, and questioned him about his affiliation with Bui 
Chat. In June authorities detained Chat overnight in Ho Chi Minh City 
and prevented his attendance at a foreign embassy ceremony in Hanoi.
    In August a court sentenced Phan Ha Binh, deputy managing editor of 
Tien Phong, to seven years in prison for extortion. Authorities had 
arrested Binh in October 2010 and accused him of soliciting a VND 220 
million (approximately $10,500) bribe from a cement company and 
threatening to write negative articles.
    Multiple reporters for foreign news organizations reported 
harassment by security officials, including threats not to renew their 
visas if they continued to publish stories on sensitive topics.

    Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The Ministry of Information 
and Communication and the Propaganda and Education Commission 
frequently intervened directly to dictate or censor a story. More 
often, however, the party and government maintained control over media 
content through pervasive self-censorship, backed by the threat of 
dismissal and possible arrest. As long as the government did not deem 
their content to have been ``sensitive,'' authorities permitted some 
private investors to operate television channels and news-aggregator 
Web sites and publish certain pages in newspapers.
    Despite the continued growth of Internet blogs, the party and 
government increased efforts to suppress press freedom, continuing a 
three-year-old ``rectification'' campaign. In February Prime 
Ministerial Decree Number 2, ``Sanctions for Administrative Violations 
in Journalism and Publishing'' went into effect. It stipulates fines 
between VND one million and 42 million (approximately $50-2,100) for 
journalists, newspapers, and online media which fail to comply with 
broad, vague provisions that require ``providing honest domestic and 
international news in accordance with the interests of the country and 
the people.'' The decree--which officials described as ``simply an 
administrative act''--authorizes branches of the government to impose 
fines on journalists and newspapers at any time, based on arbitrary 
determinations by ministries and officials at various levels about what 
constitutes ``the interests of the country and the people.'' Article 7 
of the decree imposes fines of VND 10.5 million to 21 million ($500-
1,000) on journalists who fail to publish their sources of information 
and similar fines on journalists and newspapers that ``use documents 
and materials from organizations and personal letters and materials 
from individuals.''
    In January the editor in chief of the Saigon Tiep Thi Web site was 
forced from his position following the publication in late 2010 of 
sensitive articles.
    In February Nguyen Anh Tuan, the founder and editor in chief of the 
news Web site VietnamNet--whom the ministry reprimanded in December 
2010 for publishing an international NGO's annual corruption survey--
was pressured to resign. Authorities also refused to renew the press 
card issued by the government to the author of the offending article.

    Libel Laws/National Security.--The law requires journalists to pay 
monetary damages to individuals or organizations whose reputations were 
harmed as a result of reporting, even if the reports were accurate. 
Independent observers noted that the law severely limited investigative 
reporting. There were some press reports on topics that generally were 
considered sensitive, such as the prosecution on corruption charges of 
high-ranking CPV and government officials, as well as occasional 
criticism of officials and official associations. Nonetheless, the 
freedom to criticize the CPV and its senior leadership remained 
restricted.

    Publishing Restrictions.--Under government regulations the Ministry 
of Information and Communication has the authority to revoke licenses 
for foreign publishers, and each foreign publisher must reapply 
annually to maintain its license. Foreign-language editions of some 
banned books were sold openly by street peddlers and in shops oriented 
to tourists. Foreign-language periodicals were widely available in 
cities, although the government occasionally censored articles.
    In October the Ministry of Culture's state-owned Fine Arts 
Publishing House recalled all first-edition copies of Killer with a 
Festering Head, a cartoon book by Nguyen Thanh Phong, two weeks after 
its release. According to media reports, the ban occurred because 
government censors deemed some of the book's illustrations--which 
satirized contemporary Vietnamese life and social issues--to be 
violent, politically sensitive, or broaching sensitive topics.

    Nongovernmental Impact.--The law limits satellite television access 
to senior officials, foreigners, luxury hotels, and the press, but in 
practice persons throughout the country were able to access foreign 
programming via home satellite equipment or cable. Cable television, 
including foreign-origin channels, was widely available to urban-area 
subscribers. Television providers are required to register with the 
Ministry of Information and Communication, and edit and translate 
foreign programming before it is broadcast. Regulations stipulate that 
movies and programming on science, education, sports, entertainment, 
and music be translated in advance and that all news programs (CNN and 
BBC, for example) provide brief translations in advance of 
broadcasting.

    Internet Freedom.--The government allows access to the Internet 
through a limited number of service providers (ISPs), all of which were 
state-owned, joint-stock companies.
    The government forbids direct access to the Internet through 
foreign ISPs, requires domestic ISPs to store information transmitted 
on the Internet for at least 15 days, and requires ISPs to provide 
technical assistance and workspace to public security agents to allow 
them to monitor Internet activities. The government requires cybercafes 
to register the personal information of their customers and store 
records of Internet sites visited by customers. ISP compliance with 
these government regulations was unclear. Although citizens enjoyed 
increasing access to the Internet, the government monitored e-mail, 
searched for sensitive key words, and regulated Internet content. In 
March the NGO Reporters Without Borders strongly criticized the 
government for continued regulation of Internet content and monitoring 
of individual use.
    City and provincial authorities issue additional local regulations 
to control online access. In compliance, Internet cafes continued to 
install and use government-approved software to monitor customers' 
online activities. Location of Internet cafes within 220 yards of a 
school continued to require a curfew on operations, and ISPs were 
obliged to cut online access to Internet cafes between 11 p.m. and 6 
a.m. to curb online gaming.
    Ministry of Information and Communication regulations require 
Internet companies, social networking sites, and Web sites that provide 
information in the areas of ``politics, economics, culture, and 
society'' to continue to register and obtain a government license 
before operation.
    From May to July, the blocks on Facebook appeared to weaken, with 
two of the three major ISPs allowing access to the site. Subscribers of 
other ISPs often used workarounds such as virtual private networks to 
access the site.
    Provisions of law and regulation, such as the prohibition of 
antistate propagandizing, prohibit bloggers from posting material that 
the government believes would undermine national security, disclose 
state secrets, or incite violence or crimes. Consequently, these 
provisions prohibit individuals from downloading and disseminating 
documents the government deems offensive. Regulations also require 
global Internet companies with blogging platforms operating in the 
country to report to the government every six months and, if requested, 
to provide information about individual bloggers. A number of prominent 
print and online news journalists maintained their own professional 
blogs, several of which were considered far more controversial than 
their mainstream writing. In a few instances, the government fined or 
punished these individuals for the content of their blogs.
    Authorities detained and imprisoned dissidents who used the 
Internet to criticize the government and publish ideas on human rights 
and political pluralism. Prime Ministerial Decree Number 2 heralded an 
increase in the number of bloggers arrested for online expression, 
totaling at least nine individuals during the year. The majority of 
bloggers arrested were charged with propagandizing against the state or 
attempting to overthrow the government.
    For example, in July police detained Dang Xuan Dieu, Ho Duc Hoa, 
and Nguyen Van Oai at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City after 
they returned from Thailand where they had attended an Internet/blogger 
training course organized by a foreign NGO. Police also arrested 
Redemptorist follower Le Van Son, who also attended the course, on 
August 3 in Hanoi. That same day, authorities arrested three more Roman 
Catholic bloggers (Tran Huu Duc, Dau Van Duong, and Dang Xuan Tuong) in 
Vinh City, Nghe An Province, for participating in the same training. In 
September police arrested Ta Phong Tam after she posted an analysis of 
the arbitrary nature of Le Van Son's arrest.
    On August 18, local authorities arrested Nguyen Xuan Anh, 
Repemptorist member and resident of Vinh City, and charged him with 
participating in a banned, foreign-based, prodemocracy group and 
attempting to overthrow the government. By year's end the Vinh Diocese 
reported that authorities had arrested 16 individuals (15 Roman 
Catholics and one Protestant).
    On April 19, authorities dropped an investigation and all charges 
against Le Nguyen Huong Tra (also known as Co Gai Do Long) and stated 
that her behavior ``was less serious than previously thought.'' 
Security officials had accused her of abusing democratic freedoms and 
had arrested her in October 2010, nine days after she had posted 
commentaries critical of Vice Minister of Public Security Nguyen Khanh 
Toan's son.
    On the day of his scheduled release in October 2010 from a 30-month 
sentence for alleged tax evasion, authorities rearrested Nguyen Van Hai 
(also known as Dieu Cay) for antistate propagandizing, allegedly based 
on three-year-old blog postings. There were unconfirmed reports during 
the year that he lost his arm while in custody.
    In January the People's Court of Lang Son Province convicted Vi Duc 
Hoi, a former CPV official from the province, of antistate 
propagandizing after his online postings in 2007-09 of prodemocracy 
articles criticized the CPV. The court sentenced him to eight years in 
prison followed by five years' house arrest (reduced on appeal in April 
to five years' imprisonment and three years' house arrest). Hoi, a CPV 
member beginning in 1980, had been removed from the CPV in 2007 after 
he authored online articles disparaging corruption in the party.
    Web sites critical of the government that were hosted overseas were 
continually targeted throughout the year by distributed denial-of-
service attacks. A majority of the targeted Web sites were news-
aggregator sites that regularly republished postings by high-profile 
dissidents critical of the government. Hackers rendered several other 
Web sites inoperable. In June and July the popular news portal 
VietnamNet was hacked multiple times and rendered inaccessible. An 
investigation into these attacks continued at year's end. In August a 
botnet attacked a Web site belonging to a foreign-based prodemocracy 
group using an estimated 77,000 Internet Protocol addresses located in 
Vietnam, which suggested government involvement, according to Access 
Contested: Security, Identity, and Resistance in Asian Cyberspace.
    Political dissidents and bloggers routinely reported having their 
home Internet connections disconnected on orders from the security 
services.
    The government used firewalls to block some Web sites that it 
deemed politically or culturally inappropriate, including sites 
operated by overseas Vietnamese political groups. The government 
appeared to have lifted most of its restrictions on access to the Voice 
of America Web site, although it continued to block Radio Free Asia 
most of the time. BBC online in Vietnamese and English was blocked at 
times during the year.
    The Ministry of Information and Communication requires owners of 
domestic Web sites, including those operated by foreign entities, to 
register their sites with the government and submit their planned 
content and scope to the government for approval. Enforcement remained 
selective.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government asserted the 
right to restrict academic freedom, and authorities sometimes 
questioned and monitored foreign field researchers. Foreign academic 
professionals temporarily working at universities in the country were 
allowed to discuss nonpolitical topics widely and freely in classes, 
but government observers regularly attended classes taught by both 
foreigners and nationals. Academic publications usually reflected the 
views of the CPV and government.
    In May the National Assembly distributed a draft law on higher 
education for public comment. Critics publicly voiced concerns that the 
draft included an extensive list of administrative constraints but did 
not provide universities with autonomy to make basic decisions, such as 
what to teach and how many students to admit.
    The government continued to restrict the ability of some 
international and domestic organizations to host conferences with 
international sponsorship or participation by requiring government 
approval at least 20 days in advance.
    The government continued to prohibit independent scientific and 
technical organizations from publicly criticizing party and state 
policy. In July Thai Nguyen Medical University permanently dismissed Tu 
Anh Tu, a medical student, for engaging in activities advocating for 
democracy, which included reading online prodemocracy articles and 
participating in activist movements.
    Although the government controlled art exhibits, music, and other 
cultural activities, artists were allowed broader latitude than in past 
years to choose themes for their works. The government also allowed 
universities more autonomy over international exchanges and cooperation 
programs.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law limits freedom of assembly, and the government 
restricted and monitored all forms of public protest or gathering. Law 
and regulation require persons wishing to gather in a group to apply 
for a permit, which local authorities may issue or deny arbitrarily. In 
practice only those arranging publicized gatherings to discuss 
sensitive matters appeared to require permits, and persons routinely 
gathered in informal groups without government interference. The 
government generally did not permit demonstrations that could be seen 
to have a political purpose. The government also restricted the right 
of several unregistered religious groups to gather in worship.
    On June 5, approximately 300 individuals gathered in front of the 
Chinese embassy in Hanoi to protest news reports that Chinese patrol 
ships harassed a Vietnamese seismic survey ship and Chinese violations 
of Vietnamese sovereignty continued in the disputed South China Sea 
(East Sea). More than 1,000 individuals joined a similar protest in Ho 
Chi Minh City. Similar public demonstrations took place once a week for 
11 consecutive weeks in Hanoi but were censored shortly thereafter in 
Ho Chi Minh City. During the July 10 protest in Hanoi, police detained 
at least 20 individuals. One week later authorities temporarily 
suspended Hanoi Police Captain Pham Hai Minh from duty when he was 
photographed trampling the face of one of the protesters. On August 18, 
the Hanoi People's Committee issued a decree ``banning all spontaneous 
gatherings, demonstrations, and parades.'' On August 22, police 
arrested 50 individuals for protesting in violation of that decree; 
authorities released all 50 five days later, but protest leaders and 
fellow demonstrators thereafter remained under investigation and 
reported being monitored by police. On September 5, a group of 10 
persons filed a lawsuit against state-controlled media for claiming 
that hostile forces incited the protesters.
    On November 8, plainclothes security officials beat and detained 
approximately 30 Falun Gong practitioners who demonstrated outside the 
Chinese embassy in Hanoi in support of Vu Duc Trung and Le Van Thanh, 
whom authorities had arrested in 2010 and charged with broadcasting 
illegally into China (see also section 1.e., Political Prisoners and 
Detainees).

    Freedom of Association.--The government severely restricted freedom 
of association and neither permitted nor tolerated opposition political 
parties. The government prohibited the establishment of private, 
independent organizations, insisting that persons work within 
established, party-controlled mass organizations, usually under the 
aegis of the VFF. However, some entities, including unregistered 
religious groups, were able to operate outside of this framework with 
little or no government interference.
    Authorities occasionally physically prevented political activists 
and family members of political prisoners from meeting with foreign 
diplomats. Tactics included setting up barriers or guards outside 
diplomats' residences or calling individuals into local police stations 
for random and repetitive questioning.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's 
International Religious Freedom Report at http://state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, but the government imposed some limits on freedom of 
movement for certain individuals. The government generally 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.
    Local government authorities observed but did not hinder the UNHCR 
and foreign diplomatic fact-finding and monitoring visits to the 
Central Highlands. The UNHCR reported that it was able to meet with 
returnees in private. Foreign diplomats experienced some resistance 
from lower-level officials in permitting private interviews of 
returnees. As in previous years, local police officials sometimes were 
present during foreign diplomat interviews with returnees but left when 
asked. Provincial governments generally continued to honor their 
obligations to reintegrate peacefully ethnic minority returnees from 
Cambodia.
    In February, 55 Montagnards who fled the Central Highlands for 
Cambodia were resettled in third countries. The UNHCR, which conducted 
several monitoring trips during the year, reported that there was ``no 
perceptible evidence of mistreatment'' of any of the ethnic minority 
individuals it monitored in the Central Highlands.
    In-country Movement: Several political dissidents, amnestied with 
probation or under house arrest, were subject to official restrictions 
on their movements.
    A government restriction regarding travel to certain areas remained 
in effect. It requires citizens and resident foreigners to obtain a 
permit to visit border areas; defense facilities; industrial zones 
involved in national defense; areas of ``national strategic storage;'' 
and ``works of extreme importance for political, economic, cultural, 
and social purposes.''
    Local police require citizens to register when staying overnight in 
any location outside of their own homes; the government appeared to 
enforce these requirements more strictly in some Central and Northern 
Highlands districts. Foreign passport holders must also register to 
stay in private homes, although there were no known cases of local 
authorities refusing to allow foreign visitors to stay with friends and 
family.
    The law on residence was not broadly implemented, and migration 
from rural areas to cities continued unabated. However, moving without 
permission hampered persons seeking legal residence permits, public 
education, and health-care benefits.

    Foreign Travel.--Officials occasionally delayed citizens' access to 
passports in order to extort bribes, and prospective emigrants 
occasionally encountered difficulties obtaining a passport.
    For example, in July authorities stopped Father Dinh Huu Thoai, 
chief of office of the Redemptorist Church of Vietnam, at the Moc Bai 
border gate (Tay Ninh Province) and prevented him from leaving the 
country. In September security forces prevented human rights lawyer 
Huynh Van Dong from leaving the country.
    Although their probation ended years earlier, the government 
continued to prohibit dissidents Nguyen Khac Toan, Pham Hong Son, Le 
Thi Kim Thu, and others from receiving a passport and traveling 
overseas during the year. Authorities continued to allow attorney Le 
Quoc Quan, attorney Le Tran Luat, and journalist Nguyen Vu Binh to 
travel within the country but prohibited them from traveling overseas.

    Emigration and Repatriation.--The government generally permitted 
citizens who had emigrated to return to visit, although it refused to 
allow certain activists or other individuals living abroad to return. 
Known Vietnamese political activists overseas were denied entry visas 
or were detained and deported after entering the country. For example, 
on August 1, authorities denied Radio Free Asia reporter Tuong Anh 
entry after he arrived at Tan Son Nhat airport, Ho Chi Minh City, from 
abroad.
    The government continued to honor a tripartite memorandum of 
understanding signed with Cambodia and the UNHCR to facilitate the 
return from Cambodia of all ethnic Vietnamese who did not qualify for 
third-country resettlement.

    Citizenship.--By law the government considers anyone born to at 
least one Vietnamese-citizen parent to be a citizen. There are also 
provisions for persons who do not have a Vietnamese-citizen parent to 
acquire citizenship under certain conditions. Emigrants who acquire 
another country's citizenship generally are considered still to be 
Vietnamese citizens unless they formally renounce their Vietnamese 
citizenship. However, in practice the government treated overseas 
Vietnamese as citizens of their adopted country. Legislation seeks to 
clarify this apparent discrepancy by allowing for dual citizenship. The 
government generally encouraged visits and investment by such persons 
but sometimes monitored them carefully. The government continued to 
liberalize travel restrictions for overseas Vietnamese, including 
permitting visa-free travel and permitting individuals to petition to 
receive Vietnamese passports.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law does not provide for the granting 
of refugee status, and the government has not established a system for 
providing protection to refugees.

    Access to Asylum.--The law does not provide for the granting of 
asylum.

    Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Government regulations and policy 
do not explicitly provide protection against the expulsion or return of 
persons 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 were reported during the 
year.

    Stateless Persons.--The country's largest stateless group consisted 
of approximately 9,500 Cambodian residents who sought refuge in Vietnam 
in the 1970s and were denied the right to return by the government of 
Cambodia, which asserted no proof existed that these individuals had 
ever possessed Cambodian citizenship. Almost all were ethnic Chinese or 
Vietnamese whom authorities initially settled in four refugee camps in 
and around Ho Chi Minh City. When humanitarian assistance in these 
camps ceased in 1994, an estimated 7,000 refugees left the camps in 
search of work and opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City and the 
surrounding area. An additional 2,100 remained in four villages in 
which the camps once operated. Many had children and grandchildren born 
in Vietnam, but neither the original refugees nor their children enjoy 
the same rights as Vietnamese citizens, including the right to property 
ownership, comparable access to education, and public medical care. In 
July 2010 the first group of 287 individuals received Vietnamese 
citizenship as part of a joint UNHCR-government effort to survey and 
naturalize these stateless individuals. The naturalization applications 
for the approximately 1,800 remaining were submitted to the president's 
office for final approval, but no action was reported at year's end.
    The Women's Union continued to work with the government of South 
Korea to address international marriage brokering and premarriage 
counseling, including education on immigration and citizenship 
regulations. Some domestic and international NGOs provided assistance.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution does not provide for the right of citizens to 
change their government peacefully, and citizens could not freely 
choose the officials that govern them.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The most 
recent elections, in May to select members of the National Assembly, 
were neither free nor fair, since the VFF chose and vetted all 
candidates. Despite the CPV's announcement that a greater number of 
``independent'' candidates (those not linked to a certain organization 
or group) would run in the elections, the ratio of independents to 
other candidates was lower than that of the 2007 election. The CPV 
approved 15 ``self-nominated'' candidates who did not have official 
government backing but were allowed to run for office. There were 
credible reports that party officials pressured many self-nominated 
candidates to withdraw or found such candidates ``ineligible'' to run.
    According to the government, more than 99 percent of the 62 million 
eligible voters cast ballots in the May election, a figure that 
international observers considered improbably high. (Voters are 
permitted to cast ballots by proxy, and local authorities are charged 
with assuring that all eligible voters cast ballots by organizing group 
voting and all voters within their jurisdiction are recorded as having 
voted.) CPV candidates won 458 of the 500 seats. Only four of the 15 
self-nominated candidates won.
    The National Assembly, although subject to the control of the CPV 
(all of its senior leaders and more than 90 percent of its members are 
party members), continued to take incremental steps to assert itself as 
a legislative body. A majority of National Assembly committees 
increased the number of members on the committees in an attempt to 
exert more influence over budgetary matters and to review and provide 
recommendations on policy matters. For example, the number of members 
on the External Relations Committee increased from 30 to 36, the 
Committee on Social Issues increased its membership from 40 to 50 
members, and the committees on legal affairs and defense increased the 
number of vice chairs. In August the National Assembly appointed a 
Constitutional Amendment Drafting Committee and adopted a statement by 
its Standing Committee giving guidance on the scope and timetable of 
the drafting process.

    Political Parties.--The constitution vests all authority and 
political power in one party, the CPV, and recognizes the leadership of 
the CPV. The CPV Politburo functions as the supreme decision-making 
body in the country, although technically it reports to the CPV Central 
Committee. Political opposition movements and other political parties 
are illegal.
    The government continued to restrict public debate and criticism 
severely. No public challenge to the legitimacy of the one-party state 
was permitted, although there were instances of unsanctioned letters 
critical of government policy from private citizens. For example, 
former government officials and leading academicians criticized the 
government's decision to allow substantial foreign investment in 
bauxite mining and its handling of sovereignty claims in the South 
China Sea (East Sea). The government continued to crack down on the 
small, opposition political groups established in 2006, and group 
members faced arrests and arbitrary detentions.
    Members of Bloc 8406 and other political activist groups that call 
for the creation of a multiparty state continued to face harassment and 
imprisonment.

    Participation of Women and Minorities.--The law provides the 
opportunity for equal participation in politics by women and minority 
groups. There were 122 women in the National Assembly, or approximately 
24 percent--a slightly lower percentage than in the previous assembly.
    Ethnic minorities held 78 seats, or approximately 16 percent, in 
the National Assembly--a decline from the previous assembly.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the government did not always implement the law effectively, 
and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
Corruption continued to be a major problem. The government persisted in 
efforts to fight corruption, including publicizing budgets of different 
government levels, continuing to streamline inspection measures, and 
occasionally widely publicizing cases of officials accused of 
corruption.
    The anticorruption law allows citizens to complain openly about 
inefficient government, administrative procedures, corruption, and 
economic policy. However, the government continued to consider public 
political criticism a crime unless the criticism was controlled by 
authorities. Attempts to organize those with complaints to facilitate 
action are considered proscribed political activities and subject to 
arrest. Senior government and party leaders traveled to many provinces, 
reportedly to try to resolve citizen complaints. Corruption related to 
land use was widely publicized in the press, apparently in an 
officially orchestrated effort to bring pressure on local officials to 
reduce abuses.
    Corruption among police remained a significant problem at all 
levels, and members of the police sometimes acted with impunity. 
Internal police oversight structures existed but were subject to 
political influence.
    Foreign aid donors conducted an annual anticorruption dialogue as 
part of consultative group meetings with the government. Previous 
dialogues focused on corruption in the education, health, and 
construction sectors.
    According to an annual report by the government's Anticorruption 
Steering Committee released in June, state agencies initiated 
preliminary investigations into 100 cases of corruption-related crimes, 
an increase of approximately 5 percent compared with the same period 
during the previous year. There were 185 suspects, an increase of 3 
percent, and authorities brought 97 cases to the court of first 
instance. According to the annual report of the Office of the 
Inspectorate General, it investigated 220 cases of corruption/fraud 
involving 449 individuals during the year, a majority of which 
continued under investigation at year's end.
    In June authorities charged Pham Thanh Hai, an accountant in the 
government's department of cinematography, with embezzling VND 42 
million (approximately $2,100) from the department's annual budget.
    In September the Supreme People's Court in Hanoi concluded its 
investigation into the August 2010 allegations of misappropriation in 
the shipbuilding conglomerate Vinashin and found that nearly VND 900 
billion (approximately $43 million) had been misappropriated. The court 
charged Chief Executive Officer Pham Thanh Binh and eight others--board 
members Tran Quang Vu and Tran Van Liem, former subsidiary general 
directors Nguyen Van Tuyen and Nguyen Tuan Duong plus To Nghiem, Trinh 
Thi Hau, Hoang Gia Hiep, and Do Dinh Con--with ``deliberately acting 
against state regulations and economic mismanagement, causing serious 
consequences.'' These offenses are punishable by up to 12 years in 
prison. At year's end the accused awaited trial as well as additional 
investigation on other, related charges.
    In June a court convicted Tran Van Khanh, the former director 
general of Vietnam General Corporation of Agriculture Materials, of 
``abusing powers while performing official duties'' and sentenced him 
to five years' imprisonment. Specifically, in 2003-04 Khanh illegally 
sold company fertilizer to individuals outside of working hours and 
rented company vehicles to private individuals, from which he pocketed 
more than VND 3 billion (approximately $140,000).
    In May the former governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Le Duc 
Thuy, retired from his position after coming under investigation for 
allegedly taking bribes from the Reserve Bank of Australia currency 
supplier (Securency). It was claimed that, for the exchange of an 
undisclosed amount of money, Thuy helped Securency win banknote supply 
contracts during the period 2002-09 and that Securency deposited funds 
for Thuy into an overseas account belonging to a member of the 
government's public security bureau, Colonel Luong Ngoc Anh. An 
investigation continued at year's end.
    By government decree various government officials must annually 
report by November 30 the real estate, precious metals, and ``valuable 
papers'' they own; money they hold in overseas and domestic bank 
accounts; and their taxable income. The government must publicize these 
asset declarations only if a government employee is found ``unusually 
wealthy'' and investigation or legal proceedings are needed. In 
addition to senior government and party officials, the decree applies 
to prosecutors, judges, and those at and above the rank of deputy 
provincial party chief, deputy provincial party chairperson, deputy 
faculty head at public hospitals, and deputy battalion chief. Due to a 
lack of transparency, it was not known how widely the decree was 
enforced.
    The Ministry of Public Security is responsible for investigating 
corruption charges brought forward by anticorruption offices in the 
Ministry of Home Affairs and the Office of the Inspectorate General. 
Additionally, the Central Steering Committee on Anticorruption reports 
directly to the Office of the Prime Minister and has the responsibility 
to direct, coordinate, inspect, and formulate countrywide 
anticorruption activities. This committee periodically provides reports 
on anticorruption activities to the CPV Central Committee, National 
Assembly, and Office of the State President. It is also responsible for 
suspending and/or dismissing senior officials appointed by the prime 
minister who are convicted of corrupt practices.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information, and the government usually did not grant such access to 
citizens or noncitizens, including foreign media. In accordance with 
the law, the Official Gazette published most government legal documents 
in its daily edition but not party documents such as Politburo decrees. 
The government maintained a Web site in both Vietnamese and English, as 
did the National Assembly. In addition decisions made by the Supreme 
People's Court Council of Judges were accessible a majority of the time 
through the court's Web site. During his March visit, the U.N. 
independent expert on foreign debt and human rights called on the 
government to make information on debt and development assistance 
broadly available to enhance transparency and accountability in the 
management and use of public resources.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The government does not permit private, local human rights 
organizations to form or operate, nor does it tolerate attempts by 
organizations or individuals to comment publicly on its human rights 
practices. The government used a wide variety of methods to suppress 
domestic criticism of its human rights policies, including 
surveillance, limits on freedom of the press and assembly, interference 
with personal communications, and detention.

    U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally 
prohibited private citizens from contacting international human rights 
organizations, although several activists did so. The government 
usually did not permit visits by international NGO human rights 
monitors, although it allowed representatives from the UNHCR, press, 
foreign governments, and international development and relief NGOs to 
visit the Central Highlands. The government criticized almost all 
public statements on human rights and religious matters by 
international NGOs and foreign governments.

    Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government discussed human 
rights matters bilaterally with several foreign governments and 
continued to hold official talks concerning human rights, typically 
through annual human rights dialogues.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, but enforcement of these prohibitions was 
uneven.

    Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits using or 
threatening violence against women or taking advantage of a person who 
cannot act in self-defense. It also criminalizes rape, including 
spousal rape. Rapists are subject to two to seven years' imprisonment. 
In severe cases of rape, including organized rape, a repeat offense, or 
extreme harm to the victim, sentences may range from seven to 15 years 
in prison. Authorities reportedly prosecuted rape cases to the full 
extent of the law, but the government did not make arrest, prosecution, 
conviction, and punishment statistics available.
    Domestic violence against women was common. A 2010 U.N. report 
found that 58 percent of married women had been victims of physical, 
sexual, or emotional domestic violence. Domestic violence cases were 
treated as civil ones, unless the victim suffered injuries involving 
more than 11 percent of her body.
    The law specifies acts constituting domestic violence, assigns 
specific portfolio responsibilities to different government agencies 
and ministries, and stipulates punishments for perpetrators ranging 
from warnings, through probation for up to three years, to imprisonment 
for three months to three years. However, NGO and survivor advocates 
considered many of the provisions to be weak, and the government did 
not make arrest, prosecution, conviction, and punishment statistics 
available. Officials acknowledged domestic violence as a significant 
social concern, and the media discussed it more openly during the year. 
While the police and legal system generally remained unequipped to deal 
with cases of domestic violence, the government, with the help of 
international and domestic NGOs, continued to train police, lawyers, 
and legal system officials in the law.
    Several domestic and international NGOs worked to address domestic 
violence. Hotlines for victims operated by domestic NGOs existed in 
major cities. The Center for Women and Development, supported by the 
Women's Union, also operated a nationwide hotline, although it was not 
widely advertised in rural areas. It conducted 2,161 consultations 
regarding 1,858 cases during the year. While rural areas often lacked 
the financial resources to provide crisis centers and hotlines, a law 
establishes ``reliable residences'' to allow women to turn to another 
family while local authorities and community leaders attempt to 
confront the abuser and resolve complaints. Many women remained in 
abusive marriages rather than confront social and family stigma as well 
as economic uncertainty.
    The government, with the help of international NGOs, supported 
workshops and seminars aimed at educating women and men about domestic 
violence and women's rights in general and highlighted the problem 
through public awareness campaigns. Local NGOs affiliated with the 
Women's Union remained engaged in women's issues, particularly violence 
against women and trafficking of women and children.

    Sexual Harassment.--According to the government, sexual harassment 
of adults is not illegal, and there is no legal requirement to prevent 
it. There also is no law to protect employees from sexual harassment in 
the workplace. However, the law prohibits employers from discriminating 
against female workers or offending their dignity and honor, although 
there were no known prosecutions during the year. Publications and 
training on ethical regulations for government and other public 
servants do not mention the problem, although it existed.
    Victims of sexual harassment may contact social associations such 
as the Women's Union to request their involvement. If the victim has 
access to a labor union representative, complaints can also be lodged 
with union officers. In serious cases victims may sue offenders under a 
provision that deals with ``humiliating other persons'' and specifies 
punishments that include a warning, noncustodial reform for up to two 
years, or a prison term ranging from three months to two years. 
Nevertheless, sexual harassment lawsuits continued to be unheard of, 
and most victims were unwilling to denounce offenders publicly.

    Reproductive Rights.--The law affirms an individual's right to 
choose contraceptive methods; access gynecological diagnosis, 
treatment, and health check-ups during pregnancy; and obtain medical 
services when giving birth at health facilities, and the government 
generally enforced the law. Nonetheless, unmarried women of 
reproductive ages had limited or no access to subsidized contraceptives 
due to government policy and lack of access in rural areas. Women and 
men were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted 
infections.
    Although the Population and Reproductive Health Strategy for 2011-
20--applicable to all citizens--no longer specifically referred to the 
number of children per couple, it set a target of maintaining the 
average number of children per reproductive-age couple at 1.8. The 
government, primarily through media campaigns, strongly encouraged 
individuals to practice family planning. There was also anecdotal 
information that authorities would not promote government officials if 
they had more than two children.

    Discrimination.--The law provides for gender equality in all 
aspects of life, but women continued to face societal discrimination. 
Despite the large body of law and regulation devoted to the protection 
of women's rights in marriage and the workplace, as well as provisions 
that call for preferential treatment, women did not always receive 
equal treatment. They experienced economic discrimination since they 
cannot work in all the same industries as men and are not allowed to 
work the same hours as men (due to pregnancy or nursing). Moreover, no 
laws prohibit employers from asking about family status during job 
interviews.
    Although the law provides for equal inheritance rights for men and 
women, in practice women faced cultural discrimination: A son was more 
likely to inherit property than a daughter, unless specified by a legal 
document. Laws prohibit gender-based preferential hiring for jobs, and 
while NGOs assumed that such discrimination occurred, allegations were 
hard to prove.
    The CPV-affiliated Women's Union and the government's National 
Committee for the Advancement of Women continued to promote women's 
rights, including political, economic, and legal equality, and 
protection from spousal abuse. The Women's Union also operated 
microcredit consumer-finance programs and other programs to promote the 
advancement of women. In April the National Strategy Plan for Gender 
Equality replaced the National Plan of Action for the Advancement of 
Women. Key areas of the strategy were similar to plan goals but also 
moved beyond advancement to recognize broader inequities in access to 
social services and focus on developing indicators; placing more women 
in senior ministry positions and the legislature; and increasing 
literacy rates, access to education, and health care.
    According to a 2010 U.N. Population Fund report, the national 
average male-female sex ratio at birth was 111 to 100. The imbalanced 
ratio of newborn boys to girls continued to increase, particularly in 
some wealthier areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The government 
acknowledged the issue and was taking steps to address it.

    Children.--Birth Registration.--By law the government considers 
anyone born to at least one Vietnamese citizen parent to be a citizen, 
although persons born to non-Vietnamese parents may also acquire 
citizenship under certain circumstances. Not all births were registered 
immediately, sometimes due to a lack of knowledge among the populace. A 
birth certificate is required for public services, such as education 
and health care, and the choice by some parents, especially ethnic 
minorities, not to register their children affected the ability to 
enroll them in school and receive government-sponsored health care.

    Education.--Education is compulsory, free, and universal through 
the age of 14. Nevertheless, authorities did not always enforce the 
requirement, especially in rural areas, where government and family 
budgets for education were strained and children's contributions as 
agricultural laborers were valued.

    Child Abuse.--The U.N. and the General Statistics Office found that 
25 percent of children were victims of child abuse as reported by their 
mothers during a study on domestic violence. The government did not 
make information available on the extent of the problem or its efforts 
to combat it.

    Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Sexual harassment of children 
under age 16 is illegal. The law criminalizes all acts of sale, 
fraudulent exchange, or control of children as well as all acts related 
to child prostitution and forced child labor. Sentences range from 
three years' to life imprisonment, and fines range from VND five 
million to VND 50 million (approximately $240 to $2,400). The law also 
specifies prison sentences for acts related to child prostitution, 
including harboring prostitution (12 to 20 years), brokering 
prostitution (seven to 15 years), and buying sex with minors (three to 
15 years). Similarly, the law prohibits all acts of cruel treatment, 
humiliation, abduction, sale, and coercion of children into any 
activities harmful to their healthy development and provides for the 
protection and care of disadvantaged children.
    The minimum age of consensual sex is 18. Statutory rape is illegal 
and may result in life imprisonment or capital punishment. Penalties 
for sex with minors between the ages of 16 and 18, depending upon the 
circumstances, vary from five to 10 years in prison. The production, 
distribution, dissemination, or selling of child pornography is illegal 
and carries a sentence of three to 10 years' imprisonment.
    According to preliminary findings released in July of a 2010 survey 
conducted by UNICEF and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social 
Affairs (MOLISA), child prostitution, child trafficking for sexual 
purposes, child sex tourism, and child pornography occurred in Vietnam. 
The report showed that children as young as age 12 worked as 
prostitutes, with the most commonly observed age being 14-15. Some 
minors entered into prostitution for economic reasons.

    Displaced Children.--Independent NGOs estimated that 23,000-25,000 
children lived on the streets and were sometimes abused or harassed by 
police.

    Institutionalized Children.--There were no shelters designed 
specifically for child victims of trafficking or abuse. Instead, 
authorities placed them in facilities with survivors of domestic 
violence or adult trafficking. The government allocated VND 1.25 
trillion (approximately $59.5 million) for the draft National Program 
of Action for Children for 2011-20. The new program's focus is 
assistance for disadvantaged children with priority for the 12 poorest 
provinces. The government also promulgated the National Program on 
Child Protection 2011-15, which was approved in February.

    International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the 
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were small expatriate Jewish communities in 
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic 
acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking 
in Persons Report at http://state.gov/j/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution provides for the 
protection of persons with physical disabilities. The law prohibits 
discrimination against or maltreatment of persons with disabilities; 
encourages their employment; and requires equality for them in 
accommodation, access to education, employment, health care, 
rehabilitation, transportation, and vocational training.
    The provision of services to persons with disabilities, although 
limited, improved during the year. The Ministry of Transportation 
implemented accessibility codes for public transportation facilities, 
trained transportation agency officials and students on the use of the 
codes, and developed training materials for bus drivers to assist 
individuals on and off buses. The government also put in place four 
accessible bus routes in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang with accessible 
buses and distributed free bus tickets (or reduced the fares for) 
26,000 individuals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
    Construction and major renovations of new government and large 
public buildings are required to include access for persons with 
disabilities, but enforcement was sporadic. New buildings and 
facilities in larger urban cities were built with ramps and accessible 
entries. The Ministry of Construction maintained enforcement units in 
the cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Danang, Quang Nam, and Ninh Binh to 
enforce barrier-free codes and provided training on construction codes 
for inspectors and architectural companies in more than 20 provinces 
during the year.
    Access to education for children with disabilities, including 
blindness, deafness, and mobility restrictions, was extremely limited. 
The law provides for preferential treatment for firms that recruit 
persons with disabilities and for fines on firms that do not meet 
minimum quotas that reserve 2 to 3 percent of their workforce for 
workers with disabilities, but the government enforced these provisions 
unevenly. Firms that have 51 percent of their employees with 
disabilities may qualify for special government-subsidized loans.
    The government respected the political and civil rights of persons 
with disabilities. For example, by law ballot boxes may be and were 
brought to the homes of individuals unable to go to a polling station.
    The government supported the establishment of organizations aiding 
persons with disabilities. Such persons were consulted in the 
development or review of national programs, such as the national 
poverty reduction program, vocational laws, and various educational 
policies. The National Coordination Committee on Disabilities and its 
ministry members worked with domestic and foreign organizations to 
provide protection, support, physical access, education, and 
employment. The government operated a small network of rehabilitation 
centers to provide long-term, inpatient physical therapy. Several 
provinces, government agencies, and universities had specific programs 
for persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although the government 
officially prohibits discrimination against ethnic minorities, 
longstanding societal discrimination against ethnic minorities 
persisted. Despite the country's significant economic growth, some 
ethnic minority communities benefited little from improved economic 
conditions. In certain areas, including the Northwest and Central 
Highlands and portions of the Mekong Delta, ethnic minority groups made 
up the majority of the population.
    Some members of ethnic minority groups continued to leave for 
Cambodia and Thailand, reportedly to seek greater economic opportunity 
or shortcuts to migration to other countries. The government monitored 
certain highland minorities closely, particularly several ethnic groups 
in the Central and Northwest Highlands, where it continued to be 
concerned that the religion they practice encouraged ethnic minority 
separatism.
    The government imposed increased security measures in the Central 
and Northwest Highlands in response to concerns over possible ethnic 
minority separatist activity. There were reports that ethnic minority 
individuals who telephoned ethnic minority community members abroad 
were a special target of police attention. Authorities arrested and 
convicted several individuals connected to overseas separatist 
organizations and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms in 2011. 
During the period around sensitive occasions and holidays, an increased 
security presence was reported throughout the region. There were a few 
reports that Vietnamese police operating on both sides of the border 
returned members of ethnic minorities seeking to enter Cambodia and 
sometimes beat and detained them.
    In late April and early May, 5,000 ethnic Hmong in Dien Bien 
Province gathered in Muong Nhe District as part of a millennium 
movement. Security personnel dispersed the crowd and arrested 150 
individuals. According to the government, seven detainees (among them 
were Thao A Lao, Mu A Thang, Trang A Do, and Giang A Xi from Dien Bien 
Province) remained in police custody at year's end, charged with 
preventing government officials from performing official duties, and an 
investigation continued.
    The government continued to address the causes of ethnic minority 
discontent through special programs to improve education and health 
facilities and expand road access and electrification of rural 
communities and villages. The government continued to allocate land to 
ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands through a special program, 
but there were valid complaints that implementation was uneven.
    The government maintained a program to conduct classes in some 
local ethnic minority languages in elementary and secondary schools. 
The government also worked with local officials to develop local 
language curricula, but it appeared to implement this program more 
comprehensively in the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta, and only 
in limited areas of the Northwest Highlands. The law provides for 
universal education for children regardless of religion or ethnicity, 
and ethnic minorities are not required to pay regular school fees. The 
government operated special schools for ethnic minority children, and 
there were 223 boarding schools for them in the Northwest and Central 
Highlands and the Mekong Delta, including at middle- and high-school 
levels plus special admission and preparatory programs as well as 
scholarships and preferential admissions at the university level. There 
were also a few government-subsidized technical and vocational schools 
for ethnic minorities. Nonetheless, there were some credible cases of 
discrimination against ethnic minorities.
    The government broadcast radio and television programs in ethnic 
minority languages in some areas. The government also instructed 
ethnic-majority (Kinh) officials to learn the language of the locality 
in which they worked. Provincial governments continued initiatives 
designed to increase employment, reduce the income gap between ethnic 
minorities and ethnic Kinh, and make officials sensitive and receptive 
to ethnic minority culture and traditions. Nonetheless, local security 
officials detained Tang Thuy, an ethnic Khmer Krom minority group 
member from Soc Trang Province, for two days in March for questioning 
about his participation in a meeting that called for the government to 
respect the rights of all ethnic minorities.
    The government granted preferential treatment to domestic and 
foreign companies that invested in highland areas populated 
predominantly by ethnic minorities. The government also maintained 
infrastructure development programs that targeted poor, largely ethnic-
minority areas and established agricultural extension programs for 
remote rural areas.
    The National Assembly's Ethnic Minority Council, along with 
provincial Ethnic Minority Steering Committees, supported 
infrastructure development and addressed some issues related to poverty 
reduction and an increase in literacy rates during the year.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual 
activity is not criminalized, although by decree, individuals may not 
change their gender. There was no reported official discrimination 
based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but societal 
discrimination and stigma were pervasive. A lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) community existed but was largely underground.
    A 2009 survey of more than 3,200 LGBT individuals by the Institute 
for Studies of Society, Economy, and the Environment reported that 4.5 
percent claimed they were victims of assault or physical abuse by 
homophobic individuals and 6.5 percent claimed they lost jobs because 
of their sexual orientation. The institute also reported that 
government officials, the Women's Union, and the Lawyers Association 
participated in sensitivity training during the year. Most LGBT persons 
chose not to tell family of their sexual orientation for fear of being 
disowned, and a 2011 online survey, conducted by the Information 
Sharing and Connecting Group with more than one thousand LGBT 
respondents, noted that more than 20 percent were forced into 
counseling by their families.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no evidence 
of official discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, but societal 
discrimination against such persons existed. Individuals who tested 
positive for HIV reported latent social stigma and discrimination, 
although not in receiving medical treatment for their condition. The 
law states that employers cannot fire individuals for having HIV/AIDS 
and doctors cannot refuse to treat persons with HIV/AIDS. However, 
there were credible reports that persons with HIV/AIDS lost jobs or 
suffered from discrimination in the workplace or in finding housing, 
although the number of such reports decreased. The government reported 
approximately 5,100 school-age children with HIV/AIDS. In several cases 
HIV/AIDS-positive children or orphans were barred from schools due to 
pressure from other parents. With the assistance of foreign donors, the 
national government and provincial authorities took steps to treat, 
assist, and accommodate persons with HIV/AIDS and thereby decrease 
societal stigma and discrimination, but these measures were not 
consistently applied. Faith-based charities were sometimes permitted to 
provide HIV prevention and home-based care services to persons with or 
affected by HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law does not allow workers to organize and join independent unions 
of their choice. While workers may choose whether to join a union and 
at which level (local, provincial, or national) they wish to 
participate, every union must be affiliated with the country's only 
trade union confederation, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor 
(VGCL). The VGCL, a union umbrella organization controlled by the CPV, 
approves and manages a range of subsidiary labor unions organized 
according to location and industry. By law the provincial or 
metropolitan branch of the VGCL is responsible for organizing a union 
within six months of the establishment of any new enterprise, and 
management is required to cooperate with the union.
    The law outlines mandatory union dues for union members and 
domestic and foreign employers. While these dues were intended to 
support workers and union activities, neither the VGCL nor the 
government, which is responsible for dues collection, provided 
transparent information regarding their use. Although the law does not 
allow for independent unions, it permits the negotiation of disputes to 
be led and organized by ``relevant entities,'' which may be composed of 
worker representatives when the enterprise in question does not have a 
union, i.e., during the first six months after an enterprise is 
established. The law allows for ``union activities'' during this 
period, especially during emergencies such as a strike.
    The law permits strikes under certain prescribed circumstances and 
stipulates an extensive and cumbersome process of mediation and 
arbitration that must be followed before a lawful strike may occur.
    The law prohibits strikes in businesses that serve the public or 
that the government considers essential to the national economy and 
defense. The law also grants the prime minister the right to suspend a 
strike considered detrimental to the national economy or public safety. 
The law defines ``essential services'' more broadly than in 
International Labor Organization (ILO) criteria. A decree defines these 
enterprises as ones involved in electricity production; post and 
telecommunications; maritime and air transportation, navigation, and 
management; public works; and oil and gas. The essential services list 
was reduced by nearly 60 percent in April (effective June 1), from 142 
firms to 58.
    Strikes that do not arise from a collective labor dispute or do not 
adhere to the process outlined by law are illegal. Before workers may 
hold a strike, they must take their claims through a process involving 
a conciliation council (or a district-level labor conciliator where no 
union is present). If the two parties cannot reach a resolution, the 
claims must be submitted to a provincial arbitration council. Unions 
(or workers' representatives where no union is present) have the right 
either to appeal decisions of provincial arbitration councils to 
provincial people's courts or to go on strike. Individual workers may 
take cases directly to the people's court system, but in most cases 
they may do so only after conciliation has been attempted and failed. 
The law also stipulates that workers on strike will not be paid wages 
while they are not at work.
    The law prohibits retribution against strikers, and there were some 
anecdotal reports of employer retaliation against strike participants 
by limiting future employment prospects. For example, MOLISA's Center 
for Industrial Relations reported the case of a company photographing 
workers on strike and sending the photographs to other companies within 
their business association. Local news reported that employees at a 
Panasonic factory accused the company of creating a list of striking 
workers. By law individuals participating in strikes declared illegal 
by a people's court and found to have caused damage to their employer 
are liable for damages.
    The law provides VGCL-affiliated unions the right to bargain 
collectively on behalf of workers. Collective labor disputes over 
rights must be routed through a conciliation council and, if the 
council cannot resolve the matter, to the chairperson of the district-
level people's committee.
    In practice VGCL leaders influenced key decisions by drafting, 
amending, or commenting on labor legislation; developing social safety 
nets; and setting health, safety, and minimum wage standards. Labor 
activists and representatives of independent (non-VGCL) workers' 
organizations faced antiunion discrimination (see section 1.e., 
Political Prisoners and Detainees).
    There was little evidence that leaders or organizations active 
during the first six months' window after an enterprise was established 
continued to be active or recognized thereafter.
    The VGCL reported 981 strikes during the year. The main reason for 
the high number of strikes--more than double the number in 2010--was 
reportedly the negative impact of high inflation on workers' living 
conditions. The majority of these strikes occurred in Ho Chi Minh City 
and surrounding provinces in foreign-invested enterprises (mainly South 
Korean and Taiwanese companies). None of the strikes followed the 
authorized conciliation and arbitration process and thus were 
considered illegal, ``wildcat'' strikes. The government tolerated these 
strikes and not only took no action against the strikers but on 
occasion also actively mediated agreements in the workers' favor. In 
some cases the government disciplined employers, especially with 
foreign-owned companies, for the illegal practices that led to strikes.
    There were credible reports that employers tended to use short-term 
or probationary contracts to avoid certain legally mandated worker 
benefits, such as unemployment insurance, or to inhibit workers from 
joining unions.

    b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced and compulsory labor, except as defined by administrative or 
criminal penalties. Nonetheless, according to government and NGO 
reports, forced labor of adults and children occurred (see 
section7.c.).
    There were reports from credible NGOs that the government, 
especially the Ministry of Public Security, increased efforts to 
prevent forced labor, and the government reported criminal prosecutions 
for forced labor during the reporting period. In response to reports of 
forced labor on domestic coffee plantations, Lam Dong Province 
authorities issued a directive in November calling for increased 
inspections and stricter punishments against illegal labor brokers who 
offered jobs on coffee plantations.
    Prisoners convicted by courts routinely were required to work for 
little or no pay. Authorities routinely required individuals, detained 
under administrative decree in reeducation centers and detention 
centers for sex workers and drug users, to work for little or no pay 
under administrative and legislative regulations. They produced food 
and other goods used directly in prisons or sold on local markets, 
reportedly to purchase items for their personal use. There were 
credible reports that private companies hired individuals in drug 
detention centers.
    There was also information that suggested workers in centers for 
social and educational rehabilitation were engaged in agriculture 
(growing rice and vegetables; raising poultry, fish, and other 
livestock; and shelling cashews or other nuts), manufacturing 
(producing bicycle tires, mosquito nets, false eye-lashes, pottery, 
bamboo or rattan products, and shoes and apparel), and construction 
work.
    In September an international human rights organization reported 
that authorities forced individuals in the detention centers for drug 
users to engage in unpaid or underpaid work as part of their treatment. 
In response, MOLISA officials confirmed that ``therapeutic labor'' was 
one part of the treatment for individuals in these centers but asserted 
that it was not required of all individuals and was remunerated. The 
officials also reported providing orders to provincial officials to 
halt construction of any new drug detention centers and cease all 
actions that violated labor regulations.
    Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at 
http://state.gov/j/tip.

    c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits most child labor but allows exceptions for certain types 
of work. The law sets the minimum age for employment at 18 years, but 
enterprises may hire children between ages 15 and 18 if the firm 
obtains permission from parents and MOLISA. Enterprises hiring young 
labor (ages 15-18) have to provide them with special considerations 
concerning working hours, annual leave, and working environment. 
Children ages 15-18 may work a maximum of seven hours per day and 42 
hours per week and must receive special health care.
    The law permits children to register at trade training centers, a 
form of vocational training, from age 13. By law an employer must 
ensure that workers under age 18 do not undertake hazardous work or 
work that would harm their physical or mental development. Prohibited 
occupations are specified in law and include those requiring compressed 
working posture, direct contact with harmful chemicals, contact with 
radioactive substances, work with various types of furnaces or hot 
metal, driving motor vehicles, operating stone grinding machines, and 
operating machines for starching cloth and cotton yarns, among others.
    MOLISA is responsible for enforcing child labor laws and policies. 
Government officials may fine and, in cases of criminal violations, 
prosecute employers who violate child labor laws. Generally the 
government committed insufficient resources to enforce effectively laws 
providing for children's safety, especially for children working in 
mines and as domestic servants. However, there were several reports 
that the government detected some cases of child exploitation, removed 
children from exploitative situations, and prosecuted/fined employers 
during the year. In April Lam Dong Province authorities closed and 
burned illegal tin mining sites where children were employed. In 
September authorities rescued two dozen children from ``slave labor'' 
in a private garment factory; at year's end the factory owners awaited 
trial.
    A 2011 investigation by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, 
Invalids, and Social Affairs showed that child labor appeared in seven 
of 24 districts and approximately 90 percent of establishments using 
child labor did not have business licenses. MOLISA maintained that more 
than 25,000 children worked in hazardous conditions countrywide, a 
statistic that international observers continued to believe was 
actually higher.
    The government approved in February its first five-year National 
Program on Child Protection and committed approximately VND 1.75 
trillion ($83.3 million) toward implementation from both central and 
local government budgets. The government also continued programs to 
eliminate persistent child labor, with a particular focus on needy 
families and orphans. A joint project with the ILO to eliminate the 
worst forms of child labor continued.
    In practice child labor remained a problem, particularly in rural 
areas, where two-thirds of the population resided. In rural areas 
children worked primarily on family farms, in other agricultural 
activities and household responsibilities, or in mines. In some cases 
they began work as young as age six and were expected to do the work of 
adults by the time they reached age 15. Especially during harvest and 
planting seasons, some parents did not permit children to attend 
school.
    Migration from rural to urban settings exacerbated the child labor 
problem, because unauthorized migrants were unable to register their 
households in urban areas. Consequently, their children could not 
attend public schools, and families had less access to credit. 
Officials stated that juveniles in education and nourishment centers, 
which functioned similarly to reform schools or juvenile detention 
centers, were commonly assigned work for ``educational purposes.''
    In urban areas children worked in family-owned small businesses, 
including small, privately owned garment factories, or on the street 
shining shoes or selling articles such as lottery tickets and 
newspapers. For example, in September Ministry of Public Security 
officials initiated the rescue of 19 ethnic minority children from Dien 
Bien Province who had been trafficked for the purpose of forced labor 
to family-owned garment workshops near Ho Chi Minh City. One shelter 
reported that some children were drugged during the year to keep them 
awake and working longer hours.

    d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law requires the government 
to set a minimum wage and adjust it based on consumer price index 
changes. New minimum wages took effect on October 1, as follows: the 
monthly minimum for unskilled laborers at private enterprises was 
between VND 1.78 million (approximately $85) and VND 2 million ($95) in 
urban areas, and VND 1.4 million ($67) and 1.55 million ($74) in rural 
areas. For employees working for the state sector, the monthly minimum 
was VND 830,000 ($40). The government defined the poverty line for the 
period 2011-15 as VND 400,000 ($19) per month for rural households and 
VND 500,000 ($24) for urban households.
    The government set the workweek for government employees and 
employees of companies in the state sector at 40 hours and encouraged 
the private business sector and foreign and international organizations 
that employed local workers to reduce the number of hours in the 
workweek to 40 hours, but it did not make compliance mandatory.
    The law sets normal working hours at eight hours per day, with a 
mandatory 24-hour break each week. Additional hours require overtime 
pay at one-and-one-half times the regular wage, two times the regular 
wage for weekdays off, and three times the regular wage for holidays 
and paid leave days. The law limits compulsory overtime to 16 hours per 
week and 200 hours per year but provides for an exception in special 
cases, with a maximum of 300 overtime hours worked annually, subject to 
stipulation by the government after consulting with VGCL and employer 
representatives. The law also prescribes annual leave with full pay for 
the public and private sectors.
    The law requires the government to promulgate rules and regulations 
that provide for worker safety and provides that workers may remove 
themselves from hazardous conditions without risking loss of 
employment.
    By law a female employee who is engaged to be married, pregnant, on 
maternity leave, or caring for a child under one year of age may not be 
dismissed unless the enterprise closes. Female employees who are at 
least seven months' pregnant or are caring for a child under one year 
of age may not be compelled to work overtime, at night, or in locations 
distant from their homes.
    It was unclear how strictly the government enforced provisions for 
wages, hours, and benefits or the exceptions for certain female 
employees. MOLISA, in coordination with local people's committees and 
labor unions, is charged with enforcing the law, but enforcement was 
inadequate for many reasons, including low funding and a shortage of 
trained enforcement personnel. The VGCL asserted that authorities did 
not always prosecute violations. MOLISA acknowledged shortcomings in 
its labor inspection system, emphasizing that the country had an 
insufficient number of labor inspectors. There were approximately 140 
general labor inspectors plus small numbers of additional inspectors 
focused on persons with disabilities, social insurance, export 
recruiting companies, etc. The VGCL stated, and MOLISA acknowledged, 
that low fines on firms for labor violations failed to act as an 
effective deterrent against violations.
    There were credible reports that factories exceeded the legal 
overtime thresholds and did not meet legal requirements for rest days. 
A September ILO report noted that 66 of 78 apparel factories did not 
comply with legal overtime limits.
    On-the-job injuries due to poor health and safety conditions and 
inadequate employee training in the workplace remained a problem. The 
mining and construction sectors reported the greatest number of 
occupational injuries. In the first six months of the year, there were 
3,531 occupational accidents and 273 deaths. For example, in April a 
stone mining accident killed 18 workers in Nghe An Province. The 
company had been fined twice in the previous year for poor safety 
standards, and authorities arrested the owner after the April incident 
for violating safety regulations. At year's end prosecution proceedings 
had begun against the owner.



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